[browardchad]

The irony here is that when you factor in the mailing cost (and E-bay fees) you're better off at the local flea market, or holding a garage sale.

The newest gimmick I've noticed on E-bay lately are outrageous shipping costs. At first glance, very cheap software, until you realize some are charging up to $20 to ship one disk -- first class, not even priority.

[Conservatrix]

They (USPS) are trying to stay up with UPS and FedEx.

That being said, Ebay is no fun anymore. Too many people selling the same JDK junk or whatever it is.... the stuff from the catalog you see on the infomercial... it is hard to find the real bargain when you have duplicated od the same garbage. Beware also of fake software-- I was trying to buy a copy of Word for my old Mac and there was a Word-like "shell" or something so cheap but when you actually read about it, is not software, it is like a PDF mechanism or something.

Anyway, I agree that everyone is trying to scam you wth shipping. And how do you make any money on an item that sells for 2.00 if eBay takes like 20 per cent of it (what is the latest amt? I have not sold through them in a long time)...

anyway, the ebay market is saturated...

[John Jorsett]

The USPS reeks compared to UPS. I bought an item on eBay and the seller sent it via the USPS, giving me a "tracking" number. For 5 days the USPS web site said that the item associated with that "tracking" number hadn't even gotten into their hands yet. On day 6, it plops down on my porch. That evening, the "delivered" entry shows up for that item. Thing is, the only other entry was the "we're still waiting for it to be given to us" one. So evidently, as far as the USPS "tracking" system is concerned, the item was teleported to my doorstep without them touching it. Immaculate delivery.

[MikefromOhio]

Ebay's time was a few years ago...

now I watch the site for sports tickets and thats about it...well that and the occasional Cal Ripken baseball card...

[nmh]

Bump for later read.

[hershey]

I know people who do this all the time and make out quite well.

[BansheeBill]

The problem with such a course,is that for new sellers, ebay will tell them they will get more and higher bids if they load up their auctions with added features and of course accept paypal as a payment option (and ONLY offer USPS shipping).

So, you'll get what I see on a lot of of newbie ebay sellers auctions: They list some low dollar, $2.99 item, and have a gallery photo and probably a subtitle and will have their title show up in Bold on the search page. So, instead of the basic 35 cent listing fee for an under $10.00 item, their fees, before the item sells will be approaching $1.50. Then if it does sell, ebay will want another 30 or so cents for their "cut" (the Final value Fee), and if the buyer pays with the ebay owned Paypal service, the seller will be whacked with another 35 or 40 cents fee (I did not look up the exact fees but these are close) for the "convienience" of online payment, and not having to wait for a money order or check.

So if the item only gets it's opening bid of $2.99, nearly $2.00 of that is gobbled up by ebay/Paypal.

You really need someone impartial to teach you how to sell on ebay. Having a USPS/ebay instructor teaching you how to sell would be like going to a Car Dealer and having him decide what car you needed, and what dealer installed accesories (rust proofing, paint sealant, fabric and carpet protector treatment, extended private warranty, etc.) you needed, and trusting that he could find the best financing rate for you and length of loan payments for you.

eBay is a publicly held company in the business of making money for their shareholders. It is in their interest to get sellers to add as many "extras" to their auctions that they can. As a long time seller on ebay, I can always count on them to disregard sellers wants and needs if it maximizes their profit, even if only by a penny on each auction.

[Brad’s Gramma]

Ping to ya!