Buying from an ebay seller's store vs their web site: Big difference.

[Konklifer]

I was looking for a couple clubs recently. They were released two years ago so I started browsing the usual places. I found them in great shape on ebay, but decided to check the retailer's web site before purchasing. The same club (same SKU, serial #) was significantly cheaper on their web site, and included free shipping. 

 

Is this simply a case of a seller trying to make up for ebay's exorbitant fees?

[Steele47]

2ndswing sounds like.

[golffeen007]

1 hour ago, Konklifer said:

I was looking for a couple clubs recently. They were released two years ago so I started browsing the usual places. I found them in great shape on ebay, but decided to check the retailer's web site before purchasing. The same club (same SKU, serial #) was significantly cheaper on their web site, and included free shipping. 

 

Is this simply a case of a seller trying to make up for ebay's exorbitant fees?

Yes. I've been buying an selling on eBay for about 18 years. It isn't what it use to be. 

[Rory4Pres]

EBAY/paypal take a total of 12% cut from what I've experienced this year.

[Konklifer]

I've been selling on ebay for 22 (eek!) years. When they started taking a cut of the shipping charges, it really went downhill. I still sell there due to the high traffic, but not as much as I used to.

[DFW Snowman]

eBay takes 10% of the sale price AND the shipping fees.  Then PayPal takes ~3% of everything you get paid INCLUDING the taxes.  And then if your buyer pays using a foreign bank account, that PayPal fee goes up to 4.4%.  So yeah, all the fees. 

[cardia10]

I also sell a lot on eBay and have for almost 20 years. Fees are high, but what store have you ever walked into and couldn’t find a 10% off coupon. The way I look at it, the value of millions of users is worth the percentage they take. Lately, when listing here, I’d be overjoyed if people only tried to knock 10% off my prices. They usually offer 50-60% of the same item I have on eBay for much higher. 

[DFW Snowman]

I agree that the eBay fees can be worth it, and the PayPal fees are worth the ability to accept credit cards. But if I had a store where I also listed the same item, there's no doubt I would list for a lower price in my own store. 

 

Not only would I avoid the eBay fees, I would also have you as a customer in my database. 

[grm24]

8 hours ago, Konklifer said:

Is this simply a case of a seller trying to make up for ebay's exorbitant fees?

In general yes however I'll offer you the opposite scenario. Callaway's Pre-owned Ebay store. There are many times the exact same club on their Ebay Store is lower priced (sometimes significantly) including free shipping than what's on their regular e-commerce site. 

Edited October 23, 2020 by grm24

[third-times-a-charm]

Always check both websites, if they have a separate one.

 

Some are not always like that - sometimes they sell cheaper on ebay. CPO for example.

[VNutz]

I've seen things both ways, cheaper on a website or cheaper on ebay. I've seen some companies try to "protect" their pricing strategy and don't want to diminish the perceived value to their customers and keep their website price high, but blow out items on ebay to get rid of them, sometimes under their own name, sometimes a different one.

[Greenie]

When I look to buy something I usually look at Ebay, the seller's store, Amazon and browse the internet for the best price.

Sometimes Ebay has the better price than the store front and sometimes the store front has the better price. You would think with the Ebay fees the store front would always be cheaper but that is not always the case.