Make money on Ebay?

13 years ago

Originally Posted by nerrutis

Is it still profitable?
Any ideas what sells there best?

eBay has fairly recently instituted a policy of having the option of not releasing funds paid you until after the buyer gets the shipment and gives positive feedback. That puts 100% of the risk on the seller, so that makes eBay pretty useless.

Undoubtedly, some will say eBay is still a goldmine. I don't think so. When you sell something on eBay now, you run the risk of never seeing your money, so its a bad place for IM type marketing.

I know I will never sell anything on eBay ever again as long as this policy is in place.

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Steven Dybka

13 years ago

Originally Posted by donhx

eBay has fairly recently instituted a policy of having the option of not releasing funds paid you until after the buyer gets the shipment and gives positive feedback. That puts 100% of the risk on the seller, so that makes eBay pretty useless.

Undoubtedly, some will say eBay is still a goldmine. I don't think so. When you sell something on eBay now, you run the risk of never seeing your money, so its a bad place for IM type marketing.

I know I will never sell anything on eBay ever again as long as this policy is in place.

What would happen if the buyer didn't leave any feedback at all or if the buyer left negative feedback,would the seller be out of his money.
I think ebay is going against the grain of how things work online and online commerce in general.

Steve

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donhx

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Steven Dybka

What would happen if the buyer didn't leave any feedback at all or if the buyer left negative feedback,would the seller be out of his money.
I think ebay is going against the grain of how things work online and online commerce in general.

Steve

Here's a link to the eBay policy with all the details:

PayPal payment holds

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reww 13 years ago

Originally Posted by donhx

Here's a link to the eBay policy with all the details:

PayPal payment holds

Wow thanks for sharing that link. I had no idea they had that payment hold method. I was just thinking about getting into selling stuff on ebay but now ill think ill pass on that one lol.
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cyneLic 13 years ago

Originally Posted by donhx

Here's a link to the eBay policy with all the details:
*RemovedLink*

I just put a few items up, think i'll be taking them down now after reading that.
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Steven Dybka

13 years ago

Originally Posted by donhx

Here's a link to the eBay policy with all the details:

PayPal payment holds

Thanks for the link,from what I read it seems that they are targeting only sellers that have no reputation as a trusted seller,probably new sellers and sellers with a high negative feedback,it doesn't look like this will apply to everyone.

Steve

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donhx

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Steven Dybka

Thanks for the link,from what I read it seems that they are targeting only sellers that have no reputation as a trusted seller,probably new sellers and sellers with a high negative feedback,it doesn't look like this will apply to everyone.

Steve

I wanted to supply that link so people could read and decide for themselves. But no matter how you read it, eBay can withhold payment without positive feedback or a verified shipping receipt. As you say, they are going after the newbies, but anyone is subject to this new policy, even established sellers as they say.

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Rich Struck

13 years ago

The fees got to be too much so we quit selling there. Also, you are competing with idiots who destroy markets. Here is an example...

Recently I bought a cable for $2 including shipping. This was a Buy It Now deal, not an auction.

It probably cost about $1.50 to mail it to my house.
Figure 10 cents for the padded envelope. It was probably more but let's say a dime.

That leaves 40 cents. If the cable cost him a quarter, he's left with 15 CENTS.

Now deduct eBay and PayPal fees and he's probably in the hole.

This is what you are competing against. Idiots. Thousands of them.

However...

If you could find or create something that only you could sell, then you might be able to make some money. That's really the only way I'd bother with eBay anymore.

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Money maker guy

13 years ago

find out what people want most, and then find the product on ebay (:

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Darrell Hagan

13 years ago

If you want to sell online then stay far, far away from eBay and their demon-child PayPal.

eBay has decided that sellers are not as important to their business as are buyers. Good sellers are often abused by the inherently flawed feedback system.

PayPal should never be used as a serious payment processor because they are pretty much unregulated and can withhold funds solely at their discretion, and they are unpredictable.

Unfortunately, eBay still has the largest market exposure but I think that that will eventually change if they continue as they are.

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celente

13 years ago

think ebay is a victim of its own success. But that being said, it still is a ok place to make money.

There are some people that cannot build lists, and market online ebook, (i dunno why it is easy) but you can sell physical products. In this day and age it is very easy to make money selling phsyical products even in a bad economy...tis still about supply and demand.

There are heaps of things that sell like hot cakes on ebay.

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Derek Allen

13 years ago

Originally Posted by celente

think ebay is a victim of its own success. But that being said, it still is a ok place to make money.

There are some people that cannot build lists, and market online ebook, (i dunno why it is easy) but you can sell physical products. In this day and age it is very easy to make money selling phsyical products even in a bad economy...tis still about supply and demand.

There are heaps of things that sell like hot cakes on ebay.

I remember the good old days when I use to flip domain names on ebay and make a decent amount of money.

Then, that fell of and now your lucky to get a dollar or two...

On the other hand, I do have an aunt that sells the weirdest thing on ebay and does very well with it. I would tell you what it is but you know how it goes... lol!

Derek

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CapitalSEO

13 years ago

I gave up on Fee-Bay years ago. Between them and their sister company PayPal, they bang you for almost 30% of your sales. How can you compete with the Power Sellers? You can't.

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J R Salem

13 years ago

Here is my honest step by step advice, and this is coming from someone who used to run an eBay store selling Janitorial supplies:

1) You need to brand yourself. Come up with a business name, brand it, market it.

2) Find a dropshipper. Never carry product.

3) Google and find different forums that relate to your niche. Go contribute and pick your spots. Find the right time to promote yourself.

4) Go on CL and list some of the products you have and then direct people to your eBay page when they respond. You'll be surprised what happens when people start surfing your store.

5) Good luck!

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pappyy3 13 years ago

IMO - It IS possible to make a living on Ebay.

In fact some of my friends partners make a very comfortable living on Ebay (in their spare time) selling childrens clothing ....

Offer good products, and exceptional customer service and you will do very well.

Like any other business it takes hard work, research and a little luck.
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BXPS

13 years ago

Some people still make a living out of ebay as long a you know the pros & cons.

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InevitablyProfitable

13 years ago

You can still profit on eBay in certain niches, the thing that kills eBay is all the outrageous fees and free shipping, counterfeit goods that devalue genuine product, sellers selling products for a loss.

If you're going to try and make a profit from eBay, you will need to find the right niche.

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sloanjim

13 years ago

Don't bother...it'll drive you insane

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aula

13 years ago

What are the alternatives to eBay?

eBay fees are simply outrageous... 12.00% to 15.00% out of the final value of the auction, plus
the shipping.

And then another extra 4.40% - 5.40% Paypal transaction fees, because they actually force you to pay through paypal.

So, FOR EACH TRANSACTION more than 16.40% to 20.40% goes into the pockets of eBay and eBay's
payment processor Paypal!

What they are offering for such an outrageous fee??

How can any seller still offer a good deal, when they have to sell with such fees?

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Ben_Doyle

13 years ago

I make a pretty decent income from eBay. People complain about their fees but when considered to opening a shop on the high street their fees are tiny. The traffic is already there and if you write keyword friendly descriptions google will pick them up.

If you approach eBay as a serious business, it can be very lucrative.

In terms of Paypal holding your money, this generally applies to new sellers selling in volume or sellers who have had a lot of complaints.

I will continue to use eBay as there is still a lot of money to be made there!