[FS] all of my eBay stock - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 21, 2016, 08:08:33 am
content: Hello all. Due to the many changes to eBay over the last couple of years not to mention the privatisation of Royal mail in the UK and changes they are also I am finding it pretty pointless selling small value items on eBay. It is just too much effort when there is comeback over an item worth 20p profit. Therefore I will cease selling all the small parts I sell by the end of this financial year and would like to sell off any of my stock in bulk to anybody who wants it. I will continue to sell larger items like the microcurrent and the probe master probes but 10 resistors in an envelope really aren't worth my while anymore as I have better things to do (like full-time job, a part-time business and studying)I have large amounts of resistors through-hole 0.25 W 1% in E 12 values plus some of the 51 values. They are in boxes of 5000 although obviously they are all open but many of them hardly used. I also have a number of electrolytic capacitors in the hundreds.Essentially anything I have a sale component wise on eBay is up for grabs for good prices in the bulk quantity preferably everything I've got but at least a significant quantity. So if you have any requirements do let me know.

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2016, 08:15:09 pm
content: N.B. I'm NOT buying anything here. Just being curious.It seems that the following link is your ebay shop.http://stores.ebay.co.uk/sparkylabsuk/(1)..When exactly is the end of YOUR financial year ?(2)..Were all the components sourced from reliable sources, e.g. Farnell. Or are they from Chinese sellers ?(3)..Was it going to be a giveaway price, to make some room, or did you want full market value ? (feel free to NOT answer (3), as you might want to keep it secret). But not putting a total price, makes it much harder to decide if it's worth buying or not.I would have liked to buy stuff like that, but it takes up too much room, and I have enough stuff like that already. It can be quite difficult to sell big piles of stuff like that.I feel a bit sorry for you. Presumably all the amazingly cheap Chinese (usually) sellers on ebay, are probably losing you a lot of business and/or lowering the prices too much. Even though much of what they sell (is rumored to be) is fake/rubbish/inferior/faulty/out-of-spec etc.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 21, 2016, 08:27:01 pm
content: Yes that is my shop or search for any listing that starts with the words Sparky Labs.1) the UK tax year so pretty much end of March2)The quarter watt resistors were sourced from China although they seem to be okay in fact they were not much cheaper than buying them from a UK distributor. The capacitors also came from China although I believe them to be of reasonable brand. The Atmel ICs are all bought from Farnell in the UK so I can't do a huge amount on price but I have a decent enough quantity to offer a volume price.3) I'm not looking for full wholesale value just something that covers postage and makes it worthwhile not chucking them in the bin as that would be a shame.I'm not sure if it's the Chinese sellers or other UK sellers. I know eBay keep making changes and over the last few years the changes have veered significantly towards people selling items for £10 or more so it is becoming increasingly inconvenient to sell items where I am making 20p profit. As soon as somebody says their item did not arrive or there are problems it was immediately pointless making the sale. There are a lot of people in the UK doing what I do or at least there were and I did wonder at how they achieved some of their prices but I believe my past to be of reasonable quality and I'm not willing to start selling them for near wholesale costs just to keep things going as I actually have a day job and what could soon be a growing business so I don't need this ball and chain I know when it is time to Jack this particular line of trade in.As I said I will continue to sell larger items such as the microcurrent and the multimeter probes but really resistors and capacitors are a total waste of time and I'm sure more and more people are realising they can buy from Farnell not pay too much on postage. I did in fact start trading on a whim and as a bit of a joke as I did not believe people would pay more for a MOSFET than what they could pay from RS but I think many people did not realise they can buy direct from RS and other distributors so I think it is a number of factors.

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2016, 08:44:07 pm
content: My guess, is that the reason why people buy these £1 (approx) component packs on ebay, is because they just need a few transistors, or resistors, a specialist IC or battery holder or something, to complete the latest build/experiment, and/or they don't have many electronic components. But have started playing with Arduinos or something, so need a few bits and pieces.To get the free postage you often need to buy a minimum of £20/£30/£50 to get free postage, although some might still be free for any sized orders.E.g. (from memory) Digikey is £50, rapid is £30 and Farnell is £20 (for non-business account holders).Also the typically tiny jiffy bags or envelopes etc, which these £1 packs, typically come in, will just slide through a typical UK letterbox. Without needing to have someone to wait in all day, to receive a "big" parcel from the main distributors.I thought you might mean the UK tax year, at first. But then thought that it is about 7 months away, so it is a really long time, to start arranging to sell the lot.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 21, 2016, 09:00:03 pm
content: Well things have slowed down to the point where it is pretty obvious that I will be stuck with a lot of stuff at the end of this tax year and I don't want to be involved with selling it after then unless I am shifting in bulk quantities. My workshop is a 2 m x 2 m bedroom of which 1 m x 1 m is cupboard so space is becoming a premium as I need room to actually work versus store stuff. The resistor collection takes up 1x2 m shelf which I could put a lot of project stuff on. Yes a lot of people are people who are buying items to play with Arduino's or just need a few resistors but I have also sold sizeable quantities of parts to people. One customer bought over 100 MOSFETs all in one go. I actually delivered to him the next day in person as he was only up the road he could have easily bought those from a distributor. People also bought other large quantities of components where they probably may as well just bought them from rapid and paid the postage. It's where I get a lot of stuff from now I just make sure I buy their highest price break so that there is some margin left to sell it at.Farnell does tend to send stuff by Royal mail now my last 2 deliveries were so small that they did indeed come through a letterbox without any trouble. It seems to be larger value or larger items that come by UPS who are just a bunch of wankers. They also charge £3.89 plus VAT for orders under £20 so if you're in a rush it's not an extortionate price to pay for part of what you would hope is of decent origin although sometimes I wonder with them after seeing the state they delivered a load of Atmega328's to me in.I've also helped a lot of people who have bought stuff from me the end of year season at University would generally find me exchanging copious lengths of messages with buyers who had bought a part probably for their exam project but in actual fact did not know how to use them like the guy who tried to put a MOSFET upside down and wondered why it continuously conducted (through the built-in diode). Another time I had a disabled gentleman contact me explaining that he had an Arduino board but that he was using it for some sort of CNC project and that in actual fact another project a bit like the Arduino had adopted the same hardware but was programming their own software into it rather than use Arduino. So I spent far more time than it was financially worth it to find the file he was talking about and loaded into the chip for him but I was quite happy to do so as it sounded like it was the only thing he had left that brought him any joy and I really don't mind doing things like that. It's when you get the stupid claims and the stupid obstacles from eBay that you wonder why the hell you are doing it. For example Royal mail's new terms and conditions have put what used to be a guaranteed delivery timeframe into a new context calling it a "delivery aim" and their terms now state that they can take their sweet 10 further days to deliver on top of this "delivery aim". On the other hand eBay allows customers to open a case for non-delivery as soon as the item has missed the "delivery aim" date and I'm expected to resolve the case in 8 days which means that I have to do something for the customer through eBay before I even know that I can definitely claim from Royal mail. I have on several occasions tried to point out to them that they cannot rewrite Royal mail's terms and conditions and that a customer purchasing from me knowing that Royal mail will be the method is in effect signing up to the terms and conditions of Royal mail and hang what eBay have to say about that.Naturally those boxes and boxes of jiffy bags are starting to take up quite a bit of room as well.

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2016, 09:36:01 pm
content: I have heard that ebay, on purpose, were trying to move away from people selling low value stuff, on ebay. But it sounds like craziness to a number of people, because they are basically getting rid of a huge pile of potential business, by doing that.The somewhat new "customer is always right", refund for the slightest excuse/reason, is terrible for ebay sellers. I think the downward ebay spiral, seemed to start, once ebay decided that negative feedback, was *ONLY* for ebay sellers. Buyers could be given full immunity from negative feedback.So I have heard that some disreputable BUYERS, will buy things on a whim. Mess with it for a few minutes. Then insist on a full 100% refund, including postage, both ways. Just because the second class postage they paid for, took 3, rather than 2 days to arrive. Or some other, equally silly (or even dishonest) reason.Another reason you might get the odd order for 100 Mosfets, and stuff like that. Is because (I guess), most members of the public (outside of Electronics Engineers and similar), probably have never heard of Digikey, Farnell or Rapid and would have absolutely no idea where to buy such things.So may resort to attempting to buy them on Ebay and/or Amazon, instead. Even though it would probably be cheaper and maybe better to buy there, for larger quantities.Some people don't like registering their credit card details with Farnell (etc). So might prefer the protections of paypal and/or a friend may buy stuff for them on ebay, with them paying back with cash. E.g. Too scared of having their details "stolen" and used to steal money from them, online.I have to admit, if I suddenly just need a single component, which I don't have. E.g. A specialist op-amp. With something I am trying to do at the moment, and for now I need nothing else, electronics wise. I would seriously consider buying it on ebay, even if Farnell was £0.99 1-off and the ebay seller was £2.50 including postage.As long as it was NOT coming from China, and the UK based seller, was selling old stock they bought from Farnell or somewhere. I.e. NOT Chinese fakes.Also when ordering from Farnell (or other places), I find that they may have 98% of what I want. But the other 2% are out of stock or they don't sell them. It just is not worth the hassle of buying from another place (e.g. Rapid), and making the order up to >£30, just for one missing component. (I hate "wasting" money, paying the extra postage charges).Hence ebay/Amazon, may allow an easy solution to that problem.Yes, tiny bedrooms, are NOT a good place, to easily do electronics in. They can soon clog up with stuff. I think Clive Sinclair started his business, in a tiny, cramped garden shed, which stayed like that for an amazingly long time (if I remember Sinclair's history, correctly). So it can be done.Even the massive HP (Hewlet Packard, Birthplace of Silicon Valley), actually started out in a somewhat modestly sized garden shed/garage like out-building.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP_Garage

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2016, 09:45:02 pm
content: IMHO the Royal Mail should be called Royal Snail. Parcels from the UK send with Royal Snail easely take longer than a week to arrive. It is very hard to be a small online seller since you really need a volume contract with UPS, Fedex, etc in order to ship quick & economically. There are some Ebay sellers which use Farnell as a drop-shipping supplier.Oh and one thing that might be worth mentioning: which brands you have and whether they are metal film or carbon resistors.

author: Kilrah
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 21, 2016, 09:49:50 pm
content: I don't see why you would sell individual components and assortments on eBay given the ridiculous amounts of competition from sellers from China etc who don't have the overhead.An independent online store makes much more sense.

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2016, 10:45:35 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on August 21, 2016, 09:45:02 pmRoyal Fail. Much easier to alter the signs.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 22, 2016, 03:39:12 am
content: Quote from: Simon on August 21, 2016, 09:00:03 pmWe have the same issue here with eBay and Australia Post.

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2016, 11:49:15 am
content: One thing comes to mind. If after all attempts to sell it, etc. You have a sizable quantity still available, which you are considering, binning. Your nearest hackerspace/makerspace type of organization may be interested in that kind of stuff, so you could offer it to them. Presumably they would send someone to collect what remains.Your items seem good for beginners, and their initial soldering/breadboard adventures.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 22, 2016, 04:45:37 pm
content: Yes I am thinking along those lines, but it's a lot of stuff that will take a while to use up.

author: setq
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2016, 07:47:01 pm
content: Joining in the rant here mainly as I have tried to sell stuff on ebay over the last 2-3 years. It's cheaper in time and cash to throw small individual items in the bin than ship via Royal Mail and get screwed by eBay and Paypal fees. If you don't send it signed, 20% of it goes missing and no one wants to pay £3.90 for a signed delivery now. Also 15cm tall boxes max 2kg or 1 inch thick envelopes absolutely knacker you. It's like they don't want you to use RM. Plus as I'm doing VERY small volumes, I have to take the stuff to the PO which a) costs time and money and b) usually ends up with interrogation about what is in the packages and a vague attempt to screw me for more postage by someone who doesn't even understand their own sizing policy, even though it was pre-paid and weighed and measured. Not worth it.I just buy new from RS/CPC, use it, throw it away. Don't even bother selling stuff these days. In fact I've got to the point where I try and avoid aquiring it as it's expensive to get rid of!I'll probably get shot with this, but I chucked an entire dead tek 453 carcass in the bin about 6 months ago after I'd stripped it for parts because I couldn't ship it to anyone and break even and no one wanted to come and get it.

author: grumpydoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2016, 08:07:12 pm
content: Quote from: setq on August 22, 2016, 07:47:01 pmI think you are bing pessimistic about Royal Mail reliability - they haven't actually lost anything for me except one item I misaddressed. I use the online service which gives you a printed label and QR code for their systems though which might improve things somewhat. However I have had some items take alongtime to arrive.Prices are ludicrous once you are beyond the "letter" formats though and it is somewhat irritating that the Chinese can send stuff half way around the world for less than RM will send it down the road.Like Simon I've noted that volumes have fallen off to the square root of diddly squat recently which is also a bit annoying.

author: ez24
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2016, 08:20:26 pm
content: Quote from: setq on August 22, 2016, 07:47:01 pmMakes me feel better, mine faced the same fate last year.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2016, 08:25:18 pm
content: About Royal Mail: A few weeks back I bought a 1 kg item from Amazon. Shipped by Royal Mail, the shipping cost was 70p, and it arrived within four days. Many other vendors were quoting shipping costs of several pounds for similar items. So evidently RM does have some economical delivery options available.I would always prefer delivery by post within the UK as I have always found delivery to be fast and convenient to most destinations (maybe not so fast if shipping to the Outer Hebrides).

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 22, 2016, 08:34:12 pm
content: Quote from: IanB on August 22, 2016, 08:25:18 pmAren't you in the US?

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 22, 2016, 08:37:23 pm
content: Quote from: Kilrah on August 21, 2016, 09:49:50 pmFunnily enough I have one of those and no bagger uses it. Except by the microcurrent because the extortionate eBay fees are added to the price on eBay as I'm certainly not paying the myself. That is why I am going to dump my stock because clearly people have no interest in these items and it's not worth it trying to shift them on eBay. One month I did £1900 turnover another month 1600 but that was a fast peak and then it fell never to recover again. I might start selling the surface mount parts I'm gradually accruing but I don't think people are using through-hole any more although for some reason searching for parts on eBay that should bring my listings are up does not bring them up any more so I don't know what eBay are doing but I'm not having any more of it.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 22, 2016, 08:44:37 pm
content: Quote from: setq on August 22, 2016, 07:47:01 pmIt's only profitable if you have a proper system set up. The vast majority of my part get away with being large letters with resistor ribbons up to 100 resistors easily going in a letter envelope.You need to remember that there is a big difference between the post office and Royal mail they are now 2 separate companies. Unfortunately there are many post office workers who think they are a bit above their station and start examining packages and passing comment I even have this with my stuff which is franked and therefore it is totally and utterly none of their business what size it is and whether or not I have franked it correctly because they are contracted by Royal mail to only receive the packages they are not there to police customers and I have had this argument with them and essentially had the phone slammed in my face by the post office "customer care" and after writing to them to explain my dissatisfaction with the person I had a row with on the phone who did not know her job any more than the people in the post office I got a reply back apologising for the wrong things as they had totally misunderstood by written complaints as well.As far as actual delivery time to go they are generally okay although my anecdotal case is that of a package that had to go to town a way and took 10 days to get there whilst travelling a mere 7 miles. I actually took replacements over to the customer myself only to realise we had met before. But the big problem with Royal mail is that when I started with my franking machine I was treated like a business customer. If I made a claim for a lost item I got paid. But that soon ended and now Royal mail treat me like a piece of shit and I have to fill out endless paperwork including provide eBay pages to prove the item was actually sale even though I have a PayPal printout of the transaction showing that the item was indeed purchased. So after 12 sheets of paper and 20 minutes filling it all out I will recover the buying price of my little resistors that went missing that wholesale cost me one quarter of a penny and I will get my 2nd class stamp or impression money back which hardly covers all the hassle and time and lost face with the customer.Yes their prices are a little hefty for packages although you are paying for the convenience as there are few other couriers that have so many drop-off points. Thankfully I don't have to use packages very often although I was surprised to find that for just under £16 I can send a parcel via DPD to France if I go through parcel monkey so that £10 I'm paying to Royal mail is a bit cheaper but it takes longer and they are a pain in the arse DPD will come and collect.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 22, 2016, 08:46:44 pm
content: Quote from: grumpydoc on August 22, 2016, 08:07:12 pmWell I have a franking machine but that has just turned out into an expensive ego trip. When I got it I was hoping that volumes would remain the same if not increase as I increased my range and under those circumstances it was justifiable but now that I am selling on average one item per day it is just an expense I can do without particularly as believe it or not you can only top up with posted online at certain times of the day. Anybody want a franking machine? If I can't get anything for it maybe I will send it to Dave for a teardown

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2016, 08:57:57 pm
content: Quote from: Simon on August 22, 2016, 08:34:12 pmYes, but I was visiting England at the time.

author: ez24
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2016, 10:42:27 pm
content: Quote from: Simon on August 22, 2016, 08:46:44 pmYou should ask Frank.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 23, 2016, 05:21:08 am
content: Quote from: MK14 on August 21, 2016, 09:36:01 pmWell I have not heard anything specific but that has always been my suspicion. The system was always rigged against low value sales and now they are taking actions which do make things even more difficult. Yes they will lose a lot of business, as I said I once turned over £1900 in one month that quite a lot of eBay fees I mean let's face it what the fuck do they do for me except take the money and provide a standard website? But naturally there are run by experts who know better and I now know better than to sell small items on eBay they can go and screw themselves for all I care. I did put all my stuff up on eBid but nobody seemed to be interested

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 23, 2016, 05:42:45 am
content: ebid is slow to develop and not up to taking ebay on. but we can only but try to take on ebay.

author: grumpydoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2016, 07:21:26 am
content: Quote from: Simon on August 23, 2016, 05:21:08 amThey provide a marketplace with a brand name and footfall.If you are a casual seller of, say, test equipment in the UK they are the main game in town. Craigslist is perceived as too dodgy and there aren't enough other sellers to generate footfall and other sites are just generally too small to generate enough interest.You could trade at radio rallies but the prices you will achieve there will be less than half of ebay simply because "lack of warranty" is heavily factored into what buyers will be prepared to pay.

author: setq
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2016, 08:21:42 am
content: It's a marketplace but it's a monopoly, which is bad. You can't compete against them and you can't run certain classes of business without them. That's the service they provide. I'm resigned to the fact that isn't going to change any time soon.To confirm my points earlier, I have no problem with Royal Mail reliability at all. I haven't had a single consignment go missing in 20 years myself.What I have a problem with is that the person receiving it isn't necessarily honest. If I send something via standard 1st/2nd not signed, I will get a ~20% failure rate of auctions i.e. the person says "item never received", the only viable outcome being refund. However this ONLY occurs with people who purchase via eBay and I suspect this is becase it's pretty easy to scam the system as a buyer. I have NEVER had a problem outside of eBay even when I did sent literally hundreds of packages every year.As for any recourse if anything goes wrong, even if it's insured, it's probably only worth dealing with it if it's £50+ loss. And if RM aren't responsive, gov.uk Moneyclaim works like lightning apparently (my father has used that a few times on high value items that were nicked from his local sorting office).

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 23, 2016, 11:44:53 am
content: Yes ebay has built it's reputation and trust on abusing sellers. It's ok if your a huge seller but smaller people will just get fed up if they have better things to do with their time. the reputation and one stop shop ebay is is down to us sellers providing the service and the fact that e sign all of our rights away to ebay. They charge us a huge 10% fee much of it used to refund claims for lost, stolen or damaged items many of which may well be false claims, so not only does the seller loose the case and pay the costs he has also paid a second time (so screwed 3 times over) in the form of the extortionate fees we pay. Ebay don't refund "lost" item immediately out of the goodness of their hearts, that's my money being given away. Royal mail are also incompetent, i once had a card put in my door to say my parcel was left with the neighbour when they just dumped it on the neighbours doorstep in more plain sight than if they had dumped it on mine. So i claimed the item missing and they had to pay farnell back and fucking screw them!

author: setq
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2016, 12:09:15 pm
content: Perhaps people need to stop playing the game? I've had enough of it even on the buyer side of things as I'm getting screwed for carriage all the time. If you play in a marketplace you're in a race to the bottom as the only competition is price and there are market-wide mandated policies in place. This happened in traditional physical markets as well, particularly during the 70's and 80's corporatisation when shopping centres turned up on the scene and a small space was given to traditional market traders. This marketplace has China in it as well which has a few massively unfair advantages particularly when it comes to cost. What I'd like to see is independent shops back that compete on quality of service, because I'm fucked off with having to deal with the likes of RS and Farnell who seem to screw everything up on nearly every order in the last month. The small independent guys (hat tip to bitsbox.co.uk here as they supply all the odd transistors I tend to buy in small quantities for repair jobs) tend to get this stuff spot on. Which is exactly what I see you are doing with your storefront!Amazon Logistics (Yohell) do that to me regularly. They dropped a 512Gb Samsung 850 Pro disk on my doorstep which got nicked instantly. I live in London FFS - if it's not bolted down it'll get nicked before it touches the ground! So they delivered another one. Then I found out two days later that it hadn't been nicked and had been placed in my bin (WTF!?!?!).

author: grumpydoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2016, 02:36:21 pm
content: Quote from: Simon on August 23, 2016, 11:44:53 amHave a look at Amazon if you think ebay is expensive - for low volume sellers there's a per item fee of 75p, a referral fee (7-15% but mostly 12 or 15%) and, for some items, a closing fee as well.

author: setq
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2016, 04:04:38 pm
content: Yep. Amazon are terrible. I sold one thing on there and didn't realise the shafting multiplier afterwards. One HP 50G calculator went for £52.99 and the return on that was about £28!

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2016, 04:32:20 pm
content: Quote from: Simon on August 23, 2016, 05:21:08 amThis is one of the websites which explains a bit about what Ebay did to small sellers. Other website(s) explain why it was done by ebay. I can't remember where that article was, and can't quickly find it sorry.http://hubpages.com/business/Ebay-Secrets-That-People-Need-To-Know-AboutI have a degree of sympathy for Royal Mail though.Disclaimer: I'm NOT an expert on Royal Mail, so could be slightly or entirely wrong.In modern/changing times, their delivery service boils down to one of two methods.(1)...By automatic machinery (mainly), so there is a huge one off cost, for each big machine. But after that payment (and its maintenance etc), it costs about for same for it to handle 1 letter or small packet, or a million, per day. (All figures are extremely approximate). So it is viable for Royal Mail, to charge LESS for letters and smaller items. I.e. Ones that can go through mainly fully automatic machinery, with minimal human contact.(2)...By partial/full manual handling, and/or delivery by postal van (rather than by the postman on his/her rounds). This applies to bigger items, especially. Inevitably, this is more expensive than the automated systems, and also can cost more, if the number of items increases. Since more staff and/or overtime might be needed.Also many of the costs (for Royal Mail), are fixed, even if only 1 letter, or a million are handled. E.g. Business premises, permanent staff, vans/trucks, etc etc.So the modern trends, of emails/texting, online services (some of which use to be more paper based, and hence letters would have needed to be sent out), have potentially drastically reduced the numbers of certain types of mail deliveries.E.g. Sending Birthday/Christmas Cards/Bills/Bank Statements by email, rather than by post. Hence the business costs of running Royal Mail, can go up dramatically, as a result (i.e. It needs to cost a lot more to send each letter, in order to still make a profit). They also lose business to competing couriers, such as UPS/DHL/FEDEX etc.I've not been too happy with the Royal Mail sell off in the UK (privatization). I suspect that is a factor in some peoples disappointment in Royal Mail and/or the (apparently) higher prices, that people have been experiencing.tl;drEbay seems to have gone BADLY downhill since about 2008, because new management, decided to disallow sellers giving buyers negative feedback, and other later changes, which ruined it for small/medium sized sellers.But Royal Mail issues, may be as much to do with modern times (e.g. dramatic email usage increases, over paper letters) and modern automation machinery, and hence the economics of letters/small packets, versus large parcels, which may need much more human intervention, and hence costs.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2016, 04:43:29 pm
content: Royal Mail has the advantage that while many letter communications can be sent electronically, the delivery of goods and parcels can only be done physically. It has been my observation that for parcel delivery they just load up a van with parcels in the morning and then drive around the local neighbourhood ringing doorbells and handing them over. Granted I have been resident in a town with a dense population, but the service has seemed very efficient to me whenever I have received postal deliveries. There are also two Post Offices within walking distance to send parcels from.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 23, 2016, 09:26:24 pm
content: Quote from: IanB on August 23, 2016, 04:43:29 pmRoyal mail do indeed owe to me and other sellers the fact that they are now in profit and not deficit. Of course when the government was selling off we were told all about how unprofitable they had been but because of the rise of small-scale selling like me and others on eBay they are the de facto choice and they have made a profit on us yet we also are kicked in the teeth by them.As for eBay I would happily boycott them. You have no idea of the quality of what you are buying and there are plenty of unscrupulous sellers on their which often give people like me a bad name. As I said before I will spend hours replying to messages and helping people with their projects which I'm pretty sure are often uni projects been made by people who haven't got a clue what they are doing just to make a change! EBay also do not pay tax in the UK it is only since recent changes in rules that they are paying VAT to the UK government at which point of course prices went up, surprise surprise. Their fees used to be 8% but then rose to 10% and there are often technical problems with the website which I have had to point out over and over and over again and they still won't do anything about it.

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2016, 10:01:50 pm
content: Quote from: Simon on August 23, 2016, 09:26:24 pmThe "new" ebay, can help when you buy stuff through ebay.About a year or so ago (very roughly, it was around Christmas time, a year or two ago), I bought some computer bits, for around £40 total. What I received was basically non-working "junk". It is very likely the seller was lying about the items.I got absolutely no response by emailing the seller.So I claimed/complained using the "new" ebay system, and ebay agreed (a number of other buyers had the same or very similar problems, and had left bad negative feedback about it). So I was able to (no cost to myself), print out a postage return label.I then fairly promptly got all my money back, including postage. N.B. I did not even have to pay, for the return postage either, because of the return label, via ebay. I would NOT abuse such a system.But I suspect, some other people, may change their mind, or other nonsense, and mis-use the returns system. Hence selling stuff on ebay, is extra worrying, these days. As others have said in this thread already.

author: ez24
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2016, 10:07:07 pm
content: Quote from: IanB on August 23, 2016, 04:43:29 pmYou are lucky. The nearest two, driving distance, POs to me were both closed. The next one, 5 miles, has no parking.

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2016, 10:11:38 pm
content: Quote from: ez24 on August 23, 2016, 10:07:07 pmI think they are talking about, within the UK.

author: ez24
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2016, 10:18:46 pm
content: Quote from: MK14 on August 23, 2016, 10:11:38 pmIanB has a US flag, that is why I was surprised that there was somewhere in the US like this. Maybe wrong flag?

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2016, 10:22:38 pm
content: Quote from: ez24 on August 23, 2016, 10:18:46 pmI could easily be wrong, but earlier in this thread...Quote from: IanB on August 22, 2016, 08:57:57 pmSo (presumably) he/she is still referring to England/UK ?The UK has a huge population density, especially in London. So having many post offices, in walking distance, for many households here, works out quite well. But I think the US is both bigger and much more spread out, relatively speaking.In some cases, the post office, is just one counter top in a small shop, which sells many other things.E.g. A Newsagents (which sells newspapers, magazines and sweets and stuff, and is very small, about the size of a persons front room).

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2016, 10:27:05 pm
content: Quote from: MK14 on August 23, 2016, 10:11:38 pmIndeed. One advantage of towns in the UK compared to cities in the USA is that British towns tend to be very compact and densely populated. Where I stay in the UK there are several supermarkets and convenience stores within a five minute walk and many other shops and services within a mile or two.Here in the US I also have various supermarkets and convenience stores within a five minute walk. I do have to drive to the nearest post office, but a UPS store within walking distance offers some postal facilities.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2016, 10:28:09 pm
content: Quote from: ez24 on August 23, 2016, 10:18:46 pmI have a US flag because it is where I am geographically located. But I have roots in England and visit often (family there).

author: ez24
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 24, 2016, 02:26:26 am
content: Quote from: IanB on August 23, 2016, 10:28:09 pmJust curious - where are your post offices ?

author: batteksystem
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 24, 2016, 06:36:48 am
content: I would say that ebay is not really friendly to those who sell used goods, as the return process and SNAD put major risk on the seller's side. Eventually, rational seller will rise they price and margin to cover the risk and kill the market.On the other hands, it is not much of a problem for people selling new items with detailed specifications, as these would be difficult to challenged with.

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 24, 2016, 01:52:17 pm
content: Delivering physical mail packages to your door step is so 20th century, it just does not work if there is no-one home.The petrol waste alone for each and every package is rediculous.They should open large distribution points with 24/7 lockers that have a 16 alfanumerical pincode on them.The postal service only has to deliver the packages to the distribution points and sent an email to the addressee with the boxnr and the pincode to open it.

author: setq
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 24, 2016, 01:59:00 pm
content: We have those and can collect from Argos (large warehouse front retailer here) and shops as well. Problem is that a lot of us are in most of the time so that doesn't actually make much sense.

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 24, 2016, 02:14:15 pm
content: What do you mean with " a lot of us are in most of the time " you mean you are at home? Most people that complain about packages are working, now we have to work till we are 70 before we can collect pension that group will grow and grow.

author: setq
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 24, 2016, 02:24:33 pm
content: No I'm at work and I'm complaining about running a business through the services.

author: Seekonk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 24, 2016, 02:34:44 pm
content: Ebay wants to be like Amazon, having sellers sell from their fulfillment centers. The one of a kind stuff doesn't fit well into their guarantee process. They want people that sell the same thing hundreds of times. I had sources that I got stuff for free almost and had a couple thousand small orders under my belt when ebay and post office conspired against me. Can't compete whith china when selling the smallest part for 10 cents cost over $3 for postage, packing, and fees. I gave up selling on ebay a year ago.I own that same HP generator on the shelf. The chassis bends on it are really crude. Also have one of the first HP desk calculators (only basic functions) with a CRT. Takes so long to calculate that it mechanically locks the keyboard. Memory is a delay line.

author: batteksystem
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 25, 2016, 01:07:26 am
content: On the other hands, rare, one of a kind, used, second hand items are moved to specialized venue like etsy, tindie, bonanza, etc I can't say it is bad for ebay, because financially these items may only be a very small part of ebay's business.

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 25, 2016, 07:13:44 am
content: You actually would like a small community with dedicated and committed people that have an affection with the products.Like here on the forum, you know who is serious and can be trusted even to ship an expensive piece of testgear.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 25, 2016, 11:46:22 am
content: Ebay started out making money by helping people shift second hand stuff, but now they just want to have new stuff sold over and over with big corporate sellers. Small people are not welcome.

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 25, 2016, 11:52:17 am
content: Yes they should diversify, ebay pro for big sellers and ebay amateur for the small time fish, still could generate huge amounts of profit for them, it are the managers that only think big and forget that lots of small transactions also add up to large numbers.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 25, 2016, 12:00:14 pm
content: Well it was the begining of the end when they extended the final value fee to include the postage costs and demanded we do free shipping, both incompatible with selling lots of 10 resistors.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 25, 2016, 02:19:36 pm
content: Quote from: Kjelt on August 25, 2016, 11:52:17 amI can't see eBay differentiating it's marketplace. It would split it's customer base ... and eBay's actions have always been consistent with acquiring customers, keeping them happy so they stay around ... and spend. The process I see is for them to have as many customers as possible in one audience and to have as much merchandise available ... and use their search to match customers with merchants. The bonus for the bigger businesses is that someone looking for a second hand widget would be served up with the offer of new ones. That just wouldn't happen if it were to split.

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 25, 2016, 02:28:37 pm
content: Quote from: Simon on August 25, 2016, 11:46:22 amMy guess is that they wanted to shift the perceived vision/opinion of ebay, from being a cheap supplier (via third parties) of cheap but second hand, sometimes faulty or junk items.To being a supplier of brand new, good quality items (also via third parties).The idea was by improving the perceived image of ebay, it would enable ebay to take on modern day challengers to their business (model), such as Amazon.I can see the business logic, even if it is sad for the millions of small private sellers on ebay.In practice ebay seems to have fallen badly between two stools, one being selling second hand goods, the other stool being brand new, business sellers, stuff.I think ebay have messed things up. It is now much harder to sell small second hand (or new) items, and turn a profit on ebay.

author: grumpydoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 25, 2016, 03:06:38 pm
content: Quote from: Simon on August 25, 2016, 12:00:14 pmWhich they did because too many people sold £100 items at £1 plus £99 "p&p"

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 25, 2016, 04:56:47 pm
content: Quote from: grumpydoc on August 25, 2016, 03:06:38 pmYes because in their minds all items are £100 items. For me it doubled my fees overnight but then I'm not welcome.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 25, 2016, 08:24:49 pm
content: I am grateful to Simon for this thread. Through it I visited his ebay store and found the Probe Master 8151 SMT multimeter probes.http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sparkylabs-Probe-Master-DMM-probe-set-spare-tips-partsns-8150-5151-/182030535392?var=&hash=item7064f39777I have purchased a set from him this evening. I struggled with Agilent needle tip probe extensions whilst working on my Tau thermal cameras 0402 components but they were unwieldy. The Probe Master product may not be exactly UK hobbyist budget friendlly, but as I use needle probes more and more these days, I consider a decent set a necessity just as important as a decent multimeter. If you cannot get your probe safely to where it is needed, the quality of the multimeter connected to it is mootFor those unaware, the Probe master probes come with soft grips and a selection of sprung and unsprung tips. The tips look like those used in automated PCB test beds (bed of nails). The supplied tips offer a range on contact surfaces from pointed to castellated. Having used similar sprung tips on PMK scope probes I know how great they are a staying in place and being comfortable to use.Details and pictures herehttp://probemaster.com/spring-loaded-micro-tip-test-lead-kit/https://www.jameco.com/Jameco/Products/ProdDS/174625.pdfI recommend such for SMT working. One slip can cause havoc in tightly packed PCB's.My thanks to Simon for making these probes available in the UK.P.S. I bought the 8151 model probes with straight 4mm plugs that have a sprung sleeve as I can then use the probes on equipment like my Huntron Tracker that cannot accept the right angle fixed sleeve type 4mm plugs. For those wanting right angle 4mm fixed sleeve plugs, order model 8150.Fraser

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 27, 2016, 12:11:17 pm
content: So now I have a guy claiming i have sent him 1250 33 ohm resistors instead of 3.3ohm resistors(for £6.00) It's when i get idiots like this that I feel like just leaving ebay. i know i have not sent him 33 ohm ones as the box is still full and you know when 1250 have been taken out of a box of 5000

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2016, 12:21:33 pm
content: Quote from: Simon on August 27, 2016, 12:11:17 pmThis is just a guess on my part.Is he getting mixed up between 3, 4 or 5 band resistor colour codes, which might explain their misunderstanding ?I.e. Carbon 5% and Metal film 1% colour codes, are different by about a factor of ten, if you get mixed up!EDIT:Just in case my answer is confusing.Going from simple 5% carbon resistors, to 1% metal film ones, may have an extra colour code band. If the purchaser gets mixed up, he could be using the WRONG colour band decoding scheme, hence why he is out by exactly a factor of 10.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 27, 2016, 12:28:19 pm
content: possibly, but if he wants to push the point i will have no recourse as ebay don't know what a multimeter is.

author: Kilrah
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 27, 2016, 12:34:18 pm
content: Quote from: Simon on August 27, 2016, 12:11:17 pmI still can't understand why you're even there at all. Having your online shop just beats it on all accounts for this kind of thing.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 27, 2016, 12:38:07 pm
content: Quote from: Kilrah on August 27, 2016, 12:34:18 pmYes i have my own shop and no one buys from it. I made a handful of sales before Dave's uCurrent came along and then all i have sold is uCurrents and meter leads with the occasional purchase of odds and sods so it's basically not worth doing full stop as ebay is the only venue. I have wasted much time I will never get back putting stuff on my own shop and all buyers on ebay get an automated reply letting them know i have the shop.I expect also that as getting PCB's made cheap and hobbyists moving to SMd increases there is less of a demand for the stuff i have. I don't use what i sell anymore.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 27, 2016, 02:38:28 pm
content: Quote from: Simon on August 27, 2016, 12:28:19 pmEven if they did - eBay wouldn't care. EBay is all about keeping buyers happy.While it does cause Sellers headaches, the reasoning is very simple.Sellers invest time and effort in setting up a presence on eBay and they aren't going to walk away at the slightest discouragement because of this.Buyers, however, simply breeze in and can have a dozen websites open showing the same product. Their decision to buy is completely without pressure. They can choose any one of the various merchants before them - or simply walk away altogether. That decision can be made on the merest whim. EBay don't want that decision coloured by bad memories or bad reports of previous eBay purchases, so they 'sell' eBay as somewhere where your money is safe.This leaves honest transactions up to the conscience of a buyer - and does not take into consideration buyer ignorance. Those issues have to be handled by the Seller - and they must be very careful how they approach that.It sucks - but it's part of trading on eBay.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 27, 2016, 02:47:18 pm
content: Well he got round to measuring them and confirms they read right and the colours must be wrong. So I have explained 3 versus 4 band.Yes ebay sucks that is why I am removing all of my low value stock, if someone wants to buy an overpriced ucurrent on ebay they are welcome to but the impact of problems on smaller parts is higher versus the profit margin.the other reason I am getting out is that I don't have the time. I prefer to do designing or studying than packing envelopes for pennies.My best claim was a woman that bought 1uF 25V capacitors and complaint that she got 50V instead of the rare 25V. I was pretty pissed off and gave ebay a peice of my mind, as far as i know they didn't charge me for her to return the "faulty" goods.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 27, 2016, 02:57:57 pm
content: Quote from: Simon on August 27, 2016, 02:47:18 pmGood outcome - but I daresay the effort would not have made the transaction worth it.QuoteI feel for you.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 27, 2016, 03:02:36 pm
content: Quote from: Brumby on August 27, 2016, 02:57:57 pmWell you have to look at the effort on average. I have spent a long time teaching people how to connect a mosfet. I don't mind replying to querries, it shows peoples that I don't just box shift the stuff but that I know my stuff so it instills more confidence in my parts. What I object to is the assholes.Someone contacted me the other day the day after the item should have been delivered by royal mail. I flatly replied that I did not give a stuff about what ebay said he had signed up to royal mails terms and conditions by buying from me as it is the advertised transit method and that I'd not entertain a claim until royal mail would. That seemed to shut him up and the case was closed i suspect when Royal mail finally delivered a couple of days late.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 28, 2016, 01:21:58 am
content: I was going to add an eBay story or two here .... but I don't want to hijack the thread.Suffice to say, eBay's use of 'expected' delivery times from Australia Post is pathetic. It's presented as gospel to buyers and when the carrier fails to meet this, it's the Seller who cops the flak.But this isn't something new. Even eBay fails end up in the Seller's lap - unless you have a buyer that can actually think. (Fortunately, there are a few around.)

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 28, 2016, 07:31:58 am
content: Quote from: Brumby on August 28, 2016, 01:21:58 amOh feel free go right ahead tell us what happened. I have a case where it took Royal mail 10 days to deliver something 6 1/2 miles away. My new stance will be to tell the buyer to get lost and that they have signed up to Royal mail's terms and conditions. I suppose sadly the only way of making eBay listen to that is to take them to court and that will be a waste of time.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 28, 2016, 09:22:44 am
content: Here's a simple one...- Buyer purchases an item and pays immediately.- Seller ships the item the same day - with tracking information uploaded to eBay. (A lodgement scan was performed, so the buyer can see time and date the item was posted.)- Australia Post take 10 days to deliver instead of their usual 4-5- Buyer unhappy. Leaves feedback that they wererelyingon the delivery date given by eBay.- Seller knew nothing of the time sensitivity - the Buyer said nothing. Even more irritating is that they offer Express Post on request.- Seller has no control, no recourse and no say. Feedback and DSR caning has to be worn.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 28, 2016, 09:24:57 am
content: .... and the most worrying aspect of this example - is that there is nothing uncommon about it.

author: PlainName
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2016, 03:44:16 pm
content: QuoteThey haven't - you have. It is the seller that has a contract with his shipper (so in any dispute about delivery, or non-delivery, it is the seller that has to chase it up and gets therewardscompensation). If Royal Mail's T&C are unacceptable to the seller then it is the seller than can/should use a different courier. The buyer's contract is with the seller, and if the seller says stuff will be there in 2 days the buyer has contracted the seller to perform that (not the seller's agent).I sympathise with your position. When I sell on ebay now I tell Ebay how long it will take and then use my own shipper (which might be an Ebay option but I don't tell them who it is). I also try and list as free postage, having been ripped off by a shipper when a parcel went adrift and the shipper used the Ebay specified shipping priice rather than what they actually charged me). However, getting basic facts of life like this wrong will just lead to avoidable resentment.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 28, 2016, 07:39:14 pm
content: Yes but the buyer is buying knowing that the item will be delivered by Royal mail. I cannot see how eBay can change Royal mail's terms and conditions. Therefore eBay is at fault. The problem is eBay is only registered as a company in a few countries so if you don't happen to be in one of the select countries your legal system can do nothing about them. And that is how they get away with it. The UK government has absolutely no control over eBay they can do whatever the fuck they like probably even break the law. Surely trying to dictate different terms and conditions to a 3rd party over which you have no control is illegal? How can eBay tell Royal mail what to do? The problem is they don't they tell me. But I have no control and I am clearly advertising the methods by which delivery will take place.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2016, 07:58:42 pm
content: When I sell something on Ebay I allow the item to travel for a long time. Unfortunately some people just don't know how to read a description and you have to deal with those people. Recently I sold an oscilloscope which had a couple of problems. The first to come looking hadn't read further than the price and got quite upset that he didn't know about the problems and thought I'd tried to cheat him. Fortunately he brought his phone along and looked at the listing again and realised HE should have read all the text. He went away without the oscilloscope...

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2016, 08:56:04 pm
content: A lot of sellers add actual shipping dates, so ebay can say it takes three days but if you post an average experience table in the text saying that for instance to that country the shipping might take from three dats to two weeks, in my opinion you did everything you could to correctly inform a potential buyer. However not mentioning any shipping time estimates a buyer will rely on the ebay estimate.

author: PlainName
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 29, 2016, 04:27:31 am
content: QuoteEbay had to conform to distance selling regulations (which it tried not to and still doesn't in some countries), such as vendor pays return postage for faulty items, returns (to 'business' vendors) for any reason are refunded in full, including shipping, etc.The big problem with getting a result against the likes of Ebay is that 95+% of people wanting that result will give up after an initial demand, and then they say that one can't fight against Ebay then cite how they got stiffed. And so the meme goes around and around. But if Ebay, or any other company, havie broken the law in some way, youcanget a result if you're prepared to go the whole hog. That might mean suing them via small claims, and even there you have to be prepared for your day in court. Most people won't get that far, so the company can 'get away with' lots of stuff.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 29, 2016, 07:30:52 am
content: Yes but ebay are not bound by the UK giudicial system as they are not a UK legal entity. Yes they have to obey most laws in order to trade in the uk. I asked trading standards about them once and they told me to persue the seller not ebay.

author: Kilrah
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 29, 2016, 08:06:01 am
content: That's similar to crowdfunding platforms.Half their efforts are directed towards making users/buyers aware of and confident in the value of what you can find on their platforms, the other half is directed towards denying all responsibility for anything and insisting the'yre only a showcase and you're actually dealing straight with the seller.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 29, 2016, 08:08:13 am
content: I bit diffivcult to dela with a seller they remove from ebay and prevent you from contacting. I got my money back through paypal, thus reinforcing the need to use paypal.