Despite High Fees Selling on eBay is Still the Best Game in Town
This year, eBay started adding fees to sellers’ postage charges. Now, let me go on record as saying I do NOT like this change – I’m not even sure how they were able to do this legally. But, there it is. They did it.
And I’m not stumping for eBay here, but after selling on eBay for 12+ years, and having looked around at a few other sites, for me eBay is still the best game in town.
As a seller, I have no choice but to abide by their rules. Oh, believe me, I definitely let eBay know what I think of some of their changes – for example, that whole bit about not being able to leave a buyer negative feedback. Since that particular little rule came into play, my percentage of non-paying bidders has risen considerably. Yes, I talked to eBay about it. But, we still cannot leave a buyer negative feedback.
Now, with the new fees on postage. Well… I’m still going to sell on eBay. Like I said, it’s still the best game in town – at least for me.
So here are my thoughts on this. I take a “non-resistance” approach to things (my wife and I are students of self development and growth, and we find a path of non-resistance to be the way to go). Sometimes, you really are better off just going with the flow. Don’t get all cranked up about it – it won’t do any good, and you’ll just be spending your valuable energy fighting something you can’t change anyway. Let your voice be heard, and then get back to work.
Before eBay added those fees, I rarely included shipping in my price. Primarily because I didn’t want to see additional fees. Now it doesn’t matter, and I’m tending to include shipping more often. But, I think about the price and cost first, and make sure I take the new fees into consideration before setting the cost.
I have never, ever inflated my shipping charges. I’m known for fair shipping prices, and I intend to keep it that way. I have never wanted to or attempted to make money on shipping, and I’m not going to start now. I’ll just make sure that I don’t take a loss.
Let’s say I have an item that I’m willing to earn only $5.00 on, and let’s say I can send that item for $3 or $4. If I start the bidding – or Buy it Now price at $9.95, I’ll still only be charged the minimal fees, be able to include the shipping, and still make the $5.00 on the item anyway. The buyer gets a good deal, the shipping’s included (which, psychologically, people seem to like), and everyone is happy.
Obviously, that’s a very simplistic example. But, what if you’re thinking, “Why go to all that trouble for 5 measely dollars?”
Don’t forget about live auctions! The old fashioned live country auction is alive and well! If you have a bunch of $5 items that you don’t really want to spend the time or effort for eBay given the low return, load up the truck and haul it off to auction and be done with it.
Just my 2 cents on this whole thing. Thanks for reading!
