eBay Sellers Are Not Better Off after PayPal Split

by: Silver Ice King

Most sellers are not better off after the split but that is not really due to the split of Ebay and Paypal but the useless CEO that Ebay put in place after Donohoe.  Wenig had a chance to really reinvigorate Ebay and try to reconnect with the smaller and OOAK sellers, but instead has absolutely destroyed the search engine and changed everything in favor of the Chinese who he thinks are Ebays future.  The way he has done everything on the cheap, just like most of the Chinese sellers, not worrying about what the effects are on the site or sellers makes me wonder if he studied under the Chinese Government during his time dealing so heavily with them.  

If he had run other parts of the marketplace better I think Ebay might have had a better reception with Managed Payments.  But since he has shown that all he cares about is digging deeper and deeper into the existing Sellers pockets rather than growing the site while reinventing the platform with his Seller Hub program that was done completely on the cheap while not worrying about whether it actually worked or not has destroyed everybody's faith in him.  Actually i think he is the only person remaining that has any confidence in his abilities to run Ebay let alone turn it around.  To turn Ebay around and make it anywhere near as successful as it used to be, Ebay has to win back the faith of the Sellers and that will never happen as long as the current CEO, Devin Wenig,  is running the company or even on the BOD as he is a total cancer in the company.  

He took a company that had a chance to reinvigorate the marketplace and the Sellers and instead did nothing but Lie, Cheat and Steal from them and pushed that same culture on down the company so that anybody who had any integrity left the company or was let go because he could not stand that quality in a person.  Between Donohoe and Wenig they have destroyed a company that a Monkey could have run and grown successfully.  Business schools will be using this as a case study for students going forward on what not to do when running a company.

by: DeathFromAbove

They didn't handle it right.  Ever since the split, it is true triple jeopardy.  ebay should have removed themselves from disputes entirely.  As it is, if you win a claim on ebay, they can just go to paypal, if paypal denies them, they do a chargeback.   3 chances to get screwed.

"Managed payments" will only be useful if they resolve disputes, and then handle chargebacks invisibly.  They will also have to boot buyers that do chargebacks after a resolved dispute, as part of the TOS.  Can we expect it to be done right?  Of course not.  eBay will try to pass chargebacks on to the seller, and provide no support other than facilitating yanking the money out of your account as fast as possible to invite a terrible buyer to come back and do it again.  

The idea of ebay having access to my bank account is quite terrifying.

by: Dellthorpe

EBay could not pour water out of their shoe if the instructions were on the heel. I was a seller twice but got scammed and will no longer sell on that snake pit. I buy a lot on eBay because I like what the sellers have to offer over ther sites. A lot of sellers know to move the merchandise on eBay they have to stack it deep and sell it cheap. I like to think when I buy on eBay I am helping put food on a sellers table - the heck with the EBay sewer scum like Pierre , board and the stooge Devin. If EBay shut down tomorrow I would celebrate. I can not believe someone that has deep pockets has not started a e-commerce site to take eBay’s sellers and buyers. Elliot will never turn that snake pit around. I now wonder if Elliot management is afraid to fly commercial - lmao!!!

by: Lightning

Was there EVER any concern for the sellers in the eBay/PayPal split?  

Icahn pushed for the split to give PayPal unrestrained opportunities, not having to avoid partnerships and affiliations that might simultaneously adversely affect eBay.  Already a cash cow, PayPal was considered to have one hand tied behind its back.  The split was NEVER going to benefit eBay, or its sellers, just the stockholders in PayPal.  Letting PayPal eventually have total access to the financial services sandbox was a great thing for PayPal.  Or was it??

Now PayPal has its freedom, but soon it may be losing it's previously huge customer, eBay.  I'm not sure that the new opportunities it was able to take advantage of will outweigh that loss.  Maybe there was something magic about eBay and PayPal being linked, the whole greater than the sum of the parts.  I'm sure the Icahns of the world made money on the split, and probably again shorting each company if they head downward.  Nothing is better for Wall Street than change and volatility.  They make money when stock is sold OR acquired.  Keep it scrambled, and the money comes in.  Smooth sailing, no money.  Well, less money, because Wall Street brokers will always find a way to get their vig.

But back to the original question - is it better for the ebay sellers?  As opposed to Wall Street, sellers need stability, order, and access to markets and tools.  The more abstract things become, the harder it is for a seller to navigate.  The fee costs are rising much faster than the product prices, so that compression constantly erodes margins.  The eBay marketplace is struggling, so costs are being cut there, meaning less services to sellers, less support, more money grabs to increase marketplace revenue.  Every way you look at it, the sellers are in the middle, getting squeezed out.  Thanks, Carl.

by: JWsax

No other company treats its customers with the contempt ebay does.

by: EyeFlipDaily

does anyone have an issue with Amazon handling their payment info and paying out on a bi-weekly schedule?
what about Poshmark & Mercari as well?

by: Marie

Well said Lightning.  It is important to keep in mind that Ebay will be allowing buyers to use PP as their form of payment later this year.  I would not imagine that Ebay will take it away for a long time as there are just too many buyers that use it exclusively.

And once this contract between the two companies it finished, PP will be just fine.  Their doors will swing wide open and they will be able to court other sites and places they currently can't.

by: Disgusted

Very few have any trust in ebay now.  So, how  much trust will they have when they have access to your checking acct.  There is no guarantee that ebay will continue to allow Paypal to be a player.  They are hiding the choice now??  
Etsy just had a big screw up taking way too much from sellers acct.  OOOOPPS??
I thought that was ebays playbook.  Looks like it is spreading.
When you list an item on ebay, you are agreeing to their terms like maybe it will be seen or maybe not.  Now they will include maybe they will pay you or not......

by: cvsharkey

Disgusted is right, it feels like Etsy is using eBay's playbook to the letter. And as long as their stock climbs, they'll continue down that path.

As far as eBay's catering to Chinese, sure--go right ahead. Just remember that eBay is all about the price. If tariffs climb to 25%, first you will have lost your US sellers (by choice,) only to depend upon Chinese sellers who won't be able to discount further. And you'll have to depend upon your listing fees for earnings.  

by: hawk

these are the scams that you are warned about , and not to fall for , every day. now these venues are taking control of your money , bank accounts, and your ability to run your own business. you are now giving them permission to scam you any time they want to , with your blessing.

what has happened to common sense ?? keep blessing the scammers , and they'll have it all.

by: Rexford

The problem is right here, within Lightning statement "The split was NEVER going to benefit eBay, or its sellers, just the stockholders in PayPal."

The day eBay went public was the big blow to small sellers.  It became all about the stockholders.  Wenig, and previously Donahoe, is beholden to Wall Street.  They don't give a flying fig about sellers except for the fees that they collect from them.

A smart CEO would see the importance of growing marketplaces.  Take a big guess where sellers would spend their money if they were actually making any? As it is, it is a rigged card came benefiting only those who eBay chooses to allow to play.  

Henry Ford knew that if he paid his workers good wages that they would buy Ford products.  And he didn't waste his time flying back and forth to the Hamptons to see and be seen with the art crowd.

by: The End

PayPal is NOT licensed to operate in my state.
And a few other states.
PayPal has a bad reputation.
A bad reputation That big should have put PayPal out of business.
We lived a thousand years without this aboration, we'll live another thousand without it.
Vaporize PayPal.

by: The End

After I began using PayPal, I was inundated with phishing emails generated from WITHIN PayPal, as evidenced by the use of information only known to PayPal.
To stop the ulcers, I destroyed my PayPal account.
NO MORE ULCERS.
PayPal is garbage.

by: Windkissed

I use paypal all the time and on other sites as well on the web.  I love it.  It has worked very well for me in my ebay business and elsewhere.  I intend to keep using it.  It gives customers an added sense of security when paying ebay online.

by: pace306

Lightning is/was %100 right - the split never had ANYTHING to do with sellers.

The truth is - even Ichan knew that eBay was an albatross around Paypals neck - and that for Paypal to ever break out and become a real company - it had to shed ebays bad reputation - it had to stand alone.

eBay pay is 1) about control over sellers and their funds 2) extra profit from saving the % it would have had to normally give to Paypal.

eBay refuses to upgrade/fix/repair its main selling platform - its always easier to find some other issue to tinker with .

Im not sure why ANYONE ever thought that sellers would be better off ........ on eBay they NEVER are.

by: Davina T

I never had a problem with Paypal aside from their lengthy return policy. A scammers delight. I have to re verify my information shortly, despite having had my account for many years,and haven't moved.I won't be subscribing to their extra investments. Just the facts, ma'am. I stopped selling on ebay after 2 scammers in a row. I doubt that they will ever treat their sellers fairly in a dispute.I will use Paypal for purchases because I like supporting the ''little'' guys and girls and their unusual offerings. Managed payments frighten me because I don't want Ebay dipping into my bank account. I like to keep things simple.  

by: The End

Soooooooo......
Cheerleading for a SUSpect entity......
PayPal must go.
https://www.consumeraffairs.com/online/paypal_02.html

by: NoMoreEbay

This makes me smile

PayPal stock downgraded at Buckingham Research on Venmo, eBay concerns

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/paypal-stock-downgra
ded-at-buckingham-research-on-venmo-ebay-concerns-2019-02-25

As far as benefiting sellers. PayPal stabbed sellers in the back when the started allowing these online scumbags to rent our hard earned items for 6 months and then send back a roll of toilet paper leaving sellers with nothing.

ebay and paypal both can go rot in h*ll.  

by: toolguy

i LOVE paypal

It's my go to daily cash machine

I dread the day eBay takes over my payments

I need the "instant" cash to buy food and gasoline.

The 1st day eBay has money of mine that I cannot access and I'm hungry or the car needs gas, the world will hear about it on eBay's Facebook page. . . .

by: FEEbay

Paypal is fine until you have a problem........ Ebay and Paypal love to play the finger pointing game at the expense of the seller. My approach is don't sell International outside of Ebay Global Shipping Program, Have clear cut business policies, and make Ebay a very SMALL chunk of your business...This is how I mitigate risk