GTC = The end of My Business

[crownsfieldcellular]

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!!!

[davros4213]

PLEASE, IF ANY OF YOU FEEL THAT THIS PRACTISE IS UNFAIR I URGE YOU TO CONTACT EBAY CUSTOMER SUPPORT AT (866)487-3229 AND LET THEM KNOW HOW YOU FEEL!!!!! NOTHING WILL CHANGE IF WE DON'T MAKE OUR VOICES HEARD!!!!! YOU CAN ALSO FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU!!!!!

[mam98031]

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@davros4213 wrote:
PLEASE, IF ANY OF YOU FEEL THAT THIS PRACTISE IS UNFAIR I URGE YOU TO CONTACT EBAY CUSTOMER SUPPORT AT .... AND LET THEM KNOW HOW YOU FEEL!!!!! NOTHING WILL CHANGE IF WE DON'T MAKE OUR VOICES HEARD!!!!! YOU CAN ALSO FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU!!!!!

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The threads are full of upset members over this policy change.  Ebay knows this.

[annadryl]

Also not worth being on hold for forty minutes just to state the obvious

[mabearsattic]

When I have used best offer, I get offers that are usually 1/3 to 1/2 of my asking price. I am not making that much to begin with. They ask be to sell for less then I have in it. That doesn't work for me. I have started unlisting my items. I will not pay FVF and paypal (which is ebay) fees and fees even on shipping AND GTC! It is a matter of principle for me as much as a matter of prophet. 

[greasergirl10]

I ALSO AGREE, VACATION TIME IS HERE AN NEED A BREAK IN TIMING AN LISTINGS
AN SALES WILL DROP FOR SURE.SAD TO SEE THE DEMISS OF EBAY.
19 YEARS IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR GONE AN OVER
.

[blueeyes88]

Absolutely right! This change is nothing but a sham perpetrated by ebay on its sellers who they always hold in very low esteem.

[lrwjcw]

It's as simple as this.  Way back when, I listed I used GTC for all my buy it now items in my store.  Eventually I noticed that I sold one or two of each item about once a month when the 30 days were almost up.  Makes sense if you have ever searched for anything on ebay.  You always want the search to by "time ending soonest" so you don't miss a great deal.  So then you also notice that there are page after page of listings in the search results, but who ever gets much past the first couple pages?  So then I started listing everything on 10 day buy it now, which was a decent compromise since I have a small store and the items would reach the top of the search list 3 times as often as a GTC without going over the number of "free" listings per month included with the store. 

Judging by my previous experience, ebay's new GTC policy has effectively cut my sales by one third.  Not happy at all and really need to take some time to explore off-ebay selling options.

[mam98031]

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@lrwjcw wrote:

It's as simple as this.  Way back when, I listed I used GTC for all my buy it now items in my store.  Eventually I noticed that I sold one or two of each item about once a month when the 30 days were almost up.  Makes sense if you have ever searched for anything on ebay.  You always want the search to by "time ending soonest" so you don't miss a great deal.  So then you also notice that there are page after page of listings in the search results, but who ever gets much past the first couple pages?  So then I started listing everything on 10 day buy it now, which was a decent compromise since I have a small store and the items would reach the top of the search list 3 times as often as a GTC without going over the number of "free" listings per month included with the store. 

Judging by my previous experience, ebay's new GTC policy has effectively cut my sales by one third.  Not happy at all and really need to take some time to explore off-ebay selling options.

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You do realize if EVERYONE only has the option of GTC or Auction, then this will be changing.  RIGHT!!  We are all in the same boat.

The only thing that will determine how well this will work for anyone is time.  The first time a GTC listing is posted, it DOES appear in ending soonest just like it would have on a 30 day BIN / FP listing.  But once it renews, as it is currently designed, it does not. 

But if EVERYONE has the same issue, then something has to give.  We can't all be on the last page.  It will take us a few months to see how this will actually play out.

[kentstateuniversity]

The forced GTC is a complete scam.  They know people will get charged for insertion fees they normally avoided.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

mam, You say: "The first time a GTC listing is posted, it DOES appear in ending soonest just like it would have on a 30 day BIN / FP listing. But once it renews, as it is currently designed, it does not. "

This is incorrect. For purposes of Ending Soonest search, GTC listings are, and always have been, treated like a 30 day listing. As a 30 day listing nears its end, it rises in ending soonest. As a GTC listing nears its auto renew period, it rises in ending soonest because technically it "ends" and then auto renews. This is true for each 30 day period that the GTC runs, not just the first one.

For purposes of Newly Listed search, GTC listings are new only once: when they are listed. They do not get a bump when they are auto renewed, because they are still the same listing, not a new listing.

Your larger point, that we are all impacted by this and will just have to see how this plays out, is correct.

[mam98031]

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:
mam, You say: "The first time a GTC listing is posted, it DOES appear in ending soonest just like it would have on a 30 day BIN / FP listing. But once it renews, as it is currently designed, it does not. "

This is incorrect. For purposes of Ending Soonest search, GTC listings are, and always have been, treated like a 30 day listing. As a 30 day listing nears its end, it rises in ending soonest. As a GTC listing nears its auto renew period, it rises in ending soonest because technically it "ends" and then auto renews. This is true for each 30 day period that the GTC runs, not just the first one.

For purposes of Newly Listed search, GTC listings are new only once: when they are listed. They do not get a bump when they are auto renewed, because they are still the same listing, not a new listing.

Your larger point, that we are all impacted by this and will just have to see how this plays out, is correct.

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Post #76 from This weeks Weekly Chat

buyers noted that many listings that were always the same could clog the 'newly listed' filter. A large cause of this appeared to be members running multiple short duration listings to try to remain in the newly listed section, even if the item wasn't desirable for many buyers. 

Moving all fixed price to GTC is a step toward addressing this. In addition to the external search engine benefits it should provide. 

Additionally, this allows us to simplify the listing flow even further for newer members, meaning fewer complications in their process.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/Community-Chat-April-3-1-00-pm-PT-General-...

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

mam, Not sure what point you are making? Since the new GTC rule came out, I've said several times, as have others, that one of the reasons for the new rule is to try to turn the "newly Listed" search into what many buyers would prefer: a "new-to-ebay" search rather than a search that too often has become a "relisted again and again" search. SInce, as I said above, GTC listings do NOT get a bump in Newly Listed (and never have) when they auto renew, if all FP listings are actually run as GTC, the newly listed search will be much more like what buyers want. In this week's Weekly Chat, the blues have now acknowledged that this was one of the reasons for the GTC change.

I'm sure some sellers don't want to hear this, but that post from the blues firms up my belief that if too many sellers do as they have said they will do----end GTCs early in order to relist them and get the bump in newly listed search---ebay will find a way to prohibit/discourage that practice. As the blue you quoted says: "Moving all fixed price to GTC is A STEP TOWARD addressing this." I would take that to mean its a FIRST step, to be followed by others if it doesn't do the job.

This is why I suspect the sellers who are planning to end and relist are likely just delaying the inevitable. I do not think ebay will take away the ability to end GTC listings early, but I think if ebay decides it is necessary, they will find a way to make it harder/more expensive to RELIST those listings in a timely manner. (I'm not the first one to point this out, by the way.)

We'll just have to see how this plays out.

[guitarmusicman1]

I also will be cancelling all my listings because of the Good Till Cancelled Rule on Fixed Price Listings. This is just another way of Ebay making it harder for the little guy business to sell on here and most importantly so they get more money.

[johnstonfab]

I have always used the 7 day listing. Most of my sales are impulse buys and are made on the day of listing and the day they end. I could have new listings every day and items ending every day. Since GTC started, my sales have dropped to nothing. If this is not changed, I will be forced to end my 19 years of selling on Ebay.

[jayjaspersgarage]

I would suggest trying 3-Day auctions or 5 day.  I have honed my methods on epay for the past nine years with just the right amount of succes.  I am going to downsize my store on July 1st or before.  The most important action I am taking is persuading my business group of several dozen buyers to avoid shopping on epay for a few months.  When contacted by epay they are instructed to say the reason is the new GTC policy.  Sellers have been bending for far too long and need to decide if they are staying with epay or moving on.