Why Does Anyone Sell On Ebay?

[Charlie Don't Surf]

Was thinking of selling a watch on ebay but it just isn't worth it (~10% and ~3% more for paypal). Given the volume of stuff going through ebay and paypal you would have thought they could do it a lot cheaper.

So feck em! Here's to Google doing it for free!

[Eric Blair]

Was thinking of selling a watch on ebay but it just isn't worth it (~10% and ~3% more for paypal). Given the volume of stuff going through ebay and paypal you would have thought they could do it a lot cheaper.

So feck em! Here's to Google doing it for free!

so figure out what you want for it, then add 13% and talk it up in the description.

[Saving For a Space Ship]

Was thinking of selling a watch on ebay but it just isn't worth it (~10% and ~3% more for paypal). Given the volume of stuff going through ebay and paypal you would have thought they could do it a lot cheaper.

So feck em! Here's to Google doing it for free!

What are you comparing selling on ebay with, Free ads? what are the %'s

Auctions, Jewellers ? both are essentially middlemen, who will give you far less than you might get if sell on ebay . THe beauty of ebay is cuting out such middlemens profit without having to risk getting a higher value item nicked at a bootsale or market

Whilst I agree that the ebay / paypal fees are too expensive, they are not as bad as amazon, the other part of the online venue duopoly.

Is there any guarantee that google / microsoft / apple / walmart / tescos or whoever may enter such a market would be much cheaper ?

[right_freds_dead]

its a mixed bag on ebay at the moment. again, seeing the same vehicles go around and around with no end bids.

[SNACR]

its a mixed bag on ebay at the moment. again, seeing the same vehicles go around and around with no end bids.

Probably still a buyer's market but have noticed that there seems to be a dearth of decent new listings.

About 18 months ago there was loads of really decent stuff on there for peanuts - stuff still on for peanuts but nowhere near the choice.

[pl1]

The problem with buying on the Internet (I mentioned it recently but I think it's so important I shall post it twice) is it's great, right up to the point where you need to get the stuff delivered. You're either not in, you wait in all day because of the absurd delivery hour range only for $hittylink not to show up, it's bust in transit, it gets sent to your work address instead and you're off on holiday for a week, the postman has stole it/hoarded it at his house, the glove doesn't fit! when you try it on, the list is endless.

[SNACR]

The problem with buying on the Internet (I mentioned it recently but I think it's so important I shall post it twice) is it's great, right up to the point where you need to get the stuff delivered. You're either not in, you wait in all day because of the absurd delivery hour range only for $hittylink not to show up, it's bust in transit, it gets sent to your work address instead and you're off on holiday for a week, the postman has stole it/hoarded it at his house, the glove doesn't fit! when you try it on, the list is endless.

It works for jobless people who're in a lot - I get everything sent to reception at work, which probably annoys them no end but, I don't care.

[@contradevian]

It works for jobless people who're in a lot - I get everything sent to reception at work, which probably annoys  them no end but, I don't care.

Here the conciege deals with it. Ebay/Paypal cheap when you look at other traffic generating methods (ie Google Adwords) plus setting up your own domain/website and payment processor options.

[pl1]

It works for jobless people who're in a lot - I get everything sent to reception at work, which probably annoys them no end but, I don't care.

That's why a lot of mums do it as a cash-in-hand on the side thing. When does it become taxable? Do you get a certain number of trades a year before they tell HMRC?

[profitofdoom]

I was offered a free trial for two months on E Bay and I listed fifteen or so cars (I run a car sales business) All the response I got was nutters offering around 50% of the listed price,despite the fact that typically you would have to pay 80-85% of these prices if you bought at auction.

[efdemin]

That's why a lot of mums do it as a cash-in-hand on the side thing. When does it become taxable? Do you get a certain number of trades a year before they tell HMRC?

Something like that - not sure of the actual numbers but it's something like 50 or 100 per month and then they encourage you to move onto a 'business' account, which I imagine also includes some sort of tax monitoring for HMRC? It's in the small print for eBay somewhere , anyway.

[SNACR]

Can't remember where to find a link but did read something somewhere about cracking down on ebayers not paying tax - upshot was it wasn't very successful. Those not paying income tax, if stopped from ebaying, just claimed benefits. Those found to be over the vat threshold and not registered if caught just scaled down to below the threshold so there was no increase, and possibly a decrease, to overall tax revenues to the govt.

[SNACR]

I was offered a free trial for two months on E Bay and I listed fifteen or so cars (I run a car sales business) All the response I got was nutters offering around 50% of the listed price,despite the fact that typically you would have to pay 80-85% of these prices if you bought at auction.

I've put some of our fleet disposals on there and certainly got more than disposal through usual channels - the aggravation of dealing direct with the public is fairly significant though.

We shift end of lines and refurb product on ebay. Ebay works if you're the lowest delivered cost on there. If not, you'll sell virtually nowt.

Car dealers probably wouldn't be as cheap as some sellers specialising in moving on cat Ds etc or private sellers and people probably wouldn't place the premium they ought to on the statutory rights if buying from a dealer.

[mitchbux]

Was thinking of selling a watch on ebay but it just isn't worth it (~10% and ~3% more for paypal). Given the volume of stuff going through ebay and paypal you would have thought they could do it a lot cheaper.

So feck em! Here's to Google doing it for free!

We sold a couple of things on Ebay fairly recently. The last thing we needed to sell (dishwasher) was sold through a 'free ad' in the local newspaper, because Ebay was such a pain in the backside in comparison to the last time we used it to sell (about six years ago).

Loads of emails asking questions about things that were clearly listed in the ad. We sold our old kitchen units as collection only and had umpteen messages asking if we could deliver, one of which was about 200 miles away. We've had people asking our location! If you 'auction' something you can end up getting pestered to name a 'Buy it Now' price. We even got asked 'What is the lowest price you would take?'

We are now having to deal with a 'winning bidder' who is claiming that an item is 'not as described', despite the ad being very clear.

I know it's probably not the best way to sell your watch, but the local newspaper was much less hassle. Sold to the first person who called, for a price that was probably the same as we would have got through Ebay after all the fees came off. All the while safe in the knowledge the goods were not leaving the premises unless the buyer was happy, and had coughed up by a payment method that couldn't be cancelled months later.

[CrashConnoisseur]

That's why a lot of mums do it as a cash-in-hand on the side thing. When does it become taxable? Do you get a certain number of trades a year before they tell HMRC?

In theory, if you buy just one item with the intention of reselling it, any profit is taxable as trading income (an adventure in the nature of trade).

'BIM20065 - Trade: general: adventure or concern':

http://www.hmrc.gov....al/bim20065.htm

[CrashConnoisseur]

I was offered a free trial for two months on E Bay and I listed fifteen or so cars (I run a car sales business) All the response I got was nutters HPCers offering around 50% of the listed price, despite the fact that typically you would have to pay 80-85% of these prices if you bought at auction.

Corrected.

[CrashConnoisseur]

Was thinking of selling a watch on ebay but it just isn't worth it (~10% and ~3% more for paypal). Given the volume of stuff going through ebay and paypal you would have thought they could do it a lot cheaper.

eBay could certainly do with some competition. It's a pity that eBid hasn't taken off. Maybe they should instigate some sort of viral marketing campaign.

eBid:

http://www.ebid.net/

[blankster]

We've sold quite a few items on Ebay over the years - mostly household things or books we don't want any more.

I don't find the fees unreasonable - you can't expect something for nothing - but they do have free listing days from time to time - you could wait for one of those.

How else would you sell a watch for less expenses? A card in the post office window for 2 weeks? Going down the pub and asking people if they want to buy your watch?

[Saving For a Space Ship]

Can't remember where to find a link but did read something somewhere about cracking down on ebayers not paying tax - upshot was it wasn't very successful. Those not paying income tax, if stopped from ebaying, just claimed benefits. Those found to be over the vat threshold and not registered if caught just scaled down to below the threshold so there was no increase, and possibly a decrease, to overall tax revenues to the govt.

Ebay recently limited private sellers to I00 max 99p start auctions per month, and told many high turnover private sellers to become registered as businesses or leave ebay as sellers.

I have a conspiracy theory that HMRC & Ebay have for years turned a blind eye to tax dodging on ebay to grease the wheels of the heavily indebted & the poor. Imo, it has become so widespread that certain markets have been destroyed by price wars in collectables, blank cdrs, dvds & increasingly video games.

As the data is all there in black & white why don't HMRC just set a threshold (discounting big sales like cars etc) target multiple sales of the same item & them reel them in ? Shooting fish in a barrel, or perhaps they have bigger fish to fry.

[mitchbux]

Was thinking of selling a watch on ebay but it just isn't worth it (~10% and ~3% more for paypal). Given the volume of stuff going through ebay and paypal you would have thought they could do it a lot cheaper.

So feck em! Here's to Google doing it for free!

Another thought on selling watches through Ebay. There are countless tales of people selling genuine items on Ebay, the buyer then claiming the goods are fake, and the seller losing both the item and the money. Ebay's policy on 'fakes' is that the seller has to refund the buyer, but cannot have the 'counterfeit' item returned as they may try and sell it again.

If the fees protected genuine sellers from dodgy buyers, as well as the other way around then they would be worth it. They don't.

[MrPin]

We've sold quite a few items on Ebay over the years - mostly household things or books we don't want any more.

I don't find the fees unreasonable - you can't expect something for nothing - but they do have free listing days from time to time - you could wait for one of those.

How else would you sell a watch for less expenses? A card in the post office window for 2 weeks? Going down the pub and asking people if they want to buy your watch?

EBay is cheap compared to a regular auction house! Also not much is rejected, except illegal drugs, firearms, and body parts!