Sellers : Gain A Voice

[cmcoins2000]

For Years eBay's Mantra has been ' We are a Platform - We are a Venue.

Not anymore.

Today it is a Fee Guzzling, Dictorial, Judgemental monster, totally lacking in any Integrity

We the Sellers are held to Ransom for the pitiful little Symbols & Icons they offer for complying with the 'Policies'.

For the most part we Sellers are dealing with our customers with Consideration & Integrity.

Our Feedback is Testament to this.

There is always going to be an element of dishonest traders as there is everywhere.

Most of whom will not & do not last long.

To Comply we are directed to offer 'Free Postage'.

This is not China - our Govt. does not offer this to encourage trade - we pay a hefty cost for Postage.

To offer 'Free Postage' when the cost is recouped in the sale is not only dishonest it is illegal.

eBay do not offer the honest option of 'Postage Included'.

This is Australia - in a lot of cases same day or 1 day posting is nigh on impossible to say nothing of being non cost effective.

 A 30 day money back guarantee is boardering on the ridiculous for most of our items.

Then we come to August 20th & the 'Defect' System.

This system is so Flawed - so Lacking in Reason - it beggars belief.

For whatever reason these so called 'Defects' are given & no matter the outcome between buyer & seller the 'Defects' stand.

This is the only country in the world without the even playing field of mutual Feedback.

Ours is totally stacked for the Buyer.

Without Sellers there are no Buyers.

eBay has stated a buyer not happy with a transaction is not likely to return to the site.

What Rubbish.

We have all had experiences we would rather forget but purchase again & again.

My Lone Voice will be heard on 20th August & on 21st August & on 22nd August & on 23rd of August.

My holiday Settings will be turned on - my items not seen - eBay will receive no income from me for this time.

My hip pocket is willing to take the hit & I gain a voice.

IMAGINE if it were not a LONE VOICE.

[davewil1964]

I don't think that would offend too many, and gave me a chuckle.

[cmcoins2000]

Glad for the chuckle - hope the weekend holds more. Now tossing between Twain & - 'if you leave me - can I come too???

[honest.johns.phones]

Hey Helen, I truly feel your frustrations and good on ya for trying to be proactive and think of someway to challenge it. However, im dubious at best that anything a seller says will be taken on board or given a second thought.

eBays "Unsolicited Idea Submissions" sums up there stand point rather transparently.

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does not allow eBay to accept or consider ideas, suggestions, proposals or materials other than those eBay has specifically requested

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Doesn't mean we can't talk about it. Even if it's been covered before it's not inconveniencing anyone to talk about it again. Even if the naysayers insist its "flogging a dead horse" as they don't have to click in or continue reading. Trolls can't help themselves and try to have a field day with you. They try to lure you into an arguement. But trolls are like idiots and you know how the saying goes. You don't argue with them as they bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.

Protesting  by not selling will only prove something to yourself as someone mentioned, sellers are a dime a dozen and 10 new sellers are lining up to take your place. It looks like your doing a good job of holding your status & store together but im sure its the defects under the dashboard thats really concerning you.

Ideas I have which would work but are largely unobtainable at this stage.

I think eBay would consider the current position of sellers is if there was sustained media attention that eBay considered detrimental. Im sure if I looked I would find a policy preventing any initiation of this kind.

Another way of course which has been tried and failed many times is to create a real competitor. Like Auspost, running a monopoly means you can largely direct the pricing and conditions to suit with out sustaining any meaningful resistance. As long as it stays within the law. But if you were a programming and marketing genius and managed to be the one who pulled it off, eBay would make you an offer you couldn't refuse to sell out and how could you resist heading to a sandy beach somewhere drinking cocktails with straw hats for the rest of your days. 

Also an idea which wears the tag of "Pigs Ass" is for a large group of buyers to get insensed at how there distant cousins(sellers) get treated and want to protest and drive change on our behalf. Buyers have been known to be groomed and appeased by the powers that be. But then I think back to my earlier "Unsolicited Idea Submissions" reference.

Obtainable mid term solution is to keep doing what you do best and play the game better than before. Keep your TRS status for as long as you can. Be smart, make good business decisions and continue to make a healthy profit. The idea of the seller getting rich & fat off of eBay is a sore subject for them demonstrated by the ever increasing strategies and low blows to slice more and more off of your pie.

Lastly it can't hurt to talk, especially if it helps to get it off your chest and move forward. Now watch how quickly they try to take my character apart for this 🙂

and have a good day!

[chameleon54]

Coming from a farming background I see a lot of similarities between ebay sellers and farmers. Both groups are made up of a huge number of stand alone businesses often competing against each other for market share. Both contain owners with a huge varied range of opinion and businesses. Small hobby type farmers, large multi generational family farms, corporates etc. Whilst most of the time farmers are a fragmented ( and often tormented ) group with no common goal or identity, there have been several occasions over the past 20-30 years when they have stood together as one united voice. On one occasion the unions where blocking the main city ports and not allowing farmers to load sheep for export. After weeks of blockades, the farmers organised a huge secret campaighn. On a designated night, farmers from several states arrived at the inland  feedlot where the sheep where held with thier small farm trucks. Teams of farmers then worked throughout the night to load the sheep onto the trucks and cart them several hundred Km. to a regional country port where other farmers loaded the sheep onto the waiting ship. The Media and unions woke up the next morning to the ship sailing off into the sunrise with the sheep on board. The whole thing was mainly organised by individual farmers who where respected leaders within their communities liasing with each other and working in strictest secrecy. I was a young fella at the time and not privy to all of the goings on but remember the sense of excitement at such a huge diverse group of people standing as one for a common goal against an all powerfull oponent. I,m not sure exactly how this relates to ebay sellers, but there must be some lessons to be gained from other groups successes and experiences.  

[cmcoins2000]

My 'quote' button is broken - absolutely nothing happens. What am I doing wrong

[cmcoins2000]

Yea - go farmers. I can remember a cooking class at school a few of us decided was a waste of time - still think it is - don't cook & don't intend to improve. We sat down on the job so were sent off to a music class - sadly this proved not much better. But it made CHANGE.

[sewells_of_victoria]

cameleon54 your story reminded me of another farmer protest story that was all over the news in 2000 when I lived in the UK. Here is a link

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/farmer-gets-pound300000-payout-after-manure-protest-a... In conclusion I don't upset farmers.

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

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@cmcoins2000 wrote:
My 'quote' button is broken - absolutely nothing happens. What am I doing wrong

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some posters have been known to hit the spell check button instead of the quote button on occasion.  If you do this just after you hit 'reply', absolutely nothing happens as there is no text to spell check.

                                             

Just a thought, try again I say!

[cmcoins2000]

So I click 'reply' then in the new area click 'quote'. Have done this but get no quote.

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

sign out then sign in again.  Other than this, maybe shut down your computer and have a coffee, then start it up again . . . . works for me!