Charity shops

[Two_Sheds]

I can't be bothered selling stuff on Ebay either. If I don't want it, its Freecycled

Now, I find freecycle much more trouble. Maybe it's just my area, but I always get the No-Shows, always.
At least on eBay I can open a dispute against them.

(our house is too small for clutter, although Himself does his best)

[veggiechicken]

I've only had one no-show on Freecycle so I'm quite lucky there.
As for the clutter, I still have a lot of Himself's stuff even though he's been dead for 6 years. Mostly tools and things that I can't identify but feel sure will come in useful someday for someone!

[Farmer_Gyles]

Really? What dodgy gear have you bought?

i think i've only ever bought one thing from ebay, and that was because i couldn't get it anywhere else .... and that was clearly a "back bedroom business" being run "on the side" .... someone who had bought something in bulk, split the items into separate packaging to sell on individually

to me, ebay was (historically) a huge junk shop with people flogging off their old unwanted things, then people selling fake goods (fake labelled clothes etc) .... people got used to it, needing to ask lots of silly questions etc .... it's created it's own environment where that happens ....

i'm in professional e-commerce, dealing with genuine businesses .... it's a world of difference .... so to me, ebay etc just looks like people flogging old prams or whatever is lying around that they don't want, and a bunch of "back bedroom businesses" .... "what the tax man can't see" ....

[Farmer_Gyles]

cancer research in purley now has a huge stock of handbags and size 5 shoes, including some expensive brand names!

[keepitgreen]

I sell everything on Ebay! If we don't use it for a year it's bye bye!!

[Bexy]

I use to Work at a charity shop and all the items of fabric that they could not sell went to the rag man. they had some right things given one was just horrid.. a bag of bedding had a Deceased pet inside. after that everyone had to wear gloves and you were never allowed to just put your hand in a bag it had to be tipped out first to be sorted.

We also use freecycle alot like this week i put up my extra seed spuds and they are going to a school teacher in wado. i am also going to give her some extra seeds which i will never grow

[Creemteez]

When Mum passed away I took a lot of her clothes to the Red Cross Shop. I signed the tax agreement thingy and as a result they sent me regular updates as to how much Mum's stuff had raised. At the last total it was over £600!!! Mind you, some people got some real bargain as many of the items were hardly worn and at least two outfits never were!

[Two_Sheds]

to me, ebay was (historically) a huge junk shop with people flogging off their old unwanted things, then people selling fake goods

It was, in the beginning, but that's been out of date for a while now.
Now, it's much more professional. It's very much more catering to the professional business seller: which means sellers have had to really raise their game.
You should take a look, you might be surprised.

i'm in professional e-commerce, dealing with genuine businesses .... it's a world of difference

I'm sure it is. I'm glad you're not buying on it: one less person to be bidding against

"back bedroom businesses" .... "what the tax man can't see" ....

Actually, you have to register as a business if you are one, and your fees are different. Plus, the taxman gets interested.

If you're a casual seller, you don't have to pay tax. It's not tax evasion, it's not earning enough to pay tax.
(you can only sell a certain amount of items per month as a private individual: as soon as you go over their limit, eBay ups your selling fees)

[ladylottie]

I love EBay - I buy and sell loads of stuff on there and find that most people using the site are very professional. And I certainly don't think that it's a junk shop - I wouldn't be using it if it was. If anything, I've bought goods for much less than their real value - excellent bargains for me!

In about 6 years of buying & selling, I've only had a problem once and EBay came up trumps and I was refunded the full amount. Can't fault them.