You lose control when your sales volume exceeds the capabilities of your business structure.

Some common causes of failure are poor inventory control, unscalable logistics (shipping, accounting, etc. can't keep up with increased volume), unreliable product sources, and pre-selling, a practice where the seller intentionally lists an item for sale when it is not yet in their inventory- a bad thing if you do not have a reliable source.

In 2003, eBay electronics seller priceitwholesale was an eBay top seller- over $1 million in sales A MONTH. 10 months later they were kicked off eBay due to mounting negative feedback, a spectacular flameout caused by their inability to handle the volume. You can't hide your screwups and growing pains on eBay.


On a large-scale eBay business, it only takes a few problems to start a disastrous chain-reaction.