As a seller, Ebay is going downhill

[deerslayer2k2]

So sad Ebay is going downhill Fast. I sold a purse description used, took pictures of all parts of the purse. NO returns is an option and I chose it. I washed and hung up the purse before selling it. I get an email from buyer claiming it has black,yellow and sticky gross on it. She says I found a new one for a little more.  As you can see by all pictures this item is clean as can be. I call Ebay. Shania says sounds like buyers remorse. We are in your favor. Call back on Friday. I ask why, she says thats when I have to call back. Later that day I get an email stating they decided in buyers favor! ????? So I call and talk with a supervisor, Christy tells me she gave me wrong info and they will take care of it. Just to take a picture of the purse when I get it back and show it is still clean. I explain, I took great photos, NOT tampered with, Option is NO returns, and description is AS shown. I get the purse back. NO black, NO yellow, NO sticky. So I take pictures and call Ebay again! I get Trudy an appeals specialist. She tells me NO i dont need your pictures????? Huh? I can appeal but the buyer gets her money back. Maybe even return shipping!! I made 7.00 on a Vera Bradley purse. I paid 20 back to the buyer plus return shipping. And OH ebay is gonna keep the original fees. So a 5.00 profit turned into a 32.00 loss!!!!   These are there NEW policies she tells me! Why have an opition for NO returns then???    I think I will sell my stuff on another site! Good luck EBAY  I have been with them since they started pretty much. Without Sellers you have no BUYERS!!

[coolections]

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@deerslayer2k2 wrote:

So sad Ebay is going downhill Fast.

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People have been coming here for over 10 years now saying the same thing. Ebay stock is up 35% for this year so I would think it is not "going downhill fast" as you say.

[div_style]

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@ripcityresell wrote:
It's going downhill here too, except by going downhill, I mean it's gaining momentum and things are moving faster.

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I can barely keep up with orders some days.  As of this evening I have 68 items to ship tomorrow from my two stores.

[sweetpieces4you]

I DON'T AGREE !! Ebay has problems just like every other site that sells on the internet. You just may not know of the other sites problems because they aren't ADVERTISED !! I understand some sellers may be having difficulties selling their products but ARE YOUR PRODUCTS DESIRABLE ?? Are there many other of the same item listed ?? There could be many reasons you or others are having problems selling !! Some people seem to need to make a PROFIT of 100% on their items. Well sometimes you have to be willing to just BREAK EVEN on a few items and MAKE MONEY on the others !! And 100% profit is not a reasonable expectation. Make what you can and move on. EBAY is still a GREAT PLACE to SELL !! 

[luckythewinner]

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@deerslayer2k2 wrote:

Shania says 

Christy tells me 

Trudy tells me

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If you are discovering that eBay always rules in favor of buyers and that customer support won't tell you the truth, then I would suggest you arrived at the party about 10 years late. 

[robot-hands]

OP

...just think of how mad you would be if you had to spend your time dealing with 3-4 of those a month, every month for the last 20 years or so...and how you used to win them

and now you lose all of them, automatically

[spoke57]

How about everyone putting NO REFUNDS in there description . I m tired of ebays **bleep** also along with usps **bleep**.  What does alert mean when you put in tracking number. 

[uncseniorsportsfan]

Ebay is not a one-size-fits-all nor a static marketplace.   It's held up fairly well as online competition has increased and ecommerce has evolved.   I've never paid much attention to either views or watchers - just what's selling at any given time and what's not. 

The occasional return or damaged in shipment problems are part of the online selling beast where a buyer can't examine the item or carry it safely home.  While I have always listed a no return policy, I have never refused a return request.  As long as the item is returned in the same condition as when I sold it - it will usually sell again - often at a few bucks more to offset the return postage and paypal fee. 

Having had a brick and mortar store before I started selling on ebay - neither is a Sunday picnic - just a different set of problems to deal with.   If you can't roll with the punches - it's best to get out of the ring. 

[toff4l]

I know what you mean, I enjoyed selling on eBay with my 100% rating until I had two instances of buyers wanting to scam me.

Luckily the two items were not that expensive. 

I completely stopped selling on eBay as a result and really only use the site sparingly for unique purchases.

eBay was great circa 2003.  I honestly don't know what happened and why they tampered with that formula. 

[southern*sweet*tea]

Happy First Anniversary to this thread!

[themonitorman]

Good Lord!  A year?  Time passes so quickly.  I haven't looked at this thread in over 6 months.

Gratitude to everyone who took the time to respond and rebut on this topic.  The "Conclusion" for me, has been that I now sell my Items on a number of different venues outside of eBay, where I am selling about 40-50 Items per month.

I no longer list anything new on eBay, where I sell only 3 or 4 items per month.  Whatever is currently listed in my store, The Wizard's Hold, is all that's left.  When those One-Of-A-Kind items are gone, I will be gone from eBay as well.  I'm no longer making enough money here to pay for my Store subscription, which is only "Basic".

To all of you who remain as Sellers with eBay, I wish the best of luck.  Stay aware of eBay's constantly changing policies, and combat them when necessary.  Keep fighting for your rights as Sellers, and one day eBay might be as attractive a selling-venue as it once was, 10 years ago.

Thank you all for your helpful advice and encouragement over the years; so many great arguments, conversations, and memories!

Best Regards,

themonitorman

The Wizard's Hold

[mg152]

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@adkhighker wrote:

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@themonitorman wrote:

The situation is even worse than it appears.

I'm just a small store owner, so bear with me.

Last year (2017) I maintained around 50-60 Listings. Sold 15-20 Items per month, always had hundreds of Page Views at any given time; always had 30-40 Listings with Watchers at any given time.

This year so far, I've maintained around 100-120 Listings - double what I kept last year. However, my total Page Views at any time, barely adds up to 200, and I'm lucky to have more than 15 Listings with Watchers at any given time. Worst of all, I am only selling about 5 Items per month.

I haven't changed anything about the way I do business, or the way I list items. The items I have for sale still cover the same broad categories as last year, and are listed for the same realistic prices as last year.

To say "the bottom has dropped out" of eBay Sales, is the understatement of the year. How could eBay Management so horribly mess up what was once a great venue for Sellers AND Buyers?

At this point, I could almost do as well, by selling out of my garage, or at local flea markets (at less expense to me)!

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One way you could drastically increase the number of sales....and I am not at all trying to be snarky....is to try running some auctions instead of fixed price and start the auctions at a price low enough where anyone can jump in. I know that low start auctions aren't for everyone, but that's the way I sell almost all of my stuff on ebay and it's worked out well for me for over 18 years here. Yes, it's risky, but in the long run I end up doing better that way than how I could do by fixed price, and virtually everything sells because it's the buyers who are setting the final price, not me. I realize that what works for me might not work for someone else, but it's just a suggestion.

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I have auctions going on right now where I did just that. I wanted to clear some stuff out so started low, ending low too but that’s ok I’m still making a couple bucks, I get rid of some stuff I’m tired of  relisting and the buyers get a great deal.

[turquoisetulips]

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@redline_auto_llc wrote:

I get more fraudulent returns than regular ones. I have a collection of rocks that I received as returns. It takes up a shelf in the shop.

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Scammers shouldn't arm their victims with rocks . Tulips

[tracdea1]

If you do not offer returns, and the person wants to return it, you give them no choice but  to potentially lie about why they want to return it. Giving them an option reduces the need for lying (some will anyway just because they are liars), and you reduce the "problems" of selling. Now you have a NAD case instead of just a return request.

As with everything you sell any where, you HAVE to consider the risks involved, not just the opportunity to sell.

[nmemoryof]

I'm sorry for what happened and in no way will I claim that it is fair.  However, eBay has a side, too.  Regardless...

The main point I want to make is that a used purse is probably high risk for this sort of thing.  Even with pictures, condition is somewhat subjective and "in person" versus picture plus description can be two different things.

According to your side of the story (which I have no reason to question), the buyer changed her mind and used the system to her advantage even though it required dishonesty.  This is not unique to eBay.  Other sites either have or will face the same decisions.  Dishonesty can come from BOTH directions.  So the middle man has to decide what is best.  I think the view is, just undo the transaction.  Everyone gets their things back, whether money or goods.  Problems are:

1.  "No returns" policy is overridden.

2. Someone gets stuck with the fees and shipping costs.

LAST AND WORST THING, IMO:  

3. Your reputation gets smeared.

It's not that eBay is "going down."  It's that this sort of thing will always be an issue with online transactions.  eBay has adjusted policies and made some improvements but also taken some shortcuts at times that makes their life easier but is well short of truth and justice.  In their defense, short of actually being there...they have to come up with general standards that are not one size fits all but that OVERALL move things forward and past the conflicts.  I'm sure it is difficult for them, too.

[nmemoryof]

I didn't even notice it was a year old until I read your post.  LOL.

This is a common problem and so it seemed new.