EBAY AND 2026 ??

[crn303]

With only a few days of this year left on the eBay site which has been a disaster for its users,  I trust they will have to change things around some time soon in 2026.

Over several previous years, we have experienced up and downs with them, but this past 12 months has at times been a farce.

Yes, we all have ideas and suggestions about what needs to be done to regain our support but let’s wait and see what THEY  do.

Some of those “12 / 15 hours a day keyboard warriors” are adamant eBay won’t change things … if this was your business would you seriously leave things as they currently are ?

[lucy_farmer]

'....if this was your business would you seriously leave things as they currently are ?'

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Thing is, we don't know how bad things *actually* are, or even if ebay think they're bad at all.

Ebay (and all big companies) massage, disguise and *spin* all figures etc to make them look the best they possibly can.

And the big-noises at the top of the company are very very unlikely to admit to making mistakes. So we will never see the true picture.

Ebay may know things are bad for lots of the smaller sellers, but I don't think they care. Ebay think they can replace them with new, younger, more 'digitally native' sellers who'll just do as they're told.

I believe ebay would like to replace most of us with big sellers of plastic tat from China. This type of sale being easier to do with computers/A.I. , than all sort of second-hand, collectable, unusual items etc. from lots of small sellers. (with their associated potential problems)

My opinion of the future of the *whole* big business/services world and it's way of operating is a little gloomy. 

95% of all sales, services, companies etc. will go just fine and everybody will be happy. These will all be dealt with by computer/A.I.

The remaing 5% that are problematical will be 'kicked to the kerb' because it costs more to employ humans to sort them out than the company is losing, by losing that 5% of business/customers.

Where the 'awkward squad' (usually me included!) are going to go will be a mystery!

[vinylscot]

It's undeniable that a large number of long-time members were (many still are) unhappy with some of this year's changes, in particular Simple Delivery and the BPF, both of which greatly affected private sellers, but have a knock-on effect on business sellers too. I'm still not a fan of either.

We are now well down the road from these changes, and eBay will have replaced many of those members who left with new, more co-operative (in their eyes) sellers and buyers.

New complaints are still trickling in; both SD and BPF add extra complications to the process, and it is understandable that people will need assistance from time to time. However, things have settled down greatly, from the peaks of last year.

Differently to @lucy_farmer  above, I think eBay's opportunity to shine may come when the "Chinese tat" sellers get a little more organised and find other venues to sell. If eBay starts losing that business in any volume, to new platforms or websites, they will need to react, and their biggest asset is their existing customers. Maybe they'll realise they need to look after their customer base better - even if they are gaining new members, they have undoubtedly been losing more than they should have been.

My hope is that next year won't see any major changes to eBay for most users. Although it would suit my business, I don't want to see SD extended to business accounts; there are some minor tweaks I'd like to see with regards to shops etc.; and I would LOVE them to get their act together and actually DO something about obvious business sellers masquerading as private.

[smarts-gaming]

Pretty sure ebay are recording record profits right now. For every seller that leaves another will take their place. There is a -0 chance they walk back any of the changes they've made this year, in fact they're already implementing the changes made to UK ebay into USA as we speak. 

So if it was my business would I leave it the way it is? It depends. My own small business I would prioritise customer satisfaction. But for a multibillion company its all about shareholders and the bottom line. 

[moonlight-rhapsody]

One thing I imagine could affect ebay in the future is the ending of the de minimis rule.  However, it may not happen until March 2029, unless all parties get their act together sooner.  This should reduce the amount of "Chinese tat" being sold on ebay, and ebay will have to find alternative sources of income to replace the lost sales.  It's anybody's guess where their next income stream will come from, but I doubt if it will be pretty.

Wouldn't it be a wondrous new year if Mr Omidyar used a fraction of his billions to set up a site for private sellers of second-hand goods 🙄 Sadly he's probably got a restrictive contract, and apparently he's still a director emeritus of ebay.

[roberpalme_236]

I'm sure that Ebay are hard at work designing 'improvements' that they can make to generate more fees in 2026.

All of the 2025 Ebay changes were, in my opinion, designed to increase their income and did not make Ebay more appealing to people, rather the opposite in that they alienated both business and private users.

They are running out of ways to increase fees but, without giving Ebay ideas, I wouldn't be surprised to see the minimum promoted listing fee increased from 2% and simple delivery to be extended to most business sellers.

[fatbobfan]

Still working for a lot of sellers and more importantly for Ebay the platform.

Online sellers and selling platforms have/need to make changes as the way things are sold and revenue making opportunites have arisen with AI, PL,  SD and BPF for this platform

Guessing its all going according to plan as they are still around and I believe from posts on this forum the decision makers have stated its the way the platform is going, introduction of AI and PL SD and BPF are all additional/better value replacement revenue streams, its why theyve been instroduced

The world not just Ebay looks to get every penny/cent out of the online consumeras its the way we now shop. Add in political changes new world Taxes / NI Protocol,GPSR / Changes in selling legislation then add their new revenue streams, these and their effects have been a busy couple of years of money leaving my direction

As the old addage says adapt or die, I do feel as if Ive been chucked around in the melting post the past 2 years,  as a very small Business seller, its been tough but getting my head around it has made me look at things in a different light but one thing I am pretty sure of, the platforms unlikely to change, a little tweek maybe but that is probably it,

Im sure the next penny squeeze in my direction wont be too far away

[suelel1968]

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@smarts-gaming wrote:

 in fact they're already implementing the changes made to UK ebay into USA as we speak. 

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Where do you get that from? The last i heard they had just asked for views on it.

In many respects they would be mad not to get an income stream from delivery in the US and from (at least) small business sellers in the UK. 

As with most things, it comes down to the implementation, which was terrible.

[crn303]

Thanks for your response … totally agree that it’s going to be Business Sellers that are next on eBays agenda.

[suelel1968]

@moonlight-rhapsody I think EBay will lose out in "Chinese Tat Wars" too, both because of de minimis and because if you want Chinese tat, and lets face it, we all do sometimes there are better & cheaper sites for it now. 4 letters beginning with T. 

[crn303]

Sorry but I have to disagree with some of your comments.

eBay is still working for some sellers, not a lot of them.

Yes, sellers and eBays platform have to adjust and makes change but options should be made available or possible.

I don’t think eBay will agree and accept their changes went to plan as they had hoped for.

I do agree that Business Sellers (even smaller ones as you state you are) are probably already on eBays radar for 2026.

However, I do wish you well in going forward.

[roberpalme_236]

I think everyone will be in  Ebay's crosshairs.

Increasing promotion % rates would affect both business and private sellers.

Promoting is currently voluntary, it wouldn't surprise me if it became compulsory.

[lucy_farmer]

'Promoting is currently voluntary, it wouldn't surprise me if it became compulsory.'

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It can't  be compulsory.....? Or it would just be a selling fee, surely.

Promoting  means putting something (or oneself) above others. If everybody has to do it nobody is promoted.

But, yes, I'm pretty sure some clever clogs in ebay towers will think of another new wheeze to drag more money out of sellers, somehow or other..

[jonatjonatjonat]

It’s to an extent compulsory on Etsy I think.

You are automatically opted into Google advertising, which carries a higher fee. You can opt out, but not if you generate over £10,000 in a year. At that point, you have to do offsite advertising.

my point being, if eBay are picking and choosing what their competitors do, well there’s one you’d imagine they’ll be looking at.

[department28]

I am pretty much resigned to eBay as it is now - and expect it to continue to relentlessly 'modernise/streamline' itself, until there is nothing much left of 'the old eBay.' Those of us who have viewed the big changes this year with dismay, will only be faced with worse to come. The ever-increasing automation, and use of AI (something that ought never to have been widely unleashed, imo) has effectively dehumanised the site. There's no way back from this.

Apart from empty words, eBay has done very little to demonstrate that they genuinely value their existing users. They will, of course, be mainly concerned with the new generation of eBayers, leaving the dwindling oldsters to toddle off into the sunset, muttering about 'the good old days'... 

A gloomy outlook for 2026, for some of us, methinks...  😬

[roberpalme_236]

Isn't it already a selling fee at the moment? A fee is a fee whether it's a shop fee, insertion fee, promotion fee, pay per click fee, buyer protection fee, selling fee or fee on postage

I agree that if everybody has to do it then nobody is promoted but that is what Ebay looks to be aiming for, ie everything promoted.

[theelench]

"i.e.  everything promoted"

And probably at ebay's recommended rates.  For me they decided that was usually 12 - 13% and like me, if you won't give-in and pay, your sales will be reduced to the occasional item every few months (as bait?).

Ebay's already squeezed Managed Payments, this year has started squeezing Managed Delivery.  

Are they already working towards compulsory Holds on all sales proceeds with increasing demands for I.D / Bank details verification / photo I.D and even Holds on long established businesses until after delivery confirmation ?

There's little left that ebay can squeeze more fees from.

[roberpalme_236]

I think Ebay are running out of things they can put fees on which looks to be a problem for them as in order to maintain or increase earnings they have to extract more income from what appears to be a diminishing pool of sellers and buyers.

[the_book_seekers]

ebay has mentioned in a report that they have a 'monetize' team which will continue to come up with new ways to increase the company's revenue streams. I expect they will find some way to make AI monetized. Perhaps by introducing layers of AI each promising greater sales as happened with promoted listings and each level having greater and greater fees, while fostering the belief that sellers can't sell without it.

[suelel1968]

Dear @roberpalme_236 

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