Ebay's new Buyers' protection fee from the 4th Feb

[rsbrickshop]

I'm a private seller. Items I sell are between £2.90 - £10. Is It just me or will ebay's new Buyers' protection fee from the 4th Feb make it near impossible to sell competitively. A few months ago Ebay got rid of Sellers' fees for private sellers, which was a welcome move. But this new change and getting rid of multi-buy discount for private sellers will make it worse than it was with the original fees.

[jasonsdad]

Thought the Scimitars were made by Reliant ?     but no, never had any of those,  Think the originator of the thread has some though.

[peters3865]

This thread reminds me of the Lord of The Flies- a group of nice well
educated schoolboys get locked into a situation together and in a few days
they're murdering each other. Obviously these people are locked into a
virtual thread not a hostile tropical island, but there are similarities

[jasonsdad]

Rules me out then,  William Golding was a prolific writer who scared me in Secondary school as the LOTF film was shown to us.

[goodibags]

A quick glance would reveal this seller has NINE items for sale and has sold TEN items in the last 12 months, amassing a  total below £400.

And clearly they are - or were - primarily an Ebay buyer (and as such presumably STILL welcome here, despite the unnecessary harassment from others).

Does it matter if the charms were bought in 2019 or 2007? They're being sold now and sammylou40 has made several other Ebay users happy selling them on.

What it is with the excessive trolling in these forums? Are you working to some kind of Scaremongering Target? ☹️

[the_book_seekers]

I looked at 862 items sold in 22/23 years so roughly an average of 40 items a year and feedback doesn't indicate a sudden ramping up of sales.  There's no way I'd class @sammylou40 as a business seller based on what I've seen.

[chris.n7]

So many business sellers hostile to private sellers for no reason.

It's pretty difficult prove intent of purchase of listed/sold goods.

Sealed/boxed collectors exist, so reselling something in it's original packaging isn't proof enough alone that they are operating as a business.

[the_book_seekers]

It's pretty difficult prove intent of purchase of listed/sold goods.

Where there are grey areas that's where HMRC will take a view. But many private sellers who should be registered as businesses are easy to spot. They give themselves away in their listings - family run business is a favourite phrase. What they sell - multiple similar brand new non personal items - tyres, dental equipment, PPE, business equipment. kitchen equipment (I could go on) in volume. The numbers popping up here to complain has gone up and there is a reaction to their complaints. ebay is trying to reverse an imbalance  it created and it is painful. 

[chris.n7]

Indeed there are those that are operating as a business under the guise of a private seller account, but I've lurked these forums for a while. The amount of times I've seen a business seller attack a private seller accusing them of avoiding registering as a business etc. (without actual proof) is crazy.

There are many business sellers that act as if they are holier than thou.

But anyway, I'd love to see ebays conversion statistics with this move. I'd be willing to bet that more private sellers leave, rather than convert to a business account.

[sammylou40]

Thank you   Appreciated 

[goodibags]

That's ok. You shouldn't have to put up with this. Nobody on here should.

Sadly, the atmosphere in this community is often more toxic than combative, the 'advice' given frequently disingenuous and unhelpful, and the arguments and discussions a bit circular and repetitive.

I'm sure some of our 'feedback' does make it back to Ebay Towers for the occasional concession but they seem intent on rolling out their new big wheeze without much thought around whether it'll work or just create undue stress and anxiety.

As usual we are just the testing mechanism.

I'm taking a break from the community. Still have a few things to sell, maybe add more later in the year (that's IF Ebay is still usable) and may look in occasionally. Otherwise, think I've said all I have to say.

Best of luck with your sales.

@the_book_seekers 

@chris.n7 

@andha-21 

[doumind_7]

Yes good for you. I'm in the process of doing the same. I may be old fashioned but for many many people this is been more about pursuing a hobby than making a living, which is almost impossible even as a business seller while they continue to rip users off. I sell a few items make a couple of quid here and there, but for me its been a diversion from the realities of full time house husband. Not everything in this world is about money: eBay would do well to remember that.

[sammylou40]

They’re less than retail price, rare and highly collectible now they’re discontinued 

[toptap1]

Nailed it!

I only joined the forum last week.

Now I'm leaving.

Certain business sellers seem to think it's Twitter.

The very people you would like to think would give help and guidance and up belittling and haranguing forum users.

[seedbankers]

Has anybody noticed this trend: potential buyers snapped a photo of your listing and sent you the photo with a square box, SEND OFFER ?

No other words included and expect you to change the price for them. I quickly added these people to block list as I'm NOT the person getting the extra money. If my stuff sells, good. If not, I will use it myself or use other platforms.

[doumind_7]

Sorry to hear that, but this is anything but a "Community Forum". It seems,to be full of idiots who think they know everything.

[jasonsdad]

The 14 day delay to payouts, the protection money and buyers fees are the issue and are there to discourage private sellers. In this respect they have shaken the tree very hard and crashed the platform in the meantime. When you lose sight of your roots don't be surprised if things start to topple.
Not many people like or want change, however this is Ebay's right, it seems somewhat badly implemented and shocked a lot of sellers and raised prices for buyers. Time will decide if this strategy has been ba success or a tipping point.
Good luck to all here

Sent from Outlook for Android<>

[1956glyn]

Not so much that BUT i often get messages along the lines of "i will give you x amount" more of a demand than anything 😞

[wargamers_vault]

Last year eBay offered up as an enticement for businesses to register correctly, no fees until the end of the year and a free featured shop for the same amount of time (something that businesses pay around £100 per month for). Very unfair to established business sellers and it gave the newly correctly registered businesses an edge for quite a while. But they didn't kick off, not to this extent.

The fact remains that yes the new system is a bit of a hassle, but if you're a private seller you shouldn't need to be competitive because business sellers should not be your competition! And while a 14 day wait for your money is not ideal, as this isn't your main source of income it's not the end of the world.

Even if you incorporate the buyers fee into your prices (which you shouldn't have to do), private sellers still have lower fees overall than business sellers. 

[andha-21]

Best of luck to you, I enjoyed our conversations.

& I'm only staying on the community because this seems to be the place where you find most "news" first.

[wargamers_vault]

I had one yesterday, a very low ball offer accompanied by a message in all caps "ACCEPT OFFER NOW!!", hmm let me think! 😂