Should legitimate businesses just move to a new private account ?

[howmuchtobid]

Ebay is clearly allowing businesses to trade from private accounts, we are all seeing it, Ebay is doing nothing about it.

So to be able to compete I guess moving to a private account is the only option for many.

[cobwebcottage]

Since the no fee's were introduced, I have been listing more of my unwanted items on my private account, clothes, tools, anything that moves around the house that I don't want. I have nearly made enough to pay my shop fees for the business account this month and this will be my target each month.

It has been tempting to cross over to sell stock as well especially as I have a competitior near by who has 80 items listed on a business account and 1,800 on a private account, each photo has a business card in with details of a website to visit. Ebay is not interested.

I used to sell a well known brand, new, highly collectable and straight from the maker. Ebay soon became flooded with private sellers selling the same items and they could all undercut me so I stopped selling them.  When I mentioned it to CS ( Dublin)  they also told me to list them on my private account.

It is all so wrong and trying to run a legitimate business now is harder than ever ( hardly any sales) . Maybe we are the fools for abiding by the rules as it seems that crime does pay when you see an item sell with 20% fees on your business account and get full price on your private account.

[leadhills_scot]

In my opinion, it's morally and ethnically wrong to pretend you are just a private seller selling off your own stuff.

[bojangled]

Having posted on the 'How many sellers are closing their shops' thread at the beginning of the year that I was going all in this year, the free listings for private sellers has really had an instant effect. I am 25% down on October at the moment. 
Selling on 'payday weekends' is now a complete non starter, Mondays used to be happily busy with packing and posting. 
I've been tempted by switching to private but you know 11k feedback is hard to give up. 
Short term I'm staying, things need to change in the New Year, but pretty sure I'll be downgrading my shop in January. 

The private seller that I reported numerous times with at least 5 shops all with multiple quantities, 2000 - 4000 listings in each is still happily trading, makes absolutely no sense to me. 
Jo

[messier44000]

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@british-ceramics-and-paintings wrote:

"I agree with everything you say here however until we see clear evidence Ebay is cracking down on these issues legitimate business sellers will continue to get more and more fed up and the results will be:"

I know on weekly chat they will say they can not disclose or discuss any accounts 

being forced to change to business.

BUT - Is the freedom of information act something that could be brought into play here, 

where eBay would have to make public how many accounts per week / month are 

being upgraded (or some may say downgraded) to business 

---

[therenewalworkshopltd]

There were a few categories recently, such as baby foods, Ebikes, baby toys.

But the point I was trying to make, is that things are changing, it's just that with companies the size of Ebay, it can seem glacial at times.  But they do change.

[ett1954]

The Freedom of Information Act only applies to information held by public bodies.

[bojangled]

@messier44000 

I was told via a CS email on 10th October that 7,000 private sellers had been changed to business status. 
However that's probably the sellers that got the free shop subscriptions, and a large number will just swap back to new private account when the fees kick in. 
Jo

[pg_kicks]

I've been told by at least 3 cs staff members they couldnt tell me how many have changed when I have asked as its private information. I honestly believe less than 100 would have been charged by force, many more by being rewarded but if the figure was high eBay would be all over here and CS telling us how great a job they are doing, I know 3 who were rewarded with the free selling who have already set up another private account and once they are not in the rewarded promo are going straight to the new private account. The silence speaks volumes.

[a-touch-of-sparkle]

I have reported several jewellery manufacturers for selling as a business on private accounts. I have had two emails back from Ebay stating that AI has looked at them, and there is no breach of terms.  Both were listing hundreds of similar hand made items, with different colour stones for example. 

I was also read on the weekly chat (I think) that hobby makers were ok  to sell their items on private accounts. 

You couldn't make it up. I am clearing my stock ready to close my shop once I have little enough stock that I won't get clobbered for loads of tax on the remaining unsold stock.

[howmuchtobid]

The whole situation is a total and utter farce.

Ebay have created this mess and because of their actions the only way out of it is going to be free final value fees for business sellers across the board. That is the only answer, sellers will then have an even playing field and can battle it out over promoted listing fees etc.

I'm pretty sure this will happen however when is another matter as Ebay are so slow to act when things are clearly not working.

[pg_kicks]

Thats my thoughts but they will then bring in the buyers fee's under some other name and say its for protection. Would have been much easier if they just said its 5% for all accounts to sell, the price you see on screen is the price you pay nothing extra, but hey what do I know, only been on the site for 14 years and 6 as a full time business.

[howmuchtobid]

Yes 5% would have been fine however Ebay have created an environment where many sellers expect to pay nothing to sell, once you go down that route it is hard to return.

The only ones paying now are the ones who keep Ebay UK afloat, in return they get nothing back.

The platform is poor and the customer service is horrendous. 

[pg_kicks]

Exactly, they have done the SCS/Donimos route where nobody expects to pay full price so just wait, the amount of accounts that were getting 70/80% off why would they list when they knew a promo was coming. As eBay just want ever site visitors/users the only way to increase was to then go free and hope the short term spike carries over, but once you see the major issues you wouldnt return if its just to sell some old clothing when there are plently of alternatives. The disrepect, lies and unfair site they expect businesses to pay for is nothing short of a joke, there will be a big drop in business accounts this year thats for sure.

[howmuchtobid]

Yes, post 43 on the weekly community q and a is totally inaccurate from a legal point of view.

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Chat-with-the-eBay-Community/Weekly-Chat-with-the-eBay-Community-Tea...

[spence0175]

All I can see is resentment and bitterness over the whole fiasco. Perhaps we should all strike....

[pg_kicks]

The way they all have different ways to not answer a simple question of why does eBay not see this business (under both the HMRC and dictionary deifnition) as a business is incredible if it wasnt so serious.

[bojangled]

@howmuchtobid 

I hadn't read that post. 
Now shaking my head in disbelief...

Jo

[the_book_seekers]

The only ones paying now are the ones who keep Ebay UK afloat, in return they get nothing back.

And there are no crumbs of comfort in the October Business Seller update. A couple of circumstances when feedback can be removed (if we're lucky) and a new AI powered background enhancement tool (so far AI hasn't been a rip roaring success), nothing that's going to do anything for business sellers.

[british-ceramics-and-paintings]

The business seller updates are a joke these days, little point even reading them.

[dch2112011]

You can now see that ebay have slipped in 'home made items' as one of the items that can be sold under a personal account.

This may be a reference to 'crafted' items but is suitably ambiguous to allow ebay to use 'discretion' 

The reality is that ebay disown any responsibility  for anything unless forced to do so by legislation -  the rules for personal and business accounts are ebay's to enforce or change at will.

Their will is to do the absolute minimum to keep themselves within the law to the detriment of members buying or legitimately selling. 

At the moment the laws in force were written before online trading became a way of life, the government know it, ebay knows it, the members know it - it is changing slowly but until it changes in a way that ebay are forced  to take responsibility - it will only ever be lip service and token gestures at the whim of ebay.

ebay have traditionally worked on the basis that you lose a member another will come along  such was their dominance - they still believe this to a certain extent and until ebay acknowledge the need  to change and act as market leaders - they will fall further into the second rate category and strengthen the reputation of a second hand cheap and nasty rip off site - which I thought they were trying to shake off.

Personally I believe people are much more savvy than they were 10 years ago when it was pretty much a novelty buying online - now it is the norm and the market leaders are offering much better delivery, and customer service which is making  ebay look archaic in terms of buying online.

Will ebay survive undoubtedly  but at it's current size and format - doubtful - can they swallow their arrogance - time will tell