eBay

rose-dee · ‎05-10-2017

Well, well, great news today eh? This is the reason I dread that eBay subject line "Seller Update". However, I think those of us who have hung on to Global TRS for many years on the basis of our sales to the U.S. probably knew eBay would be ridding itself of all those seller discounts sooner or later.

Unless you sell widely around the world (and in Canada), expect to lose those discounts (and any visibility boost that went with TRS). They're giving us a "grace" period until early 2018, but that's hardly a comfort for the inevitable. And if they now begin deducting GST/HST on our fees (because we'll be contracting under the eBay Canada umbrella soon), little chunks of our profit will be shaved off at that end as well (unless you're a GST registrant).

EBay will succeed in nickle-and-diming its "boutique" and niche sellers to death, and perhaps that's what they want -- get rid of the non-commercial sellers. What few benefits eBay originally gave Canadian sellers to offset all the disadvantages of selling from here have been clawed back, one by one, over the last 3 or 4 years. It's hard not to be depressed.

The relevant text from the Summer Seller Update is below -- you'll want to read the whole Update. (BTW, since when do we now have a Summer Update? Now it's three lots of bad news per year?)

Updating how international performance standards are calculated

We’re updating our Global seller performance standards program to help you grow your sales, by levelling the playing field—both locally and internationally.

Currently, seller ratings under the Global seller performance standards program take into consideration sales to all countries around the globe. Starting August 1, 2017, sales to buyers in the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany will be excluded from Global seller performance standards. Sales to these countries will continue to count as before in their respective regional seller standards programs, and there will be no change to the US Top Rated Seller program.

http://pages.ebay.ca/seller-centre/news/seller-updates/2017summer/index.html

lady.stark · ‎05-10-2017

Oh God... another bad news. And I think they did not wait until 2018 to make that change. If I look at my dashboard, if I were evaluated today, I'm TRS in the US but not globally. I wondered why... now I know. 😞

silverpinups · ‎05-10-2017

It's unfortunate that the specialty sellers that made eBay a unique place to shop are slowly being phased out and replaced with mainstream garbage that can be purchased anywhere.

Restraining eBay polices and the continuation of Corporate gouging and greed is going to leave eBay nothing more then a vacuous shell of a once unique on-line shopping experience.

dutchman48 · ‎05-10-2017

Wait until the winter update comes after the fall update.

I too think that, raised FVF, cut TRS discount, and now sales tax is a bit much all at once. With our shipping rates as high as they are, the FVF tax will really add up to our costs. Low margin items are not suitable here any more due to all fees increasing.

I am sure there will be no end to it for the smaller sellers.

And then the INR claims that seem to be increasing as well which is a straight loss if using letter mail.

I think personally, when my store time is up ,unless it can be closed without their ridiculous penalty (not sure if tax will be applied to that fee as well, but I am sure it is as it is on the invoice), I will work on my 2 websites and move most of my stuff to a competitor where I can list free(don't need a 3rd party lister) and have lower FVF's as well as not having it charged on shipping.

Time for some drastic changes in the near future especially when sales are as slow as they are here.

lukey9 · ‎05-10-2017

My Store was already closed as of May 1 and even though I am Registered for GST/HST as soon as I can get rid of a few items I can sell locally I am out of here. It is way too much work now for a very little return and getting harder all the time. I can do a few Military Shows around here and get the same results with allot less hassle. The 20 % discount used to pay for my Store and with it going back to 10 % and loosing it very soon it is not worth it any more.

rose-dee · ‎05-10-2017

@dutchman48 wrote:

Time for some drastic changes in the near future especially when sales are as slow as they are here.

Yes, and that's the thing for me. If these changes were actually producing great results in terms of sales, I'd just take them quietly, grit my teeth and carry on. But every new chip off my profit block makes it more and more difficult to sustain viability in an environment where sales are actually going down.

You're right -- it is time to start looking at all the possible alternatives. The Fall Update won't make us any happier, I'm sure.

pjcdn2005 · ‎05-10-2017

Even if don't have enough sales to qualify for global trs, you can still get a discount on all listings if you can qualify for US trs. We are still being given a pass on tracking requirements.

lady.stark · ‎05-10-2017

Since they forced C$ on eBay.ca, my sales have dropped and dropped. I was in the red for many months. But I still kept my store open, hoping that transfering my items on .com would help. It did not really. Yes, I sold quite a lot of pictures lately, but it's only because they are rare. Now that they are almost all sold, my sales are dropping again.

When taxes will be charged to my fees, I will cancel my store. Not worth it anymore. And if sales don't improve, I'll just try to find another venue to sell my stuff. It's sad, because I enjoyed it a lot selling here. As you say, if at least sales improved, I would accept those fees and carry on. But these changes are not helping one bit.

westernstargifts · ‎05-10-2017

I have a premium store and have had exactly 4 sales in 10 days. One of them was cancelled as requested by the buyer who "bought it by mistake:.

I have never... ever... ever had sales this poor on eBay. I have downgraded the store to basic starting next month and wish I had done it sooner. I pay on a monthly basis.

Time to hit the craft show circuit again and, after having a store for 10 years, I may just close it and list only when we are given free listing offers. I just ran 104 auctions and did not get one bid. Most had 1 -4 views with a few at zero and one or 2 around 7.

It isn't worth putting any effort into selling here anymore.

I was really annoyed when, after cancelling the sale for the buyer mentioned above, I received a letter from eBay saying that they noticed I have had a few cancellations lately and that "they may have been due to not having the items in stock". I know these form letters are sent from unmonitored email addresses but I did get some satisfaction out of it anyway by replying to it. Among other things, I told them that, if they checked their records, all of the cancelled sales were because the buyers requested it and to insinuate that they were not was an insult to a 10 year top rated seller. I also told them that I do not buy the type of products on eBay that they have been sending me promotions for by email. And that I will not buy through any promotion where they feature only 5 or 6 sellers.

That will fall on deaf ears but at least I had a chance to vent regarding those issues and more and it was a change from just talking to myself.

rose-dee · ‎05-10-2017

@pjcdn2005 wrote:
Even if don't have enough sales to qualify for global trs, you can still get a discount on all listings if you can qualify for US trs. We are still being given a pass on tracking requirements.

Yes, I am aware of that, but Global TRS was an additional benefit that particularly suited Canadian sellers who had difficulty maintaining sufficiently high U.S. sales levels to qualify for US TRS.

Those few extra sales every month to the U.K. and elsewhere have helped to make the difference for me at some points where I might not quite qualify for U.S. TRS, especially with overall sales levels dropping during the past year or so. I always saw Global TRS as a helpful concession to Canadian sellers trying to compete on a playing field very heavily weighted in many other respects toward U.S. sellers.

I think those who suggested that these changes were the result of lobbying pressure are likely correct. But it also probably helps eBay's bottom line to not have quite so many sellers getting TRS discounts. With shareholders nipping at their heels and online competition fiercer (and more widespread) than ever, eBay CEO's have doubtless had to come up with some pretty quick cash-flow solutions. Apparently last year's 25% hike in store subscription fees wasn't enough.

dutchman48 · ‎05-12-2017

Well, my store is officially closed. Just not worth it any more. Listing with minimal sales just did not pay for itself.

I will list a few every month but not worried about listing all the time.

I can list free at many other sites, not pay for a store or listing program, and just leave them there without the headaches of Ebay and the constant changes and gouging.

Sales may drop, but in all honesty, I don't care any more. It was getting to be a chore which I have not enjoyed for some time.

dutchman48 · ‎05-12-2017

Also means I will spend a whole lot less on Ebay.

What Ebay will never figure out or could care less about, is that many long time sellers are are long time buyers.

The big box and Chinese buy nothing at all on Ebay. Once they get fed up, Ebay will be in very serious trouble.

pierrelebel · ‎05-12-2017

"my store is officially closed. Just not worth it any more."

Will the extra FVF affect you? Going from 6.15% (in your category) with a store to 10.0% without a store?

dutchman48 · ‎05-12-2017

Hi Pierre

For me no, I have to sell around $500 per month to justify a basic store and around $1500 to justify a premium store.

That is just not happening and hasn't for some time.

I am not a dealer, just selling my collections so I do not restock anything. When they are gone, they are gone and won't be replaced.

I also have 2 websites I stock.

Other reason of course is I am tired of the constant changes and increases in fees and all the double talk from Ebay staff.

Also getting tired of being punished for things I have no control over, and CP constant increases which means more FVF's for Ebay and now tax on top of that. Most of my stuff can't go letter mail.

As I said, I can list elsewhere, not pay for listings, have a lower FVF, and a lot less headaches. I am not much younger than you and need a break from the rat race.

pierrelebel · ‎05-12-2017

"That ($500 monthly sales) is just not happening and hasn't for some time."

That is your answer right there and that would apply to most other sellers. There is no point in having a store and paying a monthly fee unless your sales level can justify it.

lukey9 · ‎05-12-2017

Wait for the Halloween update that will be really scary.

dutchman48 · ‎05-12-2017

What about July 1st update, it should be a blast!

lady.stark · ‎05-12-2017

@dutchman48 wrote:
For me no, I have to sell around $500 per month to justify a basic store and around $1500 to justify a premium store.

Can I ask how you came up with this number? I'm really interested, because it might be another reason for me to cancel the store (I have the basic one). I never ever sold that much!

dutchman48 · ‎05-12-2017

Prior to the last increase in FVF's, and it will vary in different categories, the higher the store FVF rate, the more you have to sell to break even on a store or not.

The difference between store and non store for me was a 4% final value fee.

If you sell $500 per month the FVF's savings would be $20 which is the price of an annual store. If you sell less than that, dollar wise a store is no good but there may be other reasons to have a store.

This was my rough number, easy to work with, and will vary with category, shipping, and other variables as the discount difference also applies to shipping.

You also have to take into account if you get the 10% (previously 20%) TRS discount as well.

As I said, the $500 was a good number as a guide. If you sell cheaper items, you have to sell a large number to get to $500.00

There are other reasons to have a store that every one has to consider. You can list more per month and hence hope for more sales but lately that has not been the case.

Hope this helps.

hlmacdon · ‎05-12-2017

@lady.stark wrote:
Can I ask how you came up with this number? I'm really interested, because it might be another reason for me to cancel the store (I have the basic one). I never ever sold that much!

Evaluate how many listings you make in a month. What would that cost you without a store versus having a store? What is the discounted final value fee in your category if you have a store and how much are you saving versus not having a store? In my case the deciding factor is the number of free listings and cost per additional as the discounted FVF rate is only a small difference.