US Sellers held to different standards

[umie11752]

I see GTC is taking over the boards today. Yet another issue which leads me to believe you guys are purposely trying to run US Sellers off your platform. Nobody could be THIS stupid year after year here with all these moronic changes that literally benefit only a select few, yet we are made to deal with it or leave. Namely ebays ultimate game plan. I’m interested in seeing what it is btw. I can say stupid too n here’s why. I used to sell here faithfully til the shenanigans started. I then was forced to sell on other platforms to supplement my income. I turned to a popular social media site and created a group about a year ago. It started off as a hobby n became a business quickly. I have thousands of worldwide followers but most are us based. Between Saturday and last night I made $800 selling 1 particular toy line, just one. N this was a slow weekend cuz of the holiday. You know what else? I pay no fees whatsoever. Pure profit for me. My buyer pays PayPal fees n shipping. Ebay is the last place I come to List. Uve given me back to back promos for free listings, I accept but they never get used. 

Nehoo, I’d like to know why the sellers from China are not held to the same standards the US sellers are? They can continue to sell counterfeit merchandise and still be top rated. This is just one example. Dont tell me the math works out either cuz I’ve seen others with way more negs and a higher percentile rate. Please understand I’m not upset in any way, just curious. I’m actually appreciative cuz without u forcing my hand to go elsewhere I pry wouldn’t be making the money I am rn, being able to shop for toys and having fun along the way. So Thanks 🙂

[goodluckselling]

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@creekcoyote wrote:

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I guess that I am confused here.   Isn't all shopping a Product Based Experience in that a buyer is shopping for a product?

Is E-bay saying that their search engine is inadequate and has been inadequate and that they have to change it to a PBE in order for a buyer to find what they want

This just seems to me to be a matter of E-bay simply muddying the waters in order to keep both buyers and sellers from the simple fact that they can no longer keep this site above water with the practices that have been implement.

First the Catalog which was going to be the be all to end all for both buyers and sellers.  Apparently that didn't help much so now they are using a great phrase, which actually means nothing, PBE, to become the be all and end all for buyers and sellers.

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Internet buyers are not looking to spend all day looking at start and end times for listings.  They want quicker ways to see exact items and they want a quick way to compare important areas that they use to make buying decisions.

What eBay is saying is that the industry is changing and the way potential buyers use the internet for shopping is changing.  Buyers use many different ways to find items to buy both online and offline.  Having stable incoming links is a good move and will make many of the newer ways buyers use work better for all sellers.

Good Luck Selling!

[lovefindingtreasures2]

eBay is no longer eBay, that is the problem. What was once, "East Bay Area Yard sale" is now unrecognizable. I don't really know what eBay is anymore, I can't even explain it to people I know.

I'm not convinced eBay even knows what it wants to be when it grows up. It changes its mind more than a freshman in community college.

[creekcoyote]

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@goodluckselling wrote:

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@creekcoyote wrote:

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I guess that I am confused here.   Isn't all shopping a Product Based Experience in that a buyer is shopping for a product?

Is E-bay saying that their search engine is inadequate and has been inadequate and that they have to change it to a PBE in order for a buyer to find what they want

This just seems to me to be a matter of E-bay simply muddying the waters in order to keep both buyers and sellers from the simple fact that they can no longer keep this site above water with the practices that have been implement.

First the Catalog which was going to be the be all to end all for both buyers and sellers.  Apparently that didn't help much so now they are using a great phrase, which actually means nothing, PBE, to become the be all and end all for buyers and sellers.

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Internet buyers are not looking to spend all day looking at start and end times for listings.  They want quicker ways to see exact items and they want a quick way to compare important areas that they use to make buying decisions.

What eBay is saying is that the industry is changing and the way potential buyers use the internet for shopping is changing.  Buyers use many different ways to find items to buy both online and offline.  Having stable incoming links is a good move and will make many of the newer ways buyers use work better for all sellers.

Good Luck Selling!

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So basically, no matter in what terms we put it, E-bay's search engine is not adequate.  Which we already know.

So they keep tinkering with it in the hopes that they will get it right one of these times?

Now as for the industry changing and the way potential buyers are using the internet changing?

I don't see that myself.

I shop on-line for almost 100% of my clothing and my shoes and have for years.   I have actually found that the more companies try and make it easier, the more complicated it has gotten. 

I am not so sure it is the potential buyers but the almost obsessive need to beat the competition that is driving these changes from companies.

We all still need goods to keep on living.   Opening up the computer or the cell phone and typing in the item that you want really hasn't changed much, has it?

I mean I haven't look at the start or end times in years when I go to buy.  And I doubt that few potential buyers do also.  If they want it, they buy it when they find it. 

The bottom line, IMHO, is that if a companies search engines are functioning properly and only show the buyer just exactly what they typed in,  shopping on-line should be fairly easy.

But E-bay has taken it upon themselves to show buyers what they think they want, not what they typed in.

In their attempts to make things easy for buyers, they have only made it harder for them to find what they want.   And we read about those complaints all over these forums.

[weschurch]

Correct, 

If Ebays track record actually had merit it would be one thing. Unfortunately the only track record they have is one of running a once flourishing site straight into the ground.

Ebay lost my trust long ago, these changes will do nothing but further deteriorate the carcass of this one-time giant.

[gramophone-georg]

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@goodluckselling wrote:

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@umie11752 wrote:
I appreciate your reply. The problem is tho that when they send me emails about what you’re saying it’s never comparable to what I’ve purchased or looked at. If I look at Kate Spade or Tory Burch, the emails I get are all non branded, China junk that I NEVER would even look at much less buy. They may need to rethink that

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I agree lots of things need adjusted and that is why it is taking already 4 years to make this change but they are getting closer, and as far as these inexpensive junk items from Asian sellers, they will have to meet the same attributes all other sellers have to meet in order to be shown on the product pages.  This is big plus for all sellers and takes away some advantages. 

A far as the email blast you described being more accurate, those ads are partly put together from the item specifics sellers include in there listings, so if sellers who can provide this info better than other will benefit as well.  Hopefully the attributes will eliminate some of this false info some sellers are putting into there listings.

Good Luck Selling!

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4 years plus for a so called "software company" to make this change yet still not get it right is what I'd call unacceptable.

[gracieallen01]

I thought - in the last investor conference call, where the 2 of 3 new BOD members was announced - that ebay had down-played the catalogue, to the point that they were just, basically so-to-speak, letting it go ahead on auto-pilot.  Perhaps I just interpreted it incorrectly.

[femmefan1946]

Us sellers do have different standards than the rest of us.

We have to wait a full 21 days, as new or returning sellers, before we can access our buyers' cleared payments.

We can't open an Unpaid Item Dispute for 96 hours (four days) while US sellers can report a deadbeat after only 48 hours.

And we have many fewer Free Listing promotions and other promotions than US sellers.

[umie11752]

I’m speaking of Chinese sellers selling on US ebay. I dont know or care what other countries do.

[femmefan1946]

@goodluckselling

Internet buyers are not looking to spend all day looking at start and end times for listings. 

Which another way of saying "auctions are dead dying".

If someone is browsing on a mobile , as over half our customers do, they are not going to Watch the item and bid at the last second.

They may bid immediately, forget about the bid the next day, and then we hear from the auctioneer complaining about deadbeat bidders who never pay.

And someone who buys "Hilex Bleach in a plastic bottle", may have searched Hilex or bleach or javel water .  The seller doesn't know.

[coolections]

Ebay does not know if the other sellers are selling counterfeits any more than if you are selling counterfeits. Not to worry as most buyers switch to US only and they can tell the difference in counterfeits. Those that do buy counterfeits know they are counterfeits but don't care.

[creekcoyote]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

@goodluckselling

Internet buyers are not looking to spend all day looking at start and end times for listings. 

Which another way of saying "auctions are dead dying".

If someone is browsing on a mobile , as over half our customers do, they are not going to Watch the item and bid at the last second.

They may bid immediately, forget about the bid the next day, and then we hear from the auctioneer complaining about deadbeat bidders who never pay.

And someone who buys "Hilex Bleach in a plastic bottle", may have searched Hilex or bleach or javel water .  The seller doesn't know.

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And that is exactly why E-bay needs to differentiate between antique, vintage and used items and new items.

Many of the buyers looking to add to their collections of whatever, coins books, old jewelry, etc.  ARE willing to deal with auctions.  They know what to expect and are willing to keep the item that they have bid on front and center.

Those buyers set the price for these items when they are on an auction.   The seller starts the item at the lowest price they are willing to accept and then they let the market, at the ending day,  determine the final outcome.

But since E-bay has been pushing BIN or Best Offers, those buyers of Antique, vintage, etc. and sellers of the same goods, using auctions,  have been getting the short end of the stick.  There are rarely any set prices on Antique or Vintage Items.  

I rarely buy on here any longer.   BIN's of new items are not on my radar.  Most of the time, the only reason that I buy on any on-line site is because I cannot find the item I want in a B&M store.  

I used to buy antique items, vintage glassware, etc. on auction, hoping to get a bargain.   Now you are lucky if you can find actual antique or vintage items here because much of what shows up are reproductions from China.

And with an unwieldy search engine, it becomes even harder to find great things to bid on.

People of all ages use smart phones and the internet to shop and communicate.   And many of these same buyers are forced into using BIN"S because that is what the companies are pushing.

There is little, if any, choice in how you can purchase your items in this day and age.

Blaming these changes on the consumer is making an assumption that I don't think is totally valid.

AS I posted earlier, the competition between companies has a lot to do with many of the changes.