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I used to find great deals on there, now it seems as if it is just an outlet for retailers...very little at "good" prices. Even those who are selling used things are marking their prices up, for instance someone was trying to sell a SU Ink pad, reinker, marker and paper for $150 because it was a retired color????? No bids of course.
Seems that over the last year I have only been able to find a few things, including cricut cartridges, that were "reasonable," a few stamps I wanted and little else, have had much better luck with sales different places.
And the shipping? Even on some of the "lot" things, the shipping is over $20, which with the price of the goods isn't such a great deal.....
So, have you had any luck lately on Ebay? (I bought a set of Art Impressions stamps at a good deal, even with shipping)
Or...do you think Ebay is no longer the place to check for anything? Do you sell on Ebay? Do you sell low, or set a higher price? Are your things selling on Ebay?
Is it just me?
__________________ AfterHoursStamper.blogspot.com �It is easier to believe a lie that one has heard a thousand times than to believe a fact that no one has heard before�
I have had better luck with embellishments on EBay. They are usually at good deals and in more quantities though not of the popular brands. E.g. I like mulberry paper roses like the ones Prima sells. Those seem expensive to me but there are pretty good quality similar ones on EBay.
I'm glad you brought that up! No, it's not you. eBay has done so many things to chase the small seller away that it's no surprise you can't find anything. I've been buying and selling on ebay since 1998. In the beginning it was great fun to hunt for stuff and get a good price. If you sold stuff, you made good sales.
At this point, they've collected so many big box retail stores, obviously to replace their lost smaller sellers, that it isn't even fun any longer. I've been bemoaning to my husband constantly about how hard it is to find anything there. Where you used to get multiple pages of something you were searching for, no matter how obscure, now you are likely to get a partial page or NO page of anything. Most of the time when I search for something that's not even uncommon, I'll get "no results found".
For example of what they done to chase small sellers away, this is from Auction Bytes newsletter:
"eBay is placing ads for competing listings inside sellers' Item pages, a controversial move since sellers pay for their listings and expect to have exclusive rights to the page."
Another thing they have stupidly done was take away the sellers ability to leave feedback for the buyer. What does this do? It allows the buyer to hold the seller hostage because the buyer CAN leave feedback for the seller. The seller's feedback is extremely important and one bad remark from a disgruntled buyer, however unfair, can lead to all kinds of problems.
What else have they done? They now charge a final value fee that INCLUDES what the seller is charging for shipping. If you have to charge $10 for shipping, ebay takes a percentage of that when they figure what you are going to pay in fees.
Those things and many others are what ebay has done to change what ebay is. I sell my goose and chicken hatching eggs there, only because there is no place else with the kind of traffic they have. That's all I sell there anymore and that's because I have to.
Subscribe to the above linked Auction Bytes newsletter. It's very interesting reading, not only about ebay, but Amazon and all other auction sites and selling sites.
I mostly search for stuff on Amazon now or even overstock.com .
I think things started to get a little out of control when that guy put his giant red paperclip online and eventually traded his way up to a house.
People seem to think that they can get astronomical amounts for their things. But, the reality is, something is only worth what someone else will pay for it.
I love the shows Pawn Stars and Auction Hunters. I love when people find out what their item is "worth" according to the experts, and then ask for that amount from the pawnbroker/potential buyer. That "worth" is retail worth, not what the buyer is more than likely willing to pay. Usually, something goes for half to a third of it's "worth". As an example, I have the most beautiful signed Tiffany vase. I had it appraised at a very reputable auction house that specializes in fine porcelains and antiques, and it is "worth" between $4000 & $5000. Now, if I put it up on eBay, didn't worry about how long it stayed up for sale, and found the right person, someone might pay me that much for it - someday. But if I wanted to get it sold, there is no way on earth that anyone is going to pay that much for it, regardless of it's "worth". I would be lucky to get $2000 - $2500 for it. Same with an actual in person auction - I could put it up, and potentially get my $4000 or $5000 (or more, if a bidding war started); or I could bust out and get far less if the interest or the right person wasn't there to bid.
I think, by seeing a lot of "NIP" crafting things, you are right - we have some retailers coming on and using eBay as a virtual store, instead of paying for a website, etc.
I personally have never ordered from eBay, partly because I don't have a PayPal account, and partly because a lot of those companies/sellers don't ship to Canada, or only ship at exhorbitant rates to Canada. But I do like to look there a lot to see what is out there - very few things have ever tempted me.
__________________ Elizabeth
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Hand over the chocolate, and no one will get hurt!
Here is something I am watching, it is for a PICTURE and it has 74 bids; Buyer Beware!
Apple iPad 2 64GB, Wi-Fi + 3G (Verizon), 9.7in - White (MC987LL/A)(Picture Only)
Expedited shipping available
Returns: Not accepted 74 Bids $520.00
Free shipping Time left:
I think you can still get bargains on eBay. (Do your seach at lowest to highest price - many still start at 99 cents). But I agree the shipping costs and eBay practices have both been a detriment. Recently I sold a pkg of retired SU 12x12 designer paper for $6, it cost $5.95 to ship it and eBay charges their percentage on the shipping too! I'd rather start here with our own BST (no fees). You can get some great bargains.
Yes, I agree! Not only is is eBay, but honestly, its pretty much everywhere! The "thrift stores" around here....Goodwill, Salvation Army, other charity thrift stores or for-profit thrift stores....have crazy prices on some stuff. Gone are the days of picking up a decent table for $5-10. Now they are $35-50 for total pieces of junk!
What has happened on a lot of this stuff, especially home goods, is the "recycle, reuse, repurpose" mentality...which is great!, but it drives up the cost of things because people are snatching stuff up and refinishing it, calling it "shabby chic" and charging and arm and a leg for it!!
Okay...sorry, over my thrift store rant...can you tell I have been redoing rooms in my house and you can't find any cool, old furniture resonably priced anywhere. haha! I do agree that eBay is a totally different animal than it used to be. I think Kim's idea is right on....I always check here first then go other places when looking for crafty stuff. And someone wanting $150 for retired SU stuff must be smoking crack...seriously?!
I just recently jumped on the Cricut bandwagon and have been buying alot of cartridges. Ebay is the first place I look. I have about 25 carts now, and about 75% of them from ebay. But for a couple of carts that I want ebay sellers were higher than even direct from the cricut website.
Love, love, love Amazon! My family knows that for Solstice, birthday, mothers day it's nothing but Amazon gift cards for me.
__________________ A good dog, a sewing machine, and an old guitar......
I'm glad you brought that up! No, it's not you. eBay has done so many things to chase the small seller away that it's no surprise you can't find anything. I've been buying and selling on ebay since 1998. In the beginning it was great fun to hunt for stuff and get a good price. If you sold stuff, you made good sales.
At this point, they've collected so many big box retail stores, obviously to replace their lost smaller sellers, that it isn't even fun any longer. I've been bemoaning to my husband constantly about how hard it is to find anything there. Where you used to get multiple pages of something you were searching for, no matter how obscure, now you are likely to get a partial page or NO page of anything. Most of the time when I search for something that's not even uncommon, I'll get "no results found".
For example of what they done to chase small sellers away, this is from Auction Bytes newsletter:
"eBay is placing ads for competing listings inside sellers' Item pages, a controversial move since sellers pay for their listings and expect to have exclusive rights to the page."
Another thing they have stupidly done was take away the sellers ability to leave feedback for the buyer. What does this do? It allows the buyer to hold the seller hostage because the buyer CAN leave feedback for the seller. The seller's feedback is extremely important and one bad remark from a disgruntled buyer, however unfair, can lead to all kinds of problems.
What else have they done? They now charge a final value fee that INCLUDES what the seller is charging for shipping. If you have to charge $10 for shipping, ebay takes a percentage of that when they figure what you are going to pay in fees.
Those things and many others are what ebay has done to change what ebay is. I sell my goose and chicken hatching eggs there, only because there is no place else with the kind of traffic they have. That's all I sell there anymore and that's because I have to.
Subscribe to the above linked Auction Bytes newsletter. It's very interesting reading, not only about ebay, but Amazon and all other auction sites and selling sites.
I mostly search for stuff on Amazon now or even overstock.com .
Terry
sassy-girl on eBay
Wow...that explains a big part of my questions. Seems to me that Ebay is just not the place it used to be, and they are, as you state, driving the small seller out (which was their bread and butter.)
__________________ AfterHoursStamper.blogspot.com �It is easier to believe a lie that one has heard a thousand times than to believe a fact that no one has heard before�
Yes, I agree! Not only is is eBay, but honestly, its pretty much everywhere! The "thrift stores" around here....Goodwill, Salvation Army, other charity thrift stores or for-profit thrift stores....have crazy prices on some stuff. Gone are the days of picking up a decent table for $5-10. Now they are $35-50 for total pieces of junk!
What has happened on a lot of this stuff, especially home goods, is the "recycle, reuse, repurpose" mentality...which is great!, but it drives up the cost of things because people are snatching stuff up and refinishing it, calling it "shabby chic" and charging and arm and a leg for it!!
Okay...sorry, over my thrift store rant...can you tell I have been redoing rooms in my house and you can't find any cool, old furniture resonably priced anywhere. haha! I do agree that eBay is a totally different animal than it used to be. I think Kim's idea is right on....I always check here first then go other places when looking for crafty stuff. And someone wanting $150 for retired SU stuff must be smoking crack...seriously?!
You might try "freecycle" there are lists in every major area of the country, I am on a list and there are all sorts of things for free or very low cost there. We are going to put some things up locally (clearing out stuff). I agree with you about the thrift stores as well, garage sales are getting to be a much better bargain : )
__________________ AfterHoursStamper.blogspot.com �It is easier to believe a lie that one has heard a thousand times than to believe a fact that no one has heard before�
I just recently jumped on the Cricut bandwagon and have been buying alot of cartridges. Ebay is the first place I look. I have about 25 carts now, and about 75% of them from ebay. But for a couple of carts that I want ebay sellers were higher than even direct from the cricut website.
Love, love, love Amazon! My family knows that for Solstice, birthday, mothers day it's nothing but Amazon gift cards for me.
I love Amazon too, did a HUGE amount of shopping there for Christmas, even got a GREAT deal for our sons computer (he is a Marine and we wanted him to be able to communicate with us a bit easier).
Did get some good deals for carts on Ebay, but I learned that you really have to watch the auctions.
__________________ AfterHoursStamper.blogspot.com �It is easier to believe a lie that one has heard a thousand times than to believe a fact that no one has heard before�
Totally agree with you! Whenever I want to buy some stamp set or inks I always check eBay to see if I can get a used one for a lower price; but never ever do I find anything worthwhile. It's always the retailers with their NIP products :(
Totally agree with you! Whenever I want to buy some stamp set or inks I always check eBay to see if I can get a used one for a lower price; but never ever do I find anything worthwhile. It's always the retailers with their NIP products :(
Agreed, have found one set, but that was after looking for almost a month! Oh well, I really don't have the $$ to spend right now, even for bargains lol
__________________ AfterHoursStamper.blogspot.com �It is easier to believe a lie that one has heard a thousand times than to believe a fact that no one has heard before�
I agree that there is a much smaller selection, and quite a few outrageous auctions. Current stuff -SU and others-at way more than it would cost to get it from a local demonstrator. Are people really that stupid?
I have sold SU stamp sets and retired colors ( ink, paper, markers, reinkers ) successfully but only because I start with a very low opening bid and my reserve is never more than half what I paid retail; if that high. I do want to get SOME money but half the retail value is the BEST I expect, and I don't always get it which is fine.
I haven't sold in over a year so I didn't realize they were now taking a percentage of shipping costs! What a rip off!! I have never charged more than actual shipping to any of my buyers but still, I find it ridiculous. They push Paypal as the "preferred" method of payment and I have always gladly accepted that. But between Paypal fees and Ebay fees there isn't much left for the seller it seems!
Next time I have old crafting stuff to get rid of I will have to seriously think about going through the BST here first if Ebay is getting so greedy and so unfriendly to the small "non professional" seller.
I've always gotten great deals on Ebay. You have to be patient and stay right there for the last few minutes if bidding. Also you should look for whatever it is you want as many times possible. Like, check back every few days and type in what you're searching for. Since there's a buy it now option, if you don't snag it you might lose it. And compare prices. Always try to go for the free shipping. Don't impulse buy -_- because then you buy something and then the next day it shows up for way less. If you watch the item, and you thought the price was too high, the seller usually puts it up again it for a lower price if it didn't sell. So only snag an item once you've researched so you know what the lowest price is for the item you want.
Hello all,
I am new to stamping and have found a few great deals on craigslist.
I just bought 30 SU sets on there and many are retired and 8 of them hadn't even been assembled yet.
Then my 5 yr. old son found the box and decided he wanted to count them all and took them all out of their containers and dumped them on the floor!
So, I had to sit and get them all back into sets and containers again.
Oh well, was a really good way for me to sit and look at all the different stamps
Forgot to mention I use to buy and sell ALOT on ebay and paypal was the reason I stopped selling on there completely!
Another reason was things like a buyer complaining a cellphone I sold didn't work so I said return it and she returned me a completely different phone that was so old and falling apart I had to just take the loss.
I can't see how people do things like that but it happens alot so I decided to just start doing business from reputable companies or face to face locally.
And incidents like that are exactly why they should never have disallowed sellers to give bidders bad feedback. Contrary to what some believe, there ARE bad bidders and they deserved to be called out as much as bad sellers do. Since ebay almost always sides with bidders, I'll never sell there again.
Yes and the buyer gave me bad feedback.
I don't know what was up with the person but then in turn I had Paypal start holding money on me and it all just made me feel like I did something wrong.
When I was the one who got wronged.
It just isn't a friendly place to sell anymore IMO.
Ebay has become so seller-unfriendly with their asinine rules that a lot of smaller sellers have quit.
ebay will be announcing NEW rules today. One of the rules will be sellers will be REWARDED for having NO communication between seller and buyer. Why is this, you ask? Well, obviously, they don't want the seller to have ANY chance to tell the buyer about their own website or sell anything off of ebay.
From Auction Bytes:
"We knew eBay was retiring 3-day and 7-day returns, and today it will announce that the change will take effect the first week of May. This will also be controversial, even though previously announced, particularly among sellers of clothing where sellers feel the policy may turn them into "rentals."
So now, buyers can use the clothing and/or read the books they buy and then return them. Have a special function where you need a fancy dress? Go to ebay, you can always return it afterwards!
Another new rule today from Auction Bytes:
"Sellers may not add text to their pictures, although watermarks for attribution purposes only will be allowed."
Why, you wonder? Same reason as above, they want no chance for a buyer to see the website name of the seller and perhaps go there instead. I'm not sure what "attribution purposes" means, but I doubt it's a good thing. LOL!!
I just read that and I am not sure I am following the whole "no communication" thing. As a seller, when I first started selling, we were encouraged to send a note of thanks and let the buyer know that something was on it's way to them. I have communicated when the tracking has indicated there is a problem somewhere between my house and theirs; i have communicated once I see that the item has been recieved but there has been no feedback left. I thought that all fell under "follow up" and "customer service"? That part really bothers me.
The attribution thing is probably just so that unique items (such as art work) cannot be copied without permission. So that the work is properly attributed to the artist.
__________________ "For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack" ~Rudyard Kipling my gallery
I just read that and I am not sure I am following the whole "no communication" thing. As a seller, when I first started selling, we were encouraged to send a note of thanks and let the buyer know that something was on it's way to them. I have communicated when the tracking has indicated there is a problem somewhere between my house and theirs; i have communicated once I see that the item has been recieved but there has been no feedback left. I thought that all fell under "follow up" and "customer service"? That part really bothers me.
Sounds like they are getting pretty desperate to keep what few buyers they have left! I can't imagine any company thinking it's okay to NOT correspond with their customers! That's completely weird!
Wow.....Ebay just seems to be getting worse.....last night I looked for a few items, and picked the auction only tabs, very few items came up for auction....and it was sad (the items I was looking for anyway). If you click on the button for everything you get tons of listings...which are all buy now, not auction.
Seems to me that Ebay is "fixing" something that wasn't broken, but through their fixes Ebay is horribly broken now ; )
__________________ AfterHoursStamper.blogspot.com �It is easier to believe a lie that one has heard a thousand times than to believe a fact that no one has heard before�
I used to see more on eBay than I do now. Having said that, I prefer the Buy It Now button to bidding, which I find entirely too stressful and tend to leave to DH! Now, HE has picked up some great deals on my behalf...
I usually start here with the B/S/T forum when I have stuff to sell. In the past, if it didn't sell here, I'd do auctions on eBay. As others have said, though, eBay changes have not been kind to small sellers, so my last postings there have been a fixed price, rather than an auction, just so I can have more control over what I might end up with if I sell. I have several items that didn't sell here on SCS last month, so I may just do one of those pay-it-forward things on SCS or find a place to donate the stamps to a good home. But I doubt I will be doing much selling on eBay in the future. Just not worth it to me anymore.
I hardly shop at eBay but I do realise there are lesser search results or sometimes none. Companies are getting more and more greedy and start doing all kinds of things to make their pocket fatter.
I have sold thousands of items on ebay, starting in 1998, before pictures were common and before paypal existed. It kept us afloat when my husband lost his job. I watched the site change, and not for the better. It really felt like ebay was intentionally driving away the small sellers so they could court the larger retailers. Instead of keeping true to its roots as a place to buy and sell all sorts of collectibles, it moved towards a retailer of new merchandise. They kept increasing the fees for sellers, forcing us to use paypal and then charging fees on top of fees. The buy it now listings were clearly the future, as the site did everything it could to discourage those of us who still preferred the auction format.
Paypal started with the slogan "always fast. always free." As people became dependent on the service, they started charging fees and forcing people to open business accounts if someone paid using a credit card. Somewhere along the way, ebay acquired paypal, ensuring the monopoly would continue. When the fees arrived, paypal was touted as a way to accept credit cards without the high fees typically charged for this service. However, I understand that paypal fees are now higher than what a traditional credit card service provides.
I had left long before they eliminated feedback for buyers, and was glad I was already gone. I understand they are now penalizing sellers who still charge for shipping, instead of offering free shipping. That's another way they are driving sellers away from the auction format.
I still have inventory left over from my selling days. I sold toys. I'm thinking about doing a bulk listing on craiglist. I will certainly never go back to ebay.
__________________ aka Sue. Or Sue-odd.
No blog for me. My gallery chronicles my card-making successes and mishaps.
I want to order 2 things from an ebay seller. I put the 2 items in my shopping cart on ebay and I'm not sure the shipping is correct because I think she gives a shipping discount for more than 1 item. When you take the link to ask the seller for a total, this is what pops up at the top of the question form:
"You must commit to purchase these items before requesting a total price.
To request a total for this purchase, you must first commit to buy all the items included in this order.
You can still uncheck items if you do not want to commit to them or do not want to include them in this request."
Now, what if I didn't like that she's not going to give a discount on shipping? Apparently, I still have to buy the items!
AND, if you are looking for the link in the shopping cart where you ask the seller for a total, you have to click on the seller's name in order to get the "ask seller for a total" link, otherwise it doesn't appear. I suppose that makes sense, but if you don't do that, there is NO link to ask a question and you can't get a total that may be different, i.e., discounted shipping for multiple items.
I don't know if they are trying to confuse people or not! :confused: The "almost" confused me, but not quite!
Not that this is Ebay related (since I *very* rarely ever bought anything there even when I looked and I use past tense because it has gone completely nuts) but for those of you that prefer Amazon- have you heard of Camelcamelcamel.com? It's a price tracker for Amazon merchandise. The day I showed it to my DH I lost him to their site for *hours*. So not kidding. XD
__________________ All inked up... and somewhere to go. My gallery, small but mighty... or maybe just mighty small! Come see my almost new blog... M'ija Stamps!
it wasn't just me, reading about what has happened with the small sellers on Ebay clearly reveals that Ebay has changed from what it was to something else. Given that the prices are not that great on the "buy it now" stuff, why shop there? Amazon is better for buy it now type of things....
Does anyone know of another auction type site? Sure there are lots of them out there, I just haven't researched it yet : )
Suffice to say that I won't be doing much Ebay shopping, takes too much time for too little results....
Seems that Ebay has completely changed their original model, and with the changes they have lost their way and their customers.....
__________________ AfterHoursStamper.blogspot.com �It is easier to believe a lie that one has heard a thousand times than to believe a fact that no one has heard before�
I still use EBay alot. I find good deals on stamps. Some things I just want to be able to use the Buy it now and get a known item quickly. I also like their buyer protection.
__________________ Denise
"If a person who indulges in gluttony is a glutton, and a person who commits a felony is a felon, then God is an iron.�
― Spider Robinson
What is up with Ebay?
