Are small sellers going to survive these changes?

[tweetystwades]

I'm getting sick already, thinking I'm not. 

[luvs-shelley]

There seems to be widespread burn out on eBay.

[jason_incognito]

so let's say I have a pair of waterford wine glasses and I think Waterford is the right category for them, but eBay can move them without my consent to the wine glass category?

What if I have a signed copy of a book and I put it in books, but ebay decides it belongs in autographs? Or what if I have a signed book and the value of that book is $1, but the signature is worth alot so I put it in autographs and they decide to move it to books?

[tweetystwades]

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@jason_incognito wrote:

so let's say I have a pair of waterford wine glasses and I think Waterford is the right category for them, but eBay can move them without my consent to the wine glass category?

What if I have a signed copy of a book and I put it in books, but ebay decides it belongs in autographs? Or what if I have a signed book and the value of that book is $1, but the signature is worth alot so I put it in autographs and they decide to move it to books?

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Call me stupid if you'd like or please correct me. Does it matter what category they move it to? It's still Waterford Crystal and the book is still an autographed copy. You choose the price.  What real difference will it make. Take it easy on me please ; )

[buyselljack2016]

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@tweetystwades wrote:

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@jason_incognito wrote:

so let's say I have a pair of waterford wine glasses and I think Waterford is the right category for them, but eBay can move them without my consent to the wine glass category?

What if I have a signed copy of a book and I put it in books, but ebay decides it belongs in autographs? Or what if I have a signed book and the value of that book is $1, but the signature is worth alot so I put it in autographs and they decide to move it to books?

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Call me stupid if you'd like or please correct me. Does it matter what category they move it to? It's still Waterford Crystal and the book is still an autographed copy. You choose the price.  What real difference will it make. Take it easy on me please ; )

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Seems that some "search" by category. I don't, but apparently some do. Maybe to narrow he search???

[n2knowledge]

The narrow categories are needed - for the books at least - If I am looking for autographs - I would tend to only select the appropriate category (sports memorialia, entertainment etc. ) that would weed out hundreds maybe thousands of listings unrelated - I would not select books, or all catagories - TOO MANY unrelated things.  I can see how this will only make searching harder - especially if Ebay "helps" by selecting YOUR items for you!

[ittybitnot]

Survival of the fittest. If a seller isn't confident in their items or business strategy, then they won't.

Unfortunately,  the "fittest" has a whole different meaning on ebay... a seller that sells 10000 items for 50 cents has a better chance of survival than the on that sells five items that total 50K$...    I am very confident in my items.  They sell very well, and I get good prices.  Just not HERE.  

[jason_incognito]

ebay uses the category as part of the search parameters.

let's say my title is just wine glasses, but they are in the waterford category.

Waterford wine glasses would show my item. If they were in the wine glass category, they would not come back on a search of waterford.

Sometimes I want vintage, but that can be hard to filter for. If I look in pottery and glass I get a good cross section of actual vintage glassware as opposed to modern "vintage" style.

For a category like "wine glasses" It is just so clogged with junk that it's useless. At least with a category like Waterford there isn't much room to throw in other stuff there.

What if I want vintage silverware? Look in the category for sliver plate and you get good hits of actial vintage silverware.

[grayirongolf]

It's a case of divide-and-conquer. Now, lets play big-bank-take-little-bank.

[tweetystwades]

Thank you, now I understand.  I honestly never use categories when I search, I just use the search bar. 

That might be because I'm a seller and know they are a little screwed up.

[jason_incognito]

"little" is an understatement.

[tweetystwades]

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@jason_incognito wrote:

"little" is an understatement.

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I know, but I said "a little" because I didn't want to sound too negative.  We all know the truth and that's what counts. 

[slippinjimmy]

I'm a "small" seller (yearly sales in lower 5 figures).

I've spent about 20 minutes reading the Summer Update.

I don't see ANYTHING that will have any sort of effect on how I operate, I don't see ANYTHING that gives me concerns.

I DO see a few relatively minor things which I feel will be good for the site overall.

Most important to me......NO fee increases and NOTHING I need to do to be in full compliance.

Maybe I'm missing something?

[keziak]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

Are small sellers going to survive these changes?

That question has been asked here every time eBay makes a change.

Most of them will survive, and they generally do not post about it here.

Some will not survive, and will post about it here.

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It would be fascinating to see stats on this. Are a lot of current small sellers long-timers? Or is there a constant flux of sellers leaving and newbies taking their place? What is the lifespan of an ebay business?

I've been around a long time, too stubborn or stupid to leave I guess. I make my income elsewhere. Ebay used to be a strong second site for me but lately not so much, and I keep many more items listed than ever in the past.

One difference between "then" and "now" is the death of combined orders.  I used to have people go on shopping sprees all the time. Also the death of international sales but that is more a Postal thing than ebay. But it goes to the decline in overall sales when I used to sell internationally a lot and now....hardly ever.

[tweetystwades]

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@slippinjimmy wrote:

I'm a "small" seller (yearly sales in lower 5 figures).

I've spent about 20 minutes reading the Summer Update.

I don't see ANYTHING that will have any sort of effect on how I operate, I don't see ANYTHING that gives me concerns.

I DO see a few relatively minor things which I feel will be good for the site overall.

Most important to me......NO fee increases and NOTHING I need to do to be in full compliance.

Maybe I'm missing something?

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Thanks for that, I feel a little better.  I do need to add, I sell mostly clothing and can not offer free returns. So I will lose my TR+ status : (

[castlemagicmemories]

That was the old Spring Update, here is the new Summer Update:

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/seller-updates/2018-summer/

Returns Policy:

Enhanced automation for a faster returns experience

Starting July 2018, we will automate two steps in the returns process for buyers and sellers. The changes will save up to a week of processing time for you and your buyer.

We are increasing automation to save you time and give you quicker access to funds on hold. It also delivers a streamlined returns experience for buyers by providing them immediate access to return labels and faster refunds. There are two changes to the returns process:

1. We are expanding our returns automation and may immediately accept a return request by providing a return shipping label to a buyer when you receive a return request.
2. You will have two business days to review a returned item and issue a refund. If no action is taken, eBay may automatically issue a refund on your behalf two business days after the tracking number shows a confirmed delivery status. At that time, we will close the return for you with no impact to your seller performance.

You can continue to control the efficiency of your returns process by creating rules in your Return Preferences to automatically approve returns or send immediate refunds without requiring the buyer to send the item back.

• Overview
• FAQs

Streamlined returns policies

In our 2018 Spring Seller Update, we announced that we are streamlining our returns policy options to deliver a returns experience that is consistent and competitive with the changing marketplace.

Starting in August 2018, listings that you have not updated to one of the new returns policy options, including Good ‘Til Cancelled, will automatically be updated for you.

Certain product categories have unique retail standards and sellers of those products will be able to offer variations on the updated returns policy options. Categories that will continue to have the option to offer 14-day returns include Collectibles & Art, Cameras & Photo and Medical, Mobility & Disability Equipment.

• Overview
• FAQs

Partial refunds

As we announced in our 2018 Spring Seller Update, when you offer free returns, you can decide to issue partial refunds to buyers when the item is returned in an altered condition. We have created a new Condition of Return Policy to educate buyers that the returned item must be in the same condition in which it was received.

If you do not offer free returns, you will still be able to issue a partial refund for items returned in an altered condition in select categories including Business & Industrial, Parts & Accessories, Collectibles & Art, Cameras & Photo, Medical, Mobility & Disability Equipment, Home Improvement, Furniture, Musical Instruments & Gear, and Yard, Garden & Outdoor.

• Overview
• FAQs

International returns policy

Starting late May 2018, you will have the flexibility to set separate return policies for your international transactions by updating your return options when you create or update a listing. For example, you can choose to offer free returns domestically, and in the same listing, offer paid returns to international buyers.

We will only update your international returns policy to match your domestic returns policy if you accept buyer-paid returns.

If you do not accept returns, we will not set a returns policy for international returns. If you offer free domestic returns, we will not change your international returns policy to include free returns. You can set a separate returns policy for international returns yourself.