Seeking an exit strategy

[bmp_auto_salvage]

Really eBay, I have no control over my return rates and now you are going to GOUGE me because these people have no idea what it is they are buying and open return requests?

Some months I sell over 20K and now you will be taking an additional 4% of my FVF!?!?! So if I do 20K you pocket another $800!?!?! 

I am disgusted, I cannot prevent these return happy buyers and I understand exactly what it is I am selling but they do not know what they are buying. This system is trash. I am literally at a loss of words.

Oh and if an item gets damaged in transit its my fault as well!?!?!? How do I have any control over that!!!!!

eBay has become a heaping pile of trash, if I didn't have 5 years invested into this business I would have closed the doors a long time ago. I am going to actively start seeking an exit strategy because this is nonsense. 

[sam9876]

"Oh and if an item gets damaged in transit its my fault as well!?!?!? How do I have any control over that!!!!!"

You hired the shipping company to be your agent. 

[bmp_auto_salvage]

FEDEX, UPS and USPS have all famaged items due to their negligence. Next time I'll be sure to hire some deity to personally deliver my merchandise. 😉

[ten_o_nine]

And soon everyone will be paying this additional 4%, and you'll be moved to the 18%.

[bin9711]

Oh and if an item gets damaged in transit its my fault as well!?!?!? How do I have any control over that!!!!!

__

pack better

[bmp_auto_salvage]

I wouldnt be surprised, honestly in the automotive field 3% is a VERY LOW RETURN RATE. I find it NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE that my peers are at a 1.14% rate as ebay states. With used auto parts that is practically impossible. I am sick of being gouged by this company, especially when there issues are out of my control. I've spent years building this business and I find it extremely disheartening that they are treating their sellers like this and pinching us for every penny try to save. Their greed will soon catch up to them one war or another. Just sick of this.

[bmp_auto_salvage]

I pack very well, I have a big account with my shipping supply company and know what I'm doing. 9/10 buyers even select that as the wrong reason.

[juststuffisell]

I would be passing the added costs on to the buyer. You have to make it up somehow in the margins or eat the variance. Some items have a higher propensity for return and I think eBay may need to go back and evaluate some categories.

You have to decide if the revenue is worth the time and expense. Hopefully it is!

Cheers

[coolections]

Not much to say but you either need to pay the extra it takes to quadruple your sales by doing it on-line, or just sell locally at the salvage yard. If you've been doing it for 5 years you know the average return rate and I doubt that will change much other than by doing better packaging job on the shipping part of the business.

[luckythewinner]

I cannot prevent these return happy buyers {snip}How do I have any control over that

No, you really can't prevent all of them. And no, you don't have a lot of control over that.

eBay wants a marketplace where buyers are generally happy with their purchases, and they think that sellers with high return rates are not helping them achieve that. 

But it isn't practical for eBay to send an investigator to examine each return to determine whether it was justified or not, so instead they are going to punish you and hope that you can figure out how to adjust your business model, listing practices, and product mix to bring your return rate back in line with their expectations.

And if you can't accomplish that, they are happy to either charge you more or have you leave. eBay has far too many sellers and not nearly enough buyers, so they really aren't going to lose any sleep over losing a few of the sellers they consider to be the least valuable. 

And apparently they are at least partly right, because despite the fact that you are this unhappy with them ... you are still here. 

So to sum up - eBay really does not care why you have a lot of returns; they only care that you have a lot of returns.  

[futuretomorrow]

@bmp_auto_salvage

It's been easier for me to take the once in a blue moon off-handed comment from my current companies CEO/Founder with the realization of how this plays into a larger exit plan than it has been to deal with eBay over the last few months. While some might ask and I myself have wondered at times whether I've jumped from the frying pan directly into the fire, it's not even close under magnified scrutiny.

Not by a longshot. I have a plan and while it's not for everyone I'm going to be more than okay if I stick with it and change the things in my life that are holding me back from success. eBay was good while it lasted and it taught me a lot about small business efforts, managing customer expectations and more but it also taught me other valuable lessons and made me reassess myself.

1. Where would I and many sellers here be if we invested more in ourselves and stopped depending on large marketplaces to provide easy solutions for us?

2. Didn't all these sites start off as someones dream? Are we saying that we're not dreamers and can only chase after and support what other people have built? Sounds like we're lazy and/or have a problem dreaming. If anyone responds with anything like "but", "it's hard", "but Amazon", "I don't know" or anything that suggests doubt, you're the problem, not eBay. Fail on your own terms, not someone elses.

3. We get too comfortable with easy and that's how the trap works. Nobody ever hid anything, we just failed to realize that no company on Wall Street is ever going to have our best interests in mind because greed knows no bounds. 

[sandytexas1961]

---

@futuretomorrow wrote:

@bmp_auto_salvage

1. Where would I and many sellers here be if we invested more in ourselves and stopped depending on large marketplaces to provide easy solutions for us?

2. Didn't all these sites start off as someones dream? Are we saying that we're not dreamers and can only chase after and support what other people have built? Sounds like we're lazy and/or have a problem dreaming. If anyone responds with anything like "but", "it's hard", "but Amazon", "I don't know" or anything that suggests doubt, you're the problem, not eBay. Fail on your own terms, not someone elses.

3. We get too comfortable with easy and that's how the trap works. Nobody ever hid anything, we just failed to realize that no company on Wall Street is ever going to have our best interests in mind because greed knows no bounds. 

---

Perhaps your own website or your own vision is a good answer for you, but re-inventing the wheel is not an attractive option for me.  I just want a large group of people who can see my items and buy them.  Ebay provides that.  I don't think I'm "lazy" or not a "dreamer" because I choose to use available resources to sell my items.  Facebook marketplace and facebook groups are another viable forum for me to sell, but those sites have limited numbers of people on them, whereas ebay draws from a larger group.   

I think the larger point is that business goals may vary quite considerably and while you may find that dreaming big and moving away from ebay is a good choice for you, that may not be true for all of us (since we are all still here).  It isn't lazy to take advantage of existing resources; it is just smart business.  

[ripcityresell]

The best exit strategy is to list less and less every month and when listings end, don't relist them. Eventually, you'll have exited eBay.

[ab_ryut]

2008. I used to own my own store in Laguna Beach... Due to poor location and then the recession crash it closed. I had my own website... sold. I still have the sweetest yelp review from a customer driving an hour to my shop. I started out backwards. I was featured in magazines... like actual photoshoot with article. I was considered the best of OC and LA as upcoming fashion. Im now older..

Now 15 years ago I dreamed of bringing Japanese fashion brands to the U.S. NOBODY was doing it on Ebay. Not china... not people in Japan as even Japanese companies only in recent years started offering shipping services (Tenso). I was the only one doing it. I sold from my website too. I had family in Japan. I traveled there. I met with people that were heads of companies. I guess I was way ahead of my time. Then one day it became popular. So popular, sadly people knock off the fashion. I was before my time and when I couldnt sell too well on my website I sold to mostly  international girls on Ebay. I sell on my husbands account since my account email is like a 10 year old shut down website email. But I had ALL amazing hundreds feedback. Oh well... I have my own account now too  to buy stuff but don't use it since I just sell on this one... and buy too... 

People think Im so new to this. I worked processing orders, fraud watch, chargeback disputes for a video game ecommerce group of sites. I have actual other retail sales and customer service experience. Its not like what it was then. But its kind of cool to still ocasionally bring up tht special yelp review or read the articles of me being the "next future of LA/OC fashion..." I was a baby and in over my head! Whether its just your site, or Ebay or anywhere.... being self employed is hard. There is no 100% security... great years... and years of struggle. My father is a master electrician- owned a business for over 30 years and I remember growing up- the slow times... the busy times. 

 There is no right answer other than enjoy the good times and don't be hard on yourself or anybody when times arent so well. Keep your chin up. The other day I didnt think I could but then I thought... Even though I did things opposite and completely naive... I had someone driving an hour to my shop. I was a part of the Laguna Beach High School's charity fashion show. (I lent out my clothing and spent hours with them as we cretated a show... and no, I was in my 20's not a HS student..lol) I still sell what I love... even if its just for fun out of my closet. Sure, its upsetting and frustrating to read people claiming that and the item comes from China. It is what it is. Im TERRIFIED of those awful returns people keep saying. I spend so much time on listings. I get giddy and happy when I sell one thing and my favorite part is that handwritten note.  just figure out what makes you happy. I cant live in the past. But sometimes I need to take a step back... sleep! Run on the treadmill.. whatever. You'll be ok. 

[tkinnebrew]

I like the "just dont relist" exit plan.  Then go to unsolds and DELETE.  Especially DELETE all listings that are missing photos now for whatever reason lol....