Are customers leaving in droves
I think that mabye customers are leaving!! Because of the sneaky underhanded way eBay dose things. What are customers?? At eBay the sellers are eBay’s customers and the buyers are the sellers customers. There have been and are many great sellers and buyers at ebay. But over the years ebay has been putting a wedge between buyers and sellers with underhanded misleading tactics. Are there bad buyers??? Yes there is. But why do things that punish the good ones for low percentage off the bad. Are there bad sellers?? Sure there are. Same goes for them. In short yes I think customers are leaving. Both eBay’s customers and the sellers customers. What can be done?? Listen to the good customers and pass concerns up the line . Remember sellers we buyers are your customers and you are eBay’s. What ebay dose to buyers effects you bottom dollar.
ed8108
·1 year agoClearly some have left
I suspect manny buyers & sellers are reducing the degree of their use or reliance upon eBay.
kathiec
·1 year agoThe word is 'does' not 'dose'. And if you're going to inundate the forums with posts please take into account that putting your post in all italics makes it very hard to read.
As for your assertion that buyers are "leaving in droves", according to the latest SEC financial reports in the first quarter of 2025 eBay had 134 million active buyers worldwide. This represents a 1% year-over-year increase in active buyers compared to the same period in the previous year. So facts seem to be getting in the way of your argument.
bennotbill
·1 year agoIt's quite likely that many buyers do go elsewhere after fighting with ebays search, and failing to find what they want at an acceptable price.
That's ebays current biggest failing. Can't find it, can't buy it.
mudshark61369
·1 year ago@kenalf-48 ,
Now you bring up auctions. You might have posted your observation a few days ago. I do not fully agree with @albertabrightalberta's statement that "buyers do not like auctions" but it may play a part in how many bids an auction gets.
There are other factors that can affect an auctions number of bids such as:
A seller having a high buy it now price, which does go away once a bid is placed, but may dissuade the people who see it before it does from bidding.
Sellers not posting enough clear photos and giving short Seller descriptions.
Listing titles that are incomplete or poorly written that do not show up in many searches.
New or Inexperienced sellers listing auctions with a very low starting bid, then cancelling if they do not get what they consider a good price.
The number of other of the same item currently listed, while an auction is running.
The rarity and desirability and condition of an item that is being auctioned.
Sometimes, items that are seasonal ones, listed out of season as auctions.
Inexperienced eBay auction bidders, who do not know how ebay auctions work, or the best ways to bid in order to win who get discouraged when bidding.
eBay touting that auctions are a way to get items at a low price, when that is often not true...
95% of the items I list on my selling only account, are auction listings and I get very good results from my auctions. I do list vintage items in niche categories, that are very collectible though. I also have turned off the auto pay feature for my auctions and say so on my listings.
kenalf-48
OP1 year agoOk then your saying that auto pay isn’t a good thing for auctions??? Because you say if I didn’t read this wrong that you turn off auto pay for auctions. That being said do you also believe that customers are being driven away by having it on?? @mudshark61369
an-57470
·1 year ago@kenalf-48
I realize you were not asking me, but yes, I do think “auto pay†drives buyers away.
But “auto pay†is also, at least for now, optional for the seller.
The problem I see for buyers is, they cannot tell which sellers/auctions have it turned on/off, and this may adversely affect their bidding strategies… imagine trying to snipe an auction only to be hit with the “enter payment info†screen… then losing the auction because of it. I can see that buyer signing off and not coming back.
And I can see a buyer being frustrated by being forced to “auto pay†shipping on multiple items won, rather than being able to request that all items be shipped together with a single, likely much lower, shipping charge.
I know I personally have backed out of purchases altogether rather than pay $100 for shipping - for $40 in merchandise - and hoping the seller will refund the $90 overpayment, which sellers - by policy - are NOT required to do.
Then add the “search†engine frustration…
Add cluttered/confusing listings where multiple other sellers’ items are shown…
Add the absolute glut of Chinese and Indian sellers who FLOOD categories with thousands of listings… and, against policy, multiples of each listing… There really should be an eBay China and eBay India for these sellers, just as there is an eBay UK and eBay Germany.
Add the frustration that, despite having been released many years ago, the eBay app STILL does not allow for combined purchases.
Add in irresponsible sellers… the ones who take money but don’t want to ship… or the ones who try to knowingly pass on broken items, fake items, misrepresentations, etc.
Add in that eBay refuses to, in a meaningful way, address blatant fraud. Think “tracking scam†here, which has been an issue for YEARS, yet eBay doesn’t help buyers at all when it happens… no guidance given of ANY kind.
Buyers purchase the item, don’t get their item, open an “item not received†refund request, LOSE it because the seller has a fake tracking number showing “delivered†somewhere in the buyer’s zip code, then come here to these boards because they’ve been defrauded.
Will they shop eBay again?
I can certainly see why some buyers visit and never return.
I mostly window shop now - when I am bored - and if I am seriously trying to find something on eBay, I use PicClick to search eBay instead of the eBay search engine.
â€Auto pay†is not the only issue eBay has.
kenalf-48
OP1 year agoI agree with most of what your saying. But backing out of a purchase is not one of them I to have had to pay multiple shipping charges with the same seller. But I would never not pay for a item I bid on and win if that happens I usually just won’t bid with that seller anymore. The rest I pretty much agree with. @Anonymous
an-57470
·1 year ago@kenalf-48
I should have been more clear. I do not back out of auctions. I don’t think I’ve bid on an auction for several years now.
I was referencing fixed-price listings.
Let’s say a seller has a widget for $10 with $20 shipping. I then find three more items from that seller with each additional item costing the same.
If the seller has enabled the “immediate payment required†option on the listings, then eBay requires me to pay for each item separately… so, $30 for the items and $60 for shipping.
There is no guarantee (or requirement) that the seller refund the excess postage. I’ve taken that chance in the past; the seller pocketed the extra.
I no longer take the chance. I just don’t purchase.
kenalf-48
OP1 year agoOk thank you for clarifying. I agree @Anonymous
buyselljack2016
·1 year agoMust agree, losing some buyers that would like to purchase multiple items, and get stymied by the preauthorize, and auto pay.
The %age of nonpayers is likely very low, but some of the sellers that don't know that eBay auto checked the "buyer requirement" to preauthorize and auto pay may be thinking, WOW I have not had a non-paying bidder in so long 🤣, I wonder what happened?
eta
I have not listed an auction since I can't remember when, and do not have "offer" on my listings, but as I am aware that eBay opted us all in, I have unchecked the "buyer requirement" boxes and I agree that eBay should not have check marked them for all sellers without the info being in a notification to sellers.
bonjourami
·1 year ago"I think that mabye customers are leaving!! Because of the sneaky underhanded way eBay dose things"
Do you have a link for that? What sneaky,underhanded, things has Ebay done to you?
house*of*paws
·1 year agoHi @kenalf-48
To answer your title’s question … I haven’t heard any reputable information about customers leaving eBay in droves. Have you?
kenalf-48
OP1 year agoNo I haven’t !! But have you noticed a down tic in bids on auctions??? What about the number of buys a bidder has when bidding. Maybe you don’t list auctions. Many others do. So I think that many bidders are leaving which means customers that won’t buy it now . @bonjourami @house*of*paws
bonjourami
·1 year ago"But have you noticed a down tic in bids on auctions??? "
Have a link for that? Just spouting things doesnt make them facts.
kenalf-48
OP1 year agoNo !! I have no link. But I have two eyes that are not shut. I can see for myself what is happening. @bonjourami
bonjourami
·1 year ago"No !! I have no link. But I have two eyes that are not shut. I can see for myself what is happening"
Then you shouldnt post things that are just your opinion and not factual. That doesnt help any newby thats cruising the board.
albertabrightalberta
·1 year agoThat's because buyers don't like auctions. They don't want to wait a week to see if they won and they want to "buy it now," have their purchase shipped and receive it before the auction would have ended.
What do you mean by that? ^^^
Exactly!
house*of*paws
·1 year ago@kenalf-48
I do know that the number of auctions on eBay … as well as people interested in using auctions … has diminished considerably since eBay began.
Auctions were once a great novelty on eBay. Now people prefer not to wait for 7 days to learn whether they’ve won an item. ‘Buy it Now’ listings have become MUCH more popular than auctions over the years … mainly because people want what they want faster.
kenalf-48
OP1 year agoI agree. But there still are many auctions and many that do participate. Which still is a lot of customers. @house*of*paws
mudshark61369
·1 year ago@kenalf-48 ,
You really didn't need to post another topic that has its roots in your displeasure with auto pay. You could have replied to anyone of the previous 4 you have written, adding your new thoughts.
To see them and their replies look in the upper right corner of a community page where you see the ebay generated Avatar circle. Click on it and select My Profile. when you open that page look beneath the Banner with your Community info in it. On the left you will see Posts Replies. Your previous topics are under Posts and you can click on their titles to open them, read and reply to what others have written.
As for customers leaving in Droves, Many new sellers do not make it on ebay, mostly because they didn't read far enough into the getting started and best practices information, which granted could be better laid out. There are approximately 18 million sellers registered on the site worldwide, which is down about 25% from 7 years ago. Many of them have moved to social media based sites, because the transactions happen faster and they pay less in fees if any.
There are about 134 million active buyers, who have made purchases in the last 12 months, on the site, which is down a bit from their high in late 2021. All in all, ebay is doing alright despite some of the policies that upset buyers and sellers.
Unfortunately, ebay's upper management has insulated itself from lower management and customers, prefering to believe only they know what's best for ebay, and since most of ebay's stock is held by the company, there is not much that can be done to affect change.
kenalf-48
OP1 year agoOk well thank you for your info
kenalf-48
OP1 year ago@mudshark61369 @Thanks for the info sure wouldn’t want the post to get old. And the 1% not see them.
klhmdg
·1 year agoNo they are not.
Most people adjust to new ideas and changes.
Those that dont adjust, wallow in it and keep vague posting.
What eBay DOES can affect your bottom line if you cant adjust.
kenalf-48
OP1 year agoSo what does that mean?? That all ideas that are dictated to you need to be adjust to or on the other hand put ideas out there and let the majority decide if it’s good or bad.
soh.maryl
·1 year agoTo the best of your knowledge, are there a lot of companies that "put ideas out there and let the majority decide if it's good or bad"? Can you name just a few?
klhmdg
·1 year ago@kenalf-48
What is means, like it or not, eBay doesnt really ask or care about our opinion.
I have many times been asked my thoughts and opinions on eBay and new "exciting" things happening.
I can count on 1 hand the number of times any of my opinions have made eBay think twice about the things that they are doing or going to do.
SO as a buyer or seller on eBays platform (sandbox) you either adjust or you continue to let it bother you or ...
You can let it take up residence in your head or just let it go and move on.
eBay will only change if they think they will make more money. Only 7%, I have heard, of listings on eBay are auctions anymore.
kenalf-48
OP1 year agoNot trying to change what eBay does or doesn’t do. Just trying to inform the sellers and buyers that come here for answers and not post a question.. why would anybody just adjust without questioning what they are adjusting to??? As far as auctions that’s still what ever percent you said that my not buy your buy it now items while looking at the auctions. @klhmdg
klhmdg
·1 year ago@kenalf-48
You say you are trying to inform people who come looking for answers.
This post is not informative or supplying answers. You asked questions and supplied no answers.
Can you Please translate this? - As far as auctions that’s still what ever percent you said that my not buy your buy it now items while looking at the auctions.
kenalf-48
OP1 year agoI may not have all the answers but I did ask the question. This will get response’s and hopefully from many points of view. That is informing. Just because someone doesn’t have a answer doesn’t mean they can’t ask the question. If let’s say 10% of how many ever users decide to not come to eBay. What ever that number is will not be shopping and that number comes down to customers that will not even see your stuff let alone buy it. I don’t think that losing any number of potential customers is a good. Is it ?? @klhmdg
soh.maryl
·1 year agoVery interesting post. Can you give examples of "the sneaky underhanded way eBay does things"?
mudshark61369
·1 year agoThis topic, like the last 3 posted over the last few days has its roots in Auto Pay.
soh.maryl
·1 year agoThank you for your reply.
kenalf-48
OP1 year agoOk, so you know what this is and how it works. And you may love it. But I think there are a lot of sellers that have no idea that this is on. They didn’t have a choice. I also think if they come here looking for answers they should be able to find them. And get both sides of the story and decide for themselves. The way they get informed is by people like myself that message them and tell them that it’s on. Not hay look we have a new tool for you. Check and see if it’s helpful. @mudshark61369