Is there a current boycott of eBay?

[effing_wif_figs]

My sales dropped from up to 10 a day to either none or 1 or 2 a day and at that, mostly very low value items. I've had a few more expensive sales and some days a few more items will sell but it's usually followed by a drought of a few days. This has all been since 04/02 when the new rules started to drip in. I don't think it's exclusively the BPF as this has only just come in on collectibles, which is most of what I sell.

I can only guess this is down to a boycott of eBay, either organised or not. A lot of people I sell to are also sellers themselves, it's how a lot of collectors work, we sell up to make space and funds. I would buy from eBay regularly with the money I earned but since the changes and me bringing in less money, I haven't bought a single thing due to my surplus money being reduced by so much. 

Obviously I'm expecting the usual answers telling me I need to switch to a business account or telling me if I don't like the changes then I can go elsewhere to which I say I've never bought to sell and my sales are my own collection and that I am looking for alternative platforms. I'm posting this to offer an alternative theory on why items aren't selling as they did as most of the discussion seems to be around whether BPF is putting buyers off or not and not that eBay has essentially handicapped one of their biggest group of buyers by withholding funds from them. 

[wyntersemporium]

Hi I’m a business seller . Hardly any sales for me either. One or two a day compared to last year it was 15-20 per day.

but I noticed that when I switched to the basic store last month no sales. 
Unless there’s more sellers than buyers that’s all I can think of. But 

[effing_wif_figs]

I think for the most part sellers and buyers are the same people. I have a ton of friends who don't have eBay accounts but just about everyone I know through collecting, both buy and sell on eBay.

I think eBay just haven't taken that into account with their changes.

[andha-21]

Part of the update also blocked loads of users from using the app. Phones like the Samsung Galaxy S8 and equivalent iPhones are mentioned. We've been seeing loads of people asking for help here but I'd wager that's just the tip of the iceberg.

With the types of phones being mentioned I wouldn't be remotely surprised if they lost more than 6 figures worth of users that day.

& as you say, buyers and sellers aren't mutually exclusive. I was selling, yes, but to feed my hobbies. No sales equals no purchases.

They've committed corporate suicide. Imbeciles!

[magpiecorner1]

Having a quiet month on a couple of accounts, one business, one private.  Having the best month ever on one of our business accounts selling small value items.

I've put it down to doing nowt on the first two accounts and working like a Trojan on the account that's doing well.

Buying is going well as always, not seeing any difference in prices paid to normal, which means auctions especially are not seeing a major drop in prices.

Mid to end of February is always fairly quiet, the credit card payments for Christmas spending, the biggest credit card bill for most folk, wil have been paid.  

In all my years on eBay, have never seen a month where sellers HAVEN'T stated it's a bad month.

[effing_wif_figs]

I guess we can see if it picks up in March. 

I'm mostly selling very low value items, £10 and lower, action figure accessories. I send everything Tracked 48 so around £3.50 on a parcel and £2.50 on an envelope. I buy all my packing stuff so there's not a ton of sustainability in selling cheap items. 

[parsley2003]

I haven't bought from here for 2 months, i now see that my regular fish food supplier also sells on another platform at £1.75 cheaper. It's a pity that because of what is happening to private sellers that business sellers will lose out as well. I feel that the public to whom this is finally getting through maybe think that there is a BPF on business sellers items too. It has never been clearly explained and the only adverts are about free selling not this. I hope that things pick up for you 

[parsley2003]

Yes that's me my selling has dried up so i won't be buying on here any more either

[parsley2003]

I have a postcard problem, like they are everywhere most of the money made was buying more. This has woken me up to buying no more and clearing the mess. Have filled 2 recycling bags already, last year i sent masses to the charity shop but i can't now as no transport. I am leaving what is listed already there but it's all watchers and no buyers as it has finally sunk in what is happening, no new listings here

[valleyrc1]

This is what I try to tell people to be mindful of.

At least once a month there will be a thriving thread on here about slow sales. 

With millions of users, there will always be a percentage seeing slow sales at any given time, and they always come here to post about it.

The temptation is to try and attribute it to something so that we aren't blind about how or why it's happening, but it only makes sense in isolation, if you look at the bigger picture, it's easy to see that there's always a buzzing thread about slow sales every month of the year, so I'm still not quite convinced.

[goldenwolfman]

Still not 'quite' convinced eh, well I closed down all my listings and left. The straw that broke it for me, I've kept a little money in the account, but now asking and searching where else these sellers will 'eventually' start selling?  No point selling a postcard when its effectively doubled the starting price. No point listing a stamp when again the same is true, no point starting an auction or even sending an offer when you become liable to pay the 75p fee. As for the simple delivery - its another 'nail' shortly arriving - just explain why a stamp collector would not want stamps on a package rather than a label - any guesses?

This scam insurance is madness, they already had all sellers forced compliancy with buyer protection - now they've got it double fold - that's if anyone stays around to let them do it?

Obey are just too dim for their own good - they've killed off a whole generation of buyers - AND sellers. One fed the other, but now they are no more.

RIP ebay - as Obey has arrived, well not with me it doesn't !!

[jma2815]

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@effing_wif_figs wrote:

I think for the most part sellers and buyers are the same people. I have a ton of friends who don't have eBay accounts but just about everyone I know through collecting, both buy and sell on eBay.

I think eBay just haven't taken that into account with their changes.

---

Yes. I’m 55 and didn’t have an ebay account until four years ago. I opened it just to sell (Covid clear-out) and only started buying several months after that. I then bought a lot. Far too much, actually. 

Now I’ve got rid of most of the things I wanted to sell and the world order is changing fast. There is a good household income atm but having a job that involves working with heavy industry in three countries (one of them the USA) that may well not be the case very soon. I am not now buying a steady flow of ‘wants’ and I doubt I’m alone in this. 

[valleyrc1]

Again, there are always people stamping their feet and saying they are closing up shop every time ebay does something they don't like.

Sellers can't leave negative feedback: "I'm leaving"
Cassini: "I'm leaving"
Manages payments: "I'm leaving"
Free selling for private sellers: "I'm leaving"

I had a decent day for sales on my business account yesterday and the best organic impressions I've had since last May.

The thing is, 99% of content people don't make any noise.

Again, it's just a simple fact that if you've been here long enough, there's always the "latest thing" people are attributing to their poor sales or threatening to close their account over.

There's literally a "no sales" topic for January, December, November and so on and so forth.

But if private sellers really ARE in a huff en masse, and rendering each other unable to sell anything, that would be quite the irony.

[effing_wif_figs]

I don't think people are in a huff so much as eBay has handicapped their spending by complicating their payments. The only thing that stops me buying all the things I want is not having the money for it and this whole cycle means that I don't have the money for the frivolous things I could afford when I was selling previously bought frivolous things.

I'm not disagreeing with your points but I'd argue there's a lot more threads and replies about this than previously. 

[collectorshop-co-uk]

We are the same. Went from 80 a day down to like 25 since last year. not sure what is going on.

[9150simon]

Same also, I used to sell approx 6-7 items every day, some days more than others but very rarely had a no sales day - I could count them on one hand over the year.  Now it is the other way round, far too many gaps and days where I sell one item is infrequent, I get very excited if I sell 2 items in a day!!! 😂

It has been like it for a year or more and getting worse.  There are so many factors that have affected sales, it would be difficult to name one. 

It does look like it is never going to change back, ebay have shot themselves in the foot so many times.

[forestfeline62]

Yes my sales are right down ,no easy answer ,some people say put your prices up or down ,but buyers aren't happy with the extra fee and I don't blame them and it also means that there is no protection for the seller if buyer wants to return something ,ebay find in their favour without sellers being able to appeal the decision even when the buyer sends Item backed damaged  ,so when it gets to the end of this month I am moving else where .

[wyntersemporium]

Had five yesterday thought on a roll. Zero again today.

[wyntersemporium]

I know of del camp e that you can sell post cards etc on.

think I might put my very old Egyptian ones there to sell.

[rugbyguy1960]

I'm the same regarding selling.

If and when my last 5 items listed sell then that's it for the foreseeable future.

Plus these changes have now meant I buy less on here than I did.