Best way to go around ebay for sales

[Matce]

now - we all use ebay but notbody likes them for obvious reasons haha - still we pay a ton of fees? IMHO waaaaaaaaaaaay too much!

whats a good way to go around ebay? to contact sellers directly once they hit you up for offers, etc? Obviously I do "like" ebay as an advertising tool, but thats it...

In order to slip through the automated system use "myname AT g m a i l DOT c o m" formats... thats clear.
Any other tips and tricks?

thanks

[jeffweico]

That type of strategy is going to get your account banned.

Nobody likes eBay fees, but it is the deal we make to sell there. If not eBay fees, you would still have to pay for some sort of advertising - Cost Per Click, Banner Ads, or whatever else.

In fact, users who do this help to give eBay the justification for their draconian policies regarding banning sellers. I would urge you to change your plan.

[GreenBean]

Do your ow experiments

Come back and report the damage

[danshan]

Ebay is the MOB and they will put a hit on you if you short change them!

[JamesNorth101]

Playing with fire with those tactics.

[Dmshark25]

I had a buyer said they missed an auction so would like to still buy the item if I had it so I told them I relished with buy now and they missed that one someone else purchased it right away , I had asked them for their Paypal email so I could just email an invoice directly being they missed 2 auctions already and only had one more item available, wasnt even thinking of avoiding fees but pleasing the customer, they got weirded out said they felt it was un ethical I just ignored this idiot but it shows if ur tryin to cut out ebay intentionally u will have buyers possibly report you. My buyer asked for the item and missed or twice so I offered a favor with a discount and they email me this craziness

[rsot]

Originally Posted by Matce

whats a good way to go around ebay? to contact sellers directly once they hit you up for offers, etc? Obviously I do "like" ebay as an advertising tool, but thats it...

Lot of us here have good experiences with eB - this techniques you are trying to find will get you in trouble with eB...that being said, experiment and report back.

Many of us are open to learning

[mobilecontractsuk]

I've had warnings in the past for having my web address in my listings but it was not an active link.

[john456]

I think you want to sell on craigslist

[corleone]

I do off ebay transactions all the time, just offer to pass the savings to the customer.

Someone will message me and ask what the lowest price would be. I'll give them the price and if they counter with a lower price, then I give them the paypal option.

Ebay has automated ways to filter messages for this kind of stuff, so be smart. Instead of typing paypal in your message, break it up (ex pay pal). And then have them email you so you have their address (I'm sure you already know that you have to break up your email address without the @ symbol)

[acreech41311]

if you sell an item that a buyer would might want multiples of or something that gets used up and would need to be bought again then I would suggest sending a flyer with each item you ship out giving them your email address and instructing them to contact you directly to buy at a discounted rate. The items I sell often have repeats so I always include a flyer with my infor and offer a discounted price for direct sale with paypal payment, I have about 6 or 7 regulars now that I sell to off ebay. I'd say 50% of the people I ship to never bother to even read the flyer and thats to be expected but it's the only way I'm aware of that wont get ebay breathing down your neck.

[rsot]

Originally Posted by corleone

I do off ebay transactions all the time, just offer to pass the savings to the customer.

Someone will message me and ask what the lowest price would be. I'll give them the price and if they counter with a lower price, then I give them the paypal option.

Ebay has automated ways to filter messages for this kind of stuff, so be smart. Instead of typing paypal in your message, break it up (ex pay pal). And then have them email you so you have their address (I'm sure you already know that you have to break up your email address without the @ symbol)

Some buyers will still complain - glad you are having success...still, risky ops.

[corleone]

Originally Posted by rsot

Some buyers will still complain - glad you are having success...still, risky ops.

It's all in how you word it. Make it there choice, so there's no reason for them to complain or think you're being shady. I really don't care which they choose, but do prefer paypal in case there's ever a problem gives me some freedom with the feedback out of the equation. . .I don't have to be as polite

"my absolute bottom dollar price is 200.00. The only way I could go lower would be if you wanted to buy it through pay pal, in which case, I could pass the savings in fees along to you. 10% fees would mean I could sell it for 180.00, so it's your choice, but the options are 200.00 through ebay, or 180.00 through paypal. Thanks for contacting me, have a nice day"

[joesshooze]

At this point I would NOT take any type of chance to loose an acct. I am not judging what you are doing and don't care, but EB will.

[toml3030]

Originally Posted by joesshooze

At this point I would NOT take any type of chance to loose an acct. I am not judging what you are doing and don't care, but EB will.

$100+ items, and when the buyer likes the item, a 10% discount isn't going to make too much of a difference. Actually, the ones who cry and moan about extra couple of bucks are 10x more likely to be problem buyers down the road, imho.

[MM78]

I've done several sales through Paypal but they were from people who had already purchased from me before and wanted more of the item so I knew they weren't going to scam me or something.

It can be done but as with everything, discretion is adviced.

[rsot]

I include my e-mail when I ship out if they wish to contact me for further business - some have, some have not - I dont send info via eB platform for sure.