The LIMITING & THROTTLING of seller accounts on eBay

[fastjag1]

It's been a while since I have posted to these boards so bare with me. I have been selling on eBay since 1999 or for 20 years. From 2007-08/2016 I was selling in excess of $135K per year. Since 08/2016 my sales have plummeted to just $85K per year. When I give that date I mean it dropped OVER NIGHT to exactly $85K when I was on par to hit $150K going into the holiday season. For me that is a loss of $55K (at least) per year. That alone is proof positive that eBay is LIMITING/THROTTLING the exact amount that I can earn. Take into consideration that I have DOUBLED MY INVENTORY since 08/2016 and my sales have STAYED EXACTLY AT $85K hits all this home! Your sales do not drop to an EXACT figure overnight and flat line at that figure. Additionally your sales do not stay at that exact figure when you DOUBLE YOUR INVENTORY!

    I am here today because I just got off the phone with CS (). I was told my account has no holds or limits and that there is nothing wrong with my account.  Strange that my last sale was Feb-05-19 14:04:20 PST. It is currently Feb-07-19 06:10:20 PST. If my math is correct that's right around 43 hours without a sale. Take into consideration that the 2 months leading up to this BLACKOUT my slowest day was 2 sales. I have over 1000 items listed and I list more each day. The idea that on a global platform like eBay I would not have a sale in 2 days is mind boggling and is OBVIOUS limiting of my sales! I freak out when I have a 24hr blackout but this is crazy at 2 days! In 2016 when they started this I took on allot more financially by adopting a little 4 year old. At the time earning $135K I felt comfortable at age 54 coasting into retirement and taking care of this little girl. Then I was hit with a $55K per year loss! I literally can not pay me bills and take care of my new daughter. EBay is my only source of  income as I closed down my other business to do this full time. Additionally, this past DEC we had to take in my in-law's due to health issues adding to my financial stress. I could take care of everyone if eBay would just, AT THE VERY LEAST, allow me to sell at the level I was at prior to 08/2016 when I had HALF of the items for sale that I have up now! I have continuously asked eBay to release my limit on sales and they consistently tell me "I have no limits". I have sales reports that prove otherwise and there is not a court in the US that would not see it my way!

    Please post with similar issues.

[coolections]

You are averaging 5 to 6 items sold PER DAY !!! CS is correct so I doubt there is much Ebay can do to get more buyers to purchase your stuff. Either they want the stuff or they don't want the stuff.

[fastjag1]

Blackout just ended. Lasted from Feb-05-19 14:04:20 PST to Feb-07-19 06:40:12 PST. It is strange that after calls to CS, Tweets to AskeBay and posting here that the sales become alive again. It is only 1 sale in 44hrs but at this point I feel better that SOMTHING is selling! Sad! 20 years on this site and this it the treatment. All I want to do is run my business on their platform uninhibited with no limits or throttling. Just let me sell!

[coolections]

If you were always on top of best match there would be 10,000 sellers that sell the same thing as you coming here saying they want to be on top. I don't know how Ebay can make it fair for everyone.

[fastjag1]

OK...I knew this would happen. Because you know more about my account than I do I will give you some numbers. I have sold 1458 sales I the past 12 months per eBay. That equates to 3.99 sales per day. I would love to be at 5-6 sales per day as you claim as that might make some sort of difference in my income. Secondly, if the 5-6 sale were true I believe that you in that situation with 0 sales in 44 hours would at the very least start to question where some of if not all of that 10-12 sales that should have come in, WAS!? By your own admission and using your number that are actually 30% more than what I actually sell per day average makes my case even more compelling if I use your 10-12 sales lost in the past 44 hours! I am only claiming about 8 sales lost!

   Additionally when you come across and tell me what my numbers are. Defending eBay and using the term "Either they want the stuff or they don't want the stuff." makes you come across as working for eBay. CS has used that term on me in the past. That and the infamous "we can't guarantee your item will sell", which I am sure many of us have heard. Where on earth did you even get that 5-6 sales per day (I wish)? That kind of tells everyone that, just maybe, you have access to info on my account that everyone else does not. Info that only an eBay employee may only have access to.

[buyselljack2016]

eBay shows 399 sales in less than 60 days.

that actually exceeds 6 per day

[rschissler]

That has to be one of the weakest arguments I've ever heard here for ebay throttling, limiting sales, blackout conspiracies.  Since you seem to think you have such incontrovertible proof of eBay's dastardly deeds against you, maybe you should bring that lawsuit to court?

[fastjag1]

This is exactly why nobody with an issue ever post here any more. I use to post issues all the time and you would have 90% of the comment from other concerned eBay'ers  with similar complaints or stories. Now, once you post an issue the comments you get are from "EBAY" telling you that you can't be at the top of the search. I AM NOT ASKING TO BE AT THE TOP OF EVERY SEARCH. If you had read the entire post I am asking to have the amount of sales I had prior to 08/2016 when I had 500 or less items for sale. Flash forward 2.5 years and I have over 1000 items listed for sale and my LIMITED sales are at the $85K per year that it FLAT LINED to after 08/2016. So, I am not asking to be at the top of any search. I am asking to have my account BACK to where it was prior to 08/2016. I can't express enough how my sales went from $135K per year to $85K OVER NIGHT and to that exact number despite more than doubling my inventory. THAT IS MY COMPLAINT and you can not explain that away with anything other than throttling and limiting by eBay.

[fastjag1]

Thank you for reviewing my account again but your are just making my complaint about no sales in 44 hours better! LOL! I averaged out the years numbers and you want to use my numbers (where are you getting them from?) for the past 60 days. Fine use these numbers and tell me my sales should be at 6 per day....WHERE ARE MY 12 sales that I should have in the past 44 hours when I did not have ANY (ZERO) sales. Tell me you would not be concerned or feel that your account may be restricted! Your are helping to make my case using these numbers if I should be receiving or I am averaging 6+ sales per day. Too funny!

[myjunqueyourtreasure]

Bottom line, no matter where you are in search placement, no-one can FORCE buyers to buy from you.

And no-one can guarantee you a set number of sales a day. Good Grief

Have you never worked retail and stood there watching all the "traffic" go by and wondering why no-one came in even to look around?

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

Your sales and feedback are there for anyone to see. I don't know why you think anyone here is an Ebay employee. This claim is getting kind of old.

What we can't see is how many defects you earned along with those non-positive feedbacks. Those affect your search ranking too. Plus metrics like how many dogs you keep relisting on Ebay that never sell.

There are all kinds of things that go into the placement algorithm and there are probably many we can not even guess at.

[fastjag1]

Ah….spoken like someone who already knows the answer to that. By selling on eBay you agree to the terms and conditions to their site. By selling on eBay you opt out of the ability to sue. You must first go to arbitration....and so on and so on...burying your issue as you would be one single person fighting against eBay's lawyers. As I mentioned I am in financial straights so I DO NOT have the income to hire a lawyer to help me fight an arbitration complaint against a multi BILLION dollar site.

   Also, please elaborate on how facts and numbers are a weak argument. Your not really wanting me to post the number of previous years leading up to 08/2016 are you? I have them. I could but then someone will come along and tell me my numbers, straight from monthly reports, are wrong. I can actually use my reports to show EXACTLY when my sales FLAT LINED to exactly what I am saying. So, how is that weak?

[fordyce_spots]

Glad to hear your sales returned after a 2 day lull. I think there are a lot of sellers doing the volume you do and experience similar drops and returns in sales. Maybe you should curb your emotional responses to it a little and remember you’re not alone, and don’t jump to conclusions. Remember that eBay isn’t the only online marketplace for buyers or sellers. You can always diversify a little, so if you’re sales drop in one locale, maybe they’ll do the same or better elsewhere.  This could be a mass economic indicator for you too...if you’re sales are down everywhere, it’s probably just a bad day, week, or month for the general population. Let’s keep this community upbeat and help each other. Have a great day!

[candd205]

If you have taken your in-laws in, they are probably getting some sort of retirement or social security or disability. They should contribute to your household expenses. Not saying that will equal your decreased sales, but it will help.

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

I suspect that the OP by posting will encourage boardies to visit his listings to see how he sells. When the percentage of views to purchases goes up that can change his search standing too.

From what I understand, Ebay doesn't encourage listings that have people look at them but not buy.