eBay

crownsfieldcellular · ‎03-23-2019

I've been selling on eBay for over 15 years..I'm a Top Rated Plus Seller with over 3100 positive feed backs, and I have a 100% positive rating. I pay close to $1000 a month or more in selling fees, and I have a store subscription...

I really, really have to thank eBay in a big way for this latest update. I had such a good thing going on here, we were both making money, and there's just nothing like that wonderful feeling of watching all your hard work go up in smoke; and realizing that this must have been done PURPOSEFULLY by the venue that you've been paying out the nose to for years.

eBay? If you were trying to put me out of business? For some bizarre, absolutely moronic reason? I can see very clearly now that you are going to succeed in doing this in a very big way with this new change.

I sell ONE OFF high end iPhones on this site, I have no repetitive inventory, and I RELY on the URGENCY that 3 Day BIN auctions create during a certain time every week to make all my sales.

My very tried and true method of selling all of my inventory weekly (which I HAVE TO DO to stay in business and keep cash flowing), was to list everything I buy through the week on Saturday morning on a 3 Day BIN which ended on Tuesday.

This is the peak buying time with my customers, and that 3 Day TICKING CLOCK was SO POWERFUL in creating urgency with them over the weekend? That typically I would sell everything I had in that 3 day time frame..And even if a few phones did not sell in those days? I would simply lower the price a bit and run another 3 day BIN auction starting on Tuesday, and by Friday? Everything was gone and we were both making a great deal of money.

This system I devised didn't happen by ACCIDENT. It took me a great deal of experimentation to find out what WORKED, and start seeing the kind of success I have seen over the past year or so of selling these phones. This took A LOT of hard work and persistence, but I got it done and I was making great money.

This mandatory GTC listing insanity started this week, and SURE ENOUGH, just like I knew it would - It has already destroyed my sales.

I have sold exactly ONE PHONE this week, with 6 other high ticket, high demand phones lingering there getting "watchers", but of course NO BUYERS - Because the buyers no longer have ANY SENSE OF URGENCY TO BUY. This is because there is no longer a TIME LIMIT on my listings where people HAVE TO ACT before a listing ends.

GTC Not only DOES NOT WORK TO SELL MY PRODUCTS, It is going to actively DESTROY my business.

This change TOTALLY undermines the system I have developed, TOTALLY ELIMINATES any kind of Buyer URGENCY or DEMAND FOR ACTION.

This entirely KILLS MY BUSINESS ON HERE...ENTIRELY. The proof?? I have not had ONE SALE SINCE TUESDAY - NOT ONE!! And I'm selling items that used to have an over 85% sell through rate on this site..

With GTC I can no longer TURN MY INVENTORY OVER QUICKLY, TO RUN MY BUSINESS..Unless of course I just want to sell everything for no profits, but obviously THATS NOT GOING TO WORK FOR ME...

I have been selling on this site for over 15 YEARS and I KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT and what I am DOING...GTC listings are for STORE LISTINGS, and for sellers who have LONG TAIL INVENTORY....GTC DOES NOT WORK FOR SELLERS SELLING ONE OFF UNIQUE ITEMS THAT THEY HAVE TO TURN OVER QUICKLY!!! NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM!!

Everyone is complaining about the possible added fees with this change???...Let me tell you something? I would have taken a 2% FVF INCREASE OVER LOSING THE ABILITY TO SELL MY ITEMS COMPLETELY!!!

I CANNOT HAVE ITEMS SITTING THERE FOR 2 WEEKS, 3 WEEKS, 30 DAYS, 60 DAYS - THIS IS NOT THE WAY MY BUSINESS WORKS!!

And I CERTAINLY am not alone...This change has to be affecting AT LEAST 30% of sellers who GTC SIMPLY DOES NOT WORK FOR...GTC IS NOT A BLANKET LISTING THAT IS IDEAL FOR EVERYONE'S BUSINESS!!

WHERE IS THE RATIONALE AND DATA SUGGESTING THAT IT IS????

Do 30% of YOUR SELLERS have to LEAVE THE SITE eBay, or ACTUALLY GO OUT OF BUSINESS ON HERE BEFORE YOU FIGURE THIS OUT??

OR DO YOU HAVE TO DESTROY THE WEBSITE COMPLETELY BEFORE YOU UNDERSTAND THE RAMIFICATIONS OF WHAT YOU ARE DOING HERE??? I REALLY, REALLY WANT TO KNOW...

SOMEONE AT EBAY NEEDS TO TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION HERE TO CORRECT THIS AND GIVE US OUR SHORTER TIME BUY IT NOW OPTIONS BACK, THIS IS TOTALLY, TOTALLY INSANE AND YOU ARE PUTTING PEOPLE OUT OF BUSINESS!!!

my-cottage-books-and-antiques · ‎03-23-2019

this is the thread I'm referring to, particularly the post from duncanvr:
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/OFFER-TO-BUYERS/m-p/29635964#M1391042

crownsfieldcellular · ‎03-23-2019

@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:
I know nothing about high end phones and so forth, but a possible suggestion, based on something said on another thread, about the new ability (not yet rolled out to everyone) for sellers to make offers to watchers. It sounds like you do get watchers on these phones, for you say "I have sold exactly ONE PHONE this week, with 6 other high ticket, high demand phones lingering there getting "watchers", but of course NO BUYERS - Because the buyers no longer have ANY SENSE OF URGENCY TO BUY. This is because there is no longer a TIME LIMIT on my listings where people HAVE TO ACT before a listing ends."

But if you send your watchers an offer, there is a TIME limit for them to accept it at the lower price (and if ebay sends the offer to more than one watcher per phone, there would not only be a sense of urgency, but a sense of competition as well.)

Like I say, I know nothing about what you sell, and have no idea how well this might work for you. Also, unfortunately, the way this works is ebay has an algorithm that selects which items can be sent offers, and which watchers of those items get offers. So, even if this is rolled out to you and you have watchers, it's possible your listings won't get the feature. But if you get this new feature (ebay has said it should be rolled out to most everyone by the end of the month, and rumor has it you can call ebay CS and try to get it sooner, but I don't know about that)....anyway, if you get it, you might want to give it a try. It doesn't cost anything to use it

Thank you very very much for this information..I was not aware of this new feature, but I have to say its an absolutely brilliant idea and then this will not be so bad I don't think.

If this is truly a feature they are going to roll out to help us sell GTC listings? Then I am a lot less upset about this.

I wish if this was the case they would have let us all know about this when they rolled out the GTC change. This feature will certainly soften the blow, because the one thing you do definitely gain with GTC listings is "watchers", its just converting those watchers to buyers is the issue.

Being able to send direct offers to watchers will be very, very helpful for my sales.

Thank you again, you've actually made me feel much better = )

markart · ‎03-23-2019

Being able to send watchers an offer would be an interesting option to add but does not have the same effect as a short duration of a listing. I agree with the original poster: a 3 day listing is a very effective tool for selling.

Have you all called ebay to ask them to reinstate the time options?

Please let them know - perhaps multiple times. The personal contact with customer support is very effective.

Go to the Customer Support page:

https://www.ebay.com/help/call_us?initFrom=HOME&l1label=Selling

Then choose "Creating a listing" to bring up the page with the phone number and passcode to make the call. They are very receptive to your opinion.

Let's change this!!

my-cottage-books-and-antiques · ‎03-23-2019

Well, I hope it works for you. It actually was part of the Announcement that included GTC. I think some sellers have had a version of it in beta for a little while already. Here's the Early Spring Seller Update:
https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/seller-updates/2019-early/index.html?_trkparms=%26clkid%3D19344...

It's actually the first entry in the Update.

As I said, the one thing I'd be concerned about is this:

"Eligibility (of listings) is determined by a number of factors, including age of listing, listing format, and rules that manage the number of offers buyers receive. We may expand eligibility criteria over time."

If none of your listings are shown as eligible by the end of March, I'd try calling ebay CS to see if you can prod them into making sure you get this.

As I say, I hope this works for you.

vintagecraze50 · ‎03-23-2019

After reading how the OP was running his business it does seem like the urgency to buy was working well for him. I can really see why a buyer would move to action on a purchase doing it that way. But, also he would have to be in the right price range to get the buyer as well.

auctionpet · ‎03-23-2019

You said you do 3 day BIN auctions. These haven't been eliminated, so the GTC change should have no effect on you.

No matter the length of a listing the sense of urgency isn't necessarily related to the expiration date, it's the fact that someone else might buy it first! A 3 day or 30 day listing is irrelevant when it comes to this, as when it's sold, it's sold. Someone watching or finding the listing has no idea if someone else may purchase it first. Buyers here know full well that when an items duration term expires, there's a good chance it will be relisted. Often times immediately. I'd see it constantly, especially on shorter duration fixed price. Sellers would relist over and over every 3, 5, 7 days so they could have that search boost in newly listed or ending soonest. An item would end unsold only to then be immediately relisted. No sense of urgency there.

tway12 · ‎03-23-2019

This is an insult to seller. I like to chose the duration of my fixed price listings. Some items I don't want to relist if they aren't selling. Now it complicated with the fix price Good Till Cancelled. This is getting too frustration. Not enough people are letting Ebay know. So I'm looking for another selling platform. They are getting seller unfriendlier.

annadryl · ‎03-23-2019

@crownsfieldcellular wrote:
@cashvaluerecovery2011 wrote:
Mam you didnt get what the OP was saying.

Imagine a flea market where an great deal on a phone you might want is sitting for sale. But this flea market is only open saturday and sunday. You have no idea if this phone will be available next weekend. You have been wanting it. Its here and available but not for much longer. Someone else might get it if you wait. This was the OPS schtick.

Now imagine you are on ebay. Same phone. Same want and desire. But its not ending for another 28 days. The sellers isnt going anywhere. Doesnt look like anyone else is chomping at the bit to get it. No sweat, lets watch and see what happens.

Point being. A seller having more choices = better for the seller and better for the market place. Ebay does not own the products or sell the products. Us business owners are suppose to adapt to the market and make it happen. Losing options and choices to make stuff happen makes for a very stale dull marketplace. The OPS niche that was working is now gone instantly.
Thank you. I could not have possibly said this better myself or made a better analogy.

Notice the lack of frantic CAPS and triple punctuation. That's a great start~

blingrescue · ‎03-23-2019

Today I canceled all of my listings. I will relist all of them when fixed price duration flexibility is returned to the options.
I canceled 2 days ago same plan

fabreedwar · ‎03-23-2019

OP:

If your sales really are dead now with GTC, and assuming you haven't been using the "Accept Best Offer" (or however it's called) option, maybe you can get some sales if you check the option that tells buyers you'll accept offers. Start your initial price higher than you normally would, and then hope for offers that are near the price you actually want.

evodoor · ‎03-23-2019

I'm sorry, but you are wrong. Buyers DO INDEED WAIT! I have tried every type of auction and fixed price method. My best sales, by far, happen on the last day of nearly all of my listings. Hell, I even do it when I'm shopping. When I am in the mood to buy(which was a lot more common when I had sales to support my shopping habit), I look at "time ending soonest" FIRST. I don't want to miss out on something great that's about to end. Then I try "newly listed", hoping to be that first lucky shopper to hop on a new one off item. Rarely does my shopping trip ever make it to a best match search. I would be my own best customer, if I didn't already own what I'm selling.

@kensgiftshop wrote:
@cashvaluerecovery2011 wrote:
Mam you didnt get what the OP was saying.

Imagine a flea market where an great deal on a phone you might want is sitting for sale. But this flea market is only open saturday and sunday. You have no idea if this phone will be available next weekend. You have been wanting it. Its here and available but not for much longer. Someone else might get it if you wait. This was the OPS schtick.

Now imagine you are on ebay. Same phone. Same want and desire. But its not ending for another 28 days. The sellers isnt going anywhere. Doesnt look like anyone else is chomping at the bit to get it. No sweat, lets watch and see what happens.

Point being. A seller having more choices = better for the seller and better for the market place. Ebay does not own the products or sell the products. Us business owners are suppose to adapt to the market and make it happen. Losing options and choices to make stuff happen makes for a very stale dull marketplace. The OPS niche that was working is now gone instantly.
If the buyer really wanted the phone, they will buy it when they find it.
Buyers don't know if item or even buyer will be here tomorrow, so most won't wait.

dinpavent0 · ‎03-23-2019

I believe if you run an auction the choices are 3 days, 5 days, 7 or 10 days. So you said you were doing 3 day auctions, not buy it now.

mam98031 · ‎03-23-2019

@crownsfieldcellular

You are correct that with GTC the buyer does not know it is going to renew. They also do not know it is even going to END ever, because there is no time information displayed on the listing at all. Therefore there is absolutely zero urgency to act.

This is NOT true as I tried to explain in my earlier posts. Buyers WILL SEE that the listing ends on the 30th day just like they did before for a 30 day BIN listing. There is NO difference in this function that the buyer sees. The time information IS DISPLAYED on the listing. I'm not sure where you are getting this information from, but it is incorrect.

A buyer will NOT see any difference in how a 30 day FP listing presents and a GTC listing. They look the EXACT same way to a buyer and they return in the searches the same way if they search by ending soonest.

A buyer can take their time, watch the item, wait a few days, twiddle their thumbs, keep shopping around...There is no powerful call to action that is pressing them to pull that trigger.

Again not true as I explained above.

What I told you in my earlier posts is correct and from what you described in your OP, it seems it should work just fine for you since you have such a high sell through rate.

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

crownsfieldcellular · ‎03-23-2019

@dinpavent0 wrote:
I believe if you run an auction the choices are 3 days, 5 days, 7 or 10 days. So you said you were doing 3 day auctions, not buy it now.

When I say "auction", I meant a Buy It Now auction. Maybe the proper terminology would be "listing", however on eBay? A BIN listing is still technically an auction, it just has a set fixed price (at least thats the way i've always looked at it).

crownsfieldcellular · ‎03-23-2019

If the buyer really wanted the phone, they will buy it when they find it.
Buyers don't know if item or even buyer will be here tomorrow, so most won't wait.

I can only tell you you are wrong from my personal experience. Sometimes? Yes that's absolutely the case. That would be considered an impulse buyer and we all love them. many, many other buyers do not buy on impulse, they buy in a slower way after a lot of deliberation, etc. Many times they need the extra psychological nudge a listing that is ending gives them. (im not by any means saying that is the only factor that goes into a sale, but I AM saying it is very helpful).

I tried every length of listing, and a lot of other sales techniques? And I found through experimentation? that 3 day buy it nows work best for MY particular items. I guess they also meshed well with my listing style, etc. But whatever the case? they WORKED..

There's no plausible argument that anyone can make to me to have me not believe this, because I saw this with my own eyes, and spent the real money I was making in reality lol...

No offense to you, but this answer is indicative of the larger problem here, and its very much like what eBay is saying a doing right now.

They assume that they know better (like you are) how to sell MY products, and have a better method. Just like you are making an ad hoc generalization right now thinking you know better than me about my products and how to sell them, or that I wrong in my statement that I need the urgency and it helps tremendously. You have no basis to tell me I'm wrong because you do not sell my products, and you have no context to speak from.

If a seller is successful? And they are selling a lot? Most of the time that's not "dumb luck"..It's because they actually know what they are doing through the EXPERIENCE of doing it, and achieving success.

Thats exactly why in my opinion you DO NOT do what eBay is doing right now and strip everyone of tools they may need to be most successful.

In my mind, you don't TAKE AWAY selling tools that could help make even ONE more sale on the site. If anything you EXPAND those tools, offer more, do whatever you can to obviously help your sellers make more SALES. You don't pigeon hole EVERYONE under one blanket, strip them of the tools they need that are WORKING FOR them, and tell them to "sink or swim"..That's a ludicrous way to operate and make sweeping policy..