eBay

mik441 · ‎04-06-2016

I had returned to selling again to find such a big surprize increase in costs and fee's from just a few short years back

Also I understand without Buyers we cant sell, But I see where sellers are not being taken care of as well as

a few years back . I am starting to think the small seller is being drove out of using Ebay with higher fees from

selling to recieving payments , If you have trouble with a buyer who wins your listing and does not pay there is

no way to warn other seller's the feedback system is a problem and a joke for a seller . If a Buyer earned a Neg he should

recieve one so others can judge for themselfes or there should be a buyer rating system for only sellers to view when

dealing with some people. I have seen nothing to help sellers warn other sellers we need more protection . the return

system should also not be what is starting to looking like almost a lifelong return agreement which is going to hurt a lot of markets.

I can see now where others are looking at other areas to sell. I have been with ebay for many years but I have to say

being a small seller here is just about not worth it any more. Thats just my thoughts and it just may be me just wanted

got get that off my chest. mike

the-word-became-flesh · ‎04-06-2016

Ebay is unfair to sellers. Without us there wouldn't be an ebay. We all need to come together and fight to make some changes.

ascj9173 · ‎04-06-2016

I totally agree. I don't sell enough to be a store, but I've enjoyed selling a few things

over the years. Then 6-8 weeks ago everything changed - no more free listing

days, and no more 50 free listings every month. I am not happy at all about this.

I am disabled and retired, and this was a little extra money for me along the

way selling a large library of books. But without a few free perks, I cannot

afford to pay 30 cents + for every single listing.

rw011164 · ‎04-06-2016

Selling on EBay certainly has changed over the years. I think that is expected. Most businesses which do not change over time do not survive. Fees have gone up, but the rates are up front so you can calculate them into your pricing structure. There are no real surprises there. I cannot think of too many businesses which haven't experienced pricing increases over the last several years.

Regarding leaving negatives for buyers, that was never a good idea. It never worked well to air that kind of business for all to see. EBay now has tools in place so that sellers can open UPI (Unpaid Item) cases against buyers who do not pay. Once that case closes out then the buyer receives a strike on their account. No one can see that strike, but you can block buyers with 2 or more strikes on their account and the system will auto block them for you.

Also if you are experiencing a high rate of non paying buyers you can list at fixed price and require immediate payment. That way your item remains available until paid for.

Welcome back to selling on EBay. My best wishes to you succeeding as a returning seller here. It is wise to familiarize yourself with the ever changing culture here, but I would suggest you keep an open mind and see many of the changes here as improvements to teh marketplace. The healthier the marketplace, the more it will attract new buyers and new buyers benefit all sellers on EBay.

@mik441 wrote:
I had returned to selling again to find such a big surprize increase in costs and fee's from just a few short years back
Also I understand without Buyers we cant sell, But I see where sellers are not being taken care of as well as
a few years back . I am starting to think the small seller is being drove out of using Ebay with higher fees from
selling to recieving payments , If you have trouble with a buyer who wins your listing and does not pay there is
no way to warn other seller's the feedback system is a problem and a joke for a seller . If a Buyer earned a Neg he should
recieve one so others can judge for themselfes or there should be a buyer rating system for only sellers to view when
dealing with some people. I have seen nothing to help sellers warn other sellers we need more protection . the return
system should also not be what is starting to looking like almost a lifelong return agreement which is going to hurt a lot of markets.
I can see now where others are looking at other areas to sell. I have been with ebay for many years but I have to say
being a small seller here is just about not worth it any more. Thats just my thoughts and it just may be me just wanted
got get that off my chest. mike

deleo713 · ‎04-06-2016

it Looks like fees are going up is this true ? And $12 a mo. just to be a basic seller ? I don't understand whats happening in May? I'm really confused.

tltripp · ‎04-06-2016

I too agree with the costs of selling on ebay. However saying that I am more concerned of non payers that are not punished as in a fine for non payment. The fine should be upfront to buyer to know that this is the cost of Buying something and not honoring your agreement.

When you bounce a check you get a fee for failure to pay. When you dont pay a credit card payment on time you get a late fee. These are given fees that are stated up front and part of the business.

So for 1st offense it should be a fine and noted failure to pay.

2nd offense should be a fine larger fine or equal to 1st fine and noted failure to pay. Also they should have a 30 day period that the nonpayment buyer cannot partictipate on ebay. Buying or Selling.

On the 3rd offense they should be banned from ebay for 1 year and have to meet certain qualifications to re-register as in moneys deposited for payment. Eskro etc.

I have had several occasions lately of Buyers buying and not paying or no intent to pay even after invoice / emails have been sent. Almost as if they are bidding to Block my item or take it out of competition for one reason or another. Only to cause me to play the waiting game and have to relist my item which could start this process all over again.

If a fine for non payment was involved they might think twice about bidding .

I have been very considerate to the timing of payment and have made exceptions to cases where the buyer has contacted me and agreed to pay at a later time. (Which I was not required to do)

I detest non paying buyers and block them after they non pay It does not give eBay validity or proper transactions..

I would agree to this as I am a Buyer as well as a Seller.

mik441 · ‎04-06-2016

Well we all have our thoughts but I do not see where you pay more and get less as " being an improvement " for who ? It does not bring in new sellers or keep sellers some may buy that I dont. So I am not hitting the " buy it now " on that. I think if you believe all that you are working for Ebay not with them.

rw011164 · ‎04-06-2016

@lol @ Working for eBay. I am pretty sure eBay would not want me working for them...there is much I do not agree with though I do see many of the newer changes as being positive steps forward.

Personally I find the increases nominal particularly with the increased free listings. There are not too many things in our business that have not gone up in cost- most substantially so. From supplies, to shipping costs, overhead, COGS. This nominal eBay increase especially with the allotment suits me just fine. I would prefer no increase, but I do completely understand it and will just work it into our costing formulations.

You will not likely find eBay employees responding on the boards much, but when you do there will be a blue border around their posts.

@mik441 wrote:
Well we all have our thoughts but I do not see where you pay more and get less as " being an improvement " for who ? It does not bring in new sellers or keep sellers some may buy that I dont. So I am not hitting the " buy it now " on that. I think if you believe all that you are working for Ebay not with them.

bargainbuyouts · ‎04-06-2016

Anchor Store fee going from $180.00 a month to $300 is not what most rational people consider "nominal". Its called a 66% hike. IN what alternate universe is that "nominal " ???

Not exactly in tune with the rise in the CPI. The fact that it includes more free listings is useless if you don't want to list 7000 more items a month.

It sure would be nice if instead eBay figured out how to get our sales up and make more on the increased sales volume from FVF. Increasing our costs even more ( they jumped FVF in housewares category 50% from 6 to 9 % couple years ago ) makes us even less competitive.

Would help also if eBay got us a REAL shipping discount from UPS and FEDEX to help us compete with Amazon corporate which ( according to their own annual corporate statement ) LOSES BILLIONS A YEAR ON SHIPPING !!

I negotiated a better rate from UPS than the supposed eBay discount. That tells me one of two things. eBay isn't trying very hard to get us good competitive rates. Or eBay is getting a good rate and is keeping most of the savings as another profit center for themselves while simultaneously charging final value fees on it to the seller.

All that would be fine if sales were booming and everyone was making money. But when long time sellers consistantly say sales have declined over the last few years ( ours have dropped about 60% while maintaining 100 % feeedback and perfect 5 DSRs) reaching into sellers pockets for even more I believe long term is eBay shooting themselves in the foot.

HELP US BE COMPETITIVE AND EVERYONE WILL BENEFIT. Driving up our costs doesn't accomplish that.

rw011164 · ‎04-06-2016

If one's determination that an anchor store offers the best benefit for their business, well that is a business decision. No-one forces a seller to have an anchor store. At the level we sell a premium store works best for us and yes, I see the additional costs as nominal which can be easily offset. I think there are many options and sellers are free to choose what works best for them. To have the highest increase for the highest level stores kind of makes sense to me, yes.

@bargainbuyouts wrote:
Anchor Store fee going from $180.00 a month to $300 is not what most rational people consider "nominal". Its called a 66% hike. IN what alternate universe is that "nominal " ???

Not exactly in tune with the rise in the CPI. The fact that it includes more free listings is useless if you don't want to list 7000 more items a month.

It sure would be nice if instead eBay figured out how to get our sales up and make more on the increased sales volume from FVF. Increasing our costs even more ( they jumped FVF in housewares category 50% from 6 to 9 % couple years ago ) makes us even less competitive.

Would help also if eBay got us a REAL shipping discount from UPS and FEDEX to help us compete with Amazon corporate which ( according to their own annual corporate statement ) LOSES BILLIONS A YEAR ON SHIPPING !!

I negotiated a better rate from UPS than the supposed eBay discount. That tells me one of two things. eBay isn't trying very hard to get us good competitive rates. Or eBay is getting a good rate and is keeping most of the savings as another profit center for themselves while simultaneously charging final value fees on it to the seller.

All that would be fine if sales were booming and everyone was making money. But when long time sellers consistantly say sales have declined over the last few years ( ours have dropped about 60% while maintaining 100 % feeedback and perfect 5 DSRs) reaching into sellers pockets for even more I believe long term is eBay shooting themselves in the foot.

HELP US BE COMPETITIVE AND EVERYONE WILL BENEFIT. Driving up our costs doesn't accomplish that.

riverexchange · ‎04-07-2016

Sorry but I agree with all the others on this one. eBay has gotten greedy and wants to only keep the big sellers and anchor stores around. I have already moved nearly all of my inventory over to Amazon.com as well as another up and coming auction site called Ebids.com. Oh.. and the fees are not straight up! What's with the double dipping on shipping costs. When we buy shipping labels through ebay it show's the discounted ebay member rate then on the back side they charge a shipping fee on all things shipped. I have yet to pinpoint an exact percentage or scale of what and how I am being charged by ebay over the course of all the charges. Monthly fee, listing fee, final evalutation fee, shipping discount fee. I bid you good day ebay. I will happily sell my unique inventory elsewhere. Soon enough you will see that without us you have nothing.

rw011164 · ‎04-08-2016

You, as well as any seller has to determine the best fit for their merchandise. EBay's fees are well spelled out, you may not like them, but there really should be no surprises. Regarding charging FVFs on shipping, that has been in effect for a long time and was in response to when sellers used to sell an item for $1 and charge $99 shipping. That created big problems for buyers, particularly and EBay had many complaints from buyers. Their response to address the problem (and it was a very big problem) was to charge FVFs on the total amount. You, as a seller shouuld build that percentage in to your total costing (allowing for the 10%).

Regarding EBay greed, well they are a Corporate entity which has to answer for it's product and create profit for it's shareholders. It has every right to capitalize and maximize it's profits- in fact it is their job to do so. You should be doing the same thing. EBay works for many sellers abd some, perhaps not. It is not greed so much as it is Capitalism. For us, it is a worthwhile venue which gains us exposure and marketshare.

It is up to every seller to determine if EBay works for their business model. Most folks report Amazon fees to be much higher so it is a big decision to make.

Sorry but I agree with all the others on this one. eBay has gotten greedy and wants to only keep the big sellers and anchor stores around. I have already moved nearly all of my inventory over to Amazon.com as well as another up and coming auction site called Ebids.com. Oh.. and the fees are not straight up! What's with the double dipping on shipping costs. When we buy shipping labels through ebay it show's the discounted ebay member rate then on the back side they charge a shipping fee on all things shipped. I have yet to pinpoint an exact percentage or scale of what and how I am being charged by ebay over the course of all the charges. Monthly fee, listing fee, final evalutation fee, shipping discount fee. I bid you good day ebay. I will happily sell my unique inventory elsewhere. Soon enough you will see that without us you have nothing.

Most folks report Amazon's fees being quite a bit higher, but if it is a better fit for your business then that is your business decision.

bozzzdad · ‎04-09-2016

Are we just banging our collective heads against a wall, or has Ebay taken notice and assigned someone to look into our complaints? I think not!

bargainbuyouts · ‎04-09-2016

Somehow I doubt if your rent, cable bill, etc went up 66% you'd consider it a "nominal" increase.

As for easily offset, pricing competition out there is rampant on any item that is sold by anyone else in the country with all the price checking sites out there.

IF sales on eBay were increasing, yes it would help offset the cost. But they are not, they have been declining. As someone who has been in business for myself for over 30 years I find your logic lacking.

rw011164 · ‎04-09-2016

Our costs have not increased even close to 66% and the nominal amount they have increased is still far less than the virtual "rent" we would pay elsewhere. If your costs have increased by that much then it would be time to consider whether this is a worthwhile venue.

I do not think there is any part of business that has not increased and the business model must be adjusted.

It does not matter to me how you find my logic and I am certainly not judging yours. It is simply a difference of opinion. The fact is there are sellers that do well on EBay and will continue to do well. They are generally sellers who can make proper adjustments in an ever changing marketplace. Selling online is always going to be challenging. It amounts to adaptability.

@bargainbuyouts wrote:
Somehow I doubt if your rent, cable bill, etc went up 66% you'd consider it a "nominal" increase.

As for easily offset, pricing competition out there is rampant on any item that is sold by anyone else in the country with all the price checking sites out there.

IF sales on eBay were increasing, yes it would help offset the cost. But they are not, they have been declining. As someone who has been in business for myself for over 30 years I find your logic lacking.