After continuing eBay consignment sales for several years beyond eBay’s closure of the Trading Assistant program, I’m no longer able to accept any new clients. While some of it has been a good experience, most of the consignment work I’ve done has left me with a bitter taste in my mouth, unfortunately. I’m no longer taking new clients for the following three reasons:
#1 – Unrealistic Pricing Expectations
A product is worth what a customer’s willing to pay for it. It is not worth the retail sticker price that you paid many years ago. Especially with technology, selling off old goods means you’ll be taking a loss. The purpose of selling your old junk isn’t to make a profit, it’s to clean out the clutter. Sure, there’s a market for your old junk, but nobody’s getting rich off it, which brings me to point number two…
#2 – Time is Money, And Most Consignment Items Aren’t Worth Either
When I sell an item on consignment, I may spend upwards of an hour between listing, packaging, correspondence, and mailing. If it’s a $50 item, then after all shipping and marketing costs are paid it’s not uncommon for only $20 to remain. My commission would be 30% of that, which is below the minimum wage. Therefore, bulky items whose value has greatly diminished are simply not worth my time.
#3 – Most People Have No Idea How Business Works
This is the biggest problem I’ve encountered in all my consignment sales. I’ve had one too many clients give me incorrect information about the items they gave me, and then complain up a storm about refunding the shipping costs when the customer inevitably returns the product. If the product you give me does not match the description you give me, the customer gets a full refund and that includes the shipping cost. This is not a hard-to-understand concept.
No buyer is liable for any transaction costs – this includes shipping – when you supply them with a product that is not as advertised.
While I will be happy to continue selling items for friends, family, and existing clients who understand the process, I can no longer in good faith accept any new eBay consignment clients due to these unreasonable expectations.
