Will ebay still be a marketplace for collectible/vintage sellers?

[pinetreecottage]

To my fellow collectible/vintage/pre-owned sellers, do you think  with all the changes, there will still be room for us here?  None of the stuff I sell fit the demographics mentioned in the announcement, and how can we be protected with a completely  ludicrous return policy, or are we to assume there will be different policies for different products.  

Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself here.  Before we can return it, it has to be sold.  With just a few visits to listings, and only the occasional sale, it may all be academic.

[mrdutch1001]

Although I don't dabble in that market much anymore, the last time I sold anything on eBay in that category was nearly 2 years ago... I do still list about 30 items on eBay from time to time.... My last sale of a vintage item was on Bonanza and that was about a month ago...

[momcqueen]

It’s not going to be viable for Canadian sellers, period, until or unless they fix the Product Catalogue and Groupings flaw.

[kawartha-ephemera]

Well at this point the Collectibles category is exempt from these changes but Antiques along with many vintage categories are not. We can still opt out of returns completely if we want to.
Of course the reality is if you sell on ebay you're in the returns business to some degree.
Truthfully, I have a hard time believing many sellers in the antiques or collectibles categories are ever going to offer free returns, not happening.
That leaves us with just the back-door fee hike via loss of top-rated discount status.
Don't see the catalogue ever coming either unless they get the bright idea to include stamps, comic books etc. I hate that catalogue in the book category .... lord help us if they ever expand that idea further.

[silverpinups]

The Entertainment Memorabilia > Movie Memorabilia Categories are alive and well and are immune to the Product Catalogue. 

It basically depends on what you are selling... I always have a healthy amount of views, sales are consistent with the normal highs and lows.... 

I will stay on eBay until their Selling Policies force me to leave. Banning watermarking would have been a definite breaking point for me but I have my own ecommerce website now so there's a lot less stress on me to depend on and grow with the company.       

[kawartha-ephemera]

How are thing progressing with your website?

[silverpinups]

It's not bad considering Google just indexed it into the general search in Jan/18. It took about 2-3 months for that process to happen (the website went live in Oct/17). 

It's also nice when you have your own images page on Google.

I haven't done anything yet on Facebook or Instagram. My accounts are set-up I just haven't activated them yet... I had a death in the family last fall so I haven't done much except for some self promotion, but will probably look into increasing visibility this summer. 

[zee-chan-jpn-books]

I already lost my TRS a few months ago so I kinda stopped caring about the new changes *shrugs*

I think my breaking point would be, if I don't get any sales for 3 months straight, with no free listing promos to keep my listings alive, then I'll stop selling completely. 

[kawartha-ephemera]

Quote ' It's not bad considering Google just indexed it into the general search in Jan/18. It took about 2-3 months for that process to happen (the website went live in Oct/17.
It's also nice when you have your own images page on Google

You do have some nice images, really top drawer stuff. Having them searchable on Google images should be helpful ... often use the image search myself.
Many claim Pinterest and Facebook are the best platforms to increase a site's traffic.
Turned out I trialed the Shopify platform with Facebook store integration but was not impressed with it. Absolutely do like the idea of selling directly on Facebook though.
Sorry to hear of your family struggles.





It's also nice when you have your own images page on Google

[silverpinups]

Thank you... It will be a long process, a few years to get rolling, but I'm in for the long haul anyways.  

I considered Shopify for my website platform but didn't like the permanent 2-3% gouge they would have charged on my PayPal Payments. 

I'll explore the Facebook/Pinterest/Instagram platforms this summer.

Also thank you for your condolences...

[pjcdn2005]

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@kawartha-ephemerawrote:
That leaves us with just the back-door fee hike via loss of top-rated discount status.

To keep global trs status on .ca we don’t need to offer free returns so current global trs sellers shouldn’t lose their status or discount.  

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[kawartha-ephemera]

True, we don't have any TRS changes on .ca yet .... expect that to occur later in 2018 for us Canadians... the announcement stated the changes are coming to Canada too.
What about Canadians listing on .com ... those listings will be subject to the new rules in April will they not?

[pjcdn2005]

To get the trs plus badge on your listings on .com yes, you would have to meet all of the new requirements.  But Canadians do get the discount if they have global trs status regardless of where they list.

[sylviebee]

Will eBay continue to be a marketplace for collectibles?

Absolutely YES.  There are other sites but eBay stands out as the most important.  Every active collector is vigilante on eBay.

For sellers of used collectible items the return policy is even more important than for unused new items.

Without seller paid returns sellers are inclined to conceal damage and so it takes the edge off of that tendency to some degree.

Even with sellers paying return shipping for Items Not as Described, it's still very common for sellers to conceal damage.

Every day I see items with unforgivable damage described as excellent and even mint.

I'm pretty sure that most buyers just suck it up.

[service-des-courses]

Ebay is not a place for selling used and collectible items anymore. A friend in Europe was telling me that only professional shops are remaining on eBay over there. No more individual seller, or almost. No more used items, people prefer the local classifieds.

They want to be the next Amazon Marketplace.

[momcqueen]

“Every day I see items with unforgivable damage described as excellent and even mint.”

In Toys, those generally sellers do so from ignorance and naivety as opposed to malice. I never use the term, “Mint”. When I’m selling a collector-Grade package, I describe it instead. Flat card, no-curl corners, straight bubble free-from scratches and centered.

[femmefan1946]

A friend in Europe was telling me that

Anecdote is not data.

[service-des-courses]

"Anecdote is not data."

The good old give me some proof, data, measurements... Looks like this world has lost the ability to gauge things by quick observations and instinct. Have a look at eBay France my dear. You could gather data for the next two years you'll come to the same conclusion as my anecdote.

[femmefan1946]

@momcqueen

Remember what I said about which avatar I used?

Anecdotal proof.

[momcqueen]

I do indeed.