Why does Ebay want to change/decide everyone's calculated shipping settings?

[suzysemporium]

Just received an email from Ebay stating that on May 15 they are going to change shipping settings for everyone who uses calculated shipping. They have decided that it is our best interest to offer our shipping discounts to our buyers directly. This will attract more buyers to your listings. You have to use Ebay labels though.

That option has been there for a long time already. I thought about doing it previously, but decided against it.

Hold on dear overlords. Why couldn't you just treat all sellers as if they have some sense. Send an improve your listing message instead. I get those to become a top rated plus by having 1 day handling time. A message with a link to the setting would have been much nicer. Maybe not every one knows there is a setting or where to find that setting to make the change if we so desire. Instead our dear overlords decided to give an opt out option, or you could change the settings back later on.

I opted out. I figure there are sellers who already have that option turned on. Buyers can choose, and wonder why my shipping is higher. If they want what I have to sell, and the overall cost is reasonable they will buy from me. I guess I should be grateful that our dear overlords decided to include that option even though they seemed to want to hide the link. It is in the 3rd paragraph down within the first sentence click "let us know here".

I remember two of the reasons. 1) You use shipping to compensate for handling and shipping fees. 2) You do not always use ebay labels. 3) I forget the the third reason, and can not go back to see it 4) other

I'm sure they are collecting data on sellers shipping habits with this opt out form also.

[dhbookds]

your full name, and email address as well as provide a reason

ebay has all that.........and the reason was optional.......

[fern*wood]

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@suzysemporium wrote:

Yes, the email does technically say that.

"To get the discounted rate that will be displayed on your listings, make sure to purchase your shipping labels through ebay labels."

Meaning that after they change your settings to give your discount to the buyer, you need to buy the label through ebay labels in order to get the discount price. Otherwise you may be paying a higher price than the seller paid through who ever you prefer to buy shipping labels from. In a way it is also a tactic to get sellers to buy labels through ebay than a secondary source.

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Thanks for letting me know, because I haven't received the email and wondered what ebay stated that makes some think they have to buy ebay labels.   I feel that wording is rather deceptive.   To get the discounted postage rate, we must buy our labels online instead of paying retail at the post office.   Online doesn't have to be ebay, though.  

[dbfolks166mt]

I opted out. I already charge less weight on shipping to pass through savings.  I also  use extra for shipping supplies even though I try to recycle and ask friends to save  items.   Usually, I only charge 4oz for up to 8oz. 8oz for 9/11 oz. So, thanks, but  I will pass.

     If you are passing along savings your calculations may be a bit off. You are in Zanesville, Ohio and I am in Virginia shipping for a deck of cards shows $5.15 when I look at your listing but you can ship a deck of cards from Ohio to VA using ground advantage for $3.86. 

[farmalljr]

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@dhbookds wrote:

your full name, and email address as well as provide a reason

ebay has all that.........and the reason was optional.......

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Yes they do. So what would the purpose BE to give it again if not to specifically target and sanction sellers who did not comply?

[dollocity]

I opted out with the form. Hope it works.

I use free shipping- and half the time my new printer doesn't communicate with the computer. Best not to get involved. For years they bothered us over doing free shipping. gees. place is becoming stressful. 

[genv]

I read all the replies here, I am honored to be in the company of fellow Sellers who spend much time, not only analyzing, but, offering help to others. If eBay wanted this to be willing participation, it is simply:

" Pass on the savings of discounted postage & we will credit back the FVF on said cost of postage bought on eBay ". When the clowns w/ the $1 item $ 25 postage supposedly 'ruined' it for fair Sellers, ALL eBay had to do (and I wrote higher ups, back then), was EXEMPT the postage paid for label bought on eBay from a FVF and assess on the remainder. To this day, I have NO idea why THAT wasn't the decision.

[toomuchstuffagain35]

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@farmalljr wrote:

And by that I mean, you have to give your full name, and email address as well as provide a reason you are opting out. And even though they will not openly admit it, those of us who opt out, will be sanctioned and our traffic sliced some more. I did not have to provide ANY of that before when I chose the setting in my seller settings. There will be punishment for telling eBay "NO". You will either lose profit margins or you will lose traffic and sales. It's a lose - lose for sellers. 

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No you don't. The full name and reason were all optional fields. All you were REQUIRED to enter was the ebay email address for that ID.

[toomuchstuffagain35]

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@genv wrote:

I read all the replies here, I am honored to be in the company of fellow Sellers who spend much time, not only analyzing, but, offering help to others. If eBay wanted this to be willing participation, it is simply:

" Pass on the savings of discounted postage & we will credit back the FVF on said cost of postage bought on eBay ". When the clowns w/ the $1 item $ 25 postage supposedly 'ruined' it for fair Sellers, ALL eBay had to do (and I wrote higher ups, back then), was EXEMPT the postage paid for label bought on eBay from a FVF and assess on the remainder. To this day, I have NO idea why THAT wasn't the decision.

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LOL yes you do. This way made THEM more money.

[monica-sells]

all that was required was the email address....

if you did not give some identifying information, how would they know who you are to opt-out?

[wastingtime101]

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@fern*wood wrote:

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@suzysemporium wrote:

Yes, the email does technically say that.

"To get the discounted rate that will be displayed on your listings, make sure to purchase your shipping labels through ebay labels."

Meaning that after they change your settings to give your discount to the buyer, you need to buy the label through ebay labels in order to get the discount price. Otherwise you may be paying a higher price than the seller paid through who ever you prefer to buy shipping labels from. In a way it is also a tactic to get sellers to buy labels through ebay than a secondary source.

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Thanks for letting me know, because I haven't received the email and wondered what ebay stated that makes some think they have to buy ebay labels.   I feel that wording is rather deceptive.   To get the discounted postage rate, we must buy our labels online instead of paying retail at the post office.   Online doesn't have to be ebay, though.  

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Well, look at the part in bold font. It's accurate. To get the rate displayed on listings, eBay labels will match as long as you're not changing weight/dim on the label page.

Example: If you're passing on carrier discounts for UPS you'll find eBay's UPS Ground rates were recently lowered below PirateShip's UPS Ground rates. So to get the rate displayed on the listing you can do that through eBay labels but not through Pirate or Stamps.com. And still, other shipping providers may have rates lower than eBay.

When it comes to USPS right now eBay and Pirate and Stamps.com and other providers have rates that are pretty much on par with each other. This is the first time in years that's been the case and, for all we know, may not be the case with the next price change or the next.

So .... I don't think misleading was the intent. 🤷

But hell yes, of course eBay would use this as an opportunity to promote using eBay labels.

[winterpalace25]

I, too, have always passed on my discount. I bake my profits into the selling price and absorb my expenses such as the heavy duty boxes for my dishes. Over the counter rates for my heavy dishes are really bad, so I hope to attract buyers with my cheaper shipping. Some of the discounts are 30-40%.  So I hope everybody opts out and I retain my advantage in the dinnerware department. 

[chapeau-noir]

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@dbfolks166mt wrote:

Our marketplace is managed - that was his point - and not by us. Wenig was basically putting us in our 'place' but at least he was being honest by refuting the myth that somehow eBay was 'only a venue' - it hasn't been 'only a venue' for years - eBay basically sets the rules for how a lot of us run these businesses. A lot of the angst about the existence of these changes (the changes themselves can have their own problems and frustrations - yes, this one was pretty stupid IMHO) can be eliminated by that realization because I think a lot of sellers somehow think that these issues should be in our own hands - they are not and haven't been for a long time. It's virtually impossible to have a multinational marketplace of many millions be 'only a venue', particularly when it's going in an asset-heavy direction. A 'vendor' can mean anything, not necessarily anyone self-employed.

We need to get away from the very old concept that we each have our own little independent booth in some gigantic flea - we don't.

     Wenig can state what he wants but eBay has always been a venue and always will be a venue unless a serious change is made and eBay crosses the line line into an employer/employee relationship which would have MAJOR implications for eBay as well as the sellers. The site may be "managed" but it is managed by the policies eBay is NOT managing the sellers. 

     EBay provides a link between sellers and buyers nothing more. EBay sells NOTHING directly they simply manage the venue/platform. 

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So, you get my point. "Managed marketplace" is managing policies - those policies directly affect the sellers - 'vendors on a managed marketplace'. And they are selling something - bandwidth,  internet services and administration. We sign a TOS accepting the terms on which we can operate here and use these services.

[chapeau-noir]

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@farmalljr wrote:

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

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@farmalljr wrote:

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

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@farmalljr wrote:

What irks me about it is, if eBay is JUST a platform for buyers and sellers, WHY are they changing your seller settings at all? As the OP points out, they COULD just send a "improve your listings" email and point out the benefits and HOW to change the settings. 

Except anyone who has been here long enough selling realizes eBay is NOT just a platform for buyers and sellers to meet. eBay tells sellers how they are going to sell and makes changes to seller setting and listings WITHOUT sellers asking for it. eBay is constantly manipulating sales, terms, and all sorts of things their fingers have no business in. eBay is skirting lawsuits by playing the "we are only a platform" card. They are NOT just a meeting platform, they are controlling sellers and sales. At some point this will all come to a head, and eBay will no longer be able to hide behind their touted, old tired line. They will be like Amazon an be responsible for all the stuff they are doing. 

This whole thing just honks me off. They want sellers to give buyers the discount, but they are not dropping the FEES on the shipping now, are they? They expect sellers to take another loss for the sake of making more sales to boost their own numbers. I hope sellers in mass tell eBay where to pack it, and tell them WHY they are not going to participate in that bull puckey. 

I have ALWAYS charged buyers counter rates to pay the FEES and the packaging costs.  What would make eBay think I would be willing to sell for even less? Is eBay so dumb not to think if sellers lower the shipping, they aren't going to just tack that back onto the price?

I buy a lot of stuff and have it shipped in. No one else is lowering their high costs of shipping. Neither will I. Neither will most sellers. Anyone who does is just allowing eBay to cut the seller's profit margins. 

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It has been stated (CEO Wenig) that we are vendors on a managed marketplace. Once people accept this, changes like this are easier to deal with, whether we like them or not. Fortunately, we can opt out.

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They state that, but we are not really vendors. Being a vendor would assume we pay for our "space" and follow general rules set forth by the platform. Not that the platform has any power over the actual policies we chose. We are not vendors here. Just like this example, eBay is changing your policies, when a landlord or a platform provider has no place running your business FOR you. An employer tells an employee what to do. eBay is telling sellers what to do. They are requiring YOU to take action to do something that you already had set a long time ago. I did not hire eBay to manage my business. I did not ask them to or give them express permission to manage my business. 

And yes, we can opt out. I did immediately. 

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Our marketplace is managed - that was his point - and not by us. Wenig was basically putting us in our 'place' but at least he was being honest by refuting the myth that somehow eBay was 'only a venue' - it hasn't been 'only a venue' for years - eBay basically sets the rules for how a lot of us run these businesses. A lot of the angst about the existence of these changes (the changes themselves can have their own problems and frustrations - yes, this one was pretty stupid IMHO) can be eliminated by that realization because I think a lot of sellers somehow think that these issues should be in our own hands - they are not and haven't been for a long time. It's virtually impossible to have a multinational marketplace of many millions be 'only a venue', particularly when it's going in an asset-heavy direction. A 'vendor' can mean anything, not necessarily anyone self-employed.

We need to get away from the very old concept that we each have our own little independent booth in some gigantic flea - we don't.

I'm just trying to save people some stomach lining here.

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Yes, but the part you are leaving OUT is that every time eBay is in trouble with the law, they are telling them that THEY ARE JUST A VENUE. 

OK, we're moving from reality to their own marketspeak. It's pretty much accepted that they'll use this 'defence' but it's not believable, and that's manifested by the amount of legal trouble they're getting into (regulatory issues, etc.) stemming directly from their management of this venue.

That is my point here, that eBay is controlling the aspects and terms of all the sales. In this instance, sellers who have previously chose NOT to give buyers the discount, are now being told they HAVE to give the discount, unless the seller JUMPS through more hoops, giving PERSONAL information to opt out. And by that I mean, you have to give your full name, and email address as well as provide a reason you are opting out. 

The opt out is simple - as far as I can understand, no personal information is given. It's a stupid policy, I agree, but the opt out is easy, and that's up to us.

And even though they will not openly admit it, those of us who opt out, will be sanctioned and our traffic sliced some more. I did not have to provide ANY of that before when I chose the setting in my seller settings. There will be punishment for telling eBay "NO". You will either lose profit margins or you will lose traffic and sales. It's a lose - lose for sellers. 

This is conjecture, though, and the gain/loss ratio is discussed upthread a lot better than I can. I don't agree with everything eBay does, and have been pretty loud about it at times (some of us have even managed to get some things fixed), but these are management issues and I have no illusions that this is our own game - it is not and has not been for a long time.

Sorry for the weird quote-posting, but I felt like your points were worth discussing individually so wanted to give my thoughts on each.

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[funfactorychannel]

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@genv wrote:

I read all the replies here, I am honored to be in the company of fellow Sellers who spend much time, not only analyzing, but, offering help to others. If eBay wanted this to be willing participation, it is simply:

" Pass on the savings of discounted postage & we will credit back the FVF on said cost of postage bought on eBay ". When the clowns w/ the $1 item $ 25 postage supposedly 'ruined' it for fair Sellers, ALL eBay had to do (and I wrote higher ups, back then), was EXEMPT the postage paid for label bought on eBay from a FVF and assess on the remainder. To this day, I have NO idea why THAT wasn't the decision.

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Yes would been easy to code if purchase label weight is equal or lesser than postage paid no shipping fees. but that wouldnt give ebay profits off shipping.

[dbfolks166mt]

@dbfolks166mt wrote:

Our marketplace is managed - that was his point - and not by us. Wenig was basically putting us in our 'place' but at least he was being honest by refuting the myth that somehow eBay was 'only a venue' - it hasn't been 'only a venue' for years - eBay basically sets the rules for how a lot of us run these businesses. A lot of the angst about the existence of these changes (the changes themselves can have their own problems and frustrations - yes, this one was pretty stupid IMHO) can be eliminated by that realization because I think a lot of sellers somehow think that these issues should be in our own hands - they are not and haven't been for a long time. It's virtually impossible to have a multinational marketplace of many millions be 'only a venue', particularly when it's going in an asset-heavy direction. A 'vendor' can mean anything, not necessarily anyone self-employed.

We need to get away from the very old concept that we each have our own little independent booth in some gigantic flea - we don't.

     Wenig can state what he wants but eBay has always been a venue and always will be a venue unless a serious change is made and eBay crosses the line line into an employer/employee relationship which would have MAJOR implications for eBay as well as the sellers. The site may be "managed" but it is managed by the policies eBay is NOT managing the sellers. 

     EBay provides a link between sellers and buyers nothing more. EBay sells NOTHING directly they simply manage the venue/platform. 

So, you get my point. "Managed marketplace" is managing policies - those policies directly affect the sellers - 'vendors on a managed marketplace'. And they are selling something - bandwidth,  internet services and administration. We sign a TOS accepting the terms on which we can operate here and use these services.

     EBay is still nothing more than a venue. They manage the venue and their segment/piece of the marketplace for their site, and their site only. They are a FAR cry from managing the ecommerce marketplace. While their policies may affect the sellers and buyers they manage neither. The only part of what they "manage" in their piece of the marketplace is what is directly under their control and that is neither the sellers or the buyers. There is a contractual relationship not an employee/employer one. 

     As far as selling anything the only thing that may qualify is stores and listings. If they were selling you bandwidth, internet services and administration those would be direct costs which they are not. It does not matter if there was/is only 1 active seller or 1 million sellers those sunk costs are not directly attributable or billable to the sellers. Neither is/are their facilities, employees, operating costs............  

     While they may attempt to manage the sellers with this change the simple fact is sellers will adapt and adjust either by opting out, adding handling charges or raising their prices to maintain their ROI. At least those sellers who are worried about such things.