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.

[coniferclothingcompany]

What if I have a group of items that I want to get rid of because I've had them a long time...I have to now wait until they all meet the 14 day mark AND make certain I don't edit any of them in the meantime in order to start a sale.

If I want to put a category of items on sale it will be very difficult because all of those items are on different "time clocks" as to when they will be eligible to be in a sale, AND in the meantime I can't touch those listings or that clock will start all over again.

So now if I want to lower the price on an item I won't because it will start the sale clock all over again. Ditto on editing to offer better perks like free shipping or to correct a mistake. This is so counter productive.

[luluathleta]

This policy will significantly hurt sellers like me.   When I do a sale I target either old items or a specific category like $5.00 off all swim.   There is no way to do sales like that now because I list new things daily, items relist after 30 days and often do some sort of edit to fix mistakes, adjust heading, add pictures etc.    All my swim will NEVER be eligible all at once for a sale.  This new blanket policy doesn't even tell you when you are starting a sale what items are eligible for a sale?  This is the worst policy roll out I have seen since becoming a reseller.    I estimate I will lose 2k a week in gross sales from not being able to do targeted sales. 

[luluathleta]

AGREE!!!!  I am going to call ebay everyday to complain.  EVERYDAY.

[coniferclothingcompany]

PLEASE CALL EBAY-I just got off a call with a supervisor who said she had just gotten 3 calls previously about this change. They are going to talk about this at their next meeting. CALL!!!!!

Also she said it's super important to fill out the Marketing Feedback survey on the Manage Promotions page. Go to Seller Hub, Marketing, then Promotions. At the top right above the blue rectangle that says "Create a Promotion" it says "COMMENTS". Click there and fill out the survey telling Ebay how this will hurt your sales. Please take a moment to do both. Thanks!

[ifyouloveit]

"I can't think of a single time where I have been drawn to check out a vendor's store on Amazon."

Exactly. I don't look at stores on Amazon either. eBay had a very unique venue, hence the name East Bay Area Yard Sale. Seems if they are going to completely overhaul the site to a completely different site (and they are and have), they need a name change. We aren't in East Bay Area Yard Sale anymore Toto.

I'm not sure where we are anymore. I do know this much. eBay is currently a ROYAL MESS for both sellers and buyers. It's actually embarrassing. I no longer say I am a reseller on eBay when people ask me what I do. I tell them I am an Internet reseller, since I have expanded to other venues with eBay's new "get your collectibles and used stuff out of here" approach.

If I have to have 10 lines in 10 different pools, I will. This was my favorite pool of all time. I loved it here. It was fun. I made money. I found the most amazing things, most I still have and people would always ask me, "Wow, where did you get that?!!!" "eBay! I would proudly proclaim, "You can find just about everything there! It's awesome!"

Now when I say eBay, people often ask me, "eBay, people still shop there?"

I find this rather sad. I can't tell you how many people I have met as I go around that say they no longer shop here. People used to love eBay, now I rarely hear anyone talk about it, unless I bring it up. I never hear anyone say they bought something on eBay either. Those days are gone. When I ask where they buy online, it is almost always-----The River.

[ifyouloveit]

No kidding, I edit listings all the time. eBay even SUGGESTS we edit listings. They talk through both sides of their mouth. I don't think eBay even knows what it wants anymore. What a mess.

[coniferclothingcompany]

Reminder to anyone upset with this policy to please CALL and fill out the survey as described above. Thank you!

[emerald40]

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@lookng2015 wrote:
What they've done then is basically say we can only run a sale (on the same items) now once a month.

All because buyers get upset when they find the deal they got isn't as big a "deal" as they thought?

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So you admit it is deceptive.

[emerald40]

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@blu_surfwear wrote:

I agree this is without a doubt one of the most asinine things eBay has ever done.

We sell wetsuits primarily.  We use the sales markdown feature quite extensively in our main account.  While we don't "mark up our prices" we do strongly feel that price helps set realistic buyer expectations on the perceived quality of an item.  Our wetsuits are non-branded; even tho it may be on par with respect to the quality of a $115 wetsuit that is sold in the stores, if we set it at that price they won't sell.  If we set the price at $65 then the customer will think it is junk.  But if we price it at $100 then put it on sale for 35% off then the customer perception is that they are getting a great deal on a good wetsuit.

I understand not everyone knows much about wetsuits so just imagine it is a bottle of wine.  If there is a bottle of wine normally priced at $20 on sale for 40% off at $12 then it will be perceived by most as the customer getting a great deal on a better quality bottle of wine then one that normally just has a $12 MSRP etc.

Using the markdown sale feature also creates a set of urgency for the customer to act now before the sale ends.  

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This perceived idea by buyers has run its course.  Buyers with all their apps to compare prices no longer fall for that.

List the item at the price you want.  Period.  Then after a while mark it down, if you want.

Listing it at a price you have no intention of selling it for, only to mark it down and call it a sale is a real turnoff to buyers who are well aware of how the game is played.

A $12 bottle of wine is worth $12 no matter how you try and manipulate the price.

[colorful*things]

Also contact eBay via the eBay for Business Facebook page.  They respond to messages there.  I'm surprised no one from eBay has bothered to check in on this thread. That's actually pretty insulting to us sellers, eBay.  

[emerald40]

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@colorful*things wrote:

Also contact eBay via the eBay for Business Facebook page.  They respond to messages there.  I'm surprised no one from eBay has bothered to check in on this thread. That's actually pretty insulting to us sellers, eBay.  

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The time to have voiced your concern was when ebay announced this during the latest seller update.

If you want a mod to come to this thread you have to call him here.

[colorful*things]

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@blu_surfwear wrote:

We sell wetsuits primarily.  We use the sales markdown feature quite extensively in our main account.  While we don't "mark up our prices" we do strongly feel that price helps set realistic buyer expectations on the perceived quality of an item.  Our wetsuits are non-branded; even tho it may be on par with respect to the quality of a $115 wetsuit that is sold in the stores, if we set it at that price they won't sell.  If we set the price at $65 then the customer will think it is junk.  But if we price it at $100 then put it on sale for 35% off then the customer perception is that they are getting a great deal on a good wetsuit.

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If you put the wetsuits on immediate MM sale, without letting them sit a bit at the higher price, you engaged in one of the practices that got wish.com and other retailers sued.   Wish.com lost, BTW.  The settlement is rumored to be over $100 million.  The deadline to file a claim was last month. I suspect that lawsuit was on eBay's mind when they decided to establish the 14 day rule.

I'm good with waiting to put an item on sale. What I am NOT good with is the apparent decision to limit sellers to one sale period every 14 days.  There is no reason under the sun that sellers cannot run concurrent or staggered sales on different items.  Makes me wonder if eBay either couldn't figure out the programming involved to do this or didn't want to spend the money and simply took the easy way.  We all know how bad eBay is at site programming.

[coniferclothingcompany]

How do I go about calling a moderator to this thread?

[emerald40]

@Anonymous

Called one for you.

But they may be on a weekly chat now, so you may have to wait a bit.

[emerald40]

Trinton just posted he is going on vacation after today.

I replied that I summoned him to this post.  Hopefully he will see it.

If not reply on his thread.