So done with selling eggs on eBay.

Pyxis

Hatchi Wan Kenobi
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Mar 27, 2012
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I had read accounts of egg sellers getting burned and I probably should have known better after reading threads like this one, but there's really no other place to reach such a large customer base so I went ahead and did it. I hadn't had any problems until recently, when my last two buyers didn't pay. Now, eggs are time sensitive, of course, so I opened an upaid item case (my eBay account is set up to do it automatically after two days go by and I'm not paid). The first buyer finally pays five days after the auction closes. Now the eggs that I had set aside and ready to ship for them, had they paid when the auction closed like it said to in my auction, couldn't be sent any more, they were too old. So I had to throw them all out. Obviously I can't send eggs I don't have, so I had to wait till the birds laid new eggs to send. While waiting (I had sent two messages to the buyer at this point, the first one asking for payment, the second explaining the situation, and gotten no reply) I received feedback for eggs she hadn't even received from me yet, calling me impatient but saying that the eggs were great. Now, I'm not impatient, firstly. Her delayed payment caused me to have to throw out 14 eggs I would have otherwise sold. Secondly, I hadn't even shipped the eggs yet, so obviously she was leaving me feedback for eggs she bought from someone else. I sent her a message telling her this, again got no reply. Finally got the eggs collected and shipped out yesterday and thought that would be the end of it.

Nope. Today she opened an unreceived item case against me. For the eggs I just sent yesterday. That she had tracking info for and could clearly see that they were sent yesterday. Also included was a message that said "havent received , eggs probaly arent good anymore". That was the whole message. So I responded, again telling her what was going on, that they were shipped yesterday, they were fresh, and they will probably arrive tomorrow. Then I included the tracking number in the case for good measure, in case she decides to try to escalate it to eBay support. So now, even though I've done everything right and the whole thing was caused by her not paying on time, I now have to sit and wait and see if she's going to open a case against me.

Oh, and the second buyer still hasn't paid. If they haven't paid by Tuesday I can close the case against them and be fine, but they have until then to pay, thanks to eBay making you wait at least four days after the first two days you have to wait before you can even open the case. If they pay, I have to send eggs. After already having to throw out the first ones I had set aside.

Phew. Feels good to get that off my chest.
 
Do you have a local farmers market? They can be a great place to sell eggs. I have a buddy that has over 100 layers. He brings about 35 dzn eggs to market every week and sells out before noon. I get a dozen every other day, so the farmers market is not for me. But word of mouth is a powerful thing. Between the neighbors and my wife's co-workers, I have no problem selling my surplus eggs. I sell them for $2.50 if you bring cartons, or $3.00 straight up. Mostly to offset the cost of feed. BTW I have cartons coming out of my ears.
 
Thank you both! Matthew, these are hatching eggs, not eating eggs, unfortunately, so people at the farmer's market aren't going to be willing to pay what they're worth. I could sell them for three dollars a dozen for eating, but hatching eggs are worth much more - one of my breeds the eggs sell for at least $20 each usually.
 
Yep! I like it much better than eBay, but not as many customers, sadly.
 
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If you would like to continue to sell eggs on ebay, how about doing them as a "pre-sale". I like to see what hatching eggs are available on ebay from time to time and there are some sellers out there that "pre-sell" eggs and state they will ship the eggs within two weeks of auction end. As long as you clearly state that in your ad, it should not be a problem. You could state something like, "in order to ensure the freshest, quality eggs, eggs will be collected as soon as payment is received and shipped within ____ days of payment," (depending on how long you think it will take you to gather that number of eggs and give yourself a day or two buffer just in case).
 
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