FEB 23RD STRIKE ACTION DAY ON EBAY

[onecrazycanuck]

It's time we really band together as a group. It's time us power sellers stick together and tell E-Bay that we have had enough of these crazy price increases and lack of proper service. I propose that on Feb 23rd we show them by not listing a single item for sale from any of us.Now maybe one day is not enough but maybe it's a way to get the ball rolling and start using our power of numbers to get some change. And if not this idea them add to this thread and tell everyone your idea's we need to act this is getting way out of hand!!!

[shoplineca]

I have not listed anything for a week. seems like I am the ONLY one who took a stand in a big way.

Few US Power Sellers followed through on what they said they would do by the 18th.

Malcolm

[systemagic]

I agree that one-day-at-a-time would be a better pace of introducing boycott actions rather than extending the action period too early. Malcolm appears to be right, however, in that it looks like the first boycott had little affect. I'm curious whether the record auction count as a result of the 5 cent listing day has somehow, at least percentage-wise, obfuscated the impact of the boycott? The original 5 cent auctions will end tomorrow but that won't likely drop the count below 12M because many sellers will likely opt for the second possible free listing if sold. If I had to choose a second boycott date I'd make it next Monday the 28th when all of the lingering affects of the 5 cent listing day have worn off.

Here's the auction count quote tracker for varying durations: http://www.quotetracker.com/cgi-bin/cal.exe?EIND

Part of the problem with our lack of organization is that we lack an organization - to call for boycotts for example. I believe that at the Power Sellers Unite site they've called for an extended boycott which is still currently underway.

In another thread I believe that Malcolm indicated that the guy who started the first petition collected $1 per signature. I wonder if he'd be amenable to setting up a Trust fund and buying some eBay shares for a little share holder voting power? This could give a potential organization some financial footing and, perhaps some legitimacy in the eyes of our more ground-breaking Power Sellers. Anyone know how to get ahold of this guy?

[shoplineca]

Here are my thoughts;

For some eBay is a hobby, for some a business. The effect of selling and need to sell on eBay are dependant on each of us and each of us has different things to gain or to loose. We each have our own standards, principles and beliefs.

I do what I believe is best for my business and for myself. If I was the only fool who allowed each listing to end to make my point and not run more listings then I did it based on my principles and not others. So alone or with thousands of others, I did it my way! (I think there was a song that went something like that).

While the effect would have certainly been greater on eBay had more participated, I got just as much personal satisfaction as I dont allow anyone to control my life, my income and how I live, aside from my immediate family.

I fought CP myself and got a great discount level for shipping my products. I pay my bills to CP on average 7 weeks from time of shipping and CP just wrote off almost $3,000 in accumulated deductions I had made over the last couple of years.

I list on eBay for part of one of my businesses however I dont need eBay and in fact I know that I drive more business to eBay than they bring to me, so if anything, I can pull more business away from eBay than they ever gave me.

However, I will continue to run my businesses as it makes sense to me. I didnt participate in a boycott because I thought others would, I did what I felt I had to for my own sense of pride and personal satisfaction.

eBay has to make their own decisions for long-term growth and if that means loosing some PSers now, then that is the decision they made, and the bed they will have to sleep in.

I would like to see them prosper and do well and I would hope that I can be a part of that however it will be MY decision and not theirs and that is the power I have in not being dependant on anyone.

I personally dont want to joing a PS group, participate in a boycott or anything else with or against eBay.

eBay is simply a marketing venue, if it works for you and you can make money on it, then keep doing it. If it satisfies you in providing a source to actively trade items that are part of your hobby, then treat it simply as that.

I dont want a fraternitiy I dont want a club. I dont want to be called a member of eBay. I pay for marketing and a venue to sell items. If they charge too much for me to make the profit I expect then that will be my decision to leave.

Sellers had a chance to make themselves heard and in mass they chose not to. End of story! Dont pick another date, dont find other reasons why you had to keep your listings up. Everyone made a personal choice.

The time has come and gone.

Malcolm

[javax.swing]

Malcolm's exactly right: eBay is merely a venue for uniting sellers and buyers. Some may have gripes about the system, but it still does what it needs to for some, including myself. I tend to get higher prices on eBay for my items than I would anywhere else. I had a few of my items end in my "wishful thinking" Buy-It-Now prices this week, well above market average. For those three items, they ended at about $600US total over average selling price on other forums. Even after paying eBay fees I still ended up ahead. It all depends on what eBay does for you. They will have my business as long as they continue to benefit mine.

[rd1000]

I agree.

If ebay works for you, and it does for some people, then use it. If it doesn't work for you, then don't use it. Ebay is not here for us. Ebay is here to make money.

I work hard to try and please my customers, and I will go out of my way for them if I can, but I am always going to sell my products for as much as I can get for them. So I cannot fault ebay for raising their prices. They feel they profits will rise, and I think they are right in the short run.

Sell for as much as you can, and pay as little as you can. If that means selling on ebay, do it. If it doesn't, then find another sales channel. Put your time and effort into selling, not fighting ebay.

Rob

[shooger]

Before the 18th, I opened up my own brand new website (www.rancoredelf.com), closed my eBay store, and listed about 1/3 the total auctions I've been listing for the past couple years. I plan to continue to do this indefinitely. In the first 3 weeks, I've saved myself $400 in eBay fees and lost perhaps $10 in store sales.

[systemagic]

It certainly seems at this point like talk of continued action is flogging a dead horse - but the reward would be worth the struggle. With regards to 'fighting' eBay I honestly, believe that everyone including eBay would be best off in the long run with lower fees. Intuitively how could they not be better off with as large a force of people as possible moving forward together in the same direction? How could they have thought it was smarter to just throw this powerful asset away for short term gains? Corporations are notoriously short-sighted. Markets are more elastic than ever these days and,it can take years but, virtually every company that has tried to jam anything down their market's throat has taken a fall. I've been in search of an ecconomic formula that would prove this but, when it comes to the future, the closest I can come is with strong vs. weak attractors in Lorenz's Butterfly and I've got a feeling that applying Kaos theory to ecconomics might be a little avant garde for most.

In the meantime I still have a crush of work to tackle as a result of waiting almost 2 weeks for my latest motherboard. Continuing this line of discussion now seems to me to be more ego-based than pragmatic.

Ta-ta!