Is Ebay dying?

Hi simesc and welcome to MyLot. Great to see you making use of it straight away. I've bought and sold on Ebay a fair bit over the years as well but my difference to you is that my selling has been for individual items - not like a shop front. So for the way I use it I have no problems with Ebay. ps. I have rated your discussion +positive at the bottom right of your post where it shows + - and ! This gives your credit rating a boost and is how friends help each other on MyLot.

Very well answered Recycledgoth.... Personally I've been selling on ebay in the UK for almost 9 years now and have seen it go through many changes...for starters it was only .com when I first joined! I do have to admit that over recent months I have limited my listings to the UK market only(with the exception of regular overseas customers) however that said, there are plenty of additional criteria that you can implement into your listings to prevent the scammers and many security systems available if you look... but that is just one of the ways that I knew would reduce the scammers... and sending/selling within the UK is so much easier too. Granted with increases in eBay fees it does make the profit margins a lot tighter, but then again you can offset some of these by getting your Paypal fees reduced(yes you can!) if your turnover is over a certain limit and you sign up for merchant rates.... also try different suppliers for better trade prices if that's something that could hep you. And if you find a niche in the market... there are plenty available... plan to sell that particular product line for a maximum of 12 months... because by then it'll be flooded... I've sold under many different user ID's and even though I have my core lines, I do admit to chopping and changing them to achieve higher sales. and back to your final question... is eBay dying.... never! they are the most profitable and the biggest auction site in the world.... over the years I've seen and tried many different auction sites and those that are still around don't have anywhere near the market share that eBay does.... nor the sales.... all depends if you want to sell one or a hundred.... and ebay has become a byword in it's own right.

Like any other on line auction site, eBay has it's ups and downs. I began three years ago as a buyer, now I am more of a seller. There are always going to be those who will exploit advantages in any system. The Nigerian scammers for example is only one of those exploitations but the way to prevent being scammed is to tighten up your seller preferences. So far as people leaving negative feedback is concerned, yes the feedback system in place is far from perfect but it better than none at all. The majority of people on eBay are honest and straight traders, it is the few that cause the problems for the many. You simply have to report them to eBay and move on. You are right, however, in that sales are more and more difficult these days, there are now so many people on the site, each one selling, and although it is a buyers' market right now, there will come a time when the situation will reverse. Ok, so eBay isn't perfect but it certainly isn't the worst.