Look Out eBay and Etsy, Poshmark to Launch Home Goods

by: mcposty

20% fees, shipping gouging to customers, keeping funds " until customer receives the item"..yea..no thanks

by: pace306

The new categories available are under the HOME tab on the top bar.

While I sell on Poshmark, but I dont sell home goods - my general feeling is ..... the more competition for eBay the better.

For too long, eBay has taken sellers for granted. eBay has tried its utmost to muddy the selling waters - because it knew that there were limited options.

Every sale on every other platform is a direct slap in the face to eBay and I welcome it!

Take that DW you scoundrel!

by: The End

Hhhmmmmm.......
Interesting......

by: The End

Ya, just read it.....
20% is WAY too much.
A legitimate 3% is plenty.

by: EastBay01

Due to Poshmark not having any control over what’s listed on their platform (whether intentionally or not), they already had a Home Market. I predict that the Allowed Categories for the Home Market will be as laxly enforced as they are in the other markets. Just trying to provide a more accurate view of the Poshmark platform.

by: iheartjacksparrow

Just went to Poshmark to read up on their seller policies. Also note that the free shipping label is for up to five pounds, over that you have to pay a label up-grade fee, which varies by weight. If you need to ship a ten pound item, the seller's fee is $19.95. If they're going to give you a free label, it should be for a Flat Rate box or envelope.

by: Chicago48

@the End: "20% is WAY too much".  The last time I looked at my seller dashboard in Ebay which was in April, the percentage of sales I was charged was 22%.  That's because of all the penalty fees, shipping fees, fee for this, fee for that.  When I looked at my invoice, my eyes crossed.  It became too much.
I don't do Ebay.  I do poshmark and 20% is NOT too much when you're making sales.  20% is not too much when there is a "binding" offer - meaning once the seller accepts the offer the item is automatically paid.

BTW, I've been listing (and selling) home good items, even small appliances on Posh since I first started.  I sell beauty products, home goods, almost anything.  But I do much better in sales from Amazon.

by: Chicago48

@iheartjacksparrow  - the buyer "gladly" pays the shipping fee.  If they don't like the shipping fee they can try and find the item elsewhere.  I like Posh policies.  IMO much better than Ebay's and easier to work with them.

by: BargainzBabylon

Gotta find a home for all of that Rae Dunn crap.  

by: The End

@Chicago48
You're sleeping with the enemy at Ebay.
Anything over 3 % is uncalled for.
They're only a room full of servers.
Stockholm Syndrome is what you have.
GET RID OF IT.

by: The End

"Poshmark" is not a threat to anyone.
They're WAY over priced.

by: littlesaint

The average Poshmark buyer is looking for major discounts on mid to high-end labels. The introduction of "home goods" and the ambiguous definition of eligible items will likely turn the platform into another garage sale of poorly curated shops ala Esty. Vintage buyers on Etsy have to weed through thousands of shops full of cheap junk using inaccurate, irrelevant tags. These shops muck up the already absurd search. The Poshmark search is driven by designer labels. I also don't get how sellers will want to be on the hook for shipping costs over $5 Priority only. BTW, Poshmark buyers have 3 days to release payment after the purchase is approved and there is no means of communication between buyer and seller other than on a publicly viewed listing. I smell chaos when the marketplace is expanded.

by: toolguy

@The End

If you sell a $10 item are you happy with .30 cents profit?

That's 3%

If you think eBay is just servers you have no idea how a real business works!

Servers, buildings, permits, taxes, electric bills, insurance premiums, customer service reps, employees, lawyers, supplies, etc. etc. etc.

It costs eBay over $250 million to just keep the place open!

Very few businesses can survive on 3% profit. . .

by: DingDong

I had looked into this site a few months ago.

First thing I noticed is the 20% fee.

Second thing was getting paid - within 3 days of the buyer receiving the items. So 5-7 days of shipping the item, I finally received my money. NO THANKS!
MY merchandise does not get shipped until money is in MY hands.
Should check your states money transmitter's regulations, some the money needs to be in your hand within 3 days.

by: wellspring

While Poshmatk is high maintenance due to the necessity to “share your closet, I’m loving having an alternative sales venue and welcome home goods, especially holiday.

No ceramic or glass permitted in any category (although it’s been in there already), I started listing items yesterday and already have shares and likers.

As to the 20% fee, that doesn’t bother me at all. Between eBay and PayPal fees (and slow sales) my fees hover around 22-24%. The store fee, to me is a fee (pre-paid listings). I go by the graph on my monthly eBay invoice to see the % I’m really paying and as said, that doesn’t include PayPal fees.

As to the buyer paying $6.75 for shipping, the hope is that they bundle items and don’t exceed 5 pounds. For me, buyers rarely bundle though.

It’s great for listing heavier items (jackets, shoes, etc) but not so great for selling lightweight items such as fashion jewelry or tops, shirts, etc. There really does need to be a 1st class option. I guess by forcing Priority mail as the the only option, tracking AND insurance is included.

I’m thrilled to have other venues to sell on and hope they continue to expand. My sales on Poshmark (20% fee) and Mercari (10% fee) have increased my monthly sales by 25%. I expect both to continue to grow as I learn what sells best where.

by: wellspring

As to the delay in getting paid, show me an employer who prepays you befoire you put in a week (or more) of work (excluding contractor  deposits). While I don’t like the delay in pay, I do get paid and that’s what counts.

On Poshmark, a buyer can’t return an item because “it doesn’t fit it or they simply don’t like it.” They can, however, resell it themselves back on Poshmark. What a novel idea. Wish ebay would adopt that policy.

For items $15 and under, there is a flat $2.95 fee. Just like the penny books on Amazon, some sellers sell items for $3.00 (minimum listing price). I know this is to attract buyers to their store/closet/listings, but multiple items purchased  and repeat buyers, in my experience, is an exception, not the norm.  

by: pace306

"If you sell a $10 item are you happy with .30 cents profit?

That's 3%

If you think eBay is just servers you have no idea how a real business works!

Servers, buildings, permits, taxes, electric bills, insurance premiums, customer service reps, employees, lawyers, supplies, etc. etc. etc.

It costs eBay over $250 million to just keep the place open!"

Most of that Mr Tool - is just for salaries.

eBay doesnt own anything and doesnt sell anything - the only taxes that exist are from the greedy city/state they are located in aka California. If they moved to North Dakota OR was a company anyone cared about (like Amazon) they could get tax breaks and pay nothing.

eBay owns its buildings, and has to pay for lightbulbs (real ones and the dim ones that eBay calls workers), the soda machines, the landscapers and a few other trivial things.

eBay already steals money from sellers in 100 different ways, it takes money from manufacturers on the side (for VERO issues), gets money for large sellers (for placement and the wholesale ignoring of rules - so theres PLENTY of money around.

A full %30 (Id say more - but Im trying to be "abit more realistic") are dead weight - why do you need employees when you dont fix the site, always find for the buyer, and generally drag yourself and the industry down?

$250 million ? %50 of that is waste and perks to the BOD lawyers who spend THEIR time in their corner offices figuring out ways to bypass CA State comsumer protection laws so that they can steal even more. (Costs money to not get prosecuted under the RICO act)(wine, dine and pocket line).

%3 for eBay should be MORE then enough .... after all - they dont really do anything besides run a fancy website.

Try owning planes and wharehouses and merchandise like Amazon.

by: Life During Wartime

Poshmark can't be a challenge to eBay because of its narrow demographic.  Some of my best sales ever, on all sites, have been to male buyers of stylish or nostalgic homewares.  

Etsy shares the same target demographic as Poshmark, but Etsy's focus is different.  Etsy is about personalized/customized mass manufactured items, flim-flam (psychic readings, charged crystals, etc), and goods that infringe on major brands (including straight up counterfeits),  Etsy's customer base is mostly interested in purchasing new items, not used, vintage, or antique.

Poshmark, on the other hand, might be a great venue for unloading all the personalized/customized stuff purchased on Etsy, especially if you were gifted with it.

by: toolguy

I can honestly say I have NEVER been to the poshmark website. . . .I don't buy clothes online.

by: Twilight Faerie

“As to the delay in getting paid, show me an employer who prepays you befoire you put in a week (or more) of work (excluding contractor  deposits). While I don’t like the delay in pay, I do get paid and that’s what counts”
I think you are missing a big point here. Online sellers ARE NOT employees or contractors of these venues. We are independent sellers who own our own businesses. We use the platforms to sell online. That is exactly why so many online sellers are disgruntled with  the current climate of online retail. Amazon changed an industry. eBay and Etsy andt he like  shifted from being venues one could advertise their individually run business and sell from to acting like we are their employees or contractors. We are not. eBay and Etsy and Poshmark do not create anything, nor do they run our businesses. They provide a service to small business owners. That concept has gotten lost on them. If you owned a physical retail shop would you allow a customer to walk into that brick and mortar store and take home an item off the shelf and pay you  for it 3-7 days later? No, probably not. So why would you let a customer receive an item off your “virtual” shelf and not get paid until 3-7 days later?  Online selling venues used to just be the platforms where folks could run their business. We had our own store policies that included shipping, returns and costumer service. The venues collected our fees (rent) to use their space. At some point they changed in a shifty way, to become online consignment venues where the tell us when we get paid, what our shipping, return and customer service should be. We are now in consignment agreements that were forced upon us and they act like we are their employees. We are not their employees or contractors. As far as Stockholm syndrome, the sad reality is that it is not so easy to just up and leave and sell from your own website or through social media. It’s called advertising and “foot traffic”.  It’s calked SOE and Google algorithms. It’s SSL certificates, payment gateways and effective code.  That used to be the benefit of selling on a venue, the service provided these things and “foot traffic”. It’s a hell of a lot easier for a small online seller to pay “fees” for listings incrementally than to shell out hundreds of dollars upfront, so no not Stockholm syndromes, just reality of the average persons finances. That’s what we paid fees or “rent” for. They provided a service, we paid frees to use that service.