Ebay’s new policy for private sellers is like hell now!

[triptocardissa78]

I’m a private seller with 99.7% rate for 7 years now. The new policy changes are like hell for me. I’m not getting paid for sold items for a week now. Most of my sold items are delivered already, but Ebay still showing the as “Dispatched”, but they have been delivered for days. All tracked, express24 or RM Tracked48. Numbers of buyers are not giving a damn to leave feedback as well, and sometimes they are not even collecting their parcels from the collection point they asked me to post to.  I don’t want to be a business seller, because I don’t want to pay more fees and stuff, plus I don’t want to be PAYE tax payer. Put the bloody selling fee back and let the sellers be. 
I’m facing with a hard financial period at the moment, money is short, and now I’ve lots of money on hold for weeks?! No thank you!

Ebay is bloody taking my breath away of this whole selling thing. Plus Ebay puts buyer’s fee on my listings automaticly? Who the heck they think they are?! Cutting off  my chances to sell things? So I’m unable to provide competitve prices!  Costumer service is also a BS. Making excuses, and “understaning my issues” ?! Get the system fixed!!!This is sucks, and screwing me off.  

[paulh5038]

Some of you here are suggesting that eBay is 'forcing' people into setting up a Business account, but they say this at their website:

Do I need a business account?

If you plan to sell casually, such as selling items you no longer want, a private account is the best option. 

If you want to sell large quantities, if you have items that you've made or bought to resell or if you already have a business outside of eBay, you’ll need to register a business account.

On the above definition, I'm a "casual" seller and therefore the "private account" is the best option.  As far as I can see, there has been no change here.

Just wanted to tell everyone that I just made a sale: Sold a CD for £4.99 + £1.99 for postage.  Finally, the dry spell is broken.  The Buyer Protection fee was £0.92.  Quite a mark up for such a low-priced item.

[vinylscot]

The statement was there before 4th February, but I don't believe potential buyers were looking at sellers as closely before, when they were all able to list without a BPF.

Many buyers will still go on price alone, as @andha-21 claims, however, he doesn't seem to acknowledge that, with the BPF, many business sellers are now offering the same product at lower prices than "bogus" private sellers. (few of these bogus sellers have reduced their prices to "compete") As they become aware of the BPF, buyers are now becoming more discerning, whether he wants to acknowledge that, or not.

[vinylscot]

When these threads started, your posts were helpful and sometimes illuminating. You seemed to be an intelligent poster.

However, you seem to be stuck in a time warp, responding to everything exactly how you would have done on February 3rd, before these changes began to come into effect. At that time, many agreed with you, as there seemed to be no up-side.

Things have changed now. People (buyers and sellers) now have the experience of dealing with the changes, and possible adjusting their strategies, to cope how they see best. Almost everyone (including me) is still strongly against the way in which the changes have been implemented by eBay, but we are slowly learning to adapt.

Yet you have become an intransigent contrarian, poo-pooing any comment which doesn't meet with your out-of-date views. Take a step back and have a wee think before you post your reactionary negativity. It's not helping anyone, and there are already enough posters to be ignored on here, without you adding to their number.

[paulh5038]

Quite the contrary: You are the one who has upset the apple cart.  You seem to be advising everyone to opt for a business account to give sellers greater credibility.  YOU raised my concerns because I have no intention of doing that because I currently have the right account thank you very much.  My slump in sales over the past 3 weeks may be just a blip.  It's happened before.  Last year February was a quiet month.  I love the selling culture at eBay because it has traditionally given me a great deal of freedom, unlike Amazon with all its rules and regulations.  Right now I'm not gonna do anything.  I'm certainly not gonna tweak every item I'm selling and bring it back to a perfect £10.99, £20.99, etc.  I'll just keep going and hope that things pick up.  Selling at eBay is not just about the money.  For me, it's a hobby, too.

[vinylscot]

In my response to you, I was careful to say I was NOT judging whether you should be running a business account. Looking at the records you sell, they are reasonably close in genre, etc. To my mind, there isn't anything to suggest you are doing anything other than selling off a collection. (Whereas mine are "all over the place" and couldn't really be passed off as a collection.)

What I did point out was that many buyers now prefer to buy from a properly registered business account. As a private seller, that may be something you just have to accept. Your slump could be a blip, but it coincides with slumps being experienced by many genuine private sellers. As long as you sit back and do nothing to address that, I don't think you can really expect things to improve.

With bulk editing, it doesn't take long to change your prices so they look sensible, as you can change all those with the same price at once, and that doesn't necessarily mean reducing them. In some cases there may be room for a slight increase, as long as your price looks more sensible.

I would not advise anyone to change to a business account, unless it was obvious that they should be operating on one. There are many examples of that on this and many other threads.

[paulh5038]

Apart from suggesting that it might be wise for private sellers to migrate to a business account, which is controversial, you also suggest that buyers are basing their purchasing decisions on whether a seller is legit (business seller) vs illegit (private seller), which is even more controversial.  It is these 'changes' that you raise that I'm questioning.  As a regular buyer myself from eBay, Discogs, and Amazon, I look at price, quality of product and feedback first.  I would never dig deeper than that, but you seem to be suggesting that most buyers are now doing that.  Well, time will tell, but my experience is that buyers, if they really want something, will buy it if the price is right.  Let me illustrate this with an example: Yesterday I saw a rare "Near Mint" CD on sale at Discogs for just over £7.49. (The seller's rating was 99.8 positive.)  Having noted these things, I impulsively purchased the CD without any further investigative work.  You and I are definitely NOT singing from the same hymn sheet.  Excuse the pun.

[vinylscot]

OK, you be you, with your zero sales over the last three weekends.

And I'll be me, with fifty sales over the same three weekends.

[paulh5038]

I have just checked some of your listings.  Some of them are quite pricey.  For example, you sold the Beatles 'White Album' for a whopping £630.00.  Congrats.  This is a high-value item.  If I was a buyer, I'd want to be buying from someone I trusted, so being a private vs business seller would be significant in this case and it would be something that would sway my purchase decision vis-a-vis your competitors.  You are a business seller, I assume?

So, we're finally making some headway with this issue here.   If I was selling high-value items such as the 'White Album' by the Beatles, then I would certainly upgrade to a business account.  However, I think the most expensive item that I'm selling is around £49.99.  As a low-value item seller, I have made the sensible (and rational) choice of opting for the private seller account.  HMRC isn't really interested in small fish like me.  You on the other hand . . . 

[vinylscot]

As you can see from my listings, I am a business seller, although that copy of the White Album was very much an outlier, a lucky find in a bulk lot bought from a bricks and mortar auction site.

Most of my sales are much more modest, with a selling price of £8 - £12.

I'm not aiming this at you personally, but I do think potential buyers are looking a bit closer at listings, before pressing the button. Any item priced at over about £6.00 before Feb 4th on a private account is now at least a pound dearer. That MUST have an effect. The wacky pricing only brings it to the buyers' attention all the more.

If people are going to argue that price is the be-all and end-all, then they need to accept that higher prices will result in fewer sales. Therefore, in your position, I would "sensibilise" your pricing, not necessarily reducing them all, but making them look more natural. You don't need to be the cheapest, unless you're desperate - I believe buyers will be less likely to look too closely at a listing with a conventional-looking price.

It's obviously up to each seller whether they want to address this, or just sit back and hope to ride it out. Private sellers do have an advantage in pricing items, being unconcerned with "profit" on their unwanted personal items. You've had your use of it, whatever you can get (the more the better) is just a bonus.

I certainly wouldn't go on to a business account, unless you are actually trading.

[paulh5038]

"I'm not aiming this at you personally, but I do think potential buyers are looking a bit closer at listings, before pressing the button. Any item priced at over about £6.00 before Feb 4th on a private account is now at least a pound dearer. That MUST have an effect. The wacky pricing only brings it to the buyers' attention all the more."

Yes, interesting thought.  I'd like to invite thousands of eBay buyers to comment on this controversial statement so that we can determine whether "potential buyers are looking a bit closer at listings, before pressing the button".  

[vinylscot]

Post something on the buyers' board then. You'll be more likely to get replies there - this is a sellers' board.

There are a few threads there already, although that board is even quieter then this one.

[papso22]

It's surprisingly quiet really, given that they have been paying these fees on some categories for almost a month.

[kath3735_wxmjn]

putting my buyers hat on that would be because if i find what i want at the price i want i will buy it, could not care less as a buyer how much goes to e bay and how much to the seller.

[paulh5038]

Me and you are singing from the same hymn sheet, Kath.

[felinesrfun1]

I decided to stop my private selling because the changes concerned me. Have listed again and sold an item. No feedback so got my payment in 48 hours but what I have noticed is a really has to search for the withdraw button to remove my funds as it has moved and isn't visible.

My listings now state that I sell at reasonable prices for the second hand items I sell and won't reduce prices because of the buyers fee which then becomes a seller fee. I also state in my title no offers because I am sick of the will you accept xxx amount message?

Blocked one potential buyer because of her ridiculous repeated questions and on checking her feedback another seller said the same thing but eventually got the sale. That was damning feedback hence the block.

I am also getting more views because I've simplified the titles but a lot of people watching and not buying. The item I sold had been listed previously and despite 700 views hadn't sold. It sold immediately when I listed it again. If I really want something I will buy it checking feedback, the item is genuine, plus any certificates but I don't watch for weeks.

I have found that serious buyers are the ones who swoop in and buy immediately. I've had one repeat buyer for 3 items recently. I'll continue until managed delivery comes in because I rely on RM and can't use other couriers. Was only posting Special Delivery or tracked 48 anyway. I wouldn't describe it as hell and am now more relaxed about things.

[twin--turbo]

The pay-out button has not move in a long time.