Another Frustrating eBay Promotion

by: Massachusets Howler

Has an ebay "promotion" ever worked?
Not!
MH
(Planned THEFT).

by: Philip Cohen

Why does eBay have to run “a sweepstakes encouraging users to sell items”? Don’t they now have all those Johnny Ho-acquired internationally-known “brands” selling on the eBay marketplace and shipping via the eBay Enterprise Unit.

Oh, that’s right, the eBay Enterprise Unit looks like it’s about to be disposed of at a $1.5 billion loss—well done Johnny Ho. And, for displaying such brilliant business acumen, Johnny Ho has received and additional $23 million and the opportunity to apply his destructive skills directly to the newly independent (and hapless) “PreyPal” …

Will someone please explain to me what is going on in the eBay/PayPal boardroom? Did they all get a cut of Johnny Ho’s $23 million? …

Regardless, are people really so desperate and/or naïve that they think they could actually get anything, even $5 to $15, out of eBay? And would eBay really want such desperadoes anyway; Johnny Ho certainly did not want them …

Face it people, Johnny Ho has delivered eBay a “near death” experience; if eBay is to recover to its pre-Ho state it is going to take some years, as it did to establish eBay in the first place.

Remember, when eBay initially IPO’d it had a staff of less than one hundred and it literally “ran itself”; but look at it now: fat and bloated and with all those pigs with their snouts in the trough …

The eBay executive suite—where the incompetent mingle with the disingenuous, the malevolent, the unscrupulous, and the outright criminal, and the just plain stupid … http://bit.ly/11F2eas

by: Massachusets Howler

At least ebay is consistent-LOL!
MH

by: Massachusets Howler

Maybe they will give you a new non-working coupon for last months non-working coupon.

That would be NICE.

mass howler
PS: Who has time for this??

by: Ebay Seller-Ebay Buyer

Stop all the childish promotions and get serious Ebay.  Drop listing fees and you'll see tens of 1,000's of great sellers come back to ebay. Or keep playing these silly games with promotions and watch more and more sellers quit ebay to join Amazon and other sites

by: comet

Until about 5minutrs ago I did not know ebay even HAD such "Sweepstakes"!  After all I HAVE only sold on the site steadily since 1999--guess I must not be as "valuable"  a customer to them as the last guy who signed up from China.

And since they are NOT allowing my items to be SEEN--how ELSE can you explain a sales TOTAL across 5 accounts for the month of July of--THREE items sold?

Not 3 per account--which would be bad enough--but--THREE ITEM ACROSS ALL ACCOUNTS TOTAL.  

And all to the SAME area--Florida--so this also means the items I sell geared towards a more Northern exposure cannot SELL if they are ONLY shown to southern area viewers.

Yes--where ARE those BUYERS Devil?  

They ARE out there--just not shopping on ebay--because they CAN'T SEE US.  

This way to the egress.  

by: Volvo351

Since eBay under Johnny The Hoe has never delivered what customers pay for, namely equitable search placement and item visibility, why should anyone be surprised that Devil Wingnut isn't delivering what he promises?

Remember folks: The Hoe personally assured us that this criminal enterprise was in good hands as he jumped ship to PayPig's board, where all the filthy loot - literally billions - has been stowed. eBay is the wormy, debt-laden hulk, set adrift without a prayer.  

by: Volvo351

@Comet

I don't have multiple accounts but I can tell you that since The Hoe and his band of Bain pirates commandeered this ship, sales for me have likewise gone from three a week to three a MONTH.

Why would new buyers open an account when they have a well-founded fear that their personal, UNENCRYPTED info is wide open to hackers?

And, from your post I can see that the new headless, or at least clueless, CEO will be popularly known as 'Devil' and may I add that the appropriate surname is 'Wingnut." Another out-of-his-depth [mis-]manager with no ecommerce experience but no doubt well versed in stuffing his pockets [and probably offshore bank accounts] full of the sellers' dough with the blessings of the deaf, dumb, and blind BoD.

by: Volvo351

@Comet

I'm no expert on networking at the macro level but maybe someone can tell us if it's possible that your items are on a server that's somehow limited to traffic from a particular region or ISP? Or, as some would speculate, the available buying activity is being doled out grudgingly; ie. they're spreading the pain?  

by: Rexford

Comet and Volvo351, I have noticed these patterns too. Someone turned off the server in late May, and not only did orders fall, the number of watchers fell. I have no doubt that this is due to manipulation. We have multiple eBay sites, and we have seen this situation on all of them

I have also noticed that most of the sales we get are from the surrounding states.  I am guessing that eBay is doing this so that sellers meet their very unrealistic shipping expectations.

As I have said before, don't listen to what eBay say they will do, look at what they actually do.

I'm putting 90% of my efforts on sites that don't hide my listings and manipulate search.

by: GotToGetOut

Ebay needs to find buyers -- not sellers!

I've been an 17 year seller on Ebay. Always sold $4000 - $8000 a month for many years until the last few. Had the lowest sales ever this month -- leaving for vacation tomorrow and this is it for me -- $1670 with a $179.99 discounted month store fee of over 11% before I've even made a sale. the only winner in this scenario is Ebay!

Luckily, I just became eligible for full social security. August 17 will be my first check and will end my need to depend upon Ebay for any income. I'm on the road to finally getting out!! Yeah.

by: Rexford

Ditto the lowest sales ever this month (July 2015) GotToGetOut.

by: toolguy

My sales are the same as they've been for the past decade. Same old eBay.

by: maribellr

I sometimes wonder if perhaps that are just too many sellers on ebay.  Is there a place where we can see how many items for sale on ebay and how many sellers.  Just curiouss.

by: Rexford

maribellr, if search worked properly, and one had great products, it would not matter how many sellers are on eBay. When a company plays games with visibility and actually hide listings...well no one can rise above that.

A buyer can not find items, now matter how great they are, if eBay hides them.

by: Volvo351

Poster 'Maribelle' wonders if there are "too many sellers" on eBay. That's like asking if a newspaper has "too many subscribers" which of course these days they don't! Sellers are the PAYING CUSTOMERS. We count on a service to push merchandise out the door at a profit. A REASONABLE fee for that service is expected and acceptable.  Gouging on fees [more than doubled since about 8 years ago] and NO PROMOTION in return isn't acceptable.

You should of course be LISTING here with the expectation of SELLING the item, and the PROFIT is its own and sufficient reward. I wouldn't mind if eBay turned that "sweepstakes" around and offered a prize to BUYERS. That would at least make biz sense. These guys did go to "business school," right? Of course, they opted out, or slept through, Biz Ethics 101!

by: comet

@ Rexford and Volvo351---

Yes this is THE most dismal I have EVER seen it----I could probably place my stuff on a table at the end of my driveway on my quite rural road and sell MORE.  Probably for better PRICES too.  

I am NOT going to give this stuff away--I already have very competitive prices on all of my items--and I KNOW that WHEN they are SEEN they SELL.

On one account I am seeing bizarrly HIGH "view"  numbers which even in the Olden Days of ebay would have been strange--over 100 Views on a BELT?   Over 200 Views on a Ralph Lauren coat--with NO offers;  I think it has 2 Watches on it--and it has been on there for WEEKS.  I researched it (and have sold similar items in the past)  and it is square in the middle of prices for similar.  NOTHING on that account has SOLD.  

On one of the other accounts I got one "Offer"  for LESS than half price on the ONE item I "stock";  it killed me but I made a counter offer and never heard back;  not giving this stuff away AND if they should--as they did awhile ago----SHOW the Best Offer Price--then I would be screwed and never able to ASK the real price again as long as that artificial price showed!

The other accounts sold that grand total of THREE items--for the ENTIRE MONTH.  

The problem is NOT "Too many sellers"--it is EXPOSURE.  They could have the Hope Diamond listed and if no one KNEW they could not SELL it.  

This is the FIRST thing you are suppossed TO learn in B-School--but I think they musta bought their "diplomas"  off of ebay.  

by: Rexford

Good post Comet, and I could not agree more.  We also will not give our items away.  It is shameless what eBay does.

And mean while we get the "Top Tips For Selling Your Items On eBay" emails from them. What a joke that is.

I guess the Chinese and eBay's enterprise darlings are getting all of the exposure.

Yep Wenig, you are really reconnecting with small sellers.  JD's shoes fit you perfectly.

by: ebayisscrewed

eBay just misses the entire point over and over again.  Their small sellers are their buyers. Give them no visibility or sales and they have no money to purchase on the site.  Pretty simple.  Good video about this:  Transactional Reciprocity vs Transactional Hijacking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4MM2JgQBPg

by: Owen

toolguy-

I said it before and will say it again. You would do well, even on your own selling website. You have very, very specific items that you sell, and you are an expert in them. Buyers would seek you out, no matter where you are. You really don't need eBay. You certainly could go it alone. You have a list of many, many followers, I am sure. eBay got you going, but you could continue on without them for sure, and keep more money in your pocket. To compare yourself and your sales to others who are not as specific, and rather rare, is like comparing apples and oranges.