General moan about Ebay

[Artemesia's Garden]

I just had the worst ebay month ever.  Sometimes I sell some of my stuff on ebay over the course of a month.  I've done this four or five times in the ten years I've had an account there.  I only had 30 listings and four of them were returned without good excuses and one unpaid.  I didn't want the items back, so I just refunded them.  Someone left me a neutral about a top that was too small without contacting me, the measurements were clearly on the listing.  It's such a shame that ebay has become like this.  I seem to make less and less money but the level of hassle is the same if not worse,  I think I may go back to just putting things in the charity shop, at least then I know it's going to a good cause.  Does anyone else think it's getting worse still and does anyone else know of any alternative sites?

ArtiexXx

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Ugh online shopping has become such a hassle for everyone it seems   Being the part-time seller is NOT easy! 

[Thunderwing]

Ebay/Paypal has become a royal pain in the neck. Buyers are either completely ignorant (don't confuse with rude), or totally know how to take advantage of the system. It's just not a fun hobby anymore. 

[wystearya]

This is an issue for me also.  I worry about negative feedback and refunds.  The fees are another thing altogether.  :/

I am starting to wonder if anyone here would be interested in just buying toy lots.  I don't have time to do individual toy sales, I just want to get rid of things.  Make some money, and I wouldn't care to give the buyer a deal.  Ebay is just a pain and a worry anymore.

[Artemesia's Garden]

Ebay/Paypal has become a royal pain in the neck. Buyers are either completely ignorant (don't confuse with rude), or totally know how to take advantage of the system. It's just not a fun hobby anymore. 

I agree!

Post Merge: August 07, 2016, 05:19:21 PM

This is an issue for me also.  I worry about negative feedback and refunds.  The fees are another thing altogether.  :/

I am starting to wonder if anyone here would be interested in just buying toy lots.  I don't have time to do individual toy sales, I just want to get rid of things.  Make some money, and I wouldn't care to give the buyer a deal.  Ebay is just a pain and a worry anymore.

Maybe people might be interested? I think because we are so international here we do suffer a bit on the arena because when browsing we can't filter by location, so we might be all interested in something but then not want to shell out for the postage. 

I have looked into local facebook groups bvut again filtering all the rubbish takes so much time I can't really be bothered.

I think I'm going to start donating stuff again on the basis that I like going to charity shops so I should donate to them 

[tulagirl]

Yes it is getting worse on ebay.  It is such a shame. I remember when it was a wonderful place to sell. I have not had any upset buyers lately.  I do remember one time though that I had a really angry buyer losing their mind over a toy I sold to them.  It was an old toy that was supposed to make a noise and I never knew that.  It was an honest mistake and I offered a refund.  Mind you I always say in my listings, "If you do not see important information about the item listed please pm me to ask about specific things.  I do not always know everything about the items I sell but am more than happy to answer any question."  She never asked me anything about the toy.
  It seems all she wanted to do was tear me apart through nasty lectures because, I didn't do my research enough on the toy.  I think she delighted in trying to make me feel super stupid. Boy her panties were in a twist over something quite easy to fix in my mind.  Send it back...I will refund you.  Some people!!

[Ringlets]

I agree ebay is so much harder to sell on than it used to be. People not doing their research or asking questions first, people leaving feedback without contacting the seller beforehand, people blaming international sellers when they get landed with a customs tax in their country, scammers, lowballers ... and if you happen to deal with a crazy and/or scamming buyer, you cant even leave them bad feedback now to reflect that. Oh and add to that the fees on shipping costs now... and yep its not so much fun. I used to sell loads on their and enjoy it, now I keep around 15ish items active but I don't do big amounts of listings- the time it takes to list every single minute detail to make sure I don't get scammed or bad feedback or stuff like that - it takes forever, and there's not much money to be made in comparison for the time it takes up . I wanted to open a shop on there  at one point but I find its not worth it now, and there are more big companies selling there now too offering low prices that individual sellers cant compete with.
Its not so bad if you are selling a few rare or vintage items or doing just a bit of selling I guess , as long as you're able to put in the time to describe in full detail and have the patience to deal with the kind of buyers you can come across

[dragonfly]

That's annoying. I've been lucky with just one NPD but I try to avoid doing auctions when possible and require immediate payment. The NPD sucked because they went to the effort of sumitting a best offer for a high-ticket item, which was automatically accepted based on a set threshold. They never paid.

I sold a designer watch this past spring. Measurements were clearly outlined in the listing. It specified NO RETURNS. The buyer gets it and was like, it's too small, I'm sending it back.

Measure your goddamn wrist! I ended up just dealing with it and taking the return; since it was a Gucci item she could have gotten her money back and kept the watch if she filed a claim with eBay; it wasn't worth the hassle. At least I got the watch back, I did have a minor case of seller's remorse.

[Artemesia's Garden]

That's annoying. I've been lucky with just one NPD but I try to avoid doing auctions when possible and require immediate payment. The NPD sucked because they went to the effort of sumitting a best offer for a high-ticket item, which was automatically accepted based on a set threshold. They never paid.

I sold a designer watch this past spring. Measurements were clearly outlined in the listing. It specified NO RETURNS. The buyer gets it and was like, it's too small, I'm sending it back.

Measure your goddamn wrist! I ended up just dealing with it and taking the return; since it was a Gucci item she could have gotten her money back and kept the watch if she filed a claim with eBay; it wasn't worth the hassle. At least I got the watch back, I did have a minor case of seller's remorse.

I keep reading Narcissistic Personality Disorder, can't think what else NPD could be!

[Stormy31685]

I think eBay has been problematic for everyone these days.  I feel buyers' actions on eBay are caused by the general idea with retail that products and services sold by stores only benefit big businesses - with less mom and pop stores around, this generation does not see how their purchasing habits affect others directly. 

On eBay, a vast majority of sellers are single sellers or have a few helpers.  Not big businesses.  Not corporations. 

[Michiruchan]

I feel ya. I mean I've only been a buyer and I just can't bring myself to screw over a seller like that.

[LadyMoondancer]

eBay has been going downhill ever since they removed the option to give buyers negative feedback.  There's no way to tell the good buyers from the bad buyers anymore, until it's too late.

[dragonfly]

That's annoying. I've been lucky with just one NPD but I try to avoid doing auctions when possible and require immediate payment. The NPD sucked because they went to the effort of sumitting a best offer for a high-ticket item, which was automatically accepted based on a set threshold. They never paid.

I sold a designer watch this past spring. Measurements were clearly outlined in the listing. It specified NO RETURNS. The buyer gets it and was like, it's too small, I'm sending it back.

Measure your goddamn wrist! I ended up just dealing with it and taking the return; since it was a Gucci item she could have gotten her money back and kept the watch if she filed a claim with eBay; it wasn't worth the hassle. At least I got the watch back, I did have a minor case of seller's remorse.

I keep reading Narcissistic Personality Disorder, can't think what else NPD could be!

lol, sorry. NPB. Non paying bidder.

[Artemesia's Garden]

So I just found out you can no longer respond to feedback.  I have one more load of household and collectibles to sell and then that's IT.  No more.  Far too stressful.  And I am certainly never selling clothes from now on, I don't recommend it to anyone!  Thank you

ArtiexXx

[Taffeta]

I am more and more iffy about Ebay too. I was actually so happy when in spring I managed to sell so many of my duplicate ponies through here. I had some great transactions and even if one lot took a detour to China, the buyer was awesome about it and the ponies made it in the end.

I did sell some stuff in June on Ebay and there weren't any problems, thankfully. But I admit, I took the common ponies and the spare MH dolls I had and took them to sell at the carboot sale in August. Because at a sale someone can look at the item and buy it and there are no refunds or walkbacks. (Although my friend is now cross with me for taking the dolls and has made me promise to let her look at any MH dolls I sell from now on before I get rid of them). Selling ponies on here is great...selling MH on the MHA is not so great if you're not in the US, so I haven't attempted it. My only other option would be ebay, but I'm really not a fan of more fees for more hassle.

(Besides, the added bonus of that was this little girl coming with her Dad about three times, first to buy Shady, then to get friends for Shady, then to get a playhouse for Shady...).

I still have a few rarer items back at home. But I will probably list them here when I am home to do it.

The big trouble is that shipping with tracking is so expensive it puts buyers off, but you can't really do ebay without it. I am fine buying on ebay, still. I understand buyer beware and I am careful about what I bid on - but selling? I don't want to do it any more.

I'm sorry you've had such a bad time, Artie. Unfortunately we live in a society now where people want stuff for free and don't want to take responsibility for their actions or decisions. This is me sounding like an old woman at 34, but it annoys me and it isn't just a "younger people" issue but a general societal issue whereby its all about "what can *I* get from it" rather than being fair or honest. Not being able to see someone selling an item makes people stop thinking about them as human beings with lives attached, I think. Ebay has become huge now. This is both good and bad, but from a selling point of view, I think mostly bad...