eBay says: if you sell a videogame you must post it for FREE

[therealjohnpeat]

*When operating at a higher level I mean. I'm sure there are loads of people working for eBay who do care about the community etc.

I actually don't think there are anymore...

They used to actively support the communities in their boards using people (known as 'pinks' due to their nametag color) who would work with sellers (and buyers) over problems, solicit ideas, deal with issues etc. etc.

That stopped about 1-2 years ago tho - when moderation and support on those boards was changed to a purely "seek and destroy" mentality for anyone criticising or complaining about eBay.

Any other issues are referred to their CS system - no feedback is asked for - no ideas are bounced around - it's like dealing with your gas supplier (at best).

[Pochacco]

Not to mention they 'cap' the amount you can specific to sell an item. Example being I put an Xbox 360 Limited Edition game on there which comes in a big box. I know for a fact that postage would be over £3 alone (what with the size of the box). I usually recycle packaging so rarely factor that in when I put something to sell. Anyway to cut a long story short, specifying 'Royal Mail 1st Class Recorded' will only allow for you to put a maximum of £3 for P&P.

For video games merchandise such as a hardback strategy guide, it's capped at £5. No way will that cover something to be sent 'signed for' (believe me - I just sent a regular GRAW2 guide in the post and that cost me £2.99 2nd class signed for in a jiffy!).

[Monkichi 3.0]

Not to mention they 'cap' the amount you can specific to sell an item. Example being I put an Xbox 360 Limited Edition game on there which comes in a big box. I know for a fact that postage would be over £3 alone (what with the size of the box). I usually recycle packaging so rarely factor that in when I put something to sell. Anyway to cut a long story short, specifying 'Royal Mail 1st Class Recorded' will only allow for you to put a maximum of £3 for P&P.

For video games merchandise such as a hardback strategy guide, it's capped at £5. No way will that cover something to be sent 'signed for' (believe me - I just sent a regular GRAW2 guide in the post and that cost me £2.99 2nd class signed for in a jiffy!).

So price your item accordingly. That's what normal companies have to do when their operating costs go up due to uncontrolled circumstances. Don't you think eBay has similar stuff?

It seems a shame from what John says that eBay is not the friendly little place it once was, but then your item is exposed to millions of people, which it never was before. When I've read threads about eBay, when someone suggests "go somewhere else" the response is sometimes that the competition is no good because it lacks the exposure eBay does. But then you have to accept that eBay has to function differently to how it did before being big. You can't really have it both ways.

None of that is to say that eBay don't seem to behave quite badly in other situations.

[stefcha]

For video games merchandise such as a hardback strategy guide, it's capped at £5. No way will that cover something to be sent 'signed for' (believe me - I just sent a regular GRAW2 guide in the post and that cost me £2.99 2nd class signed for in a jiffy!).

That's the case for acessories too, when I sold my EX2 a couple of months ago I couldn't put in more than a fiver for postage. Actual cost of 1st class postage was about £6.50

[therealjohnpeat]

It's true that if you wish to sell a game (or a collectable item or an LP or an alternator or a stuffed giraffe or whatever) that eBay offers the largest potential market of buyers - however that's not necessarily the boon it first appears.

eBay's popularity means you're highly likely to be one of a number of people selling a similar item - thus you have competition and prices will be driven down as much as possible.

eBay's auction system means you won't realise a good 'auction' price for an item - because their system awards the win to the person who is the most effective 'cheat' (last moment bidder/sniper) and not to the person who would have bidded the most. (I've always found this particularly perverse as by depriving sellers of the best price they deprive themselves of fees - it's the most obvious sign they are clueless).

eBay's policy allowing buyers to leave bad feedback for sellers - and the system of ratings they added to that - both harm smaller sellers more than larger ones. There will always be people who are unhappy with their purchases - whether they didn't read the auction description, have buyers remorse or are attempting to get something for nothing (e.g. are fraudsters) but the effect of such people's feedback/ratings on a large seller will be averaged out wheras a small seller suffers MUCH greater harm from even 1 'bad buyer'. (The classic example here is the powerseller who has 99% positive feedback but who runs up 200 negatives a month - some would argue 200 unhappy customers - 50 a WEEK - is a bad thing regardless of the number of positives).

IMO eBay needs to separate 'business' sellers from private sellers and apply different rules to them. A business seller should ship quickly, offer returns, support the DSR etc. etc. - wheras a private sale operates much like a classified ad - is immune to the DSR etc. etc. This difference must be VERY clear to buyers also of course - and private sales should return to the 'community' and 'feedback' systems of old...

p.s. There is a conspiracy theory that part of this impetus to 'businessify' sellers comes from Govt/Tax administrations in countries eBay operate within. They are keenly aware that eBay was a hive of undisclosed trading and the theory goes they are pressuring eBay to make it harder to 'run a business from home without telling the taxman' - but personally I just think if a Buyer farts, eBay says "mmmm - roses..."

[Halo]

I don't think anyone begrudges eBay making a profit, they're a business afterall, but it's a problem when they're seen to abuse their position on what is fundamentally a monopoly. This is just the latest in a long-line actions which seem to piss off sellers to make short-term profits rather than grow the business, and eventually they're going to alienate enough sellers that a competitor will succeed.

[aeternum_vale]

I sold a Samba De Amigo boxset on ebay, I put it under vidyagames and it would only allow me to have a maximum of 3quid postage. Annoying really but I clearly stated in the auction that it would be sent by courier costing 15quid (it ended up costing 13 in the end but I wasted an hour of my time to get it sent off).

It means advertising games like this under other sections which is pretty fucking stupid unless you just whack the price up to begin with. I hate ebay, it's full of chancers and dickheads, I wish yahoo would sort their shit out and get over here.

[therealjohnpeat]

I guess you have to grasp the different between one of us selling their unwanted gaming tat and someone like Schuh selling what amounts to a STONKING amount of goods on eBay

http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/schuhstore/

Schuh have their own website of course - as well as a chain of shops - and one thing I'm damned sure of is that they're not paying full eBay fees/PayPal charges on all those sales...

eBay is clearly about sellers like them - and not us tho - which, again, is why i think it's time we decamped for good...

[Monkichi 3.0]

It's true that if you wish to sell a game (or a collectable item or an LP or an alternator or a stuffed giraffe or whatever) that eBay offers the largest potential market of buyers - however that's not necessarily the boon it first appears.

eBay's popularity means you're highly likely to be one of a number of people selling a similar item - thus you have competition and prices will be driven down as much as possible.

Yeah, it's the double edged sword of any market with high level of competition and exposure. Ultimately you still have private sales if you wish to go that route, and the more unique your item then the more likely you'll get a better return. You'd need to examine what the best way to sell your item is. If it's a game, why not try Play.com's service, or Amazon's, or this forum's own trading folder etc.?

IMO eBay needs to separate 'business' sellers from private sellers and apply different rules to them. A business seller should ship quickly, offer returns, support the DSR etc. etc. - wheras a private sale operates much like a classified ad - is immune to the DSR etc. etc. This difference must be VERY clear to buyers also of course - and private sales should return to the 'community' and 'feedback' systems of old...

Yeah, that seems like a good way to go about it.

I found all of your post interesting, and you make some good points. To me it still seems a bit like people want to be part of a retail space but don't want the retail rules applied to them. It's obviously gotten harder for the small guy on eBay, but as I said, eBay doesn't have to cater to everyone, they're going in a different direction which suits them. Maybe small sellers should asses the best place to sell their stuff and not always resort to eBay?

I don't think anyone begrudges eBay making a profit, they're a business afterall, but it's a problem when they're seen to abuse their position on what is fundamentally a monopoly. This is just the latest in a long-line actions which seem to piss off sellers to make short-term profits rather than grow the business, and eventually they're going to alienate enough sellers that a competitor will succeed.

Yes, that will probably happen.

[Guest cheeseychips]

i sold a phone on ebay the other week for £205

I paid 22.5 to ebay

I paid 7.37 to Paypal

I charge £6 postage royal mail special delivery

Thats nearly £36 in costs Ebay is a rip off now.

I've had people not pay but i can't leave negative feed back so they still ahve 100% rating which makes it look like they're a honest person. its a joke.

[Monkichi 3.0]

How much would you have been happy to pay?

[Sketch]

So I decided to sell some stuff today, and discovered they've implemented this rule. Well, fuck ebay then. All my stuff will be going on forums from now on.

The sad thing is, we're all going to miss out on bargains.

[McCoy]

So I decided to sell some stuff today, and discovered they've implemented this rule. Well, fuck ebay then. All my stuff will be going on forums from now on.

The sad thing is, we're all going to miss out on bargains.

Why?

[second to none]

Don't forget to use Quidco as a buyer

40% for winning a eBay auction or Buy It Now item. This amount is based on eBay revenue - not on the price you pay.

I got £2.41 for a 70 quid purchase which was nice.

[Lothar Hex]

Quidco?

[Blu3Flame]

http://www.quidco.com

Basically you buy stuff using their affiliate links and they give you all the money they make.

[Hitcher]

So I decided to sell some stuff today, and discovered they've implemented this rule. Well, fuck ebay then. All my stuff will be going on forums from now on.

The sad thing is, we're all going to miss out on bargains.

Why?

Yes, why?

[T Pot]

Just noticed when the GF was tring to sell stuff earlier... The accesories have to be listed free postage too. She wanted to sell a 360 Remote and the fuckers wouldnt let her charge for postage.

[Spartan]

Simple

Use a buy it now and push the price up to cover everything

[McCoy]

Or if you would have started the auction at £5 with £3 P&P, start the auction at £8 instead.

[northy]

Or if you would have started the auction at £5 with £3 P&P, start the auction at £8 instead.

You're making the incorrect assumption that starting price has a direct effect on the end price. Previously you would get highest bid plus postage, now you just the highest bid and there's nothing to say that these won't be exactly the same leaving you out of pocket by the price of postage.

Anyway, eBay / PayPal can fuck off now that I've shifted all my non-360-Wii-DS games and DVDs. Shall be sticking to forum sales and trades from now on.

[therealjohnpeat]

Given that the fundamental approach of eBay having fixed-end-time auctions fucks every seller in the arse anyway - I don't think this is a major change.

If auctions were extended by a bid (to kill-off sniping) sellers would make a TONNE more money - but eBay is 100% about the buyer - sellers are just a necessary evil to them.

It's ironic that extending auctions would make eBay more money as well - but such is their obsession with keeping buyers happy they're happy to lose out with their sellers - insanity really.

[Floshenbarnical]

This happened when I was selling all my DVDs to make money for travelling back in January. If you put it through as not a DVD but an "other video" or something and put £2 P&P on it, and then after you've completed the listing go back and edit it to a DVD or video game the P&P sticks and this is how I made £400 from DVDs.

What a fucking hassle though.

[Chaz]

Or if you would have started the auction at £5 with £3 P&P, start the auction at £8 instead.

Yeah, I did something like this. Couldn't set a P&P on my DVDs whatsoever, even though they were boxsets so would cost at least £2 to deliver, and also seemingly couldn't set a reserve price (?????) at all. So I started the auctions at a fairly high price to ensure they went for something I was satisfied with and that would also allow me to cover the postage costs, and also put an slightly higher buy it now price on. So, it was something like a starting price of 17.99, and a BIN price of 22.99. At no point during my listing process was I informed of any fees I was incurring, and I swear to god I wasn't quoted a figure at any point. Since I hadn't used eBay in months and it had changed almost beyond recognition, I assumed that either a) it was free listings day, or B) listings were now free, considering there are so many fucking limitations and what you can and can't do.

Cue a bill for 6 quid's worth of fees for selling two items for 20 quid coming into my email inbox a few weeks later. It's fucking extortion, and I refuse to pay it. What's the worst they can do? The cunts can lock my account for all I care, i'm not going to be using the shitty rip-off merchants again anyway, that's for sure.

[Floshenbarnical]

Yeah, I did something like this. Couldn't set a P&P on my DVDs whatsoever, even though they were boxsets so would cost at least £2 to deliver, and also seemingly couldn't set a reserve price (?????) at all. So I started the auctions at a fairly high price to ensure they went for something I was satisfied with and that would also allow me to cover the postage costs, and also put an slightly higher buy it now price on. So, it was something like a starting price of 17.99, and a BIN price of 22.99. At no point during my listing process was I informed of any fees I was incurring, and I swear to god I wasn't quoted a figure at any point. Since I hadn't used eBay in months and it had changed almost beyond recognition, I assumed that either a) it was free listings day, or B) listings were now free, considering there are so many fucking limitations and what you can and can't do.

Cue a bill for 6 quid's worth of fees for selling two items for 20 quid coming into my email inbox a few weeks later. It's fucking extortion, and I refuse to pay it. What's the worst they can do? The cunts can lock my account for all I care, i'm not going to be using the shitty rip-off merchants again anyway, that's for sure.

My girlfriend and I went to India for two months and after a month (we forgot about eBay fees) they hired a debt collection company. Cue arriving in England to a huge stack of mail from the debt collection company threatening court and stuff, over £40. You're right, it's extortion, it's not really worth selling with any more for things like games, DVDs and CDs. Fuckers!

[Halo]

It's ironic that extending auctions would make eBay more money as well - but such is their obsession with keeping buyers happy they're happy to lose out with their sellers - insanity really.

To be fair, the sellers will go wherever the buyers are, so I don't really blame them for that - no-one would pay the extortionate fees if they didn't have so many buyers.

[Chooch]

I sold a few games over the last week or so, yet I was able to state postage costs. I just put my usual £1 per item.

How come I didn't have to set them as freepost?

[Sketch]

It only came into force recently.

Yes, why?

It's all psychological.

A lot of "the masses" will pay 50p for a game with £1.50 postage, but wouldn't pay £2 for that same game with free postage.

[masterhand]

Factoring in the postage price isn't so perfect either. In my opinion buyers don't add the cost of the postage into the purchase. They think they brought the item for say 10 pound, plus 1.50 postage. Not I paid 11.50. I used to run a few free postage auctions I didn't get noticable higher returns.

Also buyer will not get a postage discount for multiple items, something that I activley promoted and did get multiple purchases from buyers.

Yup, I notice that too Sketch.

[Sumire]

Cant you just add it on the price you list it at to cover the postage.