Does eBay Subsidize Daily Deals from Select Sellers?

by: eXtinctBay

In the race for business (specifically, the lowest market prices), it does not sound unusual that eBay would subsidize certain sellers.

And you can bet Amazon also does the same thing.

Those businesses also will move thousands of new items with one listing, while small to medium sellers with overpriced pre-owned junk will let their merchandise languish on the site for long periods of time with no sales.

As much as we all like to point out the many shortcomings of eBay, this seems like a simple business decision for them. Even though it costs them money. Of course, they can write the subsidies off as an expense on their taxes.

by: Marie

I agree with Extinctbay.  

As an additional comment, the OP ran across this information during the act of breaching one of Ebay rules that carry sanctions that include suspension for one infraction.  The OP could have gotten the seller and themselves in a great deal of trouble.  That is quite a risk.

And they are upset with Ebay for giving some sellers a promo rebate of sorts, while actively engaging in buying something off Ebay to avoid paying a higher price so the seller could cover fees.

So who is potentially doing the wrong thing here?

by: eXtinctBay

DISCLAIMER: I am not defending eCommerce websites, just speaking the truth.

In brick & mortar retail (more specifically, in the grocery business), manufacturers pay for shelf and display space. Every inch of room in the store is coveted.

Wal-Mart is glad to tell makers of goods the retail price they will sell their items for. If you cannot make a decent margin on your widget, that is your problem.

These behind-the-scenes, back door deals are commonplace. And if they happen at B & M stores, why not online selling sites as well? Makes sense.

Wonder if the OP is just upset over eBay's special arrangements with larger sellers, or the fact he or she couldn't swing a special deal by attempting to purchase off-site??

I personally do not have a problem with mega dealers receiving perks, it's just business. Offering low prices on new commodity items keeps buyers coming back. If eBay wishes to help them by lowering their fees, fine.

But when listings from other sellers are completely hidden to also accommodate the ''big boys'', this creates an unfair and lopsided advantage.

Especially when one forks over money for a store subscription. It would be assumed that if you are paying for a service (in this case, having your listings always presented to the buying public) and not receiving what you pay for, this is theft, isn't it??

by: Marie

More good points to consider.

by: Rexford

I don't think that it is that unusual for buyers to comparison shop, and if a buyer sees that a seller is selling on more than one site, but prefers to shop on a site that the seller sells on that is not eBay, the buyer might ask for a price match.  If the buyer doesn't message the seller through eBay does this violate eBay policy?  One does not necessarily have to go onto eBay to see eBay pricing.  Items show up in Google search.  A buyer who asks a seller for a match may not even have an eBay account.

If the buyer contacts the seller with such questions using eBay's systems, eBay's bots will be all over it and you can bet that there would be problems.

by: Studiolines

In days of retail B&M these deals were know as loss leaders. Advertisements for milk at a low price were common. The theory was  that you got them in the door and they would maybe pickup some additional profitable items.
In business it was a common ploy in multi-level bid awards to sell a commodity item at a very low bid  (the total bid of all common commodity items would generally determine low bidder or 1st source) If you were out of stock on those low bid items it would defer to 2nd source bidder.

The problem being with eCommerce you are committing your dollars as you pay for items you have not yet received. There have been problems here on this board as well as other forums with ACTUALLY receiving those deals.
Having your money tied up with whoever means someone is USING it until you get it back. Using someone else's money interest free is a money making scam in my opinion.

by: Studiolines

As ExtinctBay said you should not be paying for store space and then having the items in said space trumped by special negotiated deals as far as visibility goes. If you pay for that space your items should be visible. Basically like paying for shelf space in a store.
There is a definite problem with overpriced stale listings on Ebay and possibly they should limit the length a listing is to be active with no activity. From a business perspective you want the space to produce as much profit as possible.
The problem with Ecommerce is the customer only has available to be viewed what will PULL UP in search as opposed to a customer finding something in a store in a less visible location.  

by: pace306

AHEM ...

If you read my posts (if anyone reads them) ... you'll find that Ive said this EXACT thing 10000 times in the past. Its not NEW information.

I knew/know, because I dealt/deal with one of the people who were chosen to supply one of those deals - and they told me this OUTRIGHT.

The would have sold me the same goods - but they already had inventory committed to eBay for sales in progress.

It was a Kodak 12MP digital camera deal a year or two ago.

eBay (owning nothing but claiming to know EVERYTHING) needs "DEALS" to stay relevant - and has people (a dept) that handles these things. Like Amazon (when theres an Amazon Day) the items must be X % below what the cheapest marketplace cost/sale is, must be an exciting item (camera, game machine, cell phone, brand name jacket, brand name shoe ect).

eBay needs the traffic - and they figure that its an investment (like advertising) and they simply write it off on their taxes as such .

Retailers (B&M) get back end monies from manufactures too - stuff like this ISNT new - but people think (those who dont know eBay for what it REALLY is) - that like search - ITS ORGANIC.

On eBay NOTHING is natural and organic - theres always a Devin Wenig behind the scenes manipulating "the reality" so that it APPEARS organic - when its not.

You the buyer (via cookies etc) see what eBay wants you to see, and that includes lists, ads and policies.

Like Strawberry Fields ... nothing on eBay is REAL.

by: pace306

So who is potentially doing the wrong thing here?

eBay - for not opening up that spot to smaller sellers, for not telling people that the opportunity even exists, for creating an uneven playing field......


but thats just me ...

by: toolguy

I still DON'T believe items are "hidden"

Buried? Yes,

Hidden, No

by: eXtinctBay

@Tool

The items ARE hidden when they are only being shown to certain geographic areas. Or not at all. This has been proven. Remember the ECB Marketplace Search Game??

And eBay has admitted they do not show your listings at all times. Heck, they will even tell you this in their user agreement when you sign up to use the site!

Compare this to a B&M store which pulls an item or group of items off the shelf. I worked in both retail and wholesale for 30 years, and a common saying is ''You can't sell it when it's in the back room''.

When eBay hides your listings, they are then effectively placed in a warehouse, not for anyone to purchase. But they will still count this as gross merchandise available for sale to Wall Street, even though no one can see the goods at all times.

In a related story, I used to do business with a well-known nationwide grocery supermarket chain. They always told us that if you put up an unauthorized display (in other words, one your company did not pay for), they will fine you $1000. You will pay $500, and your company will be billed for the other $500.

Yes, larger sellers are favored over smaller ones. My point is that it is unfair (and illegal) that small businesses do not have their items shown all the time, even though they are paying a monthly fee for an eBay Stores subscription.

by: Studiolines

@toolguy
whats the dif?
If the first 10 pages are not relevant to the search.
As a buyer how many pages do you want to thru to find every option relevant to your search.

by: dander

its called business. I can't compete with the big boys in my category on price if there us no map agreement, so I don't. I compete on customer service, which I can beat them on almost every time. I have found those that want a deal are the ones you can't ever please and will leave you negative feedback and/or whine if everything with the transaction isn't perfect.

by: toolguy

@Studiolines

As a seller my items are NEVER hidden!

I don't sell anything that has more then a few pages of results.

As a buyer i WOULDN'T search more then a few pages so buried is the same as hidden!

@eXtinctBay

I've played that game many times, in the 15 years of playing that game only a handful of times was I unable to find the searched item!

eBay has that in their TOS to cover themselves if such an occurrence happens.

Buried? YES, Hidden NO!

by: Marie

@toolguy

Maybe you should spend some time re-reading the User Agreement that you committed to on Ebay.  There is a clause in there that states clearly that Ebay has the right to hide listings as they see fit.  Not there exact words, but it is in there.

by: toolguy

@Marie

I am well aware of that "Clause", it's in there for system failures and if eBay deems a seller a high risk to buyers!

Otherwise eBay DOESN'T hide listings!

Hidden listings are a figment of disgruntled sellers who think their items should be selling when they are not. . .

by: pace306

From eBays UA

"We strive to create a marketplace where buyers find what they are looking for. Therefore, the appearance or placement of listings in search and browse results will depend on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:

buyer's location, search query, browsing site, and history;

item's location, listing format, price and shipping cost, terms of service, end time, history, and relevance to the user query"

THATS ALOT OF HIDDING!

by: Rexford

I am really hoping the day will come when a disgruntled ex-eBay employee will anonymously sing like a bird as it relates to the various schemes eBay uses to play hide and seek with listings.  Someone please show us how un-level the playing field is.

by: mcposty

I know for a fact how daily deals work with large sellers, we are subsidized with fees and we have access to all daily deals whenever we want. ( the company I work for..a large brand )

by: Marie

@toolguy

No it isn't.  I get it that you feel you know this, but apparently you don't.  They have a clause for hardware failures / disruptions.  A few years back [2013] ALL active sellers had to resign / agree to the UA.  If you didn't, you couldn't sell on Ebay.  That was when they added the clause.  There was an article on this site regarding it as well.  

Here is a link to the article for your ease.

https://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/blog/blog.pl?/pl/2013/9/
1378955768.html