Ebay sales drop 30%, Ebay laughs at us !!!!

[chameleon54]

With the new FVF on postage, ebay could potentially lose 30% of its sales ( by number ) and still come way out in front. I dont know what the average sale price of an item on ebay is but if we take a stab and guess $35.00 and average post cost is $7.00 heres how it works.

    1)  The current commision on $35.00 at 8% avarage is $2.80

    2)  The FVF commission on $7.00 postage at 8 % is 0.56 cents. ( or 20% of the current commision on a $35.00 sale ) 

    3)   We can assume that there is many more individual items for sale under the average price than above it ( ie more clothes, kids toys,  books etc. by number than cameras and ipods )

     4)  It is the cheap end of the market that will hurt most from the FVF on postage, as postage makes up a greater % of the item value and FVF, in many cases equelling the vale of items for sale. ( therefore doubling commisions payed to ebay )

With all of this in mind we can see if ebay loses the bottom 30% ( approximatly ) of sales by number, ( ie cheapies ) it will be at the break even point for recieving the same income. ( as before the FVF on postage ) On top of this it will need 30% less staff, 30% less office space, 30% less server space, pay 30% less tax ( JOKE THERE FOLKS )  etc. so recieving the same income BUT reduces expenses by 30%. We can argue about what the average sale price and postage cost is, but the principle holds, just the numbers change slightly............EBAY IS PI*SING ITSELF LAUGHING AT US RIGHT NOW PEOPLE  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bilto1gas]

True but they are killing themselves slowly over time ,so they eventually loose .

[chameleon54]

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@bilto1gas wrote:
True but they are killing themselves slowly over time ,so they eventually loose .

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Agree 100% with you. Another angle on this whole sorry saga, is that many small sellers auction off a few cheap items from around the house or that they pick up at markets or garage sales. Most of the $$$ they make goes straight back into ebay purchases often from the bigger stores or more expensive items that they may not otherwise be able to afford. This could have major trickle down affects to all sellers big & small as there will be less dollars circulating in the whole system. ( plus the loss of goodwill and window shopping traffic of small sellers with a few items for sale, who brouse other stores when logged on to check thier own sales )

[barney_rubbles]

That is so true! i buy & sell collectible type items, if i don't sell much then i don't have much in my paypal account to spend on buying more of them for my collection. I am more reluctant to be spending money that then goes on my credit card or out of my bank account. This has been happening alot more over the last 6 mths because i found hardly anyone was seeing my items because they're buried under all the overseas listings! Then theres the rolling blackouts where someone could search for an item, it comes up sometimes & not others. So despite being offered 100 free listings the other week i decided WHY BOTHER! now with this new fees out of postage thing, its just another kick in the guts, goodbye ebay!

[diecastcarsvicki]

Its just a shame eBay has completely forgot or don't care about the low volume sellers that made eBay what it is today.

AS child i was always taught dont bite the hand that feeds you. Im a small volume seller that pays an avarage of between $80.00 TO $100.00 PER MONTH IN FEES. im completly happy to spend that money on two weekend market stalls & two garage sales per month & SAVE $$ AFTER PAYING FOR THOSE STALLS & ADVERTIZMENTS FOR THE GARAGE SALES. ebay can get fulled up with cheap chiness **bleep** that most major retailers in australia wont touch. and most $2. dollars shops are full off. back before online selling familys use to go to local markets & op shops and get great bargains and thats what im going to do as not did i sell here i brought maybe twice as much per month. sorry sellers i wont be buying here again when items i collect and sell are cheaper from the retail shops within an hour of me.   

[sunstate1]

Just  try http://www.quicksales.com.au/ it is free.  I have just relisted a few items there from my Ebay account as a test

[wehavethatau]

Quicksales may be free but it doesn't have the millions of customers that you can potentially reach on eBay

[digital*ghost]

I don't think they will be able to laugh forever.

I don't want to be one of those chicken lickens, proclaiming the end of ebay is nigh etc, because I know there's still potential here, and it's not going to disappear tomorrow, but while I don't have full insight into eBay's reasoning, motivation and goals, I honestly can't see the current model being sustainable over the long-term. 

A business that creates an environment where their customer's (seller's) primary goal or need is to to stay and build on each success = sustainable model for eBay

A business that creates an environment where their customer's (seller's) primary goal or need is to stay successful long enough to facilitate leaving and being successful elsewhere = not a sustainable model for eBay.

The more smaller sellers that take to being successful sellers independent of eBay, the less of a drawcard eBay can provide for the larger corporations etc that may be able to hang in there and/or negotiate other kinds of deals with eBay. 

IMHO. 

[phonebite]

You did not just make up so much stats on the spots just so you can justify yourself being angry at eBay... did you not?

[chameleon54]

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@sophie3stephen wrote:

You did not just make up so much stats on the spots just so you can justify yourself being angry at eBay... did you not?

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Hi Sophie, As mentioned in the opening post I dont know what the average sale price is, so just took a calculated guess based on a series of most recent sales I checked before opening the thread. The average could be quite different to the figures I used, but the principle remains the same. Ebay can afford to lose a very large number of small value sellers through this policy and actually make MORE money than before. 

       I do have major concerns about the impact the loss of small sellers will have on the total dollars circulating through the system for all sellers big and small, as well as the long term damage this policy will have on peoples perception of ebay. The loss of window shoppers with a bit of spare cash from thier private sales could have a huge negative impact in future.  It is true that I am extremly disapointed ( and yes angry ) that ebay has taken this decision, as I have in the past been a big fan of the business model ebay offered small to medium sized businesses. With the easy way to sell items to a huge local and international market, The simple accounting processes in place, the ease of collecting and banking payments etc. ebay has in the past offered small business people an excellant platform to establish and grow new enterprises.

       I have expressed concerns in other threads over the last few months about the direction that ebay seems to be heading. It seems clear to me, that ebay no longer wants the small home trader, selling cheaper items ( often through auctions ) on the site and is activly progressing policies to squeeze these people out. It is moving more to a giant online shopping mall type model with large businesses around the world selling new items only. I had thought that ebay would split the business into two with the "new item", big traders remainig on ebay and the small home sellers and medium businesses selling pre owned items in a seperate business perhaps under a new name, but it seems ebay is simply squeezing the smaller sellers off of the site all together.

       I am currently a full time ebayer, but are trying to take a realistic look at where my business fits into ebays new model. Some of the cheaper items I sell will no longer be viable with the FVF on postage. Other more expensive products still have a bright future into the medium term. Over the past few months I have been quitely building an "escape hatch" business that is just simmering away in the background, that I can turn to if ebay is no longer viable. I genuinly feel that ebay is currently at a hugely important cross road.  If it continues down the path it is heading, the whole system as we currently know it will not continue. 

      At present I feel that it is important for businesses to stop and asses the impact that currently announced policies will have on thier enterprises and make the necassary adjustments to meet the current market conditions. Unfortuantly many are going to find that thier current business models no longer have a future on ebay. ( and I,m an old softy at heart,  I really feel for them ) The longer term for all regular sellers is much more uncertain.