I remember the good old days of eBay: find some crap in your closet, or even something mundane but in good shape, list it on eBay and score a reasonable amount of cash. Both parties were generally happy in this arrangement.
I remember selling an old Commodore-64 software program to some lady in Japan for $30 (more than I originally paid). I could even sell a bunch of my old paperbacks that were in good shape and get enough money to make it worthwhile.
Well, things have changed... Now, I am a member of a wholesale club (a real one, no middle men), and I see vendors online selling stuff for less than wholesale. Any company worth it's salt is selling product on eBay directly; either their excess, or as an alternative distribution method.
I admit as a buyer it is great: you can find anything, and get it at a decent price if you are patient. But if you are a seller, you cannot compete! Buyers now have a garage sale mentality ("I'll give you fifty cents for that diamond ring?") - which is why most people hated having garage sales.
eBay is now a garage sale with shipping! Here are the only things I think that make any worthwhile money on eBay:
(1) Something unique that people can't get elsewhere (e.g., artwork, toast with picture of Virgin Mary)
(2) Collectibles (in perfect condition)
(3) Something in very high demand
So I, for one, don't expect to sell anything more on ebay unless it meets the above criteria, which is a shame, since now I'm going to throw out stuff that someone, somewhere could probably use - but it's just not worth my time and effort to post it, package and ship it, pay all the fees (ebay, Paypal, etc) and make fifty cents.
eBay is dead to me! Unless I have to buy something of course :-)