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]

And remember that every time you edit one of those listings the 14 day clock starts over.

[irinahat]

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@coniferclothingcompany wrote:

And remember that every time you edit one of those listings the 14 day clock starts over.

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Yeah, I know.

So all in all, it's now virtually impossible to use this feature unless you jump through many hoops. 

Luckily we still have promoted listings, for those willing to give away a % promotional fee. 

It isn't free like MM is but I use promoted listings on some of my rare, hard to sell, and obscure items, and I have had items sell through promotions that have been sitting in my store for forever, so at least we still have that.

I know some people don't like the idea of giving a % to promoted listings, but I buy all my items for really cheap at garage sales and 50% off thrift store sales, so if I spent $1 on an item and sold it for $100 and there's a 5% promotional ad fee on top of my FVF, I'm not going to cry over it because I know I got it for dirt cheap.

[vintage_villages]

Promoted listing doesn't work that great if you are selling clothing, vintage items, watches. If promoted listing works, I don't mind paying 4-5% but in my case it doesn't work for me, it is useless

[beauty_at_your_tips2013]

My sales have flatlined since June 25th!  EBay has shot itself (and sellers) in the foot...again!

[street*bandit]

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@coniferclothingcompany wrote:

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.

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I agree with you.  Having to wait  to put things on sale, while I see the  need for SOME items/sellers, not all  of us want it this way.  I make all  my items  I sell and sometimes, I put some things on sale in a category and that includes things I just  listed.  This new rule is gong to  prevent me from doing that on the newly listed items.

Especially when I made holiday related items. If I already have 10 holiday related items listed but make 10 more, I have to wait 14 days to markdown the new 10?  I want to mark down my items during specific holidays.

[street*bandit]

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@hioctane62 wrote:

What really gets me about this new policy is that at the same time, ebay is testing a new feature where they want sellers to sign on to let THEM automatically reduce your price starting 10 days after you list it. So YOU can't put it on sale, but THEY can just reduce the price, which is not reflected as a markdown.

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oh my goodness, how do I opt out of that?  That sounds disastrous.

[street*bandit]

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@bartholomr4 wrote:

Absolutely the dumbest thing (and there are alot of dumb things eBay has done) ever implemented by eBay.  They want our items to sell, charge a promotion fee, and a monthly store fee, but provides no freedom to the seller.  I really think this is lazy software development.

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Have you ever wondered why Ebay charges a monthly fee for a "store"?  They still get their fees when the item sells.  One would think Ebay would pay US to list MORE, not t he other way around.

[dhbookds]

might pay to read the

FTC GUIDES AGAINST DECEPTIVE PRICING

http://www.lawpublish.com/ftc-decprice.html

[irinahat]

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@vintage_villages wrote:

Promoted listing doesn't work that great if you are selling clothing, vintage items, watches. If promoted listing works, I don't mind paying 4-5% but in my case it doesn't work for me, it is useless

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I've sold $3,000 worth through promoted listings during this round of campaigns. I made a similar amount through promoted listings before, but I deleted those campaigns and created new ones so I don't remember how well I did with previous campaigns, but it was a similar number / ad fee %. The ad fee total isn't outrageous, either.

Just trying to show that they CAN work, even with vintage items, clothing, etc. which is what I sell.

But MM was free and was superior before it got so heavily regulated...

[street*bandit]

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@dhbookds wrote:

might pay to read the

FTC GUIDES AGAINST DECEPTIVE PRICING

http://www.lawpublish.com/ftc-decprice.html

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what is this  in reply to

[gew6463]

The information you provided is very helpful in understanding the thought process behind this. I have to admit that it has occasionally annoyed me how some competitors have used the markdown function to literally relist an item, then promptly have it on sale within an hour of listing! That being said, I wonder how they came up with the 14 day number? It seems like 7 days would be reasonable. If you have a 10 day listing that has not attracted enough attention (or has watchers) it makes sense to put it on sale the last few days to attract that attention. Does anyone have an explanation of how they might have come to that particular time-frame? 

[grayirongolf]

I would'nt worry about it.  The CEO comes from a news agency background. 

I'm sure he know's what he's doing.  

[dhbookds]

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@street*bandit wrote:

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@dhbookds wrote:

might pay to read the

FTC GUIDES AGAINST DECEPTIVE PRICING

http://www.lawpublish.com/ftc-decprice.html

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what is this  in reply to

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The subject of pricing and sales.......  and perhaps is the reason ebay put the rules into effect..........

If you read the examples, some are very close to what people are doing and what the FTC labels as deceptive..........

[gew6463]

The problem with what you suggest is that I find it is actually the more experienced sellers who are mis-using this option, at least in the category I sell in. I'm not including their i.d., but only their feedback#. Ex: (12383 *) and of course they are also a TOP rated Seller to boot. Regularly like clockwork, each 7 days they list their item, within moments after listing, the item is magically 'on sale'. It is interesting to note that they have had their large lots of toys on sale for months on end. I think buyers are ignoring them at this point, because it gives the feeling that the seller is trying to pull the wool over their eyes. Why not just lower the price? Sellers love a sale (I agree with the posters here on that) but they don't like to feel manipulated. 

[hioctane62]

Retail has used "special introductory price" practically forever. It implies that you are rolling the item out "on sale", and that customers should buy now before the price increases to regular price.