No more extra free listings?

[knifebeardthepirate]

I used to get extra free listings, typically 200 to 500, every few weeks, but haven't had an offer in over three months now. 

Has eBay discontinued this practice?

I just had a ton of unsold listings disappear because they were over 90 days old. Going to be a pain recreating those.

[pineapple1951]

I kindly disagree.I sell comics at a super reduced prices. A lot of 6 ,$3.00  cover priced , 20 years old, in new condition for $3.00-$5.00. When I first joined eBay not knowing the automatic re-listing charge for 4-6 months, cost me a lot in fees, that in many cases I’ll lose money on regardless of when I sell them. If I didn’t get free listings, I probably couldn’t participate in eBays website.I don’t think all situations can be judged the same. 

[johnrj1226]

@knifebeardthepirate 

There  was  a time  in 2010, when I started  selling on eBay, that I paid  for every listing and the price increase based on the listing amount, paid for every photo over  1 and did not receive the 50 free listing at the start of each month.

Oh, BTW did receive a 200 Free Listing promo  yesterday - most promos are sent by invitation so sometimes you will get them sometimes you won't.  Can't plan around that.

If you have stuff that sells reasonable well list them your selling price should cover the costs plus recreating a listing ain't fun or get a basic store and get more monthly free listings.

[upgradedendmills]

Many of your listings are in the $20-$50 range also. Maybe you should spend some of the slack time we are all experiencing to examine the way you list. If you get too focused on 35 cents, you can easily lose track of where you really need to get to.

[chapeau-noir]

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@pineapple1951 wrote:

I kindly disagree.I sell comics at a super reduced prices. A lot of 6 ,$3.00  cover priced , 20 years old, in new condition for $3.00-$5.00. When I first joined eBay not knowing the automatic re-listing charge for 4-6 months, cost me a lot in fees, that in many cases I’ll lose money on regardless of when I sell them. If I didn’t get free listings, I probably couldn’t participate in eBays website.I don’t think all situations can be judged the same. 

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You have a good point and I should have included the former 5 cents (I think it was) listing fee for media and 'micro' sales - I was speaking in general terms, though.  At least there aren't the gigantic listing sales they used to have. I think eBay was just gathering data but it made looking for anything to purchase here a real mess.

[gamersbaystore]

I've only been offered any free listings once in over a year now, just the way it goes.

Right now, I am paying an extra 10 cents a listing on over 300 listings because I am over the 1K mark with a premium store subscription. At this point, my fees are roughly $100 a month if I sell nothing at all.

If you want to be able to list more, then get a basic store subscription, its $27.95 a month ($21.95 a month with yearly plan), and you would get up to 250 listings a month.

That being said, its not cheap to sell here, especially given the ridiculous final value fees. You really need make sure your prices reflect your costs of doing business here.

[paperback_punk]

$70.00 worth of free listings is nothing to scoff at.  Multiply that by 3 or 4 selling accounts....no brainer.   The basic premise of pay to play here is what prevents many intelligent people from approaching eBay selling. Couple that with the WONKY multiple- platform platform...fuggedaboudit!   Take whatever scraps they throw at you. I haven't even decided if I'll bother to use ANY listings this month. Selling here is ultra-risky.

[femmefan1946]

@gamersbaystore 

You don't have to pay that dime a listing.

Just move your "excess" items to eBay Canada and list them for free - in Canadian dollars, with shipping to Canada, and with Flat Rate shipping.

It's up to you whether that is worth $30 a month to you.

Your "Canadian " listings will show in Search on dotCOM in US dollars, and on the listing itself in both currencies.  (If you also ship to the EU, for example, they will show in Search in euros and again in both loonies (C$) and euros on the European sites.)

Another possiblity is to open more selling accounts. You can put all your sales into the same Paypal account.

I have four active selling accounts, selling in two currencies.  It's not difficult to handle.

[pineapple1951]

Yes, I have a few listings above $10.00, but most are new listings due to buying 3,000 comics last month.Also re-listing comics that have a higher price because they take longer to sell, in most cases. To be frank, I’m not sure I understand your point. Of course 35 cents on a $20 ( or more) item is not an issue, it’s the $8.00 item, with free shipping that I offer. When you add up the fees, plus the cost of mailing packages, tape (I just spent $18.00 on tape that will last a couple of months) plus the comic bags, boards , marking pens and other stuff that come up, every penny counts.Its a buyers market, so to sell anything you need to give a deal, and even then ,I get offers of less than it would cost to mail it.

[pineapple1951]

I believe that eBay changed their policy on free listings.I sell comics and the 200-400 free listings made it worthwhile to sell on eBay. Now it’s 200 listings, period.If you have 400 listings, 90% under $12.00 , you are out of luck since half of your items go unlisted. You could end up paying $70.00 a month to list the other 200 unsold items.Its a lose/lose situation for the seller and eBay.If we don’t sell stuff, no 10% fees.I wish they’d go back to the old system, like you. I sent  a message, via “What do you think?” or “How are we doing?” link.I suggest you do the same and if enough of us complain..........

[nobody*s_perfect]

@pineapple1951   This thread is from last March. Since then, the pricing structure for free insertions has changed.

[pineapple1951]

Yes, it has. I’ll look at the date of next time, but if I have an issue, I’m happy to get advise regardless of time lapse. Thanks for replying.

[kh-ornesh]

Hi everyone,

Due to the length of time that has passed since this thread began, we have locked it from future replies. If this is still an issue that warrants discussion, don't hesitate to begin a new thread HERE.

Thanks.