Seller Limits and eBay Sales in General

[orrcards]

I have been a member for over 20 years and have sold 100s of items; my feedback is over 1300, all positive.  When the new Rules were introduced re: PayPal I decided to take a break from selling as I was wary of giving out my banking information yet again.  I have since reconsidered and was planning on listing a bunch of auctions in the New Year, as I've done many times in the past.  Now I see that I am limited to 3 (!) listings, which (according to a recent chat) is based on "the types of items being sold, experience the account has selling the items listed, buyer feedback, time registered on the site, and overall seller performance".  Just to be clear, I have sold the same types of items for over 20 years, have perfect feedback, have been on the site for over 20 years, and have perfect feedback, to address each of these concerns.

What I have seen in those 20+ years is a steady degradation of sellers' rights, first in terms of protection for transactions that don't go well (to the point that I eventually just stopped trying to recoup anything from negligent/non-paying bidders); and now with unreasonable and seemingly arbitrary selling limits that are apparently not even based on the very criteria that is being claimed as their justification.

I will be finding someplace else to sell and will be advising anyone who wishes to take advantage of my "experience" here to do the same.

[jda04121]

The only "rights" you have are the ones eBay gives you. It's not a democracy.

[katzrul15]

@orrcards 

If you have not sold for a while, every Seller, including those who sold previously, have selling limits and payout holds.  My understanding is that you can build that back up again fairly quickly.

Perhaps sell in-tandem with another site or two until you get things re-established on here?

[fashunu4eeuh]

Sorry this took you by surprise. Your experience is not unusual. It is eBay’s practice now to treat occasional sellers as newbies. Work within the limits set and eBay will automatically increase the number of items once you sell your current allotment. It may feel arbitrary, but it is, in fact, eBay’s status quo.

[orrcards]

I spent 20+ years getting established on here.

[jayjaspersgarage]

There are several ways to look at what this trend is and why ebay is doing it.  We know they are not focusing on low dollar sellers accounts and in fact have been systematically trying to whittle down the small dollar volume seller accounts for many years, quite successfully.  Since 2019 when Managed Payments started getting introduced and massive multi-million dollar corporate sellers have taken the choice positions in search results with huge economies of scale advantages in purchasing inventory and large shipping discounts ebay is focused on their ROI.  The 20/80 rules definitely applies here.  Ebay is not going to chase 20% of its sales through 80% of its sellers.  They are going to slowly reduce the number of sellers contributing next to nothing to their profits and make sure that large companies / sellers who grow their businesses on ebay above some pre-defined level get preferential treatment.

As a stock holder of ebay since 1994 and numerous other on-line companies I can't argue with this business plan.  The seller limits imposed on returning sellers is a necessary program for several reasons, especially during the pandemic when millions of additional inexperienced new sellers would have cause many more headaches and would have devalued the BUYERS' experience.  

Similar to a corporation I worked at in several management positions on the first day a new employee started work I gave him a short tour of the building and warehouses.  I was taken aback when on my first day I got the same speech from a senior regional V.P. and he told me casually, "If you ever decide this isn't the place for you there are fours doors and three gates you can leave through.  It's all business here and we are happy to have you on board".

On that note best of luck to you if you choose to give your banking information to another selling site.  They are all pretty much the same these days but ebay has the most potential customers and still remains the best place for small sellers in my humble opinion.

[m60driver]

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@orrcards wrote:

I spent 20+ years getting established on here.

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No, you have been a member of Ebay for over 20 years.  You admit to voluntarily disestablishing yourself as a seller.  

[katzrul15]

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@orrcards wrote:

I spent 20+ years getting established on here.

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Understood.  This is our posting ID - main selling acct is 18+ years.  Understand your constraint well.

However, about a year ago, e-Bay changed course on this.  Am guessing dormant accounts were being used for fraud and sellers who took a long hiatus were not familiar with all the changes.  This site is very different than it was when you first started here.

You think your years here entitle you to something.  E-Bay feels they do not - not for you or me or any Seller.  This site is Buyer-centric, Buyer driven, according to e-Bay.  E-Bay's goal is to protect the Buyer.  

Jumping back in without doing any homework to Selling here is a recipe for disaster.  Sorry you are taking this personal.  The rules apply to ALL of us, regardless of "when" we first started selling.  If I sell a high-value item, even though my total lifetime sales exceed $800k, I will have a payout hold. 

It is their site, their rules.

[redmodelt]

"I spent 20+ years getting established on here."

So have a lot of other seller/buyers that are moving forward with the times and rule changes.

[dq3141]

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@orrcards wrote:

I spent 20+ years getting established on here.

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Dormant accounts belonging to successful sellers are prime targets for hijackers. Until eBay is convinced that your account isn’t being used by a scammer, they take steps to limit risk.

If that offends you to the point of making you leave, eBay is prepared to accept those consequences.