11-09-2018 11:25 AM
Does anyone here feel like they are being taken advantage of? Not in a small way, like when your best friend always wants to borrow your clothes, or when your boyfriend always insists on picking the movie--but in a serious and life changing way? I sit here now thinking of all the injustices that I continue to experience as a seller here--that seemingly endless feeling of dread because I never know what is going to happen next--am I going to be able to pay my bills in a month? Or will eBay come up with a new scheme to freeze me out? Who will the "chosen" ones be six months from now? I am pondering the callous way that my livelihood and financial well being have been treated by this company.
In truth, I am not a valued trading partner, I am a servant--always running from punishment, trying desperately to stay one step ahead--grateful for the few crumbs that are tossed my way. I have no rights--I can't even control the items that I post here, as eBay will change them--without warning or permission--any time they feel like it. And instead of learning how to become a better seller, I have instead only gotten more ignorant--as my ability to glean understanding, research, and expand my knowledge has been essentially cut off--with many of the useful and educational features of the site made unavailable to me now. What is left is only the constant stress and pressure that they try to instill in us--and they certainly do seem to love keeping us all worrying about the next defect, bad feedback, Final Value Fee Penalization, or the next false SNAD case. Nothing instills more fear and dread in me than reading a sentence from eBay that begins with "In order to help sellers...." And I can't help but feel that, in some way, there is an even darker underlying agenda--rather than just the simple scheme of keeping the stock holders happy.
Whether the indignities imposed upon sellers are by design, or stem from pure ignorance and apathy, it makes no difference--the imbalance of control, power, and financial reward here, the clear favoritism shown by eBay to some, but not all sellers, and the increased intrusions into our listings, stores, and bank accounts, has made selling here unbearable. With sellers losing more autonomy daily, we have essentially become the assistant managers in our own stores. Not what any of us had in mind, I'm sure, when we set out to start our own businesses.
I just want to know--how much more money is going to be pilfered from our pockets--when is it going to be enough? I am in utter disbelief at the audacity and gall eBay has--pressuring us to do these promoted listings. There is a reminder at the bottom of your listing page that you see every time you list an item, and under every single one of my listings in bright GREEN it says that the listing is "eligible for promoted listings." No kidding eBay--just in case I wasn't sure, thanks for writing it 950 times for me, in case I forgot.
And I am certainly reminded as I look through the items that are for sale. There they are--thousands upon thousands, if not millions of promoted listings all over the place. And all I can think to myself is--just like when everyone gets a trophy, promoted listings cease to be interesting or a draw for buyers when everyone has them. Then we have the sellers who offer "free" returns with their Top Rated Plus beside their listings, and for the sellers who really bend over backwards--well, they get a quicker shipping time--isn't that nice? We all use the same services, but for some reason my estimated delivery time has gone from four days to SEVEN, and last night it was NINE (and that is shipping to MYSELF--who knows what a buyer in California is seeing) and right alongside of my listings are listings from other sellers quoting four days still. Right before the holidays--isn't that just wonderful? I called eBay, and of course I was told that there was nothing wrong, that I'm still in the Guaranteed Delivery Program--and that my listings ARE showing up as guaranteed--they are just guaranteed for a week from now. Um--isn't that little green estimated delivery banner, that shows that I ship FAST, and meant to instill confidence in the buyer, what I gave up selling multiple items to one buyer for? I've lost a ton of sales because I can't send an invoice--in truth, forcing buyers to "Buy it now" has been detrimental to my bottom line on many occasions. Buyers just don't feel confident that I will either A. Refund them AFTER they purchase, after they've paid all the shipping up front, or B. They think that I am full of it and trying to rip them off in some way because other sellers have been able to send them invoices, no problem. I don't blame them a bit--I am exactly like that too--I want to know before I pay what the discount will be for combined shipping--and I want it in writing--I totally see their point. Why am I even in the Guaranteed Delivery Program? Why did I go through the trouble? So that now eBay can decide, once again, that it just isn't good enough for them? That program hasn't even been in effect for very long, and already they are tweaking it, or making it irrelevant?
Every day it is something new. Every. Single. Day. There is a new glitch or page change, or information that you were previously able to view that is no longer available. How is it that they have SO much time that they can change things every day, yet last week THREE of my listings from 2017 mysteriously popped up in my store? I thought they were so worried about buyer satisfaction? Well, someone buying something that was sold in 2017 would surely cause just a tad bit of dissatisfaction. You think somebody could take the time to fix that? I mean, its only been happening for years now.
I cannot believe how much of our ability to use the site has disappeared. We can't look at our individual star ratings anymore, we can't see what other buyers or sellers have purchased, and we can't even access our OWN listings after a couple of months. I can't buy from some of my favorite sellers anymore because all of my purchases are GONE--and what is even worse is that I can't even LOOK for those sellers on eBay anymore because you CAN'T find a seller by their name anymore. What could possibly be the reasoning behind that? The only reason I can see for all those changes was to discourage repeat buyers for the small sellers. Every single one of those changes led to nothing but decreased sales for the smaller sellers. But why would they want to do that?
I was thinking the other day that they must be getting ready to charge, like Worthpoint, for knowledge about product prices. Didn't we used to get six months or a year's worth of prices in the Advanced search? And didn't there used to be a button that let us "Search the Description" in the advanced search? Like the button underneath the regular search? Why is it all of the sudden such a big deal to see what sold? Or to find a seller you like? Is there even a reason, or is eBay just closing down our access to information in an effort to make us concentrate on what they want us to be looking at? Like the 950 lines of bright green on my screen urging me give them more money?
All I know is that I am working WAY longer hours and making about half the money I made two years ago. Between losing my 20% FVF discount, the INSANE shipping increases at the Post Office (which now they just reach right in your account and TAKE what they THINK you owe them for short shipping). I just got one the other day for almost five dollars, although when I have my packages weighed at the PO I am never short. What can I even do? eBay has made it **bleep** near impossible to access any information. They didn't even put what transaction I had made the "mistake" on--not even the DATE--and by the time I look everything up, go through the hassle of trying to navigate my way through Paypal AND eBay just to figure out what sale it was, well, by then I will have probably eaten up way more than 5 dollars worth of time. And who knows what kind of a hassle it will be to fight it--and I suppose that is what they are counting on. They tell us enough, and keep us just smart enough to do the basics, but let us be ignorant of how to help and protect ourselves.
Where is the respect? What right does the Post Office have to just stick their hands into our accounts and take money without asking us first? I'm not upset about the five bucks, but I AM upset about the fact that I wasn't asked or alerted first--on eBay or Paypal--I don't know if they send an email--I don't check mine because there are always 500 emails from eBay in there for any and every little listing change or sale I make--I can't wade through all that clogged mess. But why would eBay allow them to just take our money? Maybe it's because eBay is reaping its own rewards by either taking a percentage of what the Post Office re-coups, or maybe its from withholding some of what should be our "shipping discount?" I never believed it before, but honestly--do you really think a company that has gotten so ridiculously greedy, and so calloused towards its sellers WOULDN'T do such a thing?
And now we all have to worry about the new Tax changes. Another dent in our ever-shrinking incomes. I live in Pennsylvania--it is one of the poorest, most disadvantaged states I have ever lived in, and I've lived in a lot of them. So why would PA choose to tax an already suffering and poverty stricken populace? Oh, and also--we don't have Economy shipping here--no ground shipping whatsoever. I just can't understand what the reasoning is for that--we could certainly use it. Is the goal here to widen the divide between the rich and the poor? Essentially wiping out the middle class--making us a population of only masters and slaves? Royalty and serfs?
We are essentially being nickled and dimed right into poverty. There are so many different hands in my pot, that there isn't enough left to feed my own family anymore. Everyone I know lives paycheck to paycheck--and most are college grads. How has this happened? Well, let's take eBay CEO's and stock holders Vs. the "little" sellers on the ground, you know, the ones actually making things happen. How could the CEO of eBay possible understand what a difference 5% makes to us little people? How could he even have a concept of what an increase of 65 cents in shipping could do to our businesses? He's shoveling millions at the already uber-wealthy executives. Taking a few dollars here, skimming a couple there, taking away our discounts and incentives with no warning and no explanation--spread across all the sellers on the site, we're talking some serious cash. He is looking at millions daily--while we are counting pennies.
Every time I turn around it seems I am assaulted with eBay demanding that I give either them or the buyers more of my hard earned profit--and it is not only irritating, but its also really scary. How can they not understand how slim the profit margins are for so many of their sellers? Do they not understand how difficult THEY have made it to sell on their platform? I waste more time just trying to figure out what the heck they are up to, than I spend listing. I haven't even fully recovered from losing my 20% discount, and already there they are with their hands out wanting more. It's the reverse of Robin Hood--robbing the poor to pay the rich--and it's sickening, quite honestly. They JUST gave themselves, essentially a HUGE raise, with millions of sellers who lost their 20% discount on final value fees. Wouldn't you think that the millions (billions?) that they JUST scooped up might be enough to satisfy them for at least a little while? I'm stunned by the greed of this company--just floored.
This is nothing new though--throughout history, and especially before the fall of most great civilizations there has been class distinction, and a huge disparity between the have's and have-not's. But what is becoming increasingly bothersome to me is the brazen entitlement of the eBay leaders to simply take what they want--without notification or permission--and even more troubling is that they granted access to an outside entity, the Post Office, to also grab what they want from our tills. What's next? Are they going to allow the IRS or hospitals to collect our debts from our accounts? What in the world can we expect when eBay takes over as the payment provider--I'm seriously going to have nightmares tonight.
To me, it shows a serious lack of consideration for our privacy, and no regard for our boundaries. And much like how the peasants were treated--kept ignorant, living hand to mouth, always made aware of the fact that their livelihood and well being depended upon being granted favor by the noble class--we too have somehow slipped into the status of being invisible--disposable, for the most part. We are tolerated as long as we are useful, but we are not relevant or considered essential to the grand plan. Which leads me to believe that there are going to be many more fingers tugging at our pockets in the future.
The sheer lack of respect and the refusal to take any of our objections, or even appeals for fairer conditions, or even just a level playing field--well, that says to me that the leaders of this company are above listening to the complaints of the common man. To their eventual and inevitable demise. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure eBay will manage to hang in there somehow--but there are going to be many who will fail and fall in the process--not just the small sellers, although there will be plenty of us reduced to road kill--but the real failures here are the leaders--those who were given guardianship over millions of people's livelihood's, and tasked with commanding the ship effectively, not steering it into the rocks.
When this is all said and done, many of those men will be looked upon--not as innovators and trailblazers, who not only succeeded in their careers, but who were also conscientious shepherds of the many families financial futures that were entrusted to them--but instead as heedless blunderers--known only for their unbendible adherence to visionless, poorly thought out plots and schemes. They will be remembered simply for their reckless negligence--men who believed blindly in the conviction that the few deserve to profit, despite the suffering of the many.
11-09-2018 11:36 AM
That was definately a heartfelt post,
but it could have been made 10 different threads.
Like the post office part.
I'd rather they take the five dollars out of my eBay account,
when I accidentally underpay the postage on a package,
than have it returned to me unsent.
Lynn
11-09-2018 11:41 AM
11-09-2018 11:49 AM
You own your business - not Ebay - if you were renting space in a strip mall that didn't produce any traffic - would you continue to pay rent and stay or move to a better location? We use Ebay to give our products worldwide visibility because we don't want the overhead of a B&M or total resposibility of maintaining a web site. It's a venue to host our items - nothing more. When it no longer serves your purpose than only you can do what you have to so your business will grow. Complaining about it does nothing as Ebay is not going to change.
11-09-2018 12:36 PM
We've had this discussion before so I really don't want to get into it again--but there is value is making your voice heard--and neither you nor I can see into the future and know whether or not eBay is going to change.
The brush of butterfly wings, and all.......
11-09-2018 12:43 PM - edited 11-09-2018 12:45 PM
"..but there is value is making your voice heard-..."
------
Yes but,
I think you'd have a better chance of having your voice heard
if that all was organized and presented in a far shorter and more to-the-point manner.
Respectfully, I copied and posted your opening post
into a word-counter website.
2552 words.
Thanks,
Lynn
11-09-2018 12:53 PM
At one time, eBay said they were just the "middle man." Well......they certainly dictate a lot & interfere too much for a middle man.
11-09-2018 01:03 PM
Does anyone here feel like they are being taken advantage of
I don't........it's still my choice to list here........if I felt taken advantage of, I'd leave......... there are many other places to list/ways to sell these days.....
11-09-2018 01:14 PM
It pained me to read of your suffering and frustrations, i did read the whole post. All i wanted to say is truly hope you find your way thru the maze, and wish you all the best now and in the future.
11-09-2018 01:35 PM
I do know where you are coming from - but I've seen many frustrations here throughout the years and despite many raising their voices - the majority don't - so to Ebay most times - it's just noise. They have backtracked on some things - like the 14 day no promotion policy but only because they got alot of continued pressure from a majority of buyers. Many times complaints here are top priority to us - but not to the millions of other sellers on the venues - they adjust their business practices and continue or go elsewhere where the venue better mirrors their business policy.
I respect everything you have said - but as you said - it's been discussed before - and nothing has changed.
11-09-2018 01:38 PM
Honestly i couldn't read your whole post, but I just wanted to point out that not all of us think eBay is taking advantage of us. I personally have had no issues with them. I am aware the fees they will charge, I am aware of the possbility of being forced to take a return if a buyer claims SNAD. I package everything carefully and make sure the weight on it is correct. Sales might slow down but I can still see my items out there, it's just not something for which the right person has come around. eBay is exactly what it claims to be to me, I don't understand those who expect more from them.
11-09-2018 01:39 PM
"..but there is value is making your voice heard-..."
------
Yes but,
I think you'd have a better chance of having your voice heard
if that all was organized and presented in a far shorter and more to-the-point manner.
Respectfully, I copied and posted your opening post
into a word-counter website.
2552 words.
Thanks,
Lynn
Really? A word counter?
You know, some people would not look upon my words as something to be counted, but would instead look upon them as something to think about--or, here's a thought--maybe a catalyst that inspires them to offer up a relevant response. I'm not sure why you responded if you were put off by the fact that I could have made 10 threads, or by the fact that there were too many words.
I'm just curious what kind of contribution you think you are making to my thread? Respectfully, if you don't have anything worthwhile to say, then why bother to respond at all? Don't you have anything better to do--other than to respond to a post that doesn't interest you, and that you feel is too long? Because I certianly have better things to do than to sit here and tell you this obvious fact--as much as you have the right to respond to my post any way that you want, regardless if what you write is helpful or even relevant--as much as I don't like it, I have to deal with it because this is a public forum--I, in turn have the right to write what I want here too--even if you don't approve.
11-09-2018 01:47 PM - edited 11-09-2018 01:50 PM
I think you'd have a better chance of having your voice heard
if that all was organized and presented in a far shorter and more to-the-point manner.
is a relevant response that I read as attempt to be helpful
You choose to use this sevice.If you feel you are being bleed dry consider it would not happen if you did not use the service.You can not be bleed dry if you do not participate
11-09-2018 01:47 PM
I'm sorry but I couldn't read your whole post. However, I did get the gist of it and I agree that there are many problems on ebay and with some of the changes that have occurred. But, I don't feel taken advantage of because it is my choice to be here. Noone is forcing anyone to buy or sell here. I realize that for some, it isn't easy to just stop selling but if it is affecting you in a life changing way then that is something to consider.
I would like to comment on a couple of things...you mentioned the post office and asked what right ebay has in allowing them to take your money. What say do you think that ebay has in the matter? This isn't something that the post office has just on ebay, it likely affects anyone who prints labels online. Obviously there is a problem with people underpaying or the post office would not have set up the system. Canada Post has the same system so if I pay with Paypal, Snapship or with my credit card..they can charge me more if I made a mistake.
You also mentioned that we aren't able to search for specific sellers anymore. We are still able to do that in advanced search.
I'm sorry that you feel that things are becoming unbearable but as someone else pointed out, when we sell on another site we are not 100% in control. We have to decide if we can live with that or not.
11-09-2018 01:52 PM
What we are seeing in an increase in competition. So many websites, so much stuff, some of the SAME STUFF ALL OVER ON DIFFERENT WEBSITES. People have sooo many more ways to buy stuff online, B&M, FACEBOOK, BLAH BLAH. The cost of stuff goes up, the cost to ship goes up. The cost to be on a website goes up. I think if you really looked at this phenonena you would see that there is SO MUCH STUFF everywhere that there is not enough people to BUY IT. So, the fees go up because, there's too much stuff, competition, and not as many sales. That's really a crude analysis but, I think a lot of poeple are struggling more now than ever before. And of course AMZ is taking over the world.