Part time/small sellers

[mg152]

We had a very pleasant chat yesterday with eBay executive Sarah Brubacher. Very nice person BTW. She has assured us that ebay values & wants to keep small/part time sellers around. I’ve always believed that long time sellers of any volume are the backbone of eBay & according to what Sarah said EBay recognizes that.

This post is for informational purposes. Some will believe it & some won’t.

Have a great day my friends! 😀

[thenobletuckylife]

Hi Castle,

When you were a kid did you ever wonder how to spell a word and your Mom would say "Look it up in the Dictionary"?

I would think to myself..."Does she have any idea what she just said?" How could I find it in a dictionary if I do not know how to spell it?

Same with writing...hard to use words that you don't know exist...but there is one little benefit to these online programs these days...spell check...only problem is it may flag your word...but then try to decide on one of it's choices and you can be up a creek of schmazzle without a paddle real quick.

Mr C

[castlemagicmemories]

@sarahbru

Hi, Sarah:  I sent an email to you today.

Just a heads up and I hope you receive it!  Thank you very much!

[odditiesandantiquities1]

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@tunicaslot wrote:

Pat - TY for the update and sorry for all the negative nellies - some people will never be satisfied unless they have something to complain about.

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I don't see why you have to apologize for being honest. It's your opinion after all.

[goodluckselling]

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@d-k_treasures wrote:

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@thenobletuckylife wrote:

Hi Folks,

Ever since ebay went public they will keep any seller they can that will satisfy the shareholders.

So in principle Ebay LOVES the small seller just like any other seller.

Once we get beyond that fluffinutter and artificial sweetner there is little substance that would indicate they are ENCOURAGING small sellers to stay just because they are small and they like this demagraphic group.

The truth is they want to have as little risk in the game with the highest returns possible.

ANY seller that helps them do this is welcome to keep doing it.

The key is, are small sellers smart and savoy enough to be just as profitable.

Mr C

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Still sending out sell your phone emails with list it, ship it, get paid sure is no risk to them - since they get the FVF's and the new seller gets a different F.

But they get to keep them on the books for at least 6 months ..........

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If everyone would look at the sales these promotions create and then consider the number of seller who come here to explain there experience you would understand why they continue.  The numbers speak for themselves.

I understand not all seller who have a bad experience using this promotion come here but we also know an overwhelmingly greater number of sellers do not come here to tell you about the great expereince they had, which is normal for a forum which concentrates on negative.

At least research the transaction, revenue volume, and add-on sales these promotions create before we make an educated statement about there effectiveness.

Sellers like myself do not talk about how to make positive changes or tell others about milestones we might have hit because the liberal left who basically dominates this board will let you know in no uncertain terms that you are making others feel bad because they are not also have your same success so you should just keep quite.  

So I keep quite for the most part now.  As a high volume seller, I have lots of correct answers that I learned along the way to problems often asked about here but, I have come to the understanding users of this forum really do not want to be told how, what, when, yes's and no's to do things that will make a difference to there problems.

I hate to see them wondering in the desert for 40 years, but that seems to be the mentality of many users here.

Good Luck Selling!

[odditiesandantiquities1]

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@southern*sweet*tea wrote:

**General reply not directed toward any particular poster**

IMO if Ebay wanted to get rid of small sellers, they'd...just get rid of them. They'd stop advertising for sellers. No more "sell your old phone" campaigns, et. al.  They would set requirements that you would have to sell X amount of items per month/quarter.

No, Ebay does not want to get rid of small sellers. They want small sellers who act like an online business.  They want to be just another big box selling venue. They want sellers who absorb losses like big business. They want sellers who don't call CS every five seconds with complaints, be they valid or invalid. They want sellers who can handle things on their own.  They want a "seamless" buying experience for buyers.  Generic. Anonymous.

No, small sellers are welcome here as long as you toe the line and keep your mouth shut...but what Ebay doesn't realize is the thing that made them special IS the SMALL SELLER.  Lots of small sellers run their businesses in the above manner. Lots of small sellers don't. ALL these small sellers are valuable, and Ebay is too short sighted to realize that.  What once made Ebay special was the one on one interaction between buyer and seller.  I guess with the advance of internet selling, along with a bit of entitlement from the buying public and credit card companies who don't give a rat's patootie about retail businesses, trust and personalization is a bad thing in Ebay's eyes.  It's actually very, very, very sad.

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Extremely well said and well put southern*sweet*tea. Way way back, when I first joined eBay as a buyer, I was paranoid and terrified until I made my first purchase. After that, I made sure to communicate with my small seller and made some friends on eBay. These sellers I have gone back to again and again, and will continue to do so. Not everyone wants an invisible experience. I like knowing who I buy from.  

Ebay benefits in many ways. I refer buyers to my sellers. I continue to buy. It's a small scale on my part but what if hundreds of thousands or billions do the same. No so small anymore. 

[thenobletuckylife]

Hey Castle,

Well when you are learning through correspondence it makes it a challenge at times when you try to use these words and say them correctly;

Salmon

Worcestershire

Illinois

and that's just the tip of a porcupine's quill (for those in the high arctic...the tip of an iceberg)

Mr C

[d-k_treasures]

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@z50com wrote:

"Ebay could accomplish Ebay original bringing back the feel of the more personal experience on these items that built Ebay"

And the Ford Motor Company could bring back the Model T

We live in an ever changing world. . .

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Problem is that ebay is 'ever changing' into what someone else has already done years before.

[katfreikh_0]

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@goodluckselling wrote:

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@d-k_treasures wrote:

---

@thenobletuckylife wrote:

Hi Folks,

Ever since ebay went public they will keep any seller they can that will satisfy the shareholders.

So in principle Ebay LOVES the small seller just like any other seller.

Once we get beyond that fluffinutter and artificial sweetner there is little substance that would indicate they are ENCOURAGING small sellers to stay just because they are small and they like this demagraphic group.

The truth is they want to have as little risk in the game with the highest returns possible.

ANY seller that helps them do this is welcome to keep doing it.

The key is, are small sellers smart and savoy enough to be just as profitable.

Mr C

---

Still sending out sell your phone emails with list it, ship it, get paid sure is no risk to them - since they get the FVF's and the new seller gets a different F.

But they get to keep them on the books for at least 6 months ..........

---

If everyone would look at the sales these promotions create and then consider the number of seller who come here to explain there experience you would understand why they continue.  The numbers speak for themselves.

I understand not all seller who have a bad experience using this promotion come here but we also know an overwhelmingly greater number of sellers do not come here to tell you about the great expereince they had, which is normal for a forum which concentrates on negative.

At least research the transaction, revenue volume, and add-on sales these promotions create before we make an educated statement about there effectiveness.

Sellers like myself do not talk about how to make positive changes or tell others about milestones we might have hit because the liberal left who basically dominates this board will let you know in no uncertain terms that you are making others feel bad because they are not also have your same success so you should just keep quite.  

So I keep quite for the most part now.  As a high volume seller, I have lots of correct answers that I learned along the way to problems often asked about here but, I have come to the understanding users of this forum really do not want to be told how, what, when, yes's and no's to do things that will make a difference to there problems.

I hate to see them wondering in the desert for 40 years, but that seems to be the mentality of many users here.

Good Luck Selling!

---

The liberal Left dominates these Discussion boards?

lol- I’m going back to Reddit. The posters here are in some kind of war or something. 

[tunicaslot]

Gosh goodluck - I never knew you considered me a liberal left back in the old days! But I guess I was with all those tin hat theories I believed!

[7606dennis]

Hummm... Have you ever heard the phrase, "If their mouth is moving...?"

[d-k_treasures]

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@llllady wrote:

@sarahbru

I see you are trying to turn the focus on collectibles.  Your silence about used and vintage is deafening. 

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And antiques are even more silently deafening ..........

[d-k_treasures]

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@sarahbru wrote:

---

@southern*sweet*tea wrote:

**General reply not directed toward any particular poster**

IMO if Ebay wanted to get rid of small sellers, they'd...just get rid of them. They'd stop advertising for sellers. No more "sell your old phone" campaigns, et. al.  They would set requirements that you would have to sell X amount of items per month/quarter.

No, Ebay does not want to get rid of small sellers. They want small sellers who act like an online business.  They want to be just another big box selling venue. They want sellers who absorb losses like big business. They want sellers who don't call CS every five seconds with complaints, be they valid or invalid. They want sellers who can handle things on their own.  They want a "seamless" buying experience for buyers.  Generic. Anonymous.

No, small sellers are welcome here as long as you toe the line and keep your mouth shut...but what Ebay doesn't realize is the thing that made them special IS the SMALL SELLER.  Lots of small sellers run their businesses in the above manner. Lots of small sellers don't. ALL these small sellers are valuable, and Ebay is too short sighted to realize that.  What once made Ebay special was the one on one interaction between buyer and seller.  I guess with the advance of internet selling, along with a bit of entitlement from the buying public and credit card companies who don't give a rat's patootie about retail businesses, trust and personalization is a bad thing in Ebay's eyes.  It's actually very, very, very sad.

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Hi @southern*sweet*tea. I agree with you that small businesses is what did (and does) make eBay such an amazing marketplace -- and specifically, I think the interactions between buyers and sellers are what makes it special. I like to say that eBay is a place to buy and sell -- but most importantly, a place to belong. This community and are ability to interact with one another -- sometimes agreeing, sometimes disagreeing --  is just awesome. 

The challenge I think you rightly raise is that the buying public's expectations have increased. Buyers expect quick responses to their questions - they expect two day shipping - they expect FREE shipping -- all because there are companies out there that are providing it. One of the compelling things Pierre Omidyar saw when he created eBay was the ability for small businesses to compete with large businesses because buyers would not be able to tell who was big and who was small online. THAT was awesome -- what is challenging in that is that buyers (not knowing who is big and who is small) still hold both to the same expectations. 

I don't agree with you that eBay doesn't want to hear from small businesses. We do. It is why we host events like eBay Open (1500 small businesses in attendance with 500 eBay employees) and it is why we continue to host these Community discussion boards. It is why I have asked the Community team to start hosting exec chats. We want to figure out these challenges together.  Sarah

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Not when you are dealing with antiques and vintage items.

And you lost 'the place to belong' somewhere around 2008.

[castlemagicmemories]

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@thenobletuckylife wrote:

Hey Castle,

Well when you are learning through correspondence it makes it a challenge at times when you try to use these words and say them correctly;

Salmon

Worcestershire

Illinois

and that's just the tip of a porcupine's quill (for those in the high arctic...the tip of an iceberg)

Mr C

---

Ah, Mr C, tomato, tomahto, no worries!!  Anyone can have those issues!

You vanquished your challenges nicely, IMO.

[castlemagicmemories]

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@castlemagicmemories wrote:

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@thenobletuckylife wrote:

Hey Castle,

Well when you are learning through correspondence it makes it a challenge at times when you try to use these words and say them correctly;

Salmon

Worcestershire

Illinois

and that's just the tip of a porcupine's quill (for those in the high arctic...the tip of an iceberg)

Mr C

---

Ah, Mr C, tomato, tomahto, no worries!!  Anyone can have those issues!

You vanquished your challenges nicely, IMO.

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And VERY happy you are back, as are others, as you know!

[vintagecraze50]

A lot of the changes are for the benefit of small sellers so they can attract more buyers with great return policies, timely shipping etc.