Selling a saddle on eBay

[sportyspicepony]

OMG so I have never sold anything on eBay before now but I’ve bought quite a few things on there. I decided to go through ebay to sell a few horsie items because I just hate Facebook and I’ve had good success buying on there. I listed my saddle thinking it would take awhile to sell but someone went ahead and bought it with the ‘buy now’ feature - and I knew that eBay would charge me a fee but they never, ever told me how much it was going to be, so I was SHOCKED when I discovered they’d be taking 13% of my saddle price!!! That’s like $150!!!

If you bought a saddle on eBay, would you be really sketched out if the seller contacted you asking to go through PayPal instead?? I had no idea it would be this much! I guess the worse they can say is no, but I am just not willing to give up that much money! PayPal says they only take 2.9% which is a lot more palatable to me.

Is there any way to get around that?? They didn’t take that much out of some of the smaller items I’ve sold so I’m guessing it has something to do with the higher cost but I’m still just not willing to cough it up.

[Bogie]

There is no way around the fees. You agreed to ebay’s terms when you listed the saddle and it would be a breach of contract. It’s still going to be less than sending the saddle to a consignment shop.

Keep in mind that the only way to contact your buyer is through eBay and they monitor all the correspondence. They do not take kindly to any efforts to secure a direct sale. And yes, as a buyer, I’d be very suspicious of a seller trying to buck the system.

I no longer sell saddles on eBay, although I did for years. The biggest issue comes if your buyer decides to return your saddle (which they can do, even if you say no returns) because eBay now favors buyers and almost always rules in their favor

[sportyspicepony]

that’s so f*cked up because i never would have agreed if I knew it was going to be 13%, but they don’t tell you that at any point during the listing process, they just say “it’s a variable percentage”

[GreyDes]

They do say in the terms - it’s the final value fee which is based on the total price (I believe inclusive of shipping).

As a previous poster said, once the item is sold there’s no way to back out if you want to keep your eBay account. As a buyer I appreciate this - the benefit of buying on eBay is the buyer protection and refund if there’s an issue.

I’ve also stopped selling saddles on eBay for the same reason as Bogie. I would be willing to pay the commission, which is painful but less than sending it off, but I’ve heard too many stories of issues with buyers claiming a non-existing problem and eBay withdrawing the funds.

[GreyDes]

Confirming the 12.9% fee includes shipping in the total value. Details here - https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/selling-fees?id=4822

[Bogie]

As I said, it’s still a lot less than selling through a tack store.

Pelham Saddlery:
Our consignment fee is 25% for saddles that sell for over $500.
Our consignment fee is 30% for saddles that sell for under $500.

Middleburgh Tack Exchange
25% consignment fee on saddles.

The lowest fee I’ve seen is with Highline tack, which is 18%.

I mostly sell equipment through Facebook and try to keep it local. Even if you sell directly and use PayPal you’re looking at $$.

[sportyspicepony]

It says “most categories” but nowhere does it actually list all the categories that that applies to!! “Sporting Goods” is notably not mentioned in that chart anywhere which is the category that equestrian stuff falls under. Like how hard would it be to have comprehensive documentation on this???

[sportyspicepony]

You’re correct that it’s still less than selling through a tack store, which is unfortunately why I probably wouldn’t do that. I originally bought this saddle from a tack store for wayyyyy more than what it was worth lol.

[chestnutmarebeware]

I buy a particular category of (somewhat pricey) antiques on eBay all the time, and besides the fact that eBay would come after you with guns blazing as others have mentioned, as a buyer that approach would make me suspect the entire listing was a scam and I would certainly report it.

[sportyspicepony]

Yah I probably would too… so hopefully others see this thread as a heads up because I was very unpleasantly surprised this morning.

[Bogie]

Even selling with straight Paypal can be a surprise. I sold three saddles over the past 6 months and they were all direct sales but the fees add up. However, having retired my TB, the rational side of my brain said that it was better to have the $$ since none of his saddles would fit my draft x mare!

[sportyspicepony]

do you what percentage your fees were? I found on the internet that it was always 2.9% but obviously not sure!

[cheektwocheek]

I will no longer sell saddles on Ebay after being scammed.

Buyer purchased saddle and paid for shipping. Buyer proceeded to try to resell saddle on her Ebay store for a large mark-up. It didn’t sell for her within 30 days. Ebay allows buyers 30 days to file a claim & return items either broken or not as described. Buyer contacted me on the 30th day and said my saddle was not as described. She was refunded all her money plus I had to pay for shipping both ways. So, I really paid for her to try to make money off me for 30 days, yeah nope!!!

[Bogie]

Yikes. eBay has really thrown sellers under the bus. I can see how that could happen. I’m at the point now where I’d rather take the hit and sell through a tack shop if I can’t sell direct. It’s taken all the fun out of buying and reselling saddles.

[Lusoluv]

I’ve sold several saddles & bridles on a number of tack sites on FB. Ebay USED to be the best placed to sell stuff - not for quite a while based on ever increasing fees.

[TheBigEasy]

My mother sold on eBay as a side hustle for years. She’d comb thrift stores and find the rare Gucci sweater or Hermès scarf for a couple bucks and list on eBay. Sometimes it was just nice Christopher & Banks or Coldwater Creek type stuff.

eBay raised their fees, PayPal raised their fees. Both gave all the favor to the buyers. Sellers can no longer rate their buyers. You are required to accept returns (and pay for them) even if your item was flawless and perfectly described. Even if you execute perfectly, buyer can still leave you a poor review. And reviews are everything on eBay.

She gave up on eBay as it became too stressful and found she could do better still combing the thrifts… but then selling those special finds at the local consignment shops.

[Paint_Party]

@cheektwocheek

Ebay allows buyers 30 days to file a claim & return items either broken or not as described.

Recently I sold a few rather pricey horse-related things on Ebay and was shocked to discover that I wouldn’t get my money for weeks! Ebay wouldn’t release funds to me until the buyers had an opportunity to essentially change their minds for assorted reasons… even though I clearly state NO REFUNDS on my listings. That doesn’t seem right. I don’t have my items, nor do I have my money. And then, the fees from Ebay and PayPal have gone up!

I have a saddle that no longer fits my ever-growing, expanding young horse, and I was considering just selling it cheaply on Ebay. Not now. I don’t want to risk it boomeranging back to me because some “buyer” knows how to work the Ebay system in their favor.