If Ebay was playing poker, is this the biggest tell yet?

[froogal_electronic_parts_and_overstock]

love eBay? You’ll love Kijiji too!

I am sure most have received this email. Basically, it's espousing the virtues of kijiji, and not selling online. 

Has ebay realized that small sellers really can't sell on ebay with any sort of real success?

I think so. I think ebay realizes that their idea of 'clearing out your closet' campaign is a non starter. The time and effort to sell anything on ebay just goes up and up. If you aren't ready to sell items on a regular basis, fuhgeddaboudit. 

Combine this with the recent seller ratings changes which appear to me to reward larger sellers of new items, this reinforces my thought that ebay is trying their hardest to shift away from small sellers, used item sellers, and auction sellers, and move towards being the next Amazon.

IMHO, this will fail, or at least, will not be a huge success. Kijiji, at least here, is worse than ebay. I see fraudulent sellers all the time and either ignorant or willful people trying to sell a $40 item for $200 to unsuspecting buyers.

There are items of value on kijiji, but most that I see are already on kijiji and wouldn't be sold on ebay anyways. 

Now if you want to buy a new item on kijiji that somebody 'won in a contest' or 'received as a gift but already have one' then there are deals. I am not saying the bulk of those are stolen, just very lucky people selling on kijiji. 

Ebay has kept clear of their kijiji ownership link but it looks like this is changing. I do think this will hurt ebay more. 

While I can't say what shareholders want, I don't think ebay has a hope of becoming the next Amazon, and why would they want to be. 

And while my opinion may be worth jack and squat I do think ebay should take a different route and either start a new site, or new classification where a seller can sell, and it's buyer and seller beware and ebay can go back to being just a venue.....which they are not right now. 

[bb_cool_stuff]

Received the email yesterday.

I have a feeling eBay will be taking a serious look at Kijiji.

With the influx of speciality sites, eBay has definitely something in mind.

I see fraudulent sellers all the time...

Oh yes, Kijiji has become a dumping ground for Counterfeit Jerseys & Sports Shoes.

Of course, can only speak for my category & am unsure of the other items for sale whether they are legit or not.

One seller has many items listed from time to time, but checking out the item location, Winnipeg's Chinatown.

[bb_cool_stuff]

BTW, if eBay can somehow clean this mess up, Kijiji has the potential to be a great secondary site.

[femmefan1946]

I'm unclear on the value of KJJ to sellers.

First, the market is limited to locals. I buy locally and sell internationally, things that are not available elsewhere.

Second, pick up. I really don't want random people coming to my house at random moments and meeting elsewhere is a pain. Canada Post is cheaper. It only costs money.

Third. I have offered to odd item on KJJ. I have never actually sold anything because the buyers didn't complete the transactions.

I do find KJJ useful for advertising events and workshops connected to our science fiction convention. Including selling tickets/memberships whcih can be paid by PP and sent electronically.

However, having been pinkslapped a few times for suggesting that KJJ and CL are good outlets for large heavy items, I hope that at least that silly restriction will be lifted.

[ricarmic]

femme, I totally agree, I've tried to sell a few non-stamp things on KJJ as well, the latest one I've "sold" at least 2 times so far, nary an actual completion though....very very poor "commitment" level from would be buyers....

[rose-dee]

I completely agree with your views, and would go even further to say that although eBay may be courting the big commercial sellers now, there may come a day when it will rue the departure of so many millions of "grass roots" sellers.

The reason I say this is that I think your analysis is spot on where it comes to eBay's policies favouring large sellers and squeezing out small or occasional sellers.  I don't think anyone who has been with eBay for a few years can fail to recognize that there's been a deliberate programme, over the past 2 years in particular, to make this site "commercial seller friendly". 

I've been saying for some time that all the new rules and policies automating many aspects of seller-buyer relations and communications are intended to streamline business for the big guys, not make personal connections between the small seller and his or her customers.  One of the more insidious of these changes, for example, was to very quietly move the "Contact Seller" or "Ask Seller a Question" from a prominent place at the top of a listing to a spot below the bottom of the screen where few buyers would bother to look.  There are many other examples, including the automated "FAQs", the links that lead buyers to a dispute when they really only wanted to ask a simple question after a sale, the 5-star DSRs rewarding, effectively, no communication, etc. etc.

Still, I believe eBay may one day regret driving its independent, small, or occasional sellers away en masse.   Either someone other than eBay will make a comfortable place for them to sell online, or the "big guys", after having established their reputations and market exposure nicely on eBay, will leave in order to carry on selling from their own websites, using the vast customer email and contact lists they've garnered on this site to maintain their businesses without paying a commission on every sale.  And eBay may find it won't have an easy time attracting back those millions of smaller, independent sellers who felt they were given the bum's rush. 

[i*m-still-here]

To me it seems like eBay is constantly and actively recruiting anyone and everyone who will bite to sell on the site.  I think everyone is more than welcomed to sell here.  

IMO shipping costs are what limit the types of items sold here.

Heavy low cost items simply can't be sold on eBay, at least not by Canadian sellers.

Some Americans work away at it but the profits are not what many us are willing to work for.

WAY below minimum wage.

That's where KJJ comes in if you're willing to have strangers to your home and don't care to put on a Garage Sale.

I know I'm saving up all my **bleep** like that, and just before I put my house up for sale I'll take a couple of weeks and do the KJJ thing and what doesn't sell goes free.

[bb_cool_stuff]

Agree with your post Rose.

I still think something is up in regards to Kijiji.

I think this is an untapped revenue stream for eBay with a lot of potential.

[rose-dee]

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@bb_cool_stuff wrote:

I still think something is up in regards to Kijiji.

I think this is an untapped revenue stream for eBay with a lot of potential.

---

You may be right, 'bb' -- perhaps eBay has recognized that it's been bleeding otherwise experienced but relatively small sellers for some time now and needs a new place to keep them.  But I agree with you that they would need to clean up Kijiji and reform a great deal about that site and the way it works before it would tempt many sellers other than the flea-market types. 

Maybe they have big plans in that direction?  Look what they've done to eBay in just 2 or 3 short years. 

[bb_cool_stuff]

...needs a new place to keep them.

I think you're right, they won't want casual sellers moving to other sites.

Maybe they have big plans in that direction ?

Just makes sense, otherwise Why Put Out Feelers ?

[worrly]

Sadly, Ebay is the better game in town for me since I have more established account here than Etsy. I get even less people giving me feedback there. 

For safety reasons, I don't want to deal with CL and even less inclined to deal with Kijji. I've had so many time wasters on CL and weirdos. Though, I have made a good friend in one case from a CL sale. 

But I'm feeling really discouraged from selling lately because of the lousy CP service and Ebay taking a chunk of my shipping fees. 😞

[theundercutter]

Kijiji is great because there are tons of uneducated people to take advantage of. 

[bb_cool_stuff]

Judging by your feedback, I can now understand why you posted such a ridiculous statement.

[femmefan1946]

or the "big guys", after having established their reputations and market exposure nicely on eBay, will leave in order to carry on selling from their own websites, using the vast customer email and contact lists they've garnered on this site to maintain their businesses without paying a commission on every sale.

This is a trap that governments fall into all the time, giving tax breaks to businesses for moving into their jurisdictions, only to have the business and the jobs move when the contracted breaks end.

Even quite small businesses harvest the emails of their eBay customers -- along with other contact information-- and use the information to set out on their own.

FWIW- most of that information is still on your Paypal accounts. Start planning.

[froogal_electronic_parts_and_overstock]

ebay is not amazon and never will be or can be because amazon is already there and bigger. Then again aside from shareholders being unhappy, I have no idea why anyone would want to copy or replace amazon. 

kijiji is not the answer either. kijiji needs a lot of work. it is unreliable for both sellers and buyers. While I agree that there should be a place where sellers can sell freely, there has to be some restriction with stolen and fraudulent items. 

just waiting for someone to get something better going. none of the current competitors offer anything more than ebay......which is kinda sad really.