Who is right - (Private) business sellers

[messier44000]

With regards the long running Q&As about trying to report business sellers on private 

accounts, we now have 2 answers. Who is right and who is wrong

Anita - You can report these sellers here (link) > select 'The seller has violated one of eBay’s policies' > Continue. The report goes to our Trust & safety team for a review.  

Dave - Unfortunately there isn't an option for that exact topic 

Looking at the options, how difficult would it be to add Business seller avoiding fees and reducing buyer rights on a private account.

Give me access to the editing pages and should take me a couple of minutes

BTW - Other in the options, I guess means not important

[555njp]

I have never, ever promoted anything on my private account (selling legitimate private items I will add!) and everything I've ever listed has sold, usually within a day or two but nearly always within the first listing period.

However, I heard a chap in the post office say basically the same thing to the postmaster. He was saying he won't be selling much more once postage goes up again as he already has to pay an additional 12% to eBay to promote his items (automotive spare parts).

When questioned why he was doing this he said without doing so I sell absolutely nothing which I find really strange.

Even when we was promoting, often items sold that were not. From my sales records, nothing sold better or quicker for us. Perhaps it depends on how flooded the category is?

[sheba-knows-best]

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@555njp wrote:

Shouldn't need to promote at all.
You pay your fees, list your items and they should be fully visible to all (level playing field).

I've said this on other threads: my father in law has run a full time reasonable size business on here for over 20 years. Doesn't bother with a shop and has never promoted. Yes he gets the odd day or two when he doesn't sell but frankly the constant "kerching" of his phone most days is embarrassing!

I stopped all promotions just over a year ago and it made absolutely no difference to sales, which until the end of August were actually slightly up on the preceding year, however I do operate a much smaller business.

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You're wrong. It all depends on your category.  Here is what happened to my visibility this summer when I stopped promoting (apart from an occasional day to see if a jumpstart would help). It has taken me a while to recover that organic health too. 

[bojangled]

I guess I should really continue this thread on @vintagewatchpart 's thread as it's re promoting, but you both present really interesting cases.

@555njp I agree increased visibility should be standard for fee paying business sellers, I think that's actually what I mean, make it a business seller standard p, with incentive to increase % - if they want. Your FiL set up is pretty amazing. 

@sheba-knows-best I do believe promotional spending is category specific, particularly yours. Like you this Summer I switched them back on for a boost after some time out. Switched off on the 1st October, after an awful payday weekend,  so far this week seen an increase in page views. 

It's all food for thought.

Jo

[vintagewatchpart]

I would love to hear an explanation from Ebay as to why stopping promoted listings sees a decrease in organic impressions. The two things are totally unrelated. I wonder if anyone who sells in other categories has seen similar stats or is it clothing specific?

It's clearly manipulating the algorithms to force you to promote so Ebay gets more fee money.

[555njp]

With respect my information is not wrong, it's factual from mine and family experience.

It was actually my Father in Law who advised dropping the promotions.

It could well depend on category though?

My father in law sells stamps, postcards and the paraphernalia that goes with the hobby. It's his full time occupation and he only sells on eBay and a few limited fairs. Never ever promoted anything and sells high volume and quick turnover.

We sell garden and diy tools, new, used and refurbished and diy fixings/hardware.

My business is only part-time and small, not VAT registered. I don't rely on the income so turnover isn't the quickest but most of my items are BIN and virtually everything sells first time through except on the fixings side where it is slower but the market is flooded.

On my private account, which has never been promoted, I've sold kids toys, games, antiques and general household furniture (when my grand parents passed away), fishing gear, my automobilia collection of several hundred items (books, mags, manuals, advertising), vehicle parts, tools, kids clothes, electrical goods, old mobiles, lap tops, perfume, everything a family grows out of or doesn't want.

That account only sells maybe 50-100 items a year, rarely more, sometimes less. It goes months with nothing listed and even when active rarely has 10 items at any one time.

However,  when it do list items tend to sell and reasonably quick too.

This week I listed just one item: Apple earphones unused for older iPhone (had the old 3.5mm Jack). Highly competitive category, thousands of cheap copies too. Lowest price copy £2.99, highest price genuine £9.95. Put mine in at £6.95, no views day one, 6 on day two, sold on day three and of course zero fees.

[vintagechinashop]

I have switched off my promoted listings this week. I agree with what has been said most buyers when they search do so either by lowest price or maybe nearest to see if there are options available for collection 

if I find sales do nose dive  (even more than they do now) then I'll consider switching them on again. To be honest when I hear that kerching I'd rather the money being going in my bank than eBay's 

[british-ceramics-and-paintings]

It happens to me, if I don't promote my organic impressions often drop by circa 20 - 30%.

[bojangled]

@vintagechinashop same, I'm not paying more for it if in all reality, I don't need to.
Quite inspired by 555njp FiL approach as I'm in some similar categories. 
Jo

[555njp]

That sounds like rather than eBay boosting your listings for promoting they are actually hiding them if you don't?

Perhaps that's what they do when there are too many listings of that item Irvin that category (only show promos)?

Could explain why one of my items got several views and a watcher in the first few days then froze for the whole of September without anymore views or selling.

Relisted it October 1st and sold within the day?

[555njp]

For what it's worth he loves eBay. He never reads the boards or moans about anything, just gets on with listing and selling.

He buys large collections and breaks them up into individual lots and currently sells worldwide (might change with GPSR  but I think stamps are exempt).

He keeps his listings between 100 and 400. Anymore and they (Mil &Fil) struggle to cope with sending stuff out. Everything ships by RM and 99% using postage stamps.
He says about 80% of his listings sell quickly but the rest can stay on for a long long time then suddenly sell.
For a hobby that's supposed to be dying out he shifts a lot of stock, although he also gets a lot of repeat buyers.

That category also seems free of difficult buyers and scammers too. No late deliveries, TRS, 100% positive fb.

[dwbeautystore]

I've had my ebay business on and off for 17 years now. I am now going to sell up my stock and call it a day. eBay are actively enabling criminal activity on their site and are driving away legitimate small businesses. I really wouldn't be surprised if they are now part of Amazon type model where they want to get rid of small businesses altogether and take control of the market themselves.

[therenewalworkshopltd]

I really wouldn't be surprised if they are now part of Amazon type model where they want to get rid of small businesses altogether and take control of the market themselves.

If you really think that, then you have no idea as to how Amazon works.

Total sellers is something like 60-70% of all products on Amazon.

They are actually doing the opposite and bringing more and more sellers in.

So many new sellers in fact, that an awful lot of them haven't got a clue and disappear very quickly.

[dwbeautystore]

An eBay customer service person told me a few months ago that they are trying to get rid of 'side hustles' and only want professional sellers now.

I was complaining about the large number of loopholes they are allowing rogue buyers to use and he basically told me I should have insurance to cover my losses when they essentially allow buyers to make false claims.

I emailed eBay last week to ask what they are doing about the huge volume of 'private' sellers who are actually running businesses and destroying the livelihoods of those of us who are registered properly and paying our taxes, giving our customers their consumer rights etc.

I was told I could open up a private seller account too but that they are doing loads for businesses by allowing us to pay extra for promotions, giving us tiny discounts on listing costs if we have a shop subscription etc.

I was also asked if I could give them a list of my competitors who are illegally trading.

The angry part of me thought "sod it, I will!" and then I realised just how many there are. There are literally thousands. 

Some of these people have more than 1200 brand new skincare/haircare/makeup items for sale and are selling multiples but are still allowed to trade on here as 'private sellers'. 

I'm now seriously considering joining them!

Why should I work my *bleep* off for years to build a small business, only to have eBay allow all these people to undercut me and destroy it?!

I'm registered with HMRC, I pay my taxes honestly and will continue to allow returns/refunds for honest claims. I begrudge lining eBays pockets any longer when they are encouraging all these other sellers to sell for free. 

My sales have also dropped to around 25% of what they were in the last month. I can't sustain that loss.

[vintagechinashop]

Nearly at the end of the month and my sales are slightly higher than last month however of course I don't know what they would have been had I not switched off promoted listings. What has decreased is my fee percentage as it stands I'm paying 5% less fees than last month and that's a bonus as far as I am concerned 

[vintagechinashop]

I wish eBay would change the broken record and stop trying to tell business sellers that we reap benefits as it's clear to anyone with half an ounce of brain power that they continue to kick us in the teeth 

it's almost as annoying as the script when you call CS thanking us for being loyal sellers then refusing to do anything about valid issues 

like many I'm done once I clear all my stock which will take time but I'm aiming to retire in 6 years and then be able to enjoy life and not work to pay extortionate fees 

[silveroboe]

I've been trying for ages to report a blatant abuse of the system - I know from a personal purchase  that a business seller lists herself as a private seller - but I can't find any way of doing it.

You'd think ebay wouldn't want to miss out on seller fees  - but it seems they're too busy piddling about with altering things to make them unusable (e.g. messages) to be interested.

It is so unfair to business sellers, who are struggling to keep going with the increase in courier fees and decrease in courier reliability and competence.

I have been wondering if requesting a phone call from ebay might get me anywhere . . . .??