eBay - is it worth the trouble?

A short while back, eBay belatedly sent me an email to tell me that they would be taking £7.99 in fees - their percentage cut of the £80 I got when selling those earbuds one month previously. Now their creature PayPal has told me it's gone.

I'd forgotten that this would be due. It feels like the proverbial sting in the tail!

Of course, it's all there in eBay's T&Cs. There's nothing to complain about. Well, one might object to how much they want, but in principle it's fair enough for them to charge something for enabling one to sell something online, getting national exposure, clear-cut rules of engagement that both seller and buyer must adhere to, and the benefit of their well-established reputation as (more-or-less, at least in conjunction with PayPal) a trusted global financial player.

Even so...

This is how it has actually come out for me.

7th August 2019: I purchase the RHA TrueConnect bluetooth earbuds from John Lewis for £150.
29th September 2019: After some deliberation, I place the earbuds on eBay at a starting price of £25.
6th October 2019: The closing best bid in the eBay auction is £80.
6th October 2019: An immediate fee of £2.62 is deducted from the buyer's payment, held by PayPal.
6th October 2019: PayPal say that eBay have put a hold on the balance of £77.38.
7th October 2019: I post the earbuds (carefully packaged) to the buyer, using Royal Mail Next Day Special Delivery, at a cost of £7.40.
13th October 2019: Tired of waiting for eBay's hold to be lifted, I contact them and they agree to release the £77.38.
14th October 2019: I transfer the £77.38 from PayPal into my bank account.
15th November 2019: Notice given, eBay takes a further fee of £7.99.

So the £80 I got from the buyer has by degrees been whittled down to only £61.99. That's only 77% - three-quarters - of what I sold my earbuds for. And I had to wait a bit to have my money.

Two things here. One: I could have saved £5 or so by not opting for Next Day postage. But it seemed good policy. I was an infrequent user of eBay, with no recent history, and paying for Next Day postage would be a strong indication that I was a serious and reliable seller. Two: if I had been a frequent user of eBay, with a good history and a strong rating, I would have got my money at once and not have to wait for it.

Well, the episode is over and I can weigh it up. Considering the effort involved, and the big bite taken out of the selling price, was it worth the hassle?

I suppose I have to say yes, it was. After all, I am £62 richer, and the earbuds have gone to a better home. And without eBay, how else could I hope to attract a multitude of potential buyers from all over the country? In the old days, it would be a local newspaper ad and hoping for the best. Online is a whole lot better than that.

Ebay is not the only show in town. Apparently, if you have fashion items to sell, then specialised sites like Depop are a very good option. So, for example, if I ever wanted to sell my glitzy black Prada handbag, which cost me £910 in March 2009, and still looks great, then Depop might just be the ticket. Not that I'd ever want to sell that bag: there's an important bit of my personal history bound up in it. It's the most outrageous purchase I ever made - a luxury item I would never buy now - but it was bought for a purpose, to suit a stage in my life, and I know I'd regret parting with it.

Particularly if I had to pay a thumping fee for turning it into cash.