Hello Fellow zuiks,
After lurking again for some time (Been on the list for allmost 10 years
now, OOPS is it really that long?) I thought it was time for me to chime in
on one of the discussions. I am on digest mode, so sorry if there is quite a
delay here.
Yes, Ebay charges their customers (sellers) for their services. This is
different from normal auctions where buyers pay the fees. These fees can
even be 20 or 25% on top of the auction price. This makes Ebay look cheap.
As a regular seller on Ebay I am no too bothered with the fees they charge
for placin an item. It usually is 10 or 20 eurocents. If I seel I have to
pay a percentage, that's true, but I did sell, didn't I? So I am happy. I
take this into account when offering something on Ebay, either by starting
price or by ninimum sales price (which since yesterday has been made
inactive in the Netherlands, sh*t!, that stinks). Ebay suggested fewer bids
were made when a minimum price was used. This may be true, but how about
attracting bidders with a low starting price? I don't think I wil start
selling OM bodies with a starting prioce of just 1 EUR if I don't have the
opportunity of setting a reserve.
Overall I am quite satisfied with using Ebay. I started using it in 1999. At
that time there simply was no alternative. The auctions sites in the
Netherlands were not hosted yet. Since that time quite some sites have come
up (and some gone down also), but never with the audience of Ebay. On Ebay I
can sell worldwide and I do have people watching my auctions all over the
world. Unfortunately the last couple of years I don't sell to the US due to
the expensive Euro. When selling something on the Dutch auction sites I
rarely see a visitor from outside the Netherlands, only sometimes one from
Belgium. Prices tend te be lower on the local auction sites, which is good
for me since I use them to buy stuff I later sell on Ebay.
I am also quite fond of the feedback mechanism of Ebay. Most sites in the
Netherlands don't have it and I have seen quite some auctions anding with an
arguement since the seller did not want to sell after all, or the buyer did
not want to buy an item he bid on. Nothing can be done then. Also some
auction sites are not real auction sites IMHO. You can bid on an item but
the auction has no ending date. This makes it quit difficult to bid on
several identical items. You simply dont know when someone will sell you
something at a price you offered. Sometimes two wek after bidding I hear,
sure I will sell at that price. That's why I have 6 bodies for sale on Ebay
right now and sai no thank you to the last seller who wanted to add two more
bodies to my closet.
Ebay Netherlands has local support people. I heve been invited for surveys
twice (and I answered them) I have been msailed if I wanted advice from a
sales advisor (and used the offer gratefully) The called me at the time I
preferred and answered my questions first on phone and later gave additional
info by mail.
There are also quite some sellers that do not want to ship outside their own
country. I even tried some sellers if they would send to one of the list
members in their country. Usually NO, since they cannot chack the address I
give then with Ebay or Paypal.
Now to Paypal.
I started using Paypal for buying stuff from the US. First I payed by
sending cash in a white enveloppe without any markings that it containd a
value. Never had a problem with this luckily. When sending larger amounts
(over USD 200,- I used insurance (about 4%)). I first had to buy dollars
though, with exchange rates which I had to pay. Check the bank for the
difference in what you pay and what you get when exchanging foreign
currencies.
I found out about Paypal when they were US based only. At that time I could
only use it to pay and the amout wahs payed for with my CC. A little later I
was made able to receive money to. Now I can withdraw money form my paypal
account too. For amounts of EUR100,- and up this is free of charge.
Paypal also takes some of the money I get from an auction, but I find it a
great value for money. I get my payment instantly and can ship next business
day. I have never seen any difference in people paying from their Paypal
debit amout or using their CC.
I bought My E-1 using Paypal with insufficient funds on my Paypal account.
No problem, the remaining money was charged via my CC company at the end of
the month. Had no complaint from the seller, so I suppose he did not see
anything of being payed from my CC too.
Within the EU International money transfers are now free. This is only true
if the sender of the money does tick the right choice (shared costs)
Otherwise one of us will be charged. Last payment that went wrong was from
Spain for EUR 16.99 for which my bank wanted EUR 3,50 handling fee. This
makes Paypal come cheap. I don't know the exact percentages they charge me,
but it is allway only a few euro's.
So as a seller I allway use Ebay and state that I do accept Paypal.
As a buyer I don't bother bidding if the seller does not accept Paypal and
resides outside the EU.
Am I missing something, Am I ignorent to the negative sides of Ebay and
Paypal, Have I only had good experiences? Why am I such more positive than
most of you, or are we usually hearing only the negative sides?
As allway YMMV, but this is my experience and I would like to know why there
is this negative sentiment about the bay on our list.
Kind regards,
Wiliam Wagenaar
Middelburg, NL
==============================================
List usage info: http://www.zuikoholic.com
List nannies: olympusadmin@xxxxxxxxxx
==============================================
|