I have been a full time seller on eBay since January of 2012. I got laid off from my job and needed to do something to make ends meet. eBay became the answer. I am my own boss, answer to no one (except an occasional unhappy buyer), and I enjoy the experiences that picking and thrifting offer. Since then a lot has changed, sometimes good, sometimes not.
When a change does occur, one thing I have noticed is that a lot of sellers will say how unfair it is, or they will never sell on eBay again, how it will put them out of business, or what have you. From uploading tracking, to Cassini, to the defect rate, to the coming spinoff of Paypal, there has always been a "sky is falling" mentality among certain sellers.
The bottom line is this: I have weathered all these changes and survived. Why? How? Because when something new is introduced instead of protesting and complaining, I adapt to it as quickly as possible. I find out as much as I can about it and do what I need to do to stay current. The defect rate is a good example of this. I was very concerned about this so much so that I actually called eBay about it. The rep I talked to basically said "you're doing a great job, just keep it up". And guess what? He was right. My defect rate is down to 0.81% (4 defects in close to 500 transactions). I have maintained Top Rated status through it all, and I have opened a second account that has become Top Rated also.
One thing I have found is when things start going sideways it is usually my fault (not listing new products, not adapting Best Practices, etc.), and not some eBay conspiracy to put me out of business.
The lesson here is do the right thing, and keep doing the right thing. And then do the right thing again. You know what will happen? You will usually come out okay.
I'm a new seller on eBay and NEEDED to hear this! I've been holding back on listing (some great vintage and just really cool stuff, if I do say so myself) because of all the doom and gloom I've been hearing lately. But you reminded me that if we just do the right thing, it will be OK. I realize that some things are out of our hands (the eBay scammers, unfortunate shipping issues) but for the most part, eBay is still a great place to buy and sell.
ReplyDeleteeBay is no different than any other job. If you do things half @$$ed, your gonna get fired or sales will suffer. Bear in mind that sometimes, regardless of what you do, things will be tough. Don't second guess yourself, don't panic. These things happen. I am closing in on 3 years as a seller. If this didn't work, I wouldn't be doing it. Do the best you can and if you have any questions, please ask. When I was a new seller, I benefited from the veteran sellers knowledge. Know I am in a position to do help others. That's what it's all about. Good luck.
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