How much longer before eBay wakes up and reverses GTC?? How much damage has to be done??

[micsett-99]

I've just read a few posts where ebay CS has now been telling people who call to complain about the new GTC mandate and to close or downgrade their stores - that GTC is not a permanent change yet, and ebay is still taking feedback about it.

So if this is true (which there's no way to know), I think its important that all of us who are being affected by this negatively?  Keep posting here about it, and keep calling customer service, etc..

I'm really wondering though how long this is going to have continue before enough is enough?  How many businesses will have to lay people off, how many will actually go out of business on ebay?  How much destruction are they going to allow here??  

Personally for me?  This whole fiasco has been like watching a train wreck happen..I absolutely knew this was  going to kill my business, as soon as it was announced the few months before they made the change official..

Sure enough?  As soon as this "change' hit?  My sales plummeted, and have stayed basically in the toilet...Items that I had that were selling in 2 days without fail??  Now are taking 10 - 20 days to sell, and all the while its just a race to the bottom on price and profits...

I'm sorry but this is insanity all around. 

When a platform implements a sweeping change like this, that actually slows sales velocity to a crawl, while forcing sellers to lose money because they now have to go on a downward spiral in price along with everyone other seller on the site?  You no longer have a healthy, productive marketplace..

When you are forced to use a listing tool duration that was designed SPECIFICALLY for LONG TERM STORE inventory items, where sellers have A TON of one item sku to sell?  To list a one off unique item a seller will never have twice??  You no longer have a healthy, productive marketplace..

When you have THOUSANDS of sellers up in arms about this change, which is actively destroying their sales and businesses? And the platforms response to these sellers who are going crazy because they are going out of business is: "WE feel that this is the best way to increase item exposure, and provide sellers with the greatest sales velocity possible" ..I'm sorry but you no longer have a healthy, productive marketplace..

The bottom line here is that we were all sold a false bill of goods here folks.  GTC does not increase sales "velocity", it DECREASES it, drastically.  If you aren't selling a lot of one item?  You have absolutely ZERO need for GTC, and it was not designed for your items.  That's the bottom line here. 

So this is my 2 cents, and I will continue posting things like this to speak my opinion.  If you and your business and livelihood is being adversely affected by this as well?  I would encourage you to let ebay know too and keep posting..

The only sane thing I have heard here yet in regards to GTC is that they may change it if sellers keep complaining..

Again though we have to wonder how much damage will be done before that happens, if it in fact does happen.

So keep speaking your minds everyone..It seems like it might be the only shot we have to end this GTC nightmare...

[this*old*attic]

Not uneven between sellers, but between formats.

Auctions aren’t as strong as they once were (OMG, remember when you could throw ANYTHING up?).

 I absolutely see that short duration FP became a good alternative to those - similar visibility, set a price you can live with.

But along the way GTC (goodness, remember when they didn’t show in search results?) became much more common and I believe the available mix of formats/percentage each were used turned out to be awkward or unwieldy as the site or buyer shopping habits/preferences changed.

Short duration FP were over-advantaged in search results compared to longer durations.

Ebays other reasons aside (which appear believable to me), I think the GTC change is intended to improve overall site balance and help the majority of sellers overall.

One nice thing about this dialog is that I might change how I’m doing things. I’m impressed enough with the purported visibility advantages of short duration listings (I liked GTC for the convenience, never analyzed much), I might go back to what I used to do.

 I lived on EBay earnings for quite a few years after my husband passed away. Auctions weren’t dead yet 10 years ago, so I auctioned items first then GTC’d what didn’t get a bite.

Auctions seemed weak to me when I started dabbling again about 10 months ago. I went straight to GTC.

But now I might try auctions first again (starting at a price I can live with) and move to GTC if items close without a sale.

 I can’t help wondering if the GTC change might energize auctions again at least a little, as folks experiment.

[this*old*attic]

Well, it’s so close to “almost nothing is rare” it might as well be nothing.

Heck, I sold a $1000 collectible Disney skirt recently - I learned it was that desirable searching solds around 6 -9 months ago or so. By the time I found it after a few months of frantic searching (I moved about 1 1/2 years ago), that one no longer showed in completed but 2 more did.

I’d call 3 in a year rare... and yet each time one sold another cropped up.

So, we must disagree. Another usually comes along, and most people know it.

[castlemagicmemories]

---

@this*old*attic wrote:

Not uneven between sellers, but between formats.

But that is not what you said.

You said,

2. People using the short durations were getting better visibility and search boosts compared to other options. This evens out the playing field.

So your basis for saying the playing field was uneven was based on visibility.  My point was that the sellers chose what format to use, and the inherent advantages and disadvantages to each.  

Thus my response:

The playing field was technically not uneven as every seller made the choice of how they chose to list.  As always, there were and are benefits and disadvantages according to what choice was made.

You didn't say the playing field was uneven due to listings of short duration versus GTC.

One can only respond to what is printed, not what is not there.

[castlemagicmemories]

---

@this*old*attic wrote:

Well, it’s so close to “almost nothing is rare” it might as well be nothing.

Heck, I sold a $1000 collectible Disney skirt recently - I learned it was that desirable searching solds around 6 -9 months ago or so. By the time I found it after a few months of frantic searching (I moved about 1 1/2 years ago), that one no longer showed in completed but 2 more did.

I’d call 3 in a year rare... and yet each time one sold another cropped up.

So, we must disagree. Another usually comes along, and most people know it.

---

Perhaps as applies to clothing, which has already been established but  not in many other areas, which has also been established.  Thus, your opinion, and not fact.

I could make a list of items that I have only seen one or two of in the twenty years I have been on eBay, so no, many things aren't just going to be along shortly, if ever.

We can agree to disagree, certainly.  

[this*old*attic]

Of course we can.

Wouldnt it be boring if everyone had the same opinion? You might as well just stare at your own face in the mirror.

[castlemagicmemories]

---

@this*old*attic wrote:

Of course we can.

Wouldnt it be boring if everyone had the same opinion? You might as well just stare at your own face in the mirror.

---

[quayvar]

Not enthused with listing since fixed price no longer allows duration options, and auctions don't thrill me for many reasons. I jump through enough hoops with the cleaning, pictures, descriptions, packing, and shipping, and have no interest in monitoring to end listings as some are choosing to do. I will do auctions for now, but I am pretty fed up, and am loosing interest in selling  That's my 2 cents on the matter.

[this*old*attic]

This whole discussion is a good example.

 I don’t agree with the upset over GTC.

 I think we’d be all better served trying to convince EBay to fix search and to better monitor duplicate listings and KW spamming.

And some sellers might consider re-examining their items, policies, etc.

Nevertheless, the whole discussion has me thinking of trying auctions again - although at at a starting price I could live with.

[myjunqueyourtreasure]

---

@stumblebumble wrote:
I just relisted an item from GTC to 7-day auction. It had 6 views 5 seconds after I hit the relist button. We all know that is unlikely. Then at about 10 seconds it was up to 9 views. Very unlikely.

---

It's possible. IF there's a drastic reduction in 'newly listed' of any type.

[myjunqueyourtreasure]

---

@castlemagicmemories wrote:

---

@this*old*attic wrote:

What urgency?

Everyone knows nothing is rare anymore. It isn’t 2002 any more. Another will come along. Heck, it might even be concurrently listed.

---

With all due respect, this isn't true, although it may be your opinion. 

There are indeed things that are rare and hard to find or OOAK that are listed.  It doesn't matter what year it is~there are things that you aren't going to find listed again that easily, if at all~ever again.

---

There are even NEW things that are VHTF

[this*old*attic]

OK, let’s talk truly and honestly really rare.

This is a GTC discussion.

GTC has no bearing on those 1 in a million items. They’ll sell even if you hide them under a bushel.

And the first few days of GTC are no different than the newly unavailable shorter durations.

Genuine rare will continue to get snapped up semi-immediately: they have their own intrinsic urgency due to their desirability and no one will gamble twiddling their thumbs to think about it.

[modcall]

My sales are down and of course I have lost ability to start and end listing on a chosen day of the week that is best for me.  I am going to downgrade my store before ind of month.

[ekmadonna]

"I don't agree with the upset over GTC listings", That is because you only sell or have to manage 20 listings, If you had a inventory of THOUSANDS of items I am sure you would change your tune on this.

[castlemagicmemories]

---

@myjunqueyourtreasure wrote:

---

@castlemagicmemories wrote:

---

@this*old*attic wrote:

What urgency?

Everyone knows nothing is rare anymore. It isn’t 2002 any more. Another will come along. Heck, it might even be concurrently listed.

---

With all due respect, this isn't true, although it may be your opinion. 

There are indeed things that are rare and hard to find or OOAK that are listed.  It doesn't matter what year it is~there are things that you aren't going to find listed again that easily, if at all~ever again.

---

There are even NEW things that are VHTF

---

Lord knows!  You are right!  But I wasn't excluding them~it doesn't matter what year it is referred to the comment that this is 2019~and there can still be rare, hard to find or OOAK items that aren't going to be listed again that easily, if at all, ever again.

For example, it could be an item that is of an extremely limited edition, although it is from this year, it just might not be listed again, for many years, if ever.

It could be a hand crafted item that will never be exactly duplicated again.

It could be a prototype that is not generally available to the public.

Just a few possibilities.

[oldwestcoins]

No one within eBay has or will ever admit they made a mistake.  I have gone through almost 20 years of their mistake, trust me.