Grunting of a Smalltime Seller

Erg…

That’s how I feel right now… I sell stuff from time to time.  After I upgraded from my Note 4, I sold it off on eBay.  Other gadgets and stuff that’s sitting around, I try to recoop some cost.  I expect to not make profit.  But it’s been anti-small seller sentiment recently.

I have accounts on both eBay and Amazon to sell.  But I have gripes about both.  And if you are a small seller like me who doesn’t sell more than few items a month, if a year, you will likely understand my frustration.

eBay

I’ve been a long-time member and it was relatively friendly to sellers like me.  Now, that’s not the case.  I get (winning) bids from people who win it only to not pay.  It takes several days to get it resolved and eventually get refunded on the listing fees.  But it doesn’t end there, as a seller, I can’t leave negative feedback to a deadbeat bidder!!  What the hell is this?!  I’m gonna rant on saying that eBay protects its bidders too much.  I already lose fees double time (eBay & PayPal) so it’s already frustrating but seriously…  I’m done.

Amazon

Amazon gets some serious exposure so the headphones that I had to re-list 3 times on eBay sold on Amazon!  But again, Amazon isn’t friendly to small sellers like me.  Why?  For an item that I listed for $45 (Amazon gives $4 credit for shipping), Amazon took more than $10 for the selling fee!  Again… what the hell?!!  That’s almost 25%!!  Not to mention that measly $4 credit for shipping makes me lose another $6 due to actual cost being bit over $10!  So in all, I sold $45 item and only recovered less than $30!  I’m done with Amazon as well (as a seller)!

So then where can I sell?!

So where does that leave me?  I don’t enjoy taking random time out to meet random strangers through Craigslist either.  So I list them locally.  Nextdoor.com anyone?  Or for the tech stuff, I also list (for free) on Anandtech Forums.

eBay and Amazon, please make things bit more REASONABLE!!  Otherwise, we, the small time sellers, are done!  So done!!  Thanks for reading this ranting!

From Morning Edition: Congo Warlord Convicted Of Recruiting Child Soldiers

People like these should be dealt with swiftly and quickly… anyone who abuses children do not deserve… much.

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Judges at a war crimes tribunal convicted Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga of snatching children from the street and turning them into killers. A sentencing hearing will now be scheduled. Lubanga faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

 

 

from Morning Edition

From Gizmodo: How a Man Survived Without Food For Two Months in a Snow-Buried Car

When a Swedish man drove down a deserted forest road near Umeaa, Sweden last December 19th, he was probably looking forward to Christmas. But that day, his car somehow became buried under a mountain of snow. He was trapped there for two months, suffering insanely low temperatures, with no access to food. Last Sunday, he was discovered. Alive. But how? More »
from Gizmodo