Better meadows to graze.

Hi all,

I have perused this site and others for months reading many, many posts. heeding advises, etc.

I have sold some thoings on ebay but I believe it is now time to tell ebay to kiss off and move on to greener pastures unless i have come sacross a great niche item.
I would like to know from you experienced, seasoned money makers, what other good options there are for auctions, and ecommerce to sell other than ebay. I get supplies here and there and everywhere and just want to get out of the insanity of ebay.

Also what other payment options are out there that are reputable besides paypal.

thanks.

Unfortunately eBay continues to be on top of all other auction sites but I am just like you and fed up with eBay. I am a eBay Powers Seller that has also called it quits. I have heard good things about Link hidden: Login to view and plan on testing them out soon. Here are some other alternatives to eBay :

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Well right now ebay is getting a heavy beat down from Amazon. Millions of sellers flocking to Amazon and making great money and much faster sales then on ebay. I still think ebay is a good place to sell. But if your really tired of the ebay drama I would suggest Amazon.

Be warned Amazon runs a tight ship. Do your job right and you wont have any problems.

Thank you both for your replies, you have some good ideas. I am though suprised at the lack of replies I received.

I have another account elsewhere and posted the same question and received 642 replies in a week.

I do appreciate you input and I heed all advice I receive.

642 replies in a week?
That's a lot of people that need to get out more : )

Seriously, you could get 1642 a week, but quantity never makes up for quality, and this is a pretty serious forum.

Members won't usually waste their time confirming what other members have already contributed just to see their own typing, unless they feel they can add to the input.

That's a good thing, you get the advice without trolling through page after page of the same advice, and with 642 replies, there has to be a LOT of repeat advice!

I just started a new ebay account on eBay using Paymate. No request to use Paypal at this point.
I have already listed an item with just Paymate.

Go to their website, sign up which is incredibly easy. Simply add your personal info and a bank account. BAM!! done Then simply link through Paymate to eBay and confirm.

No held payments. Goes straight into your bank account. Their advertised loss to sellers is about 10 cents on a hundred dollars.

About the same rate as Paypal.

I am crossing my fingers that eBay doesn't come back with I must link a Paypal account.

I'd be interested to see if that works out for ya planes. I thought Paymate was more expensive than PayPal. I wonder if you can change your existing account info to accept just Paymate.

The only thing with Paymate is that it takes a day to get the money in your account so shipping is delayed. And you know who people complain about shipping time.

Just to let you know, I've been selling on Bonanzle for the past 2 months, had to leave Ebay, the listing fees & final value fees were killing me so I closed my Ebay store last month. I've sold maybe $100 worth of stuff on Bonanzle & so far my fees have been $3..yes..$3...Plus, there are no listing fees on Bonanzle..so it doesn't cost anything unless you sell..except your time! Listing is easy, technical assistance is SUPER FAST & forum discussions are wonderful! You can even import your feedback from Ebay. Also, you can choose payment options for customers-cash (don't recommend), money order, Paypal or Google Checkout. Go by & check them out & tell em Blazey sent ya! Bonanzle is the best!

I have a few things listed on Bonanzle too but haven't sold anything yet.

I can thoroughly recommend Paymate. They pay your money (minus their fees) straight into your bank account. It used to take a day or two to confirm but lately they have been sending confirmation of approved payments immediately, unless the buyer pays from a cheque account. Payments now appear in your bank account on the next business day.

I'd be interested to see if that works out for ya planes. I thought Paymate was more expensive than PayPal. I wonder if you can change your existing account info to accept just Paymate.

The only thing with Paymate is that it takes a day to get the money in your account so shipping is delayed. And you know who people complain about shipping time.

They are slightly more expensive but appear less intrusive.

The one point I hadn't realized was they require an approval period with their credit card processor which if I remember correctly is Wells Fargo.

I'll hear in a couple of days.

So I just listed the one item just in case.

Yes there is the one day to get the funds. but I am willing to suffer that fate than have to deal with Paypal.

Propay will be offering their service to all sellers sometime this year too.

I am making this account a non Paypal account and will not be accepting this form of payment.

Well planes when your item sells let me know how the transaction went & what your buyer thinks. What user name are you using so I can take a look at your auction to see how it's set up.

Well planes when your item sells let me know how the transaction went & what your buyer thinks. What user name are you using so I can take a look at your auction to see how it's set up.

Let me ponder that one for awhile. There are security reasons as to why I wouldn't want to share my eBay account, especially a new one with a new payment provider.

No problem planes. Let me know how the whole thing turns out :)

Planes - how do I change my existing payment nfo on eBay? I don't see any links to Paymate as a payment option. Would it be under payment options? Maybe I should open a new account & start from scratch.

I must admit that this id great advice, and i will be exploring many of these options. I have been dabbling on a few sites, but mainly just to get a feel for what I;m doing. Also Jimmy if you can get back to me or pm me that would be great i have visited ppwdg.com site and left you 2 messages. I always get a reply I assume with some type of autoresponder that I will receive a reply within 24-48 hours and its been a week and no reply. Thanks

Never mind planes I got it all figured out. I wonder what the response of buyers will be when they can no longer use PayPal! Did you notate in your auction anywhere that you accepted Paymate?

The response of the buyers is going to be the big test, with everyone already having a PayPal account, will they go out of their way to establish another, especially one that they may not know much about.

I think it might even pay to include a little pitch about the alternative payment options in the copy, just to let the buyers know what's going on and to put the nervous ones at ease.

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Is anyone out there having any REAL success with any of these sites???
I keep hearing about sellers that are trying them, or have sold a few items... Is any actually building a business off of these sites?

I've also heard that yahoo or amazon may be the way to go... I want to ditch ebay, but I want to work smarter, not harder

PLEASE HELP!!

I just listed a few items on Link hidden: Login to view but no sales yet. The good thing is that it cost nothing to list a item there. I have stopped selling on eBay so I will be testing out some of these other auction sites over the next few weeks. Any that do well I will report here.

Fudjj - I have an auction all ready to roll with Paymate as the only payment option. I did put a little blurb, well in bold red letters, about the new form of payment. I haven't posted it yet though. I was waiting for Planes to get back to us & see how his auction went.

Matthew - All those other sites you mentioned I've sold maybe 2 things in the last month. Nothing at all like eBay's traffic. Like you said, it's free to list so no harm done in doing that.

Lisa

I really do think the little marketing blurb is a good idea Lisa, at least it can't hurt!

Sellers have to remember that although they are aware of different merchant options, buyers may not be and may need a little marketing swoosh to smooth any little bumps in the road on the way to completing a successful transaction.

Here's what I put in the body of my listing. If you have any suggestions I am open to anything.

'We have begun accepting Paymate as our preferred choice of payment. You do not need to register with Paymate to pay for your transaction. You must input my payment email (Link hidden: Login to view) & the item #. Then follow along with the rest of the instructions. Once payment has cleared we will ship your item immediately.'

That's good, but I would personally suggest marketing the new product to the customer as if you worked for Paymate themselves.

For example, We have now begun accepting Paymate for your shopping convenience.

With this new option, your transaction is processed faster, meaning you get your item shipped faster, avoiding any unwanted frustrating delays.

Of course Paymate's world class security measures also ensures you with peace of mind about the safety of your transaction.

The idea is to make the customer feel that you are providing the service for them, not so much for yourself, you can use your own phrasing, just keep the message context : )

Sounds way beter than what I wrote! Thanks fudjj :) Would you suggest keeping the instructions on how to use it in the text?

Glad I could help lisa, and yes, definitely keep the instructions included, although I would list them under the blurb in a slightly reduced font, about two sizes smaller than your main message should work quite well.

That will keep the customers informed on the process, while not detracting from the main selling points you are promoting.

Good luck with it.

Matthew - All those other sites you mentioned I've sold maybe 2 things in the last month. Nothing at all like eBay's traffic. Like you said, it's free to list so no harm done in doing that.

Lisa

So... if no one is selling on these sites, how can you afford to leave ebay? It's like a double edged sword it seems.

What about amazon and yahoo? I really have no experience in sales with these larger sites. Anyone doing well with either, or both? Thanks for your input :)

Planes - how do I change my existing payment nfo on eBay? I don't see any links to Paymate as a payment option. Would it be under payment options? Maybe I should open a new account & start from scratch.

Yes. Under payment options. If you link Paymat to eBay the option appears.

I,ve come across this site that may be of interest for some.No listing fees,only pay when you sell.Link hidden: Login to view

Thanks granbala, will give that option a look!

Frankly I would go out and get in the GoGoHub program especially if you are looking to sell alot of products which or more or less classifieds.

You'll actually get more success in the classifieds, at places like GoGoHub then you will at any hybrid auction site like eBay because the classifieds are designed for doing that and eBay isn't.


Try GoGoHub and bigticketdepot for bigger items. IOffer and Amazon and Craigslist are now good bets.

It depends on what you sell , Amazon is a bit tough, my supplier who sells me his 1's and 2's of items meaning low quanity stuff he doesnt have time to deal with - he cannot get a account to sale his items on there. He has over 500,000 feedback and is in ebays top 150 sellers ...He was told they were at their limit of what he sells .I tried as i sale alot of different items and got a account but not sure why they will not let me sell
I still think Ebay is the best over all if you are selling new or old and is still good for buying now.