Is ebay dying a slow death?

[goldenpeach]

I have never had trouble selling stuff before, whether it's gumtree or ebay but in the past year it has been really hard. Now I'm watching the sales of similar products I want to sell and there are no bids, even new stuff get very little interest, even if they are a bargain.

Is it worth selling on ebay any more?

I seem to have done fairly well recently but it does depend on the item, time of year etc. Anything i want always sells well!!

I'm talking about baby/child stuff

I'm sick of Ebay because it's full of Buy-it-now prices rather than auctions. Used to be able to find good bargains but now the vast majority of sellers are businesses and no cheaper on Ebay than elsewhere - if I'm paying full price online I'll go to a retailer I've heard of, not an Ebay seller.

Also can't be bothered to sell on there because ads get lost amongst all the items by aforementioned businesses. Don't see the point of Ebay really, now that they actively seem to be pushing towards Buy It Now prices rather than auctions. To me the appeal of it used to be saving money.

I think certain brands sell well but I think the recession has really hit really hard and people are only buying what they actually need IYSWIM

I have just had a very sucessful weekend selling. Although I must say it was baby/child toys and clothing. Most times I hardly sell anything I just got the time of year and brands right.

they're trying to push out smaller sellers for sure. all this fannying around with the search results and only allowing you to be a top rated seller if you sell x-amount per month or whatever it is. plus postage rates going through the roof, having to use paypal, having to post recorded etc.

it's weighted heavily in favour of businesses over private sellers, but what can you do? where else can you go and get a similar return?

as well as timing it right (seasonally, close to payday etc.) prioritising helps i find, i still sell well, because i weed out anything i think will sell for less than a fiver. i did quite well with an nct sale for heavier stuff that wouldn't have been economic on ebay. but i've definitely been sending more stuff to charity lately that i would have ebayed for a couple of quid in the past.

eBay is still good for collectables, but other than that I prefer Gumtree.

Buyers have become a complete PITA now they know you can't leave them negative feedback.

Having been forced by a winning bidder who threatened negative feedback into using a courier (and all the pfaffing around that involves) because my auction didn't specifically say I wouldn't, I stick to Gumtree now. Buyer gives you the cash, exchanges a few pleasantries, then cheerfully departs your life forever.

I still buy a lot on there so don't really think the site is dying

I still buy a lot on there, but the chance of finding a used item much cheaper than a new one is getting smaller. There are too many power sellers now.

I will never sell anything on eBay again,.

You are all right, they are trying to freeze out the people selling a few items every now and then to make some money.

Infuriating and I wont be using it to buy from anymore either.