I've ceased trading, too many private sellers getting freebies but not legitimate business sellers

[hampstead_oldie]

I've been registered as a business seller on ebay for many years and have provided HMRC with accurate accounts and with tax duly paid over those years. I have now ceased trading on the platform for the following reasons:-

1. Too many private sellers getting ebay freebies (listings & fvfs) with no such 'perks' for business sellers.

2. Too many private sellers allegedly selling 1000s of nan's or grandad's belongings (yeahrite).

3. Ebay fees have become ridiculous, with fees on postage costs and now a buyer's fee.

4. Holds on payments now until proof of delivery.

5. Collection code *bleep*.

6. Too many Chinese sellers purporting to be trading from the UK when they're not.

7. Promoted listings and associated costs (note to ebay: If you want a fee from my sale then give it visibility without all of this promoting *bleep*).

8. New Government directive to ebay to send them info on sellers who have made an ebay income of £1700 + or more than 30 sales per annum.

9. New Government 'Making Tax Digital', if you don't know what this is then I would advise researching.

Anyway, I ceased trading over a year ago, taxes fully paid and can only feel sympathy for the honest and decent small traders and honest and decent private sellers trying to scrape a living on this seriously flagging platform.

Yes, my account is still active but only for purchases and not sales.

I would be very interested to hear from anyone who agrees with my observations about present day ebay and please feel free to criticise if you disagree.

[roger_roger_over_and_nowt]

This might be interesting

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Seller-Central/BBC-Radio-4-You-amp-Yours-re-Ebay-changes/m-p/7810342

[andha-21]

Whilst I understand the animosity many have against private sellers, as I've said elsewhere, it's like attacking a symptom and forgetting the cause.

1. eBay freebies; entirely eBay's choice and thereby their fault.

I'm a private seller, sell off bits of my Warhammer collection so I can buy different bits and the odd dvd. Do I need 300 listings per month? No way. I don't think I've ever managed 100 without stopping and relisting the same things again. But eBay give it to me regardless.

I never complained about paying fees on listings. Thought it was totally acceptable/reasonable, so eBay making it fee free, was again their choice and therefore their fault.

2. Covered above.

3. Agree completely in the sense that the way they are doing it is ridiculous and how it in turn has stopped other useful things from working.

4. Greed

5. That's not new, but without cash on delivery as an option it's a risk Id never take. Too easy to lose everything.

6. eBay's fault. If we can find them, so can they. So they choose to allow it.

7. Always been bs and only gains any validity when people start using it. If nobody uses it, will they stop advertising our listings? I doubt it. 

8. Not directly their fault, but they are heavily involved in it's reason of creation

9. Not their fault 

Since BPF started I stopped my listings and came here to learn. This place has been an eye opener.

After reading the threads/posts I have I've come to the conclusion that there are only 3 possibilities to explain eBay;

1 they are inherently incompetent, or

2 malpractice is their business model, or

3 a combination of both 

I wouldn't recommend anyone to sell here, especially since the recent changes and it looks like it's getting worse again right now. 

I think I'll keep my account but it's only for buying now. I think they maybe creating a buyers market here, certainly looks that way in Warhammer models. *bleep* for sellers but if they stay and don't do research, that's basically their fault.

[hampstead_oldie]

Thoughtful and well considered reply, thank you.

[hampstead_oldie]

Thanks, I'll tune into that.

[wintersdawn1]

@hampstead_oldie You say as a business seller the following are part of the reason you have ceased trading but, as far as I know, the following only apply to private sellers:

3. ...and now a buyer's fee.

4. Holds on payments now until proof of delivery.

[hampstead_oldie]

Ok thanks, I stand corrected on that. You still get my general gist though, I hope?

[edwardian-dreams]

The general gist is that eBay are shafting everyone or anyone  if they can

But even if no t they are performing  very badly at the moment  in all areas

[wintersdawn1]

Yes, I get where your coming from.

To me business sellers and private sellers are just pawns in ebay's game, with them making problems for both types of seller because of their unrelenting greed.

I have no beef against business sellers, my issue is with ebay and how greed motivates every decision they make no matter what it means for those who use their platform.

[edwardian-dreams]

The answer is to go to other platforms

And leave ebay as a “maybe might sell someday “ place

cos Vinted sells as does Ebid

for private sellers this is 

[wintersdawn1]

The first two changes - BPF and delayed payments I somewhat adapted to but if they take total control of postage with sd I'm not sure I'm going to adapt to that and may have to go elsewhere.

[hampstead_oldie]

Thanks, can't disagree with what you say.

[hampstead_oldie]

Thank you, I can't disagree with what you say. Generally, ebay have alienated both business sellers and private sellers. All of this greed will come back to haunt them in my opinion. 

[hampstead_oldie]

Yep, there are other choices, although ebay used to be the platform of choice. It used to be an auction house but is now basically just a shop.

[wintersdawn1]

I hope so, their contempt for those that use their platform demonstrated through negative changes that only benefit them can surely not be sustained.