Changes to be made...
Summary: racingcall expresses frustration with selling on eBay due to high shipping costs and uncompetitive practices compared to other platforms. The discussion highlights issues such as non-deductible expenses in the forfettario tax system, lengthy return processes, and buyer manipulation of return reasons leading to unfair charges for sellers. ricambimalta1981 and pctv_ricambi_notebook_televisori_pellicolevetriauto agree, emphasizing how costs and platform policies disadvantage professional sellers. componen44 shares their own difficulties, noting that they had to close their eBay business due to high costs and unreliability of postal services.
I’ve been selling on eBay since 2002, first as a private seller and now as a professional one, and there are quite a few things that no longer work.
I’ve taken part in many of eBay’s changes, like the removal of listing fees, the introduction of the flat-rate percentage, etc...
The main current problem compared to other platforms is shipping costs, which are absolutely not competitive:
considering that in Italy they’re treated as a non-deductible cost under the flat-rate scheme, it makes no sense at all to make the seller pay them, especially with a fee on the sale percentage.
Practical example: an item bought for 1 euro and resold for 3, with the lowest shipping cost of 4.49 considering delivery to a pickup point (a 200% markup), ends up being sold at a loss...
It has become impossible to sell low-cost items on eBay since Poste 1 priority mail disappeared in Italy.
On competing platforms, shipping starts at 1.49 and doesn’t count toward turnover (which in the flat-rate scheme only creates extra taxes), and beyond the lower cost it shouldn’t be handled by the seller.
Managing shipping directly between buyer/platform also makes it possible to significantly increase sales abroad, at least in the European market....
The return period should also be changed.
item sold: 14 days for returns
once accepted, another 14 days are given for shipping
shipping takes 5 days
it takes 32 days to get your item back
if it’s a tech item, it’s already obsolete.....
Private sellers who have 400 active listings aren’t really private, and they pay a 5% commission.
Once they switch to professional, they open a new account.
So professional sellers are at a disadvantage. In my case, 7%....
Items sold: even when it’s a change of mind, the buyer selects not as described and the seller is also charged for the return shipping.
It should be checked whether it really is not as described and, if so, it should be shipped back by the buyer as with any change of mind.
Here too, an item sold for 2 euro with 5 euro shipping, a change of mind with a fake not as described costs another 5 euro charged to the seller..
Result: a 10 euro loss on the sale....
and these are only the most obvious things......
componen44
·1 week agoWhen selling low-cost items on the business account after priority shipping was eliminated, I even tried letting people choose standard mail while warning them about delays. Unfortunately, we have disgraceful postal service and I ended up with a series of disputes, complete with refunds. I was also under the flat-rate accounting scheme, under which you can’t deduct anything, so I closed the business and the eBay store too (that had a cost as well). On this account, where I mostly sell comics, I also sell off the stock I have left just so I don’t have to throw away the inventory. In the event of tax checks, I have all the receipts for registered mail (higher than the price I charge) showing that I’m not making any profit, quite the opposite. Basically, I gave up.
racingcall
OP1 week agothe problem is that you can't prove delivery and so it's always a refund. The post office, people's lack of honesty, and that's that.
Let's add that by now people think everything is Amazon.
pctv_ricambi_notebook_televisori_pellicolevetriauto
·1 week agogood morning, definitely these are all very correct assessments..
I'm very interested in the point that nowadays shipping on all sites (vinted, subito) costs really little compared to what we pay for Ebay's shipping manager..
Definitely under these conditions this Ebay platform is not convenient..
racingcall
OP1 week agoThe lowest cost we have is pickup point with Poste, if you select it first among the available shipping options at 3.39, but no one uses it. Ironically, if they set the courier with shipping costs at 5.33 with BRT and you sell an item with a small markup, you end up in the red.
I’m talking about the flat-rate plan: a one-euro item sold for 4.70 + shipping at 5.33, all paid by the user, so 10 euros; once you take away all the costs, you lose money on eBay because, among other things, 11 percent is calculated on shipping too, and that’s ridiculous
ricambimalta1981
·1 week agoTHEY HAVE DESTROYED US AND THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND IT...
racingcall
OP1 week ago · EditedUnfortunately, the professional seller isn’t protected. Let’s not forget the cost of the shop. Then they give free listings to private individuals. Blows left and right.
It’s true, you sell much less than on eBay, but the markup is all there. you have no kind of cost and you can sell at a more competitive price. if you sell an item from 1 euro to 10, you put 8 euros net in your pocket. you don’t unnecessarily invoice shipping costs and it’s perfect to sell like this