mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999
It isn't unusual to get upset at your workplace for one reason or another. Many of the things you have stated give all sellers pause from time to time. But not all of what you state is the fault of Ebay. So you may lessen your load by being able to separate the issues between what is or can be controlled on the site and what is cause from outside influences and not within the control of Ebay.
As much as I would like to have my costs stay the same over the past 20 years, that just isn't reasonable. As our cost of products increase over the years, so does the cost of doing business. So it is unrealistic to think that the fees on Ebay today would be the same as they were 20 years ago. Annoying to be sure, but it is just part of any business.
USPS and other carriers typically raise prices every year. Some years more than others. Not something Ebay controls.
Free shipping was a program that Ebay did NOT name. It was a Marketing firm [I think of Target, but I could be wrong on that] that came up with the name for including shipping into the price of the product. Ebay adopted the name when they started allowing sellers to offer Free Shipping, not because they created the name but because it was a widely accepted name for this type of policy. It was widely used on the internet for a few years before Ebay ever allowed it on the site. Many sellers pleaded with Ebay for a long time before they finally allowed us to use this type of option.
I don't know why you are eating into your profit margin to allow for Free shipping. That isn't how it is typically done. Shipping is just another cost that you add to your other costs of selling any given product. All those costs plus the cost of the product times whatever profit margin you have chosen for yourself helps you to arrive at what your selling price should be. You shouldn't be taking your shipping costs out of your profits.
Ebay has always had Free Returns. It is the same thing as 30 or 60 day returns with seller pays shipping. That has been an option for sellers for years. It is just that recently Ebay renamed it to Free Returns.
I love having a store on Ebay. It has been a good source to save me money on fees for years. It is a good economical choice to help keep some of my Ebay costs down and I find it to be a very good value.
The return system on Ebay is all messed up. Got to agree with that. It just doesn't matter what the buyer claims, the seller is always wrong in Ebay's eyes. I do hope there is some relief in the rules on this VERY soon. This is beyond frustrating and extremely expensive for many sellers.
This can be a very difficult site to sell on, there is no doubt. You get use to a rule and then it changes. The rules are so fluid that it is really hard to stay current so that you work within the rules or operate the best you can within them.
There is no harm in venting a little bit; in fact, at times I think that is almost a necessity of selling here these days 
My husband occasionally gets a that-darn-Ebay earful from myself (thankfully, he is a good listener!). The frustration passes eventually, then it's back to the business of listing, and hopefully selling, in spite of it all. At least for now.
You've been here longer than I have OP (almost 16 years myself) and I'm sure have seen a lot of change in Ebay policies. I know some categories/items have gotten worse for returns and/or scams. It pains me to see the discouragement & damage from often unfair, slanted policies that my fellow sellers are going through these days. I keep my head down and try to sell relatively low-value items now. And mostly have nice-to-very nice customers. But I am also conscious there could be trouble around the next corner with a dishonest buyer, or even a conniving competitor (been there unfortunately, done that).
Perhaps the recent changes (and possibly more to come?) of some of those in charge will lead to eventual good news & more support for sellers. I'm not exactly counting on it, but one can (perhaps naively) hope. Just looking for that silver lining I guess.. 
OP, I hope you keep going in spite of the present frustrating circumstances. I understand only you can decide what is best for your business. However, Ebay (whether they choose to recognize it or not) still needs great sellers like yourself, who take care in offering those unique & special treasures. That's what brought me to Ebay as a collector of nostalgic collectibles, and a part of what has kept me here as a seller as well. I wish you all the best in the near (& far) future.
@avid.auctions wrote:
"FREE RETURNS - FREE SHIPPING - INCREASED POSTAGE CHARGES - INCREASED PAYPAL FEES - INCREASED EBAY FEES.
Remind me why I started selling here again. BTW, I started in 1998...
.........."
Ahhhh, because, when you started, it was fun, profitable and an adventure? And, after that 'flush' was over, because you, like many of us, are a closet, infernal optimist with the deep down secret thought/hope that things will get better?
Sorry, I don't know how the story turns out - that part of the script is still in re-write. 
@turquoisetulips wrote:USPS and other carriers typically raise prices every year. mam
Yes and that fact keeps hurting our businesses here . I normally ship just small packages and the going USPS rate WAS always 2.66 no matter where I shipped to within the U.S . Now the rate depends on where the customer is located and it can be as high as 3.00 or more . Most of us have had no choice but to either raise our shipping fees or incorporate the extra cost into our pricing and from what I can tell customers have taken notice . My own sales have dropped dramatically since the rise in shipping fees . Now tack on the extra seller fees and what we get are a lot of sellers [like the op] wondering if it's all worth it. As for myself I'm actually afraid to crunch the numbers for fear of finding out it's actually costing me money to stay . Tulips
It is a problem on ALL sites, not just Ebay. They don't just raise the rates for Ebay sellers. Which was the point. It affects us all on any and all sites we sell on.
It is always a learning curve for buyers. I find that after a carrier increase sales drop a bit as buyers aren't liking the increases. But in a short period of time, they come to realize that it is everywhere, not just on a few sellers. It is all sellers and other sites as well. it will smooth out, it always does.
>>I see you have a feedback seller score of zero for the last year. Have you ever sold on eBay?
