eBay

upgradedendmills · ‎05-15-2019

It is truly a shame to see so many sellers being forced to give up their hobby/business due to eBay's shortsighted greed. Hopefully, this will all shake out in the next 60-90 days and the platform will either be sold or completely out of business.

Personally, I am in a holding pattern and willing to absorb my losses for the next two or three months and make any decisions for my future on eBay based on actual information I gain over that time period. The latest changes here have been a huge distraction and cost me untold hours of labor working around them for diminishing returns.

Sellers leaving in droves and selling off their inventory at fire sale prices is having a snowballing downward effect on other sellers who are willing to keep adapting and trying to make this work. The complete lack of sales leads me to believe that potential buyers are still out there but waiting for prices to bottom out.

I honestly feel that if there is to be a recovery on eBay, it will take years and we will have lost way too many good sellers to get there. Replacing the aggregate dedication and experience these sellers bring to the table is simply impossible.

I hope there is a drop in stock prices bad enough to make investors reconsider their options and replace the management team that is causing the root problems. As sellers, you do not deserve the disruptions and pain that are being heaped on you.

moms**art**window** · ‎05-16-2019

@popeye3165 wrote:
@coolections wrote:
@upgradedendmills wrote:
Hopefully, this will all shake out in the next 60-90 days and the platform will either be sold or completely out of business.
People have been coming here for over 15 years or more saying the same thing as you but yet Ebay is thriving.
Is eBay really thriving?

Laughable,if you have to ask maybe not huh

thriving oh yea it's thriving alright haha

luckythewinner · ‎05-16-2019

Hopefully, this will all shake out in the next 60-90 days and the platform will either be sold or completely out of business

eBay could lost 5% of net income every year for the next 15 years and still be making a billion dollar a year. Sorry, I just don't see them going "completely out of business" anytime soon.

Sellers leaving in droves and selling off their inventory at fire sale prices is having a snowballing downward effect on other sellers

If that is the case, when it all shakes out in 60-90 days you will look back and realize you missed a huge buying opportunity 🙂

upgradedendmills · ‎05-16-2019

I think that a couple of years of zero growth, much less any losses, would ruin eBay.

zamo-zuan · ‎05-16-2019

@coolections wrote:
@upgradedendmills wrote:
Hopefully, this will all shake out in the next 60-90 days and the platform will either be sold or completely out of business.
People have been coming here for over 15 years or more saying the same thing as you but yet Ebay is thriving. Those sellers that say they are leaving in droves hardly any of them actually leave. Those that do leave another comes in right behind them.

Take a look at the image I provided. This is directly out of the report that eBay sent. The category is down 27% GMV in one month.

In addition, the Radio Control category was down 36% GMV in one month.

That is not thriving.

sodelight · ‎05-16-2019

You seriously think ebay will be out of business in 60 to 90 days! SMH

If ebay is losing sellers in droves, then why are there over a billion listings! I honestly think they need to lose more sellers, I made much more money here when it was a platform of less than 50 million listings with only a few million sellers. Ebay gains new sellers daily, even if the oldtimers left in droves, it wouldn't hurt.

The majority of companies are greedy, just like the majority of people.

zamo-zuan · ‎05-16-2019

@luckythewinner wrote:
Hopefully, this will all shake out in the next 60-90 days and the platform will either be sold or completely out of business
eBay could lost 5% of net income every year for the next 15 years and still be making a billion dollar a year. Sorry, I just don't see them going "completely out of business" anytime soon.

Sellers leaving in droves and selling off their inventory at fire sale prices is having a snowballing downward effect on other sellers
If that is the case, when it all shakes out in 60-90 days you will look back and realize you missed a huge buying opportunity 🙂

Considering their stock report even admit sales are down, they have 100% been focusing on company margin/stock performance, the CEO has been all over the media, and the reports I received from them are saying GMV for categories are down 27-36% in a single month (and they are not taking action)....

It honestly looks like they're prepping to sell the company.

southern*sweet*tea · ‎05-16-2019

**general reply**

I think Ebay is thriving, considering Amazon has half the internet retail marketshare. Ebay is number two among internet retailers. Yes, they only have a 6.6% market share, but with Amazon basically controlling the market, I don't even count them, which makes Ebay number one in my mind.

https://www.emarketer.com/content/amazon-now-has-nearly-50-of-us-ecommerce-market

Not everyone wants to support Amazon. That is the one company I would love to see fall to its knees. Their goal is to drive everyone else out of the retail business, then they can raise prices with abandon. They're already much higher on a lot of the things I buy. And on the retail side, Amazon is only as profitable as it is because of their 3P sellers.

And what I consider most amazing, Ebay is the only entity on that list that is not an actual retailer. Ebay sells NOTHING. Ebay has no merchandise. Ebay sells listing space to online sellers...and yet Ebay is second ahead of establisned retail giants like Walmart and Apple.

I'd certainly say Ebay is thriving.

The easier you are to offend the easier you are to control.

We seem to be getting closer and closer to a situation where nobody is responsible for what they did but we are all responsible for what somebody else did. - Thomas Sowell

lindyslostandfound · ‎05-16-2019

Boy, do I get what both of you are saying. I plan on selling a great number of things. I am downsizing and also want to turn this all into a business. I was sick for a year and have a room full of stock too, that I need to get out there. I plan on selling on other sites but I saw exactly what you were saying. You have to read the "fine print". Paid last after all the other stuff?? Who is making money on that money being HELD after the buyer hands it in, and the seller doesn't get paid for days and until they leave feedback?? SOMEONE IS MAKING MONEY ON THAT. GREED has taken over everything and everyone and sadly all but the filthy rich suffer.

upgradedendmills · ‎05-16-2019

I don't believe that most of the sellers voicing concerns are "over reacting" in any way. Ignoring the recent changes in eBay doesn't seem like a solution to any of the problems they are facing. When the changes are abrupt and disrupt business models that have taken these sellers years to develop, it is a natural reaction to either stop what you are doing or change it if possible. When you are ignored by the people making the changes, it seems like a rational decision to leave. I am sorry to see this happening to so many sellers who have invested so much effort into this platform.

eBay is the only online platform I use and I feel that they are overlooking some simple fixes to serious problems and concentrating too much on short term bandages with no regard to their customers. They simply put on blinders and earplugs where sellers are concerned.

zamo-zuan · ‎05-16-2019

@southern*sweet*tea wrote:
**general reply**

I think Ebay is thriving, considering Amazon has half the internet retail marketshare. Ebay is number two among internet retailers. Yes, they only have a 6.6% market share, but with Amazon basically controlling the market, I don't even count them, which makes Ebay number one in my mind.
https://www.emarketer.com/content/amazon-now-has-nearly-50-of-us-ecommerce-market

Not everyone wants to support Amazon. That is the one company I would love to see fall to its knees. Their goal is to drive everyone else out of the retail business, then they can raise prices with abandon. They're already much higher on a lot of the things I buy. And on the retail side, Amazon is only as profitable as it is because of their 3P sellers.

And what I consider most amazing, Ebay is the only entity on that list that is not an actual retailer. Ebay sells NOTHING. Ebay has no merchandise. Ebay sells listing space to online sellers...and yet Ebay is second ahead of establisned retail giants like Walmart and Apple.

I'd certainly say Ebay is thriving.

I think it's very important to differentiate eBay's success as a company, vs eBay's success as a marketplace.

We can go by their stock report alone. As a company, eBay is thriving. Their profit margin has went up significantly.

As a marketplace, eBay is declining. They reported 4% decline in sales on one of the quarters known for significant growth.

Don't get me wrong, I want eBay to succeed more than anyone. EBay is our primary market. But eBay is declining right now. They haven't shown losses in sales like this for years.

This is in addition to what I showed before, about the GMV plummeting, according to eBay's own reports.

We have to face the truth and eBay's changes during the last year and a half not only have harmed the marketplace (for the sake of the profit margin of their company), as well as brought eBay's prices up as a whole (making them even less competitive against Amazon).

EBay has given up many of their strengths that we had a year and a half ago. While the new areas eBay has worked on (shipping and returns) are still inferior versions of what Amazon offers. We would have been better off with eBay having strengths in the market (such as cheaper prices and easier access to OOAK/collectible items) rather than focusing on the exact things Amazon does. Becoming Amazon-lite is never going to succeed, we have to give them a reason to go here instead of Amazon, and inferior offerings of the same things they offer is not doing that.

It has became harder to be an eBay seller, not easier. The marketplace is suffering, while the company thrives at the expense of the market. They are no longer able to hide this as it's showing in the numbers on their own reports.

rixstuff · ‎05-16-2019

@popeye3165 wrote:
@mr_lincoln wrote:
@upgradedendmills Good post but its hard to verify if Sellers are in fact leaving in droves or quantify the % that have or are in the process of leaving? Are Sellers Leaving? Yes I am sure, but as to how many and in what categories I think is the real question.
No one will be able to quantify anything until some numbers are released that will take a few months.

I can say this I used to sell a lot of BIN DVD/Blu-rays before GTC because I listed them at the lowest price AFTER GTC I have sold few if any.

Speaking as your market, I - and most of my 30 something friends - no longer buy physical DVDs. We buy downloads and store them in our cloud drives. So that drop in sales may be just the normally expected obsolescence.

upgradedendmills · ‎05-16-2019

You misread my post on a couple of different fronts!! I am sorry to see so many sellers being so discouraged that they feel the need to close up shop and leave. Sorry you feel that we need to lose even more. I think competition is healthy.

esg-enterprises · ‎05-16-2019

Zamo,

Big fan of your professional posts, I have heard the same rumors, imagine this would be a good thing?

frenchblueshutters · ‎05-16-2019

Nope We are NOT overreacting to GTC. 1000's of sellers had their Livelyhoods halt to a Dead Stop as of March 18th. GTC only works for Bulk Sellers Period or those Who Don't really want to spend Much Time on their Business. It Does NOT work for One of a Kind Antiques and Collectibles. We Relied on Shorter Durations. Ebay Could do Both if they really wanted to. Make all Sellers happy. I have been on Ebay for Years. GTC was By Far the WORST Change they Have ever done. and I Myself Have seen Many Changes.