eBay

I used to be a frequent user of eBay, both buying and selling items quite frequently. Changes to their fee structure made this completely impractical.

To reconfirm this and determine the ACTUAL profit margin for selling on eBay, I ran a recent test. Here are the results:

Expenses and Fees
1) Listing fee $0 (promotion, saved $4.85 according to eBay)
2) Final value fee $1.13
3) Final value fee on shipping $1.86
4) Paypal transaction fees $1.95
5) Actual shipping cost: $33.98 (large item)

Income
1) Winning bid $10
2) Shipping $34.64(calculated by eBay)

Result:
Total Income: $44.64
Total Fees & Expenses: $38.92
Final Profit: $5.72
Final Profit (if no promotion): $. 87

My conclusion:
The fee framework on eBay is fundamentally broken if you are an individual looking to sell a few items. Without access to a promotion, it's not worth listing an item. Even with a promotion, think LONG AND HARD about how much return you'll get from the listing.

I think that the 10% that Ebay charges the average Joe for selling something is a bit too high compared to their competition, mostly 3%. To ad insult to injury they also take 10% of the shipping as well? We collect the shipping costs from the buyer and that money goes 100% to the cost of shipping. Where does Ebay think they have any right to take a percentage of our cost? It's a rip, theft and nothing but a display of raw greed, and I'm going to find another venue to sell my items from now on. Ebay just lost my business forever.

From the minute I was introduced to eBay back in 1999, I was hooked. It was absolutely my first site to go to any time I had a purchase to be made. Didn't matter if it was a party favor, a garment, or even a car. I would scroll through random auctions just to see what was out there. I spent thousands of dollars on eBay during the first 4-5 years I was a customer. However, over the last few years, I often forget it's even there. I go straight to Amazon, Overstock, etc. The primary reason is the site is less intuitive than it was in the past when I used it heavily. Site navigation is not optimal and it takes too long to try and figure out where to go. Being in IT, I am pretty internet/computer savvy. As I think about it, I can't remember the last time I saw a commercial for it on TV. I guess it's just an out of site out of mind situation.

I bought a box of 12 new pens from a company. When I got the pens only one would work. I wrote a unsatisfactory review on this company. I was then notified by this company, that if I would change my review to 5 stars they would send me another set of pens. I refused to lie about this company and therefore did not get more pens. If this is how an EBAY review works I am totally in disagreement.

EBay offers very little support for sellers. Commission rates make it impossible to make a fair share of the sale. You are also required to pay commission on shipping. By the time you list, make a sale, and ship the item sold, your expenses are typically 20-25% of your listing price. The only party making money is eBay, and they are laughing all the way to the bank.

Starting out it takes at least two weeks to get paid but you have to pay for shipping immediately. You're out that money immediately and have to go thru PayPal to get paid. That option takes 1-3 business days or is immediate if you pay an additional 1% for instant transfer. The customer service is so so. All in all it's a lot of hassle for the money. Also if you want to close your account you have to wait between 30 and 60 days depending on the situation so you don't really have any control of an account that you own. Stay away

If I could give then zero stars, I would. I have been a member for almost 20 years. I have been selling on there off and on for the entire time. I just sold an item and am now being told that unless I turn over my bank account info, I can't be paid. I contacted them and asked why I couldn't receive my money through PayPal like I always had before. The SUPER rude customer service woman told me they didn't do that anymore. I told her having that information BEFORE I listed my item would have been helpful. She informed me I either had to give up my bank info or they would keep my money. How nice... thieves!

I recently made a purchase on ebay and got scammed... I tried to contact customer service but no has gotten back in contact with me and this has been over a week since I have sent them a msg. I have purchased from ebay once before and everything went smoothly... I just wish they would develop a way to check scammers and make every item under the ebay protection plan.

I set up an account on eBay to sell a few items. I sold 8 items in the first few weeks, however, eBay, was holding the sales proceeds until a certain date. Right before that date eBay suspended my account. I called them and they said their was fraudulent activity and permanently suspended my account but would not tell me why they suspected fraud. On top of that they are keeping the money from my sales. It appears they do this a lot and you just are out of luck getting the money back for items you sold. Beware of eBay as it is the biggest fraud out there.

All policies designed to protect sellers. Buyer beware. A large amount of sellers are deceptive. A lot of products are very poor quality. Some products reported to be stolen. A news report stated a buyer arrested for receiving stolen property.
An investigation is called for. This site should be held accountable for the practices it facilitates.

I recently purchased the Microfibre cloths from this seller on eBay, and I must say it has been a fantastic experience. The product arrived promptly and was exactly as described in the listing.

The Microfibre cloths itself is of exceptional quality. It is evident that the seller takes great care in sourcing their products. The item was well-packaged, ensuring it arrived in perfect condition.

Awful. Too complicated, too unfriendly interface and too time consuming.
This from a member since 2002. The site has been ruined, too many changes and just too many pages to navigate to get to somewhere. The search is a joke the placing of an advert bogged down with item specifics. Putting more and more on facebook.

I ordered an item some time ago from SkiersBoard, they sent me tracking information for what looked like a completely different item.

After waiting well over a month, I requested they provide details as to where the item was as it had still not arrived. All I got was a rude, arrogant response from the owner stating that I must wait.

I then informed him that, should it not arrive within time, I will have to escalate the dispute to PayPal, a few emails later he became aggressive & informed me that that "I will get whats coming to me" in a vengeful tone.

In short PayPal refunded me, when the owner refused.

I have been using eBay for many years & this was the worst experience I have had.

Please, everyone - do yourself a favour & avoid purchasing from SkiersBoard.

The company is low class and their customer service is ridiculous. Dont buy from them! They dont keep their promise and i never get any place talking to anyone who picks up their phone. They have long waiting periods for returns and know one knows what is going on with any transactions placed from them. How are they in business. Everyone i know that shops on ebay is sooo sorry.

I ordered a new Tektronics oscilloscope from a seller in Dubai. What the seller sent was an entirely different device that was severely damaged. I contacted the seller and they said to send it back. When I asked for a shipping label, the communications went silent. Three emails later there was still no response. EBay customer Service sent them an email and the seller responded "working on it." I asked eBay for my money back and they rejected my claim because I had received a package from the seller. Unbelievable!

The pictures show the picture advertised of the oscilloscope advertised and the device received along with the shipping box. EBay thinks they are the same thing.

Ebay.com has always been a great way to sell items fast, secure and easy. The only problem is that they have been raising seller fees to almost unreasonable amounts.

It would be nice to have lower seller fees.

I LOVE eBay! They absolutely have anything for you needs (mostly anything). However, most of the people I've met there are from China, so when I try to buy some things, some things I might want authentic, I'm afraid it might be bootleg. Even so, ebay offers protection for buyers, so it makes me feel better when I purchase something and it becomes damaged or not received. However, I don't like the idea of listing fees, and if something I list doesn't sell, I lose money.
OVERALL, I love ebay, it's useful for about everything, it's pretty much safe when you purchase things, and you can find good deals. (: <3

My mom has been on eBay since 1997! I started shopping on eBay several years ago and have had nothing but success. We have made connection with many people throughout the years and still do business with them.

I provided eBay with extensive documentation that one of their sellers (stereo_needs) has a history of taking items back under warranty and never repairing or returning the item. This seller, operates out of California and uses a franchised UPS Store location as her registered business address, which is a violation of the California Secretary of State rules on address reporting. EBay gives this seller a "top rated seller" rating. Do some research outside of eBay before buying. Sad that eBay won't police their own site to rid it of known rip-off artists.

I set up an account with ebay to purchase mealworms for my son's lizard. I compared a few sellers and found a few good options. We still had a few mealworms left and so I did not need to make a purchase at that moment. A few days went by my account was suspended. I reached out to customer service and they stated that it was a permanent decision. I have not sold or purchased anything. Literally, all I did was set up an account and browse. I don't know if this is general discrimination or what. They won't give me any answers and I haven't done anything. So I have no idea why my account was permanently deleted.

I have gifted 1 iPhone 5s to my friend from eBay, but after a month getting iPhone, it felt down from my hand and the glass of the phone was broken but when I went to service center, they told me that it has already opened the phone, some of its devices are the duplicate. Very third class services and duplicate products. I would suggest to everyone do not purchase any product from eBay.

I've used ebay many times for buying everything from xmas gifts to computers. I had some issues with the quality of goods a couple of times but each time I was able to find a way to solve problem peacefully. Ebay is a reliable site to buy things from.

Great site!

Will guarantee money back, but please watch out for sellers who evidently price something low, to run with your money, even through eBay had managed to get my money back, some of my friends weren't successful enough.