Is Mercari and Others Eating Ebay’s Lunch?

[american-photography]

How can Ebay continue to raise fees for sellers while traffic and sales decline and so much competition is out there?

Example For Sellers:

Mercari sellers pay 0% fees.  Cash out fees:  $2.00 per direct deposit or $3.00 per instant pay transfer.

Ebay sellers pay $0.35 after free insertion fees and in most categories minimum 13.25% - 15% FVF plus store fees, promotion ad fees, and other upgrade fees.

Example For Buyers:

Mercuri buyers pay 2.9% + 0.50 payment processing fee.

Ebay buyers pay 0% fees.

[reallynicestamps]

It's been my observation, in over 35 years selling by mail order, and "mail order" is what eBay and Mercari are until teleportation is invented, that buyers want to see what the price is and hate paying more than they were told it would be.

That's why sales taxes** are disliked.

That's why people hate tipping. They feel forced to subsidize wages the employer should be paying.

That's why buyers detest shipping fees.

• And why Free Shipping, which just means putting the cost of shipping into the asking price, is a good marketing strategy.

If I buy on eBay I can choose a $100 item that has Free Shipping, and know the price right away.

• The 13% sales tax is just the same annoyance I would get buying at The Bay or Shopper's Drugs.

If I buy on Mercari that $100 item will cost $102.90 plus 13% sales tax, plus shipping, plus 50c transaction fee, plus processing fee *.

I don't know how much it will cost. Too confusing.

KISS.

*Post 35 @luckythewinner 

**In Europe those taxes are part of the asking price. This would be difficult with over 200 tax entities dealing with online sellers.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@nuclearomen  One thing I've noticed over the years, and @gamersbaystore posts are just one example: If a seller is doing well and is happy on a platform, he tends to believe the platform is doing fine. If he is not doing well on a platform, he tends to assume the platform is sinking.  And , if he makes any effort to examine the platform's state, he picks and chooses whatever he can find that supports his viewpoint.

Not everyone does this, of course, but enough people do it that it is worth recognizing that it is a common error many people make.

I have not tried selling on Mercari, but my impression is they have found the American market challenging, and I think they have not ---yet---met with the level of success they were hoping for. But I'm not someone who feels they are doomed or that they will not be able to grow their business here. I am also not someone who thinks ebay is there only competitor. They face many of the same issues all ecommerce companies face, and that includes the fact that there is more competition than ever.

Like you, I have plenty of complaints about ebay. I feel the company has wasted many opportunities over the years, and continues to make mistakes while the competition continues to grow. I have plenty of suggestions I wish they'd consider...

But, despite my view that they should and could be a much stronger company than they are, I also think they remain a strong company and are likely to remain a viable enterprise for quite a long while. 

My advice to sellers is what it has always been: find what works for YOU, and go with that. There are plenty of opportunities, online and offline...and plenty of competition that will continue to make reselling both very challenging and potentially very lucrative. 

I'm glad @gamersbaystore has found something that apparently works well for him. Others have found other sites work better for them. This is not a one size fits all kind of business. 

[kenneth686321]

---

@gamersbaystore wrote:

And what do ebay's reports show? Years of decline. That is not what Mercari's show. ebay raised profits solely out of fees, while their sellers lost billions of dollars.

---

 99% of Ebay's income is supposed to come from fees. Thats their business model. How else are they supposed to make money? Given that ebay does not manufacture or sell its own products, does not offer third party logistics or delivery, does not offer web services, streaming services, financial services and does not allow (most) NON EBAY SELLERS to advertise on its platform. Ebay just recently started allowing SOME very limited third party ads from advertisers selling services that CAN'T be sold on Ebay (banks/insurance) and collecting ad fees from them.  

Ebay's reports show that they are doing just fine... not spectacular like the early days but as expected. Their revenue has been hovering between $8-10 billion USD since 2009.  Their GMV has risen from $7.7 billion USD per quarter Q4 2019 to $11 Billion USD Q2 2020 and dropped back down to between $8.7 Billion USD Q2 2022 to $8.9 Billion USD Q3 2023. 

The pandemic and everything being closed caused shoppers to flock to e commerce sites causing a boom for everyone including Ebay. Now that things have opened back up buyers are going back B&M and other e commerce sites. So now Ebay is back to making "normal" expected revenue. 

Ebay is like a pro athlete who has reached the the upper limit of their potential who has to do a lot of work to squeeze that extra 1% of growth or just maintain their current performance.  Mercari is like the amateur athlete just starting out who demonstrates tremendous growth and potential in the early days and either fizzle out or go big. 

BTW Mercari's tiny $1.2 billion revenue at 4-5% growth per year now vs Ebay $10 Billion at 1-2% growth ? Not in the same league... yet 

https://stockanalysis.com/stocks/ebay/revenue/  https://www.marketplacepulse.com/stats/ebay-us-gross-merchandise-volume-gmv https://companiesmarketcap.com/mercari/revenue/#:~:text=Revenue%20in%202023%20(TTM)%3A,(TTM)%20is%20.... 

[nuclearomen]

@my-cottage-books-and-antiques 

true, those examples are not wrong. I'm not saying (and never have lol) the platform is greatest and enter whatever otherwise. I'm saying people complain and blame ebay for whole universe of things that in reality has nothing to do with ebay. More so, dislike yet those continue to remain on the platform despite how terrible it is. Now I'm not everyone else, yet, waste time being somewhere that's so bad to me is senseless. 

There are quite a few things I don't like about this platform and the way it's ran, but I don't blame them entirely when sales slow either... use to, guilty of that in the past. 

Yes, i agree, and have said same thing in the past. In all truth, it doesn't matter WHERE one sells, it's if what seller is doing is working where ever they are. 

[robbie31415]

Pretty much what I said but more detailed.

I will predict that Mercari will fizzle out.

They have been having some decline in the US.  Now with their newest changes I don't expect it will go well.

Buyers don't like to see fees. Seeing a breakdown of total is ugly and off putting. More abandoned carts.

They shot themselves in the foot but I guess we gotta see how it plays out.

[mam98031]

Some seller can get too single minded when they are trying to select a site to sell on.  It is NEVER all about the fees.

Ebay is not the cheapest site out there, but they are also not the most expensive.  If your goal is to lower your selling fees, then you can find a site to do that for you.  You may not get as many sales, but you can certainly find a place to post your stuff.  It all depends on your goals.

Very few sellers on Ebay pay insertion fees.  Ebay is very generous in their fee listings they offer.  Sellers just need to learn which is the best way for them to post listing for the best bang for their bucks.  I haven't paid an insertion fee in many many many years.

Ebay per transaction fee is not 35 cents.  It is 30 cents on $10 and below and 40 cents on sales over $10.

FYI, Ebay sellers with stores get a little discount on their FVFs.  It is one of the perks of a store Basic and higher.

Comparing to Mercari is tricky right now since 30 days ago today they changed their fee structure to something that has never been tried before on sites like these.  So there is simply no way of knowing yet how this will work out for Mercari as it is a drastic change.

Now sellers that listings posted as of 3/27 on Mercari and did NOT lower their rates by at least 10% still have to pay the selling fees.  So while Mercari doesn't have fees for the seller [except to get their money] on listings starting on or after 3/28, Buyers do have to pay them.  And the rates on Mercari are remarkably close to what they are on Ebay.

I've read lots of buyers do not like this change on Mercari.  Sellers aren't lowering prices like Mercari intended, so buyers are paying more.

You aren't comparing apples to apples nor have you given this huge social test by Mercari any time to gather data on if it will even work out for them.  None of which will be known for a few months at least.

[gamersbaystore]

Yep, ebay is doing just fine, at the expense of their sellers livelihoods. ebay is paying out billions of dollars each year to its investors for doing literally nothing, while their sellers have watched their sales volumes decline.

Since when was it considered a travesty for people to be paid for their work? Just the thought of sellers being paid reasonably for their efforts just seems pain you ebay cheerleaders.

Your argument is about money, mine is about moral principal. No, I do not agree with ebay's depravity.

[american-photography]

I’ve read all your responses and appreciated the viewpoints and feedback.

I am not currently selling on Mercari but just wanted to see what everyone’s opinion or experience was with the site and others and what you think.

Thanks for the comparisons and insights, please continue this discussion if you like as I do like to hear what you think.

[mordecai8614]

mine is about moral principal. No, I do not agree with ebay's depravity

Yet you haven't ended your listings... I guess the money you're making on eBay (and complaining about) trumps moral principle. This is how your statement reads...

Person A: I have a problem with Bud Light's moral principle. No, I do not agree with Bud Light's depravity

Person B: But you're drinking a Bud Light...

[reallynicestamps]

ebay is paying out billions of dollars each year to its investors for doing literally nothing,

Ah! yes this is true.

In the case of eBay, some entrepreneurs pooled their capital , including intellectual capital, to make and run a site where others without that capital can pay fees to use theirs.

It's a classic capitalist model.

Rentiers do find places to park their capital where they can be paid interest on it. Those are the shareholders who get dividends each quarter for their capital investment.

At the moment, eBay is paying a 2.08% dividend (27c quarterly) nearly double what it was in 2019

https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/ebay/dividend-history

[mam98031]

---

@gamersbaystore wrote:

Yep, ebay is doing just fine, at the expense of their sellers livelihoods. ebay is paying out billions of dollars each year to its investors for doing literally nothing, while their sellers have watched their sales volumes decline.

Since when was it considered a travesty for people to be paid for their work? Just the thought of sellers being paid reasonably for their efforts just seems pain you ebay cheerleaders.

Your argument is about money, mine is about moral principal. No, I do not agree with ebay's depravity.

---

Are you referring to the dividends paid on stock or something else?

https://investors.ebayinc.com/stock-information/Dividend-History/default.aspx

Sellers don't work for Ebay, Why would Ebay be paying sellers?  That isn't the purpose of this type of site.

[nuclearomen]

---

@gamersbaystore wrote:

Yep, ebay is doing just fine, at the expense of their sellers livelihoods. ebay is paying out billions of dollars each year to its investors for doing literally nothing, while their sellers have watched their sales volumes decline.

Since when was it considered a travesty for people to be paid for their work? Just the thought of sellers being paid reasonably for their efforts just seems pain you ebay cheerleaders.

Your argument is about money, mine is about moral principal. No, I do not agree with ebay's depravity.

---

it's the sellers that have to find ways to be profitable though, that's not ebays job or anyone else's. Ebay is a tool that is used to sell, nothing more. It's the same as any other marketplace, website hosting service for a online store etc... they are all fees and charges, some of them better then others but they all have them and they all have investors and shareholders that get paid a lot in return depending on the size of their investment into a company or amount of shares they hold. Just as you sell to try and make living or extra money, investors invest their money into a company for a return and profit on their investment. They don't have to do anything, they are already doing what was required, they invested capital for a return, period. Do you think Mercari doesn't have investors or shareholders? They most certainly do! 

But sellers are being paid reasonable for their work, if they are not, then it's the sellers fault. Ebay doesn't acquire a sellers items or stock, choose sellers items, put up your listings, set sellers prices etc... every seller understands that they sell item the platform takes a percentage of that sale and so it's the sellers responsibility to price items accordingly and make profit in the end. Unless your selling just to clear out personal items then profit or being profitable then becomes obsolete cause it only about clearing out unwanted items from your home. 

You say your argument isn't about money, but your entire post is about just that. I do however understand what your getting at with the principle and that is where one must determine if selling here with the fees involved is right for them or a different marketplace, site hosting etc... is better option. Look at Esty and what their sellers went through with fees etc... but a lot of those sellers stayed despite it and are still selling there. It's a choice no matter where one is. 

[sumsum70]

I didn't bother reading the 4 pages of replies as I know this kind of topic brings out the propaganda squad.

I don't know anything about Mercari, but I can say it definitely seems like "and others" is eating eBays lunch! 

[dhbookds]

yes, that's true.

[nuclearomen]

---

@dhbookds wrote:

@nuclearomen  And that's it---if the seller can't make Site A work as well as he wants, try Site B. The days are long past when ebay or Amazon were the only two choices a seller had. 

ecrater is a site very few have even heard of, yet some sellers make it work for them. Everyone knows Amazon, yet some sellers can't make a go of it there. 

Every site has pros and cons. Every site could be improved from the seller viewpoint. 

But at the end of the day, the site is just a tool. It is up to the seller to figure out how to use that tool effectively to achieve his goals. 

---

I remember a year or so ago all the posts people would make about how great selling on facebook was... well I ditched social media years ago so never tried it myself but I know others who have and some of them wound up being right back here. All these sites that are existent now and existent for one and only one reason: to make money. Online selling has grown enormously past decade and will continue with no end in sight. Investors want in on that or anything that is huge and not going away.