eBay

garage-workshop · ‎12-30-2017

Where are all the customers gone / going,

Our sales this year are down by over 80percent to the previous year, and yet we have paid more in fees,

The sales are so low we have had no choice but to pull all the new buy it nows off ebay, high fees no sales, and yet we were very competetive on pricing if not the cheapest,

In view of the past, we have had many accounts with ebay over the years and in fact we were one of the first in the UK ebay members, always been great, many changes over the time, always been a superb selling hub and viable sales, power and volume sellers,

But I think now, in todays market place, other sites have taken the lead, one of the problems for sellers is the amount of bogus items not received claims, this means we have had to stop selling the low value items, and no longer offer free postage, esp letter and large letter, we now have to use couriers with full tracking, and even then we get people putting in claims, and get the goods and the money back,

regardless the delivery service used, in one month we averaged 45 percent items not received, really, buyers know they can get the goods and there money back with a click of a button, great buyer protection, but what has happened to the sellers protection,?

actionspin · ‎12-30-2017

true, so true!

But if you don`t send free of postage you won`t sell as much i guess...

Very hard business especially with this huge selling fee`s...

patsol59 · ‎12-30-2017

I couldn't agree more. I sell truck accessories and when added all up, I am still owed over 20,000.00 JUST in invoices that have not been paid especially with "Buy It Now's". Do those buyers every get a strike for not paying the $1000.00 bumper they just clicked and confirmed for purchase? Absolutely not. But if it takes me two days to get a 150 LB 1,000.00 item shipped out of the door, you better believe they will suspend my account for goods not received. I'd love to see the day they can figure out how to put an item such as what I sell in an Amazon box and have the mail man pick it up 10 minutes later. I've only called them 200 times regarding the issues or lack of issues on tracking LTL Freight and shipments. in through one ear and out the other.

selling-antiques · ‎12-30-2017

Yes where are all the customers gone

Our sales this year are down and im thinking of trying another site , any ideas ?

nawlinsron2 · ‎12-30-2017

Watch for ebay's 4th quarter results around Jan. 23rd...that won't tell you where the customers are going, but it will confirm if they're looking and/or buying elsewhere.
Happy-go-lucky changes and disregard for seller protection ain't helping their bottom line or yours.

johnrj1226 · ‎12-30-2017

@patsol59 wrote:
I couldn't agree more. I sell truck accessories and when added all up, I am still owed over 20,000.00 JUST in invoices that have not been paid especially with "Buy It Now's". Do those buyers every get a strike for not paying the $1000.00 bumper they just clicked and confirmed for purchase? Absolutely not. But if it takes me two days to get a 150 LB 1,000.00 item shipped out of the door, you better believe they will suspend my account for goods not received. I'd love to see the day they can figure out how to put an item such as what I sell in an Amazon box and have the mail man pick it up 10 minutes later. I've only called them 200 times regarding the issues or lack of issues on tracking LTL Freight and shipments. in through one ear and out the other.

@patsol59 wrote:
I couldn't agree more. I sell truck accessories and when added all up, I am still owed over 20,000.00 JUST in invoices that have not been paid especially with "Buy It Now's". Do those buyers every get a strike for not paying the $1000.00 bumper they just clicked and confirmed for purchase? Absolutely not. But if it takes me two days to get a 150 LB 1,000.00 item shipped out of the door, you better believe they will suspend my account for goods not received. I'd love to see the day they can figure out how to put an item such as what I sell in an Amazon box and have the mail man pick it up 10 minutes later. I've only called them 200 times regarding the issues or lack of issues on tracking LTL Freight and shipments. in through one ear and out the other.

Try adding the Immediate Payment Required option for your Fixed Price listings and to the Buy It Now option on any auction stle options. The listing remains active unitl a buyer pays. Works for use haven't had a Unpaid Item since doing this several years ago.

"I have the right to remain silent but I didn't have the ability." Ron White, Fritch, Texas
"Stay away from negative people, they have a problem for every solution." A. Einstein
The Devil made me do it! - Flip Wilson
If the band can only play loud - they ain't no good - peps too J.R. Johnson

orangehound · ‎12-30-2017

@garage-workshop wrote:
great buyer protection, but what has happened to the sellers protection,?

The protection pendulum has swung waaaaaaaay hard to the buyers. I think the gist of your post answers why this has happened:

Way too many sellers, and not enough buyers.

What this logically means is that eBay has to do all it can to keep the buyers around. If that means that some sellers fall by the wayside because they can't deal with the dishonest buyers that such a system attracts, then it doesn't matter to eBay - they may have lost your Sparkly Widget from the eBay marketplace, but there's 10 other sellers of Sparkly Widgets remaining who are still willing to deal with dishonest buyers.

ed8108 · ‎12-30-2017

EBay needs to undertake corrective action to remove both dishonest buyers and sellers from the marketplace.

thallidguy · ‎12-30-2017

If you look at your Sales Hub, there is a little section that shows sales trends, month over month and year over year, for you vs. a figure that represents the categories in which you sell the most. eBay, like every other marketplace worth its salt, is dynamic. You always have to look around you — not just at what eBay is doing, but look hard at what your direct competition is doing if you expect to keep up.

That's where you need to start. Don't start with the bird's-eye picture, start with your own house and your neighborhood. Do you have new competitors? Are your prices in line with what other sellers are asking for similar items — or more important, getting? Questions like this are where you need to start.

I've been selling regularly here for almost two decades, and while eBay changes and sometimes dramatically enough to force me to re-think what I'm doing, the most important factor has always been where I fit into the larger market for what I sell. Because eBay buyers reflect what's going on in that larger marketplace and bring that to eBay. So do new sellers who come in, and old sellers who get out.

thallidguy · ‎12-30-2017

@ed8108 wrote:
EBay needs to undertake corrective action to remove both dishonest buyers and sellers from the marketplace.

That's so vapid as to be practically meaningless. eBay has had bad buyers and sellers from the moment it went live and no matter what eBay does they'll always be a problem to some extent and in some form.

That's like saying that dishonesty needs to be eradicated from human nature.

nawlinsron2 · ‎12-30-2017

"That's like saying that dishonesty needs to be eradicated from human nature."

If you're saying that's impossible, I agree...BUT...it can be CONTROLLED.
Hence...police and the FBI.
Point is...ebay gives lip service to control of scamming and fraud...and goes on collecting it's fees. By neglect, the onus is on buyers and sellers for self-protection.
Plus, after the fact, sellers have virtually NO PROTECTION.
It's a stacked deck, and ebay never loses.

thallidguy · ‎12-30-2017

@nawlinsron2 wrote:
"That's like saying that dishonesty needs to be eradicated from human nature."

If you're saying that's impossible, I agree...BUT...it can be CONTROLLED.
Hence...police and the FBI.
Point is...ebay gives lip service to control of scamming and fraud...and goes on collecting it's fees. By neglect, the onus is on buyers and sellers for self-protection.
Plus, after the fact, sellers have virtually NO PROTECTION.
It's a stacked deck, and ebay never loses.

My point is that this has always been true and always will be true. I was reacting to a statement that suggested that this is somehow more applicable to eBay as it is now than as it has been in the past and will be in the future, and that's just silly.

inthepastcollectibles · ‎12-30-2017

What is forgotten here is that many eBay sellers are also buyers and they "use to" buy a lot, but as has been repeatedly said by sellers, if they are not selling that can not be buying. If you wish to see the reality of that, please look at my feedback starting at page 88, 87, 86, etc..... I bought tons of things on eBay. Now start at page 1, 2, 3, etc. and notice I barely buy a thing. If eBay wants to retain buyers, it should start first with looking at it's sellers. If eBay thinks I am a dime a dozen as a seller, then I take it personally and won't be patronizing eBay or any of the sellers on eBay. Just a note, a one time I spent as much as $7,000 in a month, now eBay is lucky to get a $100 per year. eBay has a PR problem and it's harshness descends on it's sellers like poison.

nawlinsron2 · ‎12-30-2017

Great observation...they focus on FEES, regardless of the source: Chinese sellers, legit sellers, or shafting sellers.
I for one have cut back 90% of my listings...what I normally sell in a month, I'll stretch out over a year. No hurry to support their NON-SUPPORT of sellers.
ebay, in the eyes of the current CEO, can establish a "market" that it can exploit through "Artificial Inteligence". In short, ebay THINKS it can direct you to what IT thinks you want.
Note to ebay: I WANT a better seller experience. I want seller protection. AI is clueless about what I WANT. You get as good as you give.

bobandcharlies · ‎12-30-2017

We must be on a different e bay - sales increased massively this year - non delivered items down to less than 0.5% - using non tracked services - and those not delivered are covered and reimbursed by the carrier or pay pal or e bay courtesy. Sorry guys we are in a good place with E bay - seller protection - e bay work with us to resolve any issues - sometimes we disagree but that is rare and if you understand the e bay systems they work well for both sellers and buyers - they can never cover every situation and sometimes it can seem unfair to sellers or buyers but the platform is vast and we are put in front of thousands of potential buyers who buy on e bay and are generally honest - not all - you get shop lifters in any shop but again most attempts to steal by a buyer can be easily averted by the seller - we have reduced false claims to nearly zero - it took some working out how to do it but it certainly is possible. Hope you can work it out E bay seem to be on the ball in the UK and our experiance is that they genuinely support the sellers. There is an old saying - it is simpler to swim with the flow rather than against it !