eBay in freefall decline

[gripthis2009]

Unfortunately, eBay is no longer a viable selling platform for new AUTHENTIC products. Too many counterfeit products which eBay has to be aware of as you can read the counterfeit complaints in the feedback, yet the sellers are allowed to keep selling. Buyers are aware of this. eBay has thrown all its good merchants under the bus and they have left eBay. Last year Amazon did 144 billion in sales. eBay did 9 billion. eBay used to be top dog, now they are a very distant second to Amazon. I can't stand Bezos, but you have tp give him credit on stomping out the competition (eBay). I just put a new best quality product we manufacture in Europe on eBay 2 1/2 days ago.....only 4 views. Put the same product on Amazon at the same time and sold 63 units in 2 1/2 days. Amazon promotes your product, more buyers, better shipping system, etc.. Sad to see, but eBay can't compete, and although their customer service people are very polite, and professional and do the best they can to help, the upper management at eBay are totally incompetent and have no idea how to stop the financial hemmorhaging in sales revenue that is now occurring at eBay. That same management attempts to take advantage the sellers on the eBay platform. We have been on eBay 13 years, have 100% feedback score, top rated seller...and all that means nothing as eBay has become a money losing proposition. Time to move on.

[mam98031]

---

@gripthis2009 wrote:

I'm a retired Florida DBPR judge/commissioner so I'm very good at reading comprehension and interpreting intent. The ad we published on eBay is a true comparison between the two products using Ray Ban Aviator's own specifications vs. KG  Aggressor specifications all of which are FACT. This ad informs the potential customer of certain facts that aid them in purchasing a product. There is no derogatory, or false information stated in that ad nor the content in the add used to manipulate a listing advantage. It simply compares the two products which other sellers commonly do on eBay. So the bottom line is that policy does not apply.

The policy you cite has to do with manipulation, and the use of false information in order to gain a listing advantage. So again, the policy you cite would not apply to our listing.

---

Just not within the rules of Ebay.  And that is the point.  Your title has certain rules that pertain to it and your description different rules.  Just because you don't recognize the difference doesn't mean there isn't one.  Just because you don't recognize Ebay's right to set rules on a site they own, doesn't mean they don't have that right, it only means you don't agree.  However you DID agree to it with the User agreement when you signed up for the site.

[mam98031]

---

@gripthis2009 wrote:

The ad does NOT state we are selling Ray Ban Aviators.

---

Ray Ban Aviator AVERAGE Quality VS KG Aggressor Far Superior Quality Sunglasses

That is what your title says and that is a breach of the Keyword Spamming policy.

devon@ebay 

elizabeth@ebay 

[crazystuff4sale]

@gripthis2009 

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/listing-policies/duplicate-listings-policy?id=4255 

Here's another ebay policy you might be interested in:

"We don't allow more than one fixed price listing of an identical item at the same time from the same seller. This includes:

• Listing an identical item in different categories or listing an identical item using different usernames"

Activity that doesn't follow eBay policy could result in a range of actions including for example: administratively ending or canceling listings, hiding or demoting all listings from search results,

[miyasamaco]

The thing is though, Amazon isn't the best place for small sellers. Ebay was founded to be a marketplace for everyone to sell: from the small independent booksellers to the folks cleaning out their attics. Unfortunately they have thrown away that business model and it's too bad because there is a strong demand for it. Small "on the side" sellers don't have anywhere to go. 

[mam98031]

---

@miyasamaco wrote:

The thing is though, Amazon isn't the best place for small sellers. Ebay was founded to be a marketplace for everyone to sell: from the small independent booksellers to the folks cleaning out their attics. Unfortunately they have thrown away that business model and it's too bad because there is a strong demand for it. Small "on the side" sellers don't have anywhere to go. 

---

That depends on how you look at it I suppose @miyasamaco .  Ebay could not stay the same as it was in the beginning if it were going to survive and grow.  If Ebay had of stayed the same it certainly would have gone out of business like so many others have.  

The site has to change with the times and meet the needs of the buyers.  The expectations of buyers today are not the same as they were in the late 90's.  

Then the fact that the site has grown so much since the beginning.  When you have this many members, rules have to be put into place to help and keep the site secure and safe for us.  So while no rule that gets implemented will be a favorite of everyone, there was likely a need for it to stop some from misbehaving.

[kensgiftshop]

She's selling a fighter jet now.

[bonjourami]

Yes...LOL.

[pmg_distributors]

Wonder how many returns the OP will get for the sold units if they used the same tactics to get the glasses posted to a Ray Ban product page on the other site that they named.

On the other site that the OP mentions, they say they sold a lot in about 60 hours versus barely any views on eBay. On the other site, the listing attaches to a product detail page that is set. So either there is a product for the generic glasses they are selling (in which there is a large market for those generic glasses and it may be a better place to list ) or the sellers product was inadvertently attached to a real Ray Ban listing and they will most likely receive a lot of returns as well as being reported. 

The practice used on eBay, just going by their listing, to capture buyers looking for Ray Ban but then it simply just being a comparison to Ray Ban, in a complicated title, seems untrustworthy for any buyer that may be hesitant to buy online. 

After clicking on the listing and then noticing it was a tactic to get the buyer to think it was Ray Ban at first glance, we immediately lost trust in the transparency and confidence in the seller. 

Just an opinion of course, but definitely questionable tactic. 

[gripthis2009]

Wrong. For the record, I made the frames for Luxottica (Ray Ban) until 2013 in Shenzhen, China. All Ray Bans have been made in China until recently when they started making certain models in India. There are only three sunglass manufacturers in the world that meet the strict U.S. military requirement Mil-Spec #25948J for military pilots which are American Optical, Randolph Engineering, and Aggressor Optical Corporation. American Optical, and Randolph Engineering use polycarbonate lenses. Aggressor Optical Corporation which owns the trademark brand for Kalamata Glass uses the TRIVEX Anti-Glare lens which is the most expensive, technology advanced lens made in the world today, and is superior to any other lens made today. Ray Ban uses cheaper glass lenses.

Comparing Ray Ban which are all made in China and have never been made in Italy, to American Optical, Randolph Engineering, and Kalamata Glass sunglasses is like comparing Volkswagen to Ferrari. There is no comparison. American Optical, Randolph Engineering, furnish their product to the U.S. military. Kalamata Glass (from Greece) furnishes their product to the Hellenic Air Force. Ray Bans would not qualify as they don't come close to meeting military requirement Mil-Spec #25948J.

The ad simply compares the Ray Aviator Aviator RB3025 model using Ray Ban's published specifications to the KG Aggressor Aviator specifications which informs the potential buyer a comparison of the two products and what they are getting for their money. Comparison between two products is common in American advertising. Also for the record, I discussed the listing with the eBay listings department BEFORE the listing was placed. eBay had no objection which is why the ad was not removed by eBay. However, you certainly are entitled as you say to your opinion, no matter how flawed it is.

[gripthis2009]

With all due respect, I find that hard to believe as Amazon took a month to vet our business, and our product before we were allowed to sell on Amazon. 

[slati_2013]

I think the point everyone is trying to make to you is Ray Ban will not be happy if they see this listing and they will definitely file a Vero claim. That is when you will unfortunately find out that what eBay says to you and what they will actually do when a claim is filed are two separate things. What eBay CS tells you should never be taken as the gospel truth.

eBay's rules supersede all. It is their site, their rules. The list is long of people who faced with these rules have threatened to sue eBay. 

[mam98031]

---

@slati_2013 wrote:

I think the point everyone is trying to make to you is Ray Ban will not be happy if they see this listing and they will definitely file a Vero claim. That is when you will unfortunately find out that what eBay says to you and what they will actually do when a claim is filed are two separate things. What eBay CS tells you should never be taken as the gospel truth.

eBay's rules supersede all. It is their site, their rules. The list is long of people who faced with these rules have threatened to sue eBay. 

---

It is also against the Ebay rules, which has been explained to them many times but apparently thrown out the door.    You are not allowed to use brand names in the title if the product is NOT THAT BRAND.  That is called Search Manipulation and Keyword Spamming.

[historyteacher40]

Other reasons why they are in the decline include:

1. Their fees have continued to increase over the last two decades to the point where it sometimes isn’t feasible to use this platform.  Paying 15% in fees on items such as valuable coins, sport cards, etc. has forced me to find other platforms.

2 policies rarely support the seller.  The seller can sell something they is brand new and in perfect condition.  The buyer simply has to claim “it wasn’t as described” and will always win their case no matter what.  I have sold dozens, if not hundreds of items that were heavy and expensive to ship, and usually in brand new condition.  Buyers know this, and often claim it wasn’t as described hoping the seller simply refunds their money and allows them to keep the item because of how costly it is to ship back.    There are certain items that I don’t allow refund because of the cost of shipping, yet, the customer simply claims it wasn’t as described and eBay automatically rules in their favor.  

3. The buyer can be totally dishonest with a transaction while the seller was 100% honest.  Yet, the buyer can leave a negative feedback and the seller is banned from doing the same.

4.  Other forums, such as Amazon, have customer service available when needed by the seller.  Whenever I have a concern with Amazon, I simply call them and can also reach a human being. On eBay, it is a difficult thing to do… very difficult.  I sell on average $50,000-$70,000 on eBay every year. The least they can do is allow me to speak with a human being when I have concerns or questions.
5.  if you have a handful of sales, but can’t find the item to package and have to refund the seller, you receive an unrealistic punishment:  my fees went from roughly 14% to 18% and that hasn’t changed in ten months because my cancellation rate is a fraction over 2%.  However, my last 500 transactions since last June….. not one cancellation.  However, continue to pay 18% as a punishment for a handful of returns last May (during a move.). This forced me to sell some very valuable baseball card sets in Memory Lane Auctions and some valuable gold coins in a local auction as 18% is not realistic. eBay lost tons of revenue due to this.

I have used eBay since 1997, and early on loved it. I still use it and enjoy it at times, but have been forced to sell more than 60% of my stuff using other forums over the last decade due to the concerns mentioned in this post. 

[lusitania_express]

After 23 years selling on eBay with more then 15000 sales, 100% positive feedback ( in 10 years I had about 10 unfair negatives, mainly from new eBayers ) with an impeccable relationship with buyers ( I always try to help when something goes wrong and refund their money every time post office lost the items ) EBay decided to restrict my account definitely based alleged  “suspicious activity”. EBay treat sellers as garbage don’t give any importance to your value as a 23 years relation as a seller.

[kh-phdan]

Hello Everyone,

Due to the age of the thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thanks for understanding!