Ebay's Greedy Fee Structure

Its been a quite some time since I bought or sold in Ebay. I did ok
from a revenue stand point. But the fee structure and the lack of
customer service and other nuances finally told me to move on.

Its been a quite some time since I bought or sold in Ebay. I did ok
from a revenue stand point. But the fee structure and the lack of
customer service and other nuances finally told me to move on.

I received a message from Ebay recently that some fees ARE going to be
reduced beginning February 22, 2006.

I have a store on Ebay. Yes, they charge small fees for virtually
everything but I find that I can make a decent profit there over what
I have paid out.

As they say- you have to spend money to make money.

I am not saying anything that people have no already stated, but I
agree that E-Bay has every right to be greedy. And us consumers and
sellers have every right to go somewhere else with our money. I also
agree that E-Bay is charging too much. That is too much for what I
prefer to pay as a seller. Thus, I do not sell there. I buy there,
but I am in control of the price at that point.

The problem is they are in high demand and a popular site, thus with
high demand comes high prices (or fees in this case)

I didn't know EBay was a charity? This is how they make money, they
are a business. Their sole purpose for existance is to make a
profit.

Without those 'bogus' fees, EBay may not be around for you to buy and
sell on in the first place.

If you don't like the fees, shop around.. only competitive pressure
will cause their fees to go down.

While I agree that "greedy" does not belong in a letter written to a
corporation, it's not too far from what eBay has done. Maybe a letter
informing eBay that you feel they have priced themselves out of the
market, and that you can no longer afford to sell on eBay would be
more effective.

Yes, eBay is cashing in on their popularity - and yes, they are
driving people away from selling there due to their higher costs than,
say, a year or so ago. The most recent fee changes were actually
reductions of some options... maybe they see the light a bit?

I have sold on eBay for over 8 years now, and personally I can't
afford to anymore. I have eBay-bound items that are going to end up in
my own garage sale instead... I'd rather take a loss there than take a
loss on eBay AND pay them for letting me take a loss.

Just remember, when enough people stop using a service, eventually
someone will notice. In the mean time, many people call eBay "feebay"
for good reason.

Look at it this way, you have everything you need at your fingertips
to sell your wares on ebay. Although I've never sold anything on
ebay, I think it's a very fun and exciting place to buy things and
I've gotten some great deals.

You get a nice webpage to advertise and sell each item you put up on
ebay. You immediately have an audience of millions of people. What
is unreasonable about paying for this service? As far as the reserve
pricing fee, is it unreasonable to pay a small fee to guarantee that
you won't have to sell something at a very small price? If you are
selling a big screen television and the highest bid is $5, you would
be obligated to sell it otherwise.

If the fee to set a reserve price is too high, perhaps you are selling
items that are too cheap to be worth putting on ebay. Remember, you
as a seller are looking to make money. Me, as the buyer, is looking
for a great deal on something I want. So reserve pricing protects you
from a situation like the television I described above.

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you get many of the fees
waived if you need to relist an item because it didn't sell the first
time?

The use of "greedy" in such letters always irks me. For-profit
companies are supposed to be greedy; it's the very definition of
business. What I think the writer is getting at is not greed but a
feeling of being nickel-and-dimed or beaten-up, or perhaps held
hostage to a company that is hard to live without. When customers
start feeling this way, it's a good idea for even big, powerful
companies to watch out, because it means that customers are more
likely to jump to competition if/when it is viable to do so.