That’s it for me…

[charleysshop]

I have made the decision to close my shop on 31st December 2024. I am not prepared to pay almost half of my earnings in the current state. 
I am continuing trading on other platforms and social media in the hope of encouraging a circular economy for pre owned items so if you would like to follow and interact as a community of like minded people, then you are welcome to join in.

The same name applies in all areas, I would welcome your input and positivity of planet friendly views.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Charley ❤️

[vintique*violet]

Merry Christmas & and a prosperous 2025 to you and yours too... 

I think many will be doing just what you are 😉 

[bittyboy101]

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@charleysshop wrote:

I have made the decision to close my shop on 31st December 2024. I am not prepared to pay almost half of my earnings in the current state. 
I am continuing trading on other platforms and social media in the hope of encouraging a circular economy for pre owned items so if you would like to follow and interact as a community of like minded people, then you are welcome to join in.

The same name applies in all areas, I would welcome your input and positivity of planet friendly views.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Charley ❤️

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I totally agree with you 100%.

eBay are now going overboard with all their recent changes and new terms and conditions that it is no longer beneficial or fun to sell on here anymore.  😞

All the very best 🙂

[twofourdeltasurplus]

Nearly half your earnings ?

they get 16% tops from me of earnings, those listings that are promoted are only at the bog standard rate of 2% totally ignore the "suggested" rates, that is just them hoping you take that rate so they get more.

I dont buy postage from them, but direct from evri, which I use via topcashback so I claw back a little each day for treats when the balance is nice

The wife doesnt promote at all and is still selling well, thinking of doing a few months like that myself and see how it goes. Pointless trying 1 month as some have, as as we know if someone buys an item that was promoted within 30 days of the ad ending ebay take a promoted fee from the sale.

but best of luck, other platforms are just as painful if not more in other ways

[pillarboxred]

Best wishes with your new plan. My feeling is there is already a vast circular economy in used goods and it is good for the planet and the buyer but it is almost impossible to earn an income from it.  One way to do it, is get a job as a salaried worker in a charity shop. Charity shops have replaced secondhand and antiques dealers on the High Street and that is where used goods are now sold. If you have some old stuff you want to sell, you will probably have to pay a dealer to take it away or else you will have to donate it to charity or list it on eBay yourself. There is still a very busy New York-Paris-London market in fantastically rare and precious antiques and that hasn't been affected by the downturn in "granny's junk".

[the-best-uk-deals]

Hey i sell the same sort of items you do, Vintage home goods. 

I use to do Free P&P then added £3.95 to all items while keeping the prices the same and it made no impact to my sales. and it took the hit of the fees down quite a lot. Would recommend adding some postage and see how you get on

[theelench]

I found the same when I experimented with "Free Delivery" which ebay was pushing at the time by telling everyone that buyers loved it and it would increase sales.

It didn't.  I ran some listings with postage and some with "Free Delivery".  None of the Free Delivery items ever sold.  With postage items continued to sell as normal.  

I sold vintage Art Deco glass and I think it's pretty obvious why buyers like to see some postage.   It gives them some idea of how well packaged the item will be and how likely it is that it will arrive in one piece.

[charleysshop]

Thank you, you too 👍

[charleysshop]

Thank you and you too 👍 

[bittyboy101]

You're welcome 🙂

Have a fab Xmas and All the best for 2025 😎 

[wyntersemporium]

Think I’ll be charging for postage soon. Can’t afford it. Two other sites I charge £3.99 as send T24.

just can’t be bothered as in severe pain at the moment plus trying to get past the 🐉 s at the local doctors as got to phone in a 10 min open period then they shut off the phones. 

bought myself a laptop 6 weeks back it’s still sealed inside its box. 

[bojangled]

@wyntersemporium I’m thinking of doing the same, I think I’d lose the TRS 10% discount, maybe gain some £££. 
Hope you feel better soon..

[game_raid]

You won't lose the TRS discount, that's totally separate.

[vintagechinashop]

I’ve never done free postage. Because of the items is sell I have to buy packing materials and I also factor in time. I do however reduce postage for the buyers who purchase more than one item. 
im going to trial offering free postage for purchases of over £50 and see if that makes any difference however from what ive read it would seem not. But in these days anything is worth a try i guess 

[theelench]

Anything is worth a try.

As I said earlier I tried Free Postage and it didn't work for me.  For the last few years I've concentrated my efforts on trying to ensure that at least a few of my items are visible on google shopping at all times.

It seemed to work until this year when despite always having some items visible, my sales have come to an almost complete standstill since April on both sites I sell on.

In the New Year, I'll also be wracking my brain thinking about other ways to make my ads. more attractive.  

[game_raid]

Offering free postage isn't actually free postage it's just the illusion that it is, most buyers know that the postage fee is built into the price along with all other costs.

Personally I think free postage is better in conversion terms simply down to the buyer hasn't got to start doing calculations to work out what the item will actually cost, I know it's a quick calculation but some will struggle with it and then bounce from the listing.

Also you don't have to deal with buyers wanting a postage discount and over the long term you should be better off, if you have a buyer that as example buys 3 items from you and offer free shipping with £5 shipping added in the price you will be better of because the shipping has been paid across all items and more often than not you can get whatevers sold in one box which gives you get £15 to cover the shipping cost.

If the same buyer bought the 3 items and you had £15 payable by the buyer in shipping it is pretty much guaranteed they will want a discount or once received complain they paid £15 when the actually shipping only cost £10, they genuinely feel ripped off.

This is one of the reason eBay added the multi qty discount to get sellers to offer qty based discounts on items because the seller can save the buyer money on combined shipping if they wish.

Of course everyone is different but doing it this way saves time dealing with buyers combined shipping discount requests, which then you have to weigh and get a price and offer a nominal amount which all takes time and also it stops the overcharging on postage complaints.

[m25jet]

I can't say I blame you for feeling as though you want to throw in the towel.  eBay's best days are long gone and the site has been getting considerably worse for years now, with barely a month going by where eBay don't make a complete and utter pig's ear of yet another part of the site with their relentless "improvements" that benefit neither buyer nor seller.  Sometimes you just have to know when to cut your losses and move on.

Wishing you and everybody else on these forums a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.