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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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/eBayISAP...edbackAsSeller

[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..............

[pbspelly]

Originally Posted by 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.

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

[WhenItWasAHobby]

Originally Posted by Beastmode

......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. ...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.

Originally Posted by WhenItWasAHobby

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...

[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

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by rhettyeakley

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]

Originally Posted by FirstYearCards

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.)

[Snapolit1]

I vote for Comcast. 1000 times worse than ebay.

[conor912]

Not by a longshot.

[Sportsnutcards]

Originally Posted by 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?

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.

[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

[Sean1125]

Originally Posted by Sportsnutcards

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.

[Sportsnutcards]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by Sportsnutcards

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/eBayISAP...edbackAsSeller


http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAP...ab=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.