Is EBay completely worthless or does it just seem that way to me

[ssjones]

Where could you have sold it for more, as easily?


I’ll pay the eBay cut all day. The increased exposure and higher sales prices more than make up for it.

At places like the classifieds here, niche specific. I sell my restored, vintage tobacco pipes on a forum like this one. Same for fishing equipment. No seller fees, no Paypal fees (Family & Friends). Not sure why I didn't go that route on the fly-fishing forum for that reel. "Reach" is the key word vs "easily" for me. Some items are too pricey for the pipe forum and Ebay the only world-wide reach route. For a pipe, might pay $50, work in it for two hours and sell it for $100 on Ebay, minus fees, not really worth it. But, I enjoy time in the shop restoring them, so I guess it's like paying for a round of golf for others!

When I had old motorcycles, I sold parts on the sister forum here, the Jockey Journal.

 

[kbuhagiar]

"Jockey Journal"?

 

[Nobody-named-Olli]

Posted earlier what I do like eBay for. Now I scored a goodie on eBay on Sunday - which I think is another good example for where eBay is a good place to buy.

So more recently I re-discovered my CRKT Zilla Tool Jr. in a drawer. I always liked the design, but it was very limited with only two bits a flat and a phillips. And both are 5HEX standard, which means they have a hex shank measuring 5mm over two flats. Not very widespread. (The reason it ended up in the drawer.)

Played around with it a bit and decided to do some research.

I proceeded with some google-fu, remember, this tool is long discontinued, and from the ‘07/‘08 era. I found some reviews mentioning a CRKT Get-away-driver key-chain tool that comes with an adapter that will fit the 5HEX bit-holder on the ZillaTool Jr. and make it accept all regular 1/4” hex bits. Also long discontinued.

Sure enough, eBay had a listing, in Germany, from a German seller, who had 4 to sell. 2 gone, one now bought by me. Price was simply the old MSRP but included shipping. … Immediately hit buy.

I could have waded through the knife collector communities, Facebook (which I do not use), … But there it was sitting on eBay. One click, pay, and it is on it’s way.

Kind regards,
Olli

 

[ssjones]

"Jockey Journal"?

https://www.jockeyjournal.com/

 

[kbuhagiar]

https://www.jockeyjournal.com/

Aha! I had no idea.

 

[slowtwitch73]

It's not Ebay, It's you.

 

[ssjones]

Aha! I had no idea.

I stumbled on this forum after a decade on the Jockey Journal. I had an old Triumph chopper (that is the seat in my avatar), now sold, too old....(and smart)

 

[lbhsbz]

I used to sell on Ebay many thousands of dollars/year. But the rules have changed. Not only have fees gotten insane and unintelligible but if you sell anything over $100 (my bread and butter) your odds of getting scammed are almost 100%. Ebay ALWAYS sides with the buyer. I started taking a net loss on the year before I gave it up.

This is simply not true.

Anytime an issue has come up that is not my fault (I do not allow issues to come up that would be my fault), they have always sided with me, the seller. I've also never been scammed, and I do over $200K/year in sales on eBay.

 

[bmwrd0]

eBay is a business. And, like any business, you have to treat your relationship with it as a business. If you sell on there, you are engaging in retail, with all the issues that come with that. The fees eBay charges are no different than a rent on a store front, and you have to figure that into your pricing. There will be scammers, and, again, you have to figure that into your pricing. Same with packing, and so on. eBay tends to side with the buyer, as they need to have people see it as a safe place to spend money, otherwise it would close in a hurry. You could say the same for sellers, but there are always people looking to get rid of things, and people looking to make a buck.

If you understand this, eBay is a wonderful tool for reaching the widest possible audience for what you are selling. But you have to understand this, and take measures to deal with it.

 

[Debcrow]

I've scored some EPIC deals on fleaBay (and CrackList) by looking for misspellings.

Even though the search engines now attempt to idiot-proof by including misspellings, the world will always invent a bigger idiot, and there are still a lot of lonely misspelled goodies out there.

You have to be smarter than the search engines, yet able to think like an especially dim *****. Then you have to figure out whether you're dealing with a bad speller who will actually deliver the goods vs. someone who's actually a ***** through and through.

As one example, if the widget you're looking for involves a part number or model number, try searching for listings using the letter "O" instead of the actual numeral zero (and vice-versa).

Well, you had to use idiot, dim *****, *****, someone who's actually a ***** through and through before you got to the actual thing you were trying to say in the very last sentence.... dealing with Zeros!

 

[seber]

I went back and sold a powder measure on Ebay last week just to get it out of the house. Here is what Ebay charged direct from their site.
Date
Description
Amount
Fees
Net
Details
Jun 2, 2026
2:07:49 PM

Shipping label for order no. 05-14726-69756
Tracking no.
USPS

Completed
-$16.71
-
-$16.71negative $16.71
ViewSee transaction details
Jun 2, 2026
7:05:27 AM


Order 05-14726-69756
bair powder measure
Robert xxxx

Completed
$28.30
-$4.64
$23.66$23.66
View
The buyer paid $28.30 including shipping. The item sold for $12.30. I received $4.64. That is 62% fee. Granted, the shipping was more than the selling price, but that does not excuse the exorbitant fee charged.

 

[NYBODYMAN]

I sold something recently for $0.99. I ended up with a negative balance and it actually cost me money to "sell" it. I try not to sell on eBay but use it to make purchases. The only advantage is it's usually a guaranteed sale.

 

[1982fxr]

I went back and sold a powder measure on Ebay last week just to get it out of the house. Here is what Ebay charged direct from their site.
Date
Description
Amount
Fees
Net
Details
Jun 2, 2026
2:07:49 PM

Shipping label for order no. 05-14726-69756
Tracking no.
USPS

Completed
-$16.71
-
-$16.71negative $16.71
ViewSee transaction details
Jun 2, 2026
7:05:27 AM


Order 05-14726-69756
bair powder measure
Robert xxxx

Completed
$28.30
-$4.64
$23.66$23.66
View
The buyer paid $28.30 including shipping. The item sold for $12.30. I received $4.64. That is 62% fee. Granted, the shipping was more than the selling price, but that does not excuse the exorbitant fee charged.

Buyer pays, let's say $25.00 for item. Plus $10.00 shipping and let's say $3.50 tax.

That's $38.50. They take your 14% or whatever ebay fee from that, not the actual selling price.

 

[cgrutt]

I went back and sold a powder measure on Ebay last week just to get it out of the house. Here is what Ebay charged direct from their site.
Date
Description
Amount
Fees
Net
Details
Jun 2, 2026
2:07:49 PM

Shipping label for order no. 05-14726-69756
Tracking no.
USPS

Completed
-$16.71
-
-$16.71negative $16.71
ViewSee transaction details
Jun 2, 2026
7:05:27 AM


Order 05-14726-69756
bair powder measure
Robert xxxx

Completed
$28.30
-$4.64
$23.66$23.66
View
The buyer paid $28.30 including shipping. The item sold for $12.30. I received $4.64. That is 62% fee. Granted, the shipping was more than the selling price, but that does not excuse the exorbitant fee charged.

Somethings not adding up are you sure the $4.64 isn't the ebay fees? You show $28.30-$4.64=$23.66 isn't that the net sale proceeds? So if they charged you $16.71 for shipping label you should have made $6.95. Still excessive fees IMO. Just trying to sort out the figures that you posted.

 

[yatg]

The buyer paid $28.30 including shipping. The item sold for $12.30. I received $4.64. That is 62% fee. Granted, the shipping was more than the selling price, but that does not excuse the exorbitant fee charged.

You're doing something wrong.

Can't tell exactly what without more info, but looks like you underestimated your shipping costs.

The item sold for $12.30, shipping paid was $16, total was $28.30
Order fee 28.30 * 13.6% = $3.85
Transaction fee $0.40
Total fees = $4.25
Probably a few cents more depending on sales taxes the buyer paid.
ebay includes the buyer sales tax when calculating the order fee.

Fee percentage 4.25/28.30 = 15% - about normal.

That leaves you with about $24.05 before shipping.
If you split the fees 50/50 between the item and shipping.
Order Item fee = $2.13; item profit = $12.30 - $2.13 = $10.17
Order shipping fee = $2.12; $16 - $2.12 = $13.88 available for shipping

Buyer paid $16 to ship, but you only have $13.88 available for actual shipping? WOT?
ebay took about 15% of the shipping and put it in their pocket.

If the actual ship cost was more than $13.88, say $20, then that quickly eats into your profit.

Just remember that if you charge a buyer $X for shipping, that only gives you 85% of $X to spend on actual shipping. $10 charged = $8.50 to spend.

If you're using ebay shipping, make sure its set to charge the buyer retail pricing and not actual pricing.
If you're using your own flat rate shipping, calculate the cost to the farthest zip code from you and and add 20%.

 

[tarbellb]

Just bought a 400amp metered load center off eBay

Retail $4300
Local dist $2600
eBay total $1700

Stoked

As far as selling, you really gotta do your math before posting. Shipping can be make or break.
I've been surprised what buyers are will to spend on shipping. I used to ship Free, now it's almost always through their shipping program, auto calculates and I'm still netting the sale minus fees

 

[yatg]

As far as selling, you really gotta do your math before posting. Shipping can be make or break.
I've been surprised what buyers are will to spend on shipping. I used to ship Free, now it's almost always through their shipping program, auto calculates and I'm still netting the sale minus fees

For smaller items that fit in an envelope and < 1lb, I use flat shipping and pirate ship USPS.

Item(s) that are >= 1lb but still fit in an envelope (padded or cardboard), I use USPS priority mail flat rate.

For larger items, usually >= 1lb, I use ebay calculated shipping and still ship through pirate ship USPS or UPS.
ebay usually overcharges the buyer, so i'll send a refund if its over a buck or two.
You can always refund, but can't go back to the buyer and ask for more.

tip: setup ebay shipping policies. its really easy to change the fixed rate shipping when USPS changes raises the rates.

 

[Ultradog MN]

I parted out a Monarch metal lathe and sold a bunch of items from it on ebay in March and April of this year.
Hadn't sold anything there in 15 years.
It was an irritating, confounding experience trying to learn all the ins and outs, do and don'ts and figure out how to make it happen. Worse yet was trying to understand how much I actually paid in fees vs how much I netted.
I still don't know what the H they charged me.
On the other hand, it was worth it because where else are you going to find a market for things like that.
I combined two of the same lathes into one and used a bunch of items that greatly improved the lathe I already had - and made a profit to boot.
So I think ebay ***** mightily but I sure am glad it's there.

 

[whateg01]

If y'all don't like the eBay fees, I'm sure you are more than welcome to start your own auction site and charge what you think is more fair.

 

[bwringer]

Y'all DO realize that every other kind of auction has pretty stiff fees as well...?

Estate auctions take 40% or more.

Car auctions charge a non-refundable listing fee, and both the buyer and seller pay a percentage.

Etc. and so on.

Ain't no free rides.

Also, many of you seem to be confusing shipping costs (which have indeed gotten ridiculous) with the fees fleaBay keeps. You absolutely need to know what these costs will be, and be up-front about that in the auction. "Free" shipping gets a lot more interest, but you'll lose your *** if you think mailing parts still costs $5.

As others have noted here and there, PirateShip.com is legit and legitimately helps save money all around, especially if you move a lot of packages. But even for us onesie-twosies, it really does help a lot.

Yes, fleaBay's fees have gone up, and they're incredibly (and deliberately, I think) opaque about what fees you can expect. But there ain't no such thing as a free auction platform, and there never was. FleaBay really is confusing as all hell, and in the year 2026, confusion is always a deliberate interface choice.

 

[Shiftless]

The extra advertising that eBay does on your listings if you opt for “promotion” can easily double those fees. But if it gets your item sold instead of just renewing it over and over for months, is it worth it? For most of the items I sell, the answer is YES.

 

[seber]

Somethings not adding up are you sure the $4.64 isn't the ebay fees? You show $28.30-$4.64=$23.66 isn't that the net sale proceeds? So if they charged you $16.71 for shipping label you should have made $6.95. Still excessive fees IMO. Just trying to sort out the figures that you posted.

What Is shown is copy pasted from Ebay. $4.64 is what was actually credited to my account.

 

[cgrutt]

What Is shown is copy pasted from Ebay. $4.64 is what was actually credited to my account.

OK if you say so. Whats the $23.66 then?

Eta I get a summary like this spells everything out. This is from last sale



The only two numbers I care about is what I sold item for and how much I received in cash. In above case $135 and $99.25, respectively. So the way I see it ebay charged just over 26% of the selling price.

 

[four.cycle]

The fee is 13.6%, and there is a 75-cent transaction fee on any item sold for more than $10.00

Selling anything on ebay for less than $20.00 is a losing proposition.
The recent increase in USPS postal rates resulted in my pulling down over half of my listings - they were barely "break even" on items I had listed for under $20-$25.

 

[ssjones]

You're doing something wrong.

Can't tell exactly what without more info, but looks like you underestimated your shipping costs.

The item sold for $12.30, shipping paid was $16, total was $28.30
Order fee 28.30 * 13.6% = $3.85
Transaction fee $0.40
Total fees = $4.25
Probably a few cents more depending on sales taxes the buyer paid.
ebay includes the buyer sales tax when calculating the order fee.

Fee percentage 4.25/28.30 = 15% - about normal.

That leaves you with about $24.05 before shipping.
If you split the fees 50/50 between the item and shipping.
Order Item fee = $2.13; item profit = $12.30 - $2.13 = $10.17
Order shipping fee = $2.12; $16 - $2.12 = $13.88 available for shipping

Buyer paid $16 to ship, but you only have $13.88 available for actual shipping? WOT?
ebay took about 15% of the shipping and put it in their pocket.

If the actual ship cost was more than $13.88, say $20, then that quickly eats into your profit.

Just remember that if you charge a buyer $X for shipping, that only gives you 85% of $X to spend on actual shipping. $10 charged = $8.50 to spend.

If you're using ebay shipping, make sure its set to charge the buyer retail pricing and not actual pricing.
If you're using your own flat rate shipping, calculate the cost to the farthest zip code from you and and add 20%.

You definitely have to jack the shipping, it's way to gain back a few bucks.

 

[kbuhagiar]

You definitely have to jack the shipping, it's way to gain back a few bucks.

I'ts amazing how many sellers don't bother to check the listed shipping costs before posting an auction, especially after using a template from another auction, which will just carry over the same exact shipping info.

All of my auctions are with flat rate shipping, using the same formula mentioned earlier by yatg, i.e. calculate the cost to the farthest zip code from you and and add 10% to cover shipping materials.

 

[a6hux]

I measure and weigh the item before listing it. Then usps ground estimates the cost based on the zip code of the buyer. If the buyer wants ups or fedex it’s usually a wash or I a little less expensive on my end. This method seems to keep shipping prices down for my customers.