Businesses that are cheaper on ebay than their own website
Businesses that are cheaper on ebay than their own website
Author
Discussion

CoolHands

Original Poster:

23,607 posts

225 months

Tuesday 5th June 2018
quotequote all
What’s that about? I went to buy some oil from opie oils, which with delivery cost is £42. Bought it on ebay for £38.50 from....opie oils?

I though businesses wanted to switch away from ebay as they surely have higher cost than purchasing through their own website? Doesn’t make sense to me.

So

28,176 posts

252 months

Tuesday 5th June 2018
quotequote all
CoolHands said:
What’s that about? I went to buy some oil from opie oils, which with delivery cost is £42. Bought it on ebay for £38.50 from....opie oils?

I though businesses wanted to switch away from ebay as they surely have higher cost than purchasing through their own website? Doesn’t make sense to me.
Factory seconds.

Most of it looks and performs no different from the grade 1 stuff. But if you look closely, sometimes you'll see the odd dent or scratch in the oil as you pour it.


ctrph

155 posts

155 months

Tuesday 5th June 2018
quotequote all
I have come across this as well. Gets me when a company sells on ebay with free postage but have got it on their own site for the same price as ebay plus stupid postage prices.

Surely you would make your site more appealing to use than ebay?

Hitch

6,119 posts

224 months

Wednesday 6th June 2018
quotequote all
Many, if not most businesses, use different strategies to gain sales through different channels. Not all customers check all outlets.

Mudgey

683 posts

204 months

Wednesday 6th June 2018
quotequote all
I would say its mostly down to eBays cut throat competitiveness, simply 5% in sale price can make the difference between selling a hundred a day or only 5 units. I expect they cannot be bothered to keep adjusting the prices on the website at the same rate as they do on eBay. I also expect people whom use their website categorically do not want to use eBay and so may not be aware that it is cheaper on eBay.

On another note, I've pointed customers to our website where the product is more than 10% cheaper only to be told they only want to buy it through ebay, sometimes there is an even bigger difference in cost due to all 'Free' postage costs integrated into each individual item the customer has purchased.

droopsnoot

14,726 posts

272 months

Wednesday 6th June 2018
quotequote all
And maybe the loss-leader principle, sacrifice a bit for the sake of the more widely-used selling platform, but include a link to your own website when you ship the product.

Digga

48,411 posts

313 months

Thursday 7th June 2018
quotequote all
droopsnoot said:
And maybe the loss-leader principle, sacrifice a bit for the sake of the more widely-used selling platform, but include a link to your own website when you ship the product.
...Which people will not use as soon as they realise it's more expensive.

I don't get it. It's not even as though selling on fleaBay is easy or straightforward, even without consideration of the costs. I can only assume that, for certain products and sectors, volumes must be huge.

Jockman

18,414 posts

190 months

Thursday 7th June 2018
quotequote all
Same on Amazon.

Bought some hot tub testing strips only to find them cheaper on Amazon from the same company, Happy Hot Tubs.

Digga

48,411 posts

313 months

Friday 8th June 2018
quotequote all
Jockman said:
hot tub testing strips
What are you testing for in a sex pond?

On second thoughts, please don't answer that.

Jockman

18,414 posts

190 months

Friday 8th June 2018
quotequote all
Digga said:
Jockman said:
hot tub testing strips
What are you testing for in a sex pond?

On second thoughts, please don't answer that.
Lol. Thought you might pick up on that hehe

R8Steve

4,150 posts

205 months

Friday 8th June 2018
quotequote all
So said:
Factory seconds.

Most of it looks and performs no different from the grade 1 stuff. But if you look closely, sometimes you'll see the odd dent or scratch in the oil as you pour it.
confused

You can see scratches/dents in oil??

MagicalTrevor

6,481 posts

259 months

Friday 8th June 2018
quotequote all
R8Steve said:
confused

You can see scratches/dents in oil??
"Whoosh parrot, aisle 3"

sc0tt

18,296 posts

231 months

Friday 8th June 2018
quotequote all
MagicalTrevor said:
R8Steve said:
confused

You can see scratches/dents in oil??
"Whoosh parrot, aisle 3"
Cheaper in aisle 5

SpeedBash

2,792 posts

217 months

Saturday 9th June 2018
quotequote all
Mudgey said:
On another note, I've pointed customers to our website where the product is more than 10% cheaper only to be told they only want to buy it through ebay, sometimes there is an even bigger difference in cost due to all 'Free' postage costs integrated into each individual item the customer has purchased.
Due to the protection PayPal offers perhaps?

Butter Face

35,051 posts

190 months

Saturday 9th June 2018
quotequote all
sc0tt said:
MagicalTrevor said:
R8Steve said:
confused

You can see scratches/dents in oil??
"Whoosh parrot, aisle 3"
Cheaper in aisle 5
6 for £1 on eBay. hehe

Defcon5

6,475 posts

221 months

Saturday 9th June 2018
quotequote all
SpeedBash said:
Mudgey said:
On another note, I've pointed customers to our website where the product is more than 10% cheaper only to be told they only want to buy it through ebay, sometimes there is an even bigger difference in cost due to all 'Free' postage costs integrated into each individual item the customer has purchased.
Due to the protection PayPal offers perhaps?
Plus with eBay you can buy it with one click on the app, rather than having to type all your personal and address details, then card details etc

So

28,176 posts

252 months

Saturday 9th June 2018
quotequote all
R8Steve said:
So said:
Factory seconds.

Most of it looks and performs no different from the grade 1 stuff. But if you look closely, sometimes you'll see the odd dent or scratch in the oil as you pour it.
confused

You can see scratches/dents in oil??
If you know what you're looking for, yes.

I had some Comma stuff in the 90s that was slightly bent. You had to allow for the curvature when pouring it, to get it in the filler hole, but once it was in the engine it seemed OK.






DSLiverpool

16,532 posts

232 months

Saturday 9th June 2018
quotequote all
It can be supplier approval influenced. Many companies have Amazon as a supplier covering anyone who sells on amazon on to short cut having to onboard a new supplier for odd items etc.

long time lurker

302 posts

180 months

Saturday 9th June 2018
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We have a few items on eBay cheaper than our website, can be a variety of reasons but mainly to shift slow-moving stocks or us buying in at a better than our normal price, we can list the specific number in stock (bought at the lower price) and sell on eBay at a lower price whilst still making our margins.

hyphen

26,262 posts

120 months

Saturday 9th June 2018
quotequote all
Hitch said:
Many, if not most businesses, use different strategies to gain sales through different channels. Not all customers check all outlets.
What he said.

Seems stupid for those of us who shop around though, as the seller has to pay Amazon/ebay fees on top.

But it also works the other way, where some do sell cheaper direct.