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Other Stuff => General Wargames and Hobby Discussion => Topic started by: vexillia on November 18, 2020, 07:12:41 PM
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Like many others here I use eBay to shift a few odds & sods. Yesterday I was surprised by an invitation to register for eBay's new payment scheme known as "Managed Payments" and I wondered if anyone has already signed up and has experience using it.
From what I can gather when someone buys from you, the buyer now pays eBay (by PayPal, card etc). Then eBay take their cut and send you the balance. The bad news is that they only process payments Mon-Fri and payments are the slow kind that take up to 4 working days. Finally, you still have to post within 48 hrs of eBay receiving the payment i.e. before the money gets to you.
Oh, I nearly forgot eBay want your bank details as they won't transfer the money to your PayPal account. PayPal split from eBay years ago and this appears to be the final step in their divorce.
Ebay say this will save you money. The new eBay fees are 12.8% vs 10% plus PayPal fees of 3.4%. Both have a fixed transaction fee just like PayPal. It's a small saving of less than 1% and for that eBay has direct access to your bank account.
I have also read that if someone buys three items from you then are three transaction charges not one like at present but I'm not 100% certain about this. As with any major change there are lots of other hassles that are annoying experienced eBay business sellers.
Finally, a little research suggests that "Managed Payments" will eventually become mandatory even for private sellers. If this happens this would be the end of my eBay account. As insurance I've already opened a Gumtree account (also owned by eBay), which doesn't have any listing or selling fees and I'll be interested to see how things get go there.
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No thanks. I’m out.
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More digging has revealed that the change will be mandatory in the UK probably by sometime next year. Failure to sign up will result in accounts being frozen.
Anyone here use ebid.net?
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Guess they will be freezing my account then.
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Haven't used ebay in years, not since they changed to their current shipping programme that tripled or quadrupled buyer costs.
Be interesting to see who small sellers move to - ebay has been looonnng overdue for competition to simply destroy it.
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I don't use eBay much, but if they change their requirements I'll probably decide to change as well. Paypal has 'access' to my bank account as well, in that you register with your bank details so money can go in or come out. I'll probably stick with them if that's all they want.
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I use eBay a ton (both selling/buying). I will definitely bail when this becomes mandatory. On the plus side they're opening a door for a decent competitor.
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I don't use eBay much, but if they change their requirements I'll probably decide to change as well. Paypal has 'access' to my bank account as well, in that you register with your bank details so money can go in or come out. I'll probably stick with them if that's all they want.
You don’t have to give PayPal access to your bank account, they will do it on just a credit card - although that might depend on the amount you are buying ;)
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Do we know if Ebay will take/use Credit Card details under this new scheme?
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I have seen that eBay will accept credit cards.
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You don’t have to give PayPal access to your bank account, they will do it on just a credit card - although that might depend on the amount you are buying ;)
I don't have a credit card any more, way too dangerous!
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I don't have a credit card any more, way too dangerous!
;) I should have said debit & credit cards.
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Sounds too much like a money grab to me, on the verge of blackmail.
I switched my store to Etsy over the weekend and will see how that goes: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/BlindBeggar
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Could make the 'wanted' and 'for sale' section of wargames forums very interesting in the near future?
:)
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Honestly facebook is pretty good for sales tbh, especially because scalpers get so much attention from people laughing at them that the more gullible buyers will think twice.
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Got a chase from eBay today as I've not updated my account.
The squeeze is starting:
To continue receiving selling fee promotions, please update your account details. If you don’t update your account details, you may also lose your eligibility for future selling fee promotions.
I assume this is the £1 max fee and the 1000 'free' listings per month.
Oddly enough, I seem to have been given an extra month to update my account.
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;) I should have said debit & credit cards.
I managed to speak to someone and they said bank details only. Wouldn’t accept a credit card.
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I never sell on eBay but I do buy quite a bit mostly because it's easy with PayPal and there are deals if you are patient and hunt for them. If they won't let me use PayPal to buy stuff I'll ditch them as I don't want to set up another payment method. This might explain why I have to pay for thing in my ebay basket separately rather than in one go like I used to.
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I've just sold 2 lots of figures, nothing major.
Total price including postage - £65.88
Total after ebay new fees arrangements, where they said I'd save money - £56.84
I have lost almost £1 and cannot touch money that belongs to me even after waiting 24 hours.
PayPal was immediate, with 12.5% max
An undeniable increase in fees and I'm only a small, sometime seller.
I really hope someone sets up an alternative.
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I've just sold 2 lots of figures, nothing major.
Total price including postage - £65.88
Total after ebay new fees arrangements, where they said I'd save money - £56.84
:o
No wonder prices for even common figures are so high on eBay! Add in postage costs (which seem to be £3.85 minimum these days...), and I wonder why anyone - sellers or buyers - would bother. :(
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I really hope someone sets up an alternative.
Well there are alternatives, Facebook advertisements, here on the forum in the Bazaar, auctions, amazon.
There are also Ebay like sites, but there just not as well established and hence lower traffic, so vicious circle Ebay best option re visibility and buyers compared to others, so sellers keep using Ebay, limited growth and not as comparable. Do a google for online auction sites like ebay, and I'm sure you'll find them.
Until sellers make the break and go elsewhere and ensure customers are advised to follow if they wish, ebay can do whatever they want to squeeze a better profit.
If you do find a viable alternative let us know.
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Well there are alternatives, Facebook advertisements, here on the forum in the Bazaar, auctions, amazon.
The main reason eBay is popular is because people feel confident/secure in using it.
Most of the alternatives you've listed are really just digital "classified ads" (...do Amazon allow the sale of used items anyway?), and there is normally no protection whatsoever for either the buyer or the seller - people are relying on goodwill and honesty to get them through. Of course, providing that relative security is one reason eBay charges fees in the first place...
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Agreed. I like the auction format too as it's useful for price discovery when you don't really know what to charge for something. That said, it doesn't really seem to be what eBay is for these days as the place is overrun with pro sellers with optimistic buy-it-now prices.
I've sold a bit on eBay, listing during their regular £1 max fees promotions, and have done OK out of it. They've now pushed me into taking payment from them rather than via PayPal. I'll see how my current auctions go before deciding whether to list any more with them in the future.
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Thanks to all who've shared their experience.
As the original poster I thought I'd mention that so far I've had no pressure from eBay to "update" my account details and I am still getting paid directly via PayPal. I'm sure it will come but it's interesting I haven't been "nudged" the way others have.
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There was a site set up as an alternative to eBay, but never took off, pour raisins I don't know, and now is gone. Can't recall the name, but wasn't it connected with Fernando Enterprises?
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I've also had the e-mail from e-bay and read it as mandatory if you wanted to continue with e-bay.
I have changed to the new payment conditions but felt very uncomfortable - I would have preferred to have continued with Paypal - as I have had years of experience with them and very few issues.
I would have thought that my occasional selling on e-bay will now end as prices obtained for odd figures have been break-even at best.
I would think that i will continue to purchase from e-bay as they offer so much.
Tony
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It almost appears that Ebay Australia is not involved in this change or is not implementing it at this stage. I think Ebay (US &UK) have been steadily pricing themselves out of the market with their GPS and other charges. It has meant they birth of new FB pages for selling which still permit the use of Paypal. Ebay's loss, not my problem. Their continuation of hiding behind foreign tax barriers gripes but Ebay (Oz) is OK by me.
I've also had the e-mail from e-bay and read it as mandatory if you wanted to continue with e-bay.
I have changed to the new payment conditions but felt very uncomfortable - I would have preferred to have continued with Paypal - as I have had years of experience with them and very few issues.
I would have thought that my occasional selling on e-bay will now end as prices obtained for odd figures have been break-even at best.
I would think that i will continue to purchase from e-bay as they offer so much.
Tony
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I am holding off changing my details for now. If enough people do the same they may backtrack on this. I don’t see why you can’t use a credit card.
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Ive started using facebook marketplace and doing payments through paypal which seems to work quite well. Not the large choice as on ebay but still plenty of stuff going at a low price and as of yet no fees from facebook but in time I think that will change.
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At the start of the new financial year I gave in and gave eBay my bank details. Transfer process went smoothly. Let's see how it works when I've made a sale.
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It worked fine for me. My auctions ended on 31/03 and the money reached my bank account by 06/04 i.e. after the Easter bank holiday weekend. As I’d listed during one of eBay’s promotions, the only deductions were £1 per auction.
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Changed mine over, no worries. Rather than give Paypal all my details I gave eBay all my details. I'm not sure what the issue is.
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Have been watching with horror as Ebay change the look of my page, downgrading the pc imagery to that of a smartphone. Functionality is far worse, previously I could see 15-20 listings of what I have for sale in one go, now it's three!
Now they're preventing sellers from accepting payment in Paypal, and holding onto your sale money for 2-4 days. So I'm getting out.
Was musing the other day that someone needs to set up an ebay for wargamers, and low and behold, found this:
https://minisbarter.com/
It has no auction facility, so it's just straight sales and barters, but thats no problem.
So have started listing items here, mostly 15mm Napoleonics and some 6mm moderns at the moment.
As Carne Ross the Accidental Anarchist says, you don't create change by protest and boycott, you set up the alternatives you want in place, then as people see them working, they'll join in. And the thing you're trying to replace withers on the vine through obsolescence.
I've no affiliation with Minis Barter, no idea who set it up, but am prepared to give it a try. Come over and join in, and then it'll become a success....
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Changed mine over, no worries. Rather than give Paypal all my details I gave eBay all my details. I'm not sure what the issue is.
For me the issue is Paypal does not have my banking information just a credit card. I am not sure I want ebay to have my bank information. When I sold on ebay now I use the funds to pay for future paypal charges. The additional 2 day float where ebay makes interest on your cash is annoying but no different than any other bank transfer.
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Changed mine over, no worries. Rather than give Paypal all my details I gave eBay all my details. I'm not sure what the issue is.
As was mentioned, Paypal doesn't require any bank info. You can use it without handing that data over. There is AFAICT no option for eBay.
I started selling some items on eBay again just prior to Covid. All the shipping issues stopped that cold but this payment issue has stopped me wanting to pick it up again. It is anti-competitive (as bad as when they owned Paypal) and them abusing their monopoly position.
The fact that they charge you a fee to hold your money and make interest off it is also another nail in the coffin
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For me the issue is Paypal does not have my banking information just a credit card. .
Ah, we have it attached to the bank account, so there isn't a difference.
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It appears that eBay are charging 2.5% currency conversion charges as well according to my statement which is interesting as I've only sold in pound sterling and that's what eBay UK are giving me. The fees certainly appear to have gone up a bit.
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I have changed over, I use a seperate bank account used only for Wargames stuff (buying and selling) and which is also the one linked to paypal so not concerned about giving ebay the details for that.
It took a little getting used to over the first sales but I'm ok with it now. Had one problem with a buyer in the US who was trying to pay me but being told by eBay that I didn't ship to his address, even though the auction clearly said I did ship to the US and I had input the correct postage. We got around that though. Don't understand the poster who said he could only see three of his listings as I can see all of mine.
However, this bank holiday weekend instead of the usual 'max £1 final value fee' offer it was '80% off final value fee'. I don't know if this was the same for everyone or if the offers change once you sign up to the new system. Remains to be seen how much difference it makes.
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I'm very disappointed and mad about this change of policy by eBay.
I don't know what I'll do.
I have read some people are considering opening, and/or providing info only about their small savings accounts, through a credit union, or bank, not keeping much in the way of funds in that, and then sweeping any funds received from it regularly, just in case.
I suspect that might be a decent workaround, but it is a hassle.
eBay long ago lost their customer friendly image.
Some of this may be driven by onerous governmental regulations, I suspect.
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eBay long ago lost their customer friendly image.
It just looks like Walmart now.
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I'm not one to defend eBay. They've been undergoing a lengthy whole-sale change. Make no mistake, the "auction" side of eBay was abandoned a long time ago. They're chasing Amazon now. They vastly prefer quick and simple straight purchases which take less server-space on their side, etc. They also don't want to deal with customer issues arising from auctions, etc., etc.
However...keep in mind, in order to have a certified PayPal account you have to link your bank account to them anyway. Also, PayPal (which used to be part of the eBay company) used to charge you on top of eBay fees, and PayPal makes free interest off the money you keep in your PayPal account. So it's not just big bad eBay here...it's the nature of online sales/money usage.
eBay has been going absolutely backward as far as user friendly design. Their new pages/etc. are fucking horrible. It's a struggle to find some pretty common stuff you'd want to access as a seller/buyer. They also got rid of the ability of sellers to respond to negative feedback - so buyers can just lie and roast you while sabotaging your store, etc.
Some things to note though, just for balance sake:
1) eBay does deposit to your account pretty quick. I haven't noticed a large uptick in fees compared to the older eBay/PayPal double-dip. Between eBay and PayPal I used to lose I think 15.5% total on a purchase. Now it's about the same, but eBay is pocketing that instead of splitting it with PayPal.
2) If you have your own scale and can print labels (i.e....buy shipping labels for your printer) you still get a pretty solid shipping discount if you ship through eBay. I box and label stuff myself and ship it in the middle of the night by dropping it in the local post office drop-box.
So, this is to say, as someone who eBays a LOT, I haven't seen much of a change. It does mean I'm more or less not keeping a balance in PayPal anymore, but overall I haven't seen a huge change.