Selling on eBay will forever be my biggest life regret

[gwzcomps]

Overall eBay is a mess.  Between issues like GTC, fluctuating traffic, and eBay's promotion of ridiculous buying behaviors the site is a joke.  The site is plagued with counterfeit and/or dangerous items from China.  Then you run into the company culture issues like their recent stalking pig mask scandal.  eBay is a company that will throw small businesses over a puddle so they can walk over us while using our hard work to prop up eBay's own public image.  This is the same company that does "townhalls" and asks for our feedback while disregarding it.

Maybe other people's experience is different but it feels like every time you get ahead eBay figures out a new way to push you down.  Some times it is little things like unnecessary cosmetic changes that disrupt your workflow.  More annoying things like burdensome or erroneous item specifics requirements.  Other times it is worse through issues like bloated or bad coding that causes pages to load super slowly.  The worst of the issues that disrupt a business are site issues they refuse to acknowledge or policy changes that cause serious problems.

Now for the reason why selling on eBay is my biggest life regret...  I have been here for nearly 15 years, but probably won't see that 15 year anniversary.  I have stupidly built the majority of my business around the site.  The last 5 years have been the worst form of hell.  The site has gone from a great resource to connect with happy buyers who want stuff to a hell hole battle royale.  It is an abusive relationship where eBay tries to push you down, spits in your face and tells you they want more.

In the end avoiding my predicament is easy.  Don't be a moron like me.  Diversify.  Don't rely on eBay as the majority of your income.  Don't use eBay as a platform to grow eBay's business.  Use eBay to grow your business.  Don't rely on other people to ensure you have a future.  Even if you don't think you have the time, make the time to diversify your income.  Excuses today will bite you in the butt in the future. 

eBay doesn't have your back.  eBay doesn't care if you fail.  If anything they are rooting for you to fail.

[coolections]

It's been a month now since you posted and figured out your worse mistake in life was selling on Ebay. I see you still have 222 items listed. Have you just decided to deal with it and continue selling here after all ?

[chapeau-noir]

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@gwzcomps wrote:

After working through the Shopify video training series one thing is for sure.  eBay doesn't want their sellers to succeed.  Shopify did an impressive job laying out the basics of how to use their site in 1.5 hour worth of concise videos.  eBay could learn a thing or two from this:

https://www.shopifycompass.com/learn/getting-started-with-shopify

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Shopify is very well set up, and they also send encouraging emails with actual helpful tips and resources as well.  I had a store there but at the time I was using it was stretched too thin to keep it up - you have to do all of your own marketing (which they help you with) but I was working two jobs and already had two internet stores.  I was thinking of starting up there again but have gone to social media selling, which seems to work well for me.

[chapeau-noir]

And the social media thing is so funny - I sold that way before the phrase "social media" really was even used, back in the days of LiveJournal and MySpace.  Now I'm doing it again, 20 years later lol.

[gwzcomps]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

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@gwzcomps wrote:

After working through the Shopify video training series one thing is for sure.  eBay doesn't want their sellers to succeed.  Shopify did an impressive job laying out the basics of how to use their site in 1.5 hour worth of concise videos.  eBay could learn a thing or two from this:

https://www.shopifycompass.com/learn/getting-started-with-shopify

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Shopify is very well set up, and they also send encouraging emails with actual helpful tips and resources as well.  I had a store there but at the time I was using it was stretched too thin to keep it up - you have to do all of your own marketing (which they help you with) but I was working two jobs and already had two internet stores.  I was thinking of starting up there again but have gone to social media selling, which seems to work well for me.

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I definitely noticed a difference on the resources they offer.  Now I just need to find a way to sync all my inventory on other sites as I transition away from eBay.

[chapeau-noir]

@gwzcomps  I don't know how much you have running, but when I started up on another site that didn't sync (few do in my experience) I managed to double list 10 items a day and have 200 items up in under two weeks, and that was just in a few spare minutes of time here and there. I just set up a couple of directories and copy/pasted.  It sounds clunky and primitive (and is), but it was amazing how much I got done.  Then I set up on a second site.   I have a fierce audiobook habit, which helps lol.  I think Shopify does sync, though (it has been a few years) so that would be off your plate. I left everything running on eBay, though.  You can sync on sites like Bonanza (and I'm pretty sure eCrater) - they're dusty and musty with low foot traffic but it doesn't take much time to do it and if nothing else it's cheap server space, and you never know.  

[b4b4b4b]

I was wondering how many times you would look to see if OP had any items listed then when he did you would ask this question on the board.

Please see post # 77 for your answer !

Thanks !!!!

OP, hang in there.  we are rooting for you.       

Tammy

[chapeau-noir]

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@gwzcomps wrote:

Servers are cheap that is for sure.  I have 3 pallets worth of servers I have no idea what to do with.  Cost prohibitive to ship them with what people are selling them for.  I am not a software guy so I am working on learning how to setup my own server at my office.

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You can do this, trust me - software/computing is easy if you just start at the beginning and DON'T SKIP ANY STEPS, if you get stuck somewhere, go back over the steps because it's only because you missed something, not because it's some complex, arcane, unknowable-by-mortals thing.  When I became chief editor for a large documentation group I had to hurry up and learn how to computer - my background was tech writing and language, NOT computers, and I managed.  You'll do great!

[ehdolphy]

I'm sorry to hear your frustrations, it's just like what I've experienced throughout my 15 years here. 

Ebay started off for the little guys selling and starting up, then when they got bigger and they became a "little" competition for the big guys, the big guys wanted a piece of the action. Somehow they thought that they were missing out!

So now Ebay has the big boys on board...but for how long? Do anyone really want to work under their competition?

[sheridanjs]

Don't bother with Bonanza I have been on and off that site several times I have had one sale in all those years.

[ehdolphy]

Every little bit, here and there adds up, believe me

[ehdolphy]

If you know for sure the item returned isn't yours, you shouldn't refund it. I personally would wait to see what happens next.

[ehdolphy]

It may be in your best interest on the other hand to refund the buyer, because it may cause your store to fall into, what mines is going through. I usually stand up for myself, and I believe it's made my sales fall off.

I have to thank GOD for his mercy and blessings though, if it wasn't for the lord, I would have packed it up a long time ago, I simply couldn't afford the injustices

[ehdolphy]

"protest"

I'm usually is the first person to stand up for principles, or the first person to throw myself under a bus for a cause, so that others can learn from it.  But with all of that said, when Ebay was giving out $50.00 to those who signed up for managed payment, I was amoungst the first. lol

Since Paypal is ebay and ebay is Paypal, and  I was using Paypal anyway, I knew that ebay was going to do what ebay wanted to do anyway, so  I tooked the payment.

Ebay usually sends us surveys, and rule according to what Ebay wants to do anyway. They just have you believing it's what the majority of the surveys wants.

i don't have a problem with managed payments, I just don't want anyone taking money out of my account without my permission. I recntly had an INR case and ebay held my payments until the buyer received the item that was already shipped and the post office had delayed. So it works for me!

[cashvaluerecovery2011]

Blood out of turnip. Water from a rock. Thats what they gain from sellers failing. Try to extract as much as possible without entirely sinking the ship. If only they realized new boards and a well fed crew would sali so much further and faster and profitably. 

[vintagecraze50]

To retain my top rated seller status I use free shipping fast shipping and free returns. Due to this pandemic and USPS meltdown I now have to pay more for shipping with Fed Ex. I had a customer who bought two items and has returned both. Over 30 bucks in shipping fees back and forth. These are the types of buyers who are serial returners and they eat up the costs of doing business here for smaller sellers. I no longer give people here more than two chances to buy from me if they do this stuff.  My main beef about ebay is that they need more  ways to identify bad buyers and rid this website of them. But, that is really not possible because they just open a new account. Anywhere you sell, however you will have these problems and maybe more.