I agree with ya Billvick a necessary evil.. BUT it is also CHEAP advertising where else can you get millions of people to see your item for that cheap of a price? if you put it in the paper it is alot more considering it is a very small market, or if you put it on consignment somewhere they will charge you more.... I hate to say it but seems folks are a bit greedy.. if you dislike the charges add a bit more to your item...

I am still under 200 transactions on the bay but I have never had my funds held back never... get a free checking at a bank and dedicate it to the bay, then you are verified and no hold back I am amazed at the people and what they buy I had a old world war 2 camera i got at a flea market I sold it for over 500.00 where else can you do that and not spend advertising dollars?

Mike -- good points.

I forgot about commenting on the holds...

When I first opened my Paypal account and started selling on eBay, yes, PAYPAL held my funds for either 21 days OR whenever the buyer posted positive feedback (whichever came first). After selling for 90 days with a good track record the hold no longer existed.

Like it or not, that IS a safety feature. IF they didn't put that in place, who knows how many "crooks" would open up a Paypal account, sell something on eBay, get their money, and RUN? There are a LOT of scams out there as it is; Paypal is just trying to "head that off at the pass." In other words, there IS a "proving" policy period so they have reasonable assurances that a seller is not a scam artist.

EBay never had a "hold" policy that I am aware of, just Paypal.

Bill

Here's a link to the fee structure.

link

Not weighing in on this ... just wanted to clarify one point that continues to be perpetuated.

Your eBay auction is not viewed by millions. Fact is, most hit less than a hundred or so. The market is not quite what people assume. AND it is precisely that assumption that has individuals ready and willing to pony up the dough.

There are ads on some drum forums that get more hits than eBay ads.

Take a seriously close analysis of page counters in eBay auctions. Obviously, when you do you need to remember Schroedinger's Cat and understand that by "opening the box" I.e. clicking on the pages, you will actually be adding to the variables and nullifying the study. But, you could use your own clicker results as data to study.

Thanks everybody for weighing in on this. Interesting and educational.

For the record:

I'm selling some conga drums = large and probably lots of shipping cost no matter where they go outside of BC where I'm located.

I have one ad at Rhythm Traders and told them if they can generate a sale in Oregon............I live in BC...I will save the buyer the shipping by going on a road trip and delivering the drums personally. Take that eBay!

The fees on eBay and PayPal seem HIGH - maybe they are in some cases. I don't think I'd list my Valje congas on ebay - but I might list drum parts and a drum here and there in the future.

Also - I think this Forum gets some pretty good coverage and I'd probably list vintage drum stuff here before going to eBay......I'd give it a try anyway. I've bought stuff from members here and so far the transactions have been smooth and I've been happy.

i assume in canada you can also list a auction with local pick up only and cash only. that cuts out alot of fees. meet somewhere for safty reasons... maybe bring a pal just in case.

i like ebay but i don't sell on there anymore because of all the fees. but i'm selling pretty good after cutting out the middleman so no complaints.

and if you post in your local classified website (kijiji for example) or ebay classifieds (its kijiji in the u.s.a.) that helps. PLUS some other classified sites are search engines that search ads from other websites. so you may post a few local ads, but its generally actually seen on a few other websites.

i had no idea til i was getting emails from people all over the u.s. but hey, i shipped and still made the sale

you missed the point maybe only 200 people are looking for a certain product BUT the point is almost anyone ,anyplace in the world can make a few clicks and see your product so yes million can see it no other place that i know of can this happen...

Not quite ...

Here is an eBay fee calculator based on all your selling criteria.

eBay Fee Calculator on eBay

David

E bay is a rip off they charge you to list, when you sell and in play pal. best website to post thing for sale is webstore.com and its totally free. check it out