EBay has lost almost $2 Billion Dollars in the past 9 months

[staplatoon]

I came across this online and wanted to know if anyone knows if this is true and if so, where are sellers movie their business to? I know there’s plenty of other marketplaces online that charge less fees, but wanted to open it up to the community. I think it’s time for a community discussion about this.

[pburn]

@staplatoon wrote:

I came across this online and wanted to know if anyone knows if this is true and if so, where are sellers movie their business to? I know there’s plenty of other marketplaces online that charge less fees, but wanted to open it up to the community. I think it’s time for a community discussion about this.

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Just FYI, since you are rather new to the Community, eBay's earnings reports are discussed ad nauseum every time they're issued.

There have already been plenty of discussions regarding eBay's earnings statements, 10-Q filings, 10-K filings, and everything else eBay files publicly. You just weren't on board for them.

[pjcdn2005]

Where did you see this? Do you have a link? 

There are lots of discussions on the forums about slow sales, ebay losing business etc.  Actually those discussions have been around ever since I've been reading the forums. 

[the_fancy_fox]

Basically many ebay sellers also sell elsewhere. Ebay is just one venue. 

[slippinjimmy]

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@staplatoon wrote:

I came across this online and wanted to know if anyone knows if this is true and if so, where are sellers movie their business to? I know there’s plenty of other marketplaces online that charge less fees, but wanted to open it up to the community. I think it’s time for a community discussion about this.

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The $2 Billion loss is just a paper loss because of the reduced value of some of eBay equity holdings in other companies. It is NOT a loss on current operations. If the value of those shares rises as the markets recover they will be showing a paper gain in 2023 Q1 or Q2, possibly even in a couple of weeks when they report 2022 Q4.

[reallynicestamps]

Was it an actual loss or was it that eBay had lower profits than the previous quarter or was it that eBay had lower profits than 'the market' expected?

The most important part of the reports is the profit amount and how much the shareholders will get as a dividend.

For the day to day operations of the company, the stock market is irrelevant. The original sale of shares brought in money, but any subsequent sale of shares doesn't.

[fern*wood]

Did you see the excellent thread with the math breakdown answering all your questions about your phone sale?  

@staplatoon 

[vintagecraze50]

If they have lost that much it is not being reflected in the stock market gains. I read that last week.

[lacemaker3]

You had recently asked about your fees that were charged for your listings in the last few months.

Here's a good response that explains why you were charged those fees:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/reply-for-staplatoon/m-p/33487834

[lacemaker3]

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@staplatoon wrote:

I came across this online and wanted to know if anyone knows if this is true and if so, where are sellers movie their business to? I know there’s plenty of other marketplaces online that charge less fees, but wanted to open it up to the community. I think it’s time for a community discussion about this.

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No. This is completely untrue, which is totally obvious to anyone who reads the actual information. Didn't you read it?

eBay did not lose 2 million dollars, they just earned 2 million less than the previous time interval being compared. Which is completely different than what you stated.

[yuzuha]

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@staplatoon wrote:

I came across this online and wanted to know if anyone knows if this is true and if so, where are sellers movie their business to? I know there’s plenty of other marketplaces online that charge less fees

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The thing with those places is that you generally get what you pay for-- in other words, the fees are lower for a reason. Usually it's because those sites get far less traffic, which translates to fewer sales. My friend tried selling on eCrater, for instance, and only sold three things in an entire year.

[slippinjimmy]

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@lacemaker3 wrote:

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@staplatoon wrote:

I came across this online and wanted to know if anyone knows if this is true and if so, where are sellers movie their business to? I know there’s plenty of other marketplaces online that charge less fees, but wanted to open it up to the community. I think it’s time for a community discussion about this.

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No. This is completely untrue, which is totally obvious to anyone who reads the actual information. Didn't you read it?

eBay did not lose 2 million dollars, they just earned 2 million less than the previous time interval being compared. Which is completely different than what you stated.

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Actually it's 2 BILLION, and it IS a "real" loss on paper, it's similar to the 200 BILLION that Elon Musk lost in 2022, when/if Tesla stock rebound in the next 12 - 24 months he will be able to show his net worth has increased by 200 Billion in 2023/24.

Another example was when Amazon "lost" 10 Billion Dollars in Q1 of 2022 when their holdings of Rivian stock tanked.

[dbfolks166mt]

The thing with those places is that you generally get what you pay for-- in other words, the fees are lower for a reason. Usually it's because those sites get far less traffic, which translates to fewer sales. My friend tried selling on eCrater, for instance, and only sold three things in an entire year.

     I find that a lot of the other forums I use have lower fees and a lower buyer base but several of those are item specific in focused areas so the buyers that frequent them tend to know what they are looking for and I tend to move more items on those sites probably because I can lower my asking price due to the lower fees. 

     The number of buyers means nothing if merchandise is not moving. At the present time I only sell less than 20% of my items on eBay. 

[murph1727]

Yes-this is true. Ebay had a $2 billion loss for the first 9 months of 2022. Their income from operations was positive (although slightly lower than the previous year) but the big hit to their income was a major loss on their investments. I circled the bottom line loss in red and their investment loss in orange. I haven't heard about their full year earnings yet.

[allen1853]

It is true. Ebay is bleeding cash because they molly coddle fraudulent buyers and treat sellers like garbage.