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Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). She is a member of the Online News Association (Sep 2005 - present) and Investigative Reporters and Editors (Mar 2006 - present). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com. See disclosure at EcommerceBytes.com/disclosure/.
This “big brand” success is exactly why all non-Brand sellers have to fear Promoted Listings. It’s like a nuclear weapon of advertising, wielded by Brands. A company like Reebok, when selling directly, has a HUGE amount of margin to work with – margin that they would have lost to the brick and mortar retailer. So they buy additional advertising (Promoted Listings) and reduce the price to the buyer, both actions funded by the margin they now have without a middle man. And they will STILL net more money than wholesaling to a retailer.
If all Brands do this, they will soak up every available dollar in the marketplace. Brands are Brands for a reason – they sell popular, mass market items. After the eBay buyer has his new shoes, new wardrobe, new fashion accessories, new tools, new appliances, and new electronics, he has no money left for general marketplace sellers. Effectively he has been picked up by the ankles and shaken until all his money has spilled from his pockets and into the hands of Brands. Then he is guided along to the rest of the marketplace, penniless.
Why bother? They will just shut down access like they always do
NO Mandatory PayPal .
So, I have been away from eBay for several years but I am thinking of jumping back in again. I understand PayPal and eBay have separated but ….is PayPal still the most preferred payment method or has that changed since I’ve been off of eBay? If not, what is the standard for eBay payments now, as a seller? And what will the new payment options include as they are rolled out?
To kjp55
Part of me wants to tell you STAY AWAY from the “new and improved” Ebay. What Ebay has become is a paid Advertising Revenue for CLICK Thru – Using….seller listings to promote other sellers and sites, they don’t really care if you sell anything or not. The Final value fees have increased for many instead of 10% – they can go up to 14% (if people return their stuff to you for – oh, Changed my mind) and other fee amounts in different categories, the site wants to “guide’ you into FREE SHIPPING, FREE RETURNS (we are talking 30, 60, 90+ days – plus in paypal 180 days allowed to return) – the returns are automated – so if someone frauds the system – YOU end up paying the shipping cost back instead of your buyer (if you get back the same thing to shipped out), oh and your appeal – FORGET IT. OH, and Ebay now is moving everyone to MANAGED PAYMENTS – so instead of paypal taking…using your money – EBAY will gladly KEEP the money safe for you – and they will take out their fees (0.25 for each listing that sells something – and not only .25 per multiple totals (remember .30 plus 3% for paypal for the total transaction – now, .25 each item). And since Ebay will be managing the money, they can help themselves to the money you have for refunds immediately and maybe in a few days you can get access to the money left over.
I suggest you spend a little time reviewing the comments under each of the headings here now – like the Screwups on Hasbro and Reebok this month – and you’ll see why many of us have closed our stores and left – the Middle Man is just adding more and more fees to the sellers that remain, but if youre lucky perhaps in the beginning they will actually show your listings to the world – and then for the other 29-30 days a month – NOTHING. It’s just not worth it anymore – even if you do wholesale, you are competing with China Sellers that can sell an item .99 plus free shipping. It’s very sad what the site has become, as it is now a psuedo-stock market – the site gets paid for transactions, not sales – ’cause if the refunds occur – you don’t get back any fees to them you paid in….so your customers can buy something, cancel and – Whalla you are only out the Final Value Fee, instead of the shipping cost (2-ways for the returns to occur). I wish I could paint a rosier picture for you….but honestly , I cannot.