Main Reasons eBay Businesses Fail?

Danny1234 · 2023-08-19T15:24:42+00:00

Other than the reasons laid out in this blog, what do you think are the reasons why most eBay sellers fail? [[https://www.pinkliquidation.com/post/reasons-why-ebay-sellers-fail-and-how-to-avoid-them https://www.pinkliquidation.com/post/reasons-why-ebay-sellers-fail-and-how-to-avoid-them]]

OneInEight · 20/08/2023 08:36

It's a pretty good article.

I would add take into account refunds. No point selling a poorly described item if you have to then refund as not as described - you might get more sales if you describe your item as better than it is but you will also get more refund requests.. Also having to refund breakages - we stopped selling china for instance because we had too many breakages (despite being careful in packing) which reduced our margins if we had to refund.

Original poster

Danny1234 · 21/08/2023 08:51

What was it that you were selling from china?

OP posts:

Hbh17 · 21/08/2023 08:58

Because lots of people don't shop on EBay? I have never used EBay in my life - it just wouldn't occur to me.

SapatSea · 21/08/2023 09:05

I think the poster was selling china/crockery not items from China.

I think the traffic to ebay has really fallen off since it's peak years ago and it is harder to search amongst all the businesses selling the same new stuff. Price competition is intense and Postage costs on small items are the same as for larger so can't make a profit for a small seller and margins to make any profits after the fees are often tight.

BringOnSummerHolidays · 21/08/2023 09:36

@Hbh17 is more price competitive than amazon and etsy for low cost items like sewing threads, bobbins, fish food, that kind of thing.

OneInEight · 21/08/2023 10:38

As the poster above said I was talking about items made of China not Chinese items. Actually have sold the very occasional old Chinese book which is fun because i don't read Chinese. My real point was though that if you choose to sell fragile items you have to factor in some cost of having to issue refunds if they break in transit and this does affect your profit margins.

Original poster

Danny1234 · 21/08/2023 12:05

Yes, very good point. Maybe a better example than cactus' right :)

OP posts:

Original poster

Danny1234 · 21/08/2023 12:07

Yes, I guess it would be difficult for a small seller to compete with a larger seller on the same small items. How do you think that small sellers could get around that?

OP posts:

Original poster

Danny1234 · 21/08/2023 12:08

Do you sell those items on eBay and amazon?

OP posts:

Thelnebriati · 21/08/2023 13:40

One problem is their refund policy. IMO they need to change it so you can only claim for an item lost or damaged in the post if you paid for tracking. The insurance only refunds the buyer, the shop still loses out. We had some customers that accidentally outed themselves as scammers or serial claimers, and ebay don't seem to do anything to stop people making ridiculous numbers of claims.

lemmein · 21/08/2023 13:50

Thelnebriati · 21/08/2023 13:40

One problem is their refund policy. IMO they need to change it so you can only claim for an item lost or damaged in the post if you paid for tracking. The insurance only refunds the buyer, the shop still loses out. We had some customers that accidentally outed themselves as scammers or serial claimers, and ebay don't seem to do anything to stop people making ridiculous numbers of claims.

I think it's the sellers responsibility to send tracked really as it is the sellers who will lose out if theres issues.

I sell on Etsy/eBay/my own site and don't give an option for untracked postage, it's not worth it - like you said, there's too many scammers about!

Original poster

Danny1234 · 21/08/2023 21:29

That's true. Although I couldn't imagine life without eBay, stuff is usually the cheapest on there.

OP posts:

Original poster

Danny1234 · 21/08/2023 21:31

Interesting, how much money a month would you say you lose a month from scammers?

OP posts:

GiannaTit · 23/08/2023 15:10

I am active on eBay for 3 years as Seller. And earning nice amount. I don't think you can fail in eBay business if you have full of knowledge and guidance for success.

Original poster

Danny1234 · 23/08/2023 18:11

Interesting. So what do you think it is that unsuccessful sellers do not know?

OP posts:

Tomikka · 23/08/2023 18:22

Thelnebriati · 21/08/2023 13:40

One problem is their refund policy. IMO they need to change it so you can only claim for an item lost or damaged in the post if you paid for tracking. The insurance only refunds the buyer, the shop still loses out. We had some customers that accidentally outed themselves as scammers or serial claimers, and ebay don't seem to do anything to stop people making ridiculous numbers of claims.

eBays refund policy is a protection for the buyer.
The seller gets their postal insurance from the carrier.

Compensation for damaged / lost goods in transit are claimed by the seller against the carrier - and depends on what cover was purchased as part of the postage

HarridanHarvestingHeldaBeans · 23/08/2023 18:30

I've been selling on eBay professionally for 20 years, so I suppose survival alone makes me reasonably successful!

There are so many things that can trip up even an experienced seller, but borrowing money to start up is one of the most common. There is also pressure to borrow against future income (used to be from PayPal, now it's YouLend). Lots of people think it will be fine, and overestimate their profit margins, so when 25% (or whatever their rate is) of their takings disappears every day it can become difficult to buy in new stock, or pay other costs.

Lonicerax · 23/08/2023 18:36

HarridanHarvestingHeldaBeans · 23/08/2023 18:30

I've been selling on eBay professionally for 20 years, so I suppose survival alone makes me reasonably successful!

There are so many things that can trip up even an experienced seller, but borrowing money to start up is one of the most common. There is also pressure to borrow against future income (used to be from PayPal, now it's YouLend). Lots of people think it will be fine, and overestimate their profit margins, so when 25% (or whatever their rate is) of their takings disappears every day it can become difficult to buy in new stock, or pay other costs.

Can I ask how many items you have on eBay for sale at any one time ? - just curious

HarridanHarvestingHeldaBeans · 23/08/2023 18:44

Usually between 2000 and 3500.

OneInEight · 23/08/2023 19:02

Storage capacity has to be thought of - we try and limit items to 2000 or so items partly because the house would be overflowing if we did not (and our house is quite large). If you need to buy in storage space then that is of course an additional cost that affects profitability. Also got to have room for all the packing materials as buying in bulk reduces the price a lot. Might not be such a problem if you concentrate on small items.

Original poster

Danny1234 · 24/08/2023 12:52

You have 2,000 large items in your house?! Do most people here run their eBay businesses from home or a dedicated unit?

OP posts: