TRS discount going from 20% to 10% on May 1st

[z50com]

I WON'T DO IT

For 10% I will no longer jump thru the hoops

I'm going back to 3 day handling and paid shipping

I'm also raising my prices

I DON'T NEED THIS ANYMORE

http://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/blog/blog.pl?/comments///1488296012.html#

[candjsalesmn]

I am absolutely outraged by this change and this is by far the worst change in my opinion in the last 5 years. I work on eBay full time to make a living and I follow every rule strictly to get the 20% discount. I sell a min of $10,000k a month with believe it or not 100% feedback. I always used to 20% dicount as kind of a kick back or bonus for the month. By eBay cutting it down to 10% all they are doing is raising my costs. Not to mention that all the FVF are raising an addictional .15%. That may not seem like much but on 10k it's $20.00 more. So even if I do everything right and exactely the same as last year my cost's go up annually from this change $2200.00.

I don't belive this type of PUNISHMENT is fair. A lot of us small time sellers really need this. I do not believe their "promoted listings" or "Advertising" will change my sales one bit. Oh but I get a $30.00 credit every quarter instead for promoted listing which is a feature I DON'T EVEN USE!!!

[kennya1992]

Well at least now I don't have to worry about wasting time trying to maintain being a Top Rated Seller anymore.

[bostonsgarden]

Raise the fees & reduce the discounts but for me the most bogus & costly fees are the final value fees on shipping which even apply to freight shipping, Feebay has gotten so ridicously greedy

[bostonsgarden]

Most bogus & costly fees for me are the final value fees on shipping which even apply to freight shipping, Feebay has gotten so ridicously greedy

[monstertoybox]

Between the Shipping cost hike earlier this year and paying for Promoted Listings to be seen, now FVF hike and lowering the TRS discount by half?? That is quite a slap in the face. This doesn’t feel like they want us to grow our business, more like they want us to go out of business.

Reading through the posts it seems Ebay is going to get what they wanted, less Top Rated Sellers, but at what expense? Not only are the sellers hurting, I would think the buyers are going to suffer too with shorter return times and slower shipping, because it seems a lot of sellers want to give up on the Top Rated status since it won’t be worth it. Not to mention higher prices because sellers are going to have to try to make up for these costs, that will definitely not make buyers happy.

If we raise our prices to make up for all these changes the buyers won’t buy. We’re barely making any profit as it is. This really hurts. The $30 credit for promoted listings every quarter does not make up for the 10% loss of the TRS discount. 

[pine-tree-lodge]

when was the last time you saw an add fro eBay? ------------

the only time you really 'hear' about ebay - it's usually BAD -

it's more about where STOLEN items are sold (Super Ball missing jersey) -

eBay is DEAD -

eBay has become a punch-line in a JOKE

and this will be

the last nail in their coffin...  

[tammybiscuit]

Heather if you do sell on eBay do not believe anything customer service tells you...They just answer phones and it will always be the sellers fault...They lie and hang up and there is no accounting for what your told. Just lessons learned

[tammybiscuit]

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@*heather_lee* wrote:
Good grief! *WHY*, when I'm contemplating selling here, did *this* mess have to come along?!

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Heather if you do sell on eBay do not believe anything customer service tells you...They just answer phones and it will always be the sellers fault...They lie and hang up and there is no accounting for what your told. Just lessons learned

[authentic*vintage]

I closed my store today. Moving to another site after years and years...i didn't even know about this when I did it. Hey, good for me then. I'm over it. Too much Chinese garbage and East coast sellers have to jump through West coast time zone hoops to compete. Not worth it. We get snow and USPS can't pick up...guess what...3 more late shipment defects. I've had enough and finally just did it. I'll use the free listings if there are any but I am out of here end of March. Store will officially be closed March 1 at 12 a.m.

[last_stop_shop]

I don't feel that eBay should have to give you incentive to do your job well.

[smdking]

Before I start my response, I think I need to emphasize that I'm a small eBay-seller, so I wasn't even aware about this 20 to 10% discount.

OK,. now more diving into the matter.

I see eBay as a platform to sell items internationally. It's for me acceptable it comes at a certain cost. However, what I'm suprised about is the fact that eBay jumps from 20% to 10%. When I read the actual announcement, I can only find information about the changes eBay is planning. What I miss, is the reason "why".

If eBay would clarify the "why" to her sellers, to my opinion, you give sellers the freedom to decide if they can understand it, or prefer to leave / quit.

Maybe investors "demand" a higher ROI, maybe a raise in salary for eBay-employees, maybe increasing costs for infrastructure, maybe less advertisements, which means less earnings, while the whole organisation still need to be run, maybe,... well whatever.

You could say, sellers don't need to be informed about such thing. The thing is, a drop from 20% to 10% is quite drastical. I you fail to inform about why this step (20% to 10%) is taken, eBay forgot to get support / understanding for this action by its customers (read : sellers).

In fact, you open a gate  for rumours, angry response(s) and wild guesses.

If eBay would respond with a justification of this plan, a seller gets a better perspective about what is going on and is it acceptable or not for him / het personal

We have a saying here in the Netherlands (Europe), and freely translates to : "The system of squeeze and peep". It's roughly meaning : squeeze until you hear a peep (because it'll cost you too much). If you prefer to have a lean and mean organisation (money-driven), it might work. Sometimes it's better to think about a win-win situation : "Let's balance the earnings so everybody is happy". Such a system might result in people who are more positive about the organisation.

Without eBay informing the sellers of the reason why, I also get the idea, the 20% to 10%-plans are backed by "squeeze untill you hear a peep".

P.S. There's a fair chance there are some grammatical errors in above text. Please accept my apoligies for this, since I couldn't write this reply in my own language. I only do hope, you all get the essence of what I mean.

[usmc*usnmom]

The way I see it is, Ebay doesn't HAVE to offer a discount at all. They can easily and at any time take the whole thing away.

It's found money and should not be counted on for anything.

I'm actually surprised they didn't do away with the whole thing entirely, which was what I was expecting.

[retrose1]

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

@aprilmoviebuf2000 wrote " ...  An awful lot of buyers will be equally astounded at these changes (even if they are not aware of it if they are buyers only).  Increased handling times, and increased prices.  Ebay wants us to make buyers happy.  This is not going to make them happy, it will simply make them shop elsewhere."

______________________________________________________

I have been waiting for this comment to come out because I think it is extremely relavent.  This whole thing is all about money, lets not kid ourselves, eBay has the venue to make money, Sellers sell here to make money and if Buyers are happy they buy here.  The credo "enhance the Buying expereince" is partially tossed out the window by eliminating Seller incentive to meet the TRS Plus level and simply fall back to longer shipping times, etc.  I wish more Buyers would scream at Ebay that these changes are NOT enhancing their Buying experience and therefore should be recinded.

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Yes, ebay is here to make money.....BUT many people only see ebay as the venue they sell on.  Over the years ebay has changed to become a tech company, or so they say once in awhile.  And as a tech company, they are making money selling data.

And the data they are selling comes from clicks that come from the site.  ebay doesn't care about the buyer experience, they don't care about how fast sellers ship - they care about how long and how many times they can keep the buyer clicking around on the site so they can sell all the data they have gathered.

The venue is nothing more than survey that they are taking to sell the results of - to anyone willing to pay the money for.

[tedztoyzz]

YEP.....jump through there hoops and get dock 10 % !

Didn't the discount apply towards the whole auction when it first started ? Not just final value fee ?

This IS called instant profit for Ebay !

[retrose1]

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@z50com wrote:

Cheerleaders will be hard to find after May 1st, in fact we might become extinct. . .

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Ya know Z, I have been saying for years now that the foundation that ebay offers sellers to build their business on is quicksand and that as long as the sellers jump through the hoops that ebay sets out - ebay will keep setting them out.

So now, the fee increases do not effect me at all.  I never went after TRaSh, I don't print my shipping off ebay, I don't have a store - the upchuck has changed nothing for me.  It only effects the hoop jumpers - and ebay knows that some of you complainers will go right back to hoop jumping after a week or so.

But to be honest, it is very satisfying to me to watch you throw down your pompoms and in the back of my head say I told you so.