The Death of Auctions?

[ett1954]

Has anyone seen this gem to come soon in the summer update to affect auctions (my bold italics):

Reducing unpaid items

Placing a bid

Additionally, buyers on select auctions will be required to set up a preferred payment method and postal address before they can place a bid. After winning an auction, they’ll have one hour to adjust their order or payment details, otherwise we’ll automatically process their order using their preferred payment method. No action is required from the seller.

These changes will help to improve the auction process on eBay by providing buyers with the ability to decide how they want to pay, whilst also ensuring that sellers receive payment for their sales. The goal is to foster a more efficient and dependable experience for the entire eBay community.

From FAQs:

No changes are needed with how you set up your listings. You should expect to see fewer unpaid items on items sold through auctions as we test and launch changes.

You can still combine multiple purchases from the same buyer in a single shipment, but please be aware that a buyer may be automatically charged for postage costs for each individual item when payments are processed.

As a buyer, you may be prompted to provide a payment method and select a postal address prior to placing a bid on an auction. You'll have the ability to edit these details before the auction ends. If you win the auction, you'll be given a one hour period to make any changes. If no changes are made, we’ll automatically charge your default payment method. 

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There is no opt out mentioned for this 'feature'; without one it will be the end of auctions on eBay for me.  A few things immediately spring to mind.  I don't have problems with non-payers but I do have regular, long-standing buyers of 8 years or more who bid on items spanning across 10 days or even longer.  Combining multiple wins into one order is a necessity; especially with lower value items.

Many of my buyers are international and on a completely different time zone - what they win can determine how and where they want it sent (forwarding agents, etc.)  How do they respond in an hour if an auction is finishing at 3 am for them, or if they are at work, travelling, etc.

I had thought eBay had learnt their lesson from the debacle of immediate payments on Buy it Now listings.  My acceptance level from offers sent is now virtually nil.  What I do foresee is an increase in 'remorse' returns for business sellers running auctions in some sectors.  Sure we will see a lot less non-payers ..... this will be in conjunction with a lot less sales.

One final question for eBay - where is this supposed feedback you received stating sellers want this ........ nobody has asked me.  Has anyone on these boards been asked?  Please publish this data along with the agency you commissioned to carry out the research.

[Anonymous]

And, perhaps, on the Buying Board? This does affect both buyers and sellers.

It will need an explanation that not all sellers will require a payment method to be set up. Also, that the sellers, who do require one, may be unaware of this alteration since eBay has not communicated, to sellers, anything at all.

[dch2112011]

It all looks good -  but bear in mind it may not have rolled out across the board yet and watch for  features coming and going and changing over the next months - 

To be fair to ebay they seem to have listened, mind you I wonder how many will realise they are opted in - the mentors could be on auto repeat over the coming year or two !

it will keep the forum busy - How many posts were there about managed payments ?  Just a thought ! 

[bzmotman]

Definitely been rolled in last 24 hours to me. I had checked yesterday and it wasn't there.

marco@ebay can we please an explanation & apology from Ebay as to why this underhand deceitful roll out is happening. Why haven't all Ebay users been given clear information that this is an Ebay measure and not something sellers have done voluntarily? Why have arrogant Ebay assumed that this is what everyone wants and that they dont even need to tell buyers or sellers about it? My private account has not received any information about this.

Sellers who dont know about it & dont switch it off will undoubtedly get the blame from buyers used to getting combined invoices.

This stinks of when GSP was auto enrolled & those who opted out were repeatedly opted in. Personally I will be checking every day & putting something like "Ebay are trying to stop buyers requesting combined invoices if this happens to you please contact me" on all new listings so that should I miss it I will get alerted to it.

[bzmotman]

Can I also suggest post it on the Experienced Sellers Board as well.

[a45heaven]

Experienced Sellers Board ? whats that ?

Id have thought social media would have been better to hit a wider audience.

ebay never inform bidders / buyers of these kinda of thing, which leaves the sellers as being the ones to blame.

Its odd that not a lot of Mentors have been involved in the conversation about this major change,  notably by ebay.

[bzmotman]

Used to be an invitation only board for Experienced business sellers using a business account - not sure if still invitation only. Not overly active most of the time. You can find it by going to Groups at the top right of this page then on the dropdown go to Ebay topics and its the first item in that dropdown.

[a45heaven]

thanks - found it  - but over the years ive been suckered by clicking anything on ebay mentioning 'try this', 'see more' or 'join' they tend to be a kiss of death. - so ill let this one pass too.

You have been invited to join this closed group hub.

[tommystrezures]

Just done for you @Anonymous  I have slightly reworded from the other posts on the seller boards, to make more applicable to buyers.

[Anonymous]

Thank you.

[the_book_seekers]

Thank you for posting this - I've now turned this off. It's clearly the opportunity to opt out of this.

[derpybay]

I'm in two minds if I want to turn it off. We don't do a lot of auctions, and the reason for that is that it's a faff when people don't pay, and having to relist etc. This does cut down on that. And we tend to have inclusive postage so there's no benefit to buyers waiting.

But it's obviously unpopular and I do understand why. It feels bad. Even if there weren't any mechanical issues, the vibes are off, it's unebay. But also there are mechanical issues, as discussed.

I wish they'd come up with... something else. I don't know what exactly, but some way of combining postage while making sure people paid. Perhaps the fact that nothing comes to mind is an indication of why they haven't. 😅

[technthread]

The worst part of this for a buyer is the 1 hour window to manually checkout.

eBay haven't thought this through, they are going to have a situation where they have a buyer watching multiple auctions ending within the same hour or so, wanting to bid on them all but being pulled away to checkout on items they have won so they can complete the order how they wish to (chosen postage service, payment method, click and collect etc).

It could reduce bids on auctions as buyers are pulled all over the place with auction timers and the checkout timers running concurrently. In short, eBay becomes that little bit more stressful. They need to balance the site well so the enjoyment of buying and selling doesn't become too throttled.

[6783davidb]

What an absolutely dumb thing to do. eBay could at least advise sellers they've enabled the option and explain how to disable it, and/or allow Paypal Credit, Pay In 3 & the usual Click And Collect option.

I am extremely reluctant to buy using the auto pay option even for relatively cheap Best Offer items.  I am hearing impaired, my front door is on a separate level & my neighbours aren't trustworthy so Click And Collect is a major benefit to me.

I also like to go to the eBay payment page via TopCashback in order to earn a small amount of Cashback (which soon builds up) and this is also impossible to do under this stupid new autopay system.

At the moment I have to message a seller and ask them to disable this option  every time I want to make an offer. To add insult to injury I usually have to send follow up messages explaining how to do this and/or explain to them that no, this is not something that can be resolved at my end by taking their mistaken advice to  contact eBay.

I definitely won't be buying or bidding on higher value items that I need or would prefer to to pay for by PayPal Credit if the seller refuses to disable auto pay. My Vinyl buying will probably drop off markedly, since vinyl dealers will usually list different LPs with end times spanninh a few days and my favourite sellers, who tend to be in the US or Brazil would always delay sending so I could combine items and save postage costs. The savings can be considerable.

Bizarrely eBay seem determined to make it relatively more attractive to buy elsewhere, by effectively making it impossible to spread payments interest free. The fact that you lose the opportunity to maybe win an eBay auction at a low price is outweighed by the fact that you can pay in instalments and collect free in store with many other retailers.

Absolute lunacy by eBay.

[sml192]

Not being able to use PayPal Pay In 3, PayPal Credit, Cashback, etc is definitely frustrating.  However, they are all benefits provided by a 3rd party so not something that eBay has total control over. 

The Click & Collect option on the other hand is entirely within eBay's control and should be straightforward to implement, so I really don't understand why that's not currently available. 

[6783davidb]

I understand that eBay can't control how their policies affect services provided by 3rd parties but surely they should be aware of the consequences of their moronic changes when they are so easily predictable?

It's not as if PayPal and cashback companies are obscure entitities. PayPal is a giant company that eBay actually owned for over a decade and whose services they have encouraged buyers to use. The cashback companies offer cashback in a deal negotiated with eBay. Ebay sets the conditions for cashback claims (no payments via the app etc) so they should be aware how these stupid changes affect them.

I don't think eBay can be excused for this idiocy. At the very least they should make auto pay an opt-in and they should certainly inform sellers when they have enabled it on their accounts and how to turn off the option. It is incredibly tiresome to have to message every seller to ask them to disable it, especially when they don't understand what you are talking about and assume you are mistaken & especially if their English isn't good.

t is definitely making me more reluctant to use ebay, especially if the potential saving is only a few pounds compared to Amazon etc. It's just not worth the hassle. Ebay is effectively using a gigantic booby-trapped sledgehammer to crack a nut.

[papso22]

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@a45heaven wrote:

Experienced Sellers Board ? whats that ?

Id have thought social media would have been better to hit a wider audience.

ebay never inform bidders / buyers of these kinda of thing, which leaves the sellers as being the ones to blame.

Its odd that not a lot of Mentors have been involved in the conversation about this major change,  notably by ebay.

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Mentors do not get included in Ebay's decision making processes, or advanced warning of changes.  

[papso22]

Can you clarify at what point in the process a buyer becomes aware that immediate payment is required so that they can ask a seller to turn  it off?

[Anonymous]

As a buyer, I have received no communication from eBay about this change. If I did not visit these Boards, I would not know anything about this. Therefore, in the bliss of ignorance, if I am suddenly asked for payment details before I even bid, that would make me wonder if it were a legitimate request or not. I would likely backtrack at that point.

Even if I did know of this, I would ask what eBay will do with my information if I did not win the auction. I, personally, would not want it held by them.

This is a significant material change. eBay has communicated not one jot to their important element in all this; the buyers.

[a45heaven]

Mentors do not get included in Ebay's decision making processes, or advanced warning of changes.  

Ok - bit of a shambles as the unpaid volunteers are the first line to be questioned by the rank and file - actually Marco didnt seem very clued up either from his comment last week. Smacks of a San Diego 'jobs worth' pushing it.

Apart from ebay getting funds in faster (and id expect less funds with buyers not bidding when info has to be given) - what is the benefit?

None Paying is much better than ISNAD claims latter, if that was the motive this debacle was aimed at.

Gone are the days when ebay staff had practical buying / selling experience - and it shows.

[*help_no_brakes*]

eBay are in San Jose.