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!!!

jayjaspersgarage · ‎04-04-2019

Using time-limited offers is a great suggestion. I will put that in my back pocket.

jayjaspersgarage · ‎04-04-2019

Using a short auction such as five day with a BIN is probably the best solution, at least worth a try. Let's not forget that many people are dealing with paying property taxes and or income taxes literally right now if they haven't done it yet. My thought is they aren't even looking at epay this week. I am going to wait until after April 15th to evaluate my sales.

natalya32 · ‎04-06-2019

So true, no end time no sales. who ever came to eBay last year have no clue how this works and trying all those new ways is crashing years of work for most of us. I have to stop my subscription next month till they go back to choices or never, we had GTC before as an option and for some that worked, for me did NOT.

flo_mingo · ‎04-06-2019

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.

I agree the change to GTC is a strategistic plan to move sellers away from the short day /constant relist plan. What they were not able to do was put aside their greed and just make the GTC 90 day format one listing credit that incurs NO additional 30 day fees. I have no problem with GTC it is the additional fees that come with one listing.

davewearsredsox · ‎04-06-2019

Like yourself when buying - I also searched ending soonest first and then I would move to newly listed. I have been doing that for years. I am a 8-10K buyer and about a 75K year seller. I am not buying on EBAY at this time and will not until GTC is reversed. I also am using other platforms to replace sales and in return have brought my buying power / experience with me.

I can scream the hate all I want but they are not listening, so why bother.... The only thing that will reverse the curse is when they see the decline in profit. I hope that I am assisting with that. **bleep**, I have not even used my extra bucks yet..... Not going to either!

siamdao · ‎04-06-2019

This pretty much sums things up......

weschurch · ‎04-06-2019

@davewearsredsox wrote:
Like yourself when buying - I also searched ending soonest first and then I would move to newly listed. I have been doing that for years. I am a 8-10K buyer and about a 75K year seller. I am not buying on EBAY at this time and will not until GTC is reversed. I also am using other platforms to replace sales and in return have brought my buying power / experience with me.

I can scream the hate all I want but they are not listening, so why bother.... The only thing that will reverse the curse is when they see the decline in profit. I hope that I am assisting with that. **bleep**, I have not even used my extra bucks yet..... Not going to either!

Again Ebay will not listen, They are destined for disaster.

At this point is 100% Complete desperation mode. They are doing EVERYTHING in their power to be able to show any gains. Why do you think they rolled out the GTC earlier than normal? They are banking on that money to at least tread water. They can't find a way to stop sales from freefalling. The site is such a disaster that the constant tactics to bleed the remnants of whats left of an ever dwindling user base, is the only play they have left. The bad news is users know longer trust Ebay. Now that users are catching on that Ebay is a sinking ship these backroom tactics are no longer effective, and in fact, they are only digging the site a deeper grave

davewearsredsox · ‎04-06-2019

Wes-

Yah, no doubt this is a money grab... Exclusively put in place for profits.....

This is not the first time Ebay has used language "To assist sellers" "For Sellers" "To Benefit sellers"....

They lack credibility, They lack moral practice, They lack the ability to listen and react.

For the last 3 years all I have seen is prices increase and services diminish. GTC fits there business model.

kittykat.949 · ‎04-06-2019

Complaining to a CS rep in a foreign country who barely speaks our language is a complete waste of time---YOURS----- & calling the Better Business Bureau to tell them that Ebay started a new policy that does not work for you & that you do not like is laughable

weschurch · ‎04-06-2019

@davewearsredsox wrote:
Wes-

Yah, no doubt this is a money grab... Exclusively put in place for profits.....

This is not the first time Ebay has used language "To assist sellers" "For Sellers" "To Benefit sellers"....

They lack credibility, They lack moral practice, They lack the ability to listen and react.

For the last 3 years all I have seen is prices increase and services diminish. GTC fits there business model.

Don't forget diminishing sales. This Smoke and Mirrors show that Ebay has been trying to survive off is quickly being revealed to the few that still at least care, which isn't many.

davewearsredsox · ‎04-06-2019

The remaining that did care are beginning to turn there backs. This is not a choice for me. I simply cannot condone self infliction. It was there choice to listen or not listen to the thousands of complaints. They made there choice and I have made mine. This is a lose lose for both parties. Less money equals less buying but the less buying will be on another platform.

oaklandmaryland · ‎04-06-2019

I think one BIG thing occurs that Ebay does not admit - that MOST sellers are also buyers and when the selling ends the buying also ends.

a..h..t · ‎04-06-2019

I am with you 100%. All my inventory is one of. I buy at flea markets and craig's list and sell as quickly as I can so I can go back out and sell more. I am not making a living off this but I am using to help pay medical bills and such. Most of my GTC items stay dormant until 3 weeks then I get a buyer. Why MAKE me wait three weeks. If GTC is what you need to sell qty merchandise fine. Im sure sellers who sell hundreds of widgets will use this feature already. I should be allowed to CHOOSE how long I WANT MY items to be listed for.

eBay's response is use the auction feature. If I NEED to get $50 for my item and list it at auction for a starting price of $49.99 the auction buyers wont even look at it. They typically will wait till the last second to try to steal that item for $34.99. So now I just lost $15 which after fees and shipping was my profit.

eBay can I send my medical bills to you now? Have any buyers said "Oh Thank God You Are Making Me List My Items GTC, I Never Would Have Thought Of That Option"

davewearsredsox · ‎04-06-2019

Oak - You are correct. For me I make about 60-75K in sales a year and I purchase about 30-35 K a year replenishing and growing inventory. That is why I have 9,300 postings and near 150,000 in inventory. Out of the 30-35K I spend about 8-10K on ebay plus I buy all the supplies I need.

I know I am not alone and as many have stated they do the same but in different volume some more and some less.

Today alone I purchased 4 different boxes of trading cards on a different market place, purchase a Peyton Manning Auto helmet off of a listing page, and spent about 80 at a flee. I have not even looked what is available here and I am not intending on doing so until GTC has been eliminated. It is my buck and part of spending my buck is with people who help me grow my business and not ones who hinder it.

weschurch · ‎04-06-2019

@davewearsredsox wrote:
The remaining that did care are beginning to turn there backs. This is not a choice for me. I simply cannot condone self infliction. It was there choice to listen or not listen to the thousands of complaints. They made there choice and I have made mine. This is a lose lose for both parties. Less money equals less buying but the less buying will be on another platform.

Yep the little threads of hope some were hanging on to are starting to break at breakneck speed. Its been on the decline for awhile but from what I'm seeing as a buyer who searches new listings across multiple categories, its in a total freefall currently