Just received an email from Ebay stating that on May 15 they are going to change shipping settings for everyone who uses calculated shipping. They have decided that it is our best interest to offer our shipping discounts to our buyers directly. This will attract more buyers to your listings. You have to use Ebay labels though. That option has been there for a long time already. I thought about doing it previously, but decided against it. Hold on dear overlords. Why couldn't you just treat all se...

@lakefor94 wrote:
One would be surprised as to how many sellers will not even notice the change even if they are not passing on the lower shipping price to the buyers at this time. Many won't even read the notification.

All the new sellers to come will have to find the toggle by themselves.

Just a play by eBay to display lower shipping prices on a few hundred million listings thus creating more eBay revenue and picking up some new buyers in the process.
I have been passing along the lower rates in my listings with calulated shipping.

I can opt in or out at any time....

@lakefor94

Unsure what US sellers see as far as it goes for a difference (What buyer paid vs cost of label) but majority of Canadian buyers have had access to minimum level 1 discounts (varied discounts per service + access to a quicker service for the same price as slow) for years with Canadapost. Sellers could have an account directly with CP very easily. The more you ship the level goes up...2 to 3 to 4. If a seller chose to add handling this was also factored in to the difference after creating a label. (Difference went to covering things like seller fees and shipping supplies.) So we have been seeing that difference forever. As long as you were using calculated shipping.

It took Canadian sellers several months longer to have access to turning on showing the applicable discount. Applying a % never worked because discounts vary per service. Being able to turn on discount has been a biggest improvement we've received in years.

It should entirely be the sellers the choice as to whether the buyer sees the discount or not. But it is to a sellers advantage to do so. Not something that you should be willy nilly dropped into and then have to figure out if you want or can opt out. One size fits all rarely is a perfect system!!!

-Lotzofuniquegoodies

To date there has been nothing in the way of a survey for Canadian sellers to respond to or any notification. Like most things eBay many changes are usually discovered by complete surprise. Especially on the Canadian side of eBay. When it has been tested prior to implementation?.....a major miracle!!!

bossesale77

·2 years ago

763 View listings

I just tried opting out on my multiple eBay accounts (each one has a different email address/log-in) and after opting out on the first account I was told that the "survey" could only be taken once a day when I tried opting out on the other accounts. Does this mean that when I opted out on the first account that all my accounts were opted out or that I can only opt out on one account per day? If it's the latter then that's just idiotic.

kayomi@ebay

·2 years ago

@bossesale77 wrote:

I just tried opting out on my multiple eBay accounts (each one has a different email address/log-in) and after opting out on the first account I was told that the "survey" could only be taken once a day when I tried opting out on the other accounts. Does this mean that when I opted out on the first account that all my accounts were opted out or that I can only opt out on one account per day? If it's the latter then that's just idiotic.

Hi @bossesale77 , thank you for flagging this issue. When you opt out, you are opting out for just the account you are logged into when you take the survey. The survey has now been updated to accept more than one response per day. Please retry opting out and let us know if you have further issues.

lotzofuniquegoodies

·2 years ago

@kayomi@ebay wrote:
@bossesale77 wrote:
I just tried opting out on my multiple eBay accounts (each one has a different email address/log-in) and after opting out on the first account I was told that the "survey" could only be taken once a day when I tried opting out on the other accounts. Does this mean that when I opted out on the first account that all my accounts were opted out or that I can only opt out on one account per day? If it's the latter then that's just idiotic.
Hi @bossesale77 , thank you for flagging this issue. When you opt out, you are opting out for just the account you are logged into when you take the survey. The survey has now been updated to accept more than one response per day. Please retry opting out and let us know if you have further issues.

@kayomi@ebay

Hello Kayomi, Can you confirm if this will apply to ca sellers too. There has been nothing in the way of messaging or a "survey" on the Canadian platform about being opted in and then needing to manually opt out. Discovered this discussion entirely by accident. With the number of current issues with eBay labels on ca this would be the last thing that we would need to figure out by accident.

Thanks,

-Lotzofuniquegoodies

kayomi@ebay

·2 years ago

@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

@kayomi@ebay wrote:

@bossesale77 wrote:

I just tried opting out on my multiple eBay accounts (each one has a different email address/log-in) and after opting out on the first account I was told that the "survey" could only be taken once a day when I tried opting out on the other accounts. Does this mean that when I opted out on the first account that all my accounts were opted out or that I can only opt out on one account per day? If it's the latter then that's just idiotic.

Hi @bossesale77 , thank you for flagging this issue. When you opt out, you are opting out for just the account you are logged into when you take the survey. The survey has now been updated to accept more than one response per day. Please retry opting out and let us know if you have further issues.

@kayomi@ebay

Hello Kayomi, Can you confirm if this will apply to ca sellers too. There has been nothing in the way of messaging or a "survey" on the Canadian platform about being opted in and then needing to manually opt out. Discovered this discussion entirely by accident. With the number of current issues with eBay labels on ca this would be the last thing that we would need to figure out by accident.

Thanks,

-Lotzofuniquegoodies

Hi @lotzofuniquegoodies , to my knowledge, an email was sent to the impacted Canadian sellers. If you did not receive this email, then you will not be impacted by this!

lotzofuniquegoodies

·2 years ago

@kayomi@ebay wrote:
@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:
@kayomi@ebay wrote:
@bossesale77 wrote:
I just tried opting out on my multiple eBay accounts (each one has a different email address/log-in) and after opting out on the first account I was told that the "survey" could only be taken once a day when I tried opting out on the other accounts. Does this mean that when I opted out on the first account that all my accounts were opted out or that I can only opt out on one account per day? If it's the latter then that's just idiotic.
Hi @bossesale77 , thank you for flagging this issue. When you opt out, you are opting out for just the account you are logged into when you take the survey. The survey has now been updated to accept more than one response per day. Please retry opting out and let us know if you have further issues.
@kayomi@ebay

Hello Kayomi, Can you confirm if this will apply to ca sellers too. There has been nothing in the way of messaging or a "survey" on the Canadian platform about being opted in and then needing to manually opt out. Discovered this discussion entirely by accident. With the number of current issues with eBay labels on ca this would be the last thing that we would need to figure out by accident.

Thanks,

-Lotzofuniquegoodies
Hi @lotzofuniquegoodies , to my knowledge, an email was sent to the impacted Canadian sellers. If you did not receive this email, then you will not be impacted by this!

@kayomi@ebay

Thanks for the response. Unfortunately eBay Canadian sellers are last to find out what is going on with impending changes and/or the speed they may or may not arrive and be implemented. Many sellers are still dreaming of the day when they too can offer buyers coupons like our US counterparts.

-Lotzofuniquegoodies

thenewhopeworldbazaar

·2 years ago

182 View listings

I would encourage all sellers to opt out. I had always interpreted the carrier discounts that Ebay facilitated for sellers as a measure that Ebay took to help sellers mitigate selling costs. Now that they are asking us to pass this on to buyers through a quasi mandate is not good news. They create a situation as to where those who opt out could see their views and traffic throttled by way of a non human algorithm.

,

We all know that carriers are capitalizing on the explosion of online commerce. For example, USPS has never seen the volume of usage of their service prior to things like Ebay and other marketplaces. Yet, they cry poor mouth and continue to raise their rates with alarming frequency. I believe that Ebay could twist their arm a bit more and facilitate even better discounts for sellers. USPS is illegitimate as a business. They are a government agency. They claim to receive no tax dollars but it is not legitimate for them to follow a private business model that seeks profit. I think that we can all agree that their rates are outrageous. We never saw these kinds of rate hikes back in the 70s, 80s, 90s, early 2000s and so on, yet their service is used more than ever due to online commerce. Ebay should put their feet to the fire or threaten to end it.

If Ebay wants to continue to justify charging final value fees on shipping and tax then they should be doing what they can to help sellers mitigate those costs. I know that there is a lot of back and forth about this but the ultimate truth is that sellers make the marketplace, not buyers. There is no chicken or the egg question that needs to be answered. Buyers can want all that they want. I'm a buyer too, just like every Ebay seller is also a buyer at some point.

If Ebay's bottom line is being is not what they would like it to be, I can assure you that sellers (who are not multi billion dollar businesses), feel the pain. If Ebay expects people to go thrifting, attend estate sales, purchase storage units, dumpster dive, buy, haggle and do whatever else it takes to obtain items even before you clean, prep, photograph, upload, write descriptions and finally list items for the kind of profit that remains after FVF and outrageous shipping costs? They have lost their way. I rarely comment here but I must say that Ebay is stripping the joy for both seller and buyer. Opt out of this new proposal. Even if you believe it won't effect you, opt out.

There is no reason for Ebay to do this when it was already an option. They are desperate. They are out of touch. Look, I lived in the Bay Area for 18 years. Understand the caliber of people working at Ebay. Many are in their 20s, know nothing of business and have seriously wacked out perspectives on life. Ebay is a great thing and I'm glad it's here. However, it is gone seriously awry in how it is treating it's hard working sellers who provide the product that the buyer wants. Often times, the buyer doesn't even know what they want and that is the point.

genv

·2 years ago

8424 View listings

I read all the replies here, I am honored to be in the company of fellow Sellers who spend much time, not only analyzing, but, offering help to others. If eBay wanted this to be willing participation, it is simply:

" Pass on the savings of discounted postage & we will credit back the FVF on said cost of postage bought on eBay ". When the clowns w/ the $1 item $ 25 postage supposedly 'ruined' it for fair Sellers, ALL eBay had to do (and I wrote higher ups, back then), was EXEMPT the postage paid for label bought on eBay from a FVF and assess on the remainder. To this day, I have NO idea why THAT wasn't the decision.

toomuchstuffagain35

·2 years ago

176 View listings

@genv wrote:
I read all the replies here, I am honored to be in the company of fellow Sellers who spend much time, not only analyzing, but, offering help to others. If eBay wanted this to be willing participation, it is simply:
" Pass on the savings of discounted postage & we will credit back the FVF on said cost of postage bought on eBay ". When the clowns w/ the $1 item $ 25 postage supposedly 'ruined' it for fair Sellers, ALL eBay had to do (and I wrote higher ups, back then), was EXEMPT the postage paid for label bought on eBay from a FVF and assess on the remainder. To this day, I have NO idea why THAT wasn't the decision.

LOL yes you do. This way made THEM more money.

funfactorychannel

·2 years ago

10687 View listings

@genv wrote:
I read all the replies here, I am honored to be in the company of fellow Sellers who spend much time, not only analyzing, but, offering help to others. If eBay wanted this to be willing participation, it is simply:
" Pass on the savings of discounted postage & we will credit back the FVF on said cost of postage bought on eBay ". When the clowns w/ the $1 item $ 25 postage supposedly 'ruined' it for fair Sellers, ALL eBay had to do (and I wrote higher ups, back then), was EXEMPT the postage paid for label bought on eBay from a FVF and assess on the remainder. To this day, I have NO idea why THAT wasn't the decision.

Yes would been easy to code if purchase label weight is equal or lesser than postage paid no shipping fees. but that wouldnt give ebay profits off shipping.

dollocity

·2 years ago

388 View listings

I opted out with the form. Hope it works.

I use free shipping- and half the time my new printer doesn't communicate with the computer. Best not to get involved. For years they bothered us over doing free shipping. gees. place is becoming stressful.

operationspirit4troops

·2 years ago

3087 View listings

I opted out. I already charge less weight on shipping to pass through savings. I also use extra for shipping supplies even though I try to recycle and ask friends to save items. Usually, I only charge 4oz for up to 8oz. 8oz for 9/11 oz. So, thanks, but I will pass.

dbfolks166mt

·2 years ago

https://www.ebay.com/ship/prf/carrier?mkevt=1&mkpid=2&emsid=e99011.m2.l1&mkcid=27&bu=43765280045&osub=0f76b7dfe73ef971530fc8932d488690%257EALL_T&segname=1709638592323MC_ALL_T&crd=20240412000000&ch=osgood

I opted out. I already charge less weight on shipping to pass through savings. I also use extra for shipping supplies even though I try to recycle and ask friends to save items. Usually, I only charge 4oz for up to 8oz. 8oz for 9/11 oz. So, thanks, but I will pass.

If you are passing along savings your calculations may be a bit off. You are in Zanesville, Ohio and I am in Virginia shipping for a deck of cards shows $5.15 when I look at your listing but you can ship a deck of cards from Ohio to VA using ground advantage for $3.86.

dhbookds

·2 years ago

1700 View listings

@norskmediashop

Hopefully this will work........this is the page that will govern it and presumably will be changed to have the first option checked on May 15. However, looking at some of your listings.....looks like you are using flat rates.......and the change will only effect calculated rates.

toysaver

·2 years ago

7833 View listings

I've been passing on my discount since forever but now it will no longer be as big of an advantage. I may re-think and opt in of opting out. Nothing but twists and turns being an eBay seller.

winterpalace25

·2 years ago

467 View listings

I, too, have always passed on my discount. I bake my profits into the selling price and absorb my expenses such as the heavy duty boxes for my dishes. Over the counter rates for my heavy dishes are really bad, so I hope to attract buyers with my cheaper shipping. Some of the discounts are 30-40%. So I hope everybody opts out and I retain my advantage in the dinnerware department.

norskmediashop

·2 years ago

10953 View listings

Have not received this email yet, but where do you opt out specifically? thanks

dbfolks166mt

·2 years ago

Have not received this email yet, but where do you opt out specifically? thanks

You may not get the notification. But following is the one I received.

Weâ€™re reaching out to let you know that, starting May 15, your listings that display calculated shipping will default to showing eBay Labels discounted shipping rates. The new default rates will apply to all of your active and future listings that offer calculated shipping; listings with free or flat rate shipping wonâ€™t be affected.
Weâ€™re making this change to help your listings attract more buyers by offering a lower shipping cost. To get the discounted rate that will be displayed on your listings, make sure to purchase your shipping labels through eBay Labels.
If you want to opt out of this change, just let us know here by May 13 and we wonâ€™t make any changes to your current shipping rates. You can also switch back to showing standard rates at any time after May 15 through your shipping discount settings.
Please note that this change will only apply to sellers receiving this email.
Thanks for being part of the eBay community.

wastingtime101

·2 years ago

https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/shipping/calculated-shipping-rates

@norskmediashop wrote:
Have not received this email yet, but where do you opt out specifically? thanks

If you receive the email there will be a link in the email @norskmediashop , but to make it even easier:

1. If you are opting out before the May 13 deadline you can do so using the link on the Seller Center page:

2. If you miss the May 13 deadline, then you will have to opt out after this goes into effect May 15 on your Shipping Preferences page: https://www.ebay.com/ship/prf

suzysemporium

OP2 years ago

386 View listings

Thank you for giving clear and concise links to where sellers need to go to opt out.

az93

·2 years ago

13013 View listings

I opted out. Ebay has no right to force me to use their shipping labels.

fern*wood

·2 years ago

10652 View listings

@az93 wrote:
I opted out. Ebay has no right to force me to use their shipping labels.

I don't see this as anything to do with using ebay labels. Does the email say that? I believe ebay just wants us to charge less and absorb the difference in order to boost sales (as they say). Ebay still gets the fee regardless of where we buy the labels.

suzysemporium

OP2 years ago

386 View listings

Yes, the email does technically say that.

"To get the discounted rate that will be displayed on your listings, make sure to purchase your shipping labels through ebay labels."

Meaning that after they change your settings to give your discount to the buyer, you need to buy the label through ebay labels in order to get the discount price. Otherwise you may be paying a higher price than the seller paid through who ever you prefer to buy shipping labels from. In a way it is also a tactic to get sellers to buy labels through ebay than a secondary source.

fern*wood

·2 years ago

10652 View listings

@suzysemporium wrote:
Yes, the email does technically say that.

"To get the discounted rate that will be displayed on your listings, make sure to purchase your shipping labels through ebay labels."

Meaning that after they change your settings to give your discount to the buyer, you need to buy the label through ebay labels in order to get the discount price. Otherwise you may be paying a higher price than the seller paid through who ever you prefer to buy shipping labels from. In a way it is also a tactic to get sellers to buy labels through ebay than a secondary source.

Thanks for letting me know, because I haven't received the email and wondered what ebay stated that makes some think they have to buy ebay labels. I feel that wording is rather deceptive. To get the discounted postage rate, we must buy our labels online instead of paying retail at the post office. Online doesn't have to be ebay, though.

wastingtime101

·2 years ago

@fern*wood wrote:
@suzysemporium wrote:
Yes, the email does technically say that.

"To get the discounted rate that will be displayed on your listings, make sure to purchase your shipping labels through ebay labels."

Meaning that after they change your settings to give your discount to the buyer, you need to buy the label through ebay labels in order to get the discount price. Otherwise you may be paying a higher price than the seller paid through who ever you prefer to buy shipping labels from. In a way it is also a tactic to get sellers to buy labels through ebay than a secondary source.
Thanks for letting me know, because I haven't received the email and wondered what ebay stated that makes some think they have to buy ebay labels. I feel that wording is rather deceptive. To get the discounted postage rate, we must buy our labels online instead of paying retail at the post office. Online doesn't have to be ebay, though.

Well, look at the part in bold font. It's accurate. To get the rate displayed on listings, eBay labels will match as long as you're not changing weight/dim on the label page.

Example: If you're passing on carrier discounts for UPS you'll find eBay's UPS Ground rates were recently lowered below PirateShip's UPS Ground rates. So to get the rate displayed on the listing you can do that through eBay labels but not through Pirate or Stamps.com. And still, other shipping providers may have rates lower than eBay.

When it comes to USPS right now eBay and Pirate and Stamps.com and other providers have rates that are pretty much on par with each other. This is the first time in years that's been the case and, for all we know, may not be the case with the next price change or the next.

So .... I don't think misleading was the intent. ðŸ¤·

But hell yes, of course eBay would use this as an opportunity to promote using eBay labels.

dhbookds

·2 years ago

1700 View listings

My prediction........should they ever decide to make this required........is that sellers will immediately increase the shipping weight on the listings and then lower it when they go to print the label........if ebay locks the listing weight in on the shipping page, sellers will find another place to purchase labels with a discount.
Ebay will then lose whatever they make on those labels.

Making the opt in the default is more or less a company standard on stuff......long ago, companies found that offering beneficial programs, such as IRA's, with an opt in, failed because people didn't want to take the time to figure it out. Programs worked much better when people were given the choice to opt out.......most didn't. And likewise, New sellers will have no idea of any of it and probably stay opted in. How much that will hurt opted out sellers with higher shipping costs remains to be seen.... And how much buyers will realize the benefits and therefore buy more is also a big question. Ebay will take a revenue cut, just because $ amounts of shipping would be less (which is probably the reason the 10c increase was put in), but of course, they can also slightly lower the discount and recoup the money.....

It's not a win for sellers.........but if it really makes any difference to buyers......it could possibly increase sales, on an overall basis. Some of the discounts I see are pretty nice chunks of change. Except of course, if sellers raise item prices/handling to recoup what they are losing on the change.

dbfolks166mt

·2 years ago

My prediction........should they ever decide to make this required........is that sellers will immediately increase the shipping weight on the listings and then lower it when they go to print the label........if ebay locks the listing weight in on the shipping page, sellers will find another place to purchase labels with a discount.
Ebay will then lose whatever they make on those labels.

Making the opt in the default is more or less a company standard on stuff......long ago, companies found that offering beneficial programs, such as IRA's, with an opt in, failed because people didn't want to take the time to figure it out. Programs worked much better when people were given the choice to opt out.......most didn't. And likewise, New sellers will have no idea of any of it and probably stay opted in. How much that will hurt opted out sellers with higher shipping costs remains to be seen.... And how much buyers will realize the benefits and therefore buy more is also a big question. Ebay will take a revenue cut, just because $ amounts of shipping would be less (which is probably the reason the 10c increase was put in), but of course, they can also slightly lower the discount and recoup the money.....

It's not a win for sellers.........but if it really makes any difference to buyers......it could possibly increase sales, on an overall basis. Some of the discounts I see are pretty nice chunks of change. Except of course, if sellers raise item prices/handling to recoup what they are losing on the change.

I have not used eBay to purchase shipping labels in a LONG time. There are other sites that offer the same discounted rates, sometimes better, and had priority mail cubic and ground advantage cubic LONG before eBay. I also use a cash back credit card to purchase those labels which further reduces the shipping cost .

dbfolks166mt

·2 years ago

This may be one of those underhanded moves by eBay where they are unilaterally making a decision and change that is out of their purview in an attempt to increase sales. How I choose to handle my shipping is NONE of eBay's business. I suspect a LOT of sellers will ignore or not read the notice and this board will be flooded with complaints starting 16 May after the change has been implemented.

It's just like any other change where sellers who choose to leave the discounts to the buyers in place will either add in handling charges or increase their prices to cover the difference.

farmalljr

·2 years ago

What irks me about it is, if eBay is JUST a platform for buyers and sellers, WHY are they changing your seller settings at all? As the OP points out, they COULD just send a "improve your listings" email and point out the benefits and HOW to change the settings.

Except anyone who has been here long enough selling realizes eBay is NOT just a platform for buyers and sellers to meet. eBay tells sellers how they are going to sell and makes changes to seller setting and listings WITHOUT sellers asking for it. eBay is constantly manipulating sales, terms, and all sorts of things their fingers have no business in. eBay is skirting lawsuits by playing the "we are only a platform" card. They are NOT just a meeting platform, they are controlling sellers and sales. At some point this will all come to a head, and eBay will no longer be able to hide behind their touted, old tired line. They will be like Amazon an be responsible for all the stuff they are doing.

This whole thing just honks me off. They want sellers to give buyers the discount, but they are not dropping the FEES on the shipping now, are they? They expect sellers to take another loss for the sake of making more sales to boost their own numbers. I hope sellers in mass tell eBay where to pack it, and tell them WHY they are not going to participate in that bull puckey.

I have ALWAYS charged buyers counter rates to pay the FEES and the packaging costs. What would make eBay think I would be willing to sell for even less? Is eBay so dumb not to think if sellers lower the shipping, they aren't going to just tack that back onto the price?

I buy a lot of stuff and have it shipped in. No one else is lowering their high costs of shipping. Neither will I. Neither will most sellers. Anyone who does is just allowing eBay to cut the seller's profit margins.

my-cottage-books-and-antiques

·2 years ago

3657 View listings

@farmalljr I opted out when I received the message.

But that said, ebay has almost certainly done some math, and has presumably concluded (rightly or wrongly) that , while they will collect a smaller fee on the shipping due to the reduction in the shipping price, that reduction will be more than compensated for by increased sales velocity (more FVFs, and perhaps more PL fees as well).

For sellers, the questions become:

1. If I opt out, will I actually lose sales because too many of my competitors will be offering lower shipping rates? The answer will vary, because sellers are a varied lot.

2. If I allow myself to be opted in, will my sales increase at a rate that more than makes up for the revenue I will lose? Again, the answers will vary.

As for me, with what I sell, I do not think I will lose by opting out, and I do not believe my sales would increase enough (if at all) if I opted in.

Perhaps I'll change my mind after the change has gone into effect and I've had time to see the results. But for now, ebay hasn't convinced me that this will benefit me at all.

farmalljr

·2 years ago

@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:
@farmalljr I opted out when I received the message.

But that said, ebay has almost certainly done some math, and has presumably concluded (rightly or wrongly) that , while they will collect a smaller fee on the shipping due to the reduction in the shipping price, that reduction will be more than compensated for by increased sales velocity (more FVFs, and perhaps more PL fees as well).

For sellers, the questions become:

1. If I opt out, will I actually lose sales because too many of my competitors will be offering lower shipping rates? The answer will vary, because sellers are a varied lot.

2. If I allow myself to be opted in, will my sales increase at a rate that more than makes up for the revenue I will lose? Again, the answers will vary.

As for me, with what I sell, I do not think I will lose by opting out, and I do not believe my sales would increase enough (if at all) if I opted in.

Perhaps I'll change my mind after the change has gone into effect and I've had time to see the results. But for now, ebay hasn't convinced me that this will benefit me at all.

Sellers who are serious about selling, have priced their items so they can make a profit. That means even calculating in the difference between counter rates and our discounted rate. Cutting more off the profit end (when sellers already have to price low enough to compete) means cutting down margins further. No seller here can sell on the "Wal-mart" model that assumes you will move a truck load of an item every week. Those sellers who are selling a large amount of the same item, usually have free shipping already. This "ploy" by eBay is aimed at small sellers, not big sellers. They are baiting people to make the items cheaper because people are shopping elsewhere. Too many years the same old sellers here have overpriced their items like it was the wild west days of eBay. This is just another misguided decision by the management to try to drive more sales to bulk up their numbers for wallstreet. It will not benefit the average seller, it will cut their profit margins.

If the magic sauce was really just knocking a dollar or two off an items price, then BO option would drive the sales bigger than the shipping discount.

Part of the root causes of stagnant sales are:

1 Sellers over pricing products

2 People don't trust/like eBay

3 poor economy

4 lack of targeted advertising to drive people here to buy things OTHER than verticals.

A shipping discount will do nothing for sales. It is not really an attempt to get more sales for sellers. It's a weak attempt, throwing a dart at the board, in hopes of pumping the numbers for investors. I'm confident sellers would give buyers the discount IF they were not paying fees on shipping and sales taxes. As it stands if you did give the discount, a $10 label would cost YOU the seller $11.30 plus you still have to pay fees on taxes and pay for packaging. So you the seller would now lose 2-3 bucks on that sale that you would have otherwise had covered. Multiply that by 10 sales a month and it's 20-30 bucks a month, 240-360 a year lost.

dbfolks166mt

·2 years ago

@farmalljr I opted out when I received the message.

But that said, ebay has almost certainly done some math, and has presumably concluded (rightly or wrongly) that , while they will collect a smaller fee on the shipping due to the reduction in the shipping price, that reduction will be more than compensated for by increased sales velocity (more FVFs, and perhaps more PL fees as well).

For sellers, the questions become:

1. If I opt out, will I actually lose sales because too many of my competitors will be offering lower shipping rates? The answer will vary, because sellers are a varied lot.

2. If I allow myself to be opted in, will my sales increase at a rate that more than makes up for the revenue I will lose? Again, the answers will vary.

As for me, with what I sell, I do not think I will lose by opting out, and I do not believe my sales would increase enough (if at all) if I opted in.

Perhaps I'll change my mind after the change has gone into effect and I've had time to see the results. But for now, ebay hasn't convinced me that this will benefit me at all.

There are a couple of pieces to your points above the first being whether or not it will have a +/- effect on your sales. The second is what the impact will/would be with regards to your ROI or bottom line if you do not offset the revenue loss by some action like adding handling costs or raising your prices.

It's the same considerations sellers had to take into account when eBay started the whole promoted listing sham.

thenewhopeworldbazaar

·2 years ago

182 View listings

I believe that the real concern here is whether or not Ebay will quietly throttle you if you choose to opt out. They are in a total position to do so and they will never be honest. Even if you get through to one of their overseas customer service reps you will hear a repeated script hinged on denial. There is no reason so force sellers to pass on any kind of savings when it is already an option to do so. If this was a government taking this action people would be up in arms. Ebay is run by children. Most of them are left wing ideologues. This includes the greed mongers at the top. They have zero insight into who the sellers who make their company are. None. Sellers make the marketplace. Buyers are born into need and want because they are human. Humans will always experience want and need even without the marketplace. Sellers are the cure for that want and need and sellers make the marketplace, not buyers. Buyers will always be. That is the point.

ittybitnot

·2 years ago

18 View listings

There is no reason so force sellers to pass on any kind of savings when it is already an option to do so.

@thenewhopeworldbazaar

Still trying to figure it out. There is rarely a change made that does not involve some monetary gain for the platform. The only redeeming feature is that the users are at least being TOLD about it in advance, as opposed to waking up and finding your preferences set to YES after the fact, and producing the usual discussion as to whether some anomaly is a glitch, intended change, test, or a new feature.

my-cottage-books-and-antiques

·2 years ago

3657 View listings

@ittybitnot "Still trying to figure it out. There is rarely a change made that does not involve some monetary gain for the platform."

ebay is betting that lower shipping prices (admittedly, resulting in lower ebay fees per transaction) will nonetheless result in higher sales velocity, enough to more than offset the lower per transaction fee due to more transactions.

ebay might be right or wrong about this. It is a risk they are taking, but if they are right, and this increases overall sales ebay could finally see increases in GMV (which they have been promising stockholders) and increased revenue, but ONLY if the sales velocity increases at a sufficient rate.

My guess is, ebay has done the math, they have a pretty good idea of what they need to see in terms of sales velocity, and they are going to push to achieve that. Hopefully, this will not require them to remove the option entirely and force everyone into passing the savings to buyers. But we've already seen that trying to persuade sellers to make the change did not result in enough sellers making the change, so the auto opt in was the next step. I am hoping they don't follow it with requiring us to pass on the savings, but this is ebay, so that's still a very real possibility.

Only time will tell. In the meantime, I'll continue doing what I've been doing as far as shipping is concerned.

lotzofuniquegoodies

·2 years ago

@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:
@ittybitnot "Still trying to figure it out. There is rarely a change made that does not involve some monetary gain for the platform."

ebay is betting that lower shipping prices (admittedly, resulting in lower ebay fees per transaction) will nonetheless result in higher sales velocity, enough to more than offset the lower per transaction fee due to more transactions.

ebay might be right or wrong about this. It is a risk they are taking, but if they are right, and this increases overall sales ebay could finally see increases in GMV (which they have been promising stockholders) and increased revenue, but ONLY if the sales velocity increases at a sufficient rate.

My guess is, ebay has done the math, they have a pretty good idea of what they need to see in terms of sales velocity, and they are going to push to achieve that. Hopefully, this will not require them to remove the option entirely and force everyone into passing the savings to buyers. But we've already seen that trying to persuade sellers to make the change did not result in enough sellers making the change, so the auto opt in was the next step. I am hoping they don't follow it with requiring us to pass on the savings, but this is ebay, so that's still a very real possibility.

Only time will tell. In the meantime, I'll continue doing what I've been doing as far as shipping is concerned.

@my-cottage-books-and-antiques

@ittybitnot

Unsure if eBay considers this a moot point but not every seller uses eBay labels to ship. Sellers may have better or worse shipping discounts that they prefer to use that work better for them. Then you can throw in situations where sellers have received revised charges after being paid for a label. There is no way to recover any upcharge after the fact. In Canada we have floating fuel surcharges which make flat rate shipping extremely messy.

-Lotz

kelekt

·2 years ago

736 View listings

"Sellers make the marketplace. Buyers are born into need and want because they are human. Humans will always experience want and need even without the marketplace. Sellers are the cure for that want and need and sellers make the marketplace, not buyers. Buyers will always be. That is the point."

well said!

chapeau-noir

·2 years ago

Klaatu barada nikto6593 View listings

@farmalljr wrote:
What irks me about it is, if eBay is JUST a platform for buyers and sellers, WHY are they changing your seller settings at all? As the OP points out, they COULD just send a "improve your listings" email and point out the benefits and HOW to change the settings.

Except anyone who has been here long enough selling realizes eBay is NOT just a platform for buyers and sellers to meet. eBay tells sellers how they are going to sell and makes changes to seller setting and listings WITHOUT sellers asking for it. eBay is constantly manipulating sales, terms, and all sorts of things their fingers have no business in. eBay is skirting lawsuits by playing the "we are only a platform" card. They are NOT just a meeting platform, they are controlling sellers and sales. At some point this will all come to a head, and eBay will no longer be able to hide behind their touted, old tired line. They will be like Amazon an be responsible for all the stuff they are doing.

This whole thing just honks me off. They want sellers to give buyers the discount, but they are not dropping the FEES on the shipping now, are they? They expect sellers to take another loss for the sake of making more sales to boost their own numbers. I hope sellers in mass tell eBay where to pack it, and tell them WHY they are not going to participate in that bull puckey.

I have ALWAYS charged buyers counter rates to pay the FEES and the packaging costs. What would make eBay think I would be willing to sell for even less? Is eBay so dumb not to think if sellers lower the shipping, they aren't going to just tack that back onto the price?

I buy a lot of stuff and have it shipped in. No one else is lowering their high costs of shipping. Neither will I. Neither will most sellers. Anyone who does is just allowing eBay to cut the seller's profit margins.

It has been stated (CEO Wenig) that we are vendors on a managed marketplace. Once people accept this, changes like this are easier to deal with, whether we like them or not. Fortunately, we can opt out.

farmalljr

·2 years ago

@chapeau-noir wrote:
@farmalljr wrote:
What irks me about it is, if eBay is JUST a platform for buyers and sellers, WHY are they changing your seller settings at all? As the OP points out, they COULD just send a "improve your listings" email and point out the benefits and HOW to change the settings.

Except anyone who has been here long enough selling realizes eBay is NOT just a platform for buyers and sellers to meet. eBay tells sellers how they are going to sell and makes changes to seller setting and listings WITHOUT sellers asking for it. eBay is constantly manipulating sales, terms, and all sorts of things their fingers have no business in. eBay is skirting lawsuits by playing the "we are only a platform" card. They are NOT just a meeting platform, they are controlling sellers and sales. At some point this will all come to a head, and eBay will no longer be able to hide behind their touted, old tired line. They will be like Amazon an be responsible for all the stuff they are doing.

This whole thing just honks me off. They want sellers to give buyers the discount, but they are not dropping the FEES on the shipping now, are they? They expect sellers to take another loss for the sake of making more sales to boost their own numbers. I hope sellers in mass tell eBay where to pack it, and tell them WHY they are not going to participate in that bull puckey.

I have ALWAYS charged buyers counter rates to pay the FEES and the packaging costs. What would make eBay think I would be willing to sell for even less? Is eBay so dumb not to think if sellers lower the shipping, they aren't going to just tack that back onto the price?

I buy a lot of stuff and have it shipped in. No one else is lowering their high costs of shipping. Neither will I. Neither will most sellers. Anyone who does is just allowing eBay to cut the seller's profit margins.
It has been stated (CEO Wenig) that we are vendors on a managed marketplace. Once people accept this, changes like this are easier to deal with, whether we like them or not. Fortunately, we can opt out.

They state that, but we are not really vendors. Being a vendor would assume we pay for our "space" and follow general rules set forth by the platform. Not that the platform has any power over the actual policies we chose. We are not vendors here. Just like this example, eBay is changing your policies, when a landlord or a platform provider has no place running your business FOR you. An employer tells an employee what to do. eBay is telling sellers what to do. They are requiring YOU to take action to do something that you already had set a long time ago. I did not hire eBay to manage my business. I did not ask them to or give them express permission to manage my business.

And yes, we can opt out. I did immediately.

chapeau-noir

·2 years ago

Klaatu barada nikto6593 View listings

@farmalljr wrote:
@chapeau-noir wrote:
@farmalljr wrote:
What irks me about it is, if eBay is JUST a platform for buyers and sellers, WHY are they changing your seller settings at all? As the OP points out, they COULD just send a "improve your listings" email and point out the benefits and HOW to change the settings.

Except anyone who has been here long enough selling realizes eBay is NOT just a platform for buyers and sellers to meet. eBay tells sellers how they are going to sell and makes changes to seller setting and listings WITHOUT sellers asking for it. eBay is constantly manipulating sales, terms, and all sorts of things their fingers have no business in. eBay is skirting lawsuits by playing the "we are only a platform" card. They are NOT just a meeting platform, they are controlling sellers and sales. At some point this will all come to a head, and eBay will no longer be able to hide behind their touted, old tired line. They will be like Amazon an be responsible for all the stuff they are doing.

This whole thing just honks me off. They want sellers to give buyers the discount, but they are not dropping the FEES on the shipping now, are they? They expect sellers to take another loss for the sake of making more sales to boost their own numbers. I hope sellers in mass tell eBay where to pack it, and tell them WHY they are not going to participate in that bull puckey.

I have ALWAYS charged buyers counter rates to pay the FEES and the packaging costs. What would make eBay think I would be willing to sell for even less? Is eBay so dumb not to think if sellers lower the shipping, they aren't going to just tack that back onto the price?

I buy a lot of stuff and have it shipped in. No one else is lowering their high costs of shipping. Neither will I. Neither will most sellers. Anyone who does is just allowing eBay to cut the seller's profit margins.
It has been stated (CEO Wenig) that we are vendors on a managed marketplace. Once people accept this, changes like this are easier to deal with, whether we like them or not. Fortunately, we can opt out.
They state that, but we are not really vendors. Being a vendor would assume we pay for our "space" and follow general rules set forth by the platform. Not that the platform has any power over the actual policies we chose. We are not vendors here. Just like this example, eBay is changing your policies, when a landlord or a platform provider has no place running your business FOR you. An employer tells an employee what to do. eBay is telling sellers what to do. They are requiring YOU to take action to do something that you already had set a long time ago. I did not hire eBay to manage my business. I did not ask them to or give them express permission to manage my business.

And yes, we can opt out. I did immediately.

Our marketplace is managed - that was his point - and not by us. Wenig was basically putting us in our 'place' but at least he was being honest by refuting the myth that somehow eBay was 'only a venue' - it hasn't been 'only a venue' for years - eBay basically sets the rules for how a lot of us run these businesses. A lot of the angst about the existence of these changes (the changes themselves can have their own problems and frustrations - yes, this one was pretty stupid IMHO) can be eliminated by that realization because I think a lot of sellers somehow think that these issues should be in our own hands - they are not and haven't been for a long time. It's virtually impossible to have a multinational marketplace of many millions be 'only a venue', particularly when it's going in an asset-heavy direction. A 'vendor' can mean anything, not necessarily anyone self-employed.

We need to get away from the very old concept that we each have our own little independent booth in some gigantic flea - we don't.

I'm just trying to save people some stomach lining here.

dbfolks166mt

·2 years ago

Our marketplace is managed - that was his point - and not by us. Wenig was basically putting us in our 'place' but at least he was being honest by refuting the myth that somehow eBay was 'only a venue' - it hasn't been 'only a venue' for years - eBay basically sets the rules for how a lot of us run these businesses. A lot of the angst about the existence of these changes (the changes themselves can have their own problems and frustrations - yes, this one was pretty stupid IMHO) can be eliminated by that realization because I think a lot of sellers somehow think that these issues should be in our own hands - they are not and haven't been for a long time. It's virtually impossible to have a multinational marketplace of many millions be 'only a venue', particularly when it's going in an asset-heavy direction. A 'vendor' can mean anything, not necessarily anyone self-employed.

We need to get away from the very old concept that we each have our own little independent booth in some gigantic flea - we don't.

Wenig can state what he wants but eBay has always been a venue and always will be a venue unless a serious change is made and eBay crosses the line line into an employer/employee relationship which would have MAJOR implications for eBay as well as the sellers. The site may be "managed" but it is managed by the policies eBay is NOT managing the sellers.

EBay provides a link between sellers and buyers nothing more. EBay sells NOTHING directly they simply manage the venue/platform.

chapeau-noir

·2 years ago

Klaatu barada nikto6593 View listings

@dbfolks166mt wrote:
Our marketplace is managed - that was his point - and not by us. Wenig was basically putting us in our 'place' but at least he was being honest by refuting the myth that somehow eBay was 'only a venue' - it hasn't been 'only a venue' for years - eBay basically sets the rules for how a lot of us run these businesses. A lot of the angst about the existence of these changes (the changes themselves can have their own problems and frustrations - yes, this one was pretty stupid IMHO) can be eliminated by that realization because I think a lot of sellers somehow think that these issues should be in our own hands - they are not and haven't been for a long time. It's virtually impossible to have a multinational marketplace of many millions be 'only a venue', particularly when it's going in an asset-heavy direction. A 'vendor' can mean anything, not necessarily anyone self-employed.

We need to get away from the very old concept that we each have our own little independent booth in some gigantic flea - we don't.

Wenig can state what he wants but eBay has always been a venue and always will be a venue unless a serious change is made and eBay crosses the line line into an employer/employee relationship which would have MAJOR implications for eBay as well as the sellers. The site may be "managed" but it is managed by the policies eBay is NOT managing the sellers.
EBay provides a link between sellers and buyers nothing more. EBay sells NOTHING directly they simply manage the venue/platform.

So, you get my point. "Managed marketplace" is managing policies - those policies directly affect the sellers - 'vendors on a managed marketplace'. And they are selling something - bandwidth, internet services and administration. We sign a TOS accepting the terms on which we can operate here and use these services.

dbfolks166mt

·2 years ago

@dbfolks166mt wrote:
Our marketplace is managed - that was his point - and not by us. Wenig was basically putting us in our 'place' but at least he was being honest by refuting the myth that somehow eBay was 'only a venue' - it hasn't been 'only a venue' for years - eBay basically sets the rules for how a lot of us run these businesses. A lot of the angst about the existence of these changes (the changes themselves can have their own problems and frustrations - yes, this one was pretty stupid IMHO) can be eliminated by that realization because I think a lot of sellers somehow think that these issues should be in our own hands - they are not and haven't been for a long time. It's virtually impossible to have a multinational marketplace of many millions be 'only a venue', particularly when it's going in an asset-heavy direction. A 'vendor' can mean anything, not necessarily anyone self-employed.

We need to get away from the very old concept that we each have our own little independent booth in some gigantic flea - we don't.

Wenig can state what he wants but eBay has always been a venue and always will be a venue unless a serious change is made and eBay crosses the line line into an employer/employee relationship which would have MAJOR implications for eBay as well as the sellers. The site may be "managed" but it is managed by the policies eBay is NOT managing the sellers.
EBay provides a link between sellers and buyers nothing more. EBay sells NOTHING directly they simply manage the venue/platform.

So, you get my point. "Managed marketplace" is managing policies - those policies directly affect the sellers - 'vendors on a managed marketplace'. And they are selling something - bandwidth, internet services and administration. We sign a TOS accepting the terms on which we can operate here and use these services.

EBay is still nothing more than a venue. They manage the venue and their segment/piece of the marketplace for their site, and their site only. They are a FAR cry from managing the ecommerce marketplace. While their policies may affect the sellers and buyers they manage neither. The only part of what they "manage" in their piece of the marketplace is what is directly under their control and that is neither the sellers or the buyers. There is a contractual relationship not an employee/employer one.

As far as selling anything the only thing that may qualify is stores and listings. If they were selling you bandwidth, internet services and administration those would be direct costs which they are not. It does not matter if there was/is only 1 active seller or 1 million sellers those sunk costs are not directly attributable or billable to the sellers. Neither is/are their facilities, employees, operating costs............

While they may attempt to manage the sellers with this change the simple fact is sellers will adapt and adjust either by opting out, adding handling charges or raising their prices to maintain their ROI. At least those sellers who are worried about such things.

farmalljr

·2 years ago

@chapeau-noir wrote:
@farmalljr wrote:
@chapeau-noir wrote:
@farmalljr wrote:
What irks me about it is, if eBay is JUST a platform for buyers and sellers, WHY are they changing your seller settings at all? As the OP points out, they COULD just send a "improve your listings" email and point out the benefits and HOW to change the settings.

Except anyone who has been here long enough selling realizes eBay is NOT just a platform for buyers and sellers to meet. eBay tells sellers how they are going to sell and makes changes to seller setting and listings WITHOUT sellers asking for it. eBay is constantly manipulating sales, terms, and all sorts of things their fingers have no business in. eBay is skirting lawsuits by playing the "we are only a platform" card. They are NOT just a meeting platform, they are controlling sellers and sales. At some point this will all come to a head, and eBay will no longer be able to hide behind their touted, old tired line. They will be like Amazon an be responsible for all the stuff they are doing.

This whole thing just honks me off. They want sellers to give buyers the discount, but they are not dropping the FEES on the shipping now, are they? They expect sellers to take another loss for the sake of making more sales to boost their own numbers. I hope sellers in mass tell eBay where to pack it, and tell them WHY they are not going to participate in that bull puckey.

I have ALWAYS charged buyers counter rates to pay the FEES and the packaging costs. What would make eBay think I would be willing to sell for even less? Is eBay so dumb not to think if sellers lower the shipping, they aren't going to just tack that back onto the price?

I buy a lot of stuff and have it shipped in. No one else is lowering their high costs of shipping. Neither will I. Neither will most sellers. Anyone who does is just allowing eBay to cut the seller's profit margins.
It has been stated (CEO Wenig) that we are vendors on a managed marketplace. Once people accept this, changes like this are easier to deal with, whether we like them or not. Fortunately, we can opt out.
They state that, but we are not really vendors. Being a vendor would assume we pay for our "space" and follow general rules set forth by the platform. Not that the platform has any power over the actual policies we chose. We are not vendors here. Just like this example, eBay is changing your policies, when a landlord or a platform provider has no place running your business FOR you. An employer tells an employee what to do. eBay is telling sellers what to do. They are requiring YOU to take action to do something that you already had set a long time ago. I did not hire eBay to manage my business. I did not ask them to or give them express permission to manage my business.

And yes, we can opt out. I did immediately.
Our marketplace is managed - that was his point - and not by us. Wenig was basically putting us in our 'place' but at least he was being honest by refuting the myth that somehow eBay was 'only a venue' - it hasn't been 'only a venue' for years - eBay basically sets the rules for how a lot of us run these businesses. A lot of the angst about the existence of these changes (the changes themselves can have their own problems and frustrations - yes, this one was pretty stupid IMHO) can be eliminated by that realization because I think a lot of sellers somehow think that these issues should be in our own hands - they are not and haven't been for a long time. It's virtually impossible to have a multinational marketplace of many millions be 'only a venue', particularly when it's going in an asset-heavy direction. A 'vendor' can mean anything, not necessarily anyone self-employed.

We need to get away from the very old concept that we each have our own little independent booth in some gigantic flea - we don't.

I'm just trying to save people some stomach lining here.

Yes, but the part you are leaving OUT is that every time eBay is in trouble with the law, they are telling them that THEY ARE JUST A VENUE. That is my point here, that eBay is controlling the aspects and terms of all the sales. In this instance, sellers who have previously chose NOT to give buyers the discount, are now being told they HAVE to give the discount, unless the seller JUMPS through more hoops, giving PERSONAL information to opt out.

And by that I mean, you have to give your full name, and email address as well as provide a reason you are opting out. And even though they will not openly admit it, those of us who opt out, will be sanctioned and our traffic sliced some more. I did not have to provide ANY of that before when I chose the setting in my seller settings. There will be punishment for telling eBay "NO". You will either lose profit margins or you will lose traffic and sales. It's a lose - lose for sellers.

dhbookds

·2 years ago

1700 View listings

your full name, and email address as well as provide a reason

ebay has all that.........and the reason was optional.......

farmalljr

·2 years ago