Alternatives to eBay?

I've been following the post where eBay is purging a bunch of sellers for various reasons or non-reasons. eBay seems to be a service we as scrappers have to use despite being about as welcome as pond scum... Selling used goods is a tough job. The model that eBay seems to use is the old one where the buyer is always correct. And if there is a problem, the buyer still is 100% correct. That model, more-or-less, works in the world of new goods. It leaves something to be desired when dealing with used goods, where the buyer has to be slightly more aware that your average post about what they are buying.

eBay seems to have forgotten its roots...Most of the ads I get from them are selling new stuff. I guess they see their destiny as that venue. It doesn't help us scrappers.

What's the alternative? Someone mentioned Amazon...I didn't even know they allowed used goods on their site. I understand that there are a few others but I have never heard of any that suit a used goods seller that well. If you know of any sites, please let us know!!

I have been considering building my own site for industrial items that can be heavy and are not cost-effective to ship very far. Examples are electrical transformers, electric motors, industrial gearboxes, welding machines and the like.

To attract traffic to a small site, I figured that I could place general ads on local Craigslist, Kijiji, etc to point potential customers to my site. Has anyone done something similar to this?

I've only ever done this kind of thing a couple of times to advertise some one-time surplus equipment sales at a place where I worked a few years ago. I used that form of ad to get people to go and see the listing on my website. While definitely not as good as eBay I think I covered an area a couple hundred miles around the sale. And who is gonna ship a 30 year old D6 Caterpillar tractor weighing 28,000 lbs across the continent, anyway?

So what do you think? Are there any alternatives to eBay existing now? Got any ideas how to make your own website get enough traffic to work? How far are you shipping your goods?

Jon.

Your own site is good for items people will be actively searching specifically for on the www

I've effectively shipped palletized/crated loads over 3000 miles for reasonable fees, even into Canada

I won't go into much details, as I figure...folks get better results doing their own research on things like amazon and eBay. Saying that..I prefer Amazon, always have, an always will unless they go totally stupid like eBay. Amazon knows an remembers it's roots, an they've always allowed used goods to be sold there. I've bought many a good used book from them, same with dvds, an other crap. lol.

Anyhow..if I had to choose I'd choose Amazon. They were founded in a garage by it's owner, and other then their crappy system for the warehouse workers, I have no beef with the company. I can't say the same with eBay, who has screwed over many folks I know. Lot of folks I know who used eBay now sell over on Amazon an their not looking back. Lot of people just assume Amazon does all the selling, an while they sell a lot, when I was doing some work for them back in 08/09' they were expanding their "non amazon sales" side. It was something they talked about a lot at the warehouse I worked, as they had a section just for private sellers, an that's where we would stow/pick from, if the seller sent a bunch of items to Amazon to hold an ship, otherwise it shipped direct from the seller.

Just my thoughts from one who has worked for, bought, an deals with folks who sell on Amazon. It works for some, it may not work for you(general you here folks).

Oh..one last thing, on competing with eBay..unless you got the capital, I don't see anyone without deep pockets knocking them off the top. Anything less then deep pockets, an your just getting local folks an not nation/world wide like eBay. I hope someone does it tho. I'd like to see ol'humpty dumpty hit the ground hard. lol.

Sirscrapalot - ebay sucks!

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Originally Posted by sawmilleng

To attract traffic to a small site, I figured that I could place general ads on local Craigslist, Kijiji, etc to point potential customers to my site. Has anyone done something similar to this?

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It costs money to get a website up an running (as well as keeping it up and running). You really need to talk to people with experience in this field to point you in the right direction. To make a website and advertise on CL, Kijiji, ect... is just total insanity. There just isn't a point. You are just wasting time and money.

If you make a website you really have to get it indexed by Google and work at getting a high rating. There are many different ways to do this. If you do this correctly, people will find you.

Yes, creating your own website to sell things takes a lot of work. After that, it takes a lot more work, time, and money to get customers to it. Getting links to your website on other sites, search engine seo, and advertising through places such as adwords, and even advertising on related websites. If I could instantly have a customer base at my own website, I wouldn't use ebay. There's just too big of a hurdle time and money-wise to get it going.

I had a piece of mining/boring equipment that I tried to list with IronPlanet - Used Heavy Construction Equipment - Auction - Backhoes Dozers Excavators Farm Tractors - Caterpillar John Deere Case Komatsu for sale. Was like pulling teeth. I couldn't get the website to work to list it. Ended up emailing/calling several times. Finally got someone to call me back who was less than helpful. I decided then if it was this much hassle to even get a call back, what other headaches can I expect when I go to list/sell?

I didn't want to, but I gave ebay a try even though it was a specialty piece. Ended up selling it to a guy in Alberta. And actually made a decent profit. Which somewhat surprised me because I had tried speciality before on ebay and people pretty much want it given to them.

I have since found Bid on Equipment | Buy and Sell Used Industrial, Process, and Packaging Equipment and sold 3 pieces through them. Sold a piece a few years ago. Buyer countered my asking price, we settled on $3,300. Top offer I got from ebay was $1,200. So a $2,100 difference. I'd do that all day! :D

Another piece I tried on ebay garnered an offer of $500. Sold on BOE for $3,000.

What I like about bid on equipment is it's a flat 10% of selling price. No charge to list, (if it doesn't sell, there is no charge), no final value fees, and other crap that ebay pulls. While 10% may be a bit higher than some of ebay's fees, BOE seems to cater to a better caliber customer and in the end you make more.

I have not tried Amazon. My sister has, and says she likes it so far. I definitely want to get as far away from ebay as I can. I've shuttered my account and closed Paypal.

I agree some competition to ebay would be nice, but it won't be from me. I have tried launching/running websites and frankly I don't have the time/patience. I leave that to people who do it for a living. I am content gathering material and processing it.

Amazon seems to be the closest contender IMO. I have not heard of any of the other sites. I think alot of little guys like us will start migrating over.

I didnt even know amazon sold used stuff. So i just learned something and if i get stuff to re sell i will list it with them. I cant stand ebay unless its to buy a super cheap phone case or to look up the value of sold items.

I said I'd make ya'll do your own research on ebay vs Amazon, an so I will...but I'm feeling a little more peachy an a little less sick. So figured I'd lest post a link..lol.

The link below will take you to the sell page. On the left you will see a link to the FAQ, good read, an explains a lot. On the main content of the page, is the info on being a individual seller vs business. ( per item fee vs monthly fee)

Amazon.com : Sell Online - Selling on Amazon

Anyways, hope it helps!

Sirscrapalot - Kinda misses picking an stowing..nah..not really.

PS - For those that know about Terapeak from using ebay, they now also have it for Amazon.

i moved alot of stuff on craigslist this year

as far as amazon goes i looked into it but the fees are higher than ebay, ebay with paypal is 12% fee, amazon is 18% plus a fixed dollar amount so about 20% total fees

I made more money on ebay then scrapping. But I mostly sell antiques I find. Lost money on a very few items. Yes ebay treats sellers bad. But ebay has heavy traffic. You just got know what to sell and what to stay away from. I've had no luck selling with craigslist, everyone seems really cheap.