The last 12 years have been fun, but its time to jump this sinking ship.
When you only sell two items a year, there's something wrong and I don't see it getting any better here.
Want to wish you all Good Luck, Happy Thanksgiving and a very Merry Christmas.
69 comments
ulfesharpe
·2 years agoBest wishes, old chap — "ebay shipping" probably did it
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoI personally never thought this would last forever.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoWell, always in the back of my mind for 15 years on here. Been a lot of changes mostly for the good within those years. Then something happened the year Devin Wenig left and the stock devils took a hold of this place like a pack of hungry wolves. Following their directions from there and here we are. Might get a lot better or a lot worse. Say some prayers.
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoWenig was no great shakes - just another rent-a-CEO who didn't seem to really know what he was doing. Jamie is at least trying. I think he sees one thing - there is so much competition now that eBay will never go back to what it was. People not shopping here may be shopping on TEMU at this point.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoYEAH, The territory on the internet is so vast right now. It’s a challenge. I think Jamie knows what he is doing I have faith in his approach.
carlmarxx
·2 years agoI don't agree! by focusing on commercials to a small buyer market that buy's Luxury goods makes no sense too not include rest of site. .
retro_entertainment_collectibles
·2 years agoSince none of us have access to eBay's high resolution financials and none of us are CMO's or even qualified to run the varied statistical analysis, general market analysis more or less understand what we're looking at... Rather moot.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoI don’t want to be broadcasting here too ouch about this Temu thing, but man do these people have the marketing going on their stuff. Incredible website with games to play to get free merchandise and constantly lowering prices when you have them in their cart. Coupons constantly. They are fierce.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoJamie was also a pioneer in the Walmart/Sam’s Club internet start. He has a lot of experience.
carlmarxx
·2 years agoWell the last Ceo that Jamie replaced was trying to fix the damage done by Donahue ,But didn't finish the job . Ebay needed to stay with what got it to the mountain top with the hard to find items and good's never sold on the other sites .
my_boston_baked_beans
·2 years agoYou are right on!
As a small seller on ebay you have to have longevity(patience) and money to burn! For many of us small sellers (that ebay got started with) it has become a useless tool. I stay in, but I am careful to get rid of items I no longer want and bought at a killer price. I will stay until I can downsize my home enough to give the rest to GoodWill! Happy Holidays:)
r400man
·2 years agoYea, Same for me. After 20 years of Fee's that KEEP Going up, I've had enough. Cancelled all my listings and waiting on the last item sold (at 13.25 persent and charged for taxes incurred) to be delivered before I can end this Problem. Other sites don't charge near as much and some NONE! ie- Racing junk, craigslist, etc. So it may be a place to buy, Just not a Place for me to sell cheap for someone and then be gouged by ebay. ASTA LA Vista Selling on Ebay. I'm Done here!
bryo_3145
·2 years agoNo buyers. Soon no sellers.
chrispass918
·2 years agoYea no buyers for YOUR items, eBay still has tons of buyers.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoYes they do have a lot of buyers if the price is right right now.
ed8108
·2 years agoYou are blessed with 12 years of memories of having had fun to carry into your future, which you will always have with you.
farmalljr
·2 years agoI closed my store earlier this year. I still sell a few things here, but it's not with a store, it's free listings. And I am not going to put in the effort I used to with a store. I also sell in other places.
I don't care what the cheerleaders want to say, this ship is sinking. Search isn't working, buyers are shopping elsewhere, and the site is flooded with cheap China trinkets. Even though the economy is tough, it's NOT that people are not spending money, it's that they are not spending it HERE.
Now that the IRS has decided not to follow the law in regards to the 1099's, eBay will soon be more flooded with sellers making sales under the table again. Great news right? Just more sellers who now will be undercutting prices because they aren't going to pay tax on profits, like those who do things legal and proper.
sakic92710
·2 years agoLOL Flooded with sellers making sales? It is already flooded with sellers who cannot make sales. 😛 Go after the millionaires, billionaires & corporations that don't pay their fair share instead of the guy trying make five-ten bucks!
ed8108
·2 years agoSome argue that millionaires, billionaires & corporations exercise too much influence for that to happen.
sakic92710
·2 years agoThey influence EVERY aspect of our lives.
farmalljr
·2 years agoMore money is paid out in the form of benefits and tax income credits, then billionaires avoid taxes. If you were honestly concerned about who is paying taxes, you would end these programs. Those "rich"
people you rail about, actually pay the BULK of tax revenues.
sakic92710
·2 years agoAs they should pay the bulk. They hoard the bulk of the money! Who NEEDS $8 billion????!!!!!
chrispass918
·2 years ago“Who NEEDS $8 billion????!!!!! †me
theteamsetguy
·2 years ago@sakic92710 ,
So just because one does not need 8 billion dollars the government should take it from them?
sakic92710
·2 years agoShow me where I said that. I said billionaires should pay their fair share - no tax breaks! What would happen to those poor souls if they had to pay $1B in tax? lol
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoOh I agree with that for sure.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoThere was a program I watched awhile ago where they were doing an analysis of how many social service programs could be generated to help the truly needy in this country and this was based on the billionaires paying their fair share. The amount of money available to help other was astounding.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoWell a lot of them are great don’t need it and help others.
kensgiftshop
OP2 years agoMe.
Don't need that much, but half would sure help.
theteamsetguy
·2 years ago@sakic92710 ,
While on paper that sounds like a great idea. There are only 735 billionaires in the United States for example.
Quadrupling their taxes isn't going to make dent in the federal budget.
sakic92710
·2 years agoSorry the site has been an absolute failure for you, also. I thought I might stick it out until 2024 but, I don't see ANY hope for the Christmas season being of much use to me here. 5 sales so far in Nov. I cannot even buy enough groceries for 1 week on my total $. I've been relying on Marketplace for a few months. It has been awful this week. No sales in 4 days. For me, eBay generates about 1 sale every 4 days. It is not worth to have a a store & not worth the time of checking my page. I can post on free sites & not get sales. Maybe spending my time by posting 100s of listings there can bring me some regular buyers. Already removed 1/3rd of my BINs. I don't lay all of the blame on eBay. Being a Canadian seller has several disadvantages; especially the cost of postage. Who can sell $5-10 items & expect buyers to pay $8 S/H? For US buyers, anyway. Bubble mailers can ship much cheaper within our borders. I think I have many items that should sell quickly on eBay. Yet, when I post them, I will find 1-2 views over a month. I do not like the idea of throwing away a venue. 2 years of vast disappointment on here leaves me with no choice. I do not see it getting more successful again. Enjoy your 2 holidays!
hartungcards
·2 years agoYou'll still be here in 2034.
inhawaii
·2 years agoKen, I'm very sorry to hear that.
I wish you luck in your future endeavors.
I hope you can remain on the boards.
You are an asset to this community.
kensgiftshop
OP2 years agoI'll be around, nothing better to do to kill time.
drinkwine1204
·2 years agoAll the best to you Ken and do stop by from time to time. Happy Holidays !
ed8108
·2 years agoWishing you a Happy Thanksgiving & a very Merry Christmas.
ckimodog
·2 years ago@kensgiftshop
To our friend Ken... You have always been so proactive and helpful on this forum. I hope you'll continue to chime now and then. I understand where you're coming from. It hasn't been easy for a lot of us. May God bless you and keep you safe.
Much Aloha.
Take care.
kensgiftshop
OP2 years agoI'll still be hanging out here.
lakefor94
·2 years agoHad us going there for a minute.
Best to you and yours this holiday season.
ckimodog
·2 years ago@lakefor94
Same to you friend. 😃
shadowdm
·2 years agoNo worries, been with Ebay for too damm long and with this fee system where they take about 20% is crazy. They say its only 15% but they forget to tell you that you have to pay a fee FOR TAXES THAT THE BUYER (NOT SELLER) is suppose to pay.
THE BUYER SHOULD PAY THOSE FEES NOT THE SELLER!
With all of this nonsense and the fact that they allowed a buyer to literally steal a $100 cord from me and then had the audacity to charge me another $20 because I contested it I use them as a very last resort.
I sell almost everything now on other platforms. I only put stuff on eBay when they do not sell for a very long time.
I hate eBay now, even though I been with them for 24 years.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoYou have been here a long time. Sorry to see you go. It is a bad economy and heavy competition for ebay that may have caused some slow down this year for sure. We hope you may come back when people have more money and ebay grabs some more traffic before all that will be on here is GLITZY, OR CAR PARTS.
isaiah53-57
·2 years agoGrabs some more traffic??? Wow
How do you propose they are going to do that?
In my opinion, just like a plane that has flown too far from base and didn't leave themselves enough fuel to get home, they have flown past the point of return...
I believe an about face from their current policy is suicide just like staying on their current path is suicide... I'm in the thought that impotent managers and unyielding boardroom hot-shots missed their opportunity sometime back to right the ship and their only choice now is to drive it into the ground...
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoThey would get more traffic when the people have more discretionary income. This is part of the problem this year. I see things that should be selling on here with great prices and they sit for a long time. In all the years I have been here I have not seen this happen like that. THEN, I see a lot of sellers jacking these prices up thinking stupidly that people are going to buy these things at these outrageous prices. That is the sellers fault for not doing their comps right on here.
maxine*j
·2 years agoStick around the boards, though, okay?
-
silverstatetreasureboxes
·2 years ago@kensgiftshop
Yes, agree with Maxine totally, if you leave who's going to guide the Sri Lankans?
meme6253
·2 years agoBest Wishes!, & Best Of Luck!, Happy Holiday's!!
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoAt least you have other platforms to sell on. Best Wishes.
A lot of sellers do not create a "business plan" before selling. And a seller has to adapt to our changing 🌎.
Selling the same old same old doesn't always work.
And we have to realize more and more sellers jump on the ship....unfortunately you had to jump off the 🚢.
kensgiftshop
OP2 years agoBesides Ebay, I sell on another site, plus I have 5 of my own sites.
Selling the same item does work if buyers are able to see your items.
I dumped the store subscription a few years ago, and since then, my views have gone down to almost nothing.
meme6253
·2 years agoThat's the Key!!, Buyers being able to see your merchandise, & here that isn't happening very well at all!
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoI wish you the best in all your future adventures. Being a seller on eBay kind of reminds me of Kenny Rogers and the words from one of his songs.
"You've got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run"
Best of holidays to you, family and friends.
tobaccocardyahoo
·2 years agoBest wishes for the holiday season. Knowing when its time to move on is one of the skills any business person needs.
The ship is not sinking but the cargo it is carrying changes from year to year.
kensgiftshop
OP2 years agoThere's definitely a hole in the bottom and filling up with water.
itsjustasprain
·2 years agoThat may be - but according to your own feedback your primary products for sale were ground-up eggshells and rabbit poop. I am pretty sure that when people out there go looking for ground-up eggshells and rabbit poop Ebay is not their first thought for sourcing, nor are either of those products ideal for holiday gift-giving. You could probably widen your range of products and enjoy more success as a result. Good luck.
kensgiftshop
OP2 years agoYes, those 2 items were my best sellers here and have been for years.
As for gift giving, you'd be surprised how many people bought for giving as gifts.
I've received messages from members that received them as a gift and wanted to know if I had anymore.
As far as a wider range of items, I did, but when you only get 0 or 3 views a month, there's something wrong somewhere.
When no one is able to find your items, the chance of selling anything is pretty slim
lakefor94
·2 years agoWhen I post items that I know will sell, buyers find them quickly and purchase. No problem finding them. Presented and priced correctly, they never last more than a couple or three weeks and they are mostly all gone. The rest sell as well.
Next week or the week after, I will pick up a full pickup truck load of items. Filled to the top of my truck topper. Most with multiple quantities.
If I get say, ~50 listings out of the load, there might be ~10 that are considerably disreable. Over 2 weeks or so, many of those will sell. Buyers have no problem finding them. The rest will sell as well.
The other 40 could be slower movers and some might end up as long tail and some of those might never sell. Buyers could find them if they are looking for them. The key is the product itself, presentation, the seller account and of course, the price.
If 50 or 500 sellers have the same product, that is an obvious problem. Good luck with that.
If the items are not very desirable, well, we all have to face that fact, it's going to be a long road to travel.
Buyers have no issue whatsoever finding the good stuff.....
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoThose are soil amendments and not always that easy to just find. eBay is exactly the kind of place one would go because anything and everything is sold here, but the buyers have been moving on. Seems like Ken has a bunch of other places to sell. I'd toss in the towel, too, and put my energy into selling my home and garden products elsewhere.
bennotbill
·2 years agoJust a bit low in the water. So the "tech team" needs to stop making waves.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoIt’s not sinking like the titanic but this has been a titanic year for people trying to pay their darn bills.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoThey cant even get the price stable on the chicken thighs I buy at the discount store. One week 5.99, next week 10 bucks. If I get another bill raise on my electric, taxes , health insurance blah. Down I go with the titanic. LOL!
kensgiftshop
OP2 years agoOur electric runs anywhere from $250 to $600 a month, but I here were going to cheaper bills next year.
Waiting on my property taxes now, which I'm hoping they are about the same as last few years, if not cheaper.
Our water was running around $115.00 a month, it gone up to almost $200 a month.
Hopefully next year will be better for everyone.
a_c_green
·2 years agoIf any of your utilities offer a budget plan, get on it. We're on one for most of ours, and it's great to know exactly what we will be paying each month. You build up a credit balance during times of low demand, and use it during periods of peak demand (e.g. high electric usage in Summer; high gas usage in Winter). Your monthly payment is generally adjusted once a year based on the past 12 months' performance. Easy peasy.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoIt scares me to think what these families do when they have many children to feed, they have to work, have to pay for day care AND pay the rest of the bills. Rent is at an ALL TIME HIGH. Prices to buy a hone still WAY up there.
kensgiftshop
OP2 years agoRight now, I'd hate to have to pay rent or make a house payment.
My house and both vehicles are paid off so that helps a lot.
My daughter has 6 kids and she had to take a big pay cut a couple years to keep her job.
She couldn't afford her rent so her and the kids moved in with me.
I watch them while shes at work so she doesn't have to pay any daycare.
I pay the bills and she takes care of the food and household goods.
kensgiftshop
OP2 years agoI feel sorry for the ones that depend on the money from Ebay sells.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoYes. We depend a lot on the sales on here. We also invest in the product so we can ship this stuff out super fast, ready to go, no middle man, offer the product at least 30 percent less than other websites, and it has been chugging along ok, but it could be so much better if people had the extra cash right now to buy more.
lukdudle
·2 years agobut atleast for this year you dont have to pay taxes on those 2.
kensgiftshop
OP2 years agoEbay isn't the only place i sell, so they'll still be reported.
rugerskick
·2 years agoI think if thats how its working out, you've solved the problem. Not every site is a great site for every item. Some items do much better on certain sites, not so well on others. And that may change over time. Ebay may become better in the future. The sites they are doing well on now, may cease to be later on.