Re: Camera shops must be hurting
Quote:
Originally Posted by
OldCrow
I think as a whole people should shift away from ebay. They get a percentage of everything from listing (Ebay), selling(ebay), shipping(ebay shipping and USPS deal), payment (paypal sister company).
You are giving away on average to them 18-20 percent of the final sale to ebay and to sellers who work the system. This is why ebay is trying to hide everything from the customer. Try to get in touch with them on the phone. You need a pin number to do so.
I agree. I recently sold a lens for about $700 and after ebay's fee and Pay Pal's fee I netted about $600.
My most recent sale was of some RRS pano gear which I sold through photo.net's classified section after listing it there and also in Fred Miranda. Fred Miranda is a good place to sell but there's a $25 annual fee to use it and it's almost exclusively digital gear, not LF. But photo.net has a section in its classified listings devoted to large format and I've had very good luck over the years using it. And of course the buy-sell here is good for large format.
Re: Camera shops must be hurting
Yeowww... that's a fairly high "cost of doing business". But how else is one to get that kind of advertizing, etc?
Re: Camera shops must be hurting
I buy lots of used non-photo gear for work. We have contacts we deal with; we often establish an initial relationship through an ebay deal. Subsequent orders are done business-to-business without ebay, etc... I often get better deals than I would have on Ebay because of the lack of extra fees and quantity/repeat business discounts.
Shipping from China costs is largely based on the item size and how important timely delivery is. A lens flange is going to ship cheap and quick. A couple hundred pounds of electronics is not simultaneously quick and cheap to ship; pick one.
In photography hobby personal transactions, I routinely let a craiglist or ebay seller know that I'm open to purchasing more photo equipment if they are in the mood for selling. I had to make a second trip to one seller this past summer when I didn't bring enough money for the extra stuff he was willing to sell for a nice deal. I went there for one thing, and ended up buying like a dozen different items.
Re: Camera shops must be hurting
My worst experience was with some joker who was selling zone system cards for color. I don't remember the cost but there was a $10.00 shipping charge. When I got the item it was in a padded envelope the size of a post card with $1.53 in postage.
I contacted him and he used the excuse that I knew what the shipping charge was upfront. My response was yeah I knew what the charge was but what I didn't know was how much the actual postage would be, something he would know.
He ended up refunding half back. Never should have bought the item in the first place, it was garbage.
This was not a camera shop or ebay purchase.
Re: Camera shops must be hurting
POSTAL PROFITEERS SUCK!!!!!!!!! I DESPISE ALL OF THOSE THAT PROFIT FROM POSTAGE. I REFUSE TO BE GOUGED BY SHIPPING!
Also Frank Who was the seller so I can put them on my Blocked sellers list! Maybe if the word gets out to these sellers of Photog gear who profit from postage and their name is on a list, they might consider not being sneak thieves and profit from postage!
Re: Camera shops must be hurting
Quote:
Originally Posted by
akfreak
[Also Frank Who was the seller ...
Sorry to sound like an old English grammar teacher but shouldn't a comma be inserted to avoid mistaking Frank for the seller who should be blocked. :D
.... but maybe I should take my own suggestion and delete "old" so it doesn't sound like I know anything about Olde English. Ha ha ha.
Re: Camera shops must be hurting
Brian I will admit I am not an English major. I do not proof read for publishers, or have a job that has anything to do with writing. I will say, in a forum, when I visit them, I do so on a cell phone or an Ipad. Sometimes while driving! Ewwwwwww
Re: Camera shops must be hurting
Shift away from ebay to where?
Anyway, I just sold an item for $325.00 off ebay.not through them.
IF ebay had been involved, they would have charged $13.49 as a final value fee.
paypal gets $6.48 so that's ~$21.00 or around 7%. When 18-20% is stated, how is it calculated?
Re: Camera shops must be hurting
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mark Barendt
Retail customers actually took more time to deal with.
+1
Anyone who has ever worked in retail knows how much time is wasted by people who come in and just want to "talk it up" but not buy anything. Or they come in completely clueless and want you to explain everything to them, general rudeness (well there's still that on the Internet) etc etc..
Re: Camera shops must be hurting
Ebay is far from perfect but if you think ebay is an expensive way to sell try paying rent, utilities etc, etc to have a store. A few years ago I was a gold seller on ebay, the fees were nothing compared to what my friends with brick and mortars paid to do business.
ebay had to start hitting people for shipping because people would sell a $20 item for 99 cents and charge $20 S&H to avoid listing fees.
I am glad I don't sell through ebay anymore, very glad!