ebay News! More changes?

[Archive]

Posted By: Denny Walsh

In case this got by anyone. Heck, I just stumbled acrossed it. Seems the wheels keep on turning! I'm certain that some of us are interested in seeing how this will play out?

Your thoughts?

http://tinyurl.com/5vbuva




Life's Grand,
Denny Walsh

[Archive]

Posted By: Robert Klevens

eBay is expected to change its Accepted Payments policy very soon, requiring sellers to accept only electronic payments and banning checks, money orders and postal orders. This would give eBay more control in a free-listings environment.

eBay might also move to make commission fees, which are currently based on the final selling price, encompass the entire transaction amount - including shipping & handling charges. Some sellers look to S&H - which buyers pay - to help them achieve profit margins - particularly in the auction format and in certain categories. But eBay has been pushing sellers to decrease shipping charges for a long time, and charging sellers fees on S&H would provide a strong incentive to sellers to keep those charges in line.

[Archive]

Posted By: boxingcardman

At least Amazon collects the sales tax automatically and (presumably; I don't use it) handles that remittance for you. Plus, I don't get the impression that Amazon arbitrarily freezes sellers' accounts if some loon complains. If Ebay was to go to a 15% or so cost of sales with a mandate to use Paypal, it would present the worst of both worlds for most casual sellers: high cost of doing business combined with an unfair, poorly-run payment processor AND the pleasure of dealing with all sales tax issues yourself. At that point I'd rather pay an auctioneer to handle things for me.

Sic Gorgiamus Allos Subjectatos Nunc

[Archive]

Posted By: Matt

Adam - I agree - if ebay went to 15% fees, the vintage card section would dry up overnight.

[Archive]

Posted By: Andrew S.

If they eliminate the option to accept checks or money orders, you might as well "stick a fork in 'em". They're done.

[Archive]

Posted By: Dan Bretta

Sometimes I wonder if the people who run ebay have ever sold anything on ebay. It almost appears to me that they are trying to run it into the ground. They are trying to destroy the business model that made them the most successful internet auction company in the world.

[Archive]

Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

Yes, I would be among the many who would undoubtedly leave the eBay scene if these changes took place. What a sickening limitation of personal freedom! What would scare me away the most is if Robert's prediction of eBay's charging fees on S&H becomes true. It's none of eBay's business how much somebody charges for shipping. As I stated in another thread, eBay doesn't seem to understand that insured shipping on a valuable item will demand a high cost. But, as we all know, bidders won't bite if you have a high opening bid, so you have to start your items out with a small opening amount. I truly took no issue to eBay's monopoly of the online auction format until they started thinking that they were all-powerful. eBay will obviously blame the government for these new restrictions, but none of us are so ignorant as to entirely accept this canned response as fact. The eBay fortress will come crumbling down in short order if these rules become carved in stone. It's a safe bet that competing online auction venues will start to see an upsurge in business in the not-too-distant future.

[Archive]

Posted By: Randall Adams

I'm sure it has a lot to do with this:
http://www.citizensugar.com/1826804

[Archive]

Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

That's asinine. Somehow, I'm suddenly prouder to be a Canadian. Let us now rise for the national anthem:

"Oh, Canada! Our home and native land..."

[Archive]

Posted By: D. Bergin

No doubt when they announce this the trumpets blaring from Ebay will overwhelm the media with their new "Free" listing model.

Problem is, this will only encourage people to break up sets of 1987 Topps to sell as singles.

If you are used to actually selling stuff and don't base your business on listing as many items as possible, scraping by on a high volume, low sell through rate you are going to be screwed.

With free listings and 15% of the final take, Ebay will be taking close to 20% if you include Paypal in the mix.

Right now I hover around the 12% mark of total fees (Ebay and Paypal combined). It will stray into the 15% range if I've had a weak month with a lot of unsold relists.

It's really going to be more expensive to sell anything of value on Ebay then it is to just send it to one of the auction houses. Plus, you get to do all the work yourself, create the listing, take photos, deal with the customer, arrange the payment and shipping, go to the post office, etc..

Not a bad gig for Ebay. Just provide the listing software, take an auction house chunk of the proceeds and wash your hands of the rest of the work and transaction.

It's sad when you look back and realize Ebay was created initially so the normal person could somewhat control their own destiny with how they sold their collectibles, without bringing a middle man into the deal. Now Ebay have made themselves the middleman, but they don't really have to do any of the middleman work in order to collect a bigger slice of the pie.

[Archive]

Posted By: leon

I think it will be a big mistake for ebay's business if they got to this new system. Whoever askded the question about "if ebay people actually use ebay" had a good point. I will predict that this new CEO doesn't last 2 more years.....

[Archive]

Posted By: peter ullman

I just sold the last of my ebay stock...and I feel really GREAT! This is absolutely horrendous news...ebay will soon RIP!

[Archive]

Posted By: Shawn Chambers

I can't wait to see how many new Wagners pop up for sale when you don't even have to pay a listing fee!

The all electronic payment thing reeks of Big Brother. It will be frustrating to wade through all the stuff people will dump because they can. I'm glad I'm now only a casual buyer and seller.

[Archive]

Posted By: barrysloate

Ebay has been a big part of my business for the last several years. Now I am forced to increase my fee to consignors, and they are not happy about it. But if I don't get the extra 5%, I will have to stop selling there. It really is a shame.

[Archive]

Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

People will be leaving eBay in droves. I'm anxious to see what will happen next.

[Archive]

Posted By: Bob Pomilla

If ebay refuses to allow payment in anything other than Paypal, I'm done with it.

[Archive]

Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

PayPal is incorrectly named. It's not my pal at all.

[Archive]

Posted By: Chris

<If eBay went to free listings site-wide (excluding eBay Motors, which is implementing a quasi free-listing model next month), it might have different Final Value Fees (FVFs) for different categories, just as Amazon.com does. It could also impose a monthly subscription fee, with exceptions for certain sellers.>

So what would this mean for the collectibles categories?

It seems like a higher percentage of collectibles shoppers prefer auctions over fixed price listings compared to other goods/categories, but high FVF's combined with no listing fees would obviously decrease the number of true auction format listings a great deal.

If they cared enough about their collectibles categories to examine them separately, then they would probably make less intrusive changes, but I really don't get the impression that they care...

[Archive]

Posted By: Jason L

Business is motivated by two these two things.
Making as much money as possible, and staying out of trouble.
Ebay will charge as many fees as possible and give the IRS and other govt agencies whatever info it asks for in order to stay out of trouble and in business.

You know what I see?
no, not dead people.
I see, (1-3 years down the road) - the return of the Card Show Circuit !!!

This will also mean a levelling off in the price of cards, because the market info is going to get real lumpy and slow....far less efficient

[Archive]

Posted By: Max Weder

Jodi

In case you weren't aware, the CRA has been going after the names of ebay powersellers:

http://decisions.fca-caf.gc.ca/en/2008/2008fca141/2008fca141.html



Max

[Archive]

Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

Well, it's good not to be a powerseller! That idea never appealed to me anyhow. I had heard nothing about this. Thanks for the update Max.

[Archive]

Posted By: Anthony S.

I noticed that one seller in their listings referred to not accepting "PayPall." At first I thought it was a spelling mistake, but the more I think about it, the more it seems an apt description.

[Archive]

Posted By: Eric Pugh

where are you all getting this 15% figure from?

I agree that the powers at ebay really are out of touch with their main revenue drivers - the sellers. Every one of the top 20 should be forced to sell 10 items per week to gain a clue about real-world ebay experience.

[Archive]

Posted By: D. Bergin

Well, the 15% is just speculation at this point I think. Ebay is well known to have been chasing the Amazon business model as of late and I think that's what their take is.

Who knows what they will settle on but nothing they do surprises me anymore.

[Archive]

Posted By: David Smith

What is happening now to eBay is what happened to the Charles Schwab Corporation in the past.

Mr. Schwab left a large brokerage firm and started his own company. He had his own ideas about doing things differently than had previously been done before. His ideas worked, the company grew and he sold it to Bank of America.

BoA drove the company into the ground by trying to do things differently and Schwab bought the tattered company back for less then he originally sold it for.

Schwab then worked to build the company back up. After he did, he turned daily control over to a group of people who then tried to turn Schwab into Merrill Lynch Light. It didn't work and the stock price plummeted. Schwab came back, fired or reassigned those people and took over daily control again.

As far as eBay goes, the people who founded the company have left and are doing other things with their time and their money. I REALLY think they should come back, clean house and right the ship before what they created is left in the dust bin.

David

[Archive]

Posted By: Kyle

I would think that if eBay forces its sellers and buyers to only use electronic means (i.e. Paypal), one could see a lawsuit against eBay for trying monopolize the options of a buyer/seller.

So 15% to eBay, and then 5% to paypal? I would sure stop selling on there.

Bummer...

[Archive]

Posted By: Dan Bretta

Why does ebay want to use the Amazon model when they one they had wasn't broken? This is what's wrong when a company goes public on the stock exchange...they get top heavy with management, they get greedy and the product suffers. I'm sure though the CEO will get a nice severance package in the 50 million dollar range after he destroys the company.

[Archive]

Posted By: davidcycleback

I second (or third) that it appears the top eBay executives have no experience with actually selling on their own site, as some of the proposed decisions are dumb-- dumb for sellers, for buyers and ultimately for eBay. Allowing free listings is a bad idea all around, as filling up an auction site with cheap crap (that the seller wouldn't list if it weren't free listing) makes for a horrible auction experience. Neither buyer nor seller needs to see a 1991 Topps set listed on eBay as 880 singles-- which is something that would never happen with a 25 cent listing fee, might might if there is no charge.

I think the eBay executives are trying to switch from being one of the most financially profitable auction houses in history to becoming the next Buy.com. Why they would want to do this, I have no idea-- but my guess is the outcome will not be pleasant for eBay as a company. I agree with Dan that the essential problem with this attempted switch to a new model is the old model not only wasn't broken, it made immensely profitable. No good business plan includes killing off your goose that lays golden eggs.

[Archive]

Posted By: D. Bergin

What's ironic is Amazon was operating at a loss for years until they realized, probably by watching Ebay, they could turn a profit without actually having inventory on hand by utilizing and empowering outside vendors to sell on their site.

[Archive]

Posted By: Robert Klevens

I use Yahoo Japan auctions. They originally had free listings and you would see the same junk over and over. When they started charging 10 yen (9 cents) per listing it cut down on the junk. They only charge a flat 5% final fee. After about 7 years Yahoo is as strong as ever and Ebay failed horribly in Japan.

[Archive]

Posted By: D. Bergin

I didn't know Yahoo even ran auctions anywhere, anymore. I use them for my websites and I love the system.

[Archive]

Posted By: Robert Klevens

Yahoo Japan has a great auction site. It is all in Japanese which is what I deal with. The payment system in Japan is much easier as well. The buyer pays the payment fees, not the seller like here in the US. Bank transfers cost between 50 cents and $2.50 per transaction. No Paypal type ripoffs.

[Archive]

Posted By: boxingcardman

It really is convenient. I object to the unfair way Paypal is administered. If ebay mandated paypal for sellers I'd no longer be one.

Sic Gorgiamus Allos Subjectatos Nunc

[Archive]

Posted By: davidcycleback

I understand the concept of attracting buyers, but I don't understand why eBay wants to make life hard for sellers. As it is the sellers from whom eBay directly makes their money. It isn't the buyers who pay the PayPal fees, listing fees and final percentage of sale fees-- it is the sellers. Again I understand the concept of pleasing and attracting buyers, but when the SCGaynors and Barry Sloates have had enough and leave, their rare and expensive sports memorabilia don't automatically stay behind at eBay. I assume many of Scott's consignors followed him to Lelands, and many of Barry's consigned eBay auction items would go to his private auction. So someone explain how making the selling experience bad for Scott, Barry and the like is good for eBay's revenues or their bidders.

[Archive]

Posted By: Cobby33

eBay definitely treats its sellers like second-class citizens- though it continually profits from our activities. I suppose they constantly give buyers the benefit of the doubt because they figure that without buyers, there would be no sellers, hence, they would make no money. Who knows.

Oh and what's the deal with golf card collectors lately- they expect overnight service with every $.99 card sent in $2.00 screwdowns and Tiffany-like boxes? These people are incredible.

(Sorry for the O/T rant).

[Archive]

Posted By: barrysloate

The one really great thing about ebay is the exposure my lots get, and the number of diverse bidders who see them. Virtually every week I sell on ebay I get at minimum a couple of new winning bidders, and it has helped me build my mailing list more than anything else.

That's why I hate to think that I may have to leave if they keep raising their seller's fees.

[Archive]

Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

Barry,

Exactly. This is the only reason I have used eBay to sell. It's not so much for the profit to be reaped rather than the contacts to be made. I have been pleasantly surprised more than once with a few of my new customers. Although it's a rare day for me to actually sell anything via eBay, I too would miss doing so just for the pleasure I have had in meeting new customers.

Visit www.vintage-autographs.com for the hobby's finest selection of vintage baseball signatures.

[Archive]

Posted By: Dan Bretta

Careful here guys...if Ebay finds out that sellers are putting together mailing lists from successful transactions they may just make it impossible to contact your buyer.

[Archive]

Posted By: barrysloate

So you're saying they are spying on us?. Anything is possible, I suppose.

All I really do is send a copy of my auction catalog to new bidders who win a vintage card from me. Would ebay really have a problem with that?

[Archive]

Posted By: Steve Murray

I think Dan was attempting to make a joke.

[Archive]

Posted By: barrysloate

I know it was a joke, I saw the smiley face. But I also know that ebay has certain rules about what you are allowed to post on your site.

For example, if I listed a T206 on ebay, can I also put in my description a list of 50 other T206's I have for sale outright? Probably not, and they might shut me down. So somebody is watching.

[Archive]

Posted By: Bob

I'm really surprised that in the wake of 911 and with the Bush administration's heavy-handedness in prying in to the lives of citizens more and more every day, that people aren't more concerned about all the electronic snooping going on. The threat of terrorism has been a specter which has allowed the government to be more intrusive in to the lives of the common citizen and that's neither a Republican nor Democratic attitude, neither a conservative nor liberal philosophy. When do we say "enough's enough?" George Orwell was right, he was just a little ahead of his time...

[Archive]

Posted By: barrysloate

Bob- if the government, or ebay, or anyone else feels the need to spy on me...it must be a really slow day somewhere.

[Archive]

Posted By: Bottom of the Ninth

Stay tuned kids. Apparently the big announcement will be posted on their Announcements Board tomorrow AM. I suspect this is the page http://www2.ebay.com/aw/marketing.shtml

[Archive]

Posted By: Mark T

The "BIG" news is out.... "Instead of charging sellers to list each item separately, eBay will charge 35 cents to list any number of the same types of fixed-price items."

Soooo, thats even more over-priced stuff dumped on Ebay. They need to cut the final value fee in half, that's what hurts higher priced sold goods.

Oh yes i forgot, ALL business done on Ebay will be credit card only soon...No M/O or Checks, but you can still pay cash in person.

[Archive]

Posted By: Robert Klevens

Here is a direct link to the Ebay changes.
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200808.shtml#2008-08-20070116

[Archive]

Posted By: Matt

She makes mention that the increased fees will be shifted to the back end, but I don't see anywhere what the new final value fee structure is - anyone have a link?

[Archive]

Posted By: Andrew S.

It's official. No more payment option for checks or money orders on eBay beginning October.
Anyone have a comprehensive list of other auction websites where you have successfully listed and sold vintage cards, other than auction houses or B/S/T? Getting ready to close my 10 year account on eBay.

[Archive]

Posted By: DJ

I don't understand how much more we can take of this. The only way it seems this business can make MORE money is by punishing the seller with more fees. Everyone who knows about eBay...knows about eBay so how can they be disappointed with the growth? What's next? Buyer's Premium? Don't be surprised because they can't keep killing the seller with percentage points. 13%...then 14%...then 15% and add Paypal fees on top of that? Yick!

A friend of mine who is a verified seller recently concluded an auction and Paypal is his preferred way of accepting funds. When he went to his Paypal account, he noticed a drastic change. The funds would be available on about 80% of the orders AFTER the item was shipped. So $100 were available now and $700 once the seller acknowledges that they received the item/s. Giving yet more power to the buyer.

DJ

[Archive]

Posted By: Mark T

Really messed up changing the fee structure in the first place. They got greedy plain and simple. In 2008 alone they changed the fees 2X. They are scrambling now...

Yes, the only way they will see the damage done is when more and more people stop using Ebay.

Also, changing the feedback system was the biggest disaster. It makes no sense what so ever.