All good things come 2 an end

[cashmere99]

Prediction: sellers mass exodus 2020

[u_cant_take_it_with_u]

I don't know about the "exodus" part, but there will be more and more accounts going dormant,  of both buyers and sellers. Many members will be playing the wait-and-see game,  hoping things improve on ebay. My seller account is one of those.

[kathieskorner]

The number of sellers is a meaningless number - I am one seller with four accounts up from two accounts in January 2018 when I closed my ebay stores.  Over the course of 2020 I plan to stop selling on three of my accounts before I am forced into managed payments - GTC is bad enough.  

Since eBay counts as an active seller anyone that has sold something within the last 12 months - their number of sellers becomes even more meaningless.   Even  GMV  which doesn't include returns (an increasing problem for sellers) isn't giving a true picture of what is going on with eBay.  

Since my return from my annual two week break - I have sold exactly two books from 620 listngs (60 of which haven't been listed before) in 10 days - three of my

accounts (all of which sell different types of items) have no sales at all.  Last year I had 22 sales over all four accounts for the same 10 day period with fewer listings.  

2020 is off to a dismal start - the same way 2019 ended.  

[golfingaddict]

I've been an active seller since 1998 and a community participant from the start.  We used to have a discussion board called the Q and A and it was a fast moving, scrolling chat and the page would turn over in a matter of minutes.  Lots of chat, many posters, etc...

Everyday there would be sellers that would come in and claim "ebay is dead"  "Is it over?"  "what happened to sales"  and frequently sellers would predict the demise of ebay.

I always chuckle when I see posts today with those same predictions.

While I do admit that selling on ebay is quite a bit different than it was back then, I can only say that it is different.

ah.. the good old days.  Skippy Bucks, Pierre telling stores, feedback wars on the chat boards

And ebay crashes every Sunday night, listings with no or very bad photos, sending checks in the mail, sending payments to ebay to pay your invoice....

Things have changed. Sellers are still selling, ebay is not dead...

[u_cant_take_it_with_u]

"Meaningless"? That's like saying the number of people killed in auto accidents in 2019 is meaningless.  It's not so meaningless, if you happen to be one them. 😉

[hioctane62]

One thing that will affect how many sellers close up shop and leave... whether or not eBay offers a way for sellers to pay for their shipping charges out of mangled payment funds. If sellers have to "front" the shipping charges, then wait a week or more to get paid, then a MUCH larger number of sellers will close up here and leave. There are just too many options out there to play under eBay's forced hand any longer.

[laurabeardsley]

What I can say is that there is something really wrong here. I sell on other sites now and every day I am getting multiple emails asking questions, making offers and sales where as here hardly anything. The items I sell are the same type of thing on all sites. So at least I know people are seeing my items and there is plenty of interest in them. So I have to conclude that here on Ebay either my items are not being seen or buyers have left this site except for the scammers. Also between the 3 other sites I sell on I have not had 1 problem with returns or scamming.Draw your own conclusions.

[papermoneyforme]

What is eBay's definition of an active user, buyer, or seller?

[mcdougle4248]

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@hioctane62 wrote:

One thing that will affect how many sellers close up shop and leave... whether or not eBay offers a way for sellers to pay for their shipping charges out of mangled payment funds. If sellers have to "front" the shipping charges, then wait a week or more to get paid, then a MUCH larger number of sellers will close up here and leave. There are just too many options out there to play under eBay's forced hand any longer.

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I am in MP and an announcement was made last month that there would be an option coming this year to have shipping charges deducted from payments.

[hioctane62]

Was that an exclusive announcement made only to people in managed payments? And is it only if you CHARGE shipping... or even if you offer free shipping?

[cashmere99]

Most of ebays 2019 profits r from new fees. GMV is in red for the first time ever, & will continue 2 landslide in 2020. 

[myboardid]

golfingaddict - I believe you and I met in person on a trip we both made to San Jose in June of 2001, back when the eBay of old cared about what users thought about their policies & problems. 

[mam98031]

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@cashmere99 wrote:

Most of ebays 2019 profits r from new fees. GMV is in red for the first time ever, & will continue 2 landslide in 2020. 

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My post said nothing about any of that.  GMV is down for 2019, I'm not sure what you mean my "in the red", but it is absolutely down.  That however doesn't mean there is a mass exodus or that Ebay is coming to an end.  But it does mean there is work to be done and Ebay has some serious issues to work out.

Every now and again, typically when Ebay makes a change that many buyers don't like, the threads come alive with those that post Ebay is going bankrupt or some other serious claim that they can't support with facts.  I've been here a long time and it happens off and on throughout any year you might go back and research.  It is nothing new to the threads for better than a decade now.  So 10+ years.  Either it is a very very very slow demise or it is smoke and mirrors by those that claim and/or support such claims.

[mcdougle4248]

@hioctane62 

As far as I know, the email only went out to those in MP.  Here is the snip from the email regarding shipping charges:

[kathieskorner]

This was discussed several months ago - activity within the past 12 months.  

[mam98031]

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@papermoneyforme wrote:

What is eBay's definition of an active user, buyer, or seller?

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@papermoneyforme 

It depends on the site you get the information from.  Some are active within the past 90 days from when they posted the stats, some is 6 months.  You can Google the information and review it for yourself for details.