zW2Ig~~60_7.JPG "brandeentertainment"){kind=avatar}
@brandeentertainment wrote:
Promos really mess things up because they give sellers who pay ebay very little and kick the sellers who give ebay alot right in the >:>:
I think the word you were looking for there might be -- "keester" -- or its equivalent? 
I agree with your comments, and I've wondered about these promos for X--thousand free listings. Who the heck has 100,000 listings to make use of? Well, probably sellers like Target, or the dollar store type of sellers based in China who have staffs of hundreds to list, list, list. I personally think eBay will regret pandering to big-box sellers some day when those same sellers decide they've tested out internet selling enough through eBay, have gathered enough loyal online buyers, and they go off and set up their own sites. EBay may need its small, independent sellers again.
But all that is the future. Right now, it's just hang on and wait.
BUSINESS 101.
A few years ago, there was a Petro-Canada service station at the corner of Bridge Street and Main Street. It was very busy and the retailer made good money selling fuel in addition to newspaper, lottery tickets, pop, coffee, small snack items, etc..
A competitor seeing how profitable that corner was opened a Shell service station on the corner across the street. He also made extra money selling newspaper, lottery tickets, pop, coffee, small snack items, etc.. in addition to fuel.
Both service stations were doing OK. Not fantastic but OK.
A third competitor seeing how busy and apparently profitable that corner was opened an Esso service station on the other corner across the street. He also tried to make extra money selling newspaper, lottery tickets, pop, coffee, small snack items, etc.. in addition to fuel.
Now, things were not so good. With the market divided between three retailers offering the same stuff at the same price, none of them were making any money. They had to lay off some staff to survive and barely break even.
Buyers did not mind as they had the convenience of having three retailers to chose from.
In the meantime, the oil refiners supplying the three retailers could not care less. They were making their sales, their revenues were secure and life was good for them.
It is not that different on eBay. Over the years, more and more sellers are coming here to offer more and more competing items. Some may be of the same quality, some not. Many sellers do well in such competitive environment, many do not as their business model is based on what existed years ago, not today's reality.
In the meantime, eBay keeps inviting more and more sellers to the site to offer more and more items. Over the years eBay has shifted the bulk of its revenue from listing fees to commission on sales (FVF) and PayPal fees. eBay generates revenues based on what sells on the site, not the profit made by individual sellers.
Selling profitably on eBay (or anywhere online) is not as easy as it once was and do not expect things to get any easier.
