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Is Stealth eBay in the US Dead?
 

Just curious. Because I have seen the absolute drop off in US members in my time on the site. Traffic seems to be down from when I first started. Seems to be dominated by UK and Canadian members now. Not saying is a bad thing but looks like US Sellers have given up? Maybe the 1099k purged most sellers?

Re: Is Stealth eBay in the US Dead?
 

...or... stealth works so well that they are all busy selling, and shipping stuff...
:thumb:

Re: Is Stealth eBay in the US Dead?
 

Yes, I agree, it's helped them all....i doubt sellers who were making a living off ebay, decided to "give up" and take a shift at the 7-11. lol.

Re: Is Stealth eBay in the US Dead?
 

No, it is alive and well. Many people come here for help, stay for awhile and then leave.

Stealth won't die. Unless eBay is going to require people to physically come into their office (imagine them opening thousands of offices across the US) to be fingerprinted and to run a background check, there will always be loopholes. They CAN make it more difficult, but it is not necessarily in their best interests to do so. Think of all the money they make on stealth accounts - they don't REALLY want to give that up!

Re: Is Stealth eBay in the US Dead?
 

1099 for stealth a/c holder? ...lol ..Stealth account is another business for ebay and they know it very well...They will never do anything about it....

Re: Is Stealth eBay in the US Dead?
 

I don't think that the 1099k "purges" anyone. It just becomes one more issue to deal with. You also have to remember that not EVERYONE is successful selling online in the first place.

So, add all of the steps of stealth, and many people just figure it is not worth it. Or, margins are thin and someone who had never before paid taxes on their earnings is told that now they will have to and they figure it is not worth it.

But stealth is alive and well...

Re: Is Stealth eBay in the US Dead?
 

still hanging in there!!:heh:

Re: Is Stealth eBay in the US Dead?
 

Yes it is Dead

Re: Is Stealth eBay in the US Dead?
 

As for me as Long as I have a Sandy in my corner I'm all good. Grateful for her the past few days. Really came through for me & yeah this is a shout out!

Re: Is Stealth eBay in the US Dead?
 

Last year was a record for me in total sales and profits. And I have been on ebay since 1995.

I think ebay is changing and we all have to adapt and make changes with it.

Re: Is Stealth eBay in the US Dead?
 

might be getting a little more difficult, but not even close to dead.

Re: Is Stealth eBay in the US Dead?
 

I'm still relatively new here, so I followed all stealth steps up to now. If it was easier back then, I wouldn't know, seems fine to me as of now. Right now it all feels normal to make stealths. I'm guessing it was way easier back then to make stealths

Re: Is Stealth eBay in the US Dead?
 

Selling on 10 stealth accounts and 10 more as back up to those 10. Thinking about making 10 more to backup the backup :D

Re: Is Stealth eBay in the US Dead?
 

Golden rule.

Survival of the fittest.

to do ebay one must adapt to change.

The End.
:yar: AND
http://net-presence.ca/innerstream/w...Love_Heart.jpg PAYPAL :yar:

Re: Is Stealth eBay in the US Dead?
 

I would have to disagree. Before the law you could sell basically as many items as you wanted on eBay/PP and as long as you didn't receive over 10k in a single month on PP you were in the clear.

Now you get limited by PP when you get close to 200 transactions. That takes someone who may have run two or three stealth accounts to have to run possible a dozen or more.

Like most of you I try my best to go hardcore stealth but I think some of the casual people. It may have not "purged" anyone by eBay kicking them off. But I think it definitely made some people say having to have a two dozen tracfones and VPNs and all this other stuff. A complete book of info to try to keep your accounts straight.

Don't get me wrong I am so thankful US members can still make stealth accounts and survive. But looking around eBay. This is not the site that had a big garage sale like feeling when I first started. It is more or less trying to have a bunch of large sellers and be its own version of Amazon.

Thus why members who try sell Amazon like goods on eBay always seem to have much more problems. Than those who sell collectibles or vintage or used items. Things that don't compete with the big sellers eBay favors in order to not look bad vs Amazon.

Re: Is Stealth eBay in the US Dead?
 

What site do you mean?

Your figures are wrong if you think here has a drop in US users.

Re: Is Stealth eBay in the US Dead?
 

The reason why I do a large amount antiques, collectibles, vintage etc as the competition has dropped big time over the last few years.

As boomers get older more and more better items come up for sale which is a plus.

More and more boomers are no longer buying at auctions, estate sales, yard sales etc so the prices at auction houses, storage units etc is going down right before my eyes. Where many older people over paid for items they collected or wanted by driving up prices at an antique auction I now see them not buying like they used to and younger people with limited money stopping at a certain dollar amount.

Collectors who dont attend auctions etc are the ones I mostly sell to and they are willing to pay top buck for a certain item, rare items, odd colors etc.

In the categories I sell in tons of new collectors just getting started and they will fight like mad to get ahold of particular items.


As my Grandpa taught me as a kid. Half the battle is won by knowing what to buy and where to sell it. Long before ebay he sold tons of items.

Etsy is right up my alley and I do very well on that site.

Spreading sales is the way to go to reach a direct market of people.

Re: Is Stealth eBay in the US Dead?
 

I would guess the casual eBay stealth seller is dead. Someone who sold a couple things here and there not as main source of income. All the new hurdles are just too time consuming to make it worthwhile.

Re: Is Stealth eBay in the US Dead?
 

Casual still works for many :)

Re: Is Stealth eBay in the US Dead?
 

Yes, it is right.
I am a "casual" seller. It was fun for me and still is.
I explore the market and I have a few things that sells. Just enough to pay my ADSL connection, few PC expenses and few pizzas on sunday evening... not much but I enjoy doing it... but... more then the above...
I like to do something that Ebay would not allow me to do.
Now more than ever that they decided to shut my 10 years old account.
When I will get enough of the "stealth" thing I will move to learn something else.

Re: Is Stealth eBay in the US Dead?
 

May not be dead. But definitely on life support. Much like the small/midsize seller on eBay in general.

Re: Is Stealth eBay in the US Dead?
 

ebay stealth has became harder, it seems like now ebay gives all new sellers the 1099 and if your not found in their database public records, they will request DL and Bill in your name.