sales are plmeting fees are going up

[aubreyclay56]

time to get rid of the store too bad ebay is getting so greedy with fees ,anyone else experiancing falling sales with no proffits

[photosalp]

I"m having some mixed feelings myself. After two really good weeks (and not too bad at all before that) it's been dismal the previous two weeks. And don't get me started about the migration tool... Or the possible postal strike, which of course I don't blame on eBay, but I'll have to shut down while CP is on strike because that's the only way I can ship. I'd take orders during the strike and resume shipping afterwards, but too many ways to pick up defects doing that. They sure don't make it easy. 

[femmefan1946]

I'd take orders during the strike and resume shipping afterwards, but too many ways to pick up defects doing that.

I agree. If there is a strike, it is probably the best move to put my Stores on vacation, and on my non-store accounts, just move everything to Unsold for the time being.

[cumos55]

It was during the last strike that the store was put on vacation...

Many new listings were prepared.

Once the strike was over sales  were very, very good....  in spite of the fact it was July

Look on the strike as an opportunity to put your business into overdrive... 

in preparation for the end of the strike

[momcqueen]

Or revise all listings to note postal strike and increase handling time to as long as is possible.....

[pierrelebel]

"...revise all listings to note postal strike and increase handling time t..."

Some sales are simply not worth having.  Accepting money from buyers when one cannot deliver due to a postal strike of undetermined duration is asking for trouble.

Much easier to either put eBay store "on vacation" for the duration of the strike (for sellers with an eBay store) or end all listings and relist when the strike is over (for sellers without a store) and use the downtime to prepare new merchandise to list once the strike is over.

[momcqueen]

Yes but only if you use that Vacation Mode to hide all the listings. Alone, a banner indicating you're away won't matter.

[pierrelebel]

That is correct.  That is what I have done, every time i needed to hide the listings and prevent buyers of buying.

[cumos55]

With  the last postal strike... I kept waiting to see when I should put my store on vacation..

I almost waited too long.... The wait was frustrating.

My store is currently on vacation until June 19... changing listings from US to Canadian dollars.

I just may leave my store on vacation... The final decision will come the closer we get to a real postal strike.

With the last postal strike... many new listings were prepared......and once the strike was over....  sales were very, very  good.

As Canadian sellers on eBay  we will not be on strike... more listings prepared... and adjustments to our way of selling

[triber]

Does anyone remember how much notice was given of the past strikes? We sure don't want mail left in the postal system.

[momcqueen]

Not the untracked stuff anyway.

[momcqueen]

Although, if a postal strike were to occur, I'd have to assume eBay would auto-remove any associated defects for Late Shipment since it's clearly something beyond control of a seller, akin to a natural disaster.

We should clarify this at an upcoming Board Hour.

[momcqueen]

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/politics/canada-post-warns-key-customers-of-looming-contract-dispute-1.3...

[cumos55]

The last strike started with rotating walkouts....  

Selective locations .... on a walkout, effectively on strike .... while discussions continued.... They had already voted to go on strike...

and then came the full strike...

Currently there is no mention of a strike in local newspapers..... nothing in the Winnipeg Free Press....

Someone  else may be able to provide time periods for each event... However,  things could be quite different in 2016...

I was shut down for about 6-7 days before the general strike... with no one working.... or was that before the walkouts started... 

They should be voting to go on strike  sometime in the week before July 1, if not earlier.

[momcqueen]

'Online shopping happens seven days a week … but our structure for delivery is five days a week, during business hours.… We are looking for some flexibility.'
- Jon Hamilton, Canada Post

[mr.elmwood]

---

@cumos55 wrote:

The last strike started with rotating walkouts....  

Selective locations .... on a walkout, effectively on strike .... while discussions continued.... They had already voted to go on strike...

and then came the full strike...

Currently there is no mention of a strike in local newspapers..... nothing in the Winnipeg Free Press....

Someone  else may be able to provide time periods for each event... However,  things could be quite different in 2016...

I was shut down for about 6-7 days before the general strike... with no one working.... or was that before the walkouts started... 

They should be voting to go on strike  sometime in the week before July 1, if not earlier.

---

I actually asked a person I can trust. His belief is they will go in July. He has been with the PO for a long time and is union.

[recped]

The latest I heard is that if the Union doesn't settle first Canada Post will lock them out on July 2nd.

At this point it's all bluster (on both sides).

[momcqueen]

Yes, that's what the link to the news article that I posted above indicated: more likely to be a lock-out than a strike. 

In related news, the CPC website is flaking out. I was trying to look up a rate, and got a pile of errors saying that my postal code 'didn't exist' before it gave up the ghost entirely and showed me me this instead:

We're Sorry

The page you requested is not available at this time. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Please try again later.

[cumos55]

Many who sell on eBay today lived through the last postal strike......Each of  them knows what to do...

My personal view is... not to wait too long to shut down

You can always shut down based on perception....

and ....  then if the perception does not become a reality...  you can open up just as quickly.

[cumos55]

The Union started with a series of walkouts at different locations across Canada

Then it was Canada Post that shut the doors and it was a lock-out