eBay high volume seller costs YOU $$$

[Chimera]

I poster a couple Rivieras up on eBay (66GS/68GS). Once it automatically re-listed the auction automatically even though I didn't want to and there was no way to uncheck to remove the option of resisting. Anyway, now because of their glitch I am listed as a "high volume seller" (over 6 per year), even though I have not a single vehicle. So it is $50 to list a vehicle if this status that will remain now year ofter year and of course not so long ago they made it $100 just to set a reserve; these are just insertion fees even if not selling. If you actually sell the vehicle, more muggings occur.

 

I am not putting this up here as a whining post, but instead to make others aware to used the 6 listings per year wisely and don't get into the high volume status if possible. I was personally not aware of this statue previously and so didn't really push back when eBay magically made me re-list.

 

Im going to be using Craigslist, Hemmings, and other venues much more for sure, personally.  

 

Posting a link to the 66 below. Did not resist the 68, because of higher cost:

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1966-Buick-Riviera-GS/283138278291

[Barney Eaton]

Is this "high volume seller" just for vehicles or all items?    I don't sell that much but between Ebay fees and Paypal fees it gets expensive to sell

[KongaMan]

In my experience, eBay has long been becoming a less attractive sales channel.  It's not just the amount of fees, it's the ever-changing rules, the persistent hectoring to conform to increasingly restrictive standards, and the underlying attitude that sellers' concerns are not worthy of consideration.

Edited September 4, 2018 by KongaMan (see edit history)

[Chimera]

Well it is also odd that my auction automatically re-listed and even after being on the phone with eBay, they could not figure out why the button was missing to take it off the automatic re-list option. This "glitch" could potentially be driving up $$$ for many sellers...who knows.

 

More than 6 vehicles in one year (even if the same vehicle AND never sold). I think only for cars, but I am sure they have other types of fee schedules for non vehicles.

 

I get that they want to promote a sale and so make the reserve $100 feature and perhaps 6 listings is enough per year to keep prices in the might sell range, yet knowing the fee schedule certainly helps. Seems that if someone is not a dealer, the goal would be to not be branded a "high volume seller" related to vehicles, because even if I don't sell any vehicles for years on end, the status is permanent. 

 

For me if I am spending $100+ it might be better to go with Hemmings and Craigslist combo. 

Edited September 4, 2018 by Chimera (see edit history)

[rocky5517]

I was on the phone with them twice before getting my ad straight. I went thru  e-bay motors; there's a way to list it for a set price as opposed to an auction "Sell it Now" I think. You can always say "Or Best Offer" in your text. It isn't easy. I got more action from Hemmings. Careful with craigslist- home of the scammers.

[JZRIV]

Next to impossible to keep up with changing ebay rules. Reading the fine print has become oh so important. I would complain to ebay and they might remove the high volume seller label considering the circumstances being triggered by the auto relist.

I don't know this is reason and believe me not sticking up for ebay but its a constant game of cat and mouse with sellers and buyers finding creative ways around ebay fees. Relative to the high volume seller snag I know there are people and dealers who would put up listings with a high enough price that it doesn't sell but not so outrageous they will still get some inquiries that can lead to a sell outside of ebay after the listing ends. ebay reaches a massive audience probably more than any other venue.

Edited September 4, 2018 by JZRIV (see edit history)

[39BuickEight]

This will help clear out some fraud.  I like the idea.  Pay to sell is expected of legitimate avenues.  Simply make your reserve $150 higher.

[60FlatTop]

There is a hidden cost in all this. I have bought cars to strip and stashes of car parts from hoarders of various types over the years and sold about $3,000 worth of items per year. I keep track closely and for each dollar coming in I spend about $0.40 total for the sale, not counting acquisition, labor, or listing time. I work a little harder at my regular job and methodically throw out collected Ebay stock. It has been two summers since I bought a parts car or garage hoard of parts. I know manyI have passed on were scrapped.

 

If it had been worth my effort those items would still be circulating in the hobby.

[Chimera]

UPDATE:

 

Yeah, I don't mind the high volume seller status as a mechanism, in fact it can save money if you actually sell the vehicle, because after speaking with eBay I found out that they don't charge the $120 if sold. So the $50 can be cheaper if sold. The issue was that a glitch on their end made me repeat an auction that I did not want to with no way of shutting it down. 

 

I just experienced another odd eBay happening where an interested party sent me an offer and instead of the normal 48 hrs. to review and respond to the offer, it was only 12 hrs (it happened multiple times). They admitted that this was actually an unusual bug and the gentleman I spoke with said in his many years of working in the automotive department at eBay, he has never seen it. There are some other recent reports of this happening to other he said. It can cause issues, for example one offer came in at about 10:30PM for me and then expired in the morning. Thats not much time to respond effectively.

 

I was really getting frustrated with eBay on these last experiences, however they ended up treating me well enough not to leave the platform by giving me some free auctions ($200 value) and took off some other fees for me. They did not take me off the high volume status, but I consider it a decent resolution. 

 

Another update is that to set a reserve is only $40 for vehicles and not the $100 I mentioned previously. They think I may have been in the parts selling mode which can have a reserve up to $100 depending on a percentage of the part price. 

 

With this, if anyone has issues or questions, I recommend calling the eBay motors department directly to find resolve: 1-800-682-3229

 

PS: I got another scammer wanting to purchase the vehicle at full price and pay in-full with PayPal and wanting to pick up the vehicle quickly. Geez...

Edited September 5, 2018 by Chimera (see edit history)

[rocky5517]

I was having trouble listing my car so I went to Google and asked 'How to sell a car on Ebay". I was directed to a site that looked exactly like e-bay's site re asking info about the car. Everything looked good until it asked a lot of info re credit card #'s, pay pal info, checking acct, etc. When I had ebay on the phone I told them about it. They said it sounded like a scam but they didn't seem too concerned. I made a report about it anyway.

[VickyBlue]

eBay is not what it used to be. Another issue I had with them, when you insert remote picture hosting in the description tab, then somehow the worst wording out of your description, "small scratch, never been in an accident of flood, extra parts included" will read 

"extra parts from the crash included with scratches" on the first page where everyone sees before they click on the tab to read the actual description. I am done with them...