feb 4th the clock is ticking

[reasonable-robert]

a lot has been said on S/C about this but what will e bay really be like after the 4th of feb as quite a few private  sellers intend to walk away from e bay will it no longer be viable to sell on e bay and it just implodes from within with sales plummeting to the point of oblivion.

buyers could turn to e bays biggest rivals like amazon or ali express to buy and as someone pointed out if they wanted a £10 blue ray dvd thats what they want to pay not £11.75 and would shop elsewhere to get it at that price.

or if not the above rivals but cheaper at tesco, sainsburys ,morrisons or asda with the weekly shop.

the BS may dance with delight about this decision but to be honest if the buyers have gone where will your meagre sales come from this may turn out to be e bays biggest blunder and may come back to haunt them and they maybe even back pedal but once you lose those sellers it will be difficult to attract people back to e bay.

so what of the future if e bay want an even bigger slice of the cake after all they do answer to their shareholders and investors what else is around the corner.

we know simple delivery is right behind the buyer protection fee where e bay take total control from the sale to the delivery forcing use of their packlink service making them more money as well as intrest which they claim they dont make on held funds this is before we get on to the potential scammers taking advantage of more holes than a swiss cheese.

B/S dont think you will escape the wrath either because as fees plummet with the private sellers  the will turn to the B/S to recoup lost money as they are ebays cash cow.

who knows what e bay will come up with next both buyer and seller paying a fee just like auctions perhaps.

this is just the beginnning

[wellingnorth]

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@lucy_farmer wrote:

I can't imagine ebay will show the seller the *total* price paid by the buyer, or give the seller the opportunity to see it. why would they?

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This is perhaps not logical, but as a buyer I would rather see a round number price, eg £19.99 (even if that is then plus postage) rather than £21.50 or whatever. So as a seller I would rather have my items show as round prices to the buyer, whether or not ebay will provide a tool for that I'll certainly be pricing on that basis - ie for something I would have priced at £19.99, I'll now price at £18.50.

Ultimately I suppose I was happy with the old system where you set the price for the buyer, ebay take some fees and you get what's left and I would be trying to achieve something similar. It makes sense to me that I set the price based on what someone will pay rather than what I will receive after ebay take their cut.

I appreciate that the new system caters for sellers used to a system like Vinted where you set your price and that's what you get. I guess that is one of the things that ebay have concluded gives Vinted an advantage.

[reasonable-robert]

i love an opptomist why dont you try listing before you comment and see how quiet it is now and thats before D day i had 8 watchers on a 00 gauge joblot of wagons but it only got the opener of £6.99 most of the buyers are resellers i assume you are in the wait and see camp 

i was but decided to mothball nottinghamshire preloved for now

[whiteescargot]

I'm hoping it all goes spectacularly wrong for eBay after Feb 4th and these changes are quickly reversed.

To help this along I am buying everything I want this week and won't be buying anything on eBay after Feb 4th.

[manyjamjar]

Looks like private sellers will just have to be happy with 14 days payout.  If you ring CS saying the delivery service shows item delivered and its not confirming on eBay, you might just get the usual line like problem is with Evri or RM and they can't do anything about it.

As private sellers get used to 14 payout, eBay might just have some more ideas 😑

[reasonable-robert]

quote... not every private seller is looking to profit.

what total hollyhocks if not every private seller is looking to profit then what is the point of selling on here

where do you sell e bay fantasy island. 

[game_raid]

They sell on here to get rid of items they no longer use or need is that a good enough reason? maybe they need to raise funds towards an holiday, to buy a new pair of shoes, to pay a bill or for repairs at home, maybe they just want a bit more pocket money, not everyone is obsessed by profits.

Are you profiting on that old laptop you're selling or them old diecast cars?

I would imagine they are no longer used or needed at home so you're selling them on.

I am business seller and a private seller, I sell for profit in my business because that is what pays my bills.

I sell to get rid of an item as a private seller and will often sell for what I can not even thinking about profit, often these sales replace an old for new item.

[1956glyn]

Well i must be in the minority then because we do not sell for profit .......just a fair decent price for a decent item.

The point of us selling on here.........99% of the time its to reclaim our home which is stacked with inherited items from basically 2/3 homes and thats without our own personal items.  

Another point of selling on here...........it often gives older people something to do if say they have health issues whether they be physical or mental.....or maybe recovering from something.

There are many many reasons why people sell on Ebay and sorry but i think its not always for profit as you appear to think.    

I  upped my listings to try and take my brain away from constantly getting upset and thinking about my much loved younger sister in law who passed away just a few months ago.   

So yes there are many reasons why people list on the site and its not always for profit.

[jckl1957]

I had a conversation with my daughter about the changes and her response was 'But mum, you enjoy selling on Ebay.'

Which is true.

I am an older person - just moved from 3 bedrooms to 2, lots of 'stuff' my children don't want.

Ebay is a hobby and an interest for me.

A lot of the things I am selling now I am certainly making a loss on - if I paid £5 for a necklace in the 1990s and sell it for £5 now, that is a loss.

When I look at similar things to the items I am selling, they are often on the site for amounts I consider ridiculous or greedy.

So, clearly, not everyone is selling to make a profit.  I like the idea of my jewellery going on to have another life with somebody who will enjoy it as much as I have.

Sales are slow ... that's ok.

I will have to wait 14 days for my money ... that's ok.

20 years of using Ebay and 20 years of people predicting its demise.  I predict Ebay will still be 'alive and well' long after February 4th.

[reasonable-robert]

not just that glynn you but on easy live auctions you pay 28 to 30% commission per item on your hammer price then the auction charges you for packing and then postage on top

then sell on e bay there,s sitting on it till it sells anywhere from a week to a month depending on what it is 

or taking pot luck in auction where you could end up losing or to make £5 or £10 ...its getting to the point is it still viable

[game_raid]

How do you work out that the private seller is losing? Not every private seller uses auctions, I have long said an auction will never get the true value of an items worth because the right buyer may not be on eBay when that auction ends, unless you have that ultra rare item that everyone wants only then you have a chance of getting a good price.

Most will use buy it now, they set the price they want and don't mind waiting a few weeks to get a sale. Some actually like logging into eBay each day and seeing how many watchers they have on an item, replying to customer messages and so on, this is an escape for that person that helps take their mind of other things that may be happening in their lives.

You are failing to understand that a genuine private seller just wants a fair price for an item they no longer need

[1956glyn]

As most of our items are inherited then yes it is still viable as they cost us personally nothing.

We only sell on Ebay and do not use Auction Houses or any other sites.

We give a lot to Charity  and also the local FB site where people for whatever reason are trying to rebuild their lives  eg having had to free domestic violence.

If something does not sell the first time round i tend ty try and not relist it for a while.    Just pack it away again until it comes back into fashion again.

We do not rely ever on any income from Ebay so i guess everyones situation is different.   

My point still stands.......a lot of private sellers in my opinion do not just sell for profit.

Shirl .........GlyNs other half  

[1956glyn]

I unearthed from that black hole of a spare bedroom (where our inherited items are stored) a genuine signed bronze art deco lady the other day.     I can find nothing like it on Ebay so at some stage we may well go to our local Auctioneers (about 15 miles away) for a valuation.    I googled the item to find out that one sold in 2012 for £260.          We may well  just keep it or for the first time ever put it into auction with an appropriate reserve.   This will indeed be a new experience for us 🙂

[kath3735_wxmjn]

and of course the big question, how can you be selling for profit if you bought something for £20/30 a few years ago and are now selling it for a fiver or less???

[kath3735_wxmjn]

I agree with nearly everything you say but for me e bay will be dead when they bring in Simple Delivery.  Like you i am retired and do it for my family as a pastime as they all have lives!!!   Me and the dog prefer the quiet life.

[1956glyn]

We inherited a few Royal Doulton ladies from my mother.    I actually brought them for her many years ago for her birthday or Christmas  and paid over £100 each for a few limited edition ones.      That was very expensive at the time.      Nowadays they go for about £30!!

Sentimental value would stop me from selling them........but even if it didnt i would feel cheezed off at their value nowadays.

[reasonable-robert]

well yes its each to their own i suppose.... you get all sorts of sellers on here 

i used to do it to make a bob to  suppliment my income

my plan is to mothball for now and sit in the wait and see camp

[1956glyn]

That prob a good move and we may well do the same.  Defo wait and see the official terms regarding simple delivery.

[manyjamjar]

Will it be made clear to buyers that fee added on at checkout is from ebay and not the sellers ??

What if a buyer not in the know leave a neg saying "seller added extra fee on checkout which wasn't shown in the discription" ??

[clearingmyshelves2025]

Agree entirely. I've got both parent's collected items to find new homes for. Charity shops won't take certain items to start with or will just dispose or recycle them. I'd prefer to find someone who wants them, and I have done. Yes, it would be nice to sell everything for a massive 'profit' but even a small 'profit' is a bonus. Plus the fact I need to split it with 3 siblings...

[tressygirl]

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@manyjamjar wrote:

Will it be made clear to buyers that fee added on at checkout is from ebay and not the sellers ??

What if a buyer not in the know leave a neg saying "seller added extra fee on checkout which wasn't shown in the discription" ??

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Now that's a good point!

I understand the breakdown at eBay checkout shows... Buyer (Protection) Payment.  Protection in brackets as not 100% sure how this will look,  but will it make it clear it's eBay's ' protection'  not the seller's?  Good point.

I would imagine a neg being left  because the buyer thinks the seller has added this, then surely eBay would remove the neg.......   Surely ?? 🤔