Recently I’ve been selling a lot of DVD’s on eBay to get rid of movies I’ve bought and never watched. There are a lot. This can be an exercise in frustration though as I end up selling DVDs bought for £10 and upwards for as little as 99p. Once eBay have taken their listing fee, their final valuation fee and through PayPal, their money transfer fee, that leaves me with around 60p for a DVD.

I’d get more at a boot sale. With some of the DVDs to be honest I’d be happier giving them away than letting someone nab The Princess Bride for under a quid.

Furthermore, when you do sell the DVDs it seems the less people pay for them, the more they want them quickly and complain. The fact that it takes 5 days to transfer money from PayPal to your bank matters not to them (incidentally there goes another 25p of your remaining 60p profit from the sale, leaving you with 35p).

The complaining emails I get demanding the DVDs immediately is becoming a bore, so much so that I’m considering abandoning actually selling on eBay.

For instance…

RE: You’ve received a question about eBay item: Doctor Who – The Movie (DVD 2001)(110183307350)

Seeing as I paid for this item on 31/09/08 I honestly thought I would have received it by now.
Thanks

– tedtrott01

Great eh? This is one of many such emails which usually receive the stock response, however this time I thought I’d make more of an issue of it.

Dude, firstly; that’s not a question.

Secondly, as the auction didn’t end until 31st October I don’t see how you could have paid for it on 31st September, unless you ARE the Doctor?

All DVDs get sent out this week.

There has to be a better way to get rid of your DVDs?

Darren Jamieson

Darren Jamieson, aka MrDaz, is the Technical Director and co-founder of Engage Web and has been working online in a career spanning two decades. His first website was built in 1998 and is still live today.

    

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