Antique Papers Sold, eBay Cuts Jobs
The AntiqueWeek, AntiqueWest, and Auction Exchange newspapers have all been sold by their London owners, dmg World Media. Dmg also sold the London Antiques Trade Gazette. No word yet about who the buyer is. At least four antiques publications have been sold or discontinued this year, but online publications are popping up.
EBay has announced it will cut 1,600 jobs. EBay says it is not a reaction to the changing economy but part of a plan for future growth.
103 comments:
Ebay has been too big for a while. I trade regularly on eBay, and it is very hard to get real human contact. When you do get through, the workers are unable to resolve the issues, since they don't have the authority.
Scam artists abound with little oversight, so I believe ebay's trading partners would benefit with downsizing in the right places. And they should do it soon because of their growing unfavorable reputation with many people I know.
EBay or FeeBay as it is now more commonly known, has repeatedly shot itself in the foot.
They are beginning to limp along; losing sellers and profits.
Their answer is to make it more difficult to sell and take a larger chunk from the seller.
Repeatedly have done nothing but anger sellers who go elsewhere. I am now selling more on RubyLane and Craigslist than eBay. Used to be that eBay had all my business; not anymore!
My comment is about ebay's layoff. I say, surrrrrrre it is about..."future growth". Future growth my foot! Let's try a dose of reality. With all the changes that ebay has made against sellers they are starting to feel the effects of losing sellers and losing revenue. You don't lay people off for "future growth". Remember ebay, sellers are YOUR customers, so in all that you've done to make the seller's customer's King, you have alienated the very people that allow you to create a marketplace in the first place. Ahh, when will they listen?
For an overview of the eBay situation from a big-business perspective, check out the article in the Business section of the NY Times (Sunday, 10/12/08) comparing eBay to Amazon. Readers of this forum will probably have a skewed perspective on eBay because we're interested in antiques & collectibles; but eBay doesn't make their money on us, they make it on mass-quantity resellers.
Ebay has indeed shot itself in the foot - many times! Not only do they make selling more difficult, now they are telling us sellers what currency we can and can't accept! I have no problem with money orders, but as of 10/20, I can't accept them anymore. What right does Ebay have to tell us what type of payment we can receive? I'm looking at other selling arenas, because Ebay has gotten too greedy for their own good.
Someday, business schools will use ebay as a model of how to take a very successful business and then do everything to screw it up. The hostility that they have shown to sellers has resulted in one positive thing, in my opinion. It has made me and other sellers put our best items back in the antique shops and malls (instead of directly listing them on ebay), which has made the retail shops interesting and fun to shop in again!
I have been selling on Ebay for 9 years. NO MORE ! I agree with the other comments - fees too high, tying sellers hand, no customer service. When they announced the No cash, no Money order rule I finally said enough. Don't they realize that we KNOW they own Paypal and just trying to collect more fees ? Until they go back to the "Old ways" my selling online is through.
The first 1600 people to be cut should be the ones who did the changes starting in June 2007. If Ebay was looking to the future, they need to go back in time and recreate the old version of the way seller could list items and take payments. Now they have made it almost impossible to buy an item because of the new way of locating what your looking for. Why they tried to fix what wasn't broken was not a good move.
HA HA
Ebay...you suck. It's about time to wake up and figure out you are losing sellers.
ANY seller is positive cash flow- big or little. There are a heck of alot of us little guys that are mad as hell with you, ebay!
I, too have been selling on eBay for about ten years. When eBay changed the feedback policy and then changed to allowing on credit cards or PayPal, that did it for me. I am not interested in working to make money only for eBay. The cost of shipping has also caused the items to sell for less. Some items can no longer be sent overseas due to size restrictions and without the international bidding, the amounts that I can get for some items are not enough to cover the expense and time it takes to list. Craigslist is where I make the best and for little trouble!
Here, Here, to all previous comments! If anyone is ignorant enough to believe anything ebay OR paypal spouts send them my way...I have a bridge and a few other things to sell them! This is just another sign of taking business away from small business people. Then who is going to hold up this country by paying taxes? I feel the same as 1st commentor; there is NO one to help you at ebay; they couldn't if they wanted to. Same as every other entity, including (and especially) the US Gov't. agencies. I was recently dismayed to learn that organizations trying to get basic (and luxuary items, if affordable?) to the troops in Iraq, & Afg. will not use paypal due to problems trying to deal w/them. Could it be becaue they are not American owned or staffed? What a crock!!
Amen! Does anybody have a favorable comment about eBay - hardly ! And somehow it does not sink in to these arrogant "businessmen"..Listings are up at present, but wait! The holiday season will end. New customers/Sellers will soon find out the hassles are not worth the bucks. Ebay knows the auction monopoly is in their hands, can't wait to see the future..."future growth" ? - my foot! Without the Sellers, there will be less customers - simple. Ebay claims the changes are to protect the buyers from unscrupulous sellers - so why not weed them out, throw the rascals off and appreciate your honest good sellers - simple. 6 years of ebay and I have made another move, hopefully, abandon ebay completely. Other auction-sites will continue to grow....
I WAS AN AVID EBAY SELLER, NOW THAT I CANT RECEIVE CHECKS OR MONEY ORDERS, I FIND IT A JOKE...THIS LEAVES DISHONEST BUYERS TO RECEIVE ITEMS, FILE CLAIMS, AND PLAY THE SWITCH ITEM GAME WHEN RETURING OR BETTER YET, GET THEIR MONEY BACK AND NEVER SEND THE ITEM BACK.
Ebay's is not there to please the small sellers as it was in the old days. The only thing that matters now is to please the shareholders and the easiest way to do so when profits are down is to cut jobs. as it was mentionned above. Ebay is not making money with the "mom and pop" operation but rather with larger bulk sellers. Dealing with the small guy for them is time consuming, costly and cutting in the profits and that is why they are trying their best to get rid of us and guess what, its working! Ebay used to be a friendly fun place to do business, buying or selling, but in the last few years the dynamics, rules and regulations on the site have changed and it has become more of a hassle than anything else. I too use local sites to sell my goods now and have cut down my sales to the minimum. I sold for more than $20 000 last year for an average of 10 items per month which is not a lot in regards to the bigger bulk sellers. I now list 1 or 2 items every couple of weeks and I doubt if I sell for more than $5000 this year. There are thousands of people like me out there who are looking at alternatives and finding other ways and I feel that in the long term, although I am sure Ebay analyst have their own idea about this, it will hurt them big time. especially if a bigger fish gets in the game (go google go!!)
I totally agree!!
Paypal and Ebay are both making money and extra fees from us sellers, and not protecting us from feedback from buyers???? They can leave a bad feedback for us, but we can't reply to a jerk that gave us a hard time with the sale. or a non paying bidder??? Something is wrong with this picture......with no choice but to take paypal,,,it's just not right.. I can't refuse a payment even if I post that I don't take paypal,,,, I don't think so.This is rediculous and I would rather donate my stuff or have a sale myself than put up with this greedy, selfish company called E-bay!
Ebay will be losing sellers too. Everybody I know without exception now hates ebay's company store policies (from listing fees to final value fees to ebay owned PAYPAL Fees based on the item + shipping even though the post office gets the shipping money, not the seller)and the buyer is always right/seller always wrong attitudes. We are all looking for a new selling site. We built their empire with our hard work and we loved their site. It was a good thing for so many years and everyone was making money. Greed will bring them down. Once upon a time, they were just regular working people like us until they started making big dollars and wanted more and MORE. Ebay, turn the clock back 4-5 years and allow other forms of payment again. Come back to your sellers, especially in the economic times we all find ourselves in and maybe we can all get back to a stable and good life. By the way, ebay is turning all of your selling activity over to the IRS thanks to a clause that DEM senator Chris Dodd slipped into the housing bill at the last minute. Hello control and good bye to another piece of liberty.
Re EBAY.....I met a philipino lady the other day that moved to Vancouver, Canada to marry a Canadian. She had a job at EBAY here but was laid off because her job was going to the Philipines. As with a lot of large companies, their call centre staff is now in either India or the Philipines. I avoid dealing with all companies that have sent jobs overseas. For antiques, I want to see them, touch them and hold them before I buy!!!!
I'll attempt to be quick and sweet with bittersweet comments re: eBay. I'll not repeat what all before me have said so clear and poignant.
I sold with eBay for several years and much of the time I was a Power Seller. Then the crash came as greed became heavy on all of us. During the last convention The Power Sellers were taken into another ballroom where two grand leaders began pouring there grand promises as well as the new-world of eBay. The entire hour or more was filled with cat-crys, hoots and hollers from Power Sellers. With ALL that and more, eBay continued to re-enter their own warped dream world. WAKE UP, EBAY!!
I'll see ya at amother site.
DISGUSTED WITH EBAY
Ebay has got too big for it's britches. They want to be like an Amazon. The small sellers built Ebay. Now with forced use of PayScam, I will not be selling anymore.Got a low life buyer, non payer? No recourse, can't leave a negative FB. Honest sellers getting scammed, by exploiting PayPal, chargebacks. PP and Ebay usually side with the buyer, not the seller. So as many people are fed up and going to leave Ebay makes it necessary to lay off people.Some auction site will fill the gap, and hopefully it will be like the old Ebay we had known.
Well, I too use to sell on eBay for 10 years. My last sale was to a "dear buyer" who threatened negative feedback if I did not return half of the total sale plus full shipping all 3 items, because he didn't like one of "3 items" said one item was not mint condition. (I described all as excellent, none were mint). Before contacting me, he filed a dispute with Paypal (aka Ebay) & they froze the full amount in my paypal account and "advised" me to refund the money. The buyer it turns out when I reviewed his "feedback given to others" had left 9 negatives in less than 1 month & who knows how much money he "made" because he never returned my item & paypal paid him out my money. With Ebay's new policy of not allowing sellers to give negative feedback when we are wronged they have added to the many reasons I will no longer sell on eBay. I have almost 900 Positive feedbacks (100% positive) but they have ruined what used to be a fun place to sell. I hope they go under & reap what they sow.
I TOO AGREE WITH ALL THE COMMENTS ABOVE STARTING WITH FEEDBACK, NO MONEY ORDERS ACCEPTED AND THE RIDICULOUS WAY WE QUOTE SHIPPING CHARGES NOW. TO GET THE RIGHT COST OF SHIPPING YOU NOW HAVE TO PACK BEFORE YOU EVEN KNOW THE ITEM IS SOLD. I CAN'T GIVE MY CUSTOMERS A TRUE SHIPPING CHARGE. IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS HAVE COME OUT SEVERAL TIMES WITH NOT ENOUGH MONEY OR HAD TO REFUND MONEY TO THE CUSTOMER.THIS IS NOT RIGHT
I TOO WILL BE LOOKING FOR A NEW SELLING SITE. IT IS NOT WORTH THE TROUBLE & THE TIME IT TAKES.
What about the buyers? I no longer even visit the E-Bay site. The overwhelming greed of E-Bay demanding PayPal (or credit card)has rerouted my businss to Craig's list.
Funny that the move to no paper money has been attributed to its being a safer system. I have never received a bad check from an eBayer. Yes, some haven't paid at all, but never a bad check. Recently I sold an item, sent invoice promptly, lady paid immediately, I shipped on a Friday, on Monday she reversed the Paypal payment. Paypal let her! They never contacted me to see if I knew the problem. SHE never contacted me. Two or 3 weeks later, after MANY requests by me to eBay AND Paypal, I was finally told there was a "bank problem". It was a good two weeks before the buyer bothered to tell me the problem; as I suspected a divorce and His and Hers accounts were involved, but I WAS THE LOSER. It took over a month and way too much of my time to get my money because she chose to send me a check then I had to wait & hope it cleared!!! She sent a check because Paypal couldn't accomodate her needs. The buyer never even apologized! SO the seller performs perfectly and is punished. Anyone out there know this scenario? Of course you do! I already had a website, and am now spending the $ I used to spend on eBay fees to promote my own site. Ebay will fail, just give it time, and what a shame, remember how fun it used to be?
Has anyone found another auction site with a respectible sell-through percentage? where are all the sellers who are leaving eBay going to?
I too sold on eBay for 4 years. I did quite well, and found it enjoyable. But they nickel and dime you to death, and now what's this about no negative feedback to buyers? It's insane. Since 2004 I have been selling on Ruby Lane and would recommend it to anyone. It's easier, cheaper and no deadbeat customers!
EBay has gotten ridiculous, lets sellers feel unprotected, with the new policies, while buyers can leave negative feedback for us. I have 1 buyer right now, who has emailed me already today wanting the shipping info because the package hasn't been received. The buyer paid on Saturday night and its Wednesday morning and the buyer wants to know why the package hasn't gotten 5 states away already and it was paid for on a Saturday night!! I ship in less than 7 days, but don't live at the post office! But will I be able to relay any of this info? No, but the buyer can claim I didn't ship promptly!
Ebay's fees are ridiculous, and I am seriously considering selling elsewhere. I'm not making any real money from feeBay! They are certainly making it off me though!
eBay has obviously been studying Congress to learn how to ignore and anger its constituents. And it epitomizes Wall Street greed. I'm trying other sites like Bonanzle.
I too was a seller for many years. Ebay has turned off everyone I know who used to be active sellers. Ebay's greedy tactics, the worst being forcing sellers to accept Ebay owned pay pal only, are intolerable. I'm gone as many more will be soon. Is it an accident that they impose their PayPal requirement at the BEGINNING of the selling season for the holidays?? Gimme a break!! It won't work here. Sellers are smarter than you think fat cats at Ebay. So long!!
Can anyone recommend another auction site? I've been selling on eBay for 6 years and am very concerned about the far too numerous changes!
Just some suggestions for the eBay Management to "improve" seller / buyer satisfation and maximize profits:
(1)Every sale must include 12 pictures of item for sale using ebay picture system.
(2) Written communication only allowed via ebay messaging at a 10cent fee per message.
(3) Verbal communication only allowed via Skype, seller must provide proof of cancellation of regular phone subscription.
(4) Ebay transactions only allowed using Paypal-dollars which need to be pre-acquired at a flexible exchange rate as determined monthly based on ebay's shareholder expectations.
(5) Ebay users are only allowed to contact customer service with questions from the eBay AQL (approved questions list).
(6) All prices must include free shipping on all sales, so eBay now can charge commission on that shipping part too. ........OOPS This last one is actually happening...isn't it?
Having said all of this....is there an alternative ??? Can someone start one as we all know exactly what we do NOT want.
Just some suggestions for the eBay Management to "improve" seller / buyer satisfation and maximize profits:
(1)Every sale must include 12 pictures of item for sale using ebay picture system.
(2) Written communication only allowed via ebay messaging at a 10cent fee per message.
(3) Verbal communication only allowed via Skype, seller must provide proof of cancellation of regular phone subscription.
(4) Ebay transactions only allowed using Paypal-dollars which need to be pre-acquired at a flexible exchange rate as determined monthly based on ebay's shareholder expectations.
(5) Ebay users are only allowed to contact customer service with questions from the eBay AQL (approved questions list).
(6) All prices must include free shipping on all sales, so eBay now can charge commission on that shipping part too. ........OOPS This last one is actually happening...isn't it?
Having said all of this....is there an alternative ??? Can someone start one as we all know exactly what we do NOT want.
eBay caved to animal rights activists, who misguidedly demanded they stop sales of all ivory items, not just the illegal ones. This hurts Alaska Native artists, who are legally entitled to own, carve and sell walrus ivory works of art and do provide a certificate of authenticity for their work. These native artists, who live in remote areas, have very limited markets for their art work and most live at a subsistence level. Much of the ivory they use is fossil ivory from walruses long dead. New ivory is obtained from legal walrus hunts and is a way to ensure that the entire animal is used, not just the meat. This is a perfectly legal use and the art is a bona fide cultural treasure. Guess eBay finds it just too much trouble to make a distinction between legal and illegal activities.
I have sold on e-bay for 7 years, starting all items with 'no reserve', so if I saw a bid, I knew it was selling, and THEN I would pack it, knowing it would soon be gone. I sell a lot of glass 'sets' and large items like lamps, and have to pay for boxes to ship them in. Not every item sells, and now since we have to pack & weigh ahead of time in order to list, my house has become stacked with boxes full of stuff that I had to pack in order to list. I am wasting money on large boxes that I buy for items that don't always sell, when normally the glass items would sit on my furniture and not take up so much space until they sold. I have been accepting money orders, personal checks, bank checks for many years and 85% of my customers paid that way. I never shipped until check cleared, and never had a problem. I never wanted to bank 'online' because I don't trust the system, accounts are always being hacked; and e-bay made me have to do this because of how paypal operates. A lot of people, like myself, do not like electronic payments and always use money orders et. I will be losing a lot of customers because of e-bay's new policies. Listing has become a real hassle, and I am getting claustrophobic with all these boxes of listed stuff sitting around in my home. I closed my e-bay store 2 weeks after these new policies were started, because I would have had to have EVEN MORE items sitting around in boxes. E-bay really screwed up with all these so-called improvements; and don't even get me started on their extremely flawed feedback system.
Sure, let's go sell on Craig's List and Ruby Lane. Did you know that eBay aquired 25% of Craig's List stock in 2004? Wait for it; they'll be in control yet.
Sure, let's go sell on Ruby Lane and Craig's List. Did you know eBay aquired 25% of Craig's List stock in 2004???? Wait for it.
I have been a buyer and seller on feebay since 1996.As soon as this garbage about forcing me to use paypal and pay the fees involved i will be leaving. I have already gone over to wensy.co and startes listing. This is a free auction site, no fees whatsoever.
I balk at the idea of being forced to use feebay's own paypal to pay for my purchases as well as being forced to pay another fee to feebay for selling. When 40 or 50 dollars are subtracted from my sale for the privlege of adding to feebay's coffers it hurts my profit margin which may not be a lot to begin with.
Adios feebay, I'm not going to be one of your cash cows.
Yes I agree with all comments above!! I too was a devoted Ebay Seller I enjoyed my selling experience with Ebay for several years and had 100% feedback. Then about 8 months ago it all went awry with some of my listings being cancelled for improper shipping amounts.. then I go to ship and am unable to pack and ship for the amount I quoted and obtained from the customer and on a very small priced item in the few dollar range I wind up losing money.. Then have to refund someone who does not return my merchandise and I am scammed by a buyer not once but twice. I try to keep everyone happy and in the end they give me a neutral on feedback which negatively effects my 100%??? A neutral should not lower the 100% what is the point of a neutral? and I cant even tell my side I have to give positive feedback to my buyer?? I do all right for the customer, cant say a word wind up paying for the sale plus losing on shipping?? EBAY will not have my business any longer ... Maybe we should all get together and create a new auction site like the old Ebay and start making the money and keeping customers/sellers happy!!! :) Ebay is going to lose in the end, bad business practices!! I will be laughing when they are in bankruptcy!!! Ha Ha Ha!!
I'm using wensy.com. What other auction sites are there out there?
harmiginfl@yahoo.com
Oh Dear e-bay...What have you done now? You have P.O. so many people with your new policies...oh my! I have been with you guys from almost day one and boy greed...oops..I mean times do change. We need to have an e-bay#2 out there, the old fashion way, no worries, just selling off your fun stuff,making a little money here and there, but now it is so different...e-bay is making the money,making the money,making the money! Only take Pay Pal..? how stupid do you think we are? We all know that you own Pay Pal,you just want some more money,more money! Heard a rumor...heard you will going to court because your going to be sued for trying to get a Monopoly (isn't that a game!!?). Anyway,you were once a friend to me old e-bay,now just a memory!
It's really too bad. eBay had an innovative and popular idea, and created a service that literally changed the collecting and retailing worlds. But the thinkers and innovators have apparently moved on, and the number crunchers don't have the same sense of community. They pretend to care about their customers, then make it more difficult to do business. I guess it was destined to happen. They can't risk reporting significantly lower earnings, so they raise prices. I think what bothers me most is the arrogance. They know (or so they think) that we are a captive group, and that little by little they can squeeze us by increasing costs and reducing service. They are sowing the seeds of revolution, and a more customer-focused, more attentive competitor will eventually come along and eat their lunch. Too bad, it didn't have to be.
I agree with everything that has been written. I'm leaving e-bay as a seller but would like to have some suggestions for other auction websites. Where is everyone going to sell? Is Craig's List the only viable alternative?
The comments that have been made reflect the sentiment about eBay. The latest mistake is the free shipping scam. Here is the post left on other sites about the whole eBay mess it seems to ring true on all points.
Okay so here are the facts. It is not just the supposed free shipping but let’s take that first. This has two purposes and that is to further control the seller marketplace and now receive fees on shipping like PayPal does. Give me a break is it really free shipping or is it a jack up the price so that buyers think it is free shipping! How unethical is that?
The marketplace of sellers on eBay are very frustrated with eBay but they have the dominant online site so they can control the game whether it is the shipping, feedback, DSR process, compliance, fees etc. It is a fact that if you read the blogs the vast majority of sellers are unhappy but have little or no control and can only decide to stop using eBay or bite the bullet and further watch their profits erode while spend more time trying to defend themselves from eBay and the buyers. The game is not for sellers on eBay their focus is on the buyer and deal with the attrition of the seller community as needed.
Fees: If you have sold on eBay for any time do the math on what your cost of sale is through them now versus the previous five years. It is to see that the cost of sale has doubled then add your PayPal fees the increase in seller bells and whistles that you now need to increase your volume etc. Add that to your cost of sale and see where you are at.
Buyer scams:
Here are the scams buyers use now that there is no justice for from this system. These are real live experiences from an eBay power seller in the last 60 days!
1. Buyers threaten to leave negative feedback unless you give them a discount for an item that was exactly as described. Offered full refund to ship back buyer would not do it left a negative response. Contact eBay with the evidence to remove feedback they declined to do so.
2. Buyer bought item and then without contact returned a different item but similar for full refund. By the way tried to do the same thing with another seller we knew on a similar item days before. Left negative feedback for us filed PayPal dispute. EBay as PayPal removed funds from our account and no reversal of feedback.
3. Buyer buys and item uses it and then request a partial refund. We offer to give full refund and return it. They decline and leaves negative feedback. Appeal to eBay they will not remove.
4.Buyer buys item pays for the item and demands free shipping to out of country location. There was no free shipping anywhere in the ad We refuse of course and issue full refund for amount paid. Buyer leaves negative feedback. No recourse from eBay.
5. Multiple buyers have bought and not paid for items and basically say oh well I am not paying. They get away with it without recourse from eBay.
Next issues fees. Now tie this to your DSR rating and see what they can do to that. All you have to do is check any of the blogs or ask any seller what they think and you will receive an overwhelming response that they are putting it mildly dissatisfied.
New guidelines:
Next issue new eBay guidelines buyers cannot use cashier’s check or check or any other payment method but PayPal. Go figure what that is all about!
eBay support:
Next issue seller support or lack of. We can tell you from many personal experiences that it is virtual nonexistent. Time after time we have contacted them with basic issues like these and nothing is done or worse yet it is handled via email with little or no remnant of the facts in the issue returned via email.
policies:
Next issue policy compliance or their trust and safety department. They are basically witch hunters looking for any opportunity to punish sellers right or wrong and God forbid a disgruntled scammer that knows the system and how to use them to attack you.
There are many more issues but these are food for thought. The summary is there is a huge opportunity for a competitor to take their market share but for now they will reign even as thousands of sellers move away from them or as many have done give up.
MC
E-Bay has indeed gotten too big for its britches, and forgotten its roots!
The latest insult is their attempt to regulate shipping fees, with a whole schedule of "acceptable limits" for shipping charges.
The list caps out most shipping charges at $4.00, regardless of the fact that most ACTUAL shipping costs are at least a couple of dollars more than that, and most of the time almost double that.
Now, they not only want to take our money for themselves through added fees, but they also want to keep us from making any profit by making us eat the shipping charges, and penalizing us by lowering our ratings and search visibility if we don't offer free or almost-free shipping.
Why should we have to eat the shipping costs?!!!! No other company will do that...when we order any product from any company, large or small, we are charged the full shipping: we know this going in, and place the order anyway. What is E-Bay's problem???
Why does E-Bay feel this will alienate buyers? Buyers already know about this, and know the shipping charge up front when they are looking at any item, if the seller has indeed packed and weighed and filled in the proper fields.
If the buyer is "ok" with the charge, what business is it of E-Bay's??? That is between the buyer and seller.
What next? Is E-Bay going to buy out FedEx, UPS and the USPS in order to also gain the income from shipping?
I am disgusted, but have not found any other sites that seem to fit the items I am selling.
Craigs List is fine for large, bulky items such as furniture and tools that really do cost a fortune to ship, and are better suited to local pick up. But for small things like antiques, souvenirs, used board games, etc. it doesn't draw.
E-Bay is putting me in the red ink. I paid more to sell than I made this year...why should I continue?
Ebay has gone from the rediculous to the sublime. All of the above comments are spot on. I need to find a more rational site where common sense prevails and political correctness isn't the prime motivation for every harebrained change being made.
As a former ebay seller i have moved over to GoAntiques, one of the largest antiques sites and has just joined with another large co. You can actually talk to a PERSON, if you have questions. Give it a look. Ruby Lane, Tias all good sites.
I am so happy you have a forum about Ebay! I have sold on Ebay for a decade and have 100% positive feedback, (2000+ transactions), doing it on the side along with my full-time job. I know they don't make the money from me they make from the mass market sellers, but we small sellers add up to big business when you consider us as a whole. I despise the recent changes to the feedback forum, where I cannot leave negative feedback to a buyer. I have FAR MORE nonpaying bidders since that occurred, and I also will no longer sell vintage electronics. I am a smart businessperson who works in the legal system for my 'real' full-time job - :) - and I know how to pick out good items but buyers now have a new scam going where they'll take the guts out of an item, claim it isn't working (even though it WAS when you tested before sending), and then hold negative feedback over your head if you don't take the item back but YOU have no recourse. Me, a seller with 100% positive feedback who is very honest. I have moved over to Amazon and been selling books and am so happy! Ebay is losing me!
Ditto, ditto, and ditto. Ebay's long range plan is to accomodate only large retail operations, not the small sellers, as is evidenced by all the changes lately. I too have stopped selling on Ebay, and inreading of all the changes lately, boy am I glad I did. Having to give PayPal a commission on the portion of my payment that reflects shipping charges has always been a thorn in my side. And being unable to leave negative feedback for buyers that truly deserve it makes it a lop-sided relationship. Ebay is now a bush of thorns only - the bloom is off the rose.
I, too, am an eBay antiques and collectibles seller. I work hard on customer service and communications, but eBay has turned me into an angry person who has had it with eBay not offering me the same customer service and communications. Two negatives from bad buyers in the last six months, one from a suspended buyer and eBay says "we won't respond to your emails any longer" when showed them that the negative violated their own policies. Last week a many times suspended buyer started bidding on my items again (and on the items of over 100 other eBay sellers) and found yesterday she was suspended AGAIN...and I still haven't heard from misTrust and noSafety! How could eBay take such a great idea and reduce it to its present state? I'm through!
I'm an eBay powerseller. Without eBay I would have no way to sell most of my items on the national and international market. That being said, eBays recent policy changes are outrageous. The two most outrageous are the paypal only policy and the positive feedback only policy. I've been selling on eBay since I was 18 (9 years) and its sad to see how eBay is shafting the sellers.
Amen to all of the above! I've sold on ebay for a good 10 years and it has become too expensive, too restrictive, with no personal contact. I have lost money on shipping due to the USPS ridiculous way of determining shipping costs. It is virtually impossible to give an accurate shipping cost in your listing. More importantly, I do not agree with the credit card/paypal that are the only accepted methods of payment.
Ebay stock is down today to around 14 bucks, a long waw from the 60+ dollars it used to be.
Time for them to revamp their policies or lose good, honest sellers.
We have sold Antiques, Pottery & China, & Collectibles for some time on Ebay. We are now going further into debt with their attempts to rebuild their site. Many of us have relocated to Bonanzle. There are over 5000 users that have have amassed in the past couple of months. We can offer the buyer the same goods and offer you payment options such as Money Orders, Checks, Google Checkout and PayPal. Sellers pay no listing fees and the final value fees are low and locked in until 2010. Current listings from ebay and craig's list can be imported as can your ebay feedback so as to establish credibility. If you buy or sell in the above categories it is an ideal place to check out. http://www.bonanzle.com
I had been an eBay customer, both buying and selling, for about 5 years with 400+ 'positives' and only 1 'neutral'.
As a senior citizen, I enjoyed being able to add a little extra to my income, without overhead expenses and without having to get out in extreme weather. I could give my postman my outgoing packages and receive my purchases right at my home which was a great convenience for me.
About a year ago, I purchased an item, paid with a money order (purchased through my credit union), then never received the item. I checked the routing number and found that the money order had been cashed.
I filed a 'claim' with eBay, but because I had not used a postal money order or PayPal for my purchase, the funds wouldn't be returned to me. eBay did not care when I gave them the money order tracking number, etc. and refused to investigate, at all.
I explained that I used my credit union because, as a senior, I don't have to pay for money orders, (as I would have to do at the post office). Still no response from eBay.
It's now over a year later and eBay has not seen me either purchase or sell on their site again.
Where have all the honest people gone?
3 words sellers and buyers on Ebay... RUBY LANE AND CYBERATTIC!!! Check these sites out and rethink selling on Ebay...
They're easy sites and fee's are nadda compared to ebay..
Louisiana Frillseeker here:
This made me pee my pants a little: "EBay has announced it will cut 1,600 jobs. EBay says it is not a reaction to the changing economy but part of a plan for future growth." Whaaat??? Let me ask that again, WHAAAT??? That's exactly the kind of double-speak we've come to know and loathe about fleabay. It's like saying 'we're going to kill you but that's a good thing because then you won't have diabetes in the future'.
I stopped selling the moment I heard we would have to take PeePee. I've never taken it and wasn't about to start. I'm now at Bonanzle under the booth name listed above.
It's a good community of people and is growing every day. Traffic is not up to snuff yet but I'm sure ebay didn't come out of the chute with a gazillion buyers either. I feel it will come and am willing to wait and see. No listing fees and small fvf. Your listings can sit there for all eternity, unless you delete them or sell them.
Google checkout is offered as well as good old checks and money orders and lest we forget, the dreaded PeePee for those who can't wean themselves from the Evil Empire.
Ebay cuts jobs....Well it's about time. I have been selling on Ebay since 1996, about 6 months after Ebay started. At that time there were about 25 to 30 on line auctions. But there were 3 successful ones, Ebay, Amazon and Yahoo. Ebay was down more than it was up in those days and they bent over back wards to accommodate the sellers due to the outages. If they went down at the time your item was due to close they would extend the closing time of your item to equal the amount of time they were down. The feedback system was not even part of Ebay at that time. Before PayPal there were three banks that you could open an account with to accept payments through on line. The one that grew the fastest and gave the best service was X.Com. Then along came PayPal. There was even one that only took Western Union payments. Then Ebay started their own payment system as did Amazon and Yahoo. Well before you knew it PayPal bought X.Com. At first you could not advertise the other payment methods on your Ebay listings, but eventually Ebay changed that. Then Ebay bought Paylpal and did away with theirs altogether. Amazon made the rule that you could only use their method of payment and no one else, that is when I left them along with many other sellers. My husband and I even started the first consignment business of our own taking other peoples items and listing them on Ebay for them. I have a letter hanging on my office was dated 11/23/1998 congratulating us for doing $5,000 a month in sales, signed by Pierre. By that January we were doing $5,000 a week. We sold the business the follow March. Later Ebay started the referral system called Auction Assist and then recently Ebay Consignment Stores which has not been very successful. I have seen many, many changes in Ebay over the years and ALL of them have been for the buyer NOT for the seller. Yes, I have been scammed by a buyer more than once, I even had one tell me she hoped my husband would die from his colon cancer. But I still kept my head held high and did all I could to satisfy my customers and keep an outstanding feedback rating. But I have not listed on Ebay since last April and probably will only list a little this holiday season. I to am looking for a better place to sell. I am currently using goantiques.com for my better estate items and they do live auctions on Ebay. It costs me more money to do it that way, but I do get better prices and a lot less hassle. However, as of December 31, 2008 Ebay will no longer allow live auctions on their web site. So goantiques.com and several other auction companys are gearing up to launch their own on line auctions after the first of the year. I am just going to wait and see who emerges on top of the heap. Has Ebay shot themselves in the foot once again, you bet they have. They might as well sell out to Overstock.com, as that is what they are turning into. Pierre started Ebay to sell his girlfriends Pez collection and it mushroomed out of his control from there, to bad, he had a great thing going but as usual, greed got the better of them. Will Ebay fall, I think so, they will not be able to compete in the economic environment of selling just "new" stuff for very long and people are getting fed up with the China junk. So watch out the mighty oak is about to fall.
What about Yahoo auctions ... isn't that an option?
Terry, thanks so much for all you do for the antiques & collectibles community. Note there is not a one positive comment about ebay on this page at the time of my writing. Mrs. Kovel, if by some chance you are reading this, why don't you send a link to this page to ebay? I know none of us know where to send it that it wouldn't be totally ignored, but you might have some pull somewhere. After over 1000 ebay transactions, I'm just another disappointed but unimportant seller adding my comment here. What will the worshipped buyers buy when all the good sellers are gone?
I too was an ebay powerseller. I transferred all my items over to Bonanzle, and haven't looked back. It is nice to be able to list and sell without constantly looking over your shoulder for "big brother". A very refreshing change.
There is life after ebay, I do not sell or buy there and will not ever again.
I have not used Ebay since I had a "run in" with them last spring. I was a small seller (I only put on 5-10 items/month). A sale of mine ended with a high bid of 1,500.00 and I was immediately notified that it was not a legal sale with no explanation. I spent one entire day talking online with various Eebay representatives but they refused to explain what had happened. The best they would do was refund my entry fee so I took my sterling off--now I am looking for another place to sell it.
Ebay has poor communication with sellers!!!!
Ebay seems bent on causing its own demise. Small auction-style sales - the vast, exciting electronic yard sale - made it what it is (was?) A combination of rate increases and policy changes designed to remove parity and favor buyers over sellers have done it. For example, buyers can leave negative feedback but sellers cannot identify buyers as deadbeats or outright scammers, no matter how richly deserved. This policy began under the tenure of Meg Whitman and is merely accelerating now. Soon, Ebay will be no more than a footnote in the history of the internet.
eBay is not getting anymore of my business. They charge to list, can't accept checks or money orders, charge a final fee and have to use Paypal and a fee is charged for this!!!! They are getting too greedy. They get you both coming and going!!!!!
Look at the bright side of justice ~ ebay's stock was at $46 on Jan 1 2006 and closed at $15 today.
I'm just a lowly buyer but I can understand perfectly the feelings of the sellers. Ebay doesn't completely protect buyers from bad feedback - I left a neutral (before all the feedback changes). I was given a false NPB & a negative feedback (the only one in 9 yrs. & obviously retaliation). No help from ebay - just the party line of not being able to remove feedback once given. The new feedback rules stink for ALL concerned.
Hate to get started on the new "paperless" folly. I'm a senior on a pension so use only personal checks or free cashier's checks from my bank. Doing this ensures that I don't overspend. Now ebay wants to tell the sellers they can't accept my payments even if they want to? It will cost the sellers sales & since I often bid on items that I don't win, it means if an item does sell, it might have sold for more had I been able to bid. I sure do miss the original ebay.
whodat111
I want to thank all you buyers and sellers for standing up for your rights and also giving information on other sites that we may sell or buy on. It is so sad that Ebay has gone the way of Mr.Greed and if they are only going to cater to the big sellers, then that means there will be very little old, nice, collectable items to buy. It's like the old flea markets where people used to set up and get rid of their personal collectables, etc. Now even the flea markets are 90% new crap that you can find in Walmart. Walmart put the little Mom and Pop businesses out on the street and now Ebay has gone the same route. They seem to forget that if they close one door, another will open for us and we will overcome.
I've been a buyer on ebay for the last several years and was thrilled to find so many wonderful sellers who offered items I could purchase for my collections. I buy a lot of glass and breakables and was very hesitant at first but have only had bad experiences (broken items)in a couple of cases. I think I was very naive at first with feedback when this happened to me the first time - I gave a seller a negative for the very poor handling of the pieces I had paid for and since I am a buyer who takes pride in paying almost immediately and corresponding with the seller I was upset at having a retaliatory negative given to me. (The only negative I have ever gotten out of about 3,000 seller feedbacks). I disagree with the new ebay policy on feedback but I do understand from the buyer side how awful it feels to know that you were "in the right" and get slammed by a seller who obviously had no concern about how they packed their items. I wish they had not done what they did with feedback - even with the negative I received I could not EVER justify a seller not having the right to say what they need to say about a buyer. I don't do much on ebay anymore-the "personal" side I really enjoyed (getting to know sellers that I dealt with a lot - catching up via emails and talking about things we discovered we had in common)isn't there much anymore. I've had several sellers who had to refund me money because of the ridiculous shipping rules and I know that must be a real pain to have to do! Just from a buyer's perspective, we lose too from all of ebay's restrictions - I am a conscientious buyer who would never not pay or attempt to scam a seller - ebay has made both sellers and buyers wary of each other and it is no longer a fun place to shop, collect and buy.
I too am frustrated with EB's new rules. I don't like to keep a lot of $$ in PP since they don't like to "leggo my eggo" and claim it takes 4-5 DAYS to transfer it to my bank acct. And, avg. of 4 days to transfer from my bank INTO PP. Do they think we're idiots?? [don't answer that] // 99% of us know that banking transactions happen instantaneously these days. So ... guess what? It's just one more way for EB to make money -- interest on MY money while it sits in PP, not only when I'm letting some sit there to use, but when it's transferring in or out. Multiply that by a million PP users, and you've got a decent amount of income by doing NOTHING.
EB's customer service is a joke; and PayPal's has become the same. I agree with several of you -- the reps must be foreigners as they use "scripts" based on keywords in the email. I have still not been reimbursed for a shipping calculator glitch last March despite sending around 20 emails. I receive one reply early on that acknowledged that yes, I was a seller caught in the glitch and I would be automatically reimbursed. After that, no one would admit it or gave me bogus reasons I didn't qualify, or didn't answer me at all. Half the time they'd send the emails to PP, and they'd give me the "5 ways to contact EB's customer support" no matter WHAT I wrote. I asked for managers to contact me, I included screen shots of the entire problem and EB's system announcement about it [which said we'd be automatically reimbursed], but no dice. It is theft, pure and simple.
The new rules about PP only are solely for more fee-collecting. They try to disguise it as "more buyers will be happy" but that's BS. AND, they now require shipping to be under $4 for some items - and "suggest" that the seller "include the amount over that in the beginning bid" - hah! Yep, one more way for EB to get fees, that is, if you can sell the item for a bigger beginning bid.
I too plan to check out other selling venues. I just do this very part-time, but with the larger FVF's and non-reimbursable reserve price listing charge, I've seen less revenue over the past few months from the items that did sell. The economy isn't helping, either. I don't add any handling to my shipping, and I do pack & weigh the item and list 3 diff. options - but I've still had people mark me down for s/h prices in the "stars" [and a more moronic idea I have yet to see - some people can't see anyone "deserving" a "5" so you can't win - and of course it now lets them "punish" a PowerSeller who doesn't maintain a very high %]. So you know that people are paying more attention to how much it'll cost to actually GET the item in addition to the final price.
I've had fun, but it's becoming NOT FUN so I may not do much past this holiday selling season. Next Jan/Feb I'll be checking out other options.
I agree 100% with all the negative comments. I too am a small time seller but stopped selling a year ago with all the changes they have made. It is totally unfair for a seller with all the BS going on. I do sometimes buy on ebay but always leave positive feedback even when my items are not the right size. I feel people can be off on some measurements but we are all human. Ebay is nuts making sellers leave 100% positive feedback, that is not fair. Lately they use this stupid thing that gives you the best match instead of items ending soonest or newly listed. You can opt out of it, but sometimes that doesn't work and all I do is shut it off and forget ebay for the day. Why didn't they leave things alone. Most of the sellers I loved left and now some of the antique dolls that I search for are very limited and since they are so sought after that even the garbage broken ones are selling for such a high price. I too am looking for other sites so I can start selling again.
As a buyer I am in the midst of trying to communicate with a seller who failed to reveal a major flaw in the product I bought. It was not possible to tell from the picture the flaw existed. In addition, I paid for insurance, along with an inflated postal price, and the item arrived uninsured. I have sent emails to the seller just to let him know of the lack of mentioning the flaw. I have not left feedback, waiting for some response. I have not threatened to ask for my money back through PayPal. I thought I would give the seller a chance to explain something...anything! I have not said I want to return the item for a complete refund. What would you suggest, as sellers who have complaints about bad buyers? I truly would like your suggestions.
I really enjoyed selling on ebay but I have gotten alot of info from this blog. Thanks to everyone as I have been trying to figure out where I could go to sell as I am downsizing and trying to make some money in the process.
But like everyone else the fees are eating me up and then they are now telling us what we can charge for shipping.
Then the fees are even more if you are not a POWERSELLER or your DSR isn't high enough. I have a 4.9 on everything but shipping which is 4.6 and they are charging me high FVF or if I offer free shipping! Who can afford the free shipping? Again thanks to everyone for letting us know of other sites. Really appreciate the sharing. Just shows there are still great sellers out there.
Dear eBay - it's been a wonderful run over the last 11 years - 5,000 + positive feedback acquired by doing whatever it takes to make the customer happy. But, you're finally pushed me to the wall and it's time for a divorce. We don't talk, our relationship is frustrating and unfulfilling, and let's not talk about the physical side of it! I'm leaving you and taking everything - not to worry ... I'm leaving you the customers since you have fought so hard to make them happy with no thought to my needs - hope you have a wonderful life. Ahh ... freedom from EBAY "Every Body Always Yells"
I am a buyer as well as a seller on Bay, and from the buyer's perspective their new format is another brilliant mistake on their part. They have made the pictures of items so small that they hardly can be seen. Another obstacle to making a sale. Also,the typography is so small and skinny that you can hardly read it. What is the point of that? The left hand of the page now takes up the bulk of the page, and the pictures are tiny. Great thinking. And worst of all--Best Match. Best match for whom? I want to browse to see what I want to buy, but EBay is telling me they know better what I want. Also, I have to ask for Ending Soonest in order to tell me the status of an item. Here is another great business that will bankrupt itself because the "business model" makes no sense. Not only are sellers begining to leave. They will soon lose buyers who find the buying process too difficult to use.
As I attempt to crawl out from under the bus where I was thrown by ebay, I echo all of the above. In addition, this is my tale of woe: After 9-1/2 years of nearly trouble-free Selling and Buying with one (unwarrented) Negative Feedback, I was limited to the number of Zippos I was allowed to sell (after selling hundreds to totally satisfed customers). I had listed 10 in three weeks, but was told I couldn't list another for 30-days. Of course, I asked them to raise my limit, but, after a careful review of my account, they chose not to. When I asked for an explanation, I was told that they could not confirm what items I was limited on, what the listing limit number was, and that the 30-day "time-out" was a "rolling suspension". After my "vacation", ebay let me list 7 more and told me no more for another 30-days. I couldn't even relist a $9.99 lighter that was not paid for by one of their "chosen ones". I will miss ebay and the good old days, but will enjoy being reunited with the "good guys" on bonanzle. See'ya all there!
I've only been a buyer on ebay and haven't bought anything recently. Had no idea there were all these problems. I'm sorry to see the problems sellers are having because the experiences I've had with purchasing have been very positive. I don't think I'll be buying on ebay any more. Too bad. It was fun.
I too, am disgusted with all Ebay's new rules...only using Paypal. And they annoy me. I am a Canadian who has a US account at my bank in Canada, and they will not transfer it to my US account. They convert my US money to Canadian, and then I have to pay to have it converted back to US as I'm saving US for a holiday. I can't get this through their heads. And quoting the postage on every article prior to shipping is ludicrous! I too, am scouting around for another place to sell.
I didn't buy often on Ebay, but I always had good experiences with sellers. I'm really sorry to see all the changes and won't be likely to do any more shopping there. I'll be looking for other sites to "window shop" and sometimes buy.
EBay used to be fun. Used to be a great place to meet with buyers and sellers who had mutual interests in collectibles and antiques. I can remember finding some really great items that could not be found anywhere else. Obviously the focus at EBay has shifted to mass produced items which is fine but where did all the unique items go? Where did EBay's soul go? According to Randy Smythe a renowned marketplace expert and prolific blogger it went to "Bonanzle, a fresh and easy to use site with the soul of early EBay." While EBay may be discounting unique and out of the ordinary items in favor of more mass produced items, Bonanzle is actually embracing them. At Bonanzle you will find everything but the ordinary. You will also be able to chat in real time with buyers and sellers which is a real plus because lets face it, live chat is going to give you better opportunities to sell your unique items rather than back and forth emails. Listing is free, there is no limit on listings. They stay until you sell them. At Bonanzle we provide you with one of the snappiest web sites you will use and then we actually treat you like an adult and let you conduct your business as you wish. If you want to accept money orders then do so. If you want to accept checks, fine. If you want to accept bags of grain for payment then so be it. It is your business and you should not be told how to operate it. If you are like me and you really miss the old EBay, then you should come by and have a look at Bonanzle. Promise you are going to have fun!
Take care,
Mark Dorsey
http://www.bonanzle.com
I still see Craigslist as the Good Guys and Evilbay as the bad ones. Ebay only got 25% of craigslist, which is a privately held company, because it bought the stock from a former business craiglist person who left the company. The partnership contract forbids any activity that creates competition for Craigslist. So what did ebay do? They started an international online ad site and called it kijiji.com. Sound familiar? Ebay brought suit against craigslist saying that CL has pulled a few fast ones to devalue ebays stock from 28.5% to 25% and kept their person off the CL board. CL countersued taht they broke the agreement by launching kijiji. In a quote from the article I read, it was stated: "Shortly after the launch (of kijiji), Craigslist expressed interest in finding a “new home” for eBay’s share of the company. But eBay’s then CEO, Meg Whitman, responded with an email saying that her company would “welcome the opportunity to acquire the remainder of (the company - CL) we do not already own.”
CL better look out because now we know how ebay does business. Wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall at ebay when they discuss all these "Smart business decisions" they are making? I was a seller and am still a sometimes buyer but frankly, it isn't even fun buying because the quirky stuff from the small sellers is disappearing.
EBAY= Eventually Broke At Yearend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I too was a small seller on eBay. It helped to boost my income and I had 100% positive feedback. I have not listed anything on eBay this year. I will be taking my business to one or more of the other sites I have seen listed here. When the buyer has more rights than the sellers, there is a problem. I used PayPal as a choice but to be forced to use them is a different matter.
They will definitely be seeing a difference in their stock now.
You were wondering about another site for auctions, there has been a place that has been up and running for about three years and has just now started expanding into auctions, They are well equipped and well run and many of the sellers have already started listing there. iwoohoo.net
PS I would not recommend a site that I did not trust
We sold on eBay beginning in 1989. Changes in recent recent years made it evident that their focus was to move out the small unique sellers.
Early this year we decided to help grow smaller alternative venues. Knowing there would not be instant success, we tried several with minimal success.
The venue that has provided the best gauge for sales, and the simplicity of its platform is Bonanzle. Ebay has demonstrated that importation of new items can be accomplished with a click of a button. We chose not to be lost in the maze of new items. The changes of recent years left us with few choices.
For a small unique and occasional seller, it no longer became profitable to sell there. Spent eight months on other venues with few sales. Began listing on Bonanzle two months ago and sales began to happen the first week. We are not getting rich, but neither did our sales on Ebay the prior six months we were last there.
We loved eBay as Pierre launched it in the 90s. When it stopped working for us, we moved on to other venues and learned how to promote. Decided it worth the effort to move on and felt confident the right selling venue would happen. We found it!
I am in the process of finding another site to sell my collectibles because of the fees and now they are restricting what I can sell IN CASE my items might not be the real thing. I have been a seller since 1998 with over 4000 positive feedback and they restrict what I can sell. They won't tell me why I was picked; you are lucky to even get a form email from them that tells you nothing. Here it is the holiday season and I can't sell some of my items because of these restrictions. What right do they have to restrict my items with no negative feedback to back up their claim. I am also looking for a new place to sell. I have had it.
I HAVE BEEN BUYING FROM EBAY FOR YEARS..SO RECENTLY I DECIDED TO SELL 4 ITEMS ON EBAY. IT COST ME OVER $300.00USD. FOR EBAY FEES, PAYPAL FEES, AND POSTAGE. NEVER AGAIN!!!
TRY ECRATER.COM! You can set up a store very easily, use Google Check-out and it uploads to Google Base for you!
well I have to tell you all, I have moved to EBID.NET its an english company with great customer service, and heck great fees !@ ! ! I paid 50.00 usd for a life time membership, and its 2 percent final value fees if I use GALLERY !
http://us.nine.ebid.net/perl/normal.cgi?ref=MyJunk&mo=register-main
Here is my personal sign up link, feel free to use it, its a great place, trying to build the base more and more ! ! ! !
This is my very first comment on a blog, but I feel so much for this topic. I am a seller on Ebay and I have been bewildered by these changes to the site. Even the new "Beta" version is bothersome. I agree with the folks who said "if it ain't broke....don't fix it" Surely some of this has to affect the people at the top. Are they reading this stuff??? Do they care??? Why cant they just reverse some of these changes?? They decided to start making changes when everything was going well. When they can see a considerable drop in the number of listings or sellers, that is the time to make some new "changes"
My wife and I were power sellers. No more. We have left E-bay 100%, and are now concentrating on about 15 of the top antique shows on the east coast, with great results. We sell top-quality antique toys and dolls, and our sales at these shows are VERY strong. We can make more profit at a single weekend show than we did in several weeks on Ebay, and we both now have our weekdays free to go to live auctions & buy. Ebay got a great deal on the purchase of rope, and now it's using that very same rope to hang itself. Good riddance!
We also left eBay last month, for all the reasons listed above. We found a new home at us.ebid.net and love it! It looks and feels very much the way eBay did four or five years ago. Lots of ex-feebayers there, and the forums are fun and people are very helpful, unlike the bickering and anger I see now on the eBay forums.
Oh my, been selling here for 10+ years. Man, has eBay gone DOWN HILL. I no longer beam when I say we sell on eBay. It's almost a dirty word to me! Don't know what we'll do now, hopefully some other site like the old eBay will pop up. Used to be FUN to buy and sell. Now, with all of the totally warped changes eBay has made, forget it, we are done here. So long eBay, it feels really good to type this!
Of my feedbacks, 344 are from my buying, and 100 from my selling.
As a BUYER, I am DISGUSTED with ebay. Primarily, they have made searching too dumbed-down and difficult. I used to type in a Boolean command line search, and retrieve a hand-full of relevant items. However, now ebay has dumbed down my Boolean searches so that I receive mostly irrelevant results. Frankly, I cannot be bothered to scan through all the crap to find that hand-full I used to get in one search. Now I find what I am looking for by doing my Boolean search on google. As a buyer, I miss the old ebay.
As a SELLER, I am equally DISGUSTED. I left when the changed their feedback, b/c a buyer tried to victimize me by making fraudulent claims. The last item I sold was after they changed their feedback policies. The seller wanted me to FULLY refund her shipping, her return shipping + the item price w/o her even returning the items. She went as far as threatening me repeatedly to take me to court. Unfortunately/fortunately, I am not easily intimidated, so I responded through the paypal system.
Paypal DID rule in my, the SELLER, favor b/c the buyer was outright lying and I had documented everything. It was a hassle, but I did find paypal to be fair. Needless to say, she left me my only negative feedback.
Since ebay is now set up to encourage greed and thievery, I choose to take my business elsewhere.
Ebay is dying by its own hand. I'm a 10 year seller too - with a 100 percent 3,000+ feedback (I've never had a negative) and 5.0 DSR's across the board. Recently my standing in Ebay's listings was lowered from "raised" to "standard" - their reasoning was I didn't have enough feedbacks in the last 30 days (though I have close to 300 for this year alone). I'm an artist - not an assemblyline worder! That left my items hidden and now they are rolling off with very few views and no bids. On the other hand, my website is thriving so the nonsense about the economy doesn't wash as far as I can see. So, after 10 years this seller is not listing on Ebay again. To put it bluntly...they can "stuff it".
That said I want to clarify a couple of things I'm reading on here. First, you cannot ask for paper payments but if your buyer requests to pay by check or moneyorder you're allowed to accept it. That's right in their rules. Next...the shareholders are being shafted worse then even the sellers. Ebay stock has declined by 50 percent since donahoe took over and ebay stock has NEVER paid a cash dividend! Good luck with sales everyone :-)
I can't BEGIN to tell you how many times in the past couple months I have LOST money by the things I SOLD!! I thought you were supposed to MAKE money, not LOSE it, when you sell something, as I have done recently on feebay!!! The shipping cost I tried to list for a heavy book over 100 yrs old wasn't allowed, because their max is $4.00no matter WHAT the actual shipping cost is!! I have listed items that should have sold for much more, but buyers know they can buy cheap, will NOT have to pay actual, but only feebay shipping charges!! In 1 day at the post office, 3 of the 6 items I was shipping costed more for the actual shipping than the price of the item's selling price plus feebays allowed shipping combined!! So I paid the buyer to take the items!!!!!!!!
Its so discouraging, and I am very thankful to you bloggers who have listed other sites here. All of us don't have high dollar value antiques to sell, but its good to know those sites, as well as the others.
I agree with the blogger who suggested that this page should be sent to feebay!!
Did ebay actually CUT 1600 jobs or did they get rid of high priced employees and move the jobs offshore to a third world country?
This has been such an informative blog. Kovels, you could make another business of showing everyone else how to do ezines and blogs.
Ebay's Meg Whitman is economic advisor that the McCain/Palin campaign praised so highly and had speak at the convention. Scary. That's what no regulation and no oversight do for the greedy and ethically challenged. It allows them free reign to make really bad decisions.
I was considering putting some more things on ebay earlier in the year, but I was put off by some of the new seeiminly nonsensical rules. After reading all these comments,I'm taking the rest of my money out of Paypal today.
Thanks for the rubylane, bonanzle, cyberattic, GoAntiques suggestions. I'll give them a try.
Since I realised that ebay was not the Worldwide selling site I believed it to be. Items onlyselling to certain parts the the country at certain times of the month, followed by a period of no sales. I slowly moved my items across to another auction site.
http://www.ebid.net/
This auction site link above site should not be confused with a pretender site ebid.com as there is no connection between the two.
On ebid I do not have the Geographic sales I was experiencing on ebay.
I now have my International sales back also.
Seller on ebay are still complaining on ebay that their items are not showing up in searches,
All the changes, glitches on ebay ensure ebay make more & more fees from their sellers.
Ebid net have a one off payment for a lifetime membership, no listing fee, a tiny FBF only if the item sells.
I recently opened an eBay shop. I'm only a very small seller starting out. I was gobsmacked when I got my invoice - almost £33 ($66 approx). My takings were under £80 ($160). That isn't counting PeePal's fees.
I've started selling on EBID. Very soon I will probably move all my items across to EBID (UK). They've got very low fees and the people on their forums are friendly and helpful - unlike some of those on eBay's forums who seem to take a delight in being sarcastic and downright nasty to newbies who ask for help.
I've been buying from eBay since 2005, only selling for a couple of months. What I detest is the fact that sellers are not allowed to leave negative of neutral feedback. I had one person message me with a question about an item I was selling recently. I noticed their feedback was very low - less than 70% so had a look. The person had 4 out of 5 negs from just before the system was changed - mostly for non-paying. I was able to block them from bidding. However, I sold an item to someone else and never got paid. That person is now NARU. This person had 100% positive feedback - or so I thought. Looking through the feedback I discovered he'd fleeced another seller. The seller put a positive feedback (as that is the only thing a seller can do) and said that he'd never been paid. I think the other seller had done an unpaid item dispute so the buyer had a strike against him. I did a UPI dispute too which gave him a second strike and he's obviously had his account suspended. If I'd seen the negative in the first place I'd have blocked him from bidding.
The whole system at eBay is wrong. I don't think the site has been working properly this week either. For several days no-one's even looked at my items and suddenly tonight I've had several, including a few watchers.
EBay need to rethink their mad-cap policies otherwise they will most certainly go belly-up.
For anyone disgruntled about the way eBay are treating their sellers give EBID a try. I don't think you'll be disappointed - and they are world-wide too :)
I'm a 9-year Ebay seller of vintage and antique items who has moved over to ETSY - www.etsy.com .
Members are fabulous - a very friendly and helpful community atmosphere! Costs a mere .20 to post an item for 6 months!
Also I've signed up for RME - Revolution Money Exchange a FREE alternative to PayPal. Revolutionmoneyexchange.com
I have been selling on ebay for about a year and a half and I really did not have many problems until April or so of this year. With the changes in feedback, I'm fearful of my customers, even though I always describe my items as best as I can and always list multiple photos and I have a 100% positive rating. Since the feedback changes, I've had several non-paying bidders tying up my money for weeks at a time and when those items sold again, they always sold for less money. Ebay has been my only income in this last year and a half but the last six months or so have been really rough.
And PayPal...I always give at least 3 shipping options with every item, this particular customer selected the first one without looking. When I sent her confirmation email with tracking info, she was mad that she had selected the slower shipping option. Since I track my items, I could see that she received it in the time that she wanted anyway. She canceled her PayPal payment to me without notice and when I emailed PayPal they said they had nothing to do with it. So she had my item, and her full refund, and I was left in the negative with no recourse.
Thank you for all the other options, I will definetly check them out because eBay has gotten all they're gonna get outta me!
I was a small time seller of collectible toys and pottery on ebay since 2002. I have now quit selling on that site and I no longer buy on that site [I collect depression glass].
With the new rules [lack of true feedback for buyers, funds held via paypal, chargebacks via paypal, and no MOs/checks allowed], it is no longer a safe place for sellers.
I have moved my items to eBid.net and love it there. Fees are low and people are friendly. And better than that, ebid does not dictate how you run your auctions as far as methods of payments, etc.
So to sellers who are looking for a new venue to sell, check out eBid.net. And to buyers who are wondering where the small sellers went, check out eBid.net.
You might also want to check Revolution MoneyExchange. It is an online site where you can request and send money to other RME customers [must be a US bank].
Best of luck to all.
Ebay petition to remove Donahue from Leadership.
http://www.petitiononline.com/jdonohoe/petition.html
Ebay has gotten even worse since you all wrote. I have monitoring this blog and believe it or not things are worse. I guess you could say its part the economy..which is what ebay is probably telling themselves. But things that normally sell between lets say 30 to 50 dollars are going for my starting bid of 9.99. And its not just one item...its a lot of items. Now the search engine has been changed and it sucks eggs. You get pages of crap. They change your search on you. Eliminate words...its so fustrating that I all I want to do is scream. The numbers of people even finding my items has dropped. Whenever i upload a new listing I would go check on it and there were always 4 or 5 people who had viewed it in a matter of minutes. Now if I am lucky there is 1. I have checked out other sites. I recently checked out ebid and they had very little items in categories I was looking at. for instance I searched for Roseville Wincraft and nothing came up. So I am not so sure they are what I am looking for. Not that I sell specifically Roseville Wincraft..but I put in 6 items that I have listed right now on ebay and only 1 item showed up. So I will continue checking out other auction sites. I hope the dropping numbers on ebay means something to someone there. Its a shame..it was a great place..fun to sell..fun to buy. I guess all things die eventually. I was just hoping it would last longer!
After reading everyones comments, I know I'm not alone. I get a sick feeling in my stomach every time I see my one negative feedback. I was having the best time selling on e-bay until a run in with a buyer who could not be satisfied no matter what I did. She accused me of taping the bubble wrap directly to the item which resulted in a small amount of paint coming off the item. She sent me pictures and in fact it was damaged. I knew in my heart that I would never wrap that way, I always wrap both ways until it is completely covered then add a small piece of tape to the bubble wrap. This made me think she pulled out the item instead of fully unwrapping it, and the tape caught the piece. I kept my cool for several e-mails. She wanted me to refund her $15 on an item that sold for $36. I told her I couldn't do that, and that I would gladly refund her the full amount plus S&H (She refused to pay shipping back to me) I agreed to pay that too. Now here's the best, she e-mails me that it's ready to go, and it weighs 2 lbs. I guess it had babies, when it left my house it only weighed a little under a pound. Now she wanted me to pay the extra on that. I finally grew a spine and refused to be taken advantaged of. I was out e-bay charges, S&H charges,Pay Pal charges, and to boot, I now am getting back a damaged item! I agreed to all, but not the extra weight charge. Did you guess??? Yea, she left me negative feedback. How does e-bay allow this. Why should I get negative feedback when I was refunding everything, even though I wasn't at fault. E-bay does not allow you to leave negative feedback to the buyer. Who is protecting the seller? NO ONE! It's just not right. I went from numerous feedback that I wrap so well and careful to e-mails from buyers telling me to please wrap carefully, because they saw her negative feedback to me. She ruined my name with her lies! I now find out she changed her user ID 4 times in 1 year, and by chance I found out she has a virtual store and sells these items for $125+. I guess the item was still valuable because she never sent it back! I can sleep at night, her and e-bay can't! Thanks for letting me vent!
I agree with most of you. I use to sell at eBay, most knew me by WooHoo_Mystery_Man for selling crazy things. I actually stopped selling there and opened up my own site. http://www.iwoohoo.net which is a auction/social networking site.
It seems to be picking up fine.
2% FVF and Free listing.
Come check us out.
Message "OZ" (which is me) and I will automatically give you 1 month free FVF to start off with.
Happy Listing!
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