With the end of TL and eBay deleting listings...Something to think about

[timemachine777]

With eBay deciding to randomly start deleting listings from the site, and the end of TL looming which is a long term storage place for sellers inventory off site. Sellers now have to be aware that all their past and future work stored on the eBay site could be lost at the press of a button by eBay. Sellers will have no recourse if this happens to them and anybody with large inventories are the most vulnerable. 

All your hours of work gone in a blink of the eye. Sellers are going to need to do something to backup their listings, as eBay takes more control over your hard work and your business.

[mistwomandancing]

---

timemachine777 wrote:

With eBay deciding to randomly start deleting listings from the site, and the end of TL looming which is a long term storage place for sellers inventory off site. Sellers now have to be aware that all their past and future work stored on the eBay site could be lost at the press of a button by eBay. Sellers will have no recourse if this happens to them and anybody with large inventories are the most vulnerable. 

All your hours of work gone in a blink of the eye. Sellers are going to need to do something to backup their listings, as eBay takes more control over your hard work and your business.

---

I think a lot of sellers with a lot of listing history stored in TurboLister are switching to SixBit and such.  Pretty cheap and has a lot of extra features besides just storing all your listings...

[timemachine777]

Isn't just the basic service 20.00 a month? If so, that's 240.00 a year.  I'll find a way to store them on my computer even if I have to stack them in notepad, as a cut and paste.

[tonycea]

This is a massive policy blunder that might cost the CEO his job, Devin is showing terrible leadership, looks like the Titanic is sinking for sure, this is nothing but a worsening situation and every week eBay gets worse and shows a larger lack of leadership from top management.

[mistwomandancing]

---

timemachine777 wrote:

Isn't just the basic service 20.00 a month? If so, that's 240.00 a year.  I'll find a way to store them on my computer even if I have to stack them in notepad, as a cut and paste.

---

Yeah.. $20

This will be one cost each seller will have to determine value on.  For some, the convenience and the time saved will be more than worth it.  For others, those pennies will stretch it all a bit thinner than the seller cares to endure.  I think all business costs need to be gone over on a regular basis to determine which are necessary, still necessary, or.. not at all. 

I'm not a SixBit user, but I know it does a lot more than just store listings. 

[timemachine777]

I will take writing out a price tag any day over creating a listing. When the fees and time outweigh any extra business exposure, then it's time to list somewhere else or just stick with the B&M's.

It's getting to point where I think, I'll just have too spend the time to build a website from scratch, This way I get what I want, and I don't have to answer to anyone, or get loaded up with ads, like those instant websites do. I need to put my college computer science courses to work anyway before I forget everything, and before all that knowledge becomes outdated useless information.

[timemachine777]

---

@tonycea wrote:

This is a massive policy blunder that might cost the CEO his job, Devin is showing terrible leadership, looks like the Titanic is sinking for sure, this is nothing but a worsening situation and every week eBay gets worse and shows a larger lack of leadership from top management.

---

I wouldn't hold my breath. Look what it took to kick Donahue to the curb.

[slippinjimmy]

With eBay deciding to randomly start deleting listings from the site

There is nothing "random" about it and they are NOT "deleting" they are ENDING listings which sellers can decide to list again or not if they wish.

[copper.boom]

---

@timemachine777 wrote:

With eBay deciding to randomly start deleting listings from the site,

---

It's not random. Both the duplicate items and 12+month old GTC removals are in the policies. The policies are not new, although eBay is enforcing them more strictly than before. From what I've read, most everyone was warned before their listings were ended or removed.

[ymeagainlord]

Except that what ebay bots are considering "duplicates" often are NOT.

[timemachine777]

eBay doesn't have the resources to go through every account to do their "listing spring cleaning". It would have to be random. Unless eBay has software capable of not only scanning every single listing on the site, but also able to cross reference them with every listing posted and relisted over the past two years. I don't see anything but random as the way they will do this.

Also, I didn't see anything posted about being able to relist them once removed. eBay has a policy that once they end a listing, they can suspend you if you relist it. So, how's that going to work if everyone says...Well, I thought I could relist it?

[timemachine777]

They're not talking about just GTC listings. Random meaning not everyone will be affected at once.

[timemachine777]

This is what they outlined so far on that...

Removed listings in violation of eBay’s duplicate listing policy. Even when you have listings such as connector cables or auto parts that are identical except for the fact that they fit certain models, the policy specifies limitations on how many separate listings you can have. It is also important to use eBay parts compatibility format if available in the category you are listing.

[timemachine777]

---

@tonycea wrote:

Try shopify.com if you want to build a store..

---

I'm going to do my own if I do it. I don't want to have to deal with added fees and such.  As it stands for tonight. I think i'm going to call it a day, and take tomorrow off and go to the lake for 3 or 4 days of fishing, or better yet, head over to the coast and go deep sea fishing. No black flies out there or other blood thirsty bugs.

[slippinjimmy]

---

@timemachine777 wrote:

eBay doesn't have the resources to go through every account to do their "listing spring cleaning". It would have to be random. Unless eBay has software capable of not only scanning every single listing on the site, but also able to cross reference them with every listing posted and relisted over the past two years. I don't see anything but random as the way they will do this.

Also, I didn't see anything posted about being able to relist them once removed. eBay has a policy that once they end a listing, they can suspend you if you relist it. So, how's that going to work if everyone says...Well, I thought I could relist it?

---

This is only affecting listings 12 months old (which by default must be GTC) or more that have not had a sale. While they won't be ending every single listing like that at the very same moment obviously they will cycle through sellers in batches.

If these ended listing are not showing up in the Unsold section (where they can be listed again) then maybe sellers should not ignore the warnings that eBay has sent out in  ADVANCE of them taking action.

As I mentioned in another thread, eBay is actually doing sellers a favor because these old listings without a sale are being buried in Best Match and they will continue to be buried deeper and deeper if sellers don't take action to spruce them up in some way and list again.