topic Re: my ebay store is finished, ebay is not. in Selling

my ebay store is finished, ebay is not.

tradingcat888 — Fri, 29 Sep 2017 06:08:59 GMT

I know this type of topic has been done to the death, but still.

It was back in 2014 when I first started my business on ebay, selling gifts, fashion items, wedding accessories...etc; it was an exciting experience and I learned a lot.

2015 was my best year, over $600k business turnover (which means I paid almost 60K to ebay that year); I was busy, but happy, and really started to love ebay.

2016, things started to go downhill siginificantly, with new policies after new policies, I still pushed on; just work harder, things will get better I believed.

Now, 2017, my turnover on ebay for the last financial year was merely $100k, and my income isn't even enough to pay the bills anymore.

Time to quit.

How did everything go downhill so quickly you ask?

Ebay just doesn't give a S**T about us small or even medium sellers anymore.

They started to favour big big sellers, big brands that people already known of; as for us, we helped building ebay up, and now we are trash to them.

Most if not all traffic is now being guided to those big stores, or those extremely cheap but rubbish items from overseas.

This baffles me a lot, we pay a lot commissions to ebay, so do those big stores (I think), what makes ebay like them more than us?

Our item is more expensive than those from overseas, which means we need to pay more commission out of each sale, what makes ebay like them more than us?

If only big stores remain on ebay, would buyer still care about ebay then?

Obviously, if I want something from Good Guys, I go to Good Guys, why ebay? WHY?

Sale event you say? Discount voucher? As far as I know many of those sales events are straight lies, the price you get after you applied discount voucher is actually the same or even more than regular retail prices you get from elsewhere.

Yet still, every time ebay gives out vouchers for "selected" big sellers, my sale is dead.

Some other times my sale is just dead, with no clear reason whatsoever.

Yet I still have to pay extra for listing promotion, such shamless pratice and pathetic excuse for a rip off.

Also I have to suffer extra lose due to unfair requests opened by dishonest buyers aka scammers.

I tried hard to keep my feedback in good standing, and my seller status Top Rated, none seems to help even a bit.

Today I have decided not to list new items anymore, just clear the remaining of stock, and that's it.

I loved you ebay, you were so wonderful and made my dream come true.

Sadly it didn't last... we had a good run, but now, you have turned into a piece of S**T.

Farewell.

Re: my ebay store is finished, ebay is not.

clarry100 — Fri, 29 Sep 2017 06:37:36 GMT

We started trading in 2011 and like you our best year was 2015.

Since then has been on a steady decline, but possibly not to the same scale you are down.

For now we are persevering as its still turning a small profit, but nowhere near where we would like it to be.

We will see how the Xmas rush period serves us and then decide if in the new year we close down too.

Re: my ebay store is finished, ebay is not.

transport-posters — Fri, 29 Sep 2017 07:06:13 GMT

Same.

Everything was wonderful until Xmas 2015... the Xmas rush in Nov and Dec never happened for me and has been terrible ever since.

I think AP then significantly raised the prices of international postage in May 2016 and that all but totally killed off my business.

Re: my ebay store is finished, ebay is not.

collect247 — Fri, 29 Sep 2017 07:22:46 GMT

Xmas 2015 I got the boot from eBay lol. What the hell is it with 2015? And I'm sorry to hear what you're going through. For you to go down hill like that just sux.

Re: my ebay store is finished, ebay is not.

buttercuplinens — Fri, 29 Sep 2017 07:44:48 GMT

Hi.

This is my first post but felt I wanted to reply to show my understanding and regret.

I have been a member and buyer since 2000. I have seen a lot of changes on ebay. I am so sorry to hear of another Australian Seller leaving. As a buyer my main wish was to buy items for myself and my home as if I was going to a garage sale or market but also have the benefit of shopping from the comfort of my home.

Sadly Ebay has also been tatrnished for me as a buyer as well with their constant search changes and regulation changes.They are coming across as extremely petty and have made things I normally search for extremely difficult to find and I do not spend the time searching I would have done a year ago. It is just too hard for the amount of items I find.

I will not be buying from the Good Guys, Myers or any well known store selling on ebay as it is not what I come to Ebay for. However i will still support the smaller seller. There is a number of sellers out there who will know me as a buyer. I have always tried to treat those sellers courteously as I would hope they would be certeous to me.

I am waiting to see what happens when Amazon arrives with ebay sellers. However it will always be the way ebay was in the past and is the way I would like Ebay to return to that I will remember.. For every smaller seller that leaves Ebay that is one reason less for me to spend time looking on ebay for that special item.

I supported the sellers over the PayPal debacle and refused at the time to use any payment but direct deposit. I still Support Australian Sellers who have tried to make a living on Enay. I just wanted to send you all a message that you are appreciated by the buyers even though ebay does not show it at all.

Wishing you all the best.

Gill

Re: my ebay store is finished, ebay is not.

lyndal1838 — Fri, 29 Sep 2017 08:32:53 GMT

I buy from the Good Guys and Bing Lee through ebay when ebay has the 20% discount sales.

It is great to get a DVD player at their already good prices when ebay is paying 20% of that amount.

Re: my ebay store is finished, ebay is not.

digital*ghost — Fri, 29 Sep 2017 09:09:35 GMT

I seemed to hit a peak in terms of acceleration in 2015 as well, I managed to keep things relatively steady somehow, but am definitely noticing some downward trends lately. Perhaps ironically (or perhaps by design), the latest round of policy updates has inspired me to start deliberately trading off eBay (not be eBay's definition, I mean they've reignited my desire to set up my own website. I have to acknowledge I've said this quite regularly for a couple of years now, so I won't take offence if anyone rolls their eyes, and I know the proof is in the pudding ).

The questions I ask myself, though, are what advanatages do eBay's strategies, marketing efforts and policies, bring them? They are not trend setters or innovators anymore, driving market trends; they're trend followers and half-a**ed copycats, who are trying to catch market trends - so is what they're doing an attempt at finding where the money is, or are they following the money?

By which I mean, they've had a good couple of years with a high number of bigger retailers on site, so they would have enough data with regards to what's of most benefit to them. Do buyers, and I mean a majority percentage overall, rather than a sampling of those who prefer the eBay of old, prefer the new direction?

Or, is it something else? The policies they introduce never seem to affect the worst offenders, where if they were actually enforced there might be some improvement to the site, and as a result your average seller is left being treated like a petty annoyance at best, and a wanton criminal at worst - despite evidence to the contrary, in many cases.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall at eBay HQ, just to try and get some insight into what they're trying to do. I can understand a decent portion of their motivations, and I recognise they're slowly (and very painfully) switching from a site of multiple listings for the same product, to a site of product listings with multiple sellers, and that there are going to be some products or categories they neglect to cater for, but some stuff just leaves me questioning whether anyone at the top genuinely knows what they're doing, or if they're just playing some perverse game of Pin the Tail on The Donkey, replete with blindfold, then jeering at the sellers when they miss the mark...

Re: my ebay store is finished, ebay is not.

collect247 — Fri, 29 Sep 2017 09:31:14 GMT

I really just don't get it,what is eBay after?

Ebay's a platform for sellers and buyers,eBay makes an enormous amount of money regardless so it baffles me as to why they are heading in the direction that they are and taking no prisoners along the way.

Why have eBay made it about themselves now?

Ebay provides the platform and we use it either as a buyer or as a seller so it should just be that,but no they are now running our lives.

Too many silly policies why not just keep it simple?

Because it's all about how much more money can eBay make instead of fixing all the dam problems.

It isn't rocket science,stop all the scammers and no gooders and let the decent folk go on with their lively hood instead of making it harder for the sellers just to protect the scammers.

If it ain't broke then don't try and fix it.

But eBay has invented so many stupid policies that aren't working out and they have no way of fixing those problems that are affecting good people.

Re: my ebay store is finished, ebay is not.

zanadoo_56 — Fri, 29 Sep 2017 10:30:46 GMT

@lyndal1838 wrote:
I buy from the Good Guys and Bing Lee through ebay when ebay has the 20% discount sales.
It is great to get a DVD player at their already good prices when ebay is paying 20% of that amount.

I've bought from Officeworks when there have been eBay discounts however....if there are no specials and I can only find what I need in a big store I use eBay as a search engine for these stores then sometimes buy from them on their own websites depending on how their delivery service works compared to what they use on eBay.

But compared to my usual spending, these stores don't figure much overall to what usually like to buy - stuff the big stores don't sell and never will.

Re: my ebay store is finished, ebay is not.

springyzone — Fri, 29 Sep 2017 11:42:55 GMT

My sister & I have been on ebay since about 2000 & for a few years, used to sell (between about 2003-2006).

It was a different world back then where the seller was king and could make decisions about what to do if a customer wasn't happy but it was also a site where if a seller just took off with your money there was nothing you could do. Most people were honest though. But not all.

It was a site mainly of mum & dad sellers and buyers, pretty much all transactions were between Australians on this site. International was shown but most people were too nervous to use it, it was the days before paypal.

Fast forward to now. Realistically, ebay had to change. It had to tighten up to make it a more secure site for buyers.

With every large store & most smaller stores now having online buying available, consumers have more choices.

If you watch the ebay ads, you can see the profile they are trying to create. They want mainly new stock, sent via at least semi professional sellers who are on board about the system-who send with ebay labels, tape, tracking etc

I loved the garage sale atmosphere of the early days too but the little home sellers are no longer the norm & I think ebay is trying to steer them out to some extent-onto other places such as gumtree.

They would probably still like to have antique or quality vintage on sale too, but through dealers or professional traders.

I don't think anything is going to change any time soon, the amateur feel of the old ebay is probably gone forever. If sales have fallen off to one sixth of the former total, I don't think it is consumers who have changed things so drastically in such a short time. It's ebay-the items aren't showing as well or as high up the lists. Ebay is basically sending a message saying you can sell here but you're not one of our preferred seller types. It's a bit surprising as $600k turnover sounds massive to me, I would have thought ebay would give you some preference but obviously not.

Re: my ebay store is finished, ebay is not.

davewil1964 — Fri, 29 Sep 2017 14:04:01 GMT

Didn't the new CEO, or the Australian minion, state only last year that they were going to concentrate on getting the smaller seller back?

That lasted as long as most of eBay's other bright ideas. Except that this one would have been useful. Which probably explains why it has fallen by the wayside.

Re: my ebay store is finished, ebay is not.

redders_60 — Sat, 30 Sep 2017 05:36:06 GMT

Some years back I was looking toward Ebay for my retirement income. I have no superannuation. For awhile I made good sales. But not for many years now. I don't even have a store anymore & have no incentive to list new & interesting old items.

I don't use Gumtree; Too many scammers there & no backup help in place. I'm not good @ F/B but use their free service groups for PU items instead.

Re: my ebay store is finished, ebay is not.

digital*ghost — Sat, 30 Sep 2017 09:30:02 GMT

@davewil1964 wrote:
Didn't the new CEO, or the Australian minion, state only last year that they were going to concentrate on getting the smaller seller back?

I think that statement was largely met with sarcasm, cynicism and the odd snorting laugh.

I don't know whether it's a good or bad thing that it was largely and not entirely. The modicum of hope their continued lip service inspires, makes the disappointments all the more frustrating, and probably keeps some people trying for just a little bit longer (sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes it's not).

Re: my ebay store is finished, ebay is not.

lowanacrafts — Sat, 30 Sep 2017 22:02:21 GMT

My daughter bought a DVD player from the Goodguys real store last week, ticket price $39 , got it for $26.00 . Must get the brand off her to see. So wonder if they up the prices for Ebay. I don't buy any electronic or electrical item on line.

Re: my ebay store is finished, ebay is not.

collect247 — Sat, 30 Sep 2017 22:10:33 GMT

Depends if you're a regular buyer from GoodGuys because if you are like I am then you will receive a discount every time you purchase from them.

Re: my ebay store is finished, ebay is not.

dazzledayz — Sun, 01 Oct 2017 01:25:35 GMT

@davewil1964 wrote:
Didn't the new CEO, or the Australian minion, state only last year that they were going to concentrate on getting the smaller seller back?

That lasted as long as most of eBay's other bright ideas. Except that this one would have been useful. Which probably explains why it has fallen by the wayside.

I'm still waiting to see the evidence of this policy but won't be holding my breath.

Sales continue on their downward spiral as does site functionality.

Re: my ebay store is finished, ebay is not.

lyndal1838 — Sun, 01 Oct 2017 02:10:13 GMT

@lowanacrafts wrote:
My daughter bought a DVD player from the Goodguys real store last week, ticket price $39 , got it for $26.00 . Must get the brand off her to see. So wonder if they up the prices for Ebay. I don't buy any electronic or electrical item on line.

Both the Good Guys and Bing Lee sell on ebay at exactly the same prices as you can get if you buy from their online stores.

Before buying anything on line I check out the normal price off ebay and only buy if I am getting a good buy.

Yes, if you walk into their stores with cash you can often get a 10% discount on their listed prices but that is for cash whereas by buying on ebay you can use a credit card if you want to and still get the ebay discount of 20%.

When the item arrives it has a cash register docket with it just as you get when you buy in the store normally so no problems with guarantees.

When I say I would not buy electrical items on line I mean I would not buy from an unknown overseas source. Buying from a local chain store is a different thing altogether.

I am not too proud to get a 20% discount....if ebay wants to pay for part of my item I will happily let them.

Re: my ebay store is finished, ebay is not.

jjba6541 — Sun, 01 Oct 2017 02:26:41 GMT

I started in Ebay back in the early 2000.

Ebay was a goldmine then.I was able to pay all my bills and still had money left over.

Now I am lucky if I can buy and icecream at the corner store with the small amount of sales I make.

I just leave my listings there but hardly spend any time relisting .

Between my 2 user names I have nearly 400 listings.

I am lucky if I sell 5 items a month now and it always seems to be at beginnig of month or near the end of the month,

I found Gumtree to be non productive as well as facebook market place.

Re: my ebay store is finished, ebay is not.

chameleon54 — Sun, 01 Oct 2017 03:45:10 GMT

This is all very depressing isnt it. Like others I used to make a good full time living from ebay, including paying my mortgage, all household bills, replacing the car every now and then and sending the kids to low fee private school. That was five years ago. Today sales are not great on ebay, but it is still well and truly worth me spending some time here and plodding along selling stuff. With the lights on, lights off phenomina, I can reliably budget on how much I will sell each month and with a shipping container full of stock that doesnt owe me much, I can keep selling without buying anything for a couple more years, ensuring very high profit margins.

The latest spring release is very concerning. We will have to wait and see how the policies pan out, but the restrictions on items listed for longer than 12 months could spell the end of my store businesses. I,m busy listing the best items from storage, clearing them out in case my stores go belly up when the spring release comes into force. Until then, I will keep selling as usual and just wait and see how things pan out.

My guess is that ebay are moving quickly to product catalogue style business for new items, based around product identifiers. There may come a time, quite soon when used items are no longer able to be sold on ebay. Best to clear stuff out and make hay while the sun is still shining on used ebay sales.

Re: my ebay store is finished, ebay is not.

collect247 — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 02:27:20 GMT

I just received my answer as whether I would be selling again and it's also farewell from me.

I will no longer be buying on eBay as I'm not allowed to sell due to eBay letting scamming **bleep**en buyers get away with it.

Keep kissing those scamming buyers asses eBay and I hope you as a company go down the drain as you're as bad as the scammers.