eBay CEO Says Payments Switch Will Be Like a Big Bang

by: Marie

@madmax

That simply isn't correct.  I certainly agree that it doesn't happen often and that most changes are a fee increases in one way shape or form, but Ebay does and has made changes that save us money.

The biggest one for me was the expansion of variation listings.  When they first came out they could only be used in fashions.  That was good, but when they expanded them to be used in other categories, it saved me hundreds of dollars on a monthly basis.  This change was the single most important change to me that saved me and continues to save me a good deal of money on a regular basis.

I know not everyone can use variation listings.  I'm just saying that Ebay has, while very rare, saved us money from time to time.

by: ebayout

He just scored a $5.7M stock hit...like he cares about retaining sellers.

https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/ebay/insid
eractions

by: maxmad

Amazing Marie, you found 1 example when ebay gave a little bit back to a small group of sellers,  thank god, I have some hope, I am now not so pessimistic,  

So,, 99.9% sure you will pay MORE, and have issues

by: pace306

eBays ONLY doing this to make themselves money, themselves.

While its business 101 to try and increase your revenue, its quite another to swear its to save your sellers money and lie (once again).

eBay now gets to hold your money and make interest on it - but not share it with you - why?

eBay now gets to control even MORE of the process - wheres that "partner" thing? I guess its absent.

eBay now gets to make more money on the swipe itself ... are we going to get back .25% ??? (or similar?) wow we ....

The list continues on and on, and eBay is the LEAST believable entity on the planet - but to answer TOOLS question - eBay is still #2 in ecommerce and until that changes ... most sellers have no other options - and eBay knows that.

In their eyes, seller weakness is an invitation to abuse. They know you have no where else to go and cant sue them (I didnt sign that paper - I can sue them in a class action suit btw).  eBay and its sellers are like an old married couple where the husband abuses his wife. She cant leave cause of the kids, the finances and the community -but is still in pain. He knows she cant leave and inflicts more and more abuse.

#ebaysellerstoo is the hashtag for abused sellers on eBay. If theft and fraud from returns wasnt enough, now theres (or there will be) payment abuse.

by: RL15

even though I no longer sell on fleecebay,

I can't wait to see all the drama when fleecebay screws up the 1099's

their excuse will be its just a glitch

ceo is getting more pathetic by the day

by: Whatever

Well look - ebay USED to process your payment when they owned Paypal. The difference this time is they don't actually TELL you when they might think about giving you your money. So I'm supposed to ship the item and get my money sometime in the future??  huh?  Let's have the details please.  Wouldn't be such a scary thing if ebay was trustworthy. Don't open your mouth and put your foot in it idiot (Wen) .  Will this be a huge mass exodus of sellers? Here's the good news folks. You have 2 years to dabble in other market places. I doubt they are much better. I've tried many. I sell jewelry. Trust me I've tried many many sites even my own venue which btw I just dumped to re-organize.  Better get re-organized quickly I think.

by: iheartjacksparrow

If eBay plans on rolling out this payment plan this year, they have to have the details already worked out. The fact that they won't release any information speaks volumes as to what they believe the reaction of their sellers will be.  

by: Marie

@madmax

No Max, I didn't just find ONE example.  As I STATED I gave you AN example of the one change that saved me the most in Ebay fees.  Please don't misrepresent what I posted.  I also acknowledged that price reductions on Ebay regarding fees are very rare, but I appreciate it when I get one and especially one that saved me as much as variation listings have.  

by: Marie

Ebay recently posted this regarding this subject.

http://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/service-and-paymen
ts/payments-intermediation.html

by: Tiffee Jasso

I am just going to wait and see how bad it all is and whether I will be able to instantly access my money to pay for shipping. That is what is important to me. If I am forced to leave as a seller, then so be it. I am not going to hold anyone's hand either.  

by: Marie

@tiffee

For what it is worth, I agree with you.  However I highly doubt that Ebay will forbid us to use the funds for shipping.  Etsy and Amazon do not do that.  There is no reason and no indication that Ebay would do that.

by: QueenMab

Devil Wenig speaks with a forked tongue! I sell on other venues & Sellers do have choices. Greedbay doesn't care about Sellers, only what they can line their pockets with.

by: ib30667

Well I guess it's time to find another venue to sell on. I SO hate when these places TELL you how it's going to be whether you like it or not.  

by: RL15

@QueenMab. I agree with you 100%

If some of these disgruntled sellers go elswhere they will find out there are better venues without the venue stealing from their sellers.

And of course I see some posts about other venues that are completely false. Sellers should try other sites and get the information first hand.

With the other sites I am completely off fleecebay. Other site improve, fleecebay gets worse.

by: Marie

@ib30667

Then don't go to Etsy or Amazon as they do the same thing.  You might want to try Ecrater.  Some have had success there.  I haven't, but others have.  I hope it works out for you.

by: Working It

One thing I know I WON'T like is that eBay intends to take seller final value fees "off the top" before distributing payments to the seller.
Currently, I pay all of my seller fees with a credit card that gives me cash back, off-setting some of those fees. I will miss that option... a lot.
My husband and I are both self-employed, and his customers pay NET-30, which is industry standard for his business. He doesn't work every day, not necessarily every week (feast or famine), but over the course of a quarter, it's very good money. NET-30 can create a cash flow problem at times. With eBay, we have been able to maintain steadier cash-flow under the current system, and it has served us well while waiting for his payment checks to arrive. Until now... I will really miss the ability to withdraw my balance "at will" (especially on days I sell big-ticket items).

by: thriftyone

Hmmm.........

From the quarterly earnings call transcript:
On page 6 Seeking alpha:

"As a payment intermediator on the eBay Marketplace, we will be responsible for collecting funds from buyers and instructing our payment processor to disburse funds to sellers. Currently, this is done via our relationship with PayPal. In the new intermediation model, we will simplify our relationship with sellers and plan to CHARGE THEM A SINGLE FEE for our Marketplace and payment services.."

Page 8
From Devin Wenig: WE HAVE NOT MADE THE DECISION TO BECOME A MERCHANT OF RECORD. There are many ways that we can become a payment intermediary. MLR is one of them. That's a decision yet to be made, and it may actually change depending on the geography in which we operate in.

by: Marie

@thriftyone

Are you of the opinion that Ebay should process the payments for free?  All they are saying is that the FVF and the payment processing fee [currently PP's fees] will be one fee.  

It may resemble how Amazon and Etsy do this, or maybe not.  Hard to say at this point until more details are released.  

Merchant accounts can be complicated.  That is why many sellers on Ebay can't have their own merchant accounts.  Which is why there are businesses like PP, Stripe, etc.  There are requirements and rules that have to be followed.  

I'm not sure I like the idea of literally one fee either.  I'll have to give that more thought.  

by: maxmad

while ebay turns it's sellers world upside down with disruption, upset, and costly changes, The amount of sellers that will leave ebay over this will be in the millions, less sellers equal less selection of items, equal less buyers

For us it will simply amount to another profitable year for our websites steady reliable  business as usual  no change, with  PayPal payments going straight into our PayPal account ,

by: maxmad

Marie said ,,,,,,,Merchant accounts can be complicated.  That is why many sellers on Ebay can't have their own merchant accounts. ,,,,,,,,,,,,

Not true, and not complicated at all........super easy to get and use

We have a merchant account and it's easy, not complicated at all, we accept credit cards over the phone, or in person,  as well as online