Sellers with Lobotomies Cheer eBay Fee Hikes

[mandy]

More strike/fee hike coverage, including reports of sellers cheering the fee hikes

  Backlash Feared Over New Ebay Seller Fees

Some are calling for sellers to strike in the U.S. and Australia this week. Sellers in the U.K. went on strike last week.

Some sellers have expressed their displeasure by calling for strikes. Some U.K. sellers struck last week, while other seller strikes are planned for Australia and the U.S. this week...

But some sellers have hailed the move by eBay management. One seller comment on an online message board was representative: "Actually, I think this is good," the unnamed seller stated. "Have you ever gone to eBay to search for cell phone accessories or anything of that nature? There are TONS of (items) that are so cheap there is no point in me selling my own. I'm glad they hiked it up."...

full article: http://www.informationweek.com/internet/...=192202563&subSection=E-Business

[cranky_hippie]

"Have you ever gone to eBay to search for cell phone accessories or anything of that nature? There are TONS of (items) that are so cheap there is no point in me selling my own."

"Representative" my ass! What an idiot. It's the Chinese cluttering up the site and they din't get a fee increase.

[BellisimaJ.]

"Representative" my ass! What an idiot. It's the Chinese cluttering up the site and they din't get a fee increase.

That's for sure.

[xppman]

Girls the dilution of prices started way before China came on.
Yes the saturation since has been a problem but
we have a bunch morons right here in this country that though if they under cut
everybody else they will some how come out on top.

You simply cant sell something for less than what it cost you to manufacture/
buy and process and expect to make a livable profit.

There are so many US based idiots doing just that. Or were doing just that.

I understand some of what they are trying to do at
eBay but unfortunately they are targeting the wrong segment of ebay.

It's the .99 cent sellers w inflated ship costs.
It's the fact that any dummy with an ISP e mail address and a
debt card can become Mr. or Mrs. eBay seller virtually overnight with out one
bit of experience on how to properly price products and with little
to no regard for
the spirit of selling alongside others at a far market value.

It's the competitor who basically has no clue and stays upside down
and is simply on ebay to pay fees to ebay.

Now ebay likes fees. It helps their profits.
But eBay over the last few years has seen the decline
and erosion of the market place and ebay is responsible
for that for simply allowing all the above and more to continue for so long.

Like many of us have always said.
eBay wont change till it effects their bottom line and now it's a
bit too late to turn it all around.  IMO

[FiberGuy]

this topic hit somewhat of a sore subject with me...

Although I would agree China's state-sponsored forced-labor-driven industry is one of the root causes of the pains all American sellers feel... I can't agree that's where it started.  I mean, years before we opened the doors (flood gates, I should say) to the China market, we were buying from Central American and southeast Asian countries with similar working conditions and standards.  The difference is that China's industrial output is many times greater than any of those countries.

Ebay has become the bargain-basement of online shopping... but it's not limited to the competition from China.  xppman summed my opinion up quite nicely about every seller undercutting the competition for their slice (or sliver, or crumb) of the ebay pie.  I'll take that thought a step further, relating to my experience as an antiques/collectibles dealer:

Here much of MY competition (please take no offense if any pertain to you!):

1)  Hobby sellers - those who think selling on ebay is "fun"... who cares if I make money?
2)  Part-time sellers - I call them "weeds", because each year, as some are eradicated, new ones sprout up
3)  Full-time sellers with other incomes - usually retired folks, some can be grouped in "hobby sellers"
4)  Just getting rid of Grandma's/Uncle Fred's/Aunt Hazel's stuff sellers - you know what I mean

The first three I have to compete with not just when selling... but when I go to estate sales and auctions, I have to compete with them to BUY my merchandise.  I need to make about 2-3 times what I pay for something to make a living, and hobby, part-time, and other income sellers don't really "need" to make anything on their investment.  I see things all the time in the antique malls and shops that are prices just a few dollars more than the seller paid for them.  Also, how many times do you see an item on ebay listed and relisted for WEEKS and finally sell for a pittance, knowing that the seller paid far more in listing/relisting fees than they made?

Ebay has scores of these "types" of sellers... home-grown, right here in America.  So ebay's "get it cheaper" image goes well beyond China.  And of course, ebay has consistently encouraged the carp sellers by regularly lowering the 99 cents or less insertion fees.

So yes, China is a problem... but the problem goes much deeper than even that. 

[cranky_hippie]

The race to the bottom is definitely alive and well on Ebay. I've had items that I knew should go for more than they were going for on Ebay. I can take them to the flea market and do better. It's one of the reasons that I don't miss Ebay. The bargain basement mentality of buyers & sellers alike is not so prevalent elsewhere, IMO.

[FiberGuy]

Here's a Seller mentality that I had meant to mention:

It's the "I can't do any better anywhere else, so I'm happy here (ebay)" mentality

There was a discussion over at auctionbytes a few weeks ago regarding the fee hikes and one ebay seller stated that she's perfectly happy with her ebay store sales because her sales there were "excellent"

I had asked what "excellent" meant to her, and the response what pretty vague.  Come to find out, in the last 30 days she has sold a total of two items through her ebay store.  One was a $12.50 item and the other was an accepted best offer for $200... original price $300!  :blinkie:  Excellent?????

I've got no problems with sellers who stay on ebay... but let's be honest just how "good" ebay is, at least for the benefit of those that are venturing into online selling for the first time.

[Anita]

"It's the "I can't do any better anywhere else, so I'm happy here (ebay)" mentality"

And those that say... "I have to stay here.  This is where the eyeballs are."

Last but not least:  The posting IDs always have the BEST sales.  :

[FiberGuy]

The posting IDs always have the BEST sales.

Ain't that the truth!

[thentavius]

Chinese sellers hopped on the bandwagon when they realized they could list more cheaply than their American counterparts. They're just opportunists.

The problems started years ago.

Along with what I've said in another thread: I'm really confused by this new move. Are they really trying to dump all those extra listings? Do they even matter, since they don't even show up in the searches anyway?

Here's one seller's ponderance (on the stores board):

First Ebay said Open a Store......everywhere I looked....Open a store.....I did.....now it's You are a bad person for opening a store, trying to run a business and abusing us like that....we are an auction site....
whoa.....I like many other posters cut back on my auctions when fees were raised and picture prices raised...my store thrived anyway......
they raised Store Fees and FVF......still my store managed to survive......
why are we being punished for being successful.....I have 1400 plus items.....with over 3000 plus that I plan on adding to my inventory......what do I do with all that now?I have 2 other options.....other listing sites, but even with those, I have always considered my Ebay store my Anchor Store....I do not like to run mega amount of autions because my selling ratio on the auctions has gone down the proverbial toilet......I used to list 90-100 a week,down to 30 now, lucky to sell even 10% now....and no good old bidding wars, either.....I personally think that all that stuff that Ebay told us to do to make our stores successful....branding your store,etc etc etc worked...people like BIN and like the store feel of buying from us and we garner many many repeat customers because they appreciate our customer service and know what to expect from us....with auctions, unfortunately, it is anyone's guess how you are going to be treated...as a buyer I never buy at auction if I can find the item in a store (granted,I have to bend over backwards to find it) IT IS NOT FAIR FOR STORE OWNERS TO HAVE TO BEAR THE FREIGHT FOR THE AUTIONEERS....ESPECIALLY WHEN WE ARE NOT IN THE SEARCHES.,,,

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?t...1000321585

That's pretty much what I asked, except with more comma splices. LOL.

Why on Earth did they raise auction fees so high, we all had to resort to stores?
Why did they push the stores format so hard? Only three weeks ago I received a postcard in the mail, encouraging one of my IDs to OPEN A STORE! OPEN A STORE!
Why did they ruin the auction format by telling all of us buyers prefer Buy it Now!?
Why did they introduce BIN at all, if they always wanted to be just an auction site (which we know they didn't--their dreams seem to change frequently).
Why is the site still pusing STORES in banner ads, emails, etc?

Oh, wait. I think I've just realized the answer.
They keep changing their business plan, and they aren't sure what they want from year to year. That has to be it.