eBay

allthings-collectible · ‎07-13-2023

Although I realize that titles like this will inevitably draw out those who feel that it's their duty to not only defend eBay, but even blame sellers for doing something wrong, then so be it. We know who you are due to your condescending consistency.

Yet, this year is shaping up to be the beginning of the end for eBay. What caused them to try to change so many aspects of eBay's front-end and back-end systems? Greed perhaps. Or maybe desperation, in an attempt to stop the bleeding of lost year-over-year market share. Their motivation to add PL coupled with a revised definition of impressions shows that they no longer care about sustainable sellers, let alone the overall effect on fair market values of resold goods.

This current system has only one outcome, which is to drive sales by price competition. This includes parading identical items with lower prices in front of buyers AFTER they made their purchase. It's no wonder why cancelations are up and sales are down. All of this ocurring during a time when eBay is losing over a million sellers each year since 2018, all the while it's competitors are gaining sellers and market share. The writing is on the wall.

downunder-61 · ‎07-13-2023

WOW, great opening line..........

sorry, didn't read beyond that, figured you don't really want opinions, just agreements.

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I have been imported from Australia and this is my posting ID

sakic92710 · ‎07-13-2023

I could not see 2023 being worse than 2022 but it is. FAR worse! What I get in a month of sales is less than half of what a bad week used to be! 8-10 sales was a slow week. Now I fight for 4-5 sales per month! It's new nickname will be eBye because so many have & will eBail. lol

sakic92710 · ‎07-13-2023

It does make me wonder, if I were a US seller, how many of my listings would actually sell? Too many negative about the border when there is no need to be!

allthings-collectible · ‎07-14-2023

Yet, here you are.

luxgoods · ‎07-14-2023

Great First Paragraph! Finally someone telling it like it is!!

stevemartin60 · ‎07-14-2023

My theory remains elite capture of eBay management by CCP/Alibaba millionaire influencers.

luckythewinner · ‎07-14-2023

This current system has only one outcome, which is to drive sales by price competition

Price competition has been the primary driver of commerce for thousands and thousands of years.

Yet, this year is shaping up to be the beginning of the end for eBay

Every year hundreds of people have posted that this is the beginning of the end for eBay.

We were told that the Money Back Guarantee was the beginning of the end.

We were told that not allowing cash and checks was the beginning of the end.

We were told that pushing Free Returns was the beginning of the end.

We were told that DSRs was the beginning of the end.

We were told that Seller Ratings was the beginning of the end.

We were told that Item Specifics was the beginning of the end.

We were told that Metrics was the beginning of the end.

We were told that forcing PayPal was the beginning of the end.

We were told that taking away PayPal was the beginning of the end.

boomersbiz46 · ‎07-14-2023

I am having the same experience, very low sales. I am up to 39.00 this week. WOW. Luckily I have a pension, social security and a IRA and a husband with the same. Money is not my goal here. I am pushing 80 YO and need to get rid of my antiques and collectibles...LOL.

So if everyone is leaving EBAY, just where are they going to sell stuff? Ruby Lane & Etsy are overpriced. mercari & poshmark sell BUZZ/Trendy items. Just my opinion.

cardxcraft · ‎07-14-2023

Inadvertently, you hit the nail on the head. You mentioned 4 platforms but there are many more emerging. So, you don't go to one platform, but as many as possible. Good for sellers, bad for the platforms.

One important piece of technology is missing and stopping widespread cross-listing: there's a lack of programs that can affordably manage cross posting: more importantly, when an item sells on one platform its removed on the other sites. There's one program that exists thst can perform this task, but it's not economical.

coolections · ‎07-14-2023

@allthings-collectible wrote:
Yet, this year is shaping up to be the beginning of the end for eBay.

I have been reading that exact statement here for over 10 years or more. I think your prediction is very off. By the way price competition to get sales has been around since the beginning of time. I will lower my prices (if I can afford to) lower than yours every single day if possible.

redlinear · ‎07-14-2023

I would say my sales are awesome. That is, if I didn't know what awesome was.
I have something to compare my eBay sales with, therefore I know they are a fraction of what they were.
MANY possible reasons for this. One of the big reasons is how a Search pulls Results compared to how it used to pull results.
Sellers now have considerably more ways to get their listings seen in the wrong places. THIS, due to how eBay has changed.
It's not a "which came 1st" deal. eBay started it by changing, and sellers took advantage.

tobaccocardyahoo · ‎07-14-2023

In 2008 I decided to add Amazon as a selling venue. I was selling on Ebay and my website.

The reason is I needed cashflow to avoid selling stocks I owned into a down market.

Within 3 months I has reduced my Amazon offers to a group of categories which were low hassle and decent volume. I did this without duplicating the same items on multiple sites.

Amazon sold faster, at higher prices, with easier customer service. We all know Amazon is very demanding for customer service, but one can easily avoid the merch which attracts high maintenance customers.

Came the pandemic, I shut down my Amazon presence and began once again to sell on Ebay.

At that point Ebay sold faster, at higher prices with easier customer service.

Amazon made changes which made life harder, and the changes @luckythewinner identified made Ebay a better venue for me.

Businesses evolve. They learn from competition. Ebay always learns from Amazon and often correctly adapts what works for Amazon to its sellers in a manner which shows Ebay's awareness of their total dependency on their sellers.

IMO Amazon, Walmart and other venues are not friendly places for those of us who sell items which are collectible, or historical unless they are encased in plastic and third party graded.

Were Ebay to become like the rest, I would probably need to team up with an auctioneer on liveauctioneers or invaluable.

maxine*j · ‎07-14-2023

I am going to assume that you sell on another User-ID, because the one you're using to post here is only about 18 months old. It was created during the Covid lockdowns, when e-commerce was roaring. No long-term or long-view is possible after only 18 months selling on eBay and, at that, selling during one of the oddest times in U.S. economic history.

So, all I can tell you is that your listings on your allthings-collectible ID are well done and when the economy turns around again, and people are less worried, less cash-strapped, and more free with money for non-essentials, and seasonal adjustments for normal on-line buying are made, your collectible ephemera should do well.

Since I don't know what you have been selling, presumably for many years, since you are discussing the long-term, it's hard to comment on whatever negative trends / problems you're encountering.

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