eBay

mam98031 · ‎02-25-2020

Did you go to the Town All Meeting today?

What did you think about it?

Did you get any questions answered?

Do you feel better about the direction of Ebay?

For myself I learned that in regards to Seller protection, they are aware of many issues that lots of us have brought up on the threads over and over and over again over the past couple years, but no resolutions or policy changes were given. Just they are aware and are working on them. We've heard this before, so it is a rinse and repeat.

I loved learning we will be able to soon edit Item specifics in bulk. That is a very good thing.

We learned that sometime later this year we will be able to get our transactional history for up to a year. They didn't share any specifics on this, so while it is very good news, until we actually see how this works in application, it is hard to say if it is enough.

They also requested again that if we see issues with the catalog to report them to sdsupport@ebay.com

That will enable them to get the catalog in better operating condition. I know for myself I am remiss in reporting what I run across when I'm listing items, but it would take a bunch of time on my part to do this. I know I should, but sometimes my schedule just doesn't work with that goal in mind.

The 25cent processing fee in MP for each listing that a buyer may purchase from a single seller was a topic too. Simply that they are aware that it is harmful to some sellers more than others and they are considering doing something, but they haven't decided as it is very complicated. This is something they have known about since the day they announced this change. The threads were lit up on this subject for days.

So what did you learn?

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

zamo-zuan · ‎02-26-2020

@twnpopcards wrote:
Never will get an answer as Ebay needs every extra penny they can squeeze out of their sellers while sales continue to drop.

That's the opposite of what they need, though. I don't know why they don't understand this?

They need to bring costs down for sellers, which will in return bring eBay's prices down to match or be better than competitors. Which will improve marketplace health and increase sales.

EBay had the advantage in terms of total fees + total costs until 2 years ago. But now that they changed policies, don't protect as much as they used to, and "expect more losses" for sellers, eBay's prices are just as high or higher than competitors. For, to be completely honest, inferior service compared to the competitors.

chapeau-noir · ‎02-26-2020

Prices 'higher' save for a whole lot of us still racing to the bottom. With higher costs.

When you dine with leopards, it is wise to check the menu lest you find yourself as the main course.

#freedomtoread
#readbannedbooks

flipper2flipper · ‎02-26-2020

Total waste of time.

They couldn't even give a clear and concise answer as to why Managed Payments will be charging sellers a 25 cent transaction fee per item sold instead of charging 25 cents for the ONE payment that the buyer makes, regardless of how many items the buyer is paying for with that single payment.

somanypostcards · ‎02-26-2020

I see that the several hundred questions raised for the Town Hall Meeting and the interesting comments made about them have been removed. What a shame. eBay needs to be more transparent, especially when its buyers and sellers take the time to provide helpful ideas, many of which were not even addressed in the Town Hall Meeting.

chapeau-noir · ‎02-26-2020

I know. I feel like they just threw all of this into a closet and kicked the door shut. A Town Hall meeting with carefully prepared questions and comments submitted by site users (buyers and sellers), prepared over a period of weeks, mostly just glossed over with a bunch of spin. In a webinar 2 hours long that spin may have fit in, but in the brief 40 minute presentation, of which maybe 30-35 minutes was actual subject, it dominated the conversation without adding to it. Then the thread was dumped. I feel like I wasted my time submitting my question, soliciting information from fellow sellers, asking others to please submit their comments as buyers and sellers, passing the word that this was important, a chance to participate, get some answers...and I'll bet everyone else who participated in that town hall thread and who did similarly to get their issues out felt the same. I doubt I'll waste my time again.

When you dine with leopards, it is wise to check the menu lest you find yourself as the main course.

#freedomtoread
#readbannedbooks

somanypostcards · ‎02-27-2020

"It might be a good idea to remove the "questions for Town Hall" board so we can't see just how many questions went not only unanswered but not even acknowledged."

Done. eBay removed all questions & discussions of same in less than 24-hours!

zamo-zuan · ‎02-27-2020

@chapeau-noir wrote:
Prices 'higher' save for a whole lot of us still racing to the bottom. With higher costs.

Agreed. Even despite the race to bottom, the prices are still higher, and that's the dilemma sellers are facing.

Even in the past on eBay, sellers had to typically cut margins as much as possible in order to get sales. Increased costs just makes it even worse, as despite cutting the margin so much, we can't even say we're the cheapest anymore over in this marketplace.

EBay is the only one to benefit from these changes; they made them to increase their own margin. But is it really worth it to sacrifice the health of the eBay marketplace, in order for eBay to have an increased margin?

It should be obvious that better marketplace health will ALSO increase eBay's margin. And it's a much smarter alternative than trying to squeeze sellers. Healthy sellers = healthy eBay.

somanypostcards · ‎03-07-2020

"It might be a good idea to remove the "questions for Town Hall" board so we can't see just how many questions went not only unanswered but not even acknowledged."

Done. eBay removed all questions & discussions of same in less than 24-hours!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Good news, the questions & discussions ARE BACK!

somanypostcards · ‎03-07-2020

To see the questions go to: eBay Community ->Idea Exchange Archive ->Questions for Seller Town Hall: Feb. 2020

mr_lincoln · ‎03-07-2020

@mam98031 wrote:
Did you go to the Town All Meeting today?
What did you think about it?
Did you get any questions answered?
Do you feel better about the direction of Ebay?

For myself I learned that in regards to Seller protection, they are aware of many issues that lots of us have brought up on the threads over and over and over again over the past couple years, but no resolutions or policy changes were given. Just they are aware and are working on them. We've heard this before, so it is a rinse and repeat.

I loved learning we will be able to soon edit Item specifics in bulk. That is a very good thing.

We learned that sometime later this year we will be able to get our transactional history for up to a year. They didn't share any specifics on this, so while it is very good news, until we actually see how this works in application, it is hard to say if it is enough.

They also requested again that if we see issues with the catalog to report them to sdsupport@ebay.com
That will enable them to get the catalog in better operating condition. I know for myself I am remiss in reporting what I run across when I'm listing items, but it would take a bunch of time on my part to do this. I know I should, but sometimes my schedule just doesn't work with that goal in mind.

The 25cent processing fee in MP for each listing that a buyer may purchase from a single seller was a topic too. Simply that they are aware that it is harmful to some sellers more than others and they are considering doing something, but they haven't decided as it is very complicated. This is something they have known about since the day they announced this change. The threads were lit up on this subject for days.

So what did you learn?

Sadly I didn't learn anything because I missed it ... but reading your post (which i appreciate)it seems like there was a lot of lip service with no resolution:

-Up to a year's worth of transaction history with no detail, format, etc. PayPal goes back 7 years

-The multiple 25 cent MP fee for EACH item on a multi-item purchase ... "complicated" programming? Seriously? There is already a model that has that solved ... PayPal. Adyen is a financial institute AND Payment Processor, I'm sure they have it figured out, the issue most likely is eBay

-They are aware of issues Seller have with Seller Protection ... but no action or even a plan it sounds like.

-Did they mention Buyers' lack of ability to request an updated invoice on a multiple item purchase?

Regards,
Mr. Lincoln - Community Mentor

somanypostcards · ‎03-07-2020

Today eBay posted on a locked file in the archives an update on one of the questions asked for the Seller Town Hall: 2020, and that archived discussion does NOT show a new comment. The post stated eBay is considering the validity of the requirement for Top Rated Seller (TRS) and Top Rated Seller Plus (TRSP) status to require tracking for low cost items like stamps and trading cards. I really appreciated getting that information, but it is unlikely that most eBayers will ever see it since it is in a "locked" (except for eBay) and archived file that does not even show NEW comment when eBay provides one.

mam98031 · ‎03-07-2020

@somanypostcards wrote:
Today eBay posted on a locked file in the archives an update on one of the questions asked for the Seller Town Hall: 2020, and that archived discussion does NOT show a new comment. The post stated eBay is considering the validity of the requirement for Top Rated Seller (TRS) and Top Rated Seller Plus (TRSP) status to require tracking for low cost items like stamps and trading cards. I really appreciated getting that information, but it is unlikely that most eBayers will ever see it since it is in a "locked" (except for eBay) and archived file that does not even show NEW comment when eBay provides one.

They say the same thing about Seller Protection and other very important subjects multiple times, but yet here we are and NOTHING has improved.

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

twnpopcards · ‎03-07-2020

@somanypostcards wrote:
Today eBay posted on a locked file in the archives an update on one of the questions asked for the Seller Town Hall: 2020, and that archived discussion does NOT show a new comment. The post stated eBay is considering the validity of the requirement for Top Rated Seller (TRS) and Top Rated Seller Plus (TRSP) status to require tracking for low cost items like stamps and trading cards. I really appreciated getting that information, but it is unlikely that most eBayers will ever see it since it is in a "locked" (except for eBay) and archived file that does not even show NEW comment when eBay provides one.

If Ebay will make more money by requiring it, I would not doubt it happening at all. There are already certain requirements in place for TRS and TRS+ members that force them to have on time tracking on something like 93% of their sales or they do not qualify for TRS. So Ebay tightening the belt and forcing this 100% Tracking information would not surprise me at all.

mam98031 · ‎03-07-2020

@twnpopcards wrote:
@somanypostcards wrote:
Today eBay posted on a locked file in the archives an update on one of the questions asked for the Seller Town Hall: 2020, and that archived discussion does NOT show a new comment. The post stated eBay is considering the validity of the requirement for Top Rated Seller (TRS) and Top Rated Seller Plus (TRSP) status to require tracking for low cost items like stamps and trading cards. I really appreciated getting that information, but it is unlikely that most eBayers will ever see it since it is in a "locked" (except for eBay) and archived file that does not even show NEW comment when eBay provides one.
If Ebay will make more money by requiring it, I would not doubt it happening at all. There are already certain requirements in place for TRS and TRS+ members that force them to have on time tracking on something like 93% of their sales or they do not qualify for TRS. So Ebay tightening the belt and forcing this 100% Tracking information would not surprise me at all.

@twnpopcards

Ebay currently requires sellers that want to qualify for TRS to meet certain benchmarks. One of those is shipping with tracking. So that requirement already exists. What the other poster wants is to be able to qualify for TRS without meeting that requirement. I'm not at all sure how you expect Ebay to make more money off the seller if they lift that requirement.

TRS does NOT require 100% tracking.

TRS for sellers that ship within their stated handling time and with tracking can meet TRS standards for the most part. But it is impossible for those that do not ship with tracking, which is a real issue for some very good sellers.

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

twnpopcards · ‎03-09-2020

@mam98031 wrote:
@twnpopcards wrote:
@somanypostcards wrote:
Today eBay posted on a locked file in the archives an update on one of the questions asked for the Seller Town Hall: 2020, and that archived discussion does NOT show a new comment. The post stated eBay is considering the validity of the requirement for Top Rated Seller (TRS) and Top Rated Seller Plus (TRSP) status to require tracking for low cost items like stamps and trading cards. I really appreciated getting that information, but it is unlikely that most eBayers will ever see it since it is in a "locked" (except for eBay) and archived file that does not even show NEW comment when eBay provides one.
If Ebay will make more money by requiring it, I would not doubt it happening at all. There are already certain requirements in place for TRS and TRS+ members that force them to have on time tracking on something like 93% of their sales or they do not qualify for TRS. So Ebay tightening the belt and forcing this 100% Tracking information would not surprise me at all.

@twnpopcards

Ebay currently requires sellers that want to qualify for TRS to meet certain benchmarks. One of those is shipping with tracking. So that requirement already exists. What the other poster wants is to be able to qualify for TRS without meeting that requirement. I'm not at all sure how you expect Ebay to make more money off the seller if they lift that requirement.

TRS does NOT require 100% tracking.

TRS for sellers that ship within their stated handling time and with tracking can meet TRS standards for the most part. But it is impossible for those that do not ship with tracking, which is a real issue for some very good sellers.

The way they could monetize it is to require 100% of the items to be sent with tracking rather than the 90 something percent they require now. So some items where it is really not worth the money to send it with tracking, Ebay could change that requirement so they would make more money on the shipping cost both with their FVF increase due to increased charge for shipping and if the Seller happens to use Ebay label for their shipments, Ebay would gain more money due to increased shipping from them rather than a PWE.