What was changed on ebay recently? My sales dropped 50%

[love_station_au]

Not sure what happed but guess ebay has made some changes on search results. My sales dropped about 50% recently. Anyone has noticed that?

[*new2vintage]

No one is allowed to pass on their Paypal fees whether you care or not. Only Paypal provides buyer protection. Paymate offers it but you need to pay to make a claim. If you don't pay via Paypal you risk donating your money. 

[belindabargainhunter]

As someone who is mostly a buyer I think it's alot of things. I will base this on how my ebay habbits have changed.

The more expensive things I use to get of ebay have changed with stores like Target selling online and making shopping easier. The other thing is sites like scoopon, cudo, catch of the day as they do offer good prices and as with Target no matter how big my item is (unless it's like 20kg) Its only $9 postage for all items together.

I have continued to use Ebay for fun items like a picnic chair/ insulated bag together. I did buy an Ice box that I was able to pick up so I guess for bigger items I do look for local pick up. Then there is the fun/gifts Now I know  should support Australia BLA BLa Bla but please I am just tring to give honest information. Anyway Fun/gifts etc I have been buying from china/Asia as I can get the products alot cheaper. Oh one more thing and this is a shame when it comes to Australia. SHOES. I do buy a lot of shoes. 2 brands only Birkenstock and Orthaheel. I have tried to buy here but One pair of Elisa Orthaheel retail here about $150 and I can buy 3 pair for that in America delivered to my front door.

I don't know what ebay can do to improve this. Does the Austrailian site cost more than UK/America etc to use. I do believe Australia post could help out esp. since I have items delivered from china for less than Australia post charges for the envelope and stamp.

[davewil1964]

I think people maybe over stating the impact the postal increases. Sure it bites a bit, but its added less than $3 to the larger parcels I send. The real killer is eBay & PayPal fees...I have to load my prices on my eBay Sellers account 14% higher than I do on the OTHER "QS" Australian site,  and that pushes the Buyers away.

I only sell big ticket items in the $500 to $1000 price range, but use to average 8 to 10 sales a month, so it was pretty good tax free dollars al in all.

In 2 months I haven't had a single sale on eBay, I tell a lie, I had a non paying buyer !

On the day eBay hiked its seller fees I started listing on the OTHER site. In those few weeks since I've had 7 sales on the OTHER site, or $5680 in dollar terms.

Anyway I can't see what all the moaning about eBay is all about, the place is dead or near enough to it. If Sellers got behind the other site it could easily be the NEW replacement for eBay given time and advertising. 

eBay is a massive and expensive disappointment these days, I'm just over getting worked up over it anymore....besides my sales on QS are 100% Fee Free, so I don't mind it being a little slow, it's a whole lot faster than eBay has been which has earned me ZERO SALES and ZERO $$$

$4 - $10k a month tax free? I hope you don't run out of stuff from around the house soon. I wouldn't be paying any way other than one that gave me protection form a shonky seller. After all, most of your buyers don't know you from ADAM, so they have no idea how honest you are.

[sitrep65]

davewil1964.....you are welcome to your strong views on supporting Paypal, but of course you DON'T PAY THE FEE'S as a Buyer. If you did pay the fee's, you'd probably have a different view...or maybe you are an employee of the eBay / Paypal organisation !

Also since you think all Sellers are dishonest and you need protection, perhaps lobby eBay to allow direct vendor credit card transactions for payments. ALL Australian credit cards without exception are cover by a users rights to dispute a transaction and have the disputed transaction frozen. Ebay won't allow it because they can SCIM $$$$ ON THE TRANSACTION.

As a bonus, many credit card providers provide additional Buyer Protection and alike, so saying Paypal is the "ONLY ONE" to offer this is horse poo of the highest order.

For the record I operate a normal retail business, with selling online being just some extra pocket money...anyway the point of this thread was for Sellers to discuss well documented sales reductions on eBay. For Sellers like myself who has been selling since 2004 on eBay it's a bitter disappointment that eBay has imploded, however options for online sales in various forms have been discussed by myself and other Sellers on this thread....that is before the eBay Trolls hijacked it !

[putney32]

Also since you think all Sellers are dishonest and you need protection, perhaps lobby eBay to allow direct vendor credit card transactions for payments. ALL Australian credit cards without exception are cover by a users rights to dispute a transaction and have the disputed transaction frozen. Ebay won't allow it because they can SCIM $$$$ ON THE TRANSACTION.

where have you been for the last few years?  ebay do not dictate you must use PayPal, they only insist that sellers offer ONE type of safe payment for buyers,

paypal

or

paymate

or

your own c/card merchant facility

it has been that way for years now, there are lots and lots of sellers offering C/Card merchant facility ONLY on ebay.

[*new2vintage]

And buyers still come here to complain about not receiving items after they've paid via direct deposit.

[sparkles-of-joy]

Same here...It would be lucky for me to sell one item for a week.  I'm just getting rid of the old stock then think about what should I do next. 😞

[gec2002]

"No one is allowed to pass on their Paypal fees whether you care or not."

Was that attempt at sarcasm? 

Do you think that sellers just absorb all their costs.  Next you will be telling us that Free Post is actually free.

If you run a business all costs have to be covered Paypal fees, eBay Fees, post, rent, and 101 other overheads and there is only one way they are covered that is in the price whether you care or not.   Every time eBay, Paypal, or AP increase their fees the price of items on eBay has to go up, wiggle room to absorb costs has long gone.

[davewil1964]

davewil1964.....you are welcome to your strong views on supporting Paypal, but of course you DON'T PAY THE FEE'S as a Buyer. If you did pay the fee's, you'd probably have a different view...or maybe you are an employee of the eBay / Paypal organisation !

For the record I operate a normal retail business, with selling online being just some extra pocket money...anyway the point of this thread was for Sellers to discuss well documented sales reductions on eBay. For Sellers like myself who has been selling since 2004 on eBay it's a bitter disappointment that eBay has imploded, however options for online sales in various forms have been discussed by myself and other Sellers on this thread....that is before the eBay Trolls hijacked it !

I do, however, pay the fees as a seller. 30c + 2.4%. Which is fine for the extra sales I probably make due to me offering Paypal. I've only been selling here since 2009, though.

There seems to be a constant attitude when people don't agree with other members that said members must be eBay/Paypal employees. Or trolls of course.

with selling online being just some extra pocket money, which you neglect to pay tax on, by your own admission.

My sales have increased compared to May 2012 and my fees have decreased from 1 May, so I am better off. That's not to say that situation won't change, but the current situation is certainly not affecting ALL sellers adversely.

[rusty-shed]

I run a separate ebay business ( not this account ). I aim to sell $74,000 per year from around 2000 sales and are right on track with $25,600 for 120 days and $ 2105 for this week. Sales seem to fluctuate for no particular reason, but on average it is all good. I have 1600 listings and have not changed post costs on existing listings, only changing when new items are added. The items I sell are very specialised, often the only ones on Ebay in Australia or overseas, so they don't get lost in the best match search format. As a top rated seller, they tend to be close to the top if multiple items are listed from other sellers. Perhaps this offers some clues to the problems others are experiencing.