posted on January 20, 2001 06:09:54 PM
Its been a while since I have posted here but have been reading a number of different posts here over the weeks.
Lime most I am not happy that ebaY has raised it fees.But neither am I happy that the price of gas is up,as is produce due to weather and other fuel costs.
Plus the USPS rates and the dollar against the pound is up almost 10% in the last few months.
However these area all things we have to live with to ebaY's fees increase are to be expected.
Plus I have seen threads suggesting ebaY is a Monopoly.Fact is this is where the bidders are I have tried the rest and they do not come close to ebaY.
My sales on ebaY over the years approaching half a million dollars where as other sites amounts to a few thousand dollars only.
I do not consider ebaY a Monopoly they had a good idea,developed it and ran with it.ALl the more power to them.
So I am glad ebaY is what it is,it can improve in lots of areas and I do not agree with all they do.But I would sooner put up with them than not have them around.
The last 2 years have allowed me to have my own business work from home and be accessible to my family 24 hrs a day.
Though I have decided to quit ebaY full time for a number of reasons,I am again still glad they exist.Plus I will continue to sell as long as I can make a reasonable profit.
posted on January 20, 2001 06:14:02 PM
Yes, of course. There are few other viable options, especially if Amazon dies later this spring as some people seem to think it will.
posted on January 20, 2001 06:34:19 PM
I bet most people forget what life was like before eBay came along!
imabrit - I've read your posts before and I get the feeling you don't REALLY want to quit eBay (????) Great sellers are eBay's best asset.....Are the positive things about eBay starting to get buried for you?
posted on January 20, 2001 07:24:46 PM
kraftdinner
Why am I quitting full time for a number of reasons as follows.
First,I need a change its starting to get bored,scanning,listing packing.So some of the fun has gone out of it.
I have a lot of back problems from sitting and when I sit at the computer after a short time I get a lot of pain in my shoulders that makes it very hard for me to concentrate on listing.
Sometimes I feel I am part of this computer,last weekend we went away for a few days and this was the first time in 4 years I have not gone anywhere without or had access to a computer.
Its also very stressfull,there are a lot of things related to ebaY I cannot control.I realise this happens in any business but its more so in an online business.
My sales where off 75,000 over the previous year though I made the same amount of money on less sales.I worked a lot smarter but I see sales continuing to decline further.
So I need to go back into sales however if that changes and I am wrong then I can switch back into this again.I will also be able to work on getting more and better inventory pouring it back into the business letting me spend more on items to sell.
Increase in competition has pulled prices down and they are not ending where I really need them to be.I realise this is a fact of life but I look at ebaY as purely a wholesale site.Therefore you have to buy below wholesale to make money.As prices come down this gets more and more difficult.
As a result I cannot buy or afford the items that I used too that used to make good profit.These days I am lucky if I break even on some of these items.
I have also seen a change in the style of the bidder,they bid a lot less but they expect a lot more for the money.
The above is the harder for me to handle as I feel people expect blood from a turnip.
I am starting to see an increase in dead beats 3 or 4 times what I have been used too.
Paypal,ebaY,Billpoint all take a cut and with prices down profit gets smaller.
I could always list more items to make up for it but I can only handle so much.
I have good sales experience and have no trouble finding work.I have been fortunate that I have always gotten a job I have interviewed for and I have never had to run from one interview to another.
So being in Florida,Pool sales is a good item to sell so that's what I am doing here.
The hours are good and allow me to still do ebaY as well.
posted on January 20, 2001 07:34:01 PM
I am glad they exist - but that does not mean we are all lovey-dovey. I could be a LOT happier with them if they had a better attitude to go with the critical mass for sales. I might even have a little loyalty.
It is not that hard to get, but alas, I am a seller scorned.
