How does a private seller sell a one-off item on Amazon?

Well, I guess I ought to ask Amazon.

small sellers can set up acct.s but I think a one off is way too small

Think of eBay-PayPal as the modern-day Chicago mob from the 1920s. eBay sellers are the corner grocery store owners who paid 'protection money' ... "how else can I sell my goods? If I don't cooperate with the mob, I'll go out of business!" It's called racketeering.

eBay has rigged the game against sellers. They don't care about sellers because they know most sellers are scared to leave. What they must have to make money is a large volume of happy buyers. To that end, they've essentially instituted a 100% money back guarantee on every item sold on eBay. You sellers may not be aware of that. A buyer can file a dispute/complaint with PayPal/eBay for any reason (or no reason at all). The seller's money is IMMEDIATELY frozen, based only upon the filing of the dispute, not its merits. The money can be held for weeks and the seller will lose out in the end. They will hold your money until you 'comply'. At any given moment, they are holding Millions of other peoples money via disputes and waiting periods like mentioned by the OP.

Sellers are no longer permitted to leave negative feedback on buyers, even ones who never pay (that wouldn't make for a happy buyer, would it?). That's really all one needs to know about the current state of eBay.

10% commission + fees + PayPal fees + seller abuse = Fk them. I quit selling weeks ago. Now they're even calling me at home offering deals to list items. Lots of sellers have dropped out.

Great place to buy though :D

eBid is the only viable alternative. No listing fees, no commission, set up a store for free. Negative feedback on problem buyers is encouraged. You can 'blacklist' buyers. Your eBay feedback ratings transfer over. And your auctions are linked through Google shopping. They're growing. Lots of former eBay sellers.

Great post Curt. Explains a lot. How are payments handled on eBid?

G

Nope......did that on 5 consecutive sales and still had to wait 3 Weeks for my money......
Their terms are suited for people who sell stuff on the same exact category......I spoke for hours with them numerous times.......total waste.......just another example of the man trying to keep a brother down.....

These stickers are actually sold on ebay - whateva...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1367450403.jpg

thanks for the tip on ebid. I didn't know about it. I have come to hate/distrust ebay&paypal as much as the rest of you. I have some small items to sell and I'll give ebid a shot.
I would rather risk getting screwed on ebid than use eBay and KNOW I'm getting it in the butt.

Why not just refuse to accept paypal and ask for a cashiers check or money order from the buyers?

Most Buyers will not pay cash on check without protection some sort...

Curt, that is a good op-ed piece. Kinda puts it out there for consideration. I like it.

eBay may be going the way of the Roman Empire.

eBay is no longer a growth company (that's why the blonde woman jumped ship) and it is harder to satisfy the stockholders, so they have tried a variety of ways to gouge their customers

they were repeatedly sued by a number of state Atty. Generals a few years ago and that stopped much of their illegal behavior

but the key to being a good white-collar "criminal" is to screw people legally (or close to that) and eBay is good at it

PayPoodle is a division of eBay

FYI

ebid.net