The 50,000 Promo ...

[mr_lincoln]

It takes me a couple of minutes to do a good photo shoot, inspect, measure, weigh, and take notes on an item then organize and store it.

It takes me a little time to name all the pics to be ready to upload to the listing form.

It takes me a little time to create the listing on the advanced listing form.

So I figure on average about 9 minutes per listing

So assuming I would actually have 50,000 items to list that would mean 450,000 minutes of straight work time or 7,500 hours.  Divide that by 40 hours per week = 187.5 weeks

Okay, even if I worked really fast and cut my time in half to 4.5 minutes per listing it would be about  93.75 weeks.

If I went out and bought some Raging Bull super caffeinated coffee and cut the time in half again to 2.25 minutes per listing it would be about 47 weeks ... there are 52 weeks in a year.

Just wondering what the thinking was behind the 50K Free Listing promo?

[dhbookds]

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@pops_paper wrote:

This really bothers me. eBay acting as though this will help people and is an honest promotion, when it is not. Say the average person does not read the fine print that your listings will be renewed at the store rate (30 cents starter to 5 cents Anchor), this adds up to thousands of dollars for ONE MONTH of you forgetting to end all of your listings after April. So eBay will win out with this one duping many people due to the fact that the promotion does not clearly indicate that these "FREE listings" are only FREE for one month and a week. After that, expect to pay somewhere in the ballpark of $15,000 per month if you use all 50,000 listings and do not sell much and you are a starter store! For Anchor stores this will be around $2,500 per month in addition to your $300 subscription if you get to 50,000 listings. Hah! Totally a scam if you ask me.

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Then don't use it.........   Most store owners should be able to read and understand the promo......and use it if they want to........

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

poppers_paper

If you actually read the "fine print" you will see that, any GTC renewals that occur during the promo period are covered by the freebies. So for most store sellers, there are effectively no listing fees (or relisting fees) to pay for fixed price listings between now and the end of April. And anyone who claims to be running a business here will understand that they need to evaluate their listing situation at the end of April, and decide whether to end some listings or not.

This is not a scam. Not sure why you think "average ebay sellers" are not capable of grasping basic math?

[fern*wood]

Yes, it would be a large amount when these roll, but GTC has been the standard for around a year now.  I can't imagine sellers not knowing this, but I can see some messing up.

[debussy2]

It's all flash & PR, and for most of small- to medium-size sellers, it amounts to little of substance. Admittedly, I'm very **bleep** about my auctions because buyers in my categories (high-end purses, shoes, clothing and jewelry) are EXTREMELY picky (and rightfully so for their hard-earned cash!). So it takes me sometimes a total of an hour (yep, I'm that OCD about it!) for each auction to: inspect item in good light so i don't miss any flaws; take good and honest pics of everthing I canl; edit pics and create collages when needed; describe the item in full living detail with SEO/keywords in mind; launch the lsting; proof & revise the listing if I missed something; package it carefully once sold, and ship. So no way in heck would I ever take advanage of more than 200 free listings in two months. Besides, if you have a store, you get a number of free insertions monthly anyway.  So for me at least, 50K free insertions does nothing.

[hioctane62]

Sellers asked for free listings, eBay went big. Just like congress needs to get off their tails and do.

It works for me with the timing. I downgraded my store from basic to starter this month and have been removing listings all month to get down to the 100 allotment. I'm relisting items that I ended, and have quite a few new listings to work with. This basically gives me a 2 month reprieve on reducing my inventory listed. I do know that I'll have a lot to keep up with in May, so as not to rack up a bunch of fees. Who knows, maybe I'll sell enough new inventory between now and then to justify upgrading back to basic.

Doing my best to stay optimistic about everything that is happening at the moment. Stay safe everyone!

[debussy2]

Does this apply to re-listed items. Often, Ebay specials do not.

[hioctane62]

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@debussy2 wrote:

Does this apply to re-listed items. Often, Ebay specials do not.

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Yes, my relists are coming off of the 50,000 promo.

[bar-29368]

@mr_lincoln 

I bet those offshore sellers have plenty lined up ready to go.

[mr_lincoln]

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@bar-29368 wrote:

@mr_lincoln 

I bet those offshore sellers have plenty lined up ready to go.

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What's good for the goose is good for the gander ... unless the birds die and you eat them ... then you risk infection ...

[bar-29368]

Promos on dot com should be ONLY good for sellers registered in USA.

Same as promos on dot Ca are only good for sellers registered in Canada.

[mcdougle4248]

I got this...37 down 49,963 remaining this month.  IDK about everyone else, but I am having fun 😊

[cynthealee2]

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@mcdougle4248 wrote:

I got this...37 down 49,963 remaining this month.  IDK about everyone else, but I am having fun 😊

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ooooo you're faster than I am... but I went to bed last night and having problems getting the slaves going this morning...

Used/Left: 31/ 49,969

I also have a bunch saved over on Auctiva that I just need to get new pics for since photobucket is still being a pain in my backside (tis why my tag line is what it is)

Bro has another 500 or so cards and those take less than 2 minutes to create once one of the slaves have the scans done... my biggest roadblock is going to be the 1g limit on picture hosting with Auctiva.

ahh such 1rst world problems I have  😉

[bar-29368]

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@mcdougle4248 wrote:

I got this...37 down 49,963 remaining this month.  IDK about everyone else, but I am having fun 😊

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That's the one thing that has seemingly never sunk in with TPTB at ebay.

Even if sellers already have listings they can use, a FREE Listing promo seems to motivate them to list a lot more. And yes, partly because it IS fun to see how many you can use.

The "good old days" were when sellers would religiously check the boards to see if there were any free listings.

[southern*sweet*tea]

::general reply::

I can't speak for anyone else, but 50k free listings makes as much sense for me as my $2B listing limit - it's ridiculous, and it ain't gonna happen, not now, not ever. I will use some, of course, while I can since I can't really do anything outside because of the stupid RAIN that won't seem to stop.

While everyone is worried about covid-19, I'm more worried about getting seeds and plants in the ground. I really don't need another bust year. Then again, if Ebay keeps doing well for me I guess this money can replace that  money (not that I make much from either).

With all the failed harvests last year I'm surprised there are not more food shortages than what there already are.  If this year is as bad overall as last year, it could be really bad.  Food shortages along with a pandemic...signs of the times.

It is what it is. Do the best we can the best we know how and hope it all works out.

[mr_lincoln]

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@mcdougle4248 wrote:

I got this...37 down 49,963 remaining this month.  IDK about everyone else, but I am having fun 😊

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DUDE!  You're AWESOME!  I'm like virtually out of inventory and am SO jealous you have stuff to list!