Why does eBay treat sellers as if they're fools?

[antiqueautoparts]

 Why does eBay treat us like we're fools? Why do they consistently implement new rules and regulations which they state are to help their sellers' bottom lines? Those are rhetorical questions because I know the answers; it's because they can. They know they have a captive audience. They know most of us rely on eBay to pay our bills, including feeding our families. Therefore, their attitude is that we will just pay up because we have no alternatives.

 I know this one is old news, but when they came with the garbage that they had to start taking 10% of the shipping fee to combat final fee dodgers, I was, and remain, extremely perturbed by that. They have the most complex algorithms for everything, and they couldn't come up with one to weed out the very small percentage of sellers who were trying to dodge final value fees by making the item price very low and the shipping cost very high? Really? They just saw an opportunity and ran with it. It's disgusting! If you buy the reasoning behind their ludicrous explanation for charging a 10% fee on the shipping cost, then you certainly are a fool. EBay is run by disgustingly, greedy people who couldn't care less about eBay sellers, many of whom have been around since its early days and helped build the site. Sellers are disposable to eBay; they have no loyalty to them. 

  My final straw was when they started the "Managed Payments" **bleep** so that they could make millions or even billions of dollars more on our money (the float) sitting in their bank! PayPal was working just fine; I could make a deal with someone and receive my payment within minutes. Now they want to hold my money for some number of days and release it when they feel fit. Had I opted into that system then I would no longer be able to receive funds immediately. Their Managed Payments system precludes us from making quick deals to raise immediate funds because we have to wait days to receive the payments. No more putting something out there for a reduced price to get some money in your PayPal account right away. I don't know how many times I needed a quick hundred bucks and made deals to get it, literally within minutes of listing an item at a reduced price. Those days are over. Well, everything's over for me because I'm finally done. 

  It's been a long time since eBay has been any fun at all. In the last number of years all I would ever do was worry about who was going to open a case against me and how much money I was going to lose because of it. I constantly worried about losing my right to sell on eBay. I'm elated that I am moving on. I just wish many more sellers would do the same. Don't let them dictate whether or not you will be able to feed your family or have a roof over your head. Of course, some will advocate for eBay, but I couldn't care less. EBay is a tyrant which deserves no support. I always say that even the mighty can fall, and I hope they do.  In closing, I recommend that you find something else to do before eBay kicks you to the curb, because that time will come. I'm lucky in that I saw it coming and I had something else to fall back on. They should be working for us, but instead they treat us with disdain, notwithstanding the fact that their income is derived from the myriad fees we pay. I loathe no company more than I do eBay.

[dhbookds]

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@antiqueautoparts wrote:

"Amount of profit is strictly up to the seller........choosing the items to buy......to list or not list those items......"

 Really? Wow. I didn't know that about profit, my years of business dealings notwithstanding. Anyway, my original post did not speak of my profit nor my ability to make a profit hereon. I essentially asked, albeit rhetorically, How much profit does eBay need to make at the expense of their sellers? Why aren't sellers treated as valued members of this site? However, as I mentioned in my initial post, that was a rhetorical question because I know the answer, and stated the same therein. 

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Sorry, auto.......I was replying to Marie.......

But have to point out that you equate ebay "lack of respect" for sellers.......to programs that you don't like...without considering that ebay has to consider the site as a whole.....and that they are accountable to their shareholders for making profit.  It will NEVER be up to individual sellers to decide how much profit ebay will make or how...... 

You call those who disagree with you fools.  Not a viable argument in my opinion.

[marie185antiques]

Amount of losses is also strictly up to the seller....considering the time expended, fees, shipping costs, returns, and dealing with scammer loses and **bleep** and weighing in on whether or not it is all worth it.

[antiqueautoparts]

  Uh, no, I didn't say their lack of respect for sellers was because of programs of theirs which I don't like. It is because they provide bogus reasons for implementing those programs and always tell us that they will behoove us in some way, when, in my opinion and experience, they do not. I'm not going to further explain this to you. I could write a tome about the lies which they have spewed over the years; included therein would be all of the policies they have implemented which negatively affect us sellers.

  I would group PayPal in there with them since they used to be in bed together. Both eBay and PayPal are good at taking our money and giving it away to buyers who make any claim, with no questions asked. If I actually wrote such a book, I would more than likely be charged with plagiarism because all of the stories I would tell are already plastered all over these discussion boards, having been posted by a myriad of other sellers perturbed with the way eBay treats us.        

[iart]

Your wrote: " Why do they consistently implement new rules and regulations which they state are to help their sellers' bottom lines? "

This is not what they claim. They claim "Based on seller input" or something similar.

We've been interviewed a couple times. We've surely sent a hundred suggestions for improvement into them directly (over 20 years).

Everything was ignored.

Though I will say that several of their improvements were correct and I was proven wrong.

[antiqueautoparts]

"This is not what they claim. They claim "Based on seller input" or something similar."

 Yes, that is also one of their claims, and it's one I could believe in some instances. However, that is certainly not the only reason they have given. There were plenty of times when they mentioned our bottom lines throughout the years. Again, think Managed Payments. It's nothing to argue about. I was referring to the rules and regulations which they said were precipitated by their wanting to help their sellers earn and/or keep more money.   

[wrong66]

I never lost a penny with PayPal due to claims or chargebacks.

[antiqueautoparts]

You're amazing! You should teach a class on how to be successful on eBay. 

[luckythewinner]

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@antiqueautoparts wrote:

It is because they provide bogus reasons for implementing those programs   

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You wrote this in your initial post:

"I know this one is old news, but when they came with the garbage that they had to start taking 10% of the shipping fee to combat final fee dodgers, I was, and remain, extremely perturbed by that."

As far as I know, eBay never used fee avoidance as the sole justification for extending the FVF to shipping. IN fact, when this was announed in the spring seller update in 2011, it made no mention of fee avoidance - it said it was being done to encourage low-cost shipping. 

July 6—Fixed Price (Store and Standard) and Store Auction-style Final Value Fee rates reduced and applied to the total amount of the sale—including shipping.
Starting July 6, to encourage and reward low-cost shipping, Final Value Fee rates for Fixed Price listings will be reduced and applied to the total amount of the sale—including shipping. This change applies to both eBay Standard fees and eBay Store subscription packages.

https://web.archive.org/web/20110318033521/http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/news/feeupdate201...

[antiqueautoparts]

 You can have fun advovcating for eBay and digging through their archives to look for their lies. It's beyond my level of comrehension as to why someone would waste their time looking up such drivel when they have no dog in this fight. Do you work for eBay? 

 Again, you can believe what they stated, but I will not.  

[dahanayaka-enterprises]

A very important article. Thank you very much. Congratulations to you!

[antiqueautoparts]

Thank you. I appreciate it. 

[antiqueautoparts]

Thank you very much.  

[marie185antiques]

Hi auto

Getting mad or upset never accomplishes anything.  During my 16 years of successfully selling on this site I put aside the monies generated and invested in Amazon stock.  Now, that's getting even.

Good luck!

[lqdtechoutlet]

"My final straw was when they started the "Managed Payments" **bleep** so that they could make millions or even billions of dollars more on our money (the float) sitting in their bank! PayPal was working just fine; I could make a deal with someone and receive my payment within minutes."

 Jusy my two cents, but this also **bleep** me off to no end. Cash flow has slowed down because of this new system and I'm not able to turn inventory as quickly.

This combined with their service metrics system has me with the feeling that I'm constantly being sh*t on. 

Awhile ago a buyer opened up a SNAD case BEFORE I even shipped the item to them and I was stuck with the defect. eBay is constantly pushing the buyers to open returns, not even requiring them to at least message us first so we can clarify issues or fix them.

Most of my SNAD cases are from people who didn't read the listing, don't know how to use the product or just didn't want it. 

And yet I am stuck with increase in fees with no way to appeal the defects. 

I stay because unfortunately there is no better alternative for my category that I see at the moment (Smartphones). 

Amazon is very limited since most brands do not want smaller businesses selling their products, Etsy is for homemade or antiques, Facebook market and everything else doesn't get much traction or buyers want the price so low that I'd take a loss. 

I've sold on Etsy before (not with phones) and I loved it. They actually let me choose rules for my shop and abided by it. If I didn't want to accept returns, I didn't have to. AND the buyer had to prove the item was damaged upon receiving it. 

I'm hoping Facebook marketplace shapes up within the next few years. 

But anyway, I understand your frustration with eBay. They definitely leave a sour taste in my mouth at a lot of places. 

Good luck. 

[luckythewinner]

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@antiqueautoparts wrote:

 You can have fun advovcating for eBay and digging through their archives to look for their lies. It's beyond my level of comrehension as to why someone would waste their time looking up such drivel when they have no dog in this fight. Do you work for eBay?  Again, you can believe what they stated, but I will not.  

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I simply pointed out that the reason they gave for the FVF on shipping was actually completely different than the reason you cvlaimed they gave in your original post. 

I am not saying I believe their lies ... I am simply saying that I do not believe your lie.