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.
11-12-2018 10:57 AM
@race-face_rc wrote:
Ebay's 'Promoted Listings' ... The biggest scam since Enron!
One just has to wonder how much money Ebay grabs up daily, on canceled orders that were billed as "promoted".
Hi @race-face_rc, promoted listing fees are credited when a seller refunds the buyer/cancels the order. I've included a screenshot of how the fee and credit will appear on a seller's invoice below:
If you are not seeing the promoted listing fee credits in your discounts and credits section of your next invoice, give me some examples and I will be happy to look into this further for you!
11-12-2018 11:05 AM
@ri-gypsyheart wrote:
Yet, I sense you speak of larger product moving sellers, not the smaller ones like myself, who perhaps simply sell items they are no longer using, or gifts they have been given over time. Wholesalers who buy larger amounts from china and other vendors most likely do well on E-Bay. I agree E-Bay shall not consider changing nor continuing to raise fees in every area they deem possible. Latest one on pay pal assessing 1% to sent our monies to our bank.
No I'm speaking of myself - my items are garage sale items or items my family has outgrown or no longer uses. I'm cleaning out the house now in the hopes of moving after my DH retires in a couple of years. I usually have 200-330 items listed - if I get a free promo - I may have 800 listed. I do my research tho - look at solds - see how they arranged their titles - looked at the different pricing - watch lots of youtube videos and read alot of what is said in Facebook groups to understand the changes and how it affects us and what we can do to keep sales steady while complying with the changes.
11-12-2018 11:05 AM
So... you're telling me that this credit is delayed... for whatever reason?
The credit for the FVF is listed on my invoice ... but not the 'AD fee'.
On top of that , I was also told by one of your CSR's that the ad fee was NOT refundable.
11-12-2018 11:10 AM - edited 11-12-2018 11:13 AM
@tunicaslot wrote:
@ri-gypsyheart wrote:
Yet, I sense you speak of larger product moving sellers, not the smaller ones like myself, who perhaps simply sell items they are no longer using, or gifts they have been given over time. Wholesalers who buy larger amounts from china and other vendors most likely do well on E-Bay. I agree E-Bay shall not consider changing nor continuing to raise fees in every area they deem possible. Latest one on pay pal assessing 1% to sent our monies to our bank.No I'm speaking of myself - my items are garage sale items or items my family has outgrown or no longer uses. I'm cleaning out the house now in the hopes of moving after my DH retires in a couple of years. I usually have 200-330 items listed - if I get a free promo - I may have 800 listed. I do my research tho - look at solds - see how they arranged their titles - looked at the different pricing - watch lots of youtube videos and read alot of what is said in Facebook groups to understand the changes and how it affects us and what we can do to keep sales steady while complying with the changes.
So basically you have no money into most of your items and can make a profit at a much lower price than many others and not have that expense to worry about covering.
This alone makes how you sell and what you sell not comparable to many many many others...as you donot have the same costs involved and have more of a profit margin to work with.
Others do have to pay for items/inventory and that becomes a cost involved and is part of what has to be taken into account when and how someome will lists too.
Not to mention many people do not partake in the race to the bottom pricing which is not required and not sustainable for most others.
Your business model is not a standard for all sellers.
11-12-2018 11:20 AM
@race-face_rc wrote:Just a quick 'heads up' to all of the sellers out there who have submitted themselves to eBay's 'Promoted Listings'.
Those "AD FEES" are not refundable. I just found this out the hard way, when a buyer purchased a $300 item from me, then decided to cancel the order, shortly after purchasing.
I did what most would consider 'good business practices', by approving the request to cancel. Only to find out that the attached $20 AD FEE, is "not refundable" (according to a CS rep).
So, to all of you "go with the flow" types out there... Outright theft, is now Ebay policy!
Add the additional $6 subtitle fee that I had to pay AGAIN when relisting this item, and I am now over $25 in the hole on a transaction that never even took place!
HOW IS THIS THIEVERY EVEN LEGAL? Oh, that's right … the 'Ebay user agreement'
Then don't use the trending promo - I use 1% and receive much better visibility and sales. As far as your "ad" or promo fee - you elected to use it. The buyer bought the item thru the promoted listing which had better visibility. When I buy an ad in the newspaper to sell my car and I either get no interest or a persepctive buyer backs out - does the newspaper refund my ad fee - no. If I paid extra to make it bold and twice as big as anyone else - and it doesn't sell - do I get that extra money back - no. Same on Ebay. Nothing illegal about it.
11-12-2018 11:22 AM
No it's not your fault - but then why is it Ebay's fault? It's your buyer's fault - you can send them an invoice but I doubt they'll pay it.
11-12-2018 11:24 AM - edited 11-12-2018 11:28 AM
@tunicaslot wrote:No it's not your fault - but then why is it Ebay's fault? It's your buyer's fault - you can send them an invoice but I doubt they'll pay it.
Not really the buyers fault...they merely "asked" for the cancellation, which they are allowed to do. The sellers has a choice and the seller chose to do the cancellation.
Just as the seller chose to use things like subtitles when policy says they are not refundable....even if there is no sale. The buyer surely did not tell the seller to use subtitles and expect money back.
11-12-2018 11:28 AM
You seem to be ignoring this simple fact ... The ad fee is NOT to be billed unless the item actually sells!
I am not complaining about paying the ad fees. If the item sells, I'm fine with it!
My beef is that I seem to have been billed for an ad fee when the purchase was refunded/cancelled.
The ad fee is NOT to be BILLED unless the item sells.
You don't seem to 'get' what's going on here.
11-12-2018 11:45 AM
@everything-from-trinkets-to-treasures wrote:
@tunicaslot wrote:
@ri-gypsyheart wrote:
Yet, I sense you speak of larger product moving sellers, not the smaller ones like myself, who perhaps simply sell items they are no longer using, or gifts they have been given over time. Wholesalers who buy larger amounts from china and other vendors most likely do well on E-Bay. I agree E-Bay shall not consider changing nor continuing to raise fees in every area they deem possible. Latest one on pay pal assessing 1% to sent our monies to our bank.No I'm speaking of myself - my items are garage sale items or items my family has outgrown or no longer uses. I'm cleaning out the house now in the hopes of moving after my DH retires in a couple of years. I usually have 200-330 items listed - if I get a free promo - I may have 800 listed. I do my research tho - look at solds - see how they arranged their titles - looked at the different pricing - watch lots of youtube videos and read alot of what is said in Facebook groups to understand the changes and how it affects us and what we can do to keep sales steady while complying with the changes.
So basically you have no money into most of your items and can make a profit at a much lower price than many others and not have that expense to worry about covering.
This alone makes how you sell and what you sell not comparable to many many many others...as you donot have the same costs involved and have more of a profit margin to work with.
Others do have to pay for items/inventory and that becomes a cost involved and is part of what has to be taken into account when and how someome will lists too.
Not to mention many people do not partake in the race to the bottom pricing which is not required and not sustainable for most others.
Your business model is not a standard for all sellers.
My business on that one acct is garage sale and personal - and it is a standard to many other sellers here who also thrift and do estate sales for their inventory. There is no race to the the bottom with my pricing - if I can't make a good profit - I donate it as it's not worth my time to list. Each and every one of us is different - but it doesn't mean that we don't share the majority of problems discussed here.
11-12-2018 01:14 PM
@everything-from-trinkets-to-treasures wrote:
@zamo-zuan wrote:
But when things take away your ability to compete, like tech issues? That's a gamechanger. That MUST be fixed!
I think this is something we all agree on but what we consider an issue sometimes is exactly how ebay wants it for some unfathomable reason and do not consider it an issue. That in and of itself is an issue...lol
I have been told directly by the Utah team, that they believe they have found the common denominator in these tech issues affecting visibility, but the tech team keeps saying it's not an issue. Basically, unless there's enough reports of it, the tech team won't address it. And it's sooo hard to convince CSR's there's an actual sales issue (same as convincing people on this forum).
You need an Anchor subscription, which is hundreds of dollars a month, to even have the ability to speak to Sellers Health, and with their reports was the only way for us to find the issue.
11-12-2018 01:50 PM - edited 11-12-2018 01:53 PM
@zamo-zuan wrote:
@everything-from-trinkets-to-treasures wrote:
@zamo-zuan wrote:
But when things take away your ability to compete, like tech issues? That's a gamechanger. That MUST be fixed!
I think this is something we all agree on but what we consider an issue sometimes is exactly how ebay wants it for some unfathomable reason and do not consider it an issue. That in and of itself is an issue...lol
I have been told directly by the Utah team, that they believe they have found the common denominator in these tech issues affecting visibility, but the tech team keeps saying it's not an issue. Basically, unless there's enough reports of it, the tech team won't address it. And it's sooo hard to convince CSR's there's an actual sales issue (same as convincing people on this forum).
You need an Anchor subscription, which is hundreds of dollars a month, to even have the ability to speak to Sellers Health, and with their reports was the only way for us to find the issue.
CRS only have a very limited scope of things and do not have the ability to see compiled data on anything. They submit reports. They will only acknowledge a problem when ebay notifies them there is a problem and ow to address it.
I am curious what they think the common denominator is??? Or is this top secret info they wil not share???
Oh and I am aware the Utah team is not regular CSR 😉
But I believe the rest of us can schedule an appt to go over account health. At least last time I heard
11-12-2018 02:11 PM
This topic has turned into a one on one combat.
The issues are so many you would need a month to get to the bottom of the pile. So, allow me to intervene as a long time seller. I too feel the pain of seeing so many things in this Ebay of today going nuts.
So, if you are depending on Ebay only, good luck to you because you will need it, 10 times fold. You need to pencil out the expenses to buy items, the expense of listing anything, the % of returns paid for by you, the yearly increase of shipping charges, the "if you don't do this, you get punished with not receiving discounts on your fees", and on and on limitations to the fascinating world of selling on Ebay are adding up.
You, we, may not do anything by complaining, but what else is out there? There's nothing out there if you are not opening the window of opportunity. And the only thing Ebay can't take away from you is the fact that you have learned to negotiate, you have learned the art of the deal. You have achieved so many things no other people have achieved even if they tried, and that is becoming your own boss.
But, as the old computers, as the old mom and pop stores, you need to keep up with the changes whether they are proposed or imposed by Ebay to survive. Have you asked yourself what else you can do? If you are not bound to a wheelchair, if you are driving around looking for garage sales, looking for estate sales or flea markets, don't you think you have plenty of opportunities out there? Think of Lyft, Uber, Amazon, etc.
I am selling whatever bought 10 years ago in order to survive the ordeal of taking care of my daughter. Little by little they are going sold, and the visit to flea markets and garage sales, --old dogs can't change their barking--have added some nice items to my store, but I've had 3 years now to this date to change my old spots and start working on the financial world out there. I found out that opportunities abound if you find the right people to talk to.
I've learned the pros and cons of the insurance industry, the cost segregation secrets, the finding of savings for businesses paying lots of $ in taxes or property tax, merchant accounts, etc. I am ready for the extinction of my Ebay store. You should too.
So, my word of advice is the following: Learn the secrets of OPM. Learn how to deal with Other People's Money. Like you do with dropshipping, except this time you don't deal with anything tangible.
Except for any type of insurance activity, you won't need a license. Companies are out there needing people to go around asking questions. These questions take the same time when you and I question a garage sale or flea market seller for an item, and the people getting their feet wet, are making good chunks of money.
Do a good research, ask questions, you will find them. Ebay is Ebay, you won't change them.
11-12-2018 02:41 PM
@race-face_rc wrote:
I have no problem paying the 'AD FEE' , IF the item actually sells ... It's my choice.
However, the buyer of this item requested that I cancel the order & refund payment.
I did so, FULLY. It did not sell.
Ebay refunded the FVF ... but they will not refund the $19.79 'AD FEE' that was also added to my invoice at the time of purchase. Not to mention, they won't credit the $6 subtitle fee, that I had to pay again, when I relisted the item.
Ebay 'POLICY' essentially taxes sellers, simply for practicing good business.
Maybe I should have just ignored the request to cancel/refund, and shipped the item anyway?
Then what? What's Ebay's Policy on that?
But it DID sell. THEN the buyer cancelled.
11-12-2018 02:43 PM
11-15-2018 12:27 PM
@race-face_rc wrote:
So... you're telling me that this credit is delayed... for whatever reason?
The credit for the FVF is listed on my invoice ... but not the 'AD fee'.
On top of that , I was also told by one of your CSR's that the ad fee was NOT refundable.
Hi @race-face_rc, I apologize for any confusion - I did not mean to indicate in any way that the fee credit is delayed. I included screenshots to show where you can find this credit on your invoice and it would process at the same time as the Final Value Fee credit. I am sorry to hear that you received some incorrect information when calling in and can confirm that the promoted listing fee would be credited along with the Final Value Fee.