In the beginning (sounds like a story from the bible book!) ebay attracted mainly individuals in a big car boot scenario, but now its nothing more than a very wide shop front selling commercial goods with no legal comeback (buyer beware and all that). The private seller is now a minority.
Will Ebays fall be as meteoric as its rise ?
2006-09-13 21:08:19 · 18 answers · asked by Jon H 3 in Local Businesses ➔ Other - Local Businesses
What you should consider is that ebay is still the number one internet site out there.
Ebay makes so much money because they charge to list, whether the item sells or not, they get paid. They charge a % of the winning bid, or a flat fee on things like cars, and then, if you use paypal, they take another 2.7% or so of your payment. No, ebay will not go down.
As for auctions on ebay, I myself am a powerseller, and I use dropshipping companies to sell gifts and nicnaks online, and I have pretty good sales. I started out selling junk I found at rummage sales and it was never a great thing for me.
Oh, and as far as your legal comeback, there are many fraud protections out there. 1) Use paypal to pay for all your items. If something does not arrive, put in a claim and you will get your money back. On the flipside, if you are a seller using paypal, ALWAYS require a signature upon receive. If you do not do this, anyone can tell paypal that you never sent the item and get their money back. If you have a way of showing paypal the signature online, such as fedex and ups allow, you will be covered.
*****EDIT*****
as for people complaining about shipping, stop and consider a moment when you last shipped an item out. It is not cheap to begin with. I charge 7.95 shipping for any order under 50.00 and 17% of the order total if 50.00 or more. It might sound expensive, but the goal there is to get people to buy more and combine on shipping. 3 items, no matter how much they weigh, that add up to 39.00 would still only be 7.95 shipping which is a good deal.
Also, a lot of places charge an insanely cheap price on an item, like 0.99 and put the shipping at 35.00. Obviously, a remote control helicopter is worth more than 99 cents, so they make up for it in shipping cost, while still having their item at the top when people search by cheapest first. It is all a marketing scheme, and it works.
2006-09-13 21:14:03 · answer #1 · answered by iswd1 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm afraid I'm addicted to ebay and so are a lot of others so I don't really see it going downhill. I love buying and selling and have got some really great bargains. I personally do not charge over the top postage and packing and take pride in what I'm sending out to buyers and always take time and wrap clothing in tissue paper and then put in a plastic bag to protect the item. I have had a couple of disappointments but thats only to be expected and I know the risk but still can't help myself from buying sometimes useless things because they are a bargain - lol.
2006-09-13 21:23:26 · answer #2 · answered by missieclass 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I still use Ebay to sell and buy things, in fact I'm selling some things now. I think ebay is still great but i don't seem to find those bargains as much as i did in the beginning, and it has got very competitive.
2006-09-13 21:23:49 · answer #3 · answered by Spacysam 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
dont think its run its course but have to agree that private sellers in minority. at one time if you needed something at a good price or just wanted to pick up a bargain ebay was the place to go but now most sellers are businesses and are asking shop prices. ebay seems to be losing its ideal.
2006-09-13 21:34:07 · answer #4 · answered by Sally H 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ebay sucks, it charges way to much to list your items for sale, if you set up an ebay shop (just under £7.00 a month for basic shop) and someone searches for your item on the normal ebay search bar your items won't show up, they only show up if someone searches using the search ebay shop search bar, whats the point in paying for a shop if nobody can find your items for sale?
Ebay sucks
2006-09-13 21:34:42 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think ebay is going to see some of it's market head to places like craigslist and other similar sites. Ebay is too expensive now to even do business on.
2006-09-13 21:10:44 · answer #6 · answered by Steve N 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
the only problem is there isn't another auction site that can readily take over the small seller sector. Unfortunately, eBay makes a lot more money from the larger sellers so those of use who want to empty out our garages aren't as important anymore.
2006-09-13 21:11:55 · answer #7 · answered by Spaceman 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Ebay has indeed become crap and it's getting worse. Ebay is so five years ago.
2006-09-13 21:34:13 · answer #8 · answered by Barry Von Leotard III 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i am a regular ebayer and i love it i get great bargains on shoes clothes ant dvds i dont think id ever buy big stuff from off there cus like u said theres no warrenty or anything like you would get in a shop ive paid for most of my wedding stuff and its cut my bill in half im so pleased some1 invented it
i think ebays here to stay theres always some1 looking for a bargain i say so long as pple dont misuse it its here to stay
2006-09-13 21:14:54 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are right on the money on this one. The big sellers (commerical sellers) have pretty much taken over from the "Mom and Pop" sellers. I think Ebay will indeed see a downturn and soon.
2006-09-13 21:16:27 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋