[Harp-L] Ebay stinketh

[David Payne <dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Gang, 

Keep this in mind when you are on Ebay or thinking about setting up an Ebay store. Ebay is hard on sellers. Elk RIver Harmonicas started out as an Ebay store. Ebay charges so many fees, coupled to fees Paypal charges you, while there is supposedly this relist fee credit, you can relist an item four times, if it doesn't sell until the 4th time, you still pay three listings worth of fees.Plus Ebay takes a chunk of the final sell price as does Paypal.  I opened an ebay store proper to lessen those fees, I was still busting my rump selling and STILL LOSING MONEY. So I quit selling on Ebay Jan. 1. I started my own Web site store and besides the fact I get more traffic and pay only like $9 a month for the domain, etc., I am no longer ruled by the Ebay Seller Overlords, who operate like a medieval tax collector.
These exhorbitant fees are the reason you see Ebay sellers padding shipping, etc. To give you an idea what it's like, the last thing I posted for sale was a Seydel Chromatic Deluxe, price then was $85 right after I closed the store. It did not sell. That didn't stop Ebay from making me pay $11 in fees for this item that never sold.
 
Well, the Ebay tax man cometh again. I logged in today to look for some old prewars and this notice pops up that I was overdue for $4.98. I dug around, apparently Ebay signed me up, without my consent, to some sort of thing called a seller manager, even though i have sold nothing since December.. For this "service", they charged me $4.98. It's almost impossible to find any sort of link where you can dispute this with Ebay. I ain't paying it. I ain't paying a Pfennig to the Ebay Seller Overlords.
I'm gonna write them a letter, one on paper that is sent by the mail. I surmise they will be so shocked to see that paper exists, they will notice it.  
Buying on Ebay is nice, but they expect sellers, apparently even former sellers to just bend over and take it. I ain't bending over and I ain't takin' it. If there is no reasponse, I'm gonna pay $50 and have a lawyer write the next letter, yes over this $4.98. I'd rather pay some lawyer $50 than one more hard-earned dime to the Medieval Ebay Overlords.

LIttle guy standing up for the little guy,
Dave
_____________________________
Dave Payne Sr. 
Elk RIver Harmonicas
www.elkriverharmonicas.com