[iShirl]

I was looking for an afghan square pattern and I got onto Etsy and there were beautiful afghans for sale everywhere from $500 to $700 +/- and with the size and work entailed, I could easily understand. But when I went to Ebay, there were afghans priced at $6.99, $17.99 and some much less. I thought maybe they were selling the pattern but the picture didn't seem so.

Does anyone deal with Ebay? I don't because I bought 1,000 buttons and it turned out there wasn't a good one in the bunch! My fault; I didn't ask if they were any good!...

 

[courier770]

Ebay sellers sell everything and anything. Etsy is a little more refined to handcrafted, vintage and antique items.

I've purchased from both and quite frankly I prefer Etsy.

Afghans can vary wildly. What is the fiber content? Did the Ebay sellers state that THEY had made the afghan? Perhaps they picked them up at thrift stores for just a few dollars.

I've seen yarns on ebay selling for higher prices than retail stores get, yet on Etsy I've picked up some lovely hand spun, hand dyed yarns at prices that would put some yarn shops out of business very quickly.

Last year I picked up 3, 200 yd balls of hand spun Angora yarn for $10.00 per ball..when I priced Angora at yarn shops I couldn't touch the stuff for under $13.00, a skein that had only 60 some yards to it!

You have to know the merchandise. I did get ripped off on a darning egg once on ebay...I didn't leave the nicest feedback about it either!

 

[Kuddles60]

has anybody used it to sell anything? how was that?

 

[courier770]

I personally have not..but a friend of mine had an Ebay shop. She eventually closed it an opened a shop on Etsy.

She told me it was difficult to compete with sellers from China on Ebay who sell things for pennies.

 

[Augustgran]

the key to buying on ebay is really look at the pics, if your not sure and its a private seller ask for more pics ( I do that a lot)if they are no happy to do that then move on and don't buy from them.I have had really good luck with buying buttons of all types.If you want to pm me with what kind you like I can find them on ebay for you usually from sellers I have had good dealings from.

 

[Leonora]

I used to sell all the time on ebay in the UK. I made dolls outfits in knit/crochet. I stopped doing that last year around April, because the fees for ebay and paypal went silly, and it wasn't worth all the hard work, especially when the winning bid barely covered the cost of materials. I doubt if I'll ever sell on there again, even though I had a string of regular customers, a lot of them in the US and quite I few in Canada.

has anybody used it to sell anything? how was that?

 

[illusionsbydonna]

has anybody used it to sell anything? how was that?

I did use Ebay years ago when I was making handpainted floorcloths..I only ever sold one and paid a ton in fees for stuff I never sold.. For selling, I prefer a site that concentrates on handmade. I like to purchase supplies that way too..

 

[Steph Wylie]

I've sold on both ebay and Etsy and I much (much, much) prefer Etsy. Their fees are way more reasonable and they treat their members with much more consideration. Plus if you're selling handcrafted items, the environment of Etsy is much more suited to that. People go there specifically seeking unique handmade items, so you're much more likely to get a fair price for all the time you've invested in making something, versus ebay's garage sale mentality.

 

[courier770]

By far I believe Etsy is more "user friendly" for both sellers and buyers. Steph, great analogy, "yard sale mentality"!

 

[Deb55]

I have been selling on Ebay since 2005 (buying as well) as a Seller I can not stress it enough, if you are unsure ask the seller, and give at least 3 days for a reply. Its important to READ the listing description for the item you want, example Quilt Top for sale, means the top not an entire quilt,
Pattern should be clearly stated if not ask the seller. As a seller I welcome all types of questions and I have replied to all within the 3 day turn around I mentioned.

Personally, I avoid any Seller stating "this is not the original pattern, but a copy of a pattern from a company no longer in business" which I point out to the Seller a copyright is 73 years plus 99 years after the death of person or company. (and yes I report the seller to Ebay)

 

[iShirl]

Very interesting. Thanks everyone...

 

[IndigoSpinner]

has anybody used it to sell anything? how was that?

I have sold a number of things successfully on ebay, but one time I tried to sell something that didn't sell. At that point, you can relist something free, which I did, but ebay charged me AGAIN for selling it, they took the money directly out of my checking account without notifying me, and because I was broke, it hit the bank while there was no money in the account, and I got charged for overdrawing my account and there were other penalties involved. In short, it cost me about $70 for my "free" relisting.

They shouldn't have charged me, but even if they had refunded their erroneous charge, all the other charges and penalties I had still made it cost about $70.

I was disgusted with them, and I won't sell anything there ever again. I have bought things on ebay since then, though.

 

[tryalot]

maybe those were just starting bids, or were they "buy it now" prices?