eBay Raises Ad Fees on June 1st

by: GetAGrip

To funny let the crying begin.

by: The End

Whoa....Seriously ?

by: comments

The thing that is really so incredibly frustrating here is that the company is so tone deaf it feels like we are trying to flag down Hellen Keller while she flies by on a windowless SpaceX Rocket, taking the additional precautions of wearing earmuffs and blinders.

There are a million ways to increase earnings. It is not productive to fiscally attack the very people that show the most loyalty to the brand.

Increased costs from the pricing and return penalty games, supply chain issues, the sales tax surrender, and even the site technical issues persisting better than 6 months; are all better places to start. I have been priced out of so many items, avoided items that have a fault that (even when sold honestly) COULD cause a return. I've had to figure and make hard choices to maintain my business profitability. Each increase moves the goal post.

If you lower prices we can offer better discounts and lower prices. This would cause more sales and more income paid in fees. The more inventory I sell = the more inventory I buy = the more I pay in fees.

They are cutting off our nose despite our face. They have given us tools to discount, drive traffic, and send offers. Than they make a fee structure that takes away the cost effectiveness of using them. Than the tools aren't profitable enough so they have to raise fees again.  

by: plcombs

Grab your ankles...here it comes. No problem, folks will pay it and will pay the next increase, and the next, and the next, no matter how absurd and abusive.

eBay sellers have no dignity left, and they apparently are fine with that.  

by: Ubiquitous Salmon

When a company is losing interest on its investments, as practically any company would be in the current economy, it goes to its customers to help make up the loss. When the derivatives market exploded in 2008, as an example, large insurance companies that had invested heavily in that market raised their insurance rates on their customers, blaming the hike on having to pay out claims on weather-related events.

eBay is losing ground in several areas that would impact their financial standing; e.g., a declining GMV, a loss of active buyers, a presumed loss on investments.  It's no surprise they'd turn to their customers by raising fees again to help offset losses in other areas of the business.

Having said that, my local consignment shop charges 50% to 60% (depending on the price of the item) and will keep the items only 60 days. If you do not claim the items after that time, they'll be disposed of. The shop sets the prices on all items and reserves the right to lower the price at any time. They also require a photo id in order to get paid. Makes sites like eBay look like a bargain, fee-wise anyway.

P. S. Got a kick out of the comment "They are cutting off our nose despite our face." Not only is the adage misquoted but also the actual meaning of the saying doesn't fit the circumstances described at all.  

by: Amberlin

I can't believe that people are so stupid to think that these 'promoted listings' have any effect at all. I laugh every time I search for something (checking prices against my own listings I'm about to put up) and have an item come up twice next to each other - one promoted - because it's the only item on the site.

Such a complete WASTE. People! Wake up!

by: Alfacar

And Ebay will fight for 1099k because it is wrong for sellers and it is not in the right time! There you have what they care for and the real reason they fight 1099k.

by: Alfacar

Fees are eating me alive. I have less and less left to live on.

by: Rexford

Coming soon--a dollar for every letter in the listing title.

And Ubiquitous, consignment shops are the pay day loan shops of thrifting.  At least there though you know that your item will be seen.

by: ShortSeller

Yeah go done one ebay. Promoted listings has been broken for a long while anyways and ebay has been falsely inflating reported visibility.

by: 4yourinfo

It would be nice if we can exclude ads from displaying internationally or international based buyers - I am pretty sure all most sellers would love to sign up for such an option...

by: pace306

1) the fees dont go to run eBay, they just go to executive perks. I know it, you know it, everyone knows it - except the eBay cheerleaders

2) when you have no other answers/playbook- you just raise fees

3) the advertising is worthless

4) it picks winners and losers and is unfair

Stupid eBay execs - the emperor isnt wearing clothes!

by: Ocker

A cow has only got so much milk it can give before it drops down dead.

by: Mazdaman

I don't know how many here use Promoted Listings, but we don't and never have.  

What seriously impacted our eBay sales was the introduction and gullet-forcing Managed Payments push, which caused an IMMEDIATE drop in sales of 60-75%.  That has never come back, though we've noticed more traffic (and sales) on our website, so perhaps people are shopping more carefully, and BEFORE they make their eBay purchase (don't you love those who "found it for less" after receiving their order?).  That would be fine, since we can give that 16-18% "surcharge" to them and still make the same profit.

"Cutting off one's nose TO SPITE one's face" IS an accurate adage, by the way.  If you think about what eBay is doing, and what the adage describes, you may see that as well.

by: JackieBlue

It is what it is.  Ebay is a profit making venture and can do what they want.  I carefully measure costs and profitability across all the channels we sell on.  The prices we charge reflect those costs.  Like any tariff and other expenses imposed externally to our business, it is passed on to the consumer. The consumer will ultimately decide whether they want to purchase on the Ebay channel or not.  Amazon charges much more in our niche and yet they are still winning over all (not for us) in terms of market share.

by: Fessick

What can sellers do???  WE CAN IMMEDIATELY END ALL PROMOTED LISTINGS.  It is the only way to send a clear and concise message to eBay that we will not tolerate them strangling us any further.  

I ended all my promoted listings as soon as I saw the obscene changes.  PLEASE SELLERS: give serious consideration to going in and making this change.  It’s easy using the BULK LISTING TOOL.  Select all listings, then selected the change Promoted Listings option and then select end.  Together our voice will be heard

by: Denny

I make sure not to depend on eBay and recently shut them down for nearly a year. Their goal is to greed price themselves out of the market. I already hear young folks say screw Ebay and other selling sites they're a rip-off selling. That tells me once the older sellers had it and many have already left the end is at hand.

by: toolguy

Promoted Listings = Never

I refuse to pay eBay anymore than I already do.

In fact I'm starting to sell on facebook where it's FREE and I can use Paypal