Ebay's total disregard for sellers...re: new 15 day limit on putting items on sale

[coniferclothingcompany]

I have been a seller for a few years, have done everything right according to Ebay, gone along with new policies (offer guaranteed delivery, free shipping, have 100% positive fb etc) and was a TPS Plus until the free shipping requirement. This morning I found out that Ebay has instituted a policy that an item that was on promotion cannot be put back on sale for 15 days. I sell clothing and this policy is going to significantly hurt my sales. Over the weekend I put a large part of my store on promotion and consequently had a significant boost in sales. I now can't put any of those items back on sale for 15 days. If I were to put some of these items back on sale next weekend and would get a similar boost in sales how is that a bad thing? I called Ebay and was told that buyers have complained about sellers marking items up and immediately putting them on sale. So instead of targeting those sellers and working with them Ebay institutes a blanket policy that affects all sellers. When I run a promotion it's generally 10-20% off. I do not mark up items before they go on sale. Increased volume of purchases as a result of a promotion is good for me and ultimately Ebay too. Also, there is no way to tell which items are eligible to be put on promotion. If I go to the promotions page and format a sale there is no indication as to which items are beyond the 15 day restriction. Finally, as a seller shouldn't I have received prior notice to this policy? I found out from another seller.

I have always been one to defend Ebay when others complain about policies as a great venue for selling but after they have made free shipping a requirement for TRS Plus and now this I am very discouraged. I would think I am the kind of seller Ebay wants to keep happy as I am making them money. It feels like Ebay is trying to get rid of sellers like me.

[blu_surfwear]

Because eBay insists on trying to fix things that are not broken!

I've complained to eBay on the phone and thru messages about this as this is just plain asinine. I hope others will do the same and maybe we can get this changed back.

[colorful*things]

According to the summer update, it's supposed to be 14 days, not 15.

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/seller-updates/2018-summer/ebay-stores.html#m17-1-tb1

The change most likely has to do with multiple retailers (including on-line only retailers) being hit with false markdown lawsuits.  The list of retailers is long: Macy’s, Kohl’s, JC Penney, Michael Kors, Gap, Banana Republic, Sears, Bloomingdale’s, J Crew, Sports Warehouse, Ann Taylor Outlets, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Home Goods, Hobby Lobby, Nordstrom, DSW, Neiman Marcus, Overstock.com, Wish.com, Art.com.  I could list more but hopefully you get the point.

What they're being sued for is the practice of showing an "original" price and selling at a markdown price. However, the item had never been sold in the store at the original price, thus making the markdown percentage and price false.  This practice is fairly rampant on eBay.  

Many sellers here will either hike up their price by X% and then immediately use MM to mark the price down %y .  On new items, some sellers will list it at retail tag price, then immediately use MM to mark the price down to the sellers origninal intended price. Both practices are misleading to consumers.  If eBay allows this to continue, it's just a matter of time before eBay is slapped with a similar lawsuit. In addition, CA has a law requiring an item be advertised at X price before being advertised with a marked down price.  

One way to get around this legally, on eBay, is to simply use the Order Discount feature under Promotions. You can set it for X% off with or without a minimum purchase, and use it until items are eligible for the Markdown Manager.

I'm not an eBay cheerleader, but this is one change eBay is instituting that I actually support. 

[coniferclothingcompany]

Thank you for the insight. I'm still not sure why I can't edit my listings wihtout incurring this restriction. I tried to do an order discount and that doesn't work. I'm assuming Ebay has it fixed so that it will not work for 15 days either.

[luckythewinner]

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@coniferclothingcompany wrote:

 So instead of targeting those sellers and working with them Ebay institutes a blanket policy that affects all sellers.

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If I ran a for-profit company with 1.1 billion items for sale, that's what I would do too.

[fabulousfind]

eBay shouldn't have the right to tell Seller's how & when to add promotions on their items.  eBay has essentially just put me out of business!

Can't believe they didn't think this one through more carefully.....I assume they will feel the drop in sales within 48 hours & hopefully reconsider this hardline approach.

[blu_surfwear]

Interesting but I think there is a much easier work-around.   eBay could simply define a markdown price as a discounted price from the prior online price and the original online price does not neccessarily reflect a price where the item was sold in stores nor does it even suggest that the item may have been sold in a store in the first place.  It is simply a discount to the online price as originally set by the seller.

[colorful*things]

According to the Seller Update, it's ONLY supposed to apply to markdown sales:

Starting June 25, 2018, you must list your item for 14 calendar days at the same price before you can create a markdown sale event with Promotions Manager.  We recommend that you list your item at a competitive price before you create a markdown sale event. 

I just set a promotion (not MM) for 10% off storewide to start immediately, but it's not showing yet.  At least half of my items should be eligible even if the 14 day rule is being applied to promotions and sales, and not just MM sales.  So my guess is it's the eBay glitch du jour.

[coniferclothingcompany]

Please let us know if that works for you. I tried a couple of times today and it has not yet worked for me. Thank you.

[colorful*things]

If the 14 day rule is meant to apply to ALL instances of sales - promotions, MM etc, then eBay needs to adjust their policy on the site here and communicate it to sellers. Ebay also needs to let third party listing tools know of this change and prohibit the use of strike out pricing by the third party listers as it gives the same impression that phantom pricing does and can open eBay up to a lawsuit.

[colorful*things]

Good article that explains the various sales and pricing strategies, which are legal and which are not legal:

https://www.vorys.com/publications-1698.html

[where*you*crowin]

It makes sense to ebay to not allow sellers to put those items on sale for 15 days. Why?  Because they have been offering sellers an option to have them (ebay) automatically lower the price on their items every 10 DAYS until it reaches some dollar amount determined by ebay.  Of course this is optional, at least for now. 

[fabulousfind]

And....you can't use Order Discount nor Sale Event!! I can't promote any items - what a total FAIL by eBay.!

[coniferclothingcompany]

Please if you are upset about this policy call Ebay!

[blu_surfwear]

Agreed. I can pretty much guarantee that venting here on the boards will lead to absolutely no change in policy. But if eBay is inundated with calls from sellers day after day then they might at least make some sort of a somewhat seller-friendly compromise to the policy.

[moo*cow*corner]

General reply-

All those retailers listed above own and sell their own merchandise. Ebay owns and sells NOTHING.

If I want to markdown my prices, regardless of how long an ad has been running, why not? There's almost always someone whose prices are cheaper than mine. And it's not like buyers actually have to get in their car and drive to another seller's ebay store.

If a buyer doesn't like my listings, 99.99% of the time, all they have to do is hit the back button and find another seller more to their liking who's offering the same thing.

To me, having items on perpetual markdown is more honest than the Best Offer sellers who have pie-in-the-sky prices, and then accept 50% off offers. At least everyone has a shot at the items on markdown.