Fixed Price GTC - Just plain wrong

[ducks2k]

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

[jmmahoney]

Lynn and others are mistaken in their belief that the GTC change will increase their items visibility on Google searches.  Any item listing on ebay FOR ANY DURATION will appear in a google search after 24 hours.  The downside of the GTC change is far greater:

1.   Buyers who search on recent listings will never see your item -- it will sink lower and lower in the search listings as time goes on.

2.  Buyers will grow tired of seeing  your listing over and over again.  The longer it is there, the more undesirable it will be perceived -- esp. damaging for the collectibles market.

This ebay change is disastrous for those of us who sell collectibles, but after 20+ years of selling on ebay I have learned it is par for the course.

[comic-sutra]

I plan on carefully watching, and then delisting at the end.

The only reason I list is because it's free. 

I'm fine with paying the incredibly exorbitant 10% final value fee (other auction houses have the same percentage, and do far more for it than eBay, which functionally does nothing.)

But I won't be paying to list anything.

[comic-sutra]

It's extra effort that isn't necessary.

[delilahsart]

So glad I didn't upgrade to an anchor store, 

[delilahsart]

Thsy have taken away the 30 day fixed

[delilahsart]

What platform are you using? I don't mind the cost it's not having the 30 day option.

[ekmadonna]

GTC will show as ENDING SOONEST but NEVER SHOW AS NEWLY LISTED!

[delilahsart]

I have a great idea, if it is not fee driven make it free or 1/2 the cost.

[ekmadonna]

It's funny that you say "Thank GOD I didn't upgrade to an Anchor store" I used to have an Anchor store and dropped to Premium because of the exorbitant price increase a couple of years ago. I was actually reconsidering going back up to an Anchor store because I do have that much inventory but I WILL NEVER GO UP NOW with the change to GTC!

[waltermooreart]

I have 1,000 unused Fixed Price listings for this month that I won't touch until I see how this works out.

People say to list them all as GTC, then cancel at 30 days, but I no longer trust eBay-- who's to say there won't be some cancellation "convenience fee" buried in the fine print by the time that 30 days comes up?

I am not going to stick my head in that noose.

This is my last month with an eBay store unless they roll back this automatic GTC idea.

[thai2550]

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Why can do nothing in Ebay store that we pay fee?

Fixed Price GTC  is a bad policy same as FVF on ship cost!!!

[cellodan]

I sell old, obscure books for which the market is quite small, and it may therefore take very many months for an item to sell. If I have to pay listing fees once a month on each such book, it's just not worth selling them on eBay. I'm, sure many folks will feel similarly. I think the removal of non-GTC listing options will reduce eBay sales and income.

[totoro470]

I don't understand the people making excuses for this change, making it seem like a good thing. Are they not aware that GTC has been an OPTION for years? How are they giving us anything if we already had it? How is limiting everyone's options beneficial to those that don't want it?

Why I don't like GTC:

1. Old listings will get kicked in the teeth- they will no longer have the "newly listed" bump that you get from relisting unless we manually take the listings down and relist them. This will not affect people with multiple quantities as long as they sell some of that inventory once in a while. In other words, this will help larger sellers more than smaller sellers.

2. Some items you just want to have up for different durations- like seasonal items or, for me, items relating to relevant movies/TV. I will now have to keep track of everything I list and go back to lower the price and unlist it if it doesn't sell by the "peak" period. Not the end of the world but it's more work for no payoff.

3. Kind of related to #1- GTC seems to favor people with larger, multi-quantity, inventories. I will likely lose any advantage I had over Chinese knockoffs as my listing will no longer be considered "newly listed". As stated before, those that sell quantity (often over quality) will always get bumped up by the algorithm. Someone selling 1 shirt that relists it regularly will lose any advantage they had over someone selling a million of the same shirt.

[cellodan]

I sell old, obscure books for which the market is quite small, and it may therefore take very many months for an item to sell. If I have to pay listing fees once a month on each such book, it's just not worth selling them on eBay. I'm, sure many folks will feel similarly. I think the removal of non-GTC listing options will reduce eBay sales and income.

[thegoodiebag]

I totally hate this GTC option. I've been selling on ebay for 19 years. When things end in 30 days, I review that item and decide if I want to lower the price before relisting, based on watchers, views, etc. And if it's been on for too long, I end it and take it to my antique shop booth. Or maybe it's a seasonal item and needs to end. Also, I'm a small seller that usually runs between 200 and 300 items....and sometimes I hold off relisting a few days because I've exceed the fixed price limit. Well, I can't do any of this now......screwed by ebay. I hate this!!! I have less control of my selling needs.