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Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

Is it still profitable to sell on eBay with all the increased fees? The more you sell the more you have to pay. I often wonder what makes it worth it.

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

Im not spending twice as much time using stealth methods to sell on eBay for the fun of it.

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

Hmm to make money? Higher fees means it's harder than what it used to and margins thinner but not impossible.

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

That's some pretty flawed logic you have there. :)

That's like saying: The more you buy at Walmart, the more tax you will have to pay.

Maybe look at it as: "The more you sell, the more you make"

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

Of course it is, those that can get the best prices will survive.

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

I didn't feel like I was really profitable selling rare toy collectables items on eBay. The fees got up to $890.00 monthly or higher. To me eBay is like the fee bank. While eCrater on the other hand was profitable without a hint of seller fees other then PayPal transaction fees I finally found something worth wild.

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

wild toys?

:eek:

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

You can always sell items as a garage sale with no fees, but you get what you pay for, and in this case you're paying for traffic!

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

I think ecrater has a far better way to allow customers to find items on google. Based on price range and item discriptions. eCrater offers things like google attributes and Products Feed Specification values. All the while it allows customers to find you in more ways then one. And that means traffic!!!! It's all about the connection and being searchable.

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

Everything is a matter of perspective....

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

The kind of toys that go bump in the night?

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

Perspective and innovation on how things work online can make a huge difference.

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

If you have good items that allow good to great margins, inventory and the ability to handle volume ebay is about the cheapest rent on planet earth. Some argue Amazon and in some ways I would agree but with Amazon you can not be overly creative and price is king. On ebay we can manipulate many aspects with a huge amount of instant buyers.

ecrater does not have enough traffic for me to dedicate a resource to.

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

I wish everyone success online.

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

I never looked at the fees as a problem, coming from a brick and Mortar business, this is heaven.

But eBay has changed a lot just in the last 3 years with listing visibility and traffic throttling

But there are ways around that, and you just need to constantly change, just like any business If you want to stay alive and thrive

I'm so used to jumping thru hoops, it's all second nature and it has all evolved, so it's not like when you talk to someone that never ran multiple accounts and changed IPs and all that where they are overwhelmed

It takes time and it's a constant progression, but it really becomes easy, and you find yourself always ahead of eBay, and you keep your sales always going and rising even if it means adding an extra hoop every week or month

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

The answer to this question is basically this... If you subtract fees and other expenses and you still make 50-200% profit then YES you should still sell on eBay. Profit margin can also be lower than 50% as long as you sell in high enough volume to make some $$$. If you think eBay is not worth your time, you should consider finding a job somewhere else.

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

Yep that's always the issue, when I think of working for someone, you need to give up your life for such a small amount

Yes it's a steady paycheck and u just need to wake up and show up on time to get it, but the money you make selling on eBay and Amazon is just a huge difference, and it starts to feel like a waste of time working for anyone

When I started out, I had a job, and as thing progressed I slowly cut back hours, than days, and would eventually become a fill in when needed

I remember being there and making a $1000 in 2 hours just watching sales pile up through emails on my phone, it made staying 8 hours for $125 seem very worthless

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

Why dont you open a shop at EB and at eCrater and will see how it works.
If you get 5% from eCrater i will say it was not the worst
If you get 20% i will say you are a Star

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

Well most of you know how the road ends on eBay and PayPal.

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

The roads is not a dead end ,however.

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

Yes, the more you sell the more fees you have to pay, but the more you sell the more your profits are too. In my experience Amazon fees are higher, so ebay is the best place for me personally for the type of item I sell. Back in mid 90s you had to put an ad in the paper ''tiny ads'' remember that guy? And compared to now with ebay and amazon it was a joke, so really other than ebay and amazon where else is the best place to sell online?

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

I have an exel spreadsheet created that calculates profits for any item I sell. All I need to do is input my costs and selling prices and the output is my margin. Everything is there from packaging costs, labels, shipping, etc.

I create a monthly profit level and I know exactly how much I need to sell to reach that benchmark.

If your not making money then your doing something terribly wrong. Selling on eBay isn't for everyone. You have to have an entrepreneur and business mindset and just know how to make a buck.

we all have to deal with fees but there's ways to offset these of your smart.

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

Ebay and PayPal creates an illusion that everything will be okay. We've all seen how that turns out when you have a good thing going.



AKA DARK SIDE PARTY CRASHER
http://s1.postimg.org/utt67xc6n/property_pic_use.jpg

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

Well learn and move on to be better and safer.

To run a hundred accounts is nothing challenging really. So if you loose an account or two every now and then it is 1-2% of your gross income.

And if you are having constant issues change up you method or items to correct that nagging problem.

I think ebay is the most lax of the selling platforms.

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

Stealth is like the road only a few people know about that and are willing to take it. We don't let Ebay define the road for us, we let Ebay/PayPal know were not going to be blocked.

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

Fees go up and yet I have made more on eBay every single year since I've started back in 1998.

Ebay has changed tons and the lazy, easy money may no longer be there to made, but that is the old........"survival of the fittest"........I like that, having the idiots weeded out.....

IMO ....most people making a full time good living on eBay have more than just a couple of brain cells.....the other ones are selling part time on eBay and punching a clock someplace.

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

I never rely on eB as the sole provider of my $ /done

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

That's what I've been waiting to hear.

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

I'm the other end of the spectrum.......if not for EB, I'd be living in my car on a beach somewhere.......

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

That is not the question you asked :)

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

I go where the customers are and right now you can't beat ebay in traffic unless you go to AZ and compete directly with AZ in most categories

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

It's nice to hear that someone can do something outside of eBay. It is all about traffic I can't disagree with that. It can be the life line for so many.
Maybe one day social media sales will kill the eBay market place who knows.
The feedback provided is useful. Thank you!

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

ebay has the traffic of people who buy. other sites do not. if you are good at getting traffic via social media then you can just open your own shop. there are people who were paying ebay thousands of dollars a month in fees that left and opened up their own ecommerce site selling their products and used that money to buy traffic from google and they ended up earning as much as and in some cases more than they were from their ebay shop. its not like ebay has a monopoly on shoppers, they are out there and if you want to spend the time and energy you can find them yourself outside of ebay. but it is a lot of work.

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

I have had some success with Amazon recently because I am not competing with them exactly as you have alluded to. If use to think eBay/PayPal fees were high then I started using Amazon and they are even higher. So it is tough to make to make it compared to the crazy low fee structure eBay had many years ago.

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

Facebook Stores option which operate directly through my eCommerce stores has opened a whole new highway for me.

Seeing as my products aren't allowed to be sold on eBay etc they are a blessing for traffic.

My serious eBay income didn't start til after I was suspended and found this place funnily enough.

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

OP since you dont make enough money for fees or they to high to cover it....have you ever thought that maybe you are selling the wrong thing??

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

Id rather sell on ebay than work a 9 to 5.

I like the control I have over making my own paycheck and not having to worry about working 40+ hours per week for $400 when I can make that in a day :)

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

And the occasional lie in/ sleep in :rolleyes:

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

The more you SELL on ebay or paypal the lower the fee's on ebay Top Rated Seller are reduced and also paypal fee's are reduced. I remember before ebay there was loot, and I believe they are still going however gumtree which is also controlled by ebay seem to have taken over loot now..

Re: Why do you continue to sell on eBay?
 

Living on a beach is not that bad you know... esp if there are lots of women around the beach.