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This is all speculation on my part. I do NOT know for sure if they make a single penny in interest. I’ve researched this a bit and actually asked a few people in the banking business some questions and so far haven’t gotten a straight answer. If it turns out I’m wrong I will happily apologize.
In 2007 (that’s 4 years ago now!! I imagine it’s more these days?) $1,839 worth of items are sold every second on eBay according to an article I read.
$1,839 X 60 seconds a minute x 60 minutes an hour x 24 hours a day = $158,889,600 per day. This is all approximate for 2007 as I’m sure the number fluctuates up and down regularly.The following numbers are all speculation and make believe, but hear me out:
Now eBay MAKES you use Paypal to pay for a transaction.
Imagine if eBay/Paypal were to make .1% (that’s one tenth of ONE percent) of interest on funds that they hold per day. That’s $158,889.60 in interest per day!! Even if the interest earned was even smaller, it’s still quite a lot of money. That’s not even counting the 21-day hold. If they could do it, legally (and I don’t know if they can or not!), that’s a lot of incentive to hold onto people’s money for as long as they can.Volunteer mod- I'm here to help! Email me for the best response: nambroth at gmail.com
My art: featherdust.comThis is all speculation on my part. I do NOT know for sure if they make a single penny in interest. I’ve researched this a bit and actually asked a few people in the banking business some questions and so far haven’t gotten a straight answer. If it turns out I’m wrong I will happily apologize.
In 2007 (that’s 4 years ago now!! I imagine it’s more these days?) $1,839 worth of items are sold every second on eBay according to an article I read.
$1,839 X 60 seconds a minute x 60 minutes an hour x 24 hours a day = $158,889,600 per day. This is all approximate for 2007 as I’m sure the number fluctuates up and down regularly.The following numbers are all speculation and make believe, but hear me out:
Now eBay MAKES you use Paypal to pay for a transaction.
Imagine if eBay/Paypal were to make .1% (that’s one tenth of ONE percent) of interest on funds that they hold per day. That’s $158,889.60 in interest per day!! Even if the interest earned was even smaller, it’s still quite a lot of money. That’s not even counting the 21-day hold. If they could do it, legally (and I don’t know if they can or not!), that’s a lot of incentive to hold onto people’s money for as long as they can.OMG I never thought of it that way. I haven’t used ebay in months because of there high fee’s. Is there any other sites to use?
As a side note: I love how a paypal payment appears IMMEDIATELY on my credit card, however, a paypal refund takes DAYS to be processed!
I think you’re on to something Jennifer!
As a side note: I love how a paypal payment appears IMMEDIATELY on my credit card, however, a paypal refund takes DAYS to be processed!
I think you’re on to something Jennifer!
RIGHT! Although, regular stores do this too-purchase something and it shows up quickly if not immediately (depending on the store and credit card) but refunds take days.
Ebay charges 9. something percent-I just figure an even 10%. Paypal takes 2.9% PLUS a $0.30 transaction fee. So thats’s about 13%-so I’ll add 15% on my ebay sales. Unfortunatly, some items I cannot sell here or elsewhere-some Windstone collectors (for instance) aren’t on the forum, so you can get away with selling LP items a little higher. I will ALWAYS try to sell through the forums first, and what doesnt sell, I take to ebay.
If you look at it from the point of a merchant-folks that own their own stores have to pay operational costs as well as fees to accept credit/debit cards.
With ebay, you dont need a store front, and you really dont have to advertise as much as if you had your own website. And really, the way I look at it is that you can have your own website (even .coms DO cost money-I was paying $90 a year for my hosing package, plus another $5 or so just to have the name) and list things for sale-but if no one sees them, you’re not making money. Put them on ebay, people bid on them. Yes, you’re losing SOME money, but you’re making some too.I hate some of their policies, and I hate their customer service (ebay AND paypal!) but if you need to sell something, they are a good place to go for that as you reach a HUGE audience.
Nam’s got a good point. If they are collecting interest on other people’s money I think that is against the law. Technically if it’s not theirs they need to refund the interest as well. I suppose it would depend on the states statutes, but I’m pretty sure that’s the case in Indiana…..Hmmmm, a class action lawsuit would be the only effective way to go after this, and because it’s multi-state the lawyer would need to look at statutes to see which ones apply.
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Sun Dragon Koi #3I am through with Ebay myself. And I have noticed that paypal takes the money from your bank account FAST but takes up to 5 days to transfer money to your bank account… uh huh…
…If you look at it from the point of a merchant-folks that own their own stores have to pay operational costs as well as fees to accept credit/debit cards.
With ebay, you dont need a store front, and you really dont have to advertise as much as if you had your own website. And really, the way I look at it is that you can have your own website (even .coms DO cost money-I was paying $90 a year for my hosing package, plus another $5 or so just to have the name) and list things for sale-but if no one sees them, you’re not making money. Put them on ebay, people bid on them. Yes, you’re losing SOME money, but you’re making some too.I hate some of their policies, and I hate their customer service (ebay AND paypal!) but if you need to sell something, they are a good place to go for that as you reach a HUGE audience.
That right there is pretty much why I still don’t truly hate ebay and paypal. I do find a lot of their practices highly annoying, but it’s a relatively cheap service to use that exposes the goods you’re selling to a huge audience. Your item is much more likely to sell. I too calculate 15% into my ebay asking prices so as not to lose money on my sales, and try to sell on the forum first. It works ok for me; but then again I do not sell much on ebay, I’ve managed to get my feedback high enough so they don’t hold my funds, and I’ve sold enough on there to get decent ‘ebay instincts’ when it comes to dealing with buyers.
Most of my transactions go swimmingly. But for the few times I have had to rely on Paypal/Ebay’s Buyer Protection, the fees I pay so PP/Ebay can run this service for its users seem an acceptable tradeoff. And ESPECIALLY when you buy something from someone outside ebay. I refuse to pay for a Windstone with anything other than Paypal when I buy off of Craigslist. Think you can call a number on a money order when the Windstone you paid for never shows up? NOPE. But if you go through Paypal, you can get your money back.
I guess I’m playing devil’s advocate here, but there are some benefits to using the services. Whether or not the price paid for those services is worth it; well I guess that’s more an individual opinion. 😉
Chris, you have an excellent point.
Me, personally, I’m *trying* to make a living off of selling things online-others have done it, I’d like to also. I’m a student, and although my classes are online now, once I get into my Radiography program, I will be a full time student, and I doubt I will have time to work. Living on student loans alone scares me-so if I can “work from home” set my own hours, and pay my way through school, I’d be happy as a duck in a mud puddle. And ebay, fortunatly or unfortunatly, can make that happen. I’d like to get my own website to sell things that dont sell on ebay-Im working on it now-it will be called Full Violet Moon.
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