Ebay is not for small businesses

Having traded on ebay for several years with 100% FB I have to say that ebay and their rules for sellers are getting more and more ridiculous by the month.
We as sellers should be free to sell our stock as we see fit and not be dictated by an external company on how we should do this then be given a bonus (which is becoming more and more unobtainable) when we do as were told.
One gripe that really grinds my gears is the fact that a Buy it Now is still classed by ebay as an auction and as such you are not allowed in ebays eyes to then advertise this item anywhere else, if you do and get reported for it they then lock your account and force you to sit a tutorial on how to tow the line before they unlock your account,basically put the D hat on and sit in the corner.
I do not view ebay as an income revenue but more as an advertising portal which when viewed as such helps with swallowing the ebay fees.
If you are starting a business dont expect to make a fortune.

Good but be careful and alert

I think the service that Ebay provides is great and it does its best to try to filter out the scams and people who are not genuine and are just using it as a faceless way to steal.
That said I think the proportion of bad to good out there is quite small, 1 or 2 % perhaps.
PayPal is financially connected to Ebay and you have to remember that.

The one time I had to use it to protect me it worked. I bought a computer via PayPal and had several chats with the guy on the phone before I went to pick it up from a town 60 miles away. On arrival the address he had given me wasn't a single house but a block of 40 flats and he didn't answer his mobile.
After much wrangling from this seller from Ebay and letters in the PayPal dispute centre I eventually got my money back.

My advice is use Ebay but for large amounts of money use Paypal or a similar service of escrow (not one that the seller suggests !) and be careful.
ON the good side I have sold a car that I thought no one would want for £400 to someone who actually liked "cars with a few problems to sort out" and bought a good phone for £30. Two weeks later the seller of this phone contacted me again through Ebay and said she had found some extra bits for the phone , a case and microphone and would send them to me for free. I didn't need them but the thought was nice.

Just be cautious and use your common sense and you should have a generally decent experience and pick up some bargains.

Sometime sells very cheap stuff

You know the Sonny Ericsson c903 Cybershot I got that phone for £30.

Ebay it a marketplace not a shop

People really seem to think ebay sells things, they dont they are tehnology so others can sell. I have always had a positive experience with ebay.

Great way to buy

Ebay is a great way to buy stuff.
Bidding is an honest way, and has a buy commitment if you win the auction.
I agree with users below, saying the ebay fees are stupid.
I am a top seller in Holland but I'll hate to pay for an ad.

GREAT WAY TO BUY AND SELL

I NOTE A LOT OF MOANS ABOUT FEES AND SCAMS BUT I HAVE USED EBAY FOR OVER 5 YEARS NOW AND HAVE ONLY EVER HAD ONE ISSUE DESPITE OVER 200 TRANSACTIONS.
I BOUGHT A LAPTOP WHICH NEVER CAME--OPENED A DISPUTE AS I PAID VIA PAYPAL--30 DAYS LATER GOT MONEY BACK..NO PROBLEM.
I WOULD DEFINATELY SAY USE PAYPAL AND JUST BE WARY IF IT LOOKS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE..THEN IT PROBABLY IS!
OVERALL..YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

Sellers beware

I just do not like this company, I've never found it so difficult to actually use a website!!! I'm a seller with 100% feedback, The fees are stupid and the ebay/ paypal combo is ridiculous its like a great conspiracy to either not give your money back or find a reason to hold your payments. I'm sure it is great if you are buying stuff on this website as you can get the bargain of your life as the sellers are prob selling at a loss or a miniscule profit (if ebay allow you actually have your money) Detest them, find me another website to use please!!

MRAde found this review useful

Sellers fees too much 2010

I was selling from home 7 years ago now it's not profitable to sell something at 99p as the fees taken to list plus the final value fee, then the Paypal fee [who is owned by eBay] is simply outrageous.

I hate this place with a PASSION!

I decided to sell some of my old things in my attic, the smaller cheap things sold without a fuss but I came to sell my boyfriends PS3 console - the fat one.
It sold for a pretty handsome amount and he didnt mind as I had bought him the new slim version for xmas. I packed up nicely and went to the post office to send it.

I used special delivery to make sure it got there safely and quickly the person buying it contacted me about a week - 10 days later to say that it was faulty and had not worked.

This was despite the fact he had left me positive feedback a few days after, so I contacted him to ask what was wrong with it as it was working perfectly fine when I sent it.

He gave me a short curt reply to say that it just didnt work, he opened a dispute in paypal which meant the money he had paid me was automatically put on hold - which incensed me a little.

So I waited for the console to arrive back 2 days, 3 days and nothing the weekend was in between and I contacted the seller to find out where it was and got no response. A few days later I got an email from Paypal to say that the case had been closed and won in the favour of the customer.

Obviously I complained to paypal only to be told that he had uploaded a tracking number (royal mail recorded delivery number - which does not even confirm that the item has actually been posted) and only tracks AFTER it has been delivered.

I explained that it had not come back to me and that it was unfair and I was told there was nothing I could do and it was MY responsibility to get it back? How can that be?

I will NEVER use them (Ebay/Paypal) again sellers get ABSOLUTELY no protection!

Denise found this review useful

Stort udvalg

Her kan du jo finde stortset alt! Jeg har ikke rigtig haft brug for kundeservice gennem tiden, og har været uheldig en enkelt gang med en tysk sælger, men det er jo ikke ebays skyld, men derfor får de alligevel ikke den sidste stjerne, så 4 stjerner :o)

Kæmpe udvalg

Jeg handler tit på Ebay.co.uk fordi det er billigere end noget i dk.
Men pas på, handel ikke med private, der er tit svindler imellem...

Fantastisk sted at handle, men se dig for

Det er svært at få fat i kundeservice - og deres svar er ofte i kategorien:"Goddag mand - økseskaft". Det virker som om, de sjældent læser, hvad man skriver - og sender et standardsvar. Heldigvis er det sjældent, man har brug for dem.

Udvalget er enorm. Du kan være heldig at finde noget ekstremt billigt.

Men check, dét der hedder "Item Location". Nogle sælgere kan godt være engelske eller indenfor EU, men varen de sælger kan ligge udenfor. Gør den det kommer der dansk moms på 25%.

Når du har sundet dig over dét :-) kommer PostDanmarks fortoldningsgebyr på 155 (!) oveni - gebyret er uanset varens pris.

So shop till you drop, but watch out...

Ærgelig karakter

Må indrømme at ebay er et sted hvor jeg bruger rigtig mange timer for at finde dejlige sager, og finder samtidig rigtig mange billige og gode ting. Der er sådanset kun ros at give vedrørende sidens opsætning, måden tingene foregår på sammenlignet med QXL. MEEEEN. Jeg kunne rigtig godt tænke mig at sælge til et bredt publikum som f.eks. Europa, ja endda resten af verden gennem ebay. Men for dælan da, deres gebyrer er alt alt alt for høje, hvilket gør at jeg ikke bruger denne hjemmeside til at sælge noget som helst. Ærgeligt, når det er sådan noget som skal holde en tilbage fra at sælge. Blev gebyrerne sat væsentligt ned, så ville jeg bruge det enormt meget , hvilket sikkert ville medføre at de ville tjere endnu mere på sådan en som mig i den sidste ende.

Good site but be careful

Ebay is a great site in its own right with many exciting and different items for sale by many people all around the world.

I have been caught out a couple of times by sellers despite their feedback and both times the customer service I recieved has been great and they were very helpful in asking the right questions to help find a solution to my problems.

I think anyone who shops on ebay should always read the feedback to see if there are any neutral or negative feedback. I do sometimes bid on these sorts but only if I feel they buyer may have been expecting more.

If you are unsure you should either email the seller, if a quick reply then probably a good sign they are legit or just try and find the item from another seller or another site.

I would recommend as you can get some good bargains.

Uanset hvad du mangler

Jeg er efterhånden en erfaren ebay-bruger som startede op i 2002. Kun ganske få gange har jeg oplevet mindre problemer, som dog i alle tilfælde er blevet smidigt løst. Ebay's sikkerhedssystem har - for mig - vist sig at være tilfredsstillende og let brugbart. Jeg kan kun anbefale at give sig i kast med siden, men i starten kan det anbefales, at man kun kigger og ikke køber - på denne måde får man en idé om prisniveauet på diverse varer og vær især opmærksom på kopi-varer. God fornøjelse!

The site is good

I have used ebay for some years now and the only problem I had was not with the site , but with the sellers. Ebay has made everything possible to make the bidding and dealing as user-friendly as possible. The use of paypal is supreme and the only thing to say is : Check the sellers page and read EVERYTHING on the sell-page before you press buy.

Seller fees

I find the seller fees lost of money!!

Denise found this review useful

Could be better

The feedback system has really let down ebay nowadays, the website itself is great to use and looks much better than it used to. The fees can be a little steep for sellers but ebay remains one of the best places to find and buy cheap stuff. If only it were that little bit better for the people who sell stuff on there...

Denise found this review useful

Not too bad.

Been a shopper on ebay UK for a while now, cant say I ever experienced any major problems. At the end of the day, it is a good place to shop.

Stedet med de mange ting

Har købt på Ebay.co.uk rigtig mange gange efterhånden, og jeg har aldrig haft nogen problemer overhovedet. Så hvis du leder efter noget specielt, så kan jeg klart anbefale ebay - bare for alt i verden hust at kigge sælgeren efter i sømmene:
- Karakterer - hvad er hans gennemsnit?
- Antal handler - har han prøvet det her før?
- Betalingsmulighed - tager han Paypal? Hvis ikke så drop ham, Paypal er det nemmeste og det sikreste!
- Hvor bliver varen sendt fra - Er det England eller Hong Kong!?
- Husk også at læse hans seneste karakterer fra andre brugere!
Hvis man lige husker at tjekke ham efter i sømmene, så skulle jeg ikke se nogen forhindring i at køber over denne ellers utrolig omfattende side.

Karen Toft Jacobi found this review useful

Dejligt sted at handle - hvis man tager sine forhold

Ebay er et fantastisk loppemarked for købere, men man skal selvfølgelig tage sine forholdsregler og bruge hovedet før man accepterer noget. Paypall systemet kan kun anbefales, og gør det at handle nemt og hurtigt. Husk at medregne told og moms når du bestiller fra udlandet, da der godt kan ryge ekstra penge oveni.

never found it so hard to contact customer support

It took me 45 mins to work out how to find an e-mail link to customer support. Not that they have replied just yet. I find ebay complicated and ive heard so many sellers complain about the prices they charge. By the time they take off all the fees, final value fees etc and pay pal too ive been told you are left with 48p out of 99p, if you sell it at 99p. i dont understand how anyone can make a profit, except ebay who must be raking it in big time. its a pity, id like to start selling but is it worth the effort? they need good competition!

Could be better..or worse..

Over all my experience with ebay is good as a buyer. I have only once sold an item on ebay and it is not cheap. I think ebay is becoming greedy by allowing the big guys in to rake in the cash while they push the smaller private ebayers out. How can they charge a non profesional private seller like myself 14 pounds a month if I don´t sell anything. On top of that they warn you to not cancel your "ebay sellers fee" or you might find it difficult in the future to sell again !!!
As a buyer OK, as a seller you need to be big !!

Et spændende sted at handle :-)

Jeg finder gang på gang nye og spændende ting på Ebay - jeg kan kun anbefale denne side - ALT kan købes på ebay :-)

Som alle andre steder er det selvfølgelig altid en god ide at læse sælgernes feedback, før man køber..

Simply Rubbish

Everything about Ebay is dire. The prices, the fees, the Paypal fees, the customer service etc etc. This list goes on and on.

Denise found this review useful

A Sinking Ship!

I left ebay after christmas, I received 2 negs after 2 seperate customers bought items on the 23rd december and demanded that I pay extra to get the item to them by christmas. Unless I hand delivered the goods, this was impossible.

Ebay dont care aslong as they get their money, smaller sellers are being pushed out and bigger sellers are being treated like royality.

Since their great changes (I say that loosely), the place has become a scammers paradise.

Would rather just go throw my stuff in the skip

Denise found this review useful

Gode erfaringer...

Har efterhånden handlet på ebay omkring hundrede gange... Generelt et rigtigt godt sted at handle.

Men ja, som andre skriver. Kig dig godt for, og hvis det ser ud til at være for godt til at være sandt, så er det det nok :-)

Auktioner kræver opmærksomhed

At handle på ebay (og ethvert andet auktionssite) kræver virkelig at man nærstuderer alle detaljer. Man skal ligeledes huske på at handlen reelt set bare er en privathandel og man derfor ikke har de samme rettigheder, som man ville have hvis man købte den samme vare i en dansk butik.
Vær derfor opmærksom hvilken retur-ret og reklamations-ret, som firmaet opgiver i deres salgstekst.
Ebay er simpelthen helt fantastisk. Ud af i alt ca. 200 handler på sitet har jeg kun følt mig (lidt) snydt én gang: købte et mobilcover for 30-40 kr., der gik i stykker efter en uge. Ikke rigtig noget, der er værd at skrive hjem om.

aldrig haft problemer med folk

har aldrig haft problemer med folk, men har prøvet at bestille en vare fredag som jeg allerede fik mandag, troede jeg ikke engang var muligt :P, dertil kommer det at det jo er sindsygt lave priser, lige før en besparelse på 50% efter levering ikke engang er noget man gider koncentrere sig om,

et godt råd er altid at gå efter folk med 100% positive som har lavet mange salg, gør jeg altid og er sku aldrig blevet skuffet!

Some good bargains.

Some good bargains to be had but do shop around on the internet for comparison as you can find some things cheeper elsewhere.

Advantages: easy to access, great way to make a bit of money Disadvantages: items may not be what they seem Is it just me or do things seem to...

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...of Ebays sites but...

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