@fashunu4eeuh wrote:
“Based on other comments in the EBay forums about drastic drops in sales, the consensus is that eBay is trying to force small US business off of eBay in favor of the large Chinese…”
The anecdotal information reported in the forums is too statistically small to base such a sweeping statement on. Is there any proof of general agreement among sellers that eBay is trying to rid itself of small US sellers? Is there quantifiable evidence that Chinese sellers are favored while US sellers are suppressed? We may have suspicions, but facts to back it up are hard to come by.
The latest info i could find is that US sellers make up the majority of sellers on the site. The breakdown is 31 percent of all eBay sellers are in the US. 29 percent are from the UK, Germany has 15 percent and just 12 percent are sellers from China (down from 17%) (Source: Statista)
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1019999/ebay-sellers-location-by-country/
If eBay wanted to push out small US sellers, they could. So why do many of us still exist on the platform? I am a small seller and i don’t sense that eBay doesn’t want me here. In fact, my experience has been just the opposite.
eBay actively attempts to attract as many users as possible. It’s true that in years past, eBay has reached out to Chinese sellers and helped further their success here. They were given some preferential attention and help. But it doesn't automatically follow that just because eBay courted them, that this means the small US-based sellers are unwanted or undervalued.
Not saying this is not possible. Anything is possible. But it does not seem probable that eBay would shun members of its largest group of sellers in order to install a much smaller sect to greater prominence. Why would they do that?
It seems to me there is enough room for us all. Admittedly, the playing field is not even, but i don’t expect it to be. I expect eBay is going to do what’s best for eBay. Then it’s up to me to ensure my own success within those parameters.
Complex subject matter sir, America to largest extent albeit it true in handfuls of similar economic and political nations want China to compete fairly. Counterfeiting and theft of intellectual properties aside it's extremely difficult to compete against China's production abilities, labor wages, lack of entitlements towards labor, towards parcel's a subsidized freighting system and more.
Americans in particular are distressed as the American lifestyle is rather unique in this world along with order of scale and resist change. Many in the land view China as competing very unfairly and are quick to vocalize that but you won't ever hear them say that we need compete on China's terms... No. Yet history of the world is exactly that and/or physical conflict attempting force change.
Having emerged late in mass global commerce and trade China avoided many pitfalls other nations learned. They've centralized enormous amounts of manufacturing thus avoiding the need to freight parts and assemblies across significant distances towards final products for example. The main reason the US Government tries key on human rights violations in China is not American citizens passion to see a globe full of human dignity and rights, we can't even solve our own equality issues. It's essentially an attempt to spur the citizens of China to demand better as we cannot simply demand China change it's ways because said "ways" are disingenuous to Americans money orientation lifestyles. We love the five dollar shirts and plethora's of affordable products yet not to put to fine a point upon it are dense to how and why that occurs. A sort of blindered hypocrisy which seems to be becoming a norm across considerably more areas of thinking sad as that is.
Atop all this is the last administration did considerable damage to America's global position. One of the largest trade deals in human history in Eastern Asia regions had us without even a seat at the table due to a President mockery. Significant amounts of free Europe struck deals with China due to loss of confidence in the direction of the United States Government and that of which how they saw American citizens functioning under said administration. Much of free Europe was more shocked by 1/6 than American's as that's something believed could never happen here, the leader of the free world. It opened a window to how dysfunctional and easily misled so many in America have become. Free Europe knows this all too well having had bounds of centuries of war based in wrongful propaganda and leadership whereby the monuments still stand and exist.
eBay is a global marketplace and there is no way any US seller can go head to head on same product with a vendor from China if price is the pivot factor. Purchasing nationalism has long since left the minds of US citizens in favor of more for their money and thus lifestyle. It was said already twenty years ago in think tanks that if Americans spent a mere 15% of disposable income on products wholly made in the USA the economy booms. No administration nor party has taken up the cause of "Buy American" towards Americans as a focal continual message, granted, they can be words of war and the USA is in no position to take on China in conventional conflict. That said, the ONLY President in recent times to go a bit out on that limb is Joe Biden who actually has said a handful times and at least once to a nation "Buy American" right after his inauguration. The fact he's now ushering in more US based manufacturing is long long since overdue in the land but will consumers pay presumably higher prices or listen to the call to buy American actionably.
eBay has faced domestic pressures for quite sometime and as I'd said in another thread in my humble opinion the company has navigated the past thirty years quite expertly given those pressures. Ever so many citizens rely on eBay for full income or help makes ends meet and it seems to me there are times when folks should say, "Ask not what eBay can do for you but what you can do for eBay!" LOL.
Ok... Ok... a spun JFKism. But in all seriousness if the environment flounders the proverbial passengers drown with the ship as really there are few life raft points of sale. Perhaps eBay would be open to concepts of closer partnerships with vendors, a collective. Concepts such as focal sales days and dates whereby members of said collective (best vendors) have site wide or categorical sales that eBay could promote and orient on site. There are many days in the year albeit Friday, Saturday, Sunday tend be in eCommerce the purchase days given peoples pay days. Once a month lets say there is the eBay Rummage Sale whereby sellers approved to be in the collective can commit product at significant discount trying rid dead inventories. Perhaps eBay lessen fee's in favor of volume as greenbacks are green. Point all being there is so much product here and so much diversity therein and great sellers eBay could work with the "collective" towards targeted sales as well. "Entertainment days", "Clothing Days", "Car Crazy Days" etc whereby really decent bargains can be had.
I would suggest they be parceled into an area of the site as the targeted sale zone vs consumers having to try locate vendors willy nilly. All vendors of the collective taking part have some sort of special imaging in listings displaying there are of the collective albeit other vendors may run sales in parallel. It's a highly promotable concept for eBay advertising, draw consumers back in hopefully in droves and help move product in significant fashion.
I've ideas flowing out my eyeballs towards putting eBay back in the leadership role of eCommerce but there seems be no interface to the powers that beBay.
