The Black Hole that is EBay Today

Last fall I wrote about lightening your load in preparation for moving overseas. I discussed various ways of getting rid of excess stuff — garage sales, online sales and the like. You can read the entire post here.

I inventoried the items that I want to take with me when we move, then created lists of things to sell in various categories.

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Unfortunately, one of the main online places to sell stuff seems to have dried up, at least for me. I’m talking about EBay. I have some small, easy-to-ship collectible items in perfect condition with all their original packaging. A few years ago, these would have sold very well on EBay, but apparently not now. I don’t know whether it’s the general awfulness of the economy in the US or if EBay is just totally overcrowded with sellers instead of buyers. But the fact is, these items didn’t sell.

No Bids!

Not only did they not sell — they didn’t even get a single bid! I’m not talking about a single listing here, I’m talking about several listings in two different categories. No bids. I’ve sold successfully on EBay before, so it’s not like I don’t how to describe it or upload good pictures. Pricing wasn’t an issue, with a minimum starting bid of $1.99.

Perhaps the categories were duds, but I don’t think so. One of the items was a dated Disney collectible photo frame, and Disney collectibles are a pretty popular category. (At least, they used to be.) The others were decorative plates from a specific collection depicting Russian fairy tales. Another category that used to be popular.

Is Anything Selling on EBay?

I did some browsing around. Movies used to be a big seller on EBay, but not any more. There are pages of DVDs without any bids. Cell phones? A few bids here and there, but nothing like they used to be. Cameras? Not so much.

Oddly enough, Oakley sunglasses seem to be selling. Go figure.

For now, don’t bother with EBay as a place to sell your extra stuff. You’ll just waste your listing fees.

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Has your EBay experience been different? Do you have any tips or tricks to help sell there in categories without much movement? Let us know by clicking the Comment link below.