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12-30-2008, 06:12 AM
| #1 |
| Senior Warrior Member War Room Member  Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: , , USA.
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|  eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
Beginning 2009: They are now telling you how much to charge on shipping. This doesn't work, I had a heavy book I wanted to send media mail, the cheapest way for the customer and the most I could charge was $4.00. I had to pay the rest just to ship it. Books Subcategory Description Maximum Shipping Cost Accessories Address Books $4.00 Blank Diaries & Journals $5.00 Book Covers $5.00 Book Plates $3.00 Bookmarks $3.00 Other $3.00 Antiquarian & Collectible Antiquarian & Collectible $4.00 Audiobooks Audiobooks $4.00 Catalogs Catalogs $4.00 Children's Books Children's Books $4.00 Cookbooks Cookbooks $4.00 Fiction Books Fiction Books $4.00 Magazine Back Issues Magazine Back Issues $5.00 Nonfiction Books Nonfiction Books $4.00 Other Other $4.00 Textbooks, Education Textbooks, Education $4.00 Wholesale & Bulk Lots Audiobooks $10.00 Books > 101-500 $20.00 Books > 11-50 Items $8.00 Books > 51-100 Items $15.00 Books > 6-10 Items $6.00 Books > More than 500 $30.00 Books > Up to 5 Items $6.00 Magazines $8.00 Other $6.00 * DVDs & Movies Subcategory Description Maximum Shipping Cost DVD, HD DVD & Blu-ray DVD, HD DVD & Blu-ray $3.00 Film Film $6.00 Laserdisc Laserdisc $6.00 Other Formats Other Formats $3.00 UMD UMD $5.00 VHS VHS $3.00 VHS Non-US (PAL) VHS Non-US (PAL) $5.00 Wholesale Lots DVDs > 101-250 Items $30.00 DVDs > 11-50 Items $15.00 DVDs > 251-500 Items $60.00 DVDs > 501-1000 Items $120.00 DVDs > 51-100 Items $25.00 DVDs > Up to 10 Items $10.00 Mixed Lots $10.00 Movies Accessories $17.00 Other $10.00 VHS > 101-500 Items $30.00 VHS > 11-50 Items $15.00 VHS > 51-100 Items $25.00 VHS > More than 500 Items $120.00 VHS > Up to 10 Items $10.00 * Music Subcategory Description Maximum Shipping Cost Accessories Accessories $5.00 Cassettes Cassettes $3.00 CDs CDs $3.00 DVD Audio DVD Audio $3.00 Other Formats Other Formats $3.00 Records Records $4.00 Super Audio CDs Super Audio CDs $3.00 Wholesale Lots Cassettes $10.00 CDs > 101-500 Items $30.00 CDs > 11-100 Items $20.00 CDs > More than 500 Items $60.00 CDs > Up to 10 Items $10.00 Other Formats $10.00 Records > 11-50 Items $15.00 Records > More than 50 Items $25.00 Records > Up to 10 Items $10.00 * Video Games Subcategory Description Maximum Shipping Cost Accessories Accessories $6.00 Games Games $4.00 Internet Games Games > Guild Wars $6.00 Games > World of Warcraft $3.00 Software & PC Versions $6.00 Other Other $4.00 Systems Systems $15.00 Vintage Games Vintage Games $6.00 Wholesale Lots Accessories $10.00 Console Systems $50.00 Games $9.00 Other $9.00 Checks and money orders no longer allowed What's changing with payments on eBay? Beginning October 20 2008, checks and money orders will no longer be allowed as payment methods on eBay. All items appearing on eBay.com must be paid for using either: * PayPal (funded by PayPal account balance, credit card, debit card, bank account, PayPal Pay Later, PayPal Buyer Credit or eBay gift certificate) * Credit or debit card payment to a seller (through a seller's Internet merchant account) * ProPay * Payment upon pickup In January 2009, all of the approved electronic payment methods will be integrated into eBay checkout. For example, if a seller offers credit or debit card as a payment option, buyers will be able to directly enter their credit card information securely in eBay checkout and their payment will be directly routed to the seller's Internet merchant account. We are also working with other electronic payment providers currently included in our Accepted Payments Policy to integrate their services into eBay checkout in 2009. This one is ok but a change and another eBay new rule for sellers Hi everyone...Good news for sellers who are in the process of updating their listings to prepare for the holiday season. We had previously announced that specifying both your Return Policy and Handling Time would be made mandatory in late October. However, given the breadth of changes we’re asking sellers to make to their listings this year, we’re giving sellers a reprieve on these two items until after the holiday season. My post about eBay losing money in 2008 was on the National news, just wait until they make everyone use PayPal to buy everything....they haven't seen anything yet. What I see is with eBay awful rules of 2008 then these of 2009, they will see what losing sales is all about shortly. I am a powerseller with a store and I have a friend that accepts checks and money orders almost exclusively, he is a the highest level powerseller, platinum, I think. Anyway when they enforce this PayPal only payment he says it is his last day of selling on eBay. What they really are doing is trying to force the buyer and seller both to use their services only...since eBay owns PayPal. I'll tell you one thing..Craigslist is gong to see a boost in their listings for sure. What a shame....to ruin a good thing like eBay was before all the changes of 2008 and 2009, not counting their outrageous fees they have now. New eBay CEO anyone? |
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Charles E. White
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12-30-2008, 06:34 AM
| #2 |
| HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Nov 2008
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
EBay is just unfair. I have an online friend who left them because of it.
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12-30-2008, 07:13 AM
| #3 |
| Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: , , USA.
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
Yep, they are pretty one-sided for sure, definitely not for the sellers. I think by the end of 2009 or start of 2010 they will be losing so many sales when they should be at their peak because of the economy, that there will be some big changes. The idiots don't realize they will lose everything without the sellers, that they are losing at a record level due to all the changes that go against the sellers and that makes it harder and harder to do business on eBay.
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Charles E. White
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12-30-2008, 07:22 AM
| #4 |
| Senior Warrior Member War Room Member  Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: West of Rockies
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
Wow.. I didn't know this. I see what they are trying to do, but you can't regulate everything in life and make the world safe. Customers should be given some credit. If I happen to buy something for .99 and the shipping is $17.00 , my bad. All they need to do is make sure the shipping is displayed before item purchase. I used to pop a nice bonus book or something extra in the package for customers, but now with the shipping police I"m sure that has to stop. It is simply amazing that eBay is as successful as they are when they have a history of treating sellers like crap. They closed my account for some unknown reason once and wouldn't even tell me why preferring to send a message to "read the TOS". I've never been so frustrated in all my life. You can't even have a dialog with them. |
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Action is the foundational key to all success. - Pablo Picasso
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12-30-2008, 07:27 AM
| #5 |
| HyperActive Warrior  Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Philippines
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
I think ebay is just abusing their power on the top 1.. Amazon will probably think of roots where they'll overcome ebay because of this one.
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12-30-2008, 07:42 AM
| #6 | |
| Jody g. War Room Member  Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: , , USA.
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009 Quote:
Even the federal government is afraid of craigslist. If you or I started a classified ads site that allowed hookers to advertise their services and charged them for it (pimping is illegal), we'd be in trouble fast. But craigslist calls it free speech and has the cash to defend themselves so the feds back off. Very unfair. The more you think about what some of these companies are getting away with, the more they need competition to bring them back to earth. Sorry for the rant. Just had to get that off my chest. | |
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12-30-2008, 07:48 AM
| #7 |
| The Real Charlie Harper War Room Member  Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Harrisburg, Pa
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
Alternatives are growing and will grow over time. Just like anything else; people will get tired of the tyranny an niche out ebay in competition. The question is scale and speed. Here is something that my wife and other crafters are using: Etsy :: Your place to buy and sell all things handmade Ultimately, people who want to sell, need to spend 2009 building their list and getting the 2nd time purchasers off Ebay. Then they will be your customers and you can do with them what you like. I understand though, that they are trying to make that difficult although I have not verified this. Is it still true that you can use your About Me page to put your Aweber code on there? Charles |
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12-30-2008, 07:53 AM
| #8 | |
| It's just me! Join Date: Oct 2008
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009 Quote:
Recession doesnt mean that they do everything for the buyer and nothing for the seller! If this is a boon for buyers, the cut is taken off the sellers! This could hurt ebay like anything! | |
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12-30-2008, 07:59 AM
| #9 |
| HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: United Kingdom.
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
Blimey. I think I can see behind some of eBay's thinking though it does come over as rather dictatorial and "thou shall." Was about to set off along the eBay/Kunaki trail probably still will though some of it might need a quick rethink. ATB, Andy. |
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12-30-2008, 08:55 AM
| #10 |
| Senior Warrior Member War Room Member  Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
A lot of eBay's recent changes have been terrible for sellers. I don't sell much there anymore especially not for business just junk I want to get rid of. I understand where eBay is coming from though. A lot of people were getting ripped off and they were getting a bad reputation as a digital fence for stolen goods and other shoddy characters. They're trying to clean up but unfortunately it's at the cost of sellers and the bulk of them are good people. It's only the minority of sellers that are bad but like the old saying goes: it only takes one bad apple to spoil the lot. Those bad apples are wrecking eBay for us sellers that are good and honest. Personally I stopped taking money orders and checks because I got a bad check once. I was clear that I wouldn't ship the item until the check cleared but my bank charged me a fee for depositing a bad check! I called to complain and they reversed the fee but it took time to deal with it all and it was frustrating so no more checks or money orders for me. I agree with the shipping guidelines. Maybe they went too far but a lot of folks were using the S/H as their profit center. I can't even count how many times I saw something cool I wanted to bid or buy but the shipping charge was ridiculous! It was obvious they were trying to make a buck off the shipping charges by offering the item at a low price. So once again a few shoddy characters fleecing people on shipping charges probably brought on these new rules. In the end eBay is big corporation and all they care is about their stock holders not sellers. They prefer to tick off sellers than stock holders. And no matter how important sellers are to the eBay business model they can survive even if many stop selling there and they know it. |
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12-30-2008, 09:11 AM
| #11 |
| ~* Warrior Fabulous *~  Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Texas, USA.
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
WOW. It's getting scary out there, isn't it? I understand WHY they're doing it-- they don't collect fees against shipping, so they're missing out on profits when sellers list a $20 DVD for $.99 with shipping of $19.00. I think their monopoly has gotten to their heads, though, and they've forgotten that keeping sellers happy is vital to their continued success. It sounds terrible to say, but I really hope they lose some business from this. It kills me how much crap people just roll over and take. |
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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy, and good with ketchup.
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12-30-2008, 02:56 PM
| #12 |
| Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: , , USA.
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
For those who think all eBayers pad the shipping and handling charges....I pack the item beforehand and before I list it and then weigh it. I go to the USPS website and see what the cost to ship it is, that is the exact fee I charge. No handling fees, no extra shipping charges. Now, I did that with the book I was talking about in my first post of this thread and the cost to ship the book was more than eBay allowed, so, I had to pay the difference just to ship the damn book. How is that fair? |
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Charles E. White
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12-30-2008, 03:02 PM
| #13 |
| Senior Warrior Member  Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Milwaukee, WI
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
my brother is a power seller of airsoft guns on ebay and they are giving him a terrible hassle. Closed his store, stripped listings and alot of other garbage after a year of perfect business. He went over to amazon and has more sales, less hassle plus amazon has some cool features he was telling me about that really help sellers out.
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12-30-2008, 03:09 PM
| #14 |
| Senior Warrior Member War Room Member  Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Sacramento, CA, USA.
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009 I'm Done! I'm done with ebay. I'll be taking down my listings today or tomorrow. I sell DVDs and I like to ship via Priority Mail. Minimum charge for Priority Mail is $4.75 but ebay will only allow me to charge $3. They've made more changes in 2008 than they have in all of the years before added together and none of them are good for the sellers. I don't need their B.S. anymore. I'm done. I wonder if ebay will survive through 2009. The end is near. |
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12-30-2008, 03:14 PM
| #15 |
| Who'm I kidding? War Room Member  Join Date: May 2006 Location: Easthampton, Massachusetts
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
With crazy fees large books like dictionaries will be too costly to ship, right? Goofy. Anyway, probably Ebay is thinking that if they instigate maximum shipping charges for books, for instance, they'll be parallel with Amazon. Ok. I get that. Makes sense. Even on Amazon some sellers get killed. I bought a copy of a heavy book there for like $1 once and the seller probably looked at his costs and effort and never bothered to send it because the weight of the book ate up his margin. I hope it shakes out and we can all figure out a way to sell our products on there, make money at it, and deliver value to the customers. In the meantime I concur that Etsy.com is kind of cool. My girlfriend turned me onto it. She sells a lot of stuff on there... it's not a commoditized marketplace like Ebay is and it may or may not become one. Everything is supposed to be handmade or "vintage" but there isn't much regulation. It has a strong sense of community on there too. I've looked at a few Ebay alternatives and they were pretty weak as of recently. I ran across this Google thing recently where you can list stuff on Google and it shows up God-knows-where, in search results or something. Seems cool but there is no central search mechanism nor regulation. As I recall the MicroSoft effort to sort of combine Craigslist and Ebay fell on it's face. I checked it out a year or so ago. |
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12-30-2008, 03:16 PM
| #16 | |
| YES, I'M RICH! War Room Member  Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Vancouver, B.C.
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009 Quote:
You may not pad your shipping and handling charges but many sellers do. They get a cheaper listing, better exposure, and eBay misses out on the money. On the rare occasion your shipping is higher than what eBay allows, charge more for the item up front, and explain it in your listing. To me, that's fair. | |
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12-30-2008, 03:19 PM
| #17 |
| Content & Copywriting Wiz War Room Member  Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Roselle, NJ, USA
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
"Power corrupts...absolute power corrupts absolutely." John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, first Baron Acton (1834–1902) It's not the exact quote he used, but it comes from what he actually said which was... "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." So it goes with eBay. |
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12-30-2008, 03:31 PM
| #18 |
| Warrior Member  Join Date: Nov 2008
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
I wonder if they have a guideline for motorcycle and car parts as well, a lot of the extra parts I have lying around I've either sold or intended to sell on ebay. Looks like I may be using amazon. I like the auction format though.
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12-30-2008, 03:34 PM
| #19 |
| Boogie Love War Room Member  Join Date: May 2006 Location: , , .
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
That's too much to put against the sellers. The model works because EVERYONE makes money on that end and everyone is happy because of the sent auction item. There's alternatives though, like Yahoo Auctions and Amazon. In fact, Amazon will probably see a spike in business coinciding with this news. |
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12-30-2008, 04:58 PM
| #20 | |
| Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Sacramento, CA, USA.
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009 Quote:
I'm tired of all the changes and the crap that sellers have to put up with. I'll be taking down my listings but I'll keep my account in case there are some positive changes in the future. But I'm not holding my breath. | |
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12-30-2008, 05:04 PM
| #21 |
| Senior Warrior Member War Room Member  Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: , , USA.
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
Charles, Thanks for posting, I always use FREE SHIP to attract bids, but $3 for a VHS tape does not even cover shipping, let alone handling. I still remember a friend who got rid of all his Star Trek figures for $500 back in the 90's. That would be impossible now because of all the fees. Steven, you are so right. I rarely use feebay these days, prefer amazon. |
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12-30-2008, 05:08 PM
| #22 |
| Warrior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: , , Australia.
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
I agree, I find it all a bit too much. I'm pleased to read the comments from so many different people, but I hate to be pessimistic, but once a level of power is reached by an org.. it seems to get a energy-life source of its own and it won't matter how many people leave they will still thrive. |
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12-30-2008, 05:08 PM
| #23 |
| Active Warrior  Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: , , Canada.
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
The fact of the matter is collosal giants like ebay and Google, can make whatever changes they want when it comes to their best interests, and it has to be accpeted. I think it's long overdue that a viable alternative to ebay emerged in the marketplace, no one likes singular domination, in the end it's the little people that get screwed.
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12-30-2008, 05:11 PM
| #24 |
| Warrior Member Join Date: Nov 2008
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
The problem is ebay has a name reconition that no other competitor has. But as the fees keep going up, you have ask your self is it worth it. I use to sell some dvd's on ebay and was thinking about doing it again but I think I'll try a different venue and just try to sell my extra motorcycle and car parts locally.
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12-30-2008, 05:31 PM
| #25 | |
| Songster Shops War Room Member  Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: , Arizona , USA.
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009 Quote:
The first thing that attracts buyers is price. When you run a search for a product what makes you click the link? The price. I'm not saying you should pad your shipping but to run the shipping in the red isn't smart. As for explaining it all in your listing - good luck - no one wants a sob story about how you need to charge more for the item because ebay is capping the shipping cost. All the customer wants to see is the price, shipping price and hit the buy button if its within their budget. You won't get "sympathy" sales. The days of using ebay as a business model are over. I've had my own stores since 2003 and they have always done better than my ebay stores. I used ebay to blow out slow moving inventory. I know there are others who have done very well with their ebay stores but those days are numbered. Its ebays play ground and they make the rules. As for buyers - there are still plenty of people who think you can ship (and should ship) for $0.42 They forget (or choose to ignore) the fact that the packaging costs money, there are listing fee's, final value fees, payment processing fee's, your time to pack the item, etc. Not to mention, you have to factor into your sales the fees paid for items that DIDN'T sell. I used Blackthorne pro to list my items on ebay and I loved the program because I would get a complete profit and loss report on each item. A huge eye opener! For those of you who sell products other than downloadables, a store of your own is the only way to go. Stop using ebay as your primary selling platform - it costs more than its worth. Especially now | |
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12-30-2008, 06:55 PM
| #26 | |
| YES, I'M RICH! War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Vancouver, B.C.
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009 Quote:
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01-01-2009, 01:35 PM
| #27 |
| The Real Charlie Harper War Room Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Harrisburg, Pa
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
Debbie: I think that depending on what you pay for leads, Ebay as a loss leader can be a good deal. But you and I are essentially saying the same thing. You are using their traffic to get leads, in exchange you pay their fees. Once they are in your Aweber, you can develop a relationship and drive them to your network of sites. That is really what Ebay gives you even in today's marketing world....leads. And in my calculation, the leads are still pretty cheap. Ebay knows that. I believe. Thus they have no loyalty to the seller on a customer to customer basis. The truth of the matter is that leads are cheap and once you have all you want, you will not be back to Ebay. And you are trying to convert their visitors to YOUR customers, and if they like what you have THEY wont be back either. So it makes sense to scrape the lining of your pockets as you and their customer walk out of the door for what could potentially be the last time. Charles Charles |
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01-01-2009, 01:47 PM
| #28 |
| Advanced Warrior  Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Texas
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
This has been caused by people who were abusing the system. I have heard stories of people charging $20 to ship a 1 pound item just a couple of hundred miles. And now everyone is paying the price. My wife does a lot of business on Ebay, I have not heard her say anything about the new rules. Guess I will have to tell her just in case she does not know. The management of ebay made a lot of gun owners mad with their anti-gun stance and now its getting worse wither everyday items. When youy can not even sell an accessory, something is worng. And now people can not even charge a reasonably price to ship an item??? Bah and more bah!! The overall quality of Ebay has gone down hill over the past few years. |
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01-01-2009, 02:11 PM
| #29 |
| It's just me! Join Date: Oct 2008
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
I thought I was the only one... I didn't know they were troubling others too. Actually I am not a regular seller and just wanted to get rid of some old books lying around my house. But they gave me a lot of problems regarding the shipping details and cost. Ultimately, I just gave up and closed my account. Ebay used to be friendly place for normal people like me. But it has changed over the years. |
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01-01-2009, 02:18 PM
| #30 |
| HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Dec 2008
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
eBay is excellent for newbies to get traffic to their offers. In fact it's probably the best website out there for that purpose. However the fees and all the rules have made it very hard to deal with. I will not sell there anymore. It's just not worth it. The profits that sellers make is oftentimes very small, and eBay keeps making them smaller. Steven |
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01-01-2009, 02:36 PM
| #31 |
| List Building Freedom War Room Member  | Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
Man I can't believe they can control the cost of shipping like that. I was getting a third party to ship my products and the customer would be charged in real-time. hat if the buyer is in another country and I want to mail them a DVD... It will cost more than $3... What about all those sellers that use United Postal Service in real time? Are they subject to the cap on shipping charges? Mike Hill |
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01-01-2009, 02:39 PM
| #32 |
| bombs away Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: USA
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
Seriously, if you're into book scouting or anything similar, use Amazon or Alibris to sell your used stuff. They're both a thousand times better than anything eBay has to offer you.
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01-01-2009, 03:19 PM
| #33 |
| #1 Yankee Fan  Join Date: Dec 2008
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
Ebay sucks man....thats for sure.... They hurt me and many other sellers out there... Check out youtube vid I made about them.. Take care Omar! |
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01-01-2009, 04:53 PM
| #34 | |
| Senior Warrior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: central Florida
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009 Quote:
Oh no, sellers trying to make money on ebay? Someone call the media! Charging people an amount that is stated in the listing is NOT fleecing them. A smart buyer will look at the total cost, not worry how much of it is for shipping. What's the difference between $20 plus 99 cents shipping or a 99 cent price with a $20 shipping charge? Nothing. Just glancing at that list of limits, I can tell some of them are not enough to cover actual shipping costs, not to mention the cost of packaging materials, delivery confirmation, and so on. | |
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01-01-2009, 04:55 PM
| #35 |
| HyperActive Warrior War Room Member  Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: PA , USA.
Posts: 275
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
When I do find something I want on Ebay, I always check the shipping before I even think of bidding. If everyone did that, and did not purchase items for .99 that had a $20 shipping fee, the system would work. Looks like Ebay is trying to protect buyers that don't have enough sense to check the shipping fees first. Unfortunately, that has a negative impact on many sellers. |
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01-01-2009, 05:22 PM
| #37 |
| Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Sacramento, CA, USA.
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
If I decide to use Ebay anymore it won't be with auctions or fixed price listings but with there classifieds. $10 for 30 days is pretty good. I have not checked the rules on classifieds lately but the rules for classifieds used to be way more lenient than other types of listings. |
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01-01-2009, 06:47 PM
| #38 |
| HyperActive Warrior  Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Northern California, USA.
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
I sell collectibles on Ebay, mostly because it's something I can do with my dialup connection (even though it still takes forever!) and I do pretty well with it. I am dismayed about these changes. For one thing, Ebay only calls it 'shipping'. I charge shipping and handling. The handling is for my time in packing, the gas I spend to drive several miles to the P.O., etc. I usually add about $2.00. Afterall, 'regular' companies charge you, why can't I? Time is $. As far as Paypal exclusively, I use it alot, because it's convenient, but the fees are starting to impact me. I have been contacted by bidders asking if they can use a money order, which if it is a USPS one, I say yes. It avoids the Paypal fees. I know alot of sellers used the high s&h fees to avoid the final valuation fee, and that's not right. But without sellers-who are the bread and butter of Ebay-they are shooting themselves in the foot...guns permitted or not! LOL. I guess I'll be looking at alternatives, even though it appears to me that the collectors I'm after seem to favor Ebay. Guess I can't win. Kate |
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01-01-2009, 07:04 PM
| #39 |
| Songster Shops War Room Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: , Arizona , USA.
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009 I haven't logged into my ebay account since Nov - it looks like there are a ton more changes. For example all my history is cleared - even the stuff that didn't sell. I thought I would do a search by seller ID to find a classified that I ran in Oct so I could show you the results. You can't see closed auctions by seller that are over 15 days old now. You used to be able to see old listings for a lot longer period than 15 days. I guess they don't want you to know what sells Anyway, I found the link I was looking for This is in regards to running classified ads. I did an experiment in Oct to give away a free craft book. I created a brand new Halloween site at Its A Halloween Thing - Halloween Costumes for adults, infants & pets | Ghost Stories & more and then created an ebay classified. I was late making the Halloween site since I had some server/joomla/module complications that needed sorting out so I thought I would use ebay to drive traffic to the new website. What started out as plan to drive traffic ended up being a test to see how effective ebays classified ads are. Heres the ad http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360093028508 I ran this in Oct and the response to the page was dismal. Oct is the month for people to search for Halloween items. Well you can go to the ebay page and see what I wrote. By the end of the listing only 113 people visited the page. It was a total waste of time and money. I gave away just a couple of free craft books off the ebay ad. You will see my updated comments and when I changed the title to include "ebay sucks" you will see my traffic increased. My new website was indexed within the week it was created and received more organic traffic in the first week than that ebay classified ad recieved in 30 days. In the end my website made money for Halloween and the ebay classified ad was a bust. I've had other similar experiences using ebay's classified ads and so have my clients. I've also created and tested using the "about me" page for optin boxes etc. My opinion, its not worth the time. I've even played with posting items in the adult only section (which gets a lot more visitors than the rest of the site) That was a bust too. Have I made money on ebay? Yes Was it worth my time? It used to be but now its not and I don't think its cost effective. I sell a lot of different items - Its not like I have one niche and that niche doesn't do well. Someone above mentioned how much traffic ebay gets Yea they do, but so does Google. Here's a secret about the ebay shopper - they are cheap. There is nothing wrong with cheap but its the same as building your list by giving away free items. When you try to sell something at a reasonable rate - they don't buy. They are too used to getting it for free. Same with the ebay buyer. If its a mainstream product, it better be dirt cheap. The only products that bring a decent price are items that are hard to find or collector's items. A couple years ago, I used to run my entire product line (over 5,000 items) on ebay (product from 2 of my stores) I had to price it lower than my store so "people could get a deal" because thats what they were looking for. That meant my profit margin was minimal because of the ebay fees (fees I didn't have using my own store). Not only did my stores out perform my ebay sales but I made more money with them. Over the years I have gone back and forth using ebay. I want to use them but they make it darn hard to like them these days. Now the ebay motors stuff is different. We have bought and sold cars many times on ebay with great results - sports cars though. In regards to shipping charges - In theory I totally agree with Chris Lockwood. But, in reality we all know shoppers don't look at the shipping costs and then they come unglued when they see the final bill. The shipping doesn't have to be all that expensive but if its more than the price of the item, their brain can't rationalize it. Yes there were sellers who were gouging - in fact I remember ebooks that were available that preached raising your shipping rate so you could make money on it. I never did that - I always used the dynamic calculators and added $1 for handling. Anyway, end of rant. I could go on and on as I have tons of stories. As you can see I have some definite opinions about ebay. I've tried and tested all the "guru techniques". In the end I feel they aren't worth the work. So, let them keep screwing the sellers - in the end they won't last. I'm still selling but they aren't getting my money |
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01-01-2009, 07:47 PM
| #40 |
| Advanced Warrior War Room Member  Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: SA - Australia
Posts: 509
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
Ebay and Paypal bother overcharge its insane I give both of them over $500 a month and thats more than I make of Ebay.
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01-01-2009, 08:17 PM
| #41 |
| GO Cubs! War Room Member  Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Chicago, IL USA
Posts: 569
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
Hi All, eBay has obviously changed for the worse. I've had my eBay account for over 10 years now (can't believe it's been that long). I used to be a PowerSeller back in 2003, 2004 flipping used laptops. I loved eBay but the changes are just ridiculous. I'll tell you, that's horrible about their fixed shipping rule. I used to ship EVERYTHING USPS Priority Mail as the post office would let you order FREE shipping supplies right from their website but ONLY can be used to ship Priority. It was great as you never had to source or buy different size boxes. With the fixed shipping, you're now forced to source your own boxes. Now, eBay has created more work for the seller with a huge burden on absorbing the shipping costs up and above. As others have mentioned here you really have to go another route. Won't be perfect as eBay is the only game in town online. Do we hope for a breakup of eBay like the US Govt. did in 1984 with the phone company? Also, their "ended auction" listings only go back 14 days, not 30 days like before. I do recall eBay actually charging a fee to search expired listings but everyone went into an uproar on the private PowerSeller message boards. You can take it to the bank that they'll look at this revenue model again in 2009. With the 14 day search feature it's very frustrating for the casual seller trying to dump something used or a collectible seeing if it's even worth the time to list it. I guess eBay expects us to list everything at 99 cents? Gee. Thanks for reading, Dennis |
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01-01-2009, 08:38 PM
| #42 |
| Warrior Member  Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Shamokin, PA
Posts: 16
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
The shipping rates are the rate you have to charge for your lowest price available for shipping. You can have higher charges you just have to have one rate that is at or below the price in that list. You can use UPS and have the calculator determined the actual cost and ship it for more than those prices listed. The lowest shipping price has to fall within that price structure. One of the reason's they dropped the offline payments was to eliminate shill bidding. This eliminates that entirely so they do have valid reasons for these changes. It just seems that ebay these days are into constant change and it keeps affecting there seller base. Martin |
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01-01-2009, 09:21 PM
| #43 |
| Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: , , .
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
Charles: Is there a way to rig it so it allows you to charge a higher shipping price?  Yeah, I can see that working so well...not. You need to be able to ship by traceable means to do any business on Ebay (scammers will eat you alive if you can't prove shipment and receipt). That my friend, is hella expensive. If this does not destroy Ebay, nothing will. |
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01-01-2009, 09:46 PM
| #44 | |
| Advanced Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: SA - Australia
Posts: 509
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Thanked 18 Times in 17 Posts
| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009 Quote:
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01-01-2009, 11:47 PM
| #45 | |
| Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 3,386
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009 Quote:
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01-02-2009, 12:06 AM
| #46 |
| Senior Warrior Member War Room Member  Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 1,675
Thanks: 148
Thanked 36 Times in 19 Posts
| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
I think ever since the NEW ebay CEO came, every thing has been changing...and yes, i don't like the changes either...they are only buyer-friendly which i understand but still it's the seller's that make ebay money...no?
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01-02-2009, 12:08 AM
| #47 |
| Elijah & Veronica War Room Member  Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Toronto, Canada
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
Man, I've given up on eBay since early summer... Too many legit aff's gettings screwed out of money.. Too many shifty changes and shifty tracking... Not worth it man.. |
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01-02-2009, 12:21 AM
| #48 |
| Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 1,675
Thanks: 148
Thanked 36 Times in 19 Posts
| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
I still sell stuff on ebay...but it's just not the same as before..the profits are smaller definitely than back in the days...plus now you have to send in CD's instead of digital downloads...but i use auction acrobat...HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for digital product sellers on ebay... regardless, ebay definitely not that great anymore...still use it to get some small income...better than nothing... the WORST thing about ebay is that it seems you have to LOWER your price there...compared to your websites...that's why it's weird and tough... BJ |
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01-02-2009, 12:35 AM
| #49 |
| Advanced Warrior Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Florida
Posts: 513
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
I was banned from eBay November 2007 and made several posts about it. I was mad about it and predicted the end of ebay and paypal. Any changes that they make will not benefit most sellers. There is not one genuine product there that is cheaper than at a reputable website. Amazon is the way to go. Craigslist is good but no way to check ratings. What I find interesting is that there is no great competitor to ebay. All these smaller auction sites have more sellers that buyers. Same with Paypal. Google tried and failed with Google Checkout. |
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Still learning.
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01-02-2009, 01:33 AM
| #50 |
| Monavie Distributor Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Michigan
Posts: 25
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| Re: eBay Shafting the Sellers Even More in 2009
Yeah, eBay has almost gotten insane with their prices. I can understand the whole "supply and demand" side of it, and how since it is so popular, they can't just be giving stuff away. But if they keep raising prices like this, sellers are going to start disappearing, and fast. I sell a lot of clothing and accessories on there, and it's starting to drive me crazy with how they tax every little thing. |
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| Tags |
| 2009, ebay, ebay losing sales, ebay new rules for 2009, sellers, sellers screwed by ebay, shafting |
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