eBay

theseeker_jamrock · ‎10-11-2019

When ebay dies it will die of greed and promoted listings maybe its killer. The fact is that they will push listing to the top for the right amount of money even if it is a subpar item they basically force these things on the buyer.

While they get more money and basically give 90% of all sales to one or 2 sellers other sellers are suffering and their items are not being Sold and many sellers close their store once their early subscription ends.

Sellers who promote their listing I litterally see some sellers selling their items for way cheaper than everyone else plus the promote their listings and are at the top. Some sellers raise their prices to accommodate it and the buyer pay sometimes twice the amount for a subpar item. And many buyers when they realize this they are not please and open up returns and are just stop shopping on ebay.
I have read even where many buyers say they avoid promoted listing.

Promoted listings don't just push many sellers away but many buyers are not getting value for their money.

I have seen situations where sellers have good Genuine items and I see another sellers with a subpar item for twice the price with promoted listings get all the sales. This tells me ebay also does not care about the quality of products their buyers buyers receive either.

Promoted listing on Amazon works a bit different as ebay as prime and even if you don't promote your listing once you have prime you will get a lot of sales

uncseniorsportsfan · ‎10-11-2019

If anything will cause ebay's demise - it will be the search algorithms - promoted listings are only one thorn in search.

My son who hasn't bought anything on eBay for a number of years, was searching for a life like pre-owned baby doll (I don't remember the brand) - he wanted to buy from a seller located and shipping in the USA. He said he got 14,000 results in his search - many were nothing like what he was searching for, and then he had to check the listing carefully to make sure the seller and shipping location were in the US as he needed it by Oct 16. He said if the purchase wasn't for a charity event granddaughter was taking part in - he would have given up long before he found one to purchase.

uncseniorsportsfan · ‎10-11-2019

Finding a good reliable selling venue these days has become quite a task. There are very few sites out there now that have any more credibility or that much more to offer than eBay in its current state.

That's been my experience as well - epecially if you are selling used or vintage items. Over the past six months I have re-opened my etsy and bonanza accounts - etsy is now requiring free shipping for gauranteed visibility - I sold three items out of 24 all in the first month of 4 months. I imported listings to bonanza from one of my ebay accounts over a week ago - they do now appear in google shopping search from bonanza which they don't from eBay, but yet to sell anything.

And in the space of 8 days in September, I got three sales from an ecrater account that I closed in January 2017.

Such fun......

moldy5 · ‎10-11-2019

"their policies lead to more losses for sellers." Holy cow is that ever correct! It's no longer fun to list here. So much finger crossing/praying over each new listing. So many unpaid cases, ugly reports on buyers just creeps us all out.

Loved being a seller here for 9 years. Past year kinda embarrassed to admit I sell on eBay.

Please eBay, this community forum is for us but we know you folks check in often. Can't you see how unhappy your money makers are? (sellers) Help us succeed in selling. More money for you.

mymysharona43 · ‎10-11-2019

It's not much better than a pay day loan.....ended my listing and sooooo relieved no more fraud excessive fee's and no more chasing with very little to find these day without ruining your car with miles, bubble wrap boxes etc etc good luck everyone! This site killed itself with fraud and no recourse for seller with fraud except don't sell it if you can't afford to lose it...

luvzena · ‎10-11-2019

That "Prime" van is actually a delivery truck with Amazon orders. They are advertising in Phoenix as paying $18.00 per hour to delivery Amazon packages. If Amazon workers are complaining about how management fiercely rides them in the warehouse (discouraging bathroom breaks, etc), can you imagine what the hourly expectation for Amazon deliveries are? UPS is bad enough.

luvzena · ‎10-11-2019

@uncseniorsportsfan wrote:
Finding a good reliable selling venue these days has become quite a task. There are very few sites out there now that have any more credibility or that much more to offer than eBay in its current state.

That's been my experience as well - epecially if you are selling used or vintage items. Over the past six months I have re-opened my etsy and bonanza accounts - etsy is now requiring free shipping for gauranteed visibility - I sold three items out of 24 all in the first month of 4 months. I imported listings to bonanza from one of my ebay accounts over a week ago - they do now appear in google shopping search from bonanza which they don't from eBay, but yet to sell anything.

And in the space of 8 days in September, I got three sales from an ecrater account that I closed in January 2017.

Such fun......

I sell used and vintage items, too. As a retiree, I usually made about $400 per month. May not sound like a lot to other sellers, but it really helped me and was quite regular for years and years. Then with all the new Ebay rules and ramifications, I decided to start selling on Bonanza and eBid instead. I have over 200 listings on each site, the same kind I sold quite well on Ebay. Lots of lookers, but not watchers, on eBid. Neither lookers nor watchers on Bonanza. Dead as a door nail as we used to say. I don't know where to go from here. Bonanza also shares certain of my listings with Google Shopping and eBid listings can be shared on Pinterest. Still nothing. So I'm basically listing, not selling, for over two months now.

trustedbasset · ‎10-11-2019

I’m of average intelligence but I am older so I have experience.
Companies go belly up all the time.
Buyouts, bankruptcies are happening everyday to large businesses. Sometimes management will come clean and tell the employees. Most just shut the doors and shut workers out. Guess what? You’re out of a job.
I don’t feel as secure on eBay as you because it could happen, I’ve experienced it.

Dear God, please help me to be
the person my dog thinks I am.

oldway_rc · ‎10-12-2019

I agree with what you're saying. I think there are definitely two different types of sellers here. One that sells new products and one that sells used. I do think that eBay's platform for selling new items is good and in all honesty I think the buyer protection for a NEW item is legit. That said my issue is that they hold the same standard for returns on USED items. If you have an item that is accurately described in the ad and plenty of pictures provided in the ad and specifically state through eBay's option of No Returns, then I think it's pretty obvious, but that's not the case. Ebay just forces sellers to accept returns or offer something in return, and that's just not right. I had a customer service rep yesterday specifically tell me that I was going to lose the casevthe buyer filed. I specifically asked the rep I had on the phone if she read my ad and she said no, further she said she didn't even review the 5 responses or so in the case file. She even told me the option for No Returns was going away. I said if you know that then WHY is ebay still allowing sellers to list it as an option in their ad. Ebay just needs to be honest and really not allow folks to sell USED items on their platform OR create two policies one for NEW items and one for USED. The problem is that selling new and used is very different because the expectations from the customer should be different.

uncseniorsportsfan · ‎10-12-2019

Just as eBay separated eBay Motors from the main marketplace - new and used should have been separated over a decade ago. Your point about different buyer expectations is a valid one.

By the same token just as UK, Canada, and Austrailia are separate international sites from the US - Asia should have been as well instead of letting the Asian sellers flood the US site.

dhbookds · ‎10-12-2019

No returns has never protected anyone from a Snad case.......and that is just the downside to selling on the internet...... If that wasn't true, sellers on the internet would be free to falsely list and THAT would kill sales for everyone.

Every seller has losses no matter where they sell........shoplifting, breakage (by themselves), soiled returns, no delivery/breakage when mailing, etc. If a seller doesn't/can't sell enough to cover those losses and still leave him enough to make the selling worthwhile to him, he will eventually quit selling and rightly so.

Ebay offers people the chance to sell...........it doesn't guarantee any sale or profit from any sale. It offers tools, such as PL, subtitles, etc......which sellers can use to try to enhance their sales. If a seller purchased inventory at a low enough price, he can afford to use those, just as he can afford to absorb the losses.

In the end, in my opinion, it all comes down to the buying price of the item.

hawkwind5454 · ‎10-12-2019

@trustedbasset wrote:
I’m of average intelligence but I am older so I have experience.
Companies go belly up all the time.
Buyouts, bankruptcies are happening everyday to large businesses. Sometimes management will come clean and tell the employees. Most just shut the doors and shut workers out. Guess what? You’re out of a job.
I don’t feel as secure on eBay as you because it could happen, I’ve experienced it.

I too am old enough to remember the immortality Battle Cry uttered by Sears, Montgomery Wards, Kmart, Spiegel... All the way down to thousands of other companies, that are no longer with us. No company, no matter how large, is exempt from failure. Personally, when eBay falls (oh, and trust me, my friends... eventually, it WILL fall) it will implode. That is to say as far as free enterprise goes, financially it will not be able to support its own weight. And do you want to know a little secret? As far as stock incentives and business straddling strategies go, Amazon has had happier days. So it's not a question of if, but rather a question of when. No corporation sports an Invincible force shield.😉

u_cant_take_it_with_u · ‎10-12-2019

I totally agree with your thread. Regarding eBay, it made me think of Edna St. Vincent Millay's quote: "My candle burns at both ends... It will not last the night - But ah, my foes- and oh, my friends... It gives a lovely light".

pink.fish.rule · ‎10-12-2019

@uncseniorsportsfan wrote:
Just as eBay separated eBay Motors from the main marketplace - new and used should have been separated over a decade ago. Your point about different buyer expectations is a valid one.

By the same token just as UK, Canada, and Austrailia are separate international sites from the US - Asia should have been as well instead of letting the Asian sellers flood the US site.

Even those those 3 cited are their own separate sites, they also have the offshore sellers flooding their markets issue.