Reason To Avoid Ebay For Music Gear Buying And Selling
The internet auction mogul known as eBay quietly launched in San Jose, California on September 3rd, 1995. Computer programmer Pierre Omidyar first launched the site under the guise of his personal web page - AuctionWeb. In its' early stages, AuctionWeb played host to myriad other topics of interest, one such being his tongue in cheek salute to the ebola virus. Hiring both its' first employee, as well as first president in 1996, the company ditched the AuctionWeb name for eBay shortly after its' inception. Originating as Echo Bay Technologies, Omidyar's consulting firm, the programmer realized the domain name was unavailable, later cropping it to eBay.com, the website we know today.
The first transaction on eBay was a broken laser pointed, which closed at $14.83 USD. Mr. Omidyar spoke with the auction winner to confirm that he was aware that the laser pointer was not functioning. "I'm a collector of broken laser pointers," was the response he was met with. From there, the company flourished. Originally, it was believed that Pierre created the website in order to bolster his fiancee's PEZ dispenser collection. However, it was revealed in Adam Cohen's 2002 The Perfect Store that this rumor was in fact a fabrication set forth by an eBay public relations manager in 1997.
eBay plays host to myriad music gear on its' website. Form guitar strings to bass drums, clarinets to kazoos, there is seemingly an endless possibility of what might be found on the website. Vintage gear is constantly being listed, with buyers willing to pay outrageous sums of money to purchase their much sought after gear. However, the auction website may not be the best forum to purchase such equipment at, as its' fees seemingly cost an arm and a leg.
Currently, the company has 161,814 musical products at auction. Should the mean price fall at approximately $500 USD, the aggregate transaction amount would land are $80,907,000 USD. If the consumer completes the sale with PayPal, an eBay owned company, at roughly 3% per listing, PayPal will net a cumulative amount of $2,427,210 USD. The percentage rate taken by PayPal may be higher or lower, depending on the location of the transaction - be it in the United States, or internationally.
eBay charges its' vendors an insertion fee of $3.00 USD for listings which start between $200 and $500 USD. The final value will be 8.75% of the initial $25 USD, which works out to $2.19 USD, with an additional 3.50% taken from the closing value balance on auctions ending between $25.01 and $1,000 USD. Ergo, their net take amounts to $54, 722,549.48, and breaks down as follows. 161,814 musical products multiplied by $2.19 USD for the initial insertion fee works out to $354,372.66 USD. The remainder of the $475.00 USD multiplied by 3.50% for the closing value balance equals $16.63 USD, multiplied by 161,814 listings amounts to $2,690,966.82. Add that to the insertion fee total, this figure boils down to $3,045,399.48 USD. On top of this, PayPal's fees amount to $2,427,210, arriving at our net of $54,722,549.48 USD.
To list your instrument or music product on the site as a seller could work out to your disadvantage. eBay, from the start, will rake in upwards of ten percent of your closing price. This is in addition to the flat fee of three dollars which they charge you in order to host the product on their auction block. And if your buyer chooses to check out with PayPal, you are now out another three to four percent. Add all these hidden costs up, sellers are out roughly fifteen percent on what their product sold for.
As a buyer, to purchase your instrument on eBay might be a poor decision. For one, you lose the intimacy and connection one feels when they pick up a piece of equipment that they fall in love with. Many instruments differ in timbre, color, and feel, even from products manufactured in the same day from the same materials. In addition to this, there is the worry that your instrument may be damaged in shipping. And on top of this, shipping cost is set by the vendor, which may be inflated to cover the extra costs incurred on him by eBay.
Article Source: http://www.search-raven.com
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