Why do so many stay?

[toptierties]

    For many years, I have found myself drawn to the link sporting those beautiful and comforting words "Community" looking for a bit of camaraderie, kinship, just feeling connected because, Lord knows, full time eBay can be an awfully lonely job - especially when you're a one person team. I have never been able to go to the Online Community Forum and engage a thread or a comment with more than a fleeting glance before a rapid retreat back into the safety and sanity of my personal account. Once at home , surrounded by listing drafts, store improvements, and marketing strategy - I vow not to return to the community again until it lightens up in the feelings and resentments area.

   Never have I voiced my own thoughts or opinions to the seller news announced by staff, updates provided by the techies and new tools being offered by the platform in the attempt to make seller's lives a wee bit less difficult. In good faith, the men and women employed within these smaller projects put themselves in our shoes in order to provide a better way of doing the tasks we do over and over each day.

   The above I have typed so lightly on the keys of my laptop so I can bang this out with every bit if force my fingers can muster... "If things are so terrible on this platform, if eBay is intent on running you into financial ruin, if it is so much better anywhere other than selling on eBay... WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?" This is the perplexing inquiry of the ecommerce ages, possibly the most important question to be lobbed at such a large miserable herd of whining and pitiful crybabies ever assembled on an ecommerce platform in the internet's short lifespan.

    If you actually believe that it is the intent of this platform to come up with immensely intricate schemes and institute plans so nefarious just to create obstacles for your sales that they're willing to sacrifice their own success and keep ebay's shareholder's from making a tidy profit- if that is the case you are making every time you open your soup cooler on a public page, forum, website, blog, etc. - you are nuttier than a snickers and should have your head examined right away. But please leave this community first, I'm tired of hearing you talk.

    Now, do I think all of eBays ideas are winners? Absolutely not! Do I think they try the occasional bonehead move to punish the very ones who bring in 100% of  the revenue - Hell to the no and so maybe you could restrain yourself to only 1 hairbrained accusation per quarter so that those of us wanting to only have a light hearted discussion with our kinsmen within eBay. If that is too much to ask of you negative nancys - then KICK ROCKS! How about any other eBayers who'd like something positive for a change, why don't you comment?

[meme6253]

Go Back To Whence You Came!

[azh-71]

Because there's nowhere else to go.

[downunder-61]

I have no where else to go 

[teltuooutlet]

With as many unhelpful or harsh commentors/posters as you may see... there are that many helpful ones as well. When I read through posts I scan past the ones where people are just being rude. 

It's the cause and effect of the keyboard warrior times. 

When things are going great, most people do not turn to spending their time on boards.

It's usually when there are things going wrong that people look for help or to shed their complaints. 

That's not an ebay community thing, it's an overall online thing.

[duffy4444]

   You bet I have something positive to comment about!

   Some claim I'm a "cheerleader" for eBay, or even an employee, but anyone who has read my posts knows that I am very critical of the identity crisis that CS is currently in, and that eBay has turned its back on simple, common sense seller protections in favor of forcing a refund to buyers when it is obviously the wrong thing to do.

   Nevertheless, I am here on eBay and on these forums because I have accepted the changes over the last 23 years, adjusted my business model and my expectations to those changes, and have adapted to life here, resulting in continuous successful sales. This is due to flexibility and not getting my knickers in a twist before sitting back, thinking why eBay is doing what they're doing, and then realizing it would be best to get in line with it - particularly Managed Payments, which is working out brilliantly for me.

   The result? I am very happy, avoid buyer scams, and am simply successful here... ain't gonna leave.

   I am also here on these posting sites to dispel rumors, calm down those who have their socks all tied up in knots over that dreaded word "change", and I'm constantly warning new sellers with high-value items of the plethora of scams ready to pounce on them.

   There's a lot of my head-shaking at the knee-jerk reaction of those who are willing to throw out the baby with what they perceive is the bath water. With a lot of unnecessary and uneducated ranting, they are decrying eBay and thinking the grass is greener elsewhere. Not a good bandwagon to get on... Some have admitted their mistake and have returned.

Cheers, Duffy

[donsdetour]

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@toptierties wrote:

    For many years, I have found myself drawn to the link sporting those beautiful and comforting words "Community" looking for a bit of camaraderie, kinship, just feeling connected because, Lord knows, full time eBay can be an awfully lonely job - especially when you're a one person team. I have never been able to go to the Online Community Forum and engage a thread or a comment with more than a fleeting glance before a rapid retreat back into the safety and sanity of my personal account. Once at home , surrounded by listing drafts, store improvements, and marketing strategy - I vow not to return to the community again until it lightens up in the feelings and resentments area.

   Never have I voiced my own thoughts or opinions to the seller news announced by staff, updates provided by the techies and new tools being offered by the platform in the attempt to make seller's lives a wee bit less difficult. In good faith, the men and women employed within these smaller projects put themselves in our shoes in order to provide a better way of doing the tasks we do over and over each day.

   The above I have typed so lightly on the keys of my laptop so I can bang this out with every bit if force my fingers can muster... "If things are so terrible on this platform, if eBay is intent on running you into financial ruin, if it is so much better anywhere other than selling on eBay... WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?" This is the perplexing inquiry of the ecommerce ages, possibly the most important question to be lobbed at such a large miserable herd of whining and pitiful crybabies ever assembled on an ecommerce platform in the internet's short lifespan.

    If you actually believe that it is the intent of this platform to come up with immensely intricate schemes and institute plans so nefarious just to create obstacles for your sales that they're willing to sacrifice their own success and keep ebay's shareholder's from making a tidy profit- if that is the case you are making every time you open your soup cooler on a public page, forum, website, blog, etc. - you are nuttier than a snickers and should have your head examined right away. But please leave this community first, I'm tired of hearing you talk.

    Now, do I think all of eBays ideas are winners? Absolutely not! Do I think they try the occasional bonehead move to punish the very ones who bring in 100% of  the revenue - Hell to the no and so maybe you could restrain yourself to only 1 hairbrained accusation per quarter so that those of us wanting to only have a light hearted discussion with our kinsmen within eBay. If that is too much to ask of you negative nancys - then KICK ROCKS! How about any other eBayers who'd like something positive for a change, why don't you comment?

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Hmm why are they still here??

Could be the entertainment value:

If on ebay as a whole because they can still make a buck if a seller: and still purchase items if a buyer...

If you think the community boards are for  "camaraderie, kinship, just feeling connected:

A few were designed for such: Very few even in the beginning....

The main design of the boards was to provide customer service from the users with out cost to ebay.

That is the main reasons today for such...

[bearswatching]

I can’t remember when I discovered the forums but, they have quite frequently, been a lifesaver for me. I admit, many days I have a love/hate relationship with eBay. Their treatment of sellers is abysmal. They seem to not understand who brings home the bacon. But, for me, and I assume, many thousands of others, eBay is the only game in town. The knowledge I have gleaned from the users here has been invaluable. Even after 23 years of selling I still learn. I’m appreciative of the experienced and knowledgeable posters who volunteer their time.

[dbfolks166mt]

     For the most part I tend to agree with you and I am by no means a cheerleader for eBay as can be evidenced by posts as well. I too have adapted to change just as eBay has had to adapt to change I doubt when eBay was planning for the move to MP that they could have foreseen the changes to the federal tax laws and the issuance of the 1099's which now falls to eBay as a result of the divesture from PayPal. Nor could they have predicted all the changes to the state tax laws as a result of the Wayfair vs. South Dakota Supreme Court decision. I cannot imagine the code changes and internal financial processing that has/will be required to comply with those changes all of which cuts into eBay's profit margin. 

     The uphill battle for eBay, as well as other ecommerce entities, in the wake of the COVID pandemic is going to be their ability to adapt to what has become a wide open ecommerce marketplace where both buyers and sellers are scouring the ecommerce sites to find the best alternatives for buying and selling products. Wall Street has mentioned this as a challenge to the major players like eBay and Amazon.

     EBay has established a pretty good foothold in the foreign markets for a number of reasons but that is probably short term as some of those foreign countries begin to establish their own ecommerce sites. At the present time buyers options are somewhat limited and constrained in a lot of countries either due to lack of technology or because of government oversight.  

     I too continue to list here but as I did long ago with my stock portfolio I have diversified across multiple ecommerce sites some of which are targeted to niche markets. Only a fool would put all of their eggs in one basket, there is simply too much risk. At present about 70% of my sales are on those other forums primarily because I can list items at a lower price than I can on eBay for a number of reasons. Change is a constant in life and business those that innovate and adapt survive those that don't perish. With today's environment that adaptation has to be expedient and precise otherwise you will fall behind the power curve and be consumed. 

[closeoutdealsusa]

I don't think that's a fair question. Some of us are staying because we are stuck. Where else would you go to sell vintage collectibles or many other items you acquired to sell on ebay?  ebay was good to sellers and encouraged them to open businesses, and when ebay got big they turned on their sellers. I used to list an item and it would be visible to buyers no matter what, now to be visible you have to update item specifics every other month or else, then only if you offer free shipping, then only if you offer free 30 returns, then only if you offer 1 day handling, then only if you promote your item, then only if you pay more to promote your item, the list goes on just to be just shown fairly. You pay more but get less, that's my issue.

[duffy4444]

   Thanks for the comments and deeper dive into the reality of just what the heck is going on with the overall online marketplace changes around the world, and eBay's place in it.

   I, too, sell on multiple online marketplace venues, but my sales on eBay simply far outstrip those on other sites, even more than my hundreds of listings on Amazon.

   Am I going to get steam coming out my ears and jump on a futile bandwagon by listening to those who encourage and are waiting to jump for joy, to see that "big online market corporation" called eBay fail? I don't think so! Not while my sales are increasing...

   I am a simple man that goes along with the majority of sellers here, who are anything but stupid or anti-business.

Cheers, Duffy

[decodude]

LOTS of sellers have left eBay permantely. They (eBay) have basically shot themselves in the foot with their draconian policies and complete lack of providing support for sellers.

[rosachs]

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@cntj5584 wrote:

Good idea. You're absolutely right. eBay IS NOT WORTH IT. Between all the wasted time on support, losses in both sales and purchases. The pain in the ass just trying go get support ....  I'm looking for alternatives and If i can't find one I'm going to make one cuz i know **bleep** well this can be done better. 

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Perspective.  Your ID shows you've been here for about 3 yrs, which is enough time to bump into most of the problem areas but might not be enough to accurately determine if online selling on any given platform is your thing.  I'm not sure why you are trying to talk to support -- use the Chat feature and get access faster, get a complete transcript of your conversation, and usually you'll get a much more accurate answer.  I started using Chat on eBay just after the pandemic/lockdown started, when they were forced to close their call centers.  Businesses used call centers because everyone else did -- now they have learned there are better ways to connect, and Chat is one that I'm finding very helpful and significantly less stressful.

As to alternatives -- please let us all know what you find!!  What I'm seeing is more and more venues going to controlled payments (buyer pays site, site pays seller), and most of those won't do daily deposits - weekly or bi-monthly are the only options.  And some even require delivery confirmation before they will release funds!

It's not as easy as it would seem - there are a lot of legal considerations that have to be accounted for, unless you like paying lawyers to fight lawsuits rather than ensure they don't even start.

But please do head out across the 'net and tell us what you find.  I've been asking this same question of folks like yourself for a very long time -- most are never heard from again.  You could argue that they found their Nirvana and had no desire to return...or you could argue that they just found that "it is what it is" and moved on to other things.  🙂

-Bob.

[rosachs]

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@dirk12955 wrote:

I stay for the free entertainment and,

It keeps me off the streets.

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🙂  My wife doesn't care much for computers-as-recreation, but she has always said "at least I always know where you'll be".  🙂

-Bob.

[rosachs]

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@candd205 wrote:

We stay because, well, it is a chat forum, and that is what happens on a chat forum, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Where else to do it? I like it all, well, except for direct insults. The thing is everyone, you included, have a choice about staying or going. 

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What if you/I have no choice, that the compulsion, the obsession is simply too great and we must give in to save our sanity?  What if the demons inside simply won't let us stream drivel all day until our brains run out our ears and pool on the floor at the base of the recliner?  What if....

What if we like it?

-Bob.

[rosachs]

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@meme6253 wrote:

Go Back To Whence You Came!

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This is Whence!  The sign said "Whence upon Avon - take the next left, go round-abouts three miles until you see the big oak tree that Old Joe still hasn't cut down, hang a right and you can't miss it"

I think I got too much sleep last night... I seem to be in a rather silly mood.  Or maybe it's just the topic?

-Bob.