An In-Depth Look at eBay: Where Stress and Pressure Are in Equal Measure

Really, what’s the point of even reviewing the world’s biggest auction site? Certainly a part-time seller like me can’t bring anything new to the table that millions of other reviews haven’t already mentioned. And that much is certainly true. Still, it’s a decent-sized part of my selling plan, as it is with millions of other sellers, and so I feel it should be included for the sake of completeness, if nothing else.

SITE/NAVIGATION

eBay's main landing page for me...and this is truncated.

eBay’s home page is incredibly cluttered, though that seems to be the norm now, as online stores try to shove as many potential deals in your face as possible, right from the get-go. And, like everything else these days, the main page is all suited towards your likes and interests, using your search history and "watch list" items against you, in a desperate ploy to get you to buy something. I suppose it's an effective strategy, given the fact that every major site seems to use it these days, so what do I know? The page seems to go on forever and ever, breaking down all of your potential purchases by category; it's like "organized chaos", with hundreds of products being forced down your throat all at once.

Selling items on here can also be a convoluted mess, especially if you are new to the site. In fact, “convoluted” can describe the entire process of selling on eBay, which has grown to have quite a negative reputation among the selling community for a myriad of reasons, which we will get into a little bit later.

If you're manually creating listings and your item is relatively common, their forms can really help save you time.

For starters, there are multiple ways to list products from the site itself, such as by clicking on “Sell” and then filling out a form to help you find the item you want to sell. Or, you can click on an item like yours, and click “Sell one like this”, which autofills the information from that listing and can save you some time. If you're starting from scratch, there's a simple lister, geared toward hobbyist and occasional sellers, that just give you a few basic options, as well as an advanced listing tool, which gives you more in-depth fields to fill out, beyond just the basics. The more descriptive you are, the higher (in theory) it will rank in results, so it is probably in your best interest to fill in as many fields as you can.

That's all in theory, though, because of course there are vague algorithms that will either push your results higher or lower in the search results. For example, offering free returns is said to put more eyes on your product, as that's the kind of service eBay is pushing on its sellers. Ditto for those that offer guaranteed "fast and free" shipping, which is guaranteed to be delivered to the buyer within 3 business days. Despite my aggressive pricing, which is almost always the lowest on the site on the products I sell, my listings seem to get buried more often than not, in favor of people offering the above services, regardless of how much more expensive they are. The algorithm is never transparent, and always seems to be changing on a whim, so good luck standing out with any kind of consistency, unless you're a high-volume powerseller.

Not content with just giving you a platform to sell on, eBay also want to give the illusion that they care about you and your success, which is why they've rolled out a new selling dashboard (called the “Seller's Hub”), which includes many tools for sellers, like the “Growth” tool, which compares your listing to similar ones that recently sold from within the same category. In theory, it's a nice idea, but the issue is that it’s not at all helpful, giving you a few vague metrics (this many people clicked through on listings that sold in your category, while this many fewer people clicked on yours) while never expanding upon how you can fix them to gain better traction.

Thanks for the help, "Growth" tool.

For example, above we have a listing for a lamp that I've had in my inventory for quite a while (hey, it happens), and that doesn't appear to be moving any time soon. It compares my listing to others (the only other one on there is selling for twice as much) in terms of price, which can be helpful in and of itself, but the metrics go on to compare it to similar lamp listings within the same selected category (in this case, I believe "table lamps") that have sold. Wait...what? How is that useful, or an apples to apples comparison? And what constitutes a "similar" listing? Same vendor? Same materials? Similar price points? Any combination thereof? Good luck figuring that one out.

If you want an actual head-to-head comparison of other similar products, you'll have to scroll to the very bottom to see it, but a word of warning: it's probably going to be a complete waste of your time. The comparison tool is buried and must be clicked on to be expanded, and, in many of the cases I've looked at, even though my listing is "underperforming" according to eBay, it's actually performing the same as, or better than, every other one on the platform. Wait...what?

A useful example of an "underperforming" listing that is actually performing better than every other one.

At any rate, these metrics are entirely optional and provided free of charge, so you can take them with a grain of salt and not miss out on anything. There are also some (actually useful) stats on the number of views and watchers each of your items have, which is a great at-a-glance tool to see how well (or poorly) your product is performing. Again, fixing an underperforming listing isn't usually as easy as lowering the price and watching the traffic come in, but it can help give you ideas on how best to describe or market your product to maximize potential hits.

At any rate, I have to say I like eBay’s setup way more than Amazon’s, and I also appreciate how the sellers get more prominently featured on the site, as opposed to Amazon, where individual sellers are reduced to near anonymity.

FEES

There are a growing number of areas where eBay is maligned, but it all starts with the fees. For most sales, it's 10% of the item cost, PLUS an additional 10% for the cost of postage, if you charge the buyer shipping. The most notable exceptions: a 12% fee applies for books, movies, and music, while guitars and basses are only subject to a 3.5% fee. If you’re working in a category with a tight profit margin (such as electronics), or selling a lot of small items, this can almost be a dealbreaker, or at least force you to sell dozens of items a month to even make a meaningful profit.

Thankfully for the beginner or occasional seller, they do offer 50 free auction-style or Buy It Now listings every month, which is great for people who don't post a ton of monthly items. After that, each one is a whopping $.35, which can add up pretty quick, especially if you have your unsold listings set to auto-repost at the end of the month. If you need more than 50 listings, or are a higher volume seller, it would definitely be in your best interest to open an eBay store.

Monthly costs of each eBay store, at-a-glance. (source: eBay)

Catering to the more serious sellers, eBay stores allow you to have your own selling space on the site, in exchange for either a recurring monthly charge, or lump-sum annual fee. The starter store, which gives you virtually no benefits beyond doubling your monthly free listings up to 100, costs $7.95 monthly, or $4.95/mo if paid for annually. The next step up is the Starter store, which is $27.95 monthly, or $21.95/mo billed annually, which provides discounted final value fees and free insertions for up to 250 items per month. It goes on and up from there, with each tier offering additional benefits, and more monthly insertions. In the case of discounted final value fees, most categories simply drop from 10%, to 9.15%, but there are some where it can drop to as low as 4% (such as computers and parts), which is a pretty good discount for people who sell a lot of those types of items.

Not keeping this above standard can lead to--surprise!--even more fees!

It should also be noted that they have recently (October, 2018) started charging sellers with a high number of “Item Not As Described” (INAD) cases an additional 4% in final value fees, essentially taking those up to 14% in most categories. They also charge the extra 4% for sellers with a rank of “Below Standard”, so this is where it really pays to keep your feedback up. (Note that if you happen to be in both categories, the fees max out at 14%, so at least they don't tack the additional 4% on top.)

APP

The eBay app pretty much offers full functionality of the website, allowing you to run your business on the go. You can even list items on it, which makes it a great portable companion to the main site! I haven't used the app for a while (I just use the mobile site in rare instances I need to eBay when I'm not home), but back when I did, it was mostly just to check "sold" prices to see if I wanted to buy an item for resale. It worked perfectly in that regard.

Outside of the official app, there are also variety of websites and programs that integrate with the marketplace, allowing you to control your eBay inventory, sales, and listings, all from one remote dashboard. These generally cost an additional monthly fee, and are run by a third-party (that is to say, they are not created, nor endorsed by, eBay itself) but can help make running your store an easier process.

TRAFFIC

Why is eBay so popular despite all the negative...oh, nevermind. Those numbers say it all.

Outside of maybe Amazon, you are not going to find a more trafficked marketplace—it’s just that simple. Of course, the flipside to that means that you are going to have some massive competition as a seller, unless you’re lucky enough to sell a steady-selling niche product that no one else is trying to unload. The competition is cutthroat, and with eBay constantly adding rules and regulations for their sellers, it can also get very stressful, especially if you’re doing it full-time and trying to make ends meet.

The catch to this is that it’s very hard, if not outright impossible, to make a living on a site outside of eBay (save for Amazon), unless you happen to have a very strong social media presence, or are very good about bringing customers to your own site. That’s the joy of having the millions of visitors every month—there’s a greater chance people are going to stumble on your items and, assuming you have some good descriptions and solid photos, that can mean more sales, with comparatively minimal effort.

As can be expected, the buying community runs the gamut from scamming sleazeballs, to those with lots of expendable income, though I'd say on average they are pretty middle-of-the-road. I've sold a lot of $100+ items here with no issues whatsoever, unlike some sites where high-dollar purchases automatically raise red flags, and should be approached with extreme caution (or not approached at all). Just a reminder, though, that I do a way lower volume of sales compared to many sellers, and the internet is chock full of stories of sellers getting scammed (with eBay almost always siding with the buyer), so be weary...obviously the more transactions you make, the greater your chances of running into a problematic buyer. And if you aren't very good at customer service (which isn't a knock: it's a skill that, like everything else, some people just don't have) that is only going to compound the potential issues.

SUPPORT/COMMUNITY 

The good ol' community forums, one method of support.

Supporting sellers is right up there with fees as the main area(s) where eBay takes a huge nosedive in the eyes of sellers nationwide, though I must confess I’ve never had much of an issue with eBay support. Many sellers online are constantly threatening to leave because of dystopian tactics that eBay utilizes to wring the sellers dry of every penny they can, while still urging consumers to buy their products from them, instead of going somewhere else. In partial compromise for the stress eBay puts their sellers through, they offer “rewards” for sellers that maintain a high level of excellence, but they do seem to be diminishing as the requirements for Top-Rated Sellers keep increasing.

For example, eBay is pushing free returns and free shipping to maintain a leg up on the competition, with the latter being a requirement to have the Top-Rated Seller badge prominently featured on your listings. However, the reward for hitting such stringent selling standards is a 10% discount on final value fees…down from the 20% discount they offered a year ago.

I actually sold enough items my first year to qualify for Top-Rated status (you must have at least 100 transactions, totaling at least $1,000 for each rolling 12 month cycle), but lost it almost immediately the month after because of a dwindling focus on eBay; a focus that has never returned. And with so little reward for so much stress, why even bother? Unfortunately, my viewpoint can’t be shared by the millions of people trying to eke out a living on the site, and so they must jump through the constantly-evolving hoops that eBay tosses out at them.

Methods for contacting support vary by reason, and can be somewhat hard to find.

As for eBay’s actual support department, the only times I’ve had to deal with them were after initiating returns myself, without forcing the buyer go through eBay to request one—the first time, I did this unknowingly, figuring there would be a way to mark the items as returned myself, and was shocked to discover that there is not. The second time I did it because nothing has the potential to upset customer’s more than perceived runaround, and forcing them to open a ticket through eBay just seems like an unnecessary extra step to me. Either way, both times I called them, they credited me within hours for the lost final value fees, without so much as a question (of course, they verified that a refund was made through Paypal). All in all, it was pretty easy, aside from the annoying step of having to call them (email is not an option on most support topics).

While I got off the hook pretty easy, finding support options can be a bit of a drag. Why is it that every selling site these days seems to want to make it as hard as possible for sellers to get a hold of them? I get that they probably want their support people as a last line of defense to limit the number of calls that get through, but it seems support contact info for sellers is often buried under countless FAQ's, or help desk lists. This isn't just exclusive to eBay either...it's a trend I'm noticing across virtually every major site, and a good way to potentially sour large groups of sellers, who just want quick answers to their pressing questions.

On top of in-house support, they also have help forums where users can get answers to their questions from people within the eBay community. It’s a great place for people to network, on top of being a place where users can get answers to simple questions, without having to “waste” eBay’s support resources. It’s very tilted toward sellers—the one time I had an issue with a transaction and posted about it (which was back when I was relatively new to the whole buying thing), I was pretty much berated for my behavior by the pro-seller community, though the seller was a real dickhole and deserved most of the blame.

Either way, answers to most questions are pretty quick, and can save you the headache of having to get a hold of the support team if you have a minor issue.

OVERALL

PROS (+)

+Lots of traffic and willing buyers

+Discounts on shipping eBay sales through USPS and FedEx with no markups or fees

+Listing items on-site is a breeze

+Plethora of third-party apps and integrations to help you control your inventory and listings easier

CONS (-)

-High fees

-Very little seller support, despite ever-increasing expectations and mounting pressure

-Cutthroat attitude among sellers

-Buyers who take advantage of the system

-Support contacts can be hard to find

-Dwindling rewards for maintaining the excellence they constantly push for.

Honestly, the traffic and sales volume are about the only things that keep people selling here. eBay offers very little support to sellers, while constantly ramping up their performance expectations, and gives dwindling rewards back for sellers who still manage to maintain excellent scores. The fees are a consistent point of scrutiny, with 10% (plus payment processing, plus additional postage fees, if applicable) potentially taking a large chunk of revenue. And yet, it's like an abusive relationship: with volume sellers unable to replicate their successes anywhere else, they must put up with eBay's greedy, dystopian tactics, or risk failing at another venue (which, of course, is all a part of eBay's "loyalty" plan).

That being said, for occasional and part-time sellers who can afford to play by their own rules, the traffic presents a great potential for sales without all that unnecessary pressure, and without a need for constant self-promotion. Even for me, it's still not a fun place to sell, nor is it my "go-to" spot, but it certainly helps move inventory, and will continue to be a lower-priority component to my business plan for the foreseeable future.

OVERALL: 6/10