Fed up with e-bay, after 9 years of selling i think its time to give up :(

[Marne]

I sell the dd's clothes on e-bay, they have a lot of clothes as i dont mind buying it as i often get my money back on e-bay.

Last week (and the week before) i listed a lot of their clothes from last summer, item sold for 99p up to £15. I always list as 'good condition but have been worth etc..etc..' and i now state 'items are not in new condition so do not buy if you want new clothes, items are 2nd hand'.

Anyway, i go to post my items and postage costs have changed (again) and i'm down 20p per parcel , a few days later someone complains that theres a tiny spot on one of the items, and now i have someone who has won 13 items and they have not payed (they are also german and i am struggling to communicate with them about when they will pay), a couple weeks before i sold some lego, the buyer never payed.

I'm fed up with people moaning, not paying and faffing around with 99p items, its just not worth the hastle anymore .

Anyone else feel the same?

[exoticfruits]

I no longer do postage- people don't understand that it isn't just the stamp. I wait for free listing days and then I put 'free postage' and the starting price as what I calculate for postage + what I want for it. I don't sell outside UK.

[sarahtigh]

actually postage internationally for items under 500g is quite cheap considering the new parcel prices it can be cheaper to send to Germany than UK

never had much luck with childrens clothes but other things seem to do OK

I have yet to work out why it is more likely for a childrens t shirt to get damaged in post than porcelain

I sell porcelain as ebay business and very very little goes missing 1 parcel in 890 a few minor breakages,
but when I sell DD clothes it is hassle so I now sell them at car boots or NCT

[Marne]

Yes, postage is now easy for international than it is uk (as theres not as many size restrictions), sometimes i can post an item of clothing to Germany for around the same price as uk (its crazy). I now have 3 people who won items last sunday who have not payed and 2 have not responded to my e-mails.

sarah- dh also sells porcelain on e-bay (well when he gets around to it, our house is full of it yet he often doesnt get around to listing) and he hasn't had many problems.

I think e-bay is now a waste of time for selling small items, clothes and shoes, bigger items are easier as you dont have to deal with royal mail (we use City link or similar).

[YeahBuddy]

I'm fed up with eBay as well - so many issues! Guy won a pram off me the other day and insisted that I should take £20 less than what he bid because that was what his first bid was, I nearly ended up chucking the pram at his head!!

[Marne]

Thats crazy .

I have been trying to sell our climbing frame on there, its on for £120 or best offer, some one messaged to ask 'what was the owest you would take', i replied explaining that i would take £100 as the money was to fund a swing frame for my daughter who has sn's (i still need to find money for the swing), the next day he messaged again asking me to call him, so i called him and he wanted to talk about collection and would it fit in his car etc.., he then said 'oh thats all good, i will put a offer in and we can collect tomorrow', i said ok. 10 minutes later he puts in a offer for £70 (£30 less then i said my lowest price was)

Igive up, i would rather sell on gum tree and give my clothes to a friend or a charity shop then mess around selling to idiots whe expect somethig for almost nothig.

[crazydrunkevilhamster]

I was just about to start a thread along these lines myself
I have had a huge clear out & stuck everything to sell on ebay & within ten minutes of everything selling/ending Ebay had ended all my items & revoked my selling rights & they say there is nothing they can do

[impty]

Well, I AM definitely closing my account. Every time I sell anything I attract all the bad buyers! My latest one has asked for a partial refund. But little do they know I'm fed up of it all. I've refused. They've threatened to raise a dispute.... my reply? Go ahead! I know sellers rarely win but the account is going after this anyway. Too one sided, too many bad people out there, who needs the stress?
Ebay was a great idea, but I think buyers forget they aren't buying from faceless, multi million pound making companies but from ordinary people.
And the fees and postage have got so high it's not really worth it.

[IwishIwasmoreorganised]

I agree. I tend to have spurts of selling a couple of times a year and was just gearing up for another one. The new postal charged have made me reconsider.

I could do with getting a bit of money for the things that we no longer need (clothes, toys, wetsuits, unwanted gifts) but can't decide the best way of doing that any more.

[JellyBellyWorkWear]

I feel the same.
My last two buys have been not as described, stained worn out clothing from a stroppy seller and a hand made item that is plain wonky.
Of my sales one hasn't paid after 5 days (after a bid with 4 secs to go!), one the postage caught me out and another was in Germany after all. I'm about £6 down in postage returning dishonest listings for refunds and £4 down on postage from selling with nothing to show!

[bella65]

Do you read all feedback as buyers or sellers?

I won't buy from anyone with less than 99-100% positive feedback, and I read all the feedback before I bid.

I am also wary of selling to anyone with poor feedback and would avoid at all costs.

So far- touch wood- I have had nothing but good experiences- including once when I stupidly sent the wrong items to 2 buyers! They were both brilliant and one even paid to resend to the right buyer- even though I insisted I cover the cost.

The only negative experience I had was buying a high-end mascara listed as new and genuine and I am sure it was fake as the box and carton was ever so slightly different- I raised it but the buyer got away as I needed proof from Lancome and it wasn't worth the fuss.

If I am selling clothes I mention every tiny mark etc though I tend never to sell anything that is not in as new condition simply because I want to avoid hassle- rather take to charity shop.

[Marne]

It is a shame, the only way I can afford to dress my dd's in nice clothes ( boden, joules etc..) is because I know I can get some o f my money back when they have finished with it.

I'm still having problems with the buyer from Germany, still no payment.

I have always enjoyed eBay and have sold and bought a lot of the kids clothes on their. Last week I bought dd2 a pair of timberland sandals ,they were described as slight 2nds but when they came they were covered in marks, looked like someone had worn them for jumping in puddles, they were ment to be new. I can't even be bothered to complain as I'm just fed up with it all ( luckily dd will only wear them in the garden anyway but that's not the point ).

I MIT have to start doing car boot sales instead to sell my items, at least it's then sold as seen and no one can moan at me.

[fergoose]

Marne, just open a non paying bidder case and get your fees back, then you can relist & make sure you add them to your blocked bidder list too.

[Marne]

I have, took me ages as i had to do it for each item, they have 2 more days to pay and then i will relist the items. Didn't really want to relist as i want to stop e-bay but hey ho.