Power Seller - only for ebay's benefit!

[mowermum]

I haven't even used up my 30 free listings for the month and ebay have decided to give me Power Seller status.  The benefit to me:  none.  The benefit to ebay:  I pay additional fees.

One more month of free listings and I would have completed my garage sale.  For those of you who want to criticise me for whingeing about losing free listings just think first about the extra business you probably gain from us garage sale people making ebay a more interesting place for buyers. 

To ebay, your fees are high enough and I think you can afford to continue giving casual sellers, like myself, the free listings because there are benefits to keeping us around. You did double your profits in the second quarter this year, it's not like you need the extra cash.

I'm not going to start a new ID just to sell a few more items, and I'm not going to sell any more because it just feels like another kick in the teeth from ebay where its all for the benefit of the buyer.

[putney32]

so let me see if I understand this, you were a new or occasional seller on eBay who took up the generous offer of free listings, given by eBay to encourage more full time sellers to the site.

you were successful... very successful, sold so much you qualified for their p/seller level... well done, you must be doing something right, you list AND sell... great!!  eBay must be a good venue to sell on, as you have made great sales since the introduction of this special offer... well done you and well done eBay.

now eBay are asking you to join the ranks of their regular sellers, of which we are millions, and pay fees, like the millions of regular sellers do, ok, understandable, you are using their service, you tried their free offer and found out it is certainly something you can do well, so now you have to pay

it is not a matter of eBay''gave'' you Powerseller status, YOU reached that status by selling well.
the only way to ''opt out'' of being a powerseller is to sell less, which surely defeats the purpose of listing on eBay.

sure free listings are GREAT, if you dont want to sell anything at all, just list, for free, then you can do that for years..... however, if you want to SELL, then you have to acknowledge that at some stage you will reach a level no longer considered 'casual seller' and start paying for your listings, which is OK cause it means you are eBaying well, have good products and selling them !

[drz250k]

Op, you must feel like you have just had a finger wagged in front of your face after Putney's condescending reply!! How dare you question ebays money grubbing practices lol,

Putney, didn't eBay increase your FVF fee from 7.5 to 7.9 percent to cover for the free listings and also increase the max fee from $50 to $100, so why are you now disadvantaged by being made a power seller?

eBay make an absolute killing with the fees they charge, their overheads would be extremely low, they certainly don't spend any of there their vast wealth on customer service in fact they go all out to make it as difficult as possible if you have a problem, they go out of their way to hide relevant links, they even move them around if too many people are starting to find them, how many people come here looking for the contact member button or the site map. Setting your preferences is a nightmare, it's worse than getting teeth pulled trying to navigate this mess.

it's ok for people like yourself (Putney & co) as you guys have lived and breathed it since it's beginning, but to brow beat people on how they should have known this and that as that is what they agreed to when they signed up is just plain wrong, you may know every policy eBay and PayPal have ever implemented but 95percent of users do not and never will.

Rant over!!

[mowermum]

I was in sales over 20 years ago, made it into the top 10 in Australia in my first year in fact.  We were given targets to reach and when they were achieved we were rewarded with free gifts, not extra fees.  I am sure those high up in ebay are being rewarded for a good job well done - it doesn't look like the regular sellers are though.

As I said I was selling on ebay as a casual with no intention of becoming a full-time seller.  Just taking advantage of some spare time to have a clean out rather than trickle it slowly.  The virtual tour under Sell told me that ebay would be a good place to sell my unwanted items.  ebay never indicated to me that free listings were there to encourage me to become a full-time seller or that if I used them up I would become a Power Seller.

I think there are two side to ebay - those who are here for the short/casual term and those that are trying to create a successful business.  They should be treated differently as we both have very different opinions.

[jensmanchester-australia]

I was in sales over 20 years ago, made it into the top 10 in Australia in my first year in fact.  We were given targets to reach and when they were achieved we were rewarded with free gifts, not extra fees.  I am sure those high up in ebay are being rewarded for a good job well done - it doesn't look like the regular sellers are though.

We can only wish we were rewarded - it just doesn't happen like that on eBay.

[lyndal1838]

You did not become a power seller just because you used up your free listings.

You achieved that status because you are having one gigantic garage sale and selling some quite high priced items.

If you are really so against the idea of paying your way you can start a new ID and get the free listings again.

[wishuponastarcelebrationsandgifts]

I guess it all comes down to perception. When I first started selling an ebay it was to sell off unwanted baby items/household items. I don't recall ever getting any free listings.

I opened my ebay store a couple of years ago - again I received no free listings.

I am not sure when the free listings started, or exacly what the intention is. I presume it is something like a free trial so that people can try the site out, and if they like it become full paying members, (for the want of a better word).

On the flip side many Powersellers who are regular and loyal customers are not rewarded with free listings or with anything else for that matter. As you would know, coming from a sales background, it is typical to reward the "bigger" customers with rebates, volume discounts and the like.

I have read many posts complaining about the loss of free listings and attaining Powerseller status, but not wanting it. Without debating the pros and cons, it seems clear that it would be prudent for ebay to make it clear to sellers the purpose of free listings, and explain the concept of Powerseller status in more detail.

[best.buys]

to all the casual sellers who read this it is best to try to sell your high priced items in your local paper first otherwise the $3000 limit is reached very quickly.

[phorum_junkie*]

If you want more than 30 free listings a month or reach PS status and still want to use the free listings then just start another id, it isn't rocket science.

I am perfectly happy with PS status, I have a store anyway so I will pay less for listing and less for FVFs, I use a different id to make use of the 30 free listings for items that will sell better in auction format.

[the3coopers]

Power Seller status is a reward for good performance. It gives you a certain "cred" that may be valuable in raising Buyer's trust.

If you don't want to be a Power Sellert, then stop selling on that ID and start another ID. It costs nothing, and then you can get your 50c discount on listing fees.

Or you could open a Store and get 20c listings but only pay 7% FVF on general items, rather than Free listings and 7.9%.

I certainly know what I prefer.