posted on February 1, 2008 08:21:13 AM new
It's vitally important to always remember that feeBay is a publically traded company, beholden to its SHAREHOLDERS and NOT to its sellers!
BY LAW, their BOARD of DIRECTORS has a responsibility to MAXIMIZE each shareholders ROI, regardless of hoe any such moves affect us sellers...
I have a sneaking suspicion that the NEW ADMINSTRATION is planning a massive overhual of feeBay to prop up its slumping stock futures, simply by turning feeBay into another...AMAZON!
I'll bet ya Ralphie's lost nuggies that, right NOW, as we moan & groan, that there are at least 20 20-something geeky eBay nerds squirreled away in a department, trying to mold eBay into an AMAZON model...
When ya sell on AMAZON, the following occurs:
1) AMAZON gets a hefty cut from each transaction...
PLUS:
2) The only payment method allowed is: AMAZON PAYMENTS...
PLUS:
2) Not only does AMAZON get a transaction fee, it also gets a CUT FROM THE SHIPPING!
Can you just imagine how feeBay is drooling over thost "lost" profits?
Watch out for MORE massive changes to "just-a-venue" in the coming months:
Don't be surprised if:
A) PayPal becomes the ONLY "safe" payment method, and thus the ONLY method allowed...
PLUS:
B) In order to "protect" buyers from us "greedy" sellers, feeBay takes over the SHIPPING, dictating method & price, and, oh yeah, by the way, a huge CUT...
posted on February 1, 2008 10:09:06 AM new
Thats one site I hate to sell on and the main reason is the way they have the site set up. The last thing that got me upset was when they changed to when you have a sale you have to go to your account to ship it instead of doing it off of the e-mail saying you have a sale. And by the way,I have the lowest star rating on Amazon that any human can receive.
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We can also get cash back at other retailers and earn extra cash when other people shop.
Just use the link below to check it out and let me know what you think!
posted on February 1, 2008 10:37:26 AM new
Tom, I agree with nearly everything you've said here, but I must tell you that I've left feedback for buyers many many times! It IS possible (unless it's been changed in the last two days). ~Adele
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posted on February 1, 2008 03:33:57 PM new
Tom,
Amazon marketplace is where AMZN makes good money -15% cut plus 99 cents transaction fee.
There is no listing fee and item stays on the site for 60 days.
If Ebay does the same,many many items which do not sell will just keep getting relisted every 60 days or whatever number of days Ebay decides,every ashtray,coffee mug,soiled napkin will stay in cyberspace forever as long as the seller has the time to relist them.
Look at Bidville,Epier and Ioffer,they relist for you and when an item is finally sold,the seller either cant find the item or it has already been sold elsewhere or given away.
posted on February 1, 2008 04:01:54 PM new
Right now, I sell an item on amazon for $20, I pay $3 in fees. That's 15%. Yes, Amazon takes a part of the shipping, but they take that from the buyers. The credit they give me for what I sell pays for shipping the item, so that basically is a break even for me.
On Ebay, if I sell an item for $20, I pay 55 cents to list the thing. Then, with the new 8.75% FVF, I pay $1.75 when it sells. That brings me up to $2.30
Now, I accept paypal as payment. Yes, I know that is optional, but if you really run a business here, paypal really isn't optional in my opinion. That's 93 cents in paypal fees, so bring that total up to $3.23
It costs more on ebay! Ok, you can set your own shipping to make some money on the shipping, so you might do better on ebay with that. However, it might now sell, and you are out 55 cents if it doesn't sell (and my sellthrough on ebay is terrible these days, a lot of things don't sell) - Then, the customer may not pay. Item sits in inventory, you wait and wait and then file, but you are still out the listing fee.
I don't know, I don't think amazon is that terrible of a model. It certainly isn't utopia, but it doesn't seem all that bad to me either. The no listing fee is a great thing. I had really hoped ebay would have lowered their listing fee a lot more.
posted on February 1, 2008 04:58:14 PM new
If you file FVF because bidder does not pay,you can relist the item free!
or use it to list another item ,you know what I mean!
With Amazon-
Individuals can list their items either on AMZN Marketplace or in their own shop called Zshop.
Amzn tweaks the system so an item listed in Marketplace is more visible to the buyer than an identical item in Zshop,the commision for a ZSHOP item is much lower,I dont recall how much but it is much lower than 15% and you negotiate with the buyer how you want to get paid and how much is shipping.
But not all items can be listed on Marketplace,if I recall,only books,DVD,CD and videotapes can be listed on marketplace.
Maybe the other items with ISBN or manufacturer serial numbers can be listed on marketplace such as brand name battery,dvd player,PC.
Say you are a jeweler and you make your own jewelry,you cannot list them on AMZN marketplace,but you can have a Zshop and list it there,but few people browse Zshop.
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Lets all stop whining !
posted on February 1, 2008 05:17:47 PM new
The Ebay listing fee is the only means Ebay has to prevent all the junks from being listed and relisted and re-relisted.
There are just too many sellers and too many items and not enough buyers.
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Lets all stop whining !
posted on February 1, 2008 06:33:39 PM new
Tom, I have had a sneaking suspicion that they were trying to turn Ebay in to an Amazon type marketplace. I'm glad to see great minds think alike!
My sales will tank if that's what is on the horizon. I am strictly antiques, and they just don't do well in that type of arena.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Caroline
posted on February 1, 2008 06:42:52 PM new
Ebay is a place for antiques,not AMZN or Yahoo,so Ebay will have to find a way to let us sell antiques,or vintage items.
Or keep antiques in the old Ebay and let the new items sell as fixed price items in another sister venue.
Ebay is too big,if they have to divide the venue,it would make sense to separate the collectibles from the new and used consumer goods such as PC,battery,DVD players,DVD movies,toothbrush,clothes,jewelry.
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Lets all stop whining !
posted on February 1, 2008 06:53:11 PM new
For REAL "sheets & giggles", just wait until the FIRST time feeBay and PaySmell try to force some hapless seller into SHIPPING a $200 item BEFORE receiving payment because some snot at PaySmell "feels" that a problem might arise...
Hopefully, a NEW Adminstration will be in place -- one more consumer-rights oriented than the present gang of clowns...
Oy Aye! Oy Aye! Can ye sayeth: "CONSTRAINT OF TRADE?"
The proverbial kaka-poopoo shall hitteth the fan, & hopefully the JUSTICE DEPT will come down on Biff and Griff and Skipper, etc, like a TON OF BRICKS!
...or, at least Ralphie says so in his prayers every night!
posted on February 1, 2008 07:04:33 PM new
thats it,Caroline raised a good point,what about antiques,what about the bulky heavy equipments?
Ebay will have a site like AMZN marketplace where items with ISBN,manufacturer serial number such as PC,dvd,books,electronic goods and accessories will be listed in Amzn marketplace format and the old Ebay will be for collectibles and antiques and automobiles and trucks and punchpress etc.
The payment method on old ebay is decided by the individual seller,anyone selling trucks/tractors/crawlers/submarines or planes or cars will be crazy to accept Paypal .it will be money order,cashier check or wiretransfer.
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Lets all stop whining !
Caroline 