I once read a post on the forums, quite a few years ago, by a poster (whose username I unfortunately don't remember), and who themselves were relating something they were told by another ebay seller that had always stuck with them (which I mention because I obviously can't take credit for it):
eBay doesn't need you, and you don't need eBay.
It's always stuck with me as well, because the first part - even if we would like to think otherwise - is true, and because of that, the second part is something I simply strive to make true every single day.
Sure, arguments can be made for eBay needing sellers, but the average pleb seller (of which I consider myself one), is very likely part of the 80 (ref: Pareto principle, or the law of the vital few, which in this context posits that 80% of a business' profits will typically come from 20% of its customers, and that 80% of a business' customers contribute about 20% to said profits). If true, this would suggest that about 20% of ebay's sellers are "top tier" and where eBay derive the bulk of their income, and considering the sheer favouritism shown to big box retailers and the like, I'm inclined to think this may be not far off the money, so to speak. It also means that 80% of their sellers are "lower tier", yet overall probably cost the most to retain / sustain when all the math is done, and why eBay are unlikely to blink an eye when a few of us leave in protest, disgust, from lack of sales, or any of the other myriad reasons why a seller will throw in the towel.
The problem with that, if indeed that is how eBay are currently approaching things, and which I have theorised about before but see no evidence of eBay considering, is that profit generators are not always profit sustainers for a site like this. Their most profitable sellers absolutely don't need eBay to survive, yet eBay seem to be tailoring their site in such a way where they kinda need those sellers. I have always felt ebay works best as a microcosm, because the little fish are contributing something just as important as the big fish - big box retailers have the name brands, the buying power, established reputations and so on, while the little guys have unique, niche items, collectibles or just stuff that is hard or laborious to find through many other means. Both are significant drawing cards when they co-exist in a balanced environment, meaning both can draw people to eBay, for different reasons... Only, with the big fish, of course, you tend to be able to find them quite easily in a variety of other places - not so for the the little fish; if they get swallowed up, or find a new pond, the appeal and advantage of shopping on ebay over purchasing direct from a retailer, diminishes. A lovely, clean pond with a variety of fish is much more interesting and enjoyable than one with just a few big ol' common ones floating about. But I'm flopping about digress.
I have no idea what eBay's long-term goal (or plan) is, but what I do know is that I want to be absoluteluy fine if / when it doesn't include me - I have no power over eBay, and eBay has no power over me. 😉
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