I'm Losing Money on E-bay!

Are you using auctiva? When are you listing your auctions? I found that Thursday and Sunday nights are the best nights for an auction to end. Between 6 and 9 pm too. That means you should list 3 day auctions on monday and thursday. I only did 3 day auctions because people only browse through the first few pages of items. So if you list something for 7 days, it won't be seen for more than half the time. How much are you starting your bids at? And are your shipping prices fair? You have to think about all of this when you start selling. Ebay will credit you if a relisted item sells. That is good. But I will agree that eBay is the devil. I have had tons of problems with them. But there isn't another site like them. If you make anything handmade there is a site called etsy.com that is really good for selling. Hope all of this helps.

They don't charge a final value fee if the item doesn't sell. I agree with you Ebay shouldn't charge a instertion fee. They should only charge a final value fee and keep under 10%. Like big coporations their customers are the stock holders instead of the sellers and customers in ebay. That is business for you.

I've been selling on eBay for years both as a personal seller and as a business seller. The fees are a killer if you don't keep an eye on what you're doing. I have eBay stores now which helps a little although I still have to send some items to the listings to bring traffic to my stores. Others have already given you good advice. Check the completed listings to see if there is a demand for the item you want to sell and also see what price similar items have sold for. If you have relisted once and it isn't selling then wait a while before you list the item again. Also make sure your description is detailed and attractive and that you have a good clear picture of the item. The other thing I would say is accept as many payment options as possible - although remember to take your PayPal fees into account as well when you're listing. As far as listing length goes I never do more than 7 days. If you have an unusual or rare item a 10 day listing might be worth it but otherwise 7 days is plenty. In fact 5 days is the usual listing I opt for. Also make sure you get a weekend in your listing.

Ebay can be tough, I usually investigate the items first before listing. I have right now about 28 items and about 5 has watchers no buyers. I sold last month 6 items so I am a little frustrated.

Any items that don't sell can be relisted and if they sell after that then you get a refund on your fees. Items are moving very slowly on eBay at the moment, but should pick up now we are getting closer to Xmas.

Also, I might add that a good habit to get into (if you haven't already) is to do a search for the same item you're selling (or something similar) to see if those items even sell well on sites such as E-Bay. If you find ten of your same item listed, all with zero bids and no apparent interest, then it might be a waste of time and seller fee money to attempt to sell your item unless you're certain you can offer something different and better than what has already been tried by other sellers. This has worked well for me at least. Sorry if you've already been doing this.

I know how you feel It seems like I am spending more then what I am making on EBAY. I pay more in fee's then anything else. Good post

Ahh, welcome to eBay's world. That's how they really make all the money. I'm an artist and art is a strange thing on eBay. There are tens of thousands of pieces on eBay, so it's really hard to sell. Generally, in that category, unless you are someone who is pretty well known, you really won't make all that much. I think, also, that eBay shouldn't charge for relisting items that don't sell at least the first couple of times. I know they give some fees back if it sells after relisting it, but it's not all that much.

I was selling stuff on ebay and quit because the fees added up to so much. I know that they need to make money too but we should not need to struggle as much as we do to make a profit. My neighbor was selling stuff to pay his bills and he said that if he didnt get top price for his items it was not worth it.

i know its ridiculous isnt it. i also think that they shouldnt charge for items that dont sell. there ripping people off

Ebay probably gets the majority of their money from insertion fees. I agree with you there shouldn't be any instertion fees only final value fees. But there is no auction site that can compete with ebay.

Make ur own store to sell the goods at US $ 50.And u just list one item and put the your store link in the item so u can earn more and also no fees.

Girljar, first thing you need to remember is that Ebay allows you to relist and should waive the fees to relist. Another thing to look for when you want to sell on ebay is "Are the things I am selling being bought by others on ebay." If not then don't try to sell yet. Find things to sell that others are buying. Most items listed have a counter so if you see a similar item see how many people are looking at it. Tell you the truth, if you want to make a little extra money I could show you how to and you can make it using ebay. If you want info let me know. Won't cost you a thing. I don't do that.

oh dear,to be careful for Internet,by the way,E-bay is a good site for shopping online,i use it to buy nice and cheap things convincely.