I was reading an entry from someone who had done some research trying to find a "BAT GIRL" Halloween Costume.

She went on to rant about how expensive the costumes were on Ebay and how she felt that some sellers were taking advantage of "Naive" Shoppers!

Here is this SELLERS OPINON:

First of ALL, Sellers have to PAY to list items, they also have to PAY when the item is SOLD!

IF the SELLER Offers the BUYER the service of PayPal which ALSO gives the BUYER the SERVICE to the use many different methods pf payment, such as their own credit cards! 
This is not free to the Seller as the SELLER is ALSO PAYING for that USE of the Collection of FUNDS.

Most Sellers Spend at least 15-30 minutes DESIGNING the Listings, and another 15 minutes Taking the PHOTOS, Croping the PHOTOS and then UPLOADING the photos to the Listings.

SELLER also PAYS for Acess to having a STORE, Advertisement on the Internet, Computer Programs that HELP the SELLER to DECREASE the time spent Posting listings.

Most Sellers ALSO spend at least 15-20 minutes PER ITEM doing RESEARCH! This means looking up the average selling costs, getting on the internet and finding out information on Antiques DATES, HISTORY, ECt.

The SELLER ALSO Spends at least 15 Minutes PACKAGING  the Buyers Item not to mention the online time spent creating invoices and printing out reciepts and MAILING LABELS.

This cost adds up to the SELLER as PRINTER INK, COPY PAPER, USE on PRINTER, Having to Keep a GOOD Digital Camera and BATTERIES to take all those photos.

The SELLER also spends TIME answering all of your questions, lets just say another 5 minutes per item.

Now you have to add the GAS FACTOR in, If the BUYER requests shipping quickly and the SELLER does not have the time to request a PICK UP by the postal office, or a more costly pick up option such as DHL or UPS where the SELLER PAYS again to have this service! Not to mention that the BUYER is saving that GAS money they would use to look for a bargin!

THEN we have the "DEADBEAT EBAYER" This person either wins the auction or uses the BUY IT NOW option (which by the way costs additional to the listings) But yet the DO NOT PAY!

So Now we have a seller who has already spent time and money to list an item to sell and they have a buyer who will not respond to emails or pay their invoices. SO NOW the SELLER has to Pay those Fees ALL OVER again!

Yes, Ebay does help out the SELLER on this cost but it takes time to re-coop the listing fees. They do NOT reimburse for the SELLER'S time spent trying to collect the unpaid monies!

The ONLY real recourse is that the Seller can post a negative feedback, and compain to EBay which will eventually block this buyer from the service.

If the SELLER ONLY makes the Minimum Wage for the TIME spent doing all the things I have mentioned just to get the listing up, This does not EVEN cover the COSTS for the Work and Fees they are putting out.

The SELLER HAS to increase the price somewhat to make any money at all for their TIME AND EXPENSES!

SO IF a WELL INFORMED BUYER wants the CONVIENCE of being able to sit at home, and NOT SPEND GAS to search out for that BEST BUY in a busy department store that is NOT OPEN ALL NIGHT LONG,  and IF the BUYER Wants to have the benefit of the information that most ALL Sellers LIST on their items then I think the BUYER is getting a REALLY GOOD DEAL on EBAY as a source of SHOPPING.

I know it has saved me time shopping on EBay ESPECIALLY during the HOLIDAYS! Who the heck wants to fight that RAT RACE and loose that precious TIME that you can spend with FAMILY to stand in lines and have to HOPE you find what your looking for in ONE STORE.

Bottom Line... YES Some SELLERS are OVER PRICED, But that is NOT MANY, and THE ONES THAT ARE, if you happen to NOTICE... they are NOT SELLING VERY LONG.

As an EBAY SELLER for quite a while, AND a EBay BUYER, I happen TO LOVE EBAY!

Just another point of View from "Daisy's Dream Gifts" on EBay!