UK eBay & PaypalGeneral discussions about eBay.co.uk Suspensions and Paypal.co.uk limited accounts. This forum is geared towards UK eBay & Paypal sellers.
I was wondering how many sell on Facebook groups as they are getting big now and its free and that must be a miles better way than paying eBay and PayPal all your hard earned profit?
Thx
Steve
Last edited by stevebills; 10-19-2015 at 02:59 AM.
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I'm pretty sure selling on Facebook won't be as scaleable as ebay...
Facebook sales are obviously only a tiny fraction of what is possible on eBay, also it has more than its share of scammers who make out they want to buy items but in reality don't want to pay for those items and as they can be all over the world virtually no comeback on that attitude for them.
FB is ridiculous, people openly pages to purely sell counterfit and when you report it to them they literally reply saying they can do nothing apart from offering the choice of you not seeing the feeds...
Not sure about fb, but Gumtree, preloved, friday ad, local rags etc. can offer fantastic free resources to sell on, resulting in no fees. Many things you can sell at a higher price than you would ever get on ebay also.
LOTS of questions and I am assuming you will be meeting the people and that in itself makes ebay better IMO. I dont have the desire to meet every person I sell to. It can be a really huge waste of time.
I was wondering how many sell on Facebook groups as they are getting big now and its free and that must be a miles better way than paying eBay and PayPal all your hard earned profit?
Thx
Steve
No real alternative to eBay in my opinion... apart from having your own e-commerce store and accepting credit/debit card payments, which can work for some people.
I tried to sell on Gumtree.... full of idiots and time wasters. Also everyone wants to meet you in person, and when they do, 90% of them will not pay the price you agreed on the phone. I actually had someone come who claimed they travelled for 1 and a half hour to get to me, and then wouldnt buy the item for the agreed £50 price. They wanted £45 but I rejected so they had to travel back empty handed. Another time I had someone turn up with counterfeit £20 notes trying to buy an item from me (they all had same serial numbers) .... I did however have some success of using Gumtree to direct people to my own website. However they often catch up on that and block your account. I had to keep making new accounts... but again the success is very limited.
I tried to sell on Facebook, but either my products are not correct type or I was doing it wrong, but wasted a lot of time and sold only a handfull of items.... the audience is very similar to that of Gumtree if not worse....
facebooks trash, they massively cut the reach from groups like a year ago as they just want you to buy their ads. And as said even if you do sell anything everything wants to come in person, tried it before and had people wanting to pick up £10 items all the time, no thanks waste of time
So Facebook may only be good for off loading ⊗⊗⊗⊗ and cash only items face to face like a car
Well it certainly isn't cost/time effective if you're selling £1/£5 lines I would imagine.
I don't use it to sell myself, but know people who do well with vintage stuff, collectables etc. but then they will be making £40/50 + mark up a piece so it can be worth while if you are going to be at home anyways 1 or 2 days a week and arrange people to come around on those days.
I sell $100+ items that are big and a pain to box and ship. Mostly used items and I only do it when convenient. I make it clear I dont have time to talk and the price is firm before we meet.
I do the same sometimes around Christmas. I only sell things under $60 on FB. I write that price is firm. I mostly hate the people who never show up. Its another revenue stream.
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I do the same sometimes around Christmas. I only sell things under $60 on FB. I write that price is firm. I mostly hate the people who never show up. Its another revenue stream.
That has brought up a really good point......all the above mentioned sites come in to their own the week before Christmas when all the postal deadlines for the big day are looming. A period that can be utilized to your advantage, for sure.
LOTS of questions and I am assuming you will be meeting the people and that in itself makes ebay better IMO. I dont have the desire to meet every person I sell to. It can be a really huge waste of time.
my gosh so true. imagine having to meet every person you sold too.
I sell $100+ items that are big and a pain to box and ship. Mostly used items and I only do it when convenient. I make it clear I dont have time to talk and the price is firm before we meet.
yup always tell them to ask ALL their questions before we meet up
I would say in my own experience only 1 in 3 people turn up who I have sold to on Facebook. It is a real pain and a waste of time. It can be done though and if you have the right item at the right price stuff sells quick. Just depends if you want a constant flow of people at your door asking all sorts of questions.
We sell all the rubbish from around the house, and the big stuff thats too big to post on facebook.
We have probably made 50+ deals in the time selling on facebook's been popular, and only for the first time the other day did we have a no show.
The big and bulky stuff can sometimes sell for more than eBay, but for the small items that can be posted for £5 there will always be someone on eBay that will pay more.
I would say in my own experience only 1 in 3 people turn up who I have sold to on Facebook. It is a real pain and a waste of time. It can be done though and if you have the right item at the right price stuff sells quick. Just depends if you want a constant flow of people at your door asking all sorts of questions.
Fed up with eBay charges 
