eBay

yjw1 · ‎11-09-2003

We are very disappointed in lack of PowerSeller support.
The welcome package, although a nice though, is of no value to us. In all honesty, the little certificate thingie, with the ink smudges all over it was very unprofessional for such a large company.
Like in all business, it is vitally important to show appreciation of your valued customers. I think it is safe to say PowerSellers are Valued Ebay customers. I know I dropped $1600 with Ebay last month.
Ebay….If you really want to show your appreciation of PowerSellers, reward are exceptional sales records with FEE DISCOUNTS. Something of real value, like maybe a few percent for each PowerSeller level we achieve. Help us be a stronger business.

It won’t matter soon as the fees to list, sell, add options, list for 10 days, receive payment, transfer funds, etc, etc…..and the poor US doll……will soon make this unprofitable. We will be downsizing or looking at other retail options.

thebidwatcher · ‎11-12-2003

"Level playing field" it is.

I think you are right about it being part of the eBay culture, Moira.

So I am going back to my listings and make more money. That's what I am here for and that's what I do best.

Thanks eBay!!

Lisa

yjw1 · ‎11-12-2003

Amber,
You have made some very good points that I did not consider.

What discounts may mean for me is that this business may be profitable enough for me to still be here 6 months from now.

EBay can only be as strong as it's sellers. It would be very interesting to see some stats on where EBay's revenue comes from. How valuable Powersellers are in the whole scheme of things.

Today's Paypal Exchange Rate: 1 U.S. Dollar = 1.27338 Canadian Dollars! I don't know about the rest of you buy I am walking a pretty fine line these days.

www-labels4less-com · ‎11-12-2003

"Eventually eBay will have better competition for the online auction dollar"
I for one dread the day that there is competition. Be careful what you wish for.

Can you imagine if say Microsoft came out with an auction service? Perhaps even bundled an "MSAN Microsoft auction network" into the next edition of windows? One would then have to list products on both services just to reach the same amount of buyers. What a nightmare that would be.

I think that Ebay has acted very responsibly being the largest auction service. Generally when companies lose ground to rivals (long term) it has less to do with pricing and more to do with lack of innovation. Ebay is obviously aware of this hence it appears they never tire of making it a better place to buy and sell product.

I find the question of pricing very odd. Its like buying a porche for the power they have and then being very upset with the price one had to pay for it.

shooger · ‎11-12-2003

My $0.02 CDN:

A "level playing field" isn't what brought me to eBay, and it's not what keeps me at eBay. Fee discounts are one thing that would DEFINITELY encourage me to strive for more sales. The fees are killing me - it feels like for every hour I put into eBay and for every dollar I invest, I earn a nickel for myself and a quarter for eBay. I have no problem with members who are working harder and doing better than I am getting a slightly better discount than me. This is how it is with every other business, online or offline, operates. Even banks work like that - businesses with huge equity and investments get the better loan rates. eBay only hurts themselves by pretending that they don't give fee discounts because they want it to be "fair". Cowpoo.

One other main area I would like to see PowerSellers treated better is in support. I'm a new PS, but from what I've seen so far, there's no better support than for Joe Average (hey, that's a cool show). Check my recent feedbacks - notice the harassment I'm taking right now from someone who used BIN on 13 of my auctions. Every day or so he leaves 2 or 3 more negatives, dirtying up my profile. I reported this immediately when it started happening, with no response. The guy doesn't even use a valid email address, and I reported that too, but they haven't got around to banning the account. A little support would go a long way. It takes on average five days and 10 emails to get a single thing fixed... and even then, it only goes on your favor about half the time. The other half, either they rule incorrectly or ignore all contact attempts. It's not fair to treat regular members that way, let alone PSs.

eBay is great, don't get me wrong! I just feel like it has grown out of control, and I get the impression that eBay knows they'll never get it fully in control again, and doesn't plan to try too hard.

yjw1 · ‎11-12-2003

Shooger,

Tired of making others wealthy??...I know the feeling

Here is the link to block bidders...QUICK!!

http://pages.ebay.com/services/buyandsell/biddermanagement.html

shooger · ‎11-12-2003

Thanks yjw1 - I blocked him a long time ago! In fact I blocked him as soon as he bought those 13 items. The problem is that he's still registered (because eBay hasn't got around to banning him yet) so he can keep leaving negative feedbacks as he sees fit.

treasure-pot · ‎11-12-2003

shooger, if he has invalid contact info all of those negs will be removed by eBay but you have to ask.

Good luck!

Bill

Bill

cello10 · ‎11-13-2003

Hey guys and gals, having owned conventional businesses all my life, trust me when I say that what we get from ebay is incredibly cheap. If you're for fee discounts and ending the level playing field, then you're just not getting it when it comes to understanding why ebay is a phenomenal place to do business for just about anyone.

If you see ebay fees as the reason why your business may not be around in 6 months its time to wake up. Don't blame ebay, have a look in the mirror. If you can't make a profit on ebay, then you sure as hell won't make one owning a store or website. Try out one of those puppies and see how fast you'll lose your shirt. If you're struggling, its your business, what you are selling that needs a look. My business is steady, but not booming right now. But I am not going to be a crybaby and make ebay the badboy. Business is business, you have to always be on your toes, re-inventing yourself, looking to improve, that's the reality of being in business. I think the people that complain the most about ebay are those who started an ebay biz, started making money and figured they'd spend the rest of their lives shipping orders, re-listing their products, easy as pie. GROW UP!! Whether my business is booming or dead, ebay still remains overwhelmingly the lowest cost, most efficient way to sell merchandise for small businesses. Nothing else comes close.

So please, realize what you have in your hands, be accountable for your business, stop whining, blaming and if your business needs fixing...FIX IT!!

Was that too harsh?!!

amberwoodottawa · ‎11-13-2003

Not harsh at all.
Product cost has more to do with your ability to make money than anything else when selling on eBay (aside from the fluctuating Canadian dollar).

I spend considerable time each week negotiating the best deal I can for what I intend to sell. At the same time I make certain that my source is able to make money otherwise I will loose my source of supply.

And while all the other costs can have an effect on the overall profitability of your business, no one of them should be responsible for your business failing.

It is better to make $1 in selling 1 item than it is to make $2 in selling 10 items. Look at what you are listing and evaluate if it is worthwhile continuing to list them.

I could easily list 100 different items at one time and sell perhaps 30 of them but in the end I feel that I am better off listing 15 and selling 8.

The reason is that some of those items may provide me with only a minimal return and after all the costs incurred and extra effort in listing, packing, mailing etc. I may not end up with any more money in my pocket at the end of the day.

eBay is young. I am still totally blown away with the business and how quickly it has evolved. They are making changes and improvements but are doing so at what is probably a controlled pace.

We all have our suggestions about improvements but lets face it, we didnt come up with the concept of eBay did we, so who are we to tell them how to run their store.

At the same time, we are a driving force behind their continuing success and deserve some perks.

One thing that should always be remembered is that no matter how big one gets, there are always one or two vultures at the back door waiting for the opportunity to take over.

And as pointed out earlier, we should always be careful of what we wish for.

muminlaw · ‎11-13-2003

cello10, you said very eloquently, what I've been thinking all along. DH and I have also run businesses, both store front and mail-order. EBay is by far the best bargain going. When we had the store, we figured that it cost us about $290 per day just to open the door (rents in downtown Vancouver were never cheap!) and that was before figuring in our own wages!

With eBay, my only overhead is the fees and my ISP. Certainly nowhere near $200 a day! And yes, all business fluctuates - some with the seasons, some with other vagaries of the marketplace, the trick is to learn to recognize the signs and either diversify, or take a break! At my age, I prefer to take a break!!

Glenda

Glenda

muminlaw · ‎11-13-2003

Ooops -- that's $250 per day (both times)

Glenda

www-labels4less-com · ‎11-13-2003

There was a posting on one of the boards that I remember from quite some time ago. A new seller was very frustrated with all of the powersellers "clogging up the catagories with impossible prices".
The poster suggested that Ebay should give price breaks to the lower volume sellers so that they could compete. If it were a true "level" playing field Ebay should do this.

Needless to say there was a bit of flaming to follow.

off_to_uni · ‎11-13-2003

Hi everyone,

eBay is a great place to sell, and I personally love it. However I am sure we will all agree, improvements could be made.

Cheers,

James