I have been using eBay for years selling mostly clothes and shoes. Last year was the first year I was sent a tax form due to my total sales [>$20,000] and number of transactions [200+]. Paying monthly selling fees is really starting to become an issue. For the products that I sell eBay takes 10% of the proceeds. Same goes for Paypal.. Every transaction that is sent thru Paypal is hit with a 2.9% fee including a transaction fee of $.30. The combination of these two results in approx. 13% deduction of fees which I believe needs to be stopped. The way that these companies have positioned themselves with smaller sellers / people who don't run an e-commerce website, there really is no way around using their services.
When selling an item valued at $50, after deducting fees [10% + 2.9% + .30 transaction fee] you are left with $43.25. A total of $6.75 in cost. And shipping is another thing. This loss of profit is the root of my question.
I am not super familiar with any current project that could solve this problem for sellers so I am reaching out to the STEEMIT community. Is there a decentralized eBay-like project on the way? How long would you guess that something of this nature would take to be adopted? I believe that there is a YUUUGEE market for product. Maybe there is something already in the works that I am not aware of lol.
Do you feel that a decentralized marketplace would breed scammers? Would prescreening sellers help prevent this? How can a decentralized marketplace gain the trust of current eBay buyers and sellers?
Comment down below if you have any information for me, insight, or even more questions like I do! Would love to hear from you guys on this topic. I'm new to the STEEMIT community and strive to be a new active member. Looking forward to see what you guys have to say.
