Why eBay sucks

I've been selling things through theSamba and craigslist for the past month. One of the things I realized I didn't need was the pair of engine mounts I had bought in January for this project. Well, autopartswarehouse.com wouldn't take the return because it had been over 30 days, so I turned to eBay. Now, I had never sold on eBay before, and after this experience, I never will again.

eBay give bad advice
First, there's the listing process. "List whatever you want, and you'll get top-dollar", right? Not exactly. I set up the listing first so I wouldn't get screwed, but eBay kept insisting that I change things. First, "you shouldn't have a reserve price because it chases away bidders". Ok, remove the reserve price. Second, "offer expedited shipping to attract bidders". Ok, sounds like a good idea, only by doing this, you exclude anyone that doesn't have a PayPal account - scaring away bidders.

eBay low-balls shipping estimates
eBay encourages you to show estimated shipping so your potential buyers don't get all bent on shipping charges. Unfortunately, their estimates are much lower than reality, and you get into a row with the buyers over shipping costs because "your listing said $7.95 and you're telling me $11".

eScrewed
After following all of the eBay advice, my $40+shipping engine mounts were listed and I had a single bidder for the eBay suggested opening price: $0.99. I padded the shipping a couple of bucks just to make sure my guess on the weight of the package wasn't too low. My weight taken with the bathroom scale was the most fair part of the whole deal. the package weight: 6.8 pounds. My quote to the buyer: 7 pounds. Cost to ship: $13.40.

So, how did the math work out?
<40.00> - original price
<10.00> - original shipping
----------
<50.00> - total in the hole

00.99 - auction sold
11.00 - buyer paid shipping
----------
11.99 - total paid to me

<13.40> - actual shipping
<> - eBay price for listing
----------
<15.40> - total cost to list/sell

<$3.41> - cost to get rid of $40 part. leading to a $53.41 total loss.

Don't sell on eBay, or, if you do, don't follow their advice. You choose what the part is worth, and set the reserve accordingly. Bear in mind, you pay eBay whether you sell it or not. Next time, I'll take the part to NAPA and leave it on a shelf. Then, I'll buy a burger for $3 and I'll still be ahead compared to using eBay.