Ebay? Why Not?

The biggest drawback in my opinion is that since everyone on there is looking for a bargain (that's putting it mildly), by the time Ebay gets their pound of flesh comming and going, personally, I really didn't make much on a per sale basis. I SOLD a lot more on Ebay from my store and auctions there though.

Six of one.... half dozen of another.

Posted at 6:35pm Dec 6, 2009 EST

I was on ebay for about 2 years before I found out about etsy. Now I just sell on etsy.

There was a special catogory for children's handmade clothing and when i first start there wasn't much high quality competition. I liked the fact that i had to do no promoting.

I found the listing a bit hard though, it was expected in my catogory to have the fancy html listing, that way you could have unlimited photo's, nicer listings, etc....but for those of us that are a little computer challanged that can be difficult and buying pre-made adds could get expensive. I did teach myself how to do it, and it was a valuable skill but it took alot of work.

After a while i found competition got very stiff and more and more people were selling at such a low price I have no idea how they were turning a profit. I don't think some people realized how much it really cost to list, pay for materials, etc....

I also found more and more i was running into scammers or not very nice people. People who were winning an aution and demanding i make something else or add on things to the auction with no added cost to them. It was turning out that about 1/2 of my sales were turning into a negative experience for me.

In the end I gave up ebay for 2 main reasons

1. I sold more on ebay but at a lower price. It turns out I'm making about the same amount here on etsy but with less work.
2. I like the atmosphere here on etsy much more. I'm just a hobby etsian so if the experience is not a good one for me I don't need to keep myself in that position.

Posted at 6:36pm Dec 6, 2009 EST

I think it comes down to not putting all of the eggs in one basket. One has to find the venues that work, and then decide what is best. But, I would never not diversify the selling venues.

Posted at 6:36pm Dec 6, 2009 EST

bananaicecream says:
"I sold more on ebay but at a lower price. It turns out I'm making about the same amount here on etsy but with less work."



I like where your head is at.

Posted at 6:38pm Dec 6, 2009 EST

Sparkie!!!It's me turdy..You permanently banned? I can't imagine. Now me? That I can imagine!

I hate Trolls..Hate them! I was on a blog and we were having such a good time and this damn troll keep appearing everytime one of us makes a post. He knows nothing! Doesn't contribute anything and Is an a@@hole (pardon my french)

Trolls and sock puppets......errrrrrrrrrrgh Make me sick!

Brick..yep, I've been on some pretty rough forums here too.

Went to ebay..It's still pretty intimidating to even try to sit down and figure it out right now. sigh..

Posted at 6:39pm Dec 6, 2009 EST

I agree with BrickHouse about not putting all your eggs in one basket. I have been selling on Ebay for 12 years (different name), and selling really well. Just like with Etsy you have to roll with the changes. That being said I prefer Etsy. Very different type of customer! Of course the fees are better too.

Posted at 6:39pm Dec 6, 2009 EST

I don't think about the listings- as mine are all the same. ( I can not imagine selling several different types of items!) But, I sell in the same category, and use the same boiler plate listing: so, I change the title,the pic, the description, and leave the rest.

Posted at 6:43pm Dec 6, 2009 EST

I guess the people I am talking about weren't really trolls per se, since they were sellers and part of the community. But they were definitely ugly, black in the heart, and living under the bridge lol. I don't know how they managed to stay around as long as they did. They're probably still there today lol.

Posted at 6:56pm Dec 6, 2009 EST

hellome, that is a shame. the two boards i was on was the vca (vintage clothing & accessories) and the stores board. both were exceptional for a very long time. vintage sellers were extremely supportive and helpful to one another. i made friends there that i still have and are dear to me.

then, around 2005 or 2006, things changed dramatically. to the point where it was so unpleasant, i left one board and went decreasingly often to the other, and then stopped going there too. others did the same. trolls had become common.

i do have to agree with brickhouse that i've seen as equally bad behavior here as on the ebay boards. and also with not putting all of your eggs in one basket. ebay did teach me that.

Posted at 7:05pm Dec 6, 2009 EST

I've been selling on eBay for a few years, and like many, the latest round of new restrictions seriously turned me off. I came to Etsy hoping to eventually move a good share of my traffic away from eBay.

Well ... I've had 21 sales in about 2 months, so I can't gripe too much, but in the same time frame I've sold literally hundreds on eBay. A few of my ornaments sell for barely enough to cover the fees, but on the other hand, I recently sold one for $68 that cost me about a buck to make.

A lot of it is just good luck I'm sure, but I have managed to keep stellar feedback by writing to EVERY buyer as soon as they pay, shipping the next business day (which can be a real headache), and going the extra mile with packaging. I'm not crazy about the feedback policy, and the fact that we can no longer offer insurance as an extra charge. But as long as that's where the buyers are, I'll probably keep selling there.

Posted at 7:15pm Dec 6, 2009 EST