Ebay Rant

[cami89]

I have a no return policy on all my items, clothing or otherwise. I just don't want to deal with the hassle.

I agree totally! I do not accept returns unless I have misrepresented the item. I take great care to describe everything thoroughly, including measurements, any flaws, etc. If I have overlooked a flaw, or made a serious error in the listing, sure, I will be happy to accept a return - this was my error and I stand behind my merchandise. I don't, however, accept returns simply because someone decides the item doesn't fit or they don't like it. If that is the case, I would suggest the buyer relist the item themselves to recoup their money. Unless I'm at fault, I shouldn't have to take the item back. Call it bad customer service, if you will, but if I sold it, and you bought it - it's yours to keep! BTW, I have over 3700 feedbacks and 100% rating - my not taking returns has never been an issue or problem with a buyer.

 

[cruisnfamily]

I once bought a "lot" of three t-shirts, they were all billabong and hurley shirts, used but represented to be in good condition. I won them for $8 plus I paid a couple of bucks shipping. When I got the t-shirts, I found a rip under one of the arms and emailed the seller. He said if I wanted to send them back he would refund the money but my dd wanted them anyway, rips and all and I told him that we would just keep them and if he wanted to refund $1 or something, I'd be happy. He ended up refunding the whole thing, including shipping and told me to keep the shirts! I was amazed! I told him he didn't need to do that but he insisted that it was his mistake to not see the rip and he wanted to make it right. I was thrilled and of course left him great feedback, but really, he didn't even know if I was telling the truth, particularly since I didn't want to return the shirts. So, I think for the most part, the sellers want to make the buyers happy.

 

[kilee]

Well-- if the average item sells for $3.00 and I can sell 20 a day. That would be $60.00 for the day. Usually make that about 4 days a week. So that's $240.00. I figure I devote about 10-12 hours per week to ebay. That would include taking pictures, listing, paperwork, emails, packaging, and shipping.
So even if I invest 12 hrs a week I'm averaging close to $20 an hour.

I've keep my numbers very accurate along w/ my time for the last 2 years (for taxes and such). Anyhow, I'll take the $20 an hour to work from home. I can actually tell you my average selling price for the last six months was $4.68 per auction and that's after all fee's and such. That is bottom line profit per auction. So, while many sell at $3-4. There are still quite a few that sell at $10-15 too. Last month I had a lot of 9 used shirts sell for $90+. So, sometimes you really can hit big. I just count on the $3.00 per auction as rule of thumb.