Here is one reason why Sales are down for 2022

[guardian6c]

• EBay has lost almost $2 Billion Dollars in the past 9 months.
• EBay net income/loss for the quarter ending September 30, 2022 was $-1.941B, a 116.68% decline year-over-year.

[gail5176]

I read this very same thing -after I googled it. 

[valueaddedresource]

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@mam98031 wrote:

I have no clue as to why you continue to want to argue the stats with me.  I posted what I did.  You don't like it, fine.  I didn't create the numbers.  

"again for those interested, that site has not been updated to reflect any of the changes that occurred when eBay redefined GMV and just in that one picture they have conflicting information."  You seem to just want to disagree when the GMV change has NOTHING to do with the number of sellers.

So enjoy and post whatever you'd like.  It has nothing to do with me or what I posted.   I have no need or desire to continue this conversation.

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@mam98031 it's not about whether or not I like what you have to say, it's about whether or not accurate, up to date information is being provided to other members of the community.

As @farmalljr pointed out, it is not accurate to state eBay currently has 19M active sellers. eBay last publicly published active seller figure was 17M, which you refuse to even acknowledge and that is not helpful to anyone here.

As far as the GMV change having nothing to do with active sellers:

First - I mentioned it to point out that since the site you referenced has old/not updated information for one stat (GMV), that should at least cause us to consider if it's maybe at least in the realm of possibility that other information on their site (active sellers) could also be outdated or not accurate.

Second and more importantly - the change to definition of GMV absolutely 100% does have EVERYTHING to do with active sellers....see upthread post for details about how when they changed definition for GMV, it also changed the definition of active buyer and active seller.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Here-is-one-reason-why-Sales-are-down-for-2022/td-p/33349838/p...

The facts (supported by documentation directly from the source) are that eBay reported 19M active sellers in Q3 2021, reported a drop to 17M sellers in Q4 2021, and has declined to disclose active seller numbers in any quarterly reports so far in 2022 - that is not a difference of opinions, preferences or dependent on what you or I "like".

You of course are welcome to decline to participate in further discussions. As I said, I would respectfully suggest if you are going to continue quoting stats from Q3 2021 that you make that clear in your posts to avoid confusion.

If not, as I said it's certainly your prerogative, but don't be surprised if others continue to then post more information in response with context and documentation to counter that lack of transparency and provide accurate info to other community members.

We should care about this information being accurate for many reasons, including to prevent future situations where a website cites eBay forums as a source for incorrect information (wouldn't that be ironic?)

[mam98031]

Thank you.

[twk]

Why do I see another increase in fees and more hoops to jump through.

[yuzuha]

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@mam98031 wrote:

Well that makes is sound terrible when in fact we are talking about a difference of 700,000 sellers.  Still an important number, but to me not surprising since we gain more than that during the pandemic.  Now many of those sellers don't have the need or desire to sell on Ebay anymore.

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Yep. I have a whole bunch of friends who sold stuff online during the pandemic (on various platforms, not just eBay) because they were out of work and needed the money. I had one friend who was literally supporting herself by winning crane game prizes and selling them on Mercari as she lost her job during the pandemic. She now only sells occasionally since she's got another job now and doesn't need the money the way she did back then when it was her only income.

[john_wade]

Having 10,000 times as much merchandise on the internet as 20 years ago might have something to do with it. Supply and demand. 

[paraquip]

I'm sure there is some ratio that when an active seller leaves the platform is reduces the buyers on the platform by XXX.

I think the more sellers that vacate the platform there is somewhat of an expodential reduction in shoppers.

Although it might be small at the moment at a certain point it will turn into an avalanche.

Ebay has spent the last part of 2021 and all of 2022 really sticking it to sellers.   Their marketing efforts have been dismal, customer service at an all time low and seller fees up.

Long time sellers such as myself are looking at other platforms to sell on.....this has been challenging even with my own website......that being said once my website and a few of the other boutique platforms I sell on become profitable.....I'll reduce my listings just to maintain being a top rated seller but my annual sales volume with ebay will be 90% less.

Amazingly is seems that nobody from ebay management seem to be willing to engage or even read these forum posts.

HK

[wildpitchsports]

You aint seen nothing yet, wait until those 1099K's hit in a few months.

It'll be great for whatever sellers remain, but then again who knows how many buyers won't buy because they can no longer "ebay flip" with impunity.

[mam98031]

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@twk wrote:

Why do I see another increase in fees and more hoops to jump through.

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@twk 

What did I miss?  What did Ebay raise fees on and when????

[mam98031]

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@wildpitchsports wrote:

You aint seen nothing yet, wait until those 1099K's hit in a few months.

It'll be great for whatever sellers remain, but then again who knows how many buyers won't buy because they can no longer "ebay flip" with impunity.

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What?  The tax laws did NOT change.  The people that will now be getting 1099K's have always been required by the laws of IRS to report their income.  Whether they did or not, well some did and some didn't.

You have a MAJOR misunderstand like so many others. The threshold on an IRS FORM, ANY FORM, does not set the minimum for reporting income to IRS. The 1099K is merely a FORM and nothing more.

When the minimum threshold on the FORM was 20K, that met that only those that made above that got the FORM. What it DID NOT mean was that anyone below that 20K did not have to report their income to the IRS. And that is likely what will get some people in trouble because they assumed something that was not ever based in FACT. IRS does NOT HAVE a minimum requirement on reporting your income. So even when the FORM threshold was 20K, those that made 15K, 10K, 5K, 1K, etc. were still responsible for reporting their income.

Everyone needs to remember that the 1099K is ONLY A FORM and nothing more. It does NOT set the minimum requirements to report income to the IRS. That would be like saying if you don't receive a 1099K for ANY type of income you receive, you don't have to report your income and that is ridiculous. The 1099K only covers internet related payments. It doesn't cover when people are paid by check or any other form. So to think that the 1099K has the power to set the minimum standard for all of IRS, all those people that are NOT paid via the internet would not have to claim their income, which we all should know is not true.

[ricksgp]

Seeking Alpha posted those figures

[11glake]

They allow crooks to steal money when you buy , then don’t help with refund , I’m done with eBay 

[mam98031]

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@11glake wrote:

They allow crooks to steal money when you buy , then don’t help with refund , I’m done with eBay 

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@11glake 

Ebay has very good protections for buyers.  If you'd like to give us more details, we may be able to help you.

[cyberontix]

Lower earnings make them not want to advertise. I didn't see one ad during this entire horrible season.

[effervence]

Interesting post.  As a 20 year ebay user (every seller delightful) until one.  Basically I got ripped off for 550 bucks and filed 'a complaint' now it's been 6 months and I have learned that ebay HAS NO WAY TO RESOLVE COMPLAINTS.  The process is not only impotent but now I'm seeing the downright criminal 'middleman payola' methods of ebay.  Because I have discussed my personal issue with 100's of others by now I know this is the reason buyers no longer trust ebay.  This again is not because of the majority of sellers it is because of the claim ebay makes about their resolutions.  They do nothing.  I would not be surprised that the drop in sales reported by ebay has nothing to do with the volume it has to do with profit misreporting and the executives using 'creative' ways to drain company profits that they get from each sale.  Before today reading this board today I could only assume is busy blaming 'sellers' or 'buyers' for their ineptitude (publicly reported P/L as you point out)   - now I'm sure so be careful- this behavior typical of narcissists and CEO's that use bureaucratic law to cover greed.  Notice where we are with corporations.