Not happy AT ALL

[anahita_jewelry]

I have never posted anything on a forum but this new update infuriates me. The bottom line is: the main purpose of this update is for eBay to make more money on small eBay sellers while again giving incentives to mass producing factories. This change FORCES us sellers without a monthly subscription to subscribe. What am I going to do with just 20 free fixed price listings per month? I am forced to either list everything at auction (with a super low starting price to ensure items sell so I can get my credit) or get a subscription. Either ways, you make more money, I make less money + I have to do 10 times more work. Thanks a lot. Happy spring to you too.

[reallynicestamps]

I ran the Fee Illustrator and was told that I would be better off without the Store subscription.

http://www.fees.ebay.ca/feeweb/feeillustrator

I'm going to keep it though because I think the ability to sort my items into categories is worth the $10 a month.

(with a super low starting price to ensure items sell so I can get my credit)

That would be cutting off your nose to spite your face. Selling at a too low price is worse than paying the 5c to 30c monthly for a listing.

EBay, or some new hire with an MBA and an urge to make his name, seems to have decided to emphasize the auction side of eBay perhaps to differentiate it from all the other online venues, most (all?) of which are Fixed Price only.

Nothing is as certain as change.

However, if your business plan depends on Free Listings to be profitable, perhaps you should be rethinking your business plan.

Umm- just in passing, are your bracelets silver or 'silver'? It would be a good idea to make that clear. Also be careful about naming brands in your descriptions, some of those companies are members of VeRO.

[mr.elmwood]

If something is not worth a few cents to list ......

Fees are not going up, they are mostly staying the same.

eBay has been pushing out the "free list" crowd for a solid two years now.

eBay is not for everyone.

[anahita_jewelry]

Thanks for your reply!
I guess my only option now is to open a store. I felt I was fine without a store as I took advantage of the free monthly promotions, but things must change I guess.
Oh, and my product materials are accurately and thoroughly described and I'm not sure what you mean by "brands" since my items are all unbranded and I don't claim that they are.

[pocomocomputing · Accepted solution]

I would suggest a wait and see as far as the extra free listings promos are concerned.

Way back 4 years ago when free listing promotions started, I had a store. I closed my store in late May 2011 when the Canada Post strike happened in June 2011. In July when the strike was over, I stayed with non-store with the 50 free auctions. Whenever I wanted to go back to the store, eBay had free listings promotions. So I never needed to go back to a store. It was always cheaper to stay non-store with the extra free promos despite the lower FVF rate for a store since I never saved enough monthly to pay for the store fee.

When the Spring Update came out a couple of years ago and gave store sellers some free listings in the store price, I thought that would stop the extra free promotions and I would have to go store. Nope, I kept getting 1-2-3 promos a month with more than enough free listings for my needs. I still get invites for 1 Fixed Price promo and 1 Auction promo each month.

The question is "Will eBay still give out as many promos as before after May 1, 2015?" I will wait and see. The past few promos have attempted to restrict which items could be listed. New listing only, no relists, no Sell Similar. So far it has been easy to defeat these restrictions to relist UnSold items by using Sell Similar. If eBay somehow can enforce their restrictions, then the free promos will not be as easy to use. Wait and see again. The store option is always available.

If you do go store, think carefully about which store payment plan you take. The basic store is 19.95 monthly with no contract and can be cancelled anytime. The 15.95 plan is for a yearly contract and if cancelled during the year, a prorated penalty for cancelling is charged. I would suggest going monthly no contract for 2-3-4 months to see where eBay is going before locking into a plan.

[anahita_jewelry]

Thanks so much for your response! It was so very helpful. And you are right, the free monthly promotions do make a big difference in the whole equation. I usually only get 1 per month, but find that has been enough to prevent me from opening a store. It's a great idea to wait and see how things play out. Thanks for your advice!

As a side note, i read "rumors" that store subscribers don't get as many free listing promo deals as non-store subscribers (which is another reason I thought it be best not to get a store). I even read some postings from people who claimed their monthly promos were completely cut out once they opened a store. I asked eBay customer service and they told me that promos are sent out completely at random. Does anybody know if or how a store subscription affects the number /quality of listing promo invitations offered?

[reallynicestamps]

and I'm not sure what you mean by "brands" since my items are all unbranded and I don't claim that they are.

Bracelet and beads are standard European size and will fit any standard size European bracelet/beads/charms (including Pandora, Trollbead, Biagi, Chamilia...)

The term is 'keyword spamming' and the argument is 'disingenuous'.

[anahita_jewelry]

First of all, this post was about the new seller updates and your remarks are inaccurate and OFF TOPIC. Why are you even reading my product descriptions, nevermind commenting on them? This post is about the SELLER UPDATE.

Secondly, there is absolutely NOTHING "disingenuous" in that description. When describing the size a bead, there is nothing wrong with clarifying what types/brands of chains the beads are compatible with. No customer has EVER been confused about my products. In no way am I advertising that ANY of my products are branded. If you type the word Pandora in the eBay search box, you will NEVER ever find ANY of my postings even if you scroll for days. There is absolutely no keyword manipulation.

And this is why the Chinese make millions and we don't; because instead of helping each other succeed and make money, we are too busy hating and obsessing over what others do and what words they use in their descriptions.

[recped]

As a side note, i read "rumors" that store subscribers don't get as many free listing promo deals as non-store subscribers

Not my experience. I have store and non-store id's, for me they go in waves, one id gets them, the others none, then the next one gets them and the others none and then sometimes they all get them. Only twice since March of 2012 have I not gotten an offer for at least one id.

[mr.elmwood]

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@anahita_jewelry wrote:
First of all, this post was about the new seller updates and your remarks are inaccurate and OFF TOPIC. Why are you even reading my product descriptions, nevermind commenting on them? This post is about the SELLER UPDATE.

Secondly, there is absolutely NOTHING "disingenuous" in that description. When describing the size a bead, there is nothing wrong with clarifying what types/brands of chains the beads are compatible with. No customer has EVER been confused about my products. In no way am I advertising that ANY of my products are branded. If you type the word Pandora in the eBay search box, you will NEVER ever find ANY of my postings even if you scroll for days. There is absolutely no keyword manipulation.

And this is why the Chinese make millions and we don't; because instead of helping each other succeed and make money, we are too busy hating and obsessing over what others do and what words they use in their descriptions.

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That is the definition of keyword spamming. Why not mention car barnds as they would fit in a car? Why not mention appliance brands as they would them as well.

Drawing attention to your listings using proiduct names you are NOT is search manipulation, keyword spamming.

Policy:  http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/search-manipulation.html

Specifically:  Don't make a comparison or reference a brand that isn't the same brand you're selling.

Are you selling the brand names you are listing in your description?

[anahita_jewelry]

This post was and is about THE NEW SELLER update. Stay on point.

[nuvistors]

This post changed to information about ebay policies and Keyword Spamming.

Something that could get your selling restricted if someone reported your spam.