The bitterest pill

[spence0175]

I can't help it. I've never seen so many "private" sellers come to life in the category I mostly sell on. I'm seeing dollshouse makers in the real world selling on here as "private".

Ebay are you really going to let this fiasco carry on into the new year whilst us small business sellers are well and truly stuffed by your very poor decision.. Talk about a flood of stuff and a drop in what items are selling for because there is so much.

and as for the new wonderful private seller who is told it's easy to sell. Well yes it is easy to sell but it's after the sale..I purchased 4 items on separate days from one. Not one item had the correct tracking number applied.

3 have turned up, 1 hasn't but that one has the tracking number applied from the first one to arrive and says it's now delivered which it isn't and once an item is marked as delivered you cannot change the tracking....

[d-klutter]

There are a lot of people out there who are so used to using ebay they find it hard to break the habit. For a long time I tried running my own website alongside ebay and found people who habitually used ebay would never use my website, no matter what I tried. Finally I took all of my listings off my ebay business site, and focused all of my efforts on my website - and guess what, some of those customer started buying from my website. It's really easy to drift back to ebay as a business seller, but if you stand firm and focus all your energy on your website, you will get there. Read or listen to books like Traction and the Small Business Book for Social Media Marketing and really think about what you are doing - don't go for quick wins by paying for customers - steady organic growth is what you want to build. It can be really good fun, and very rewarding. A lot of people will tell you its not easy and costs a lot - well not much in life is easy, but the more you put in, the more you get out. You can build a website on Shopify or WooCommerce for very little, and control your own destiny.

[messier44000]

Good points.

My website has had one of the best 6 months for sales since lock down.

Regards social media marketing, you-tube product demos cost me nothing but time.

Just like eBay I have an account manager that keeps in touch, who surprise, surprise 

does not read from a script and knows their stuff. Plus every couple of years get a 

free website re-design from scratch.

Yes I pay PPC google ads. But unlike here PLs get results (for me).

The amount I spend on google PPC is eye watering, and has a few "HOW MUCH ?"  reactions

But then just one extra £3 - £500 sale per week from ads gets it back.

BTW like you eBay name. Makes me think of the lady I care for as my other job.

The amount of charity shop de-clutter days is crazy. 

If I was to open another pricate account getting rid of her needle work and painting accessories , 

would no doubt be jumped on as a private (business) seller.

[d-klutter]

Same here - my website has grown really well in recent months and is showing a clear upward trajectory. It has bad days from time to time, which is normal for any business, but overall the trend is upward.

I don't use any paid for advertising at all - it might be that if I did things would grow a little quicker so might give it some more thought, but for now I find Instagram is absolutely ideal for my product and its just about figuring how to get to your target market. I'm no expert, but getting better - there is so much good advice out there. You-tube is amazing if you can make it work for you - I use it for tips and tricks all of the time, but never posted on it.

The username d-klutter was/is set up for just that - I have so much clutter I need to get rid of - I've been a collector (hoarder my wife would say) all of my life, so now trying to make a little bit of time every day to get rid of a few items, but reality is it is probably easier to drop it all into the charity shop and be done with it - its just a drain on time. The fact I set the account up 18 years ago and have probably shifted less than 500 items tell you all you need to know.........unless I live for another thousand years, 25 items per annum on average is not going to cut it.

[british-ceramics-and-paintings]

Yes, ebay seem to have a very odd approach to keeping the sellers that actually pay them money, years ago there would have been offers of a free shop for three months to try and keep you on the platform, now they genuinely don't seem to care yet they are almost bending over backwards to allow people to sell for free, it's very bizarre.

I'm not a big seller and sell a lot less on here than I used to however I imagine my fees average around £10,000 a year over the last ten years yet if I speak to ebay about closing my shop / account they don't seem at all bothered. They should be as I see very few / almost no legitimate businesses setting up in the categories I sell in, it's just private seller after private seller.

Some people claim ebay will have done the numbers and worked it all out etc etc however I see no evidence of that at all. They must be losing shed loads of income on the UK platform.  If they continue on the same path for the next 18 - 24 months I don't see how the UK platform is a viable operation. If they make the obvious changes that need to be made very soon they could flourish again. It is going to go one of two ways.

[brindsey]

A 'private' seller has two different accounts - evening/occasion clothing.  One carries fashion up to £175 the other, more upmarket, up to £345 - both are running with around 150 to 160 listings.  But,  almost every item is listed twice (on the same account) - and both listings are buy it now, NOT one buy it now and one auction. Seller just mixes up the main photos so the duplicated items have a different image.  See attachment

It took quite some time, but I reported a lot of the duplicated listings (from each account) hoping they would be seen by a human and the  accounts would be linked,  business registration would be enforced and the duplicates removed. Nothing, not even an AI acknowledgement.

Well and truly fed up, but I'm hoping eBay will eventually, somehow, rectify all that is wrong. Meantime, I'm thinking of closing my shop  and have been looking at Shopify - if only as a way of preserving my listings for roughly half the cost of an eBay shop. 

To be honest, I'm scared.  I've found a domain name but whilst I can have this  free for one year it's £31.99 for three years. So, what if I take the free year does the price then go through the roof and I'm forced to pay it as I've managed to build up the business?

Is it a better the devil you know scenario?  But, I am very bitter right now -  I'm not even selling enough to cover the cost of the shop let alone make any profit.

[spence0175]

I feel your pain. A lot of people are feeling very bitter and what's worse is we are doing the right thing by sticking with our business accounts but we are being well and truly stuffed by it.

I sell a doll for £20 and pay £4 in fees. A private seller can sell the same doll for £16 and pay no fee. Who is customer going to buy their doll from...

And that goes with every private seller across the whole site....

I am in no position to advise anyone what they should do as I am not business savvy..  I will stick with EBay because it's what I know best but have some dollshouse fairs lined up to sell at, at the beginning of the year and who knows where that will take me....

[guymafo]

The silence from eBay, including the community team is deafening.

Like others I'm going to do Christmas and come January downgrade my shop (obviously not this account). 

If they have something in the pipeline for business sellers then it needs to be soon. But too little to late comes to mind. 

I'm feeling pretty gutted at the moment, completely mugged off. 
GM

[british-ceramics-and-paintings]

In essence business sellers are ebay's workforce, without business sellers they have nothing, if nothing is what they want they are well on their way.

[the-nutwood-collection]

This adventure has been a massive own goal for eBay.  Once you lose customers' trust and confidence, you never get it back at the same level - or sometimes, just never get it back.

No matter what goodies you offer them at a later date, there's still the memory of being badly treated - and that lingers like a bad taste.  The resentment on these boards is palpable.  

Sometimes, if it was a mistake and you move swiftly to resolve the matter, you can recover.  This wasn't a mistake, it was a strategic business decision, and the annoyance and resentment it has caused will be hard to overcome.

Maybe eBay thinks it doesn't matter.  If sellers push off, other sellers will take their place - so they're no loss.  However, in business, it's the repeat customers that cover the rent and payroll - new customers are  the profit.  I treasure my repeat customers, they get postage upgrades and little treats.  I want them to keep shopping with me because they're the core and new customers are the extra.

[spence0175]

I was so hoping in my mind...fantasy I know... that someone in the Ivory tower would read this post and really reflect on what they have done and the resentment that it has created.

I know we've all been put through various hoops over the years and I guess we have got through them but this is different, it's not even a hoop to jump through.

This is just SABOTAGE  of the greatest degree to people's livelihoods especially the ones who have stuck with what's morally right..,,

[pg_kicks]

Its really shocked me that nobody from eBay has commented on this thread, yesterday I was seeing comments from the team on threads that had no direct link to eBay but about postage insurance and the links yet this thread which is directly linked to the decisions its made which has resulted in negative consequences for its paying customers seems to have been ignored. 

Anyone at eBay available to answer some questions? 

[d-klutter]

So much truth in what you say there. 

As the old saying goes, "look after your loyal customers, because if you don't, somebody else will."

Your point about treating existing customers are the treasure is so true - once you have loyal repeat customers, hold onto them first and foremost because they keep the wheels turning while you look to attract new customers who will hopefully also become repeat loyal customers in time.

Last year I paid ebay a shade under £10k in shop fees and selling fees.  This financial year I will likely pay them 5% of that at the absolute top end (shop fees down from £5k+ to about £250. Listings of £300-500k totally removed). Of course they don't care, but all those 95% losses of core earnings will in time start to register and maybe they will start to care, but as you say, the trust has been lost so I will not be coming back even if they offer me the moon on a stick. I'll still use my private account to declutter the house, but if they choose to close that on me then I'm really not bothered - I'll just send it all to an auction house or a charity shop.

[british-ceramics-and-paintings]

To be fair I'm not sure why you are shocked, it's par for the course, Ebay have shown business sellers no respect at all for a very long time. Customer service and care is absolutely shocking, what we are witnessing is what I would expect from this company.

[the-nutwood-collection]

To be fair @pg_kicks , I don't think this is a thread that the eBay footsoldiers can, or should, comment on.  They're best to keep their heads below the parapet.

What could they say?  That there are grand plans afoot that will herald a new dawn for business sellers?  If they did, we'd ask what they are - and they'd say they can't tell us, it's going to be a nice surprise, just wait and see, you'll love it. 

Anyway, they probably don't know.  I'm sure they've heard rumours but, were they to tell us what these rumours are, they'd soon be doing the rug dance in the CEO's office.

Maybe they're following Coke's lead by bringing out a product that gets everyone riled up, provoking world-wide publicity for their brand name, and then launching a 'Classic', making everyone happy again.

It was in the last quarterly statement that there were to be changes in 2025, so we'll all have to wait and see what these changes are. 

2025.  New president, new eBay.  Certainly, the former is going to be interesting.  Not sure about the latter.  

[british-ceramics-and-paintings]

Have just ended all of my listings, had nearly 500 listed until a few moments ago.

Operating on here is doing more harm than good in many different ways, I will continue operating via my website and will relist some items on ebay at lower prices.

There is only so long you can give it, I have not been happy on here for 2 - 3 years, the private / business seller fiasco was the final kick in the teeth, in the end everybody reaches a point where enough is enough.

Good luck to those battling on.

[pg_kicks]

Just telling us the truth and actually speaking to us would be a start, I have been told by numerous staff members all different stories which all turned out to be false/lies (pick as you wish) and then others just ignore me. 

The staff members constantly say they look on these boards and speak up when its appropriate, I don't understand how your core base of customers who pay for the site being annoyed and feeling ignored is not an appropriate time, yet questions about royal mail postage insurance deserves a reply more?

@british-ceramics-and-paintings  I'm more shocked because Im told not to send PM's as they dont look at them, after being asked to send a list of questions via PM and that they red the boards and comment when appropriate, I guess its just me being a bit of an idiot and thinking eBay care about its paying customers, more fool me tbh ha.

[spence0175]

I'm truly sorry to hear. Another good seller gone.

Fingers crossed that the new year will bring better news and hopefully there may be an avenue for you to return to.

All the best to you x

[spence0175]

Yes it would be nice to know what really is going on....I guess we will just have to plod on and hope the new year brings us some cheer.

I have really fretted over this, these last few weeks and feel totally let down. To have no negs in 16 years and a couple of neutrals should count for something at least......well in my mind it does.....

[dch2112011]

ebay - caring - only when it suits them to say they care ! - ebay telling the truth - honesty and openness is not in ebay's vocabularly.

They see small business sellers as an unnecessary thorn in their sides -  basically why not move all small businesses to personal accounts with business details displayed and make it compulsory for all accounts to accept returns both fault and non fault and let the big boys continue to be pampered by ebay ! 

[british-ceramics-and-paintings]

This message was sent to me earlier today from Ebay customer service, usual cut and paste scripted reply:

Hello ******,

Thank you for writing to eBay Customer Service with regard to business account. My name is Subham and I will be glad to assist you. I can see that you have opened this account more than 19 years ago, thank you so much for your loyalty.

I can certainly understand your query that you are not happy for being registered as business seller because of new private seller fees structure.

As per your query, I would like to share that this will benefits more to our business sellers. We are confident that removing fees for these private sellers can drive a positive sales impact for our business sellers, and this is for two reasons: increased buyers and increased diversity of listings. We know that those who privately sell on eBay, shop twice as much as buyers who only shop, and this increases sales opportunities for our business sellers, like you.

Additionally, we are convinced that more private sellers on eBay.co.uk will bring in a diversity of listings, increasing the marketplace’s attractiveness. Remember, private sellers are not in competition for business sellers. We also see that private sellers are also much more active as buyers.

We have also taken various measures to prevent business users from pretending to be private sellers. Sales limits apply to all sellers on the site. We want sellers to grow sustainably so that they can be successful in the long term. Likewise, popular and/or high-priced items are subject to sales limits. In some cases, only previously verified sellers or only a certain number of these items can be sold. We regularly review our sellers’ trading activities. If we have reason for suspicions, we will take action. These can vary and are not visible to outsiders.

We have planned some simplifications and changes for business sellers, which were announced throughout 2024. Beyond free, we are investing in eBay to create a modern marketplace of the future, such as AI-driven accessible listings, fashion visual searches and automated social sharing.

It was my pleasure to assist you today and I trust I have provided you helpful information with regard to your query. Thank you for contacting eBay Customer Service.

Have a great time ahead. Stay safe and take care.

Kind Regards,

**********

eBay Customer Service