eBay

ducks2k · ‎03-03-2019

Doesn't anyone at eBay think about these policies before forcing them on everyone?

I list fixed price 7 days because I am not around every day of the month, and a few years back, eBay got all fixated on fast turnaround times on shipping. 100% feedback rating in the thousands was not good enough to be a top rated seller, I had to ship fast too.

7 day fixed price is tolerable for a week when I will be home. I match it with 7 day auctions and do eBay 1 week a month. If I have to drop fixed price listings, eBay just loses that many sales per month. I guess they don't care what actually sells - all that is important is the listing fee. Well, they will lose that too, from me.

Ebay is the best auction sales platform around, but they seem to be actively trying to fix that. If I want Amazon, I will shop Amazon. Ebay is not Amazon, and they should stop trying to be.

Over the last 15 years, eBay has gone from being a fun place to buy and sell, to being a (not so) cheap knock-off of a convenience store. I can't recall any significant improvements in the seller side of eBay in the last decade. Each change seems to be for eBay's benefit.

Howard

slippinjimmy · ‎03-03-2019

@ducks2k wrote:
7 day fixed price is tolerable for a week when I will be home. I match it with 7 day auctions and do eBay 1 week a month. If I have to drop fixed price listings, eBay just loses that many sales per month. I guess they don't care what actually sells - all that is important is the listing fee. Well, they will lose that too, from me.

Day 1, list as GTC.

Day 7, end the listing and go away

Next month......repeat.

Problem solved.

gonzo54 · ‎03-03-2019

I absolutely agree their move to a Fixed Price GTC is BAD! eBay is taking control of a seller's inventory. That process might be fine for sellers who have huge inventories and sell multiples of the same item. For many sellers who have one of each item, GTC and out of inventory have no positive function. I have a store and get my 1000 free listings. I then usually add another 100 or so each month. Mostly I just keep rotating items so new things are listed every day. I can't afford to pay an additional 10 cents for 2000+ items each month. I'll now have to end items on the 29th day so I'm not charged for additional listings. eBay is interested in big money making businesses, not the little seller. I suppose I could open up multiple stores, but the purpose of my using eBay is to make selling online a bit easy. More stores would just complicate the selling process. Boo Hiss to eBay!

ducks2k · ‎03-03-2019

Sure - step 1, step 2, rinse and repeat 250 times with probable popups "are you sure you want to do this?". I would be fine with step 1 - select all active GTC, step 2 - delete, step 3 - confirm. All done - 250 (minus the 20 or 30 that would probably sell that week). Thanks for solving the problem eBay.

Or, How about step 1 log into seller account. Step 2 - uncheck box that says GTC forever option. Step 3 list the same as I have done for the past 5-10 years. All done. Thank you eBay.

Fro those of you who do not recognize sarcasm - I have no indication that eBay will EVER implement either of those options.

ducks2k · ‎03-03-2019

EXACTLY my situation. I was already upset a year or so ago when they took my 500 monthly store insertions, which I always took as auction and changed them to 250 auction, 250 fixed price. I DO NOT WANT FIXED PRICE LISTINGS. I DO NOT WANT TO PAY THE SAME MONTHLY PRICE (RECENTLY RAISED) FOR 250 AUCTIONS BECAUSE I CAN'T USE THE 250 FIXED PRICE ANY MORE. I DO NOT WANT TO RUN A "STORE". I always list a different group of 250/500 items because I do not want buyers to be able to put off buying something I have that they want. They need to buy them in the week they are offered, or wait a random amount of time before they see them again, maybe at a different price.

I truly do not care if Google can find my items or not.

This strategy works for me and has for 15 years - I want to do it MY WAY.

slippinjimmy · ‎03-03-2019

I want to do it MY WAY.

Start your own site and you can do whatever you want.

You may want it to work one way but you do not speak for 25 million sellers, maybe what you want works for your buyers but they do not represent all 175 Million buyers.

I know one thing about my own eBay buying habits, virtually everything I buy is from a GTC listing. I bid and won an Auction a few weeks ago, the first Auction I've bid on in at least 10 years.

ducks2k · ‎03-03-2019

My point is not that I want to have eBay conform to my wishes, but that they don't change things out from under me, which happens several times a year over the last decade. Especially, this one, where all I want is exactly what they currently have. It is the GTC people that are getting something new. I am all in favor of eBay expanding the tools they offer to sellers, I just don't like having the rug pulled out from under me.

As an example of their shortsightedness, around 2 years ago they were going to pull the plug on TurboLister, which many of us had been relying on for a decade. They promised that the seller's part of the website would have all the tools that a seller would need, but years later they still have not added a bulk listing facility. FileExchange is even older and weirder than TurboLister. The idea that I would want eBay to host (and control) my inventory is misguided at best and I won't go into the worst interpretations.

vivabe · ‎03-03-2019

With both options available - GTC and 30-day fixed - you can have it YOUR WAY and ducks2k can have it HIS WAY.

Simple

net-gnat · ‎03-04-2019

GTC will effectively eliminate buyers looking at listings that are about to end. Probably will also eliminate buyers who consistently look at new listings to try to grab the bargain before someone else does.

lugro_30 · ‎03-04-2019

eBay is banking on most sellers just eating another cost and adopting another time waster. Many will adapt and I don’t blame them and it’s their choice. I will most likely use the 50 freebies for this years holiday season and that’s about it. Im hanging around on the boards a bit longer to see if eBay changes it’s mind. I’m not holding my breath though. 70% of my stuff has already been moved to other platforms. I made 5 sales on a Sunday which I usually never see here. Hope you find what works for you

this*old*attic · ‎03-04-2019

Then do those same durations as auctions with Buy It Now. Also, EBay added an announcement that one can change the amount available to zero when on vacation or wanting a break.

this*old*attic · ‎03-04-2019

Yes, collectibles show on Google searches - usually as links into EBay. This way those listings will be live instead of dead links.

this*old*attic · ‎03-04-2019

No, GTC cycles the same as a 30 day. It has and end and is newly listed every 30 days.

this*old*attic · ‎03-04-2019

No, it can take up to 30 days to index in Google. That’s the whole point of this.

this*old*attic · ‎03-04-2019

Cost?

The calendar to avoid this has been posted multiple times on all the boards. If you hover listing around the middle of the month, you won’t hit extra fees for two years or so.

Listing at the beginning or end of the month only incurs fees once or twice in two years.

net-gnat · ‎03-04-2019

@this*old*attic wrote:
No, GTC cycles the same as a 30 day. It has and end and is newly listed every 30 days.

Are you sure? I was under the impression that the listing will run until it is cancelled; there is no end and no new start, just a listing fee every 30 days.