eBay

kathieskorner · ‎01-23-2018

CNBC interviewed eBay's CEO at the economic summit from Davos today. For those like me who sell collectibles (which were referred to as "pop culture") - they are going to be a very small part of ebay's future. Ebay will no longer be the place to look for unique items. The emphasis is going to continue to be on price - selling things cheaper on ebay than places like Amazon.

So for those looking for free listings or other perks - you had better be selling ebay's favored items.

I had closed one store at the end of December, but was considering keeping my other store open. After listening to today's interview - ebay won't be getting any store subscription fees from me any more.

IMHO ebay missed the boat when they refused to use the eBay Motors model to separate used/vintage/collectible from the new/cheap/"in demand" items they favor. On the path they have chosen, I don't see eBay surviving as a stand alone business for another 5 years. Management's future now lies with Alibiba or someone more tech savvy buying them out.

professor-t · ‎01-23-2018

So what is the possible alternative for those selling things that have traditionally been offered on eBay? I'm asking because I've got over 100 items, mostly small and inexpensive, and would like to find an alternative that would work for me. I already use Etsy for some vintage materials and my own hand-made item, but need another outlet.

Thanks for the information.

retrose1 · ‎01-23-2018

First off, ebay CEOs tend to talk in corporate weasel spin terms and often dont really understand the full meaning of what they are saying. They are still trying to figure out what Disruptive Innovation actually means. AND they often talk out of both sides of their mouth, saying what they think the room wants to hear rather than what they are planning on doing.

I watched this happening years ago when Donahoe took over. New and BIN was the wave of the future and get on board or get out of the way was the attitude given to small sellers....BUT ebay needed the small sellers money and merchandise to support ebay while they made the changes, so they didn't actually get rid of them, just did everything they could to weed them out and lower the numbers.

The one day ebay big shots looked around and saw that the little DIY site, Etsy, which was barely a blip on the selling radar had been welcoming ebay disgruntleds with open arms and within a couple of years had grown from a blip to top ten selling sites, all with the very merchandise ebay was rejecting. Suddenly the attitude changed because the grass was greener someplace else and ebay was too entrenched in their new is good plans, so small sellers were welcomed but disposable.

I have been saying for years that ebay should split the used/vintage/antiques/ooak items off from the new, but since the big shots have only studied retail sales and not actually got their hands dirty working in retail, they will never understand how buyers really think and act or that there are as many different types of them as there are genres of merchandise.

(*Bleep*)

dhbookds · ‎01-23-2018

Here's a link to the interview:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/23/ebay-ceo-get-used-to-shopping-with-your-voice.html

The pop culture question was from the interviewer who admitted he knew little of ebay and seemed to be asking if a "drop" in some current trendy sales item during a quarter could adversely affect ebay's bottom line. My understanding was that Wenig was trying to say that Ebay was not only a place for "unique" items, but actually now derived more income from standard items than unique items. In other words, he was "fighting" the image that ebay ONLY sold unique items. I didn't hear him tout the new stuff.......but emphasize that ebay is diversified in both.... just my take.

Fact is unique items are a smaller portion of ebay sales.....and have been for some time.

tev4all · ‎01-23-2018

@dhbookds wrote:
Here's a link to the interview:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/23/ebay-ceo-get-used-to-shopping-with-your-voice.html

The pop culture question was from the interviewer who admitted he knew little of ebay and seemed to be asking if a "drop" in some current trendy sales item during a quarter could adversely affect ebay's bottom line. My understanding was that Wenig was trying to say that Ebay was not only a place for "unique" items, but actually now derived more income from standard items than unique items. In other words, he was "fighting" the image that ebay ONLY sold unique items. I didn't hear him tout the new stuff.......but emphasize that ebay is diversified in both.... just my take.

Fact is unique items are a smaller portion of ebay sales.....and have been for some time.

Out of curiosity, Can you point to some outside source not owned by ebay corp. for the validity of that last statement?

mistwomandancing · ‎01-23-2018

kathieskorner wrote:
CNBC interviewed eBay's CEO at the economic summit from Davos today. For those like me who sell collectibles (which were referred to as "pop culture") - they are going to be a very small part of ebay's future. Ebay will no longer be the place to look for unique items. The emphasis is going to continue to be on price - selling things cheaper on ebay than places like Amazon.

I don't see eBay surviving as a stand alone business for another 5 years.

We've known for several years now that the **used** stuff selling here is losing ground to the New Product that buyers prefer and shop for!

EBAY would be all Super Excited about used merchandise and expanding and growing in that area... if buyers wanted it to the near-exclusion of the new stuff, but alas for those of us who like to treasure hunt and then flip what we find at a bargain... that is not the case. Second hand clothes and used dishes and various repair parts and the vintage/antique stuff that some of us love, is just not sought after in the numbers/sales that the shiny New products are. That's why for every second-hand store out there in our towns, there are dozens and hundreds of stores that deal in NEW merchandise only.

The financial figures in the ledger columns tell the story. Every business pays attention to where, exactly, their profits come from and in what proportion, and uses those figure to help them plan how to most fully serve their buyers with the merchandise they so obviously desire! Second-hand stuff isn't a very big portion of eBay's success these days.

For those of us who love this area, I don't think it's anything to worry about quite yet. This stuff is still the *seasoning* that helps flavor this site. We won't expire yet, and there's a ton of money still to be made for those sellers who do a good job here.. even with pre-owned merchandise.

And if and when that segment of retail fades from eBay, those who deal in used merchandise will simply shift to other sites where it still works, and those sites will grow from the new sellers swelling their ranks.

There's always a place for second-hand merchandise. It just may not be a very big percentage of the listings on eBay as eBay continues to grow, but that doesn't mean we can't still make good $$$ dealing in the used stuff.

nawlinsron2 · ‎01-23-2018

It makes no diff to ebay if they sell 100M items at $1 or 1M items at $100.
Whoever is in the backroom counting the day's take doesn't care, or even sees what got sold.
They care if the stock price drops.

duggmills · ‎01-23-2018

I some times get the impression that eBay is becoming more like a Dollar General or look the Internet version of like another cheap junk joint.

Oops, from here on I'm kinda ranting and off topic a bit. My apologies to the original poster.

I sell helicopter parts and business on eBay ain't (slang for isn't) what it used to be....... or my inventory is in not demand for a couple of reasons. I have an aircraft auction coming up in March in Texas and I'm wondering if I shouldn't be pulling back on purchases of more stuff.

I love that word, stuff. It's omnipotent for describing everything.

At my age (undisclosed, reply on demand) I'm wondering if I should be looking at something different. Decades ago in the Iast century, I used to do some welded sculpture and did fairly well.... Oh yeah, at about a $0.49 an hour....LOL. The question then becomes, where for I sell the stuff. I prefer not to schlepp all the stuff and set up/down at shows.

My wife is an artist who does mixed media and has done well at shows here and there. When we scout out a show, I see metal work that is either so overpriced I wouldn't have the chutzpah to ask that much or I see stuff ( that great word again) that I couldn't make for what they're asking.

Your thoughts are always informative and welcomed.

"Fly the Big Ones"

sharingtheland · ‎01-23-2018

Out of curiosity, Can you point to some outside source not owned by ebay corp. for the validity of that last statement?

Amazon’s convenience is difficult to compete with, but while 80 percent of items sold on eBay are new products, Wenig said the site has an edge over its rival as a venue for used goods, like refurbished iPhones.

US News & World Report, April, 2016. Of course, this is from a Wenig interview so ...

Sherry

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dhbookds · ‎01-23-2018

@tev4all wrote:
@dhbookds wrote:
Here's a link to the interview:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/23/ebay-ceo-get-used-to-shopping-with-your-voice.html

The pop culture question was from the interviewer who admitted he knew little of ebay and seemed to be asking if a "drop" in some current trendy sales item during a quarter could adversely affect ebay's bottom line. My understanding was that Wenig was trying to say that Ebay was not only a place for "unique" items, but actually now derived more income from standard items than unique items. In other words, he was "fighting" the image that ebay ONLY sold unique items. I didn't hear him tout the new stuff.......but emphasize that ebay is diversified in both.... just my take.

Fact is unique items are a smaller portion of ebay sales.....and have been for some time.
Out of curiosity, Can you point to some outside source not owned by ebay corp. for the validity of that last statement?

No, I can't, tho there may be. There used to be a breakdown in the yearly (quarterly?) reports that indicted that was true, haven't looked lately..... and if it wasn't true, logic would indicate to me that they would do more to tout the unique stuff if that was the real "money maker".......80/20 is usually the breakdown I see...and 20% ain't hay considering the billions ebay sells, so I've always doubted ebay wants to get rid of it.

sharingtheland · ‎01-23-2018

I have one bone to pick. Just one. I promise.

That would be the misuse of the word "unique."

It means one, the only one; unlike anything else.

Sherry

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mistwomandancing · ‎01-23-2018

dhbookds wrote:
logic would indicate to me that they would do more to tout the unique stuff if that was the real "money maker"
80/20 is usually the breakdown I see...and 20% ain't hay considering the billions ebay sells, so I've always doubted ebay wants to get rid of it.

I completely agree. The vast majority of sales may go to New Product, but the second-hand market here draws as well, to the tune of millions of dollars a year! It's not going be be dumped anytime soon.

tev4all · ‎01-23-2018

@sharingtheland wrote:
Out of curiosity, Can you point to some outside source not owned by ebay corp. for the validity of that last statement?

Amazon’s convenience is difficult to compete with, but while 80 percent of items sold on eBay are new products, Wenig said the site has an edge over its rival as a venue for used goods, like refurbished iPhones.

US News & World Report, April, 2016. Of course, this is from a Wenig interview so ...

Thanks!

Maybe I should have asked for a link to any outside source that doesn't include ebay representative quotes/interviews also.

I don't doubt that new items aren't a big part of ebay's Marketplace revenue, I doubt the stated percentages of ebay reps.

IMO

The stated percentage seems to imply that ebay made a HUGE mistake in shutting down ebay express.

johnfduda · ‎01-23-2018

Why would a venue "dump" a part of its income source. It's not like they have a lot of expensive floor space taken up with slow selling junque. They're a venue. The only reason to dump categories is that they don't have the bandwidth to support the listings they have, or that they don't have the bandwidth to support all of their listings with all those immense pictures they demanded we upgrade to.

I would love to have the money in my current invoice multiplied by several millions of users for items that I've had for 50 years. I just dumped my web site because of eBays decisions, so I have a very real knowledge of the cost of billions of bytes of bandwidth. And then you have to realize that they don't need any bandwidth for a specific item till someone clicks on the listing.

sharingtheland · ‎01-23-2018

I have long said that one of the main reasons small sellers of not-new products are here, besides the revenue in fees, is to be used as lab rats for testing new programming. That, and selling ad space.

Sherry

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