I just put my store on vacation - wouldn't it be great if ebay halved our store fees.

[musicyouneed]

Due to possible postal issues as I sell both here and internationally, I have put my store on indefinite vacation.  They just did a lockdown in California and I suspect NY and Washington to be next.   Flights to England are stopping on Sunday. 

When my gym closed down they stated that for however long they would be closed they would extend my gym membership, so if they close for 2 months, my gym membership would be extended 2 months.  I have been getting all sorts of emails from businesses offering different things, extensions etc. 

I would like ebay to do their part and possibly reduce store fees by 50% while this is going on.   You can sell items that can not be delivered.  I don't want to have to cancel my store and then restart it when this is all over.

[tryubik-useonlyasdirected]

I've posted this elsewhere but our current mode of approach is to extend handling to the maximum. Reassure customers any order is being kept safe and that our post will resume when the Emergency measures have been lifted in our Province and their location if applicable.

Actually, eBay operates within jurisdiction so technically we should be making sure they apply to not only laws in our area but decency. If sellers disappear so do buyers we all need each other in the long run.

eBay should be doing more than waiving upfront fees (and freezing back end ones) right now. They should be informing all their customers that post is basically delayed everywhere and online is as local as going to your corner store because someone where you live will have to get you that package. You are asking someone somewhere to be placed in a potentially precarious position. I realize they don't want to because it could have a potential impact on sales but profiting at the expense of health and safety doesn't sit well with many. We're all concerned.

Plank this thing! Plank the Profiteers! And Lend a Hand!

[femmefan1946]

We're on Telus and I noticed last night that all the "children's " channels are open.  Also Cartoon Network which may be part of that-- I may finally learn what Rick and Morty is all about.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@femmefan1946 

A number of tv shows or anything with a live audience have shut down production for the time being. Pretty soon everything will either be a repeat, news or a dart tournament you passed by 100 times in the past to find something you would rather watch. Be awhile before I have to resort to Rick and Morty....Hopefully!! 

-Lotz

[kawartha-ephemera]

---

@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

I find it interesting how "some" companies can be totally inflexible when it comes to unique circumstances.  I spoke to Shaw the other day about slightly modifying my cable package. A sports bundle is not really useable at this time with all the sports that have been cancelled. Switching to a different service for a few month until this hopefully goes away? NO WAY, NO HOW. And for the folks that still watch VOD movies etc they bumped up their fees. You would think right now that more people would be looking for entertainment(not everyone has Netflix) so keeping prices low would be good business decision. Guess not. Bottom line first....Customer last!!

-Lotz

---

In much the same situation here with Bell TV on satellite, billed ~ 80.00 month for TSN and Sportsnet plus a ridiculously short list of speciality channels and the old tv networks. We would have discontinued their service by now were it not for the live sports broadcasts. All I've heard from Bell are a steady stream of marketing emails for their VOD movies. Yes, they do have some additional speciality channels on free preview but that is hardly news, Bell TV has had an assortment of channels on free preview for the last year or more trying to hang on to subscribers, this doesn't cost them much if anything at all. As you said more channels does not equal new content or very little anyway as they just keep recycling the same tired old reruns between channels. Literally the only thing we watch on Bell are hockey and baseball ... what are the chances of major league sports stepping up to help out here???? Sorry about the rant, I'm so far very disappointed in major league sports general attitude so far.  Bell and Rogers in particular need to step-up to the plate here.

[mrdutch1001]

the following announcement on the .com community board:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/We-re-deferring-fees-to-support-our-small-and-medium-bus...

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@mrdutch1001 

I see the announcement made it to dot ca also. Not sure how 1 month "Deferred" will help for the vast majority of smaller sellers that are now paying more in fees than they are going to be making for foreseeable future.

-Lotz

[femmefan1946]

Waiting for the angry posts from sellers who refuse to list more than their 50 Free monthly in three ... two... one....

[mrdutch1001]

not an eBay store owner and therefore do use my 50 free per month but as my eBay sales fell by 80% over 3 years ago  and only sell a few items here and there, eBay is no longer my main focus...and I am not listing anything on eBay right now...

but I am busy listing inventory on my other site which has been gaining traction over the past few months...

[forester_studios]

If other folks decide to close their businesses that's their right and I respect that.  However, now that I will be off from work for four weeks due to my office shutting down I plan to list more items as a necessity to help pay the bills.  While I do understand this is a serious situation, I'm not going to let fear rule my life or business.  Hope everyone continues to get sales if selling and enjoying the time off if they're not.  Stay safe folks!

[tryubik-useonlyasdirected]

While deferred may help some, and it is potentially a step in the right direction, I worry about folk who will then be hit double when things get back to normal, or heaven forbid if it lasts more than a month.

And is it optional? Or are they deferring everyone's payments? It is especially important then for people to take note of that and make sure they keep enough in their PayPal accounts to cover extra in the coming months.

Did anyone get an email in regards to this? Because if I hadn't logged into the forums here I wouldn't have known. Besides they already took two months of my last store payment and double charged me for half a month in our other store (which reminds me to call in to make sure it is credited). Do they do this to anyone else from time to time?

~~ Plank this thing! Plank the Profiteers! And Lend a Hand!

[mrdutch1001]

the notice was in "Announcements" and as per the announcement:

"If you are an eBay Store subscriber and could use help with your payments, check back here or your email on Wednesday, March 25, for complete details and how to request support. "

....an email will also be forthcoming

and only pertains to eBay store owners

[ricarmic]

I agree, deferring just "doubles" the problem in a month......which might not be long enough anyway, it looks like this could easily be a 3 or 4 month journey.....

[ypdc_dennis]

---

@tryubik-useonlyasdirected wrote:

While deferred may help some, ... I worry about folk who will then be hit double when things get back to normal, or heaven forbid if it lasts more than a month.

And is it optional? ... It is especially important then for people to take note of that and make sure they keep enough in their PayPal accounts to cover extra in the coming months.

---

If the deferment applies, a seller could always make a "one time payment" instead of waiting.

[femmefan1946]

and only pertains to eBay store owners

Well, those are the ones paying for listings whether they sell or not.

And those subscription fees are an important revenue stream for eBay.

The others being selling fees, which may suddenly drop or suddenly rise, we'll see, and fees from advertisers which may be on long term contracts, we can't know.

[brettjet38]

...or catch up on "Corrie", I was watching some old clip with "Hilda"!

My mother loved that character! Elsie Tanner, too!!

STAY SAFE & NO>>>>

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@mrdutch1001 

For anyone want on the score regarding this announcement on deferring monthly charges:

Dot com 496 Thumbs up

Dot ca 0 Thumbs up

Not sure how much time remaining?!?

Yayyyy Deferred Fees!!

In case anyone was starting to miss hearing the latest scores for hockey, basketball, golf, tennis, curling.....And others!!!

-Lotz

[musicyouneed]

I still think that ebay rather than deferring our fees, would give us a break on the store fees.  Most small sellers like me will not sell enough to cover the store fee.  I was concerned about US and international shipping so I limited my listings to .ca and only shipping to Canada.  But I sell CD's and when the majority of people are wondering if they will be able to pay the rent and buy food, CD's are the last thing they will be buying.  I will give it a month and if no sales close my store and rent a storage locker for the price of the store fee and hope in a year or two things return to normal or I should say the new normal. 

I think a lot of sellers will be thinking like me to close their stores if they do not get a break on the store fee.

[electronicifycanada]

I recently closed down my store entirely for a couple important reasons. First is Canada Post already said they are not honoring their delivery guarantee times, I know eBay said they will help sellers with that, but they also said that before and lied, so I don't exactly believe them.

Another really important development is they admitted they are locking down Canada entirely for at least 2 weeks starting this week sometime. They are going to be forcing some new laws through on Tuesday to make it happen. They said they won't even allow you in public unless your getting groceries and they will be ticketing people who don't follow it.

Your best off just closing down now to avoid having to refund cause you can't actually ship.

[melissasminis]

Ebay.ca announcement:

Small and medium businesses are at the core of our community, and we know that many of you are facing uncertainty, given how much is changing due to COVID-19.

When we asked many of our sellers what support is needed right now, help with cash flow and flexibility with payments was top of mind. With that, we’re going to defer most selling fees for eligible Store subscribers for 30 days.

We are deeply committed to supporting our sellers through this difficult time. We want to relieve some of the pressure you’re facing and give you the flexibility needed to sustain your business.

Be well. Thank you for being a part of our community, and for selling on eBay.

Jordan Sweetnam

Senior Vice President + GM Americas Market

Those are important key words, most selling fees, for eligible store subscribers, which fees and which sellers are actually eligible? Could be that no one is eligible for a 30 day deferral lol.

[ypdc_dennis]

---

@electronicifycanada wrote:

... Another really important development is they admitted they are locking down Canada entirely for at least 2 weeks starting this week sometime. They are going to be forcing some new laws through on Tuesday to make it happen.

---

I really distrust posts that talk about "they" without saying who "they" are. The new federal laws are for a financial package.  The Feds already have lockdown powers.

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/q-1.1/page-1.html

Members of Parliament will be called back to the House of Commons on Tuesday to adopt emergency measures announced last week. Parliament will reconvene briefly to approve funding to offset the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The proposed aid package includes:

• A temporary boost to Canada Child Benefit payments, delivering about $2 billion in extra support.
• A new Emergency Care Benefit of up to $900 biweekly, up to 15 weeks, to provide income support to workers, including the self-employed, who have to stay home and don't qualify for paid sick leave or employment insurance. The measure could disburse up to $10 billion.
• A new Emergency Support Benefit to provide up to $5 billion in support to workers who are not eligible for EI and who are facing unemployment.  
• A six-month, interest-free reprieve on student loan payments.
• Doubling the homeless care program. 
• Extending the tax filing deadline to June 1.
• Allowing taxpayers to defer until after Aug. 31 tax payments that are due after today and before September.
• $305 million for a new Indigenous Community Support Fund to address immediate needs in First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation communities.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/parliament-reconvenes-tuesday-to-adopt-emergency-aid-1.5505844

-..-