More eBay Changes Coming

[wickedwoman11]

Have you ever seen someone sell a glove or other small item, and charge $20or $30 shipping? This is done to save $ on eBay final value fees.

You're right...I have seen that. But I have also been a seller and had instances where people argued about my shipping fees (say $9 for a glove, or $10 to send four teddy bears in one box, etc.), and I have also often lost money on shipping costs. As a seller, I always had a rule that if I overestimated shipping by over a dollar, I sent a refund. But after a lot of transactions that ended up with me breaking even or even LOSING money due to fees and shipping costs, I needed to protect myself and did so with that promise. Don't even get me started on the time I sold two guitars...

I'm all for making it more fair for buyers, but as a seller, the stringent rules and fees have made me stop selling as much as I used to. And heaven forbid you want to make a reserve auction.

[vintagebrett]

Shipping costs seem to be one thing eBay is focusing on getting rid of. They are offering incentives for free shipping now. As a buyer, I understand that I'm going to have to pay shipping costs to get the item to me. Apparently, a lot of buyers don't want to have to pay this as well. When I run my auctions, I charge exact shipping fees - whatever the post office says it is going to be, that is what it is. I've still had people complain that I charge too much - what else can I do?

I agree that eBay gives you an audience that no show or other venue can match. However, the way eBay is moving, people are just going to stop selling because everything is tilted towards the buyer. With the exception of the Reach 3 finger Walberg glove last week, the vintage market has been terrible. I agree, JD, that is definitely is a buyers market. However, there hasn't been much to buy.

[ScottWNJ]

Starting April 17th, 2011, Ebay's Final Value Fee on sold items will include shipping costs as part of the Final Value. Does anyone else think this is beyond crazy? How can they charge for something they do not provide? Sellers have no control over the Post Office rates and to include those rates in the sale price of an item is essentially a tax. And since Ebay owns Paypal, you are getting hit twice on the postage costs. At least the Paypal charges are for a tangible service (money transfer). But this latest Ebay move is simply a money grab. The Ebay spin is that a lot of sellers sell items for a few dollars and charge inflated shipping costs to beat the system. So by including the shipping in the Final Value will encourage sellers to offer lower shipping rates. Yeah, right. So to punish a few, they are punishing everyone. What they should do is close those seller accounts if they are charging more than a reasonable shipping rate. I don't know how many people on this forum sell on Ebay, but perhaps we should be looking for another venue to sell gloves on. Just thought you would like to know.

[vintagebrett]

Always a money grab for the stockholders. They've forgotten that small time dealers made them what they are. I guess this means I'm done shipping outside the US for my eBay sales - sorry out of country customers. It would have been simple for them to penalize the people who pad their shipping charges but they decide to take it out on everyone. There are other options when it comes to selling but none have as big an audience as eBay.

[Mike**Mize]

Thanks for this discussion. It really spells out the pros and cons of eBay selling. Being in the middle of an auction week I guess I'm pretty happy with some of the numbers I'm seeing so far this week. I've had, for instance, almost 400 combined views for my gloves this week. There's no way I could approach that kind of exposure without eBay. I do think it's very important to go into it without any major expectations. Like they say in baseball, "don't get too high, don't get too low. Keep an even keel.".

At the same time this thread brings to mind the last time I ran a small series of gloves. Really, the killer is the bill at the end of the month. I now remember last time thinking, "Gee, That seems awful high.". It's a trade off. Very often eBay leads to sales of other gloves outside of eBay. I've established some truly loyal friends/customers as a result of eBay auctions. That's the silver lining. Now that I think of it, I met JD as a result of the "ask the seller a question" aspect of an eBay glove offering several yeas ago. Where I'd be in the hobby without having made those friendships, I have no idea. I remember reading a series of JD written descriptions composed for a group of gloves he was selling. The prose was just so refreshingly honest, and in some instances deadpan funny, it just made the gloves irresistible. Anybody remember his Frankenstein glove from a few years back. I still have that one and every time I look at it, it makes me smile.

So I guess if I were to try to describe my approach to eBay selling it would go something like this; Sell this way every now and then. Get the bill. Grin and pay it until the time when starts to feel unacceptable. Then cool it for a few months and regroup; maybe even forget those annoying details and then when and if you think you're ready, jump back in.

As an aside, I actually think things are picking up a bit with the hobby. I have a feeling that there are some new guys just beginning to collect. I think that's fantastic.

[softball66]

Alas and Alack. It's the old axiom of the Golden Rule.
"He who has the Gold, makes the rules."

[vintagebrett]

It's easy to complain about eBay but there is no other venue where you get such exposure. But, in this day and age, there are some many avenues to sell that you're not just limited to eBay. If you're looking to sell vintage gloves you can contact dealers who have websites, consign to auction houses, post them for sale on messageboards, craigslist, etc. You're going to get hit up for fees from the auction house and you probably won't get top dollar from dealers, but you have options. I've always tried to list stuff on my website for a year - if it doesn't move then I put it on eBay. Sometimes you just have to be patient. I like doing shows but there is a cost involved in that as well. Obviously you want to make as much profit on something as you can but sometimes you have to pick your poison as well.

[Mike**Mize]

I'll say this, Brett. I think that the Forum is an excellent place to buy and sell gloves. I've managed to fill some major gaps in my collection responding to offerings and/or posting a glove wanted messages right here. The few times I tried it I also had good success selling some gloves right here on the Forum. Thanks for making that possible.

[vintagebrett]

I encourage people to post their wares here first before submitting to eBay. There are no fees and most likely you'll be getting the glove into a collection of someone that is going to enjoy it.

[ScottWNJ]

Ebay does give a lot of exposure to what you are selling, but now it may be time for another venue to step up and give them a run for their money. Or perhaps Ebay should take a hint from the other auction houses and charge a....Buyer's Premium. The sellers have been taking it on the chin all along, so why not hit the buyer's for a little extra cash. Perhaps as little as 2% on each sale would net them a bundle. It could be added in automatically when the seller invoices the buyer via Paypal.

Or maybe we need a dedicated auction site for gloves...call it E-Brett!

[vintagebrett]

eBay doesn't want to be an auction house anymore - they want to be a buy it now store. Also, there is no way they would ever go for the buyers premium there. As a buyer as well, I would hate that. When dealing with auction houses I always figure the buyers premium into my bid so it's not like it would help you make a bigger sale on eBay - bidders would factor it in.

No auction site for me. I'm happy that people can sell their gloves here without a fee.