Is Ebay The Worst Run Company of all time?

[rhettyeakley]

So I have to vent a little. I have had an ebay account since 1998 and have been a pretty active seller since then and have been active on my current account since 2000. I have 100% feedback (was 99.8% for a bit due to a USPS delayed shipment that the seller hadn't rec'd when leaving feedback but was rec'd the following day but that was a year ago and no longer counts on my %).

I have a feedback score of 4,458 and have on average around 4,000-6,000 items in my ebay store (fixed price). I never had any limits on what I could sell until last month when ebay decided to put selling restrictions on my account and I could only sell 1,650 items (or $59,000 worth or stuff) in my store that I pay $299 a month for that gives me 10,000 free listings a month. So I call and they say that if I get some of my performance #'s up I can request a higher # of items. Keep in mind I am a Power Seller according to their calculations.

I try to remain calm and explain that the #'s they are allowing me are silly and don't even allow for me to relist current inventory I have on ebay within the 90 days that the stuff stays within the system. In the most condescending manner a CSR at ebay just simply tells me they are trying to protect their customer (the buyers) from having bad experiences. Are these people for real? The guy tells me I can petition for higher selling limits the next month as long as I remain in good standing, I do so and wait the 30 days and I find out my seller limit has been raised this month by an extra (get this)... 50 listings every month (or $1000 more), so now I can list a total of 1,700 items (or $60,000) this month!!! Note I am still being charged $299 a month for an Anchor store that allows 10,000 free listings.

I have done multiple $100K worth of sales on ebay over the past decade and a half with no major problems of any kind and then all of the sudden they hit me with limiting how much I can sell?

At the end of the day this is not my livelihood and I do it so I have extra money to buy stuff I like without dipping into "family money" along with the added benefit of making a little money while enjoying my hobby. I truly don't understand how ebay has stayed in business this long making counterproductive changes that end up making them less money.

Why would you tell a customer that pays you over $1,000 a month in fees that you can no longer offer as many items because of no reason whatsoever, thus netting them less money every month?

[Beastmode]

I'm guessing you don't fail into this category but I've heard e-bay is trying to cull the herd a little. Too many sellers with ridiculous prices essentially using e-bay to store photos of their overpriced listings. Cluttering up searches and turing the newbie's off.

What they want is sellers to sell their stuff and turnover their inventory. If you can't do that in 30 days, they figure your squatting. I feel for you. Need to either be a massive seller, or onesy-twosy, anything in the middle and your a target.

[MULLINS5]

I was in the same boat when they did this to me a few years ago. It has taken me a long time to get my selling limits at a level that works for me - but I no longer list the amount of items I used to because of this. Ebay for me is now just a place for me to dump unwanted items/inventory.

If you are selling items that are at least 20 years old I highly suggest selling on Etsy. Five cents per listing per month and final value fees A LOT lower. Better search engine results and a much easier platform to use - oh, and they typically side with the seller. I use Etsy as my store and eBay to liquidate.

Best of luck,

Patrick

[MULLINS5]

I'm guessing you don't fail into this category but I've heard e-bay is trying to cull the herd a little. Too many sellers with ridiculous prices essentially using e-bay to store photos of their overpriced listings. Cluttering up searches and turing the newbie's off.

What they want is sellers to sell their stuff and turnover their inventory. If you can't do that in 30 days, they figure your squatting. I feel for you. Need to either be a massive seller, or onesy-twosy, anything in the middle and your a target.

This is correct. Exactly what I was told by eBay when I called them about my account.

[gabrinus]

Rhett, I have a 46 card lot on that I am not able to find via my regular searches so right now I am a little inclined to agree with you.......Jerry

[slidekellyslide]

Did you guys know that ebay sells boxes on ebay? Check out their feedback, and then look at their DSR ratings. How is that possible? How are they a top rated seller with highest buyer ratings?

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=ebayshippingsupplies&&_trksid=p2047675.l2560&rt=nc&iid=252445271313&sspagename=VIP%3Afeedback&ftab=FeedbackAsSeller

[autograf]

Ebay sucks. Period. Sucks. Period. Unfortunately, they are the 800 lb gorilla. I had a similar issue a few years ago and I had to call every month, get a 10-15% increase on the amount of items I could sell each and every month. Erstwhile, they're letting people scam people day and night as long as they get a plug nickel off what the scammers are selling. Fake Wagners, fake autographs, etc, rampant on the site while the other people are languishing away. They operate a completely bogus feedback system that, inexplicably, won't let sellers 'ding' or 'neg' buyers. It's really ridiculous. You really have to hit all your marks 100% on those 5's to be able to operate normally without being throttled down. I think what they expect is that ONLY people who operate business completely on ebay should be allowed to operate. Those few of us who are gainfully employed and do this for the same reasons you do aren't who ebay wants their bread and butter to be. Good luck dealing with the faceless machine of ebay to get this problem solved..............

[RichardSimon]

I truly don't understand how ebay has stayed in business this long making counterproductive changes that end up making them less money.



Usually they make changes that make them more money by making it easier for the forgers and con artists to remain in business.
Rhett, what they did to you is absurd.

[FirstYearCards]

Worst run of all time? Depends on your view I suppose. I was a long time stock holder(cashed out after 2015 split).

[rjackson44]

feeeebay

[mechanicalman]

Worst run of all time? Depends on your view I suppose. I was a long time stock holder(cashed out after 2015 split).

I might give a vote to Enron, or most recently, Wells Fargo.

In seriousness, I'm sorry they did that to the OP. I don't know the details of his offerings, but it's hard to imagine a successful seller being met with that kind of response.

That said, philosophically, as primarily a buyer, I actually do appreciate anything that is done to clean up the wasteland of overpriced cards that never sell and reappear every 3-5 days in my feeds (you all know about whom I'm talking.)

[pbspelly]

I'm guessing you don't fail into this category but I've heard e-bay is trying to cull the herd a little. Too many sellers with ridiculous prices essentially using e-bay to store photos of their overpriced listings. Cluttering up searches and turing the newbie's off.

What they want is sellers to sell their stuff and turnover their inventory. If you can't do that in 30 days, they figure your squatting.

Not that what they did to you was proper in any fashion, but this is a real problem. I'm constantly amazed at the ridiculous prices some sellers try to sell things for on eBay. People listing cards for three times what they're worth. And not just memorabilia, but new merchandise, priced at twice what I could buy the item for new off of Amazon. Why would anyone pay a higher price on eBay for something you could get from Amazon with complete confidence that it will be shipped quickly and easily returned if it doesn't meet your expectations. Bizarre. I really don't understand half the listings on eBay.

[ramram]

It sucks that some of the solid sellers get caught up in the sweep but, I have to admit, that if the purpose is to clean up some of the sellers that just camp on ebay with overpriced items then I'm all for that.

I can't tell you how irked I get when doing searches for Old Judge cards and seeing the same cards that are not even priced close to reality. I almost get the opinion that they are simply using ebay only to show off their collection. When I hit my frustration limit, I typically throw out a very satirical listing of my own ridiculously "overpriced" Old Judge card for the purpose of venting at just those kinds of sellers.

Rob M

[Sportsnutcards]

So I have to vent a little. I have had an ebay account since 1998 and have been a pretty active seller since then and have been active on my current account since 2000. I have 100% feedback (was 99.8% for a bit due to a USPS delayed shipment that the seller hadn't rec'd when leaving feedback but was rec'd the following day but that was a year ago and no longer counts on my %).

I have a feedback score of 4,458 and have on average around 4,000-6,000 items in my ebay store (fixed price). I never had any limits on what I could sell until last month when ebay decided to put selling restrictions on my account and I could only sell 1,650 items (or $59,000 worth or stuff) in my store that I pay $299 a month for that gives me 10,000 free listings a month. So I call and they say that if I get some of my performance #'s up I can request a higher # of items. Keep in mind I am a Power Seller according to their calculations.

I try to remain calm and explain that the #'s they are allowing me are silly and don't even allow for me to relist current inventory I have on ebay within the 90 days that the stuff stays within the system. In the most condescending manner a CSR at ebay just simply tells me they are trying to protect their customer (the buyers) from having bad experiences. Are these people for real? The guy tells me I can petition for higher selling limits the next month as long as I remain in good standing, I do so and wait the 30 days and I find out my seller limit has been raised this month by an extra (get this)... 50 listings every month (or $1000 more), so now I can list a total of 1,700 items (or $60,000) this month!!! Note I am still being charged $299 a month for an Anchor store that allows 10,000 free listings.

I have done multiple $100K worth of sales on ebay over the past decade and a half with no major problems of any kind and then all of the sudden they hit me with limiting how much I can sell?

At the end of the day this is not my livelihood and I do it so I have extra money to buy stuff I like without dipping into "family money" along with the added benefit of making a little money while enjoying my hobby. I truly don't understand how ebay has stayed in business this long making counterproductive changes that end up making them less money.

Why would you tell a customer that pays you over $1,000 a month in fees that you can no longer offer as many items because of no reason whatsoever, thus netting them less money every month?
Hi Rhett, the limits are all based on what your seller dashboard stats are along with your average sales per month compared to what you have listed and if you are maxing out your listings every month. Without seeing your dashboard it is hard to say why they are not making your limits higher, but it usually has to do with a combo of things.

[Jeffrompa]

Rhett there's not much you can do . I have over 11000 feedback and have never understood ebays policy . I have been put on limit and loss $ 1000s . Once they put you on limits all you can do is wait it out until eBay raises it . Seems like good sellers get beat up there all the time .

[ibuysportsephemera]

I have had the middle size store on eBay for a long time and fortunately have never had a problem. I don't understand how they can charge you for a full size store and restrict the number of items that you have. Shouldn't you be asking them to move you to a middle level store until they remove the restrictions?

Jeff

[Brian Van Horn]

Rhett,

I have read your post and I feel for you, but I can still name one worse run company than eBay.

[Snapolit1]

I vote for Comcast. 1000 times worse than ebay.

[conor912]

Not by a longshot.

[rhettyeakley]

At the end of the day it isn't that big of a deal for me as, again, this isn't my livelihood at stake as I buy-sell cards for fun but I can only imagine the mom & pop eBay store having the same restrictions and forcing them out of business.

The most frustrating thing is that I do pay to have 10,000 listings and there is no actual criteria to determine how to get it increased. I just want to know what they are wanting and then allowing me to do that. I ask and they say some gobbledygook answer about requesting more listings and then some board then determines the increase but again based on what?

I'll adapt my model of doing business to make it work but it just seems so arbitrary.

My eBay name is kryvintage. I don't feel like I am crazy expensive but I do price my items for what I feel they are worth. I sell quite a bit so I have never really heard anyone describe me as one of the eBay museums so I can't imagine there were complaints about my stuff. My DSR's are all 4.9 except "item as described" is 5.0

[bxb]

Not even close.

The fact that they make a profit puts them ahead of the thousands of companies that have gone broke.

But I share your dissatisfaction.

[SMPEP]

I don't get this.

I don't have a store, and my selling limit is higher than that!

You're paying to get less than someone who pays nothing.

That makes no sense.

[Cozumeleno]

I wonder how they would react if you threatened to close your store. They do anything to try to push sellers to open one. I thought about it a few years ago but don't sell nearly enough there to justify paying a fee.

Would they let you walk or would they work with you? I have to do my annual dance with Sirius every year by calling to cancel my subscription until they give me their lowest rate.

[D. Bergin]

Ok, how about "worst run successful company"?


Based on their initial model and how they got out of the gate almost 20 years ago, they should be way more successful then they are IMO.

They still make a profit, because they'd have to be complete morons to totally screw up the brilliant platform they initially engineered.

That said, I don't know of any company that shoots themselves in the foot (seemingly on purpose) as many times as Ebay.

Ebay trying to position themselves as another Amazon (without having to build the infrastructure) of Amazon has really killed them through the years.

Ebay stock should be through the roof. They are basically a huge software platform that collects untold amounts of revenue without having to keep any inventory. It's all gravy, but somehow they still figure out how to screw it up.

Sorry, this happened to you Rhett. Perhaps it's time to strike out on your own and design your own website with a full shopping cart.

It's gotta be cheaper then what you're paying Ebay now, and the whole Ebay gives the best exposure to items is a bit overblown. Google/Bing/Yahoo and the other search engines give the best exposure to items.....and if you're selling mostly One of a Kind, Vintage or Unique type items, you will crawl up in the search engines quickly.

I use Yahoo/Aabaco for my websites. Use my own domains. Costs $40 bucks a month + $30 bucks additional to use Paypal Pro as a merchant provider in the shopping cart (accepts all forms of credit cards) and can be used across multiple domains unlike other merchant accounts.

List as many items as you want at no additional charge. They never time out or need to be relisted, thus keeping your search engine placement. Final value fee when items do sell is like 1.5% + the Paypal/Merchant account cut of the sale.

There will be many other platforms out there that offer similar if that one is not the right one for you.

Truthfully, Ebay should be killing it right now with a much bigger share of the revenue out there. If they were not so difficult to deal with, a ton of people who are either operating their own websites or have moved to Amazon, Etsy or other places, would still be offering much of their inventory on Ebay.

I'm sorry, people are seeing the same old stuff over and over on Ebay. Ebay "cleaning it up" is NOT making it more palatable. It is driving more and more sellers with unique items away. There used to be much more to choose from on a regular basis.

15 years ago I felt like a kid in a candy shop browsing through all the stuff I was interested in on Ebay. Finding interesting auctions in the corners of Ebay that I thought nobody else was finding. I probably spent more money and won more auctions then I had any business spending or winning.

I barely bid on Ebay at all anymore now. I still sell as it is still a source of revenue I can't ignore.....but it's becoming less and less as the years go by.

[savedfrommyspokes]

At the end of the day it isn't that big of a deal for me as, again, this isn't my livelihood at stake as I buy-sell cards for fun but I can only imagine the mom & pop eBay store having the same restrictions and forcing them out of business.

The most frustrating thing is that I do pay to have 10,000 listings and there is no actual criteria to determine how to get it increased. I just want to know what they are wanting and then allowing me to do that. I ask and they say some gobbledygook answer about requesting more listings and then some board then determines the increase but again based on what?

I'll adapt my model of doing business to make it work but it just seems so arbitrary.

My eBay name is kryvintage. I don't feel like I am crazy expensive but I do price my items for what I feel they are worth. I sell quite a bit so I have never really heard anyone describe me as one of the eBay museums so I can't imagine there were complaints about my stuff. My DSR's are all 4.9 except "item as described" is 5.0

It is very frustrating to hear stories like this, especially since you have paid to have the largest ebay store available. It seems that most companies would just be happy continuing to take your money....for some unknown reason that is not the case here.

The only reason I can see that they lowered your limits is the fact that you are selling an average of 140-145 units a month. With their new "limit" they appear to be allowing you to stock in your store 1 years worth of items to sell....in other words, they are allowing you to list at one time as many items as you would sell in a one year time period.

Unfortunately , there are still many sellers on ebay who have 2-3 times the number of items listed than what they will typically sell during a one year period.

The only suggestions I can offer are first to use a single listing to offer all singles you have from a specific set(IE 1961 Fleer Baseball), or second to sell cards in small lots. With some modern cards there are sellers who are using one listing to offer a number of cards from a given set as singles. Here is an example:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2016-TOPPS-HERITAGE-HIGH-NUMBER-BASE-CARD-SINGLES-U-PICK-COMPLETE-YOUR-SET-/232085850559?var=&hash=item36096509bf:m:ma7HKGjqga7MUnFU_pThTRA


Some of these listings have 30 or more unique cards and it is just a single listing. You can add up to 12 images per listing through ebay photo services or even more if you self host your own images. The listings with the dropdown boxes are certainly a workaround to what they are restricting you to now.

[Chris Counts]

My latest gripe with eBay involves combining shipping for multiple items from the same seller. For months, this seemingly simple task has become very complicated, in part because every seller now has to check some stupid box somewhere saying he or she is willing to offer combined shipping. And because many people don't know the box exists (I've never seen it), they have trouble now combining shipping on orders. When I try to contact a seller about combined shipping, I often get a message from eBay saying my email was rejected because I used the used the words "combined shipping" in it. I called and complained, pointing out that such a policy is total madness. It seems like eBay should be making communication between parties easier, not more difficult.

[D. Bergin]

My latest gripe with eBay involves combining shipping for multiple items from the same seller. For months, this seemingly simple task has become very complicated, in part because every seller now has to check some stupid box somewhere saying he or she is willing to offer combined shipping. And because many people don't know the box exists (I've never seen it), they have trouble now combining shipping on orders. When I try to contact a seller about combined shipping, I often get a message from eBay saying my email was rejected because I used the used the words "combined shipping" in it. I called and complained, pointing out that such a policy is total madness. It seems like eBay should be making communication between parties easier, not more difficult.


Jeez. Ebay will also reject a message for using the word "invoice". As in "Thanks, I just sent you a combined invoice"....or "Please send me a Paypal invoice for the item I have just won".

It's some sort of trigger word for doing deals off-Ebay, or some such nonsense.

[Sean1125]

Hi Rhett, the limits are all based on what your seller dashboard stats are along with your average sales per month compared to what you have listed and if you are maxing out your listings every month. Without seeing your dashboard it is hard to say why they are not making your limits higher, but it usually has to do with a combo of things.

This is the only correct answer in the thread.

I have a pit feeling something happened with some transactions that caused this change.

[swarmee]

He has already responded that he is 4.9s for DSRs with one 5.0. They shouldn't be throttling sellers like that.
Heck, I probably have 300-400 sales on eBay over 15 years, but 200 in this year (sold off a ton of graded duplicate T51s), and can sell 300 items with a combined value of $15,000 per month. Never had a store.

If they wanted to rid themselves of overpriced listings, they would have stopped their relationship from Dean's and never let COMC cross-post. Many cards on COMC are price 8 times going value so that the sellers can offer items at 90% sales. However, sale prices never show up on eBay/Amazon, just original prices.

I agree with the other poster who recommended calling them and asking to cancel your store. Then if the profit margin makes sense, send your cards into COMC anyways. COMC is going to restructure their fee structure in early 2017, possibly getting rid of their 20% cashout fee that makes selling there less interesting. But the fact that they do all the scanning, finding, packing, and shipping makes it totally worth it for me, as I have 12,000 cards on that site for sale and cross-posted to eBay and Amazon. I have never touched probably 9,000 of those cards, just buying them on COMC, leaving them in their warehouse, and then repricing them.

[ibuysportsephemera]

Rhett,

I still don't understand why you wouldn't put your foot down and say if I can only list 1.7k items, I will not pay for the anchor store. You should have them lower you to the middle level store which would give you 1k store items and 500 auctions (which you can price like store items) for $59 a month.

Thanks,

Jeff

[jhs5120]

EBay is getting incredibly smart with their analysis on eBay seller inventory turnover.

A quick eBay search of "1956 Topps 188" (just a generic common) shows 4 auctions and 111 BINs! The buy it nows aren't making eBay any money if they do not sell. They're really starting to look at who doesn't turn over their inventory and who does. If you do not, then they're starting to take actions to force your hand.

[D. Bergin]

EBay is getting incredibly smart with their analysis on eBay seller inventory turnover.

A quick eBay search of "1956 Topps 188" (just a generic common) shows 4 auctions and 111 BINs! The buy it nows aren't making eBay any money if they do not sell. They're really starting to look at who doesn't turn over their inventory and who does. If you do not, then they're starting to take actions to force your hand.


There would be more turnover if Ebay didn't do their damndest to try and discourage straight auctions for the last decade or so, while they chased the Amazon retail BIN model.

[jhs5120]

There would be more turnover if Ebay didn't do their damndest to try and discourage straight auctions for the last decade or so, while they chased the Amazon retail BIN model.

Well, it looks like the OP has sold 284 items over the last 3 months, or 95 items a month. If he is limited to 1,650 listings at a time, then he will either have to lower his prices to start turning over his older inventory, or list some auctions.

If eBay were to follow Amazons retail model, a search for "1956 Topps 188" (my prior example) would result in one listing. The listing would then only display the cheapest price and sellers would need to bid against each other to lower their prices to be seen.

I just looked at my store. I have 91 items listed (currently all BINs), but have sold 199 items over the past 3 months (39 BINs).

[kmac32]

Poorly run and managed from my opinion as a buyer and seller. A few years back my wife was selling some thing and in the listing we clearly said US shipping only. We had a person from Austria message about shipping to europe and we clearly told them that we do not do that. Jerk bid anyhow so we cancelled the transaction and got bogus negative feedback. We contested it and wven with all the messages clearly stating that we did USA shipping only allowed the feedback to remain. Talk about being seller unfriendly and inconsistent in their policies. And now they try and limit sales. Stupid!!!

[Sportsnutcards]

He has already responded that he is 4.9s for DSRs with one 5.0. They shouldn't be throttling sellers like that.
Heck, I probably have 300-400 sales on eBay over 15 years, but 200 in this year (sold off a ton of graded duplicate T51s), and can sell 300 items with a combined value of $15,000 per month. Never had a store.

If they wanted to rid themselves of overpriced listings, they would have stopped their relationship from Dean's and never let COMC cross-post. Many cards on COMC are price 8 times going value so that the sellers can offer items at 90% sales. However, sale prices never show up on eBay/Amazon, just original prices.

I agree with the other poster who recommended calling them and asking to cancel your store. Then if the profit margin makes sense, send your cards into COMC anyways. COMC is going to restructure their fee structure in early 2017, possibly getting rid of their 20% cashout fee that makes selling there less interesting. But the fact that they do all the scanning, finding, packing, and shipping makes it totally worth it for me, as I have 12,000 cards on that site for sale and cross-posted to eBay and Amazon. I have never touched probably 9,000 of those cards, just buying them on COMC, leaving them in their warehouse, and then repricing them.

Dsr's are no longer considered when rating you as a seller. Everything is based on your transaction defect rate which considers shipping time, Cases opened against you and your response to them, tracking being uploaded for all packages, and the amount of returns. You have to maintain a certain percentage rate across the board for these categories along with doing a certain number of sales to get you limits raised. Its not really turnover which ebay is looking at as they allow many sellers to have large stores with slow turnovers. They have actually courted sellers like COMC, Burbank and Deans to get their full inventories listed with discounted upfront rates.

[savedfrommyspokes]

Dsr's are no longer considered when rating you as a seller. Everything is based on your transaction defect rate which considers shipping time, Cases opened against you and your response to them, tracking being uploaded for all packages, and the amount of returns. You have to maintain a certain percentage rate across the board for these categories along with doing a certain number of sales to get you limits raised. Its not really turnover which ebay is looking at as they allow many sellers to have large stores with slow turnovers. They have actually courted sellers like COMC, Burbank and Deans to get their full inventories listed with discounted upfront rates.

If this were the case, there are two sellers, who are higher dollar sellers, who ebay seemingly should have long ago limited their listing privileges based on their feedbacks received and apparent disregard of their customers.

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=battlefield0516&&_trksid=p2047675.l2560&rt=nc&iid=391500725539&sspagename=VIP%3Afeedback&ftab=FeedbackAsSeller


http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=tripleplayvintagestore&ftab=AllFeedback


It appears that ebay is aligning these seller limits more along the lines of a seller's current amount of sales and turnover the seller is experiencing. I tried to have my limits raised on my second selling account and when I inquired why there are limits like this, I was told they did not want me selling more than what I was capable of handling (IE shipping out in a timely manner) so I would not disappoint any of "eBay's" customers.

[Jeffrompa]

Yes . eBay will put you on limit albeit arbitrary .

[glchen]

Interesting. On ebay, I currently have ~270 items listed, all BIN, in my ebay basic store, which I pay $20/month for. I've sold 44 items in the last 3 months for a total sales figure of about $8K over this period. Yet, my selling limits are 6000 items per month with a $1.2 million limit. I've always been a Top Rated Seller Plus, so I assume that must factor into why I have much higher limits than others.

[D. Bergin]

Interesting. On ebay, I currently have ~270 items listed, all BIN, in my ebay basic store, which I pay $20/month for. I've sold 44 items in the last 3 months for a total sales figure of about $8K over this period. Yet, my selling limits are 6000 items per month with a $1.2 million limit. I've always been a Top Rated Seller Plus, so I assume that must factor into why I have much higher limits than others.


How do you check your selling limits? I've always been curious myself.

[Jeffrompa]

It's in your selling manager .

[ibuysportsephemera]

It's in your selling manager .

Jeff...where in selling manager? This has come up before and some people have been able to see it and others have not. I have never been able to find my limits.

Thanks,

Jeff

[D. Bergin]

Must be invisible to me. I don't see it anywhere. Even converted over to Seller Hub for a bit to look there before going back to Selling Manager. No luck. :confused:

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Jeff...where in selling manager? This has come up before and some people have been able to see it and others have not. I have never been able to find my limits.

Thanks,

Jeff

Must be invisible to me. I don't see it anywhere. Even converted over to Seller Hub for a bit to look there before going back to Selling Manager. No luck. :confused:

I had the same issue so I just called in. Basically I was told that if you cannot find the "Monthly Selling Limits" field you have no limits. I said so my selling capacity is infinite? She answered "Yes based on your sales history, your defect rate and your seller status you have no limits on your sales."

[ibuysportsephemera]

I had the same issue so I just called in. Basically I was told that if you cannot find the "Monthly Selling Limits" field you have no limits. I said so my selling capacity is infinite? She answered "Yes based on your sales history, your defect rate and your seller status you have no limits on your sales."

Thanks Scott...I think that this was the conclusion some of us had last time this came up.

Jeff

[Beastmode]

EBay is getting incredibly smart with their analysis on eBay seller inventory turnover.

A quick eBay search of "1956 Topps 188" (just a generic common) shows 4 auctions and 111 BINs! The buy it nows aren't making eBay any money if they do not sell. They're really starting to look at who doesn't turn over their inventory and who does. If you do not, then they're starting to take actions to force your hand.


++ hit the nail on the head. Let me translate E-bay's policy for everyone: "either sell your shit in 30 days, or sell a lot of shit, or pay us for showing a photo of your overpriced listing for 90 days..we're not shutterfly"

[Tabe]

Like anything ebay does makes sense. We're talking a company that put a counterfeit Peyton Manning jersey on the cover of their Christmas catalog touting their low prices.

[D. Bergin]

++ hit the nail on the head. Let me translate E-bay's policy for everyone: "either sell your shit in 30 days, or sell a lot of shit, or pay us for showing a photo of your overpriced listing for 90 days..we're not shutterfly"


The OP was paying 300 bucks a month + final value fees to show his listings. :confused:

[Exhibitman]

That's what makes no sense to me, Dave. If Rhett was paying $300 a month plus the usual 1000 paper cuts of fees, WTF does eBay care if items turn over? They make the equivalent fee of $3,000 a month in straight sales from a no-store auctioneer regardless of whether anything sells. I thought the store was a license to sell. And since when is eBay ("we aren't legally responsible for all the fakes and scammers because we are just a platform") dictating what sellers can price at? If turnover is their buzzword, their model isn't Amazon, it is more like Filene's Basement.

I've taken most of my selling to AH's. Sterling and LOTG get what used to be listed on eBay. I try to limit my eBay activity to 5 lots a week. Just too many headaches dealing with their rules and regulations.

[rhettyeakley]

Update:

They looked into their crystal ball and deemed me worthy to have double what they were allowing me to list which is probably sufficient for my needs in all honesty as I rarely have all of my listings live with new items, I tend to resist an item every other month or so so as not to fatigue the community of always seeing the exact same stuff.

After talking with several of the CSR's I was able to learn a bit more. Apparently somewhere around 2009 or so eBay began to implement the seller limits and most every new seller since then has had them to some degree or another from day 1. Those of us that were around prior to that and had been selling regularly were more or less grandfathered into not having limits on our older accounts. Apparently something made my account appear on their radar and they gave me a limit for an unknown reason. I have a feeling they are going to start doing these limits for everyone eventually. At this point I think I will have to request a higher total each month if I want them to (not really the end of the world).

[NewEnglandBaseBallist]

I think it's a tie between EBay and Comcast.

[bobbyw8469]

Update:

They looked into their crystal ball and deemed me worthy to have double what they were allowing me to list which is probably sufficient for my needs in all honesty as I rarely have all of my listings live with new items, I tend to resist an item every other month or so so as not to fatigue the community of always seeing the exact same stuff.

After talking with several of the CSR's I was able to learn a bit more. Apparently somewhere around 2009 or so eBay began to implement the seller limits and most every new seller since then has had them to some degree or another from day 1. Those of us that were around prior to that and had been selling regularly were more or less grandfathered into not having limits on our older accounts. Apparently something made my account appear on their radar and they gave me a limit for an unknown reason. I have a feeling they are going to start doing these limits for everyone eventually. At this point I think I will have to request a higher total each month if I want them to (not really the end of the world).

I was selling wayyyyyy before 2009, but have limits. I have ONE negative feedback that was erroneously given to me as a "revenge" type feedback and Ebay decided I was a "risk" and wanted to implement limits on me. Because of that and all the other boneheaded moves they do, I have curtailed my selling tremendously on there. I'm not too worried about it because I have curtailed my selling so much, I get nowhere near their limits they imposed on me.

[WhenItWasAHobby]

......I've heard e-bay is trying to cull the herd a little. Too many sellers with ridiculous prices essentially using e-bay to store photos of their overpriced listings. Cluttering up searches and turing the newbie's off.

What they want is sellers to sell their stuff and turnover their inventory. If you can't do that in 30 days, they figure your squatting. I feel for you. Need to either be a massive seller, or onesy-twosy, anything in the middle and your a target.

I would submit as a buyer this is eBay's biggest problem and I'm glad to read that they are trying to frustrate the triple-market-value sellers who've had the same items on Ebay for years that creates what I call "Ebay search pollution".

I don't agree that the Ebay is the worse managed company around, although some of their policies leave a lot to be desired. There are several major businesses I've encountered in the past 8 years that engage in outright consumer fraud which outranks inefficient and poorly constructed business practices any day of the week.

[Leon]

+1.67

I have seen worse run companies but they should make some more common sense rules too...like drastically limiting the number of bid retractions someone does. :eek: ...Also, if they were to show bidder user ID's only AFTER a sale is over it would help them and their community be safer. One can wish....

Lastly, limiting how much a good seller can sell sounds foolish to me. Whatever it is they are trying to accomplish could be done some other way.

I would submit as a buyer this is eBay's biggest problem and I'm glad to read that they are trying to frustrate the triple-market-value sellers who've had the same items on Ebay for years that creates what I call "Ebay search pollution".

I don't agree that the Ebay is the worse managed company around, although some of their policies leave a lot to be desired. There are several major businesses I've encountered in the past 8 years that engage in outright consumer fraud which outranks inefficient and poorly constructed business practices any day of the week.

[Exhibitman]

Good point, Leon. I cannot recall a situation where being a good seller is treated as a detriment...

[PolarBear]

Poorly run and managed from my opinion as a buyer and seller. A few years back my wife was selling some thing and in the listing we clearly said US shipping only. We had a person from Austria message about shipping to europe and we clearly told them that we do not do that. Jerk bid anyhow so we cancelled the transaction and got bogus negative feedback. We contested it and wven with all the messages clearly stating that we did USA shipping only allowed the feedback to remain. Talk about being seller unfriendly and inconsistent in their policies. And now they try and limit sales. Stupid!!!


I've had the same crap happen to me. I learned the trick though, even if ebay won't protect you, you can protect yourself through paypal.

Set your paypal account to only accept payment from verified US accounts.

Now, when I have an international bidder win one of my auctions, I do nothing. I file a non paying bidder claim after two days, then four days later you can close the case and get your fees refunded.

They have no way to pay you from an international paypal account, and if there's no record of payment, ebay will close the case in your favor. They can't leave negative feedback since they are a non paying bidder and they get a non paying bidder strike as well.

Maybe next time they'll learn to read the "US only" part of the description. The only thing you're out, is your time.

Oh, and the "buyer" will typically send you multiple emails begging you to change your paypal settings. I just ignore them and do not communicate with them at all under any circumstances.

[clydepepper]

Oh, I can think of a worse-run company (or university?) alright but, Leon doesn't want us to discuss that.


I have bought much more than I have sold via ebay, so I'm not quit as effected by their rules as those who use them primarily as a seller's market.


.

[irv]

I've had the same crap happen to me. I learned the trick though, even if ebay won't protect you, you can protect yourself through paypal.

Set your paypal account to only accept payment from verified US accounts.

Now, when I have an international bidder win one of my auctions, I do nothing. I file a non paying bidder claim after two days, then four days later you can close the case and get your fees refunded.

They have no way to pay you from an international paypal account, and if there's no record of payment, ebay will close the case in your favor. They can't leave negative feedback since they are a non paying bidder and they get a non paying bidder strike as well.

Maybe next time they'll learn to read the "US only" part of the description. The only thing you're out, is your time.

Oh, and the "buyer" will typically send you multiple emails begging you to change your paypal settings. I just ignore them and do not communicate with them at all under any circumstances.

I wish there were clearer instructions from the sellers when they list their cards.

I mean, what does "May not ship to Canada" mean? Either put "Does not ship to Canada" or "Ships to Canada or Internationally"

I have asked a few sellers, and the sellers say they are not allowed to edit their listings?? Seems odd but more than a few have told me that. :confused:

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

that seems like BS to me, since I click buttons in my listings that state specifically that the only foreign country I ship to is Canada.

[irv]

that seems like BS to me, since I click buttons in my listings that state specifically that the only foreign country I ship to is Canada.

I have seen all different kinds of listings/headings and one thing you guys in the U.S. don't notice, is when searching E-Bay, without logging in, I will see shipping, for example, $3.00 dollars, but when I log in, it usually changes from that to as high as $10.00 to $15.00 at times.:eek: (Canadian affect, I guess?)

I have seen from "Free Shipping", "$3.00 dollars", all the way up to $51.00 dollars!!

Some ads state "May not ship to Canada" and as you scroll down, it may say U.S. shipping only or it may say "Ships Internationally" or "World Wide". I don't understand why their original heading doesn't clearly state it, but like I mentioned, more than a few sellers mentioned they couldn't edit their ads? One guy, who had very small pics, said he was unable to edit his ad also?:confused:

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

They may not be lying technically, but they are incorrect. "May not ship to Canada" is something they are typing, that's not a choice ebay offers, it's either yes or no. Of course my shipping rates to Canada are higher I recently had to raise them to $7 a card, as I was losing money at $6. So yes if you look before signing in it may say $2.50 and then bump to $7 after you sign in but that is understandable. Also the people who use the ebay international shipping service don't control the rates so you get those astronomical jumps. Last I heard ebay was charging almost $20 to send a card to Canada.

The big takeaway should be that if a seller wants his listing to correctly reflect his policies it is 100% doable. If they cannot do it they're either lying or a tad incompetent. Sometimes you have to swallow your pride and call ebay for help like I did when I couldn't discover my selling limits. Seriously, look at my listings and tell me if there's anything ambiguous about them, if there is I bet I can change it in minutes. I'm aquarian1 on ebay.

[PolarBear]

I wish there were clearer instructions from the sellers when they list their cards.

I mean, what does "May not ship to Canada" mean? Either put "Does not ship to Canada" or "Ships to Canada or Internationally"

I have asked a few sellers, and the sellers say they are not allowed to edit their listings?? Seems odd but more than a few have told me that. :confused:


I can't speak for other sellers but my auctions are clear. Any international person who bids didn't bother to read my auction terms. Sorry, but that's not my problem.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

can an international bidder even place a bid if you chose the correct options when building your listing?

[PolarBear]

can an international bidder even place a bid if you chose the correct options when building your listing?

Unfortunately, yes.

[Jeffrompa]

Yes they can bid and eBay knows there is a loop hole to allow them . However , if you do contact them when you notice it they will allow you to cancel without penalty if you had that Country blocked .

[slidekellyslide]

I use the global shipping program only for international and still get bidders from countries that are not part of the program. I have no idea how or why ebay allows them to bid on auctions like mine.

[PolarBear]

And, here's another trick international bidders use to get past ebay, particularly Latin American bidders. They register their international ebay account with a US shipping address. That address is a "friend" who forwards their packages to their foreign address.

You might think that wouldn't be a problem, but since the US address is not verified to their foreign paypal account, the seller is on the hook if anything goes wrong or if the buyer claims they didn't receive it.

Even if you have proof of delivery to the US address, ebay will rule in the buyers favor because it's not a verified address tied to their paypal account.

Again, the only real solution you have to avoid these unwanted bidders is to set your paypal account to only accept payment from US verified accounts.

[pbspelly]

Out of curiosity, what is the problem with international bidders if they pay via paypal and are willing to pay extra for shipping? Do they often claim non-delivery, and get refunds?

[D. Bergin]

Out of curiosity, what is the problem with international bidders if they are pay via paypal and are willing to pay extra for shipping? Do they often claim non-delivery, and get refunds?


The tracking is not as reliable, and customs can disappear packages for weeks or even months sometimes.

It hasn't discouraged me from shipping Internationally, but the higher risks are obviously there.

[slidekellyslide]

Sending a collectible lighter (ie Zippo) to anywhere in Asia is pretty much a 50/50 proposition.

[PolarBear]

Out of curiosity, what is the problem with international bidders if they are pay via paypal and are willing to pay extra for shipping? Do they often claim non-delivery, and get refunds?


If ANYTHING goes wrong, the seller is on the hook.

The only 100% safe way to ship overseas would be to use something like FedEx international, and that would also need to go to a verified paypal address. Most international bidders would balk at $50 shipping fees though.

Not to mention, many countries have customs tax and will hold the package in customs until the buyer pays. But guess what, a package held in customs is a non-delivery as far as ebay is concerned.

If ebay would go back to the days where all you needed to do is prove you shipped it - no delivery confirmation or verified addressed needed - then I'm sure you'd see more people willing to ship internationally since the risk would be shifted to the buyer.

As it stands, it's not worth my time or the risk involved.

[D. Bergin]

Sending a collectible lighter (ie Zippo) to anywhere in Asia is pretty much a 50/50 proposition.


Yeah, I don't ship everywhere internationally either. I've shipped to Japan successfully every time, and will ship to Singapore and Hong Kong if asked, as I've had no issues with those areas (except for one big package that got held up in Hong Kong customs for about a month, but eventually arrived at it's destination), but have blocked out mainland China and most of the rest of Asia.

I have plenty of other countries x'd out including bigger ones like Russia, Italy, Spain and Brazil..........though I have specific customers in several of those I will make bidding or buying exceptions for, who have been very reliable and understanding through the years.

[Exhibitman]

I use the eBay international shipping program. I don't think I've sold a single item to an international buyer who has been willing to use it.

[irv]

I can't speak for other sellers but my auctions are clear. Any international person who bids didn't bother to read my auction terms. Sorry, but that's not my problem.

I had one issue with a seller who agreed to ship to me after I asked her about her "May ship to Canada" listing.

She changed her mind however when payment was shipped but did refund me??

The only bold heading from anyone is 707. He/they have their "Will not ship to Canada" bolded in red, which makes it as clear as day, no need to ask.

Others, like I have mentioned, with the "May ship to Canada" have written below in their description, "U.S. only". I don't understand that? Why not just say that to begin with and it will save everyone a lot of time. :mad:

If ANYTHING goes wrong, the seller is on the hook.

The only 100% safe way to ship overseas would be to use something like FedEx international, and that would also need to go to a verified paypal address. Most international bidders would balk at $50 shipping fees though.

Not to mention, many countries have customs tax and will hold the package in customs until the buyer pays. But guess what, a package held in customs is a non-delivery as far as ebay is concerned.

If ebay would go back to the days where all you needed to do is prove you shipped it - no delivery confirmation or verified addressed needed - then I'm sure you'd see more people willing to ship internationally since the risk would be shifted to the buyer.

As it stands, it's not worth my time or the risk involved.

I assume you are talking about other countries besides Canada? The only time I had to pay customs, it was paid at the Post Office, not a Customs/border crossing.

[slidekellyslide]

I use the eBay international shipping program. I don't think I've sold a single item to an international buyer who has been willing to use it.

I ship something to Erlanger, Kentucky almost every day. I believe International buyers have come to believe it's the only way they are going to be able to get what they want. I don't blame them for being upset about the extra costs, but as a seller I got tired of losing items and money in foreign countries.

[D. Bergin]

I assume you are talking about other countries besides Canada? The only time I had to pay customs, it was paid at the Post Office, not a Customs/border crossing.


I'm sure that's what he meant. There's tons of stories from Ebay sellers out there, of packages being left at foreign Post Offices to collect tax, and then the buyers filing "did not receive" notices through Ebay because they don't want to pay the tax on it.

Even read several of Ebay refunding the buyer before item is returned, and the seller never receiving the item back.

Either it had been picked up after the claim was made, or the foreign post office never returned the package from whence it came.

[PolarBear]

I had one issue with a seller who agreed to ship to me after I asked her about her "May ship to Canada" listing.

She changed her mind however when payment was shipped but did refund me??

The only bold heading from anyone is 707. He/they have their "Will not ship to Canada" bolded in red, which makes it as clear as day, no need to ask.

Others, like I have mentioned, with the "May ship to Canada" have written below in their description, "U.S. only". I don't understand that? Why not just say that to begin with and it will save everyone a lot of time. :mad:


You'd have to ask them. As I said, I can't speak for other sellers.



I assume you are talking about other countries besides Canada? The only time I had to pay customs, it was paid at the Post Office, not a Customs/border crossing.


It doesn't matter where the tax is paid. If the buyer doesn't pay it, the package won't be delivered to the buyer and as far as ebay is concerned, it's a non delivery. Buyer files a claim, gets their money refunded, and the seller is out the merchandise.