Peoples views on the bay

[Spectric]

Hi all

Been having a sortout and thought of shifting some stuff on the bay, had not used it since they were part of paypal and things have changed but for better or worse ? My initial thoughts are that they give you free listings but then want you to buy promotions in order to increase audience and still charge on a sale. What do others think and anyone have any thoughts or are there now better alternatives?

 

[thetyreman]

I've found it much harder than in past times to sell anything on there, gumtree seems better and even FB marketplace but I'm not a fan of facebook at all so don't use it.

 

[Spectric]

Is that because a lot more people have lost trust in the site ?

 

[Jacob]

Ebay seems OK. Not cheap but what is? I tend to put things on at a fixed price and wait til they sell.
I put things on this site too but at lower price than on ebay - rather have members getting the benefit than paying ebay fees, and it saves a lot of fiddling about.

 

[thetyreman]

@Spectric probably, also much higher fees than in the past thesedays which means you have to charge more, also rising postage costs haven't helped, I think times have changed a lot and less people use traditional websites, so there is far less organic traffic than there used to be.

 

[Phill05]

The bay in my opinion is a waste of time for selling now for what return you get.

 

[Thingybob]

Wow how times change I remember when ebay started killed of Exchange and Mart what goes round comes around

 

[Geoff_S]

10 years on eBay now, 400+ transactions buying and selling. So, not exactly a business and there have been a couple of problems all amicably resolved, both directions. Bit like life really.

 

[Kayen]

Nothing wrong with eBay - they offer good protection for both seller and buyer. If you offer what people want at the price they want to pay you'll sell loads, but you have to allow about 15-20% for fees, and don't forget to allow for packaging and postage costs, which are also subject to 15-20% charges.

 

[Spectric]

Looks like I will look at others like Gumtree .

 

[MikeK]

I was mainly a buyer on eBay, but had a few successful sales of photographic equipment. My last sale in 2017 went horribly wrong because of a dishonest buyer and cost me over $450.

I sold my last lens to a buyer in Nebraska, who claimed I sent an empty box, which he discovered as he opened the box. As proof, the buyer provided a photo of the box I shipped with nothing inside. However, the intact shipping label from the USPS clearly showed the weight as 2lb 7oz.

Unfortunately, eBay agreed with the buyer and took the money from me. I couldn't file a claim with the USPS since the tracking information proved the box had been delivered and I could not prove the item was damaged or missing. I closed my eBay account.

Now I use eBay Kleinanzeigen, which is free and similar to Gumtree. Sales are fast, easy, and I offer local collection only. I sold my boat anchor (Holzmann P/T) and DeWalt DWS780 within minutes of listing them. The buyers were able to try out the machines before loading them and leaving. One saved me a trip to the river.

 

[Yojevol]

I've done a lot of buying and selling over the past year and I've used Ebay, local auction house and here on the forum. My order of preference is, UKW, ebay, auction house.
I'd recommend trying here first. Do your homework on ebay to establish a going rate. Don't wait too long for a possible buyer to appear. 2 weeks is probably enough. Pros - easy, friendly, no fees, target audience. Cons - no good for Joe Public searching for your item.
Next ebay Agree with @Jacob, use Buy-it-now setting a reasonable price and invite offers. Pros - wide targeted audience, moderate fees (allow 15% but variable on how you set up the ad), easy payment handling, flexible P&P (don't have to use their system). Cons- can't think of any compared with other methods.
Auction House. Good for moving a large number of lots (sold 40 lots recently) Cons - need to transport to the auction, fees 24% (inc VAT) split equally between buyer and seller. 2 weeks before receiving your winnings.
Brian

 

[Sideways]

I sell unused items on ebay as I declutter.
I always list buy it now and accept offers - never auction.
So far it has worked well for me as all the sales are delivered tracked and insured, and I pack scrupulously and photograph each stage of the packing, weight, etc.
I haven't had Mike's experience thankfully.
I have had to claim returns against sellers who are wildly overoptimistic in their item descriptions and typically use poor quality photographs.
I no longer buy ebay international as the shipping and return costs are stupid and you don't have a credible way to return disputed items. Also, their shipping agents are worse than careless.
Always ask first and walk away if you don't get exactly the right reply.

I won't do facebook and gumtree is only relevant for cheap local stuff, not costly specialist items.

Since the ebay change : I still pay with paypal for purchases. When selling, I don't send until the money clears into my account. Ebay are sometimes quick and sometims sit on the money for a couple of days. I post when my bank tells me OK.

 

[Jacob]

I had one bad one with Ebay Global sending a banjo to Romania. Arrived damaged etc, angry buyer, returned lost about £150.
OTOH had very easy transaction over a very unlikely prospect: my son dumped his broken-down old land rover in a back street on a Greek island. No chance I thought, but I managed to sell it for him on Ebay to an English chap who lived on the island. Seemed very happy with it!

 

[Jameshow]

Off topic but on thread...

I've brought a bike on eBay £40 and usually pay cash but the guy wants payment in advance he says...

I've always had payments via Ebay as they suggest that's the safest way.
Ebay hold the payment until collection, so if you don't take the bike, Ebay won't release the funds to me.

Is that true?

Cheers James

 

[Jacob]

Off topic but on thread...

I've brought a bike on eBay £40 and usually pay cash but the guy wants payment in advance he says...

I've always had payments via Ebay as they suggest that's the safest way.
Ebay hold the payment until collection, so if you don't take the bike, Ebay won't release the funds to me.

Is that true?

Cheers James

Normal now to pay Ebay unless you agree with the buyer/seller to pay cash.
Chap just picked my ebay sold saw - fastest sale ever must have been 10 minutes in! He paid cash. Ebay then charges me with their fees.

 

[disco_monkey79]

FB Marketplace is usually my first port-of-call these days, as a buyer. It appears to me that there's far less 2nd-hand stuff being listed on Ebay compared to 5-10 years ago. However, the vast (in my experience) number of Marketplace sellers won't post, so it only works for local sales, or something worth travelling for.

t's free to sell (and free to set up an account), so worth a punt? If the buyer pays cash on collection, then you're swerving paypal fees too.

Gumtree has always been a disappointment for me - full of ancient ads for things that sold long ago, The one time I listed a car on there, I had nothing but timewasters (yet after paying for an Autotrader ad, the thing sold within a day) EDIT: that sale was before marketplace existed. My most recent car sale was via marketplace, and again it sold very quickly.

 

[TRITON]

If sending, everything EVERYTHING must go recorded post, and I'd recommend royal mail 1st or 2nd class recorded. I've sent over a thousand sales, ebay and the bike forums and except for 2 items, everything went RM recorded and got to the destination.
The 2 things I didnt send mysteriously disappeared in the post and I had to refund so out item and money.

Do not use evri- its a recipe for disaster.

 

[disco_monkey79]

Do not use evri- its a recipe for disaster.

100% agree - they are re-branded MyHermes, and they are the pits. MyHerpes would be more welcome.

 

[sploo]

I was mainly a buyer on eBay, but had a few successful sales of photographic equipment. My last sale in 2017 went horribly wrong because of a dishonest buyer and cost me over $450.

I sold my last lens to a buyer in Nebraska, who claimed I sent an empty box, which he discovered as he opened the box. As proof, the buyer provided a photo of the box I shipped with nothing inside. However, the intact shipping label from the USPS clearly showed the weight as 2lb 7oz.

Unfortunately, eBay agreed with the buyer and took the money from me. I couldn't file a claim with the USPS since the tracking information proved the box had been delivered and I could not prove the item was damaged or missing. I closed my eBay account.

So infuriating as it'd be so hard to combat/prove, and leaves you at the mercy of scummy people.

I've sold (and bought) plenty on eBay but have (so far) been lucky in terms of others' honesty. Had a few things gone missing or damaged, but nothing that hasn't been resolved fairly.

They (eBay) do take a hefty percentage cut of sales now, so I'd prefer to sell in person.