Dozens of items over 20 years? Thats really rare to occasional use. eBay tends to hold funds for occasional sellers. Its been that way for a long time. I've been selling for almost 23 years now myself. I've never had money held. But I sell $500 to $1000 per week, sometimes more, sometimes less. I'm traveling right now, so I am selling nothing.
As far as the 1099 "problem", the blame goes directly onto congress. Congress passed the law, not ebay. All payment processes were caught up in this change. Typical congress, its under the guise of "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021". At my sales level, I've been getting 1099s for a while.
eBay is just a business. They provide a platform to sellers in exchange for a fee. The fee routinely goes up. Each seller has to decide, is the service I get from eBay worth the fee I pay? I use 20% of what the item sells for as a rough estimate, as there are fees on shipping charges and even a fee on the sales taxes they collect from sellers.
Despite my frustration with eBay, I have not found a more profitable outlet. The moment I do, I'm done with eBay. Until then, I continue to use them. Sold a slide rule recently for $385..... Try selling a slide rule for even $25 anywhere else. Anymore, I sell more "other stuff" than I sell bicycle stuff. My wife and I just enjoy finding stuff. eBay gives us an outlet to move those finds to a new home.
eBay is definitely better if you run it as a business, keep records, get a tax accountant, and so on. Its not worth the hassle if you just dabble in it. It's not easy money. Its work.
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