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.

A broken laser pointer, bought for $14.82 USD was the first product purchased on eBay. Upon seeing this transaction, Pierre contacted the buyer, alerting him that this product was currently not functioning. The buyer responded, "I'm a collector of broken laser pointers". And from there, the website began. In the early stages, it was rumored that eBay began as a way for Omidyar to help his fiance enrich her PEZ candy dispenser collection. Yet, in 2002 it was revealed in Adam Cohen's The Perfect Store that this was merely a story concocted by a public relations manager in 1997 in order to gain more media attention to the website.

One may find just about anything they should need on the internet auction block, including musical gear. The list ranges from oboes to French horns, music stands to notation paper, and far beyond. Quite often, much sought after defective or out of circulation gear will retail for obscene prices, as demand for these few and far between pieces are rather high. Regardless, the fess associated with such gear, brought on by listing costs, eBay percentages, and shipping, may make it not seem worth the transaction.

As it stands, there are 161, 814 pieces of music equipment listed on eBay. Were the average price of the products to work out to $500 USD, the gross amount changing hands would work out to $80,907,000 USD. When the consumer checks out using PayPal, a subsidiary of eBay, the payment service charges the vendor roughly 3%, leaving PayPal with $2,427,210 USD. Depending on where the transaction took place - United States or internationally, the percentage taken by PayPal may be slightly higher or lower.

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 purchaser, it may not be worth it to grab your gear from the auction website eBay. For one, you lose out on experiencing the instrument. Each instrument, be manufactured in the same plant on the same day, has a different feel. Each product has a different timbre and playability, and purchasing your instrument on the website may strip you of this initial experience with your instrument. Moreover, there is the ever present fear your product may be damaged in transit, alongside shipping costs, which are set by seller, and may be escalated to cover the costs put on to the seller by the company.

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