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Thread: Does ebay rip sellers off?

  1. #1
    Featured Member Lizette's Avatar
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    Default Does ebay rip sellers off?

    I recently acquired at an extreme discount a bundle of Coach handbags, most of which are rare and coveted, from an authorized dealer. I listed some of them on ebay without thinking. I realized that after fees, I would barely brake even.

    I placed a free classified ad in the paper advertising my inventory. (Ads are free if the asking price is under $100.) I'm selling each for $99, a 40% profit. The MSRP is $198 for all and probably are worth more. I will not complain about a 40% profit.

    I plan to have all the shoppers meet with me at a specific time in a specific place. A situation where the shopper faces competition forces her/him to buy on the spot. It's how I sold cars. I knew my psych minor would come in handy.

    I feel bad yanking my auctions. Please give me some comfort, would you?

    EDIT: My auctions were not cancelled. The ad was free.
    Last edited by Lizette; 04-22-2005 at 02:31 AM.

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    God/dess montythegeek's Avatar
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    Default Re: Does ebay rip sellers off?

    Sorry Lizette,

    But I do not see how the thread title applies to the detail. It seems you made a mistake, not ebay. If you offered merchandise, then wanted to renege, that should reflect poorly on you in ebays ranking of you as a seller.

    From what I saw in the text, you ran an ad and then changed your mind. They did not make the offer on ebay, you did. They did not decide it was a mistake, you did. An offer to sell in a manner is very close to a contract if it is not already legally so.

    As for the effectiveness of the sales technique of buyers feeling they are competing with each other it could work either way. Some buyers do not like it and do not want an auction environment.

    Good luck on your new bag, but do not do things in a rash fashion or live with the results.

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    Default Re: Does ebay rip sellers off?

    Hm I would think this is how alot of people operate and that we get "ripped" off everyday. Everyone marks up their product a certain percentage. I dont think you are doing anything wrong if I read right.
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    Default Re: Does ebay rip sellers off?

    I am just starting out on getting to know about E-bay , the fees seem very reasonable usually 5-7 % of product sell goes to them plus any picture fees around $ 2.00 , there is one more but really if you are marking up 40 % I dont see why you would have a problem with the fees . Especially looking at how many people will have access to your items a paper really doesnt cover a large ammount of prospective buyers .

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    Default Re: Does ebay rip sellers off?

    As long as nobody had bid on your item there's nothing wrong with retracting your item for sale. Now on the other hand, if somebody had already placed a bid then tsk tsk shame on you.


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    Featured Member Lizette's Avatar
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    Default Re: Does ebay rip sellers off?

    Quote Originally Posted by montythegeek
    Sorry Lizette,

    But I do not see how the thread title applies to the detail. It seems you made a mistake, not ebay. If you offered merchandise, then wanted to renege, that should reflect poorly on you in ebays ranking of you as a seller.

    From what I saw in the text, you ran an ad and then changed your mind. They did not make the offer on ebay, you did. They did not decide it was a mistake, you did. An offer to sell in a manner is very close to a contract if it is not already legally so.

    As for the effectiveness of the sales technique of buyers feeling they are competing with each other it could work either way. Some buyers do not like it and do not want an auction environment.

    Good luck on your new bag, but do not do things in a rash fashion or live with the results.
    Perhaps my wording was off. I indeed am having "seller's remorse." eBay raised its fees in Feb and ... oops ... *feels stupid* ... I read the fees wrong. I thought that I pay 15% of the closing value. It'd be more like 5% plus the PayPal 3% fee (which eBay owns).

    Well, good thing I didn't take down the ads! What was holding me back was that I know how I would feel as a buyer.

    Thank you for your input!

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    God/dess doc-catfish's Avatar
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    Default Re: Does ebay rip sellers off?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lizette
    I plan to have all the shoppers meet with me at a specific time in a specific place. A situation where the shopper faces competition forces her/him to buy on the spot. It's how I sold cars. I knew my psych minor would come in handy.
    Of course, in order for you to get their money, they have to take time out of their busy schedules to come see you on your terms.

    Perhaps, if you were selling a high order good (i.e. something that would cost thousands, like say a car) this might be a reasonable expectation. I'm not so sure thats reasonable for something that costs $100.

    Anyways, I checked the eBay auction fees page and came away with the following:

    The listing fee for an item starting at $100 = $2.40.
    The final value fee if you were to get a single bidder (and you could go higher) = $3.37
    If you wanted to insert a supersize picture (optional) = $0.75
    For a grand total of $6.52 in fees, leaving you with $93.48 after fees.

    If you're happy with getting $100 out of each bag, and are concerned about fees eating into your profits, you could have started the auction out at $110 (still dirt cheap if the MSRP is what you say it is). Assuming the same scenario as above, your fees would then be $6.80 and your after fees take from a single bidder would be $103.20.

    I'm not sure why you pulled the auction.
    Former SCJ now in rehab.

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Does ebay rip sellers off?

    one local newspaper's classified ad would cost more than the E-Bay auction fees !

    I sell a few small things on Ebay myself ...

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    Featured Member Veronika's Avatar
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    Default Re: Does ebay rip sellers off?

    I would've stuck with ebay.. especially if the Coach bags are out of the stores and therefore hard to find. We sold some Juicy couture ones and got *double* the msrp and we were buying them retail from a shop in town - they just were sold out everywhere but Reno !!! The trick to getting a good price with name bags on ebay is you usually need to have a receipt or some other indicater that the bags are authentic. To save money on your listing if there are a lot of pictures, do your page in an html editor and host your own pictures. For a couple of pics, just use their services. The money you make is all in the presentation of the item and how you word your ad.

    I love Ebay.... at times I can almost live off of what I make on there.
    Currently dancing at the Men's Club of Reno, NV
    under the name of Veronica! I am a 2007 calendar girl for MCR, so message me if you want a calendar!

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    Default Re: Does ebay rip sellers off?

    Quote Originally Posted by Melonie
    I sell a few small things on Ebay myself ...
    small? hahaha


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    Default Re: Does ebay rip sellers off?

    Quote Originally Posted by Melonie
    one local newspaper's classified ad would cost more than the E-Bay auction fees !

    I sell a few small things on Ebay myself ...

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW
    OMG Melonie how cool is that , how long were those in before removed they must have a history ?

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    God/dess Emily's Avatar
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    Default Re: Does ebay rip sellers off?

    Veronika is right.

    The problem with designer items is that there are so many fakes out there (I unintentionally bought a fake Coach bag off ebay), so feedback or proof of authenticity is the only way to get serious buyers. I've not bid on designer items that were at "great deals" because I didn't have enough information to trust the seller....and naturally other buyers did the same.

    Maybe you can sell them to the girls at work?

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    Senior Member tooma's Avatar
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    Default Re: Does ebay rip sellers off?

    I know some people that have had a lot of luck selling things on Craigslist. and it's free.

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    Default Re: Does ebay rip sellers off?

    Quote Originally Posted by Emily
    Veronika is right.

    The problem with designer items is that there are so many fakes out there (I unintentionally bought a fake Coach bag off ebay), so feedback or proof of authenticity is the only way to get serious buyers. I've not bid on designer items that were at "great deals" because I didn't have enough information to trust the seller....and naturally other buyers did the same.

    Maybe you can sell them to the girls at work?
    Just to add to this I have seen knock - offs that were made just as well as the real thing and you would be hard pressed to pick the imposter out . The designer items can be way overpriced most of the time .

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    Default Re: Does ebay rip sellers off?

    sure, me too, and I own some of these Chinatown specials. That's cool, because I know they are fake, but I'm not paying designer prices for knockoffs.

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Does ebay rip sellers off?

    small? hahaha
    Yes, only 800cc

    OMG Melonie how cool is that , how long were those in before removed they must have a history ?
    Actually this was a 'spare' implant from my 800cc 'starter' set of about 7 years ago. It has never been implanted.

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    Featured Member Lizette's Avatar
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    Default Re: Does ebay rip sellers off?

    Quote Originally Posted by doc-catfish
    Of course, in order for you to get their money, they have to take time out of their busy schedules to come see you on your terms.

    Perhaps, if you were selling a high order good (i.e. something that would cost thousands, like say a car) this might be a reasonable expectation. I'm not so sure thats reasonable for something that costs $100.

    Anyways, I checked the eBay auction fees page and came away with the following:

    The listing fee for an item starting at $100 = $2.40.
    The final value fee if you were to get a single bidder (and you could go higher) = $3.37
    If you wanted to insert a supersize picture (optional) = $0.75
    For a grand total of $6.52 in fees, leaving you with $93.48 after fees.

    If you're happy with getting $100 out of each bag, and are concerned about fees eating into your profits, you could have started the auction out at $110 (still dirt cheap if the MSRP is what you say it is). Assuming the same scenario as above, your fees would then be $6.80 and your after fees take from a single bidder would be $103.20.

    I'm not sure why you pulled the auction.
    I kept the items up because there were bidders. I had read the sellers fees incorrectly. I thought 15% plus insertion fees and 3% credit card fees were what I was working with. I was wrong. A whopping $7 is probably what I'd owe them.

    Next time I'll do my research before I post so I don't feel so silly.
    I was making a big sh*t about $7? Shame on me.

  18. #18
    Sitri
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    Default Re: Does ebay rip sellers off?

    I have sold about 10K in stuff, Cisco routers, projector screens in the last 4 months. I am getting so much more money for stuff than if I would do a garage sale or newspaper ads.

    I would have had to dump the stuff or literally give it away.

    My experience only.

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    Featured Member Lizette's Avatar
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    Default Re: Does ebay rip sellers off?

    Quote Originally Posted by Sitri
    I have sold about 10K in stuff, Cisco routers, projector screens in the last 4 months. I am getting so much more money for stuff than if I would do a garage sale or newspaper ads.

    I would have had to dump the stuff or literally give it away.

    My experience only.
    Thank you! This is very encouraging for me. I have 18 bags. Only 4 are listed because I wanted to see how they did before I put the entire lot up for grabs.

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    Default Re: Does ebay rip sellers off?

    Hey Lizette, as you can see in my signature, I"m an Ebay junkie. In my experience, I dont trust a seller who doesn't have an 98-100% feedback. I also read comments left from other buyers. Sometime just reading what the consumer has purchased and how they felt about the product was received will for the most part give you a clear understanding of how your experience will go.

    Aside from looking at the feedback scoring, I also look at their payment requirements. I DO NOT do anybusiness whatsoever with Paypal. They are a SCAM!!!! to like the 3rd power~

    www.paypalwarning.com

    Also, like an earlier poster wrote, make sure that you have all tags, and authenticity cards in place. Oh yea, having a dustbag is also a plus.

    Happy Ebaying,
    CK







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    Default Re: Does ebay rip sellers off?

    Why not take a pic of the serial number and/or type the number in the auction description? That's the best way to guarantee authenticity that I can think of for potential bidders. Good luck!

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    Featured Member Lizette's Avatar
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    Default Re: Does ebay rip sellers off?

    Quote Originally Posted by cinammonkisses
    Hey Lizette, as you can see in my signature, I"m an Ebay junkie. In my experience, I dont trust a seller who doesn't have an 98-100% feedback. I also read comments left from other buyers. Sometime just reading what the consumer has purchased and how they felt about the product was received will for the most part give you a clear understanding of how your experience will go.

    Aside from looking at the feedback scoring, I also look at their payment requirements. I DO NOT do anybusiness whatsoever with Paypal. They are a SCAM!!!! to like the 3rd power~

    www.paypalwarning.com

    Also, like an earlier poster wrote, make sure that you have all tags, and authenticity cards in place. Oh yea, having a dustbag is also a plus.

    Happy Ebaying,
    CK
    I hate PayPal because I don't feel safe having my bank and credit card info on file. A new alternative is coming out this summer.

    http://www.greenzap.com

    I have no idea how the company will treat users.

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    Default Re: Does ebay rip sellers off?

    You should try www.bidpay.com I really like them. There is another company I had a seller point me to. I think it's www.merchants.com anyway, I do not F*** with Paypal. I've read to many horrible stories about how they get people for $100's-1,000's of dollars. I refuse to become a victim







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    God/dess montythegeek's Avatar
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    Default Re: Does ebay rip sellers off?

    Quote Originally Posted by CuriousJ
    OMG Melonie how cool is that , how long were those in before removed they must have a history ?
    Melonie,
    I wanted to keep abreast of developments in the bidding and clicked on the link to see how it was going.

    I thought the ultimate irony was that right under the photo of you and the item was a button labeled Supersize.

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