Fed Up eBay Sellers Call for 3-Day Strike

Changes to return policy, seller standards spur Occupy-style protest.

By Crista Souza · April 11, 2012 · 113 Comments
TAGGED IN: ebay, eBay policies, selling

A small group of fed up eBay sellers is calling for a three-day sellers’ strike, starting April 26, that they hope will get eBay to back down from some of its recent policy announcements.

In its Spring 2012 Seller Update, eBay said that, starting May 1, it will require Top-rated Sellers to upload tracking information on 90 percent of U.S. transactions. Starting June 1, return policies of 14 days or longer and one-day handling will also be required to retain Top-rated Seller status and receive the 20-percent discount on final value fees.

In a nod to the Occupy movement, The Online Seller reader Jan is leading an effort to get eBay sellers to do “what the 99 percent have been doing in politics.” She and others are urging eBay sellers to close their stores or take down their listings from April 26 through April 28, and list on alternative sites instead.

“That will be a message, and we will keep it up until they change their minds or we just purely leave”

“That will be a message, and we will keep it up until they change their minds or we just purely leave,” Jan writes in response to Upcoming eBay Return Policy Change Causes Uproar.

Whether eBay sellers will join the strike in numbers large enough to get eBay’s attention is still to be seen. A similar call to action on Powersellersunite.com was scoffed at by forum posters, while other attempts to rally sellers via social media have yet to draw much interest.

Seller strikes are not new to eBay

Previous organized eBay boycotts failed to produce any lasting change. In February 2008, eBay sellers staged a boycott of the marketplace to protest a policy that took away sellers’ ability to leave negative or neutral feedback for buyers.

During the week of the strike, eBay’s listing volume declined 13 percent to 13 million, according to a USA Today report that cited various third-party tracking sites.

A repeat of the boycott was planned for May 1, 2008—the date the policy took effect. However, that strike had little support and, although many eBay sellers left and never looked back, thousands more stayed, despite their festering resentment toward the marketplace’s corporate powers.

Crista Souza is founding editor of TheOnlineSeller.com. A journalism graduate of San Jose State University, she spent 13 years as a business and technology reporter in Silicon Valley. Crista has been writing about B2C and C2C ecommerce since 2008. Opinions expressed here may not be shared by The Online Seller and/or its principals.

1950

It might work this time, though–I’m in!
- Timberwolf
  
  Ebay has been too arrogant too long
  - bigbens
    
    Yes they have!
    - Jan
      
      Yes and we might have to do it again after the 28th to keep making a statement. Try to get the word out.
Colin Marsh8

Obviously bad management by eBay. eBay offer a service for their customers ” sellers” No seller no buyers it’s that easy.
It shows that ebay are again loseing touch and like some large companies they need the occasional kick in the pants to bring them back to reality.

eBay does not sell anything only a service.
d2b
Mark

I have been selling on e-bay for 12 years, a top rated powerseller. I also have been self employed my whole life, when I was a broker, we had a law requiring we answer to the seller, or persons who paid the comission. As a comission paying customer with e-Bay, I AM THE CUSTOMER. The buyers are MY customers. I PAY for them. E-bay has no merchandise for sale, no wharehouses, no shipping depts., no ad writing for listings, ALL THEY ARE IS CORPORATE OFFICES and therefore they are brokers. It seems e-bay rules of sellers never being able to leave negative feedback violates the very ideas they have, THAT THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT!
E-bay , get this thought your HEADS, We, THE SELLERS ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS, WE, who pay your fees, hundreds every month, OUR buyers pay you NOTHING!
And there are always dis-honest, cry baby consumers who think I must be Wal-mart or something that pays everybody minimin wages, gets tens of thousands of dollars every few hours and can bully manufactures to return goods customers plain just don’t want.
I only sell used parts, I already have to engrave a secret code on each item I sell now because some buyers want to repalce their old non-working parts with my tested working parts. And now they have 2 weeks or more to do it!
I have had e-bay twice this year give my money back to buyers when I shipped the same day, provided tracking numbers from USPS and items were still IN TRANSIT, but buyers didn’t want to wait anymore. THE RESULT………….BUYERS GETS MONEY BACK AND MY ITEM PLUS THE SHIPPING FEES I PAID ON THEIR BEHALF!!!!!!!
E-bay response to my objections and appeals…………….., tough sh!#
- Randy
  
  It is funny, I to had a go around with e-bay about a customer filing a claim of not receiving an item overseas. E-bay policy says that unless the Seller can prove that the item was shipped and received (?) the Buyer will always get the benefit of the complaint.
  This is even though now the USPS will scan the package and show that it was picked up and is in transit, their (e-bay’s) reply was “well who is to say that you did not ship an empty box”, I was on the phone with her at the time and was to say the least a little stunned, and my reply was “really”. The bottom line was, the Seller, you know the person paying their wages, rent, and all perks, will not get the benefit of the sale and WILL have to refund ALL cost to the buyer. So I said okay I will just not ship Internationally anymore, oohhhhhh wait you can always ship it Priority Mail or some other expensive way and just charge the Buyer, again my reply “Really”.
  Well you get where I am going.
  - Cakesdepot
    
    I can not believe I found this place after 5 years. Where I have been?. It happened the same to me, but ebay sent me to paypal and they gladly took my money and for sure I know the items that I ship overseas will make them and no returns or payments will come back to me.The only pleasure I have left is complaint about the customer service representative when they sent you the customer satisfaction form to filling it out. ALways ask names.
    And as you said, after stars and points selling, fighting with odds to avoid a negative feedback, who in earth is going to go all the way to “ship an empty box”? I mean,in my case was only 23 dollars, whcih cost me 10 times less than a negative feedback.Stll it hurts to know and learn that you do not have the support you expected.
    Not sure about you, but I sell small and cheap stuff, to pack them takes me serious time. The fact than I sell more than one (i will say an average of 3 or 4 items) per buyer, I do more international than local and still just one negative feedback in 12 months should be a factor to take into consideraton. Still, the buyer did not got their stuff within 21 days, went to the resolution center and viola! they took my money. What bothers me the most is that they say buyer protection when ship in priority mail, but still they should say that first class do not qualify…those are the small prints nobody read, anyway is not so important they get their money back. Is so frustrating, I’m doing my homework and I know I will find another place where to move my stuff. Thanks for your posting, I fell like I’m not the criminal like they made me feel.
  - Jan
    
    Had the same problem just this week. A man ordered a motorcycle vest for his wife too small and wanted to return it. I had the RMA# within 2 days. He returned the item but was upset because the RMA# said there could be a 20% restock charge. I told the man I would give him a full refund after they received the item back. He contacted me and said they sign for it and I refunded his money. He left me negative feedback. Said it was the worse order he had ever seen. He’s only been buying on Ebay for a short time because his feedback was a 12. How would he know. Called Ebay and they said “That’s his feelings”. I say that’s bull crap because I gave this guy very good customer service and my emails proved it. There still wouldn’t remove the feedback. Told me to comment to his feedback. They only give us sellers 80 characters to respond to this. Not enough to get our message out. Amazon is the same way. I’ve closed my store in Amazon and by June, I hope I will be able to close my store permanently in Ebay. I’m trying onlineauction.com. For only $8 and if I want front page in Google, I can pay for a featured ad which I’ve already seen my ads already.
    - Sqwooz
      
      I sympathize. I had a new seller leave a positive comment and hit negative. She couldn’t/wouldn’t respond to the request to remove it. Ebay said she hadn’t even opened the email. I was told if she emailed me and said she agreed to remove it they would…they didn’t. I got her ok in an email but even after talking to a manager they said they “stick by their policy”. #$!%^&*!! Even an idiot could see it was a mistake and she was ok with removing it.
- denne
  
  hay mark, do what i am days from doing–closing my e-bay account. my new website is just days from me having it done i found an easy web hosting co. call 1 and 1.now i’ll set the rules for these stupid people called buyers–o; how i hate e-bay
Stopbyusinc

I have 30,000 plus listings between 3 ebay stores. Removing them all is quite a job. To put them off for 3 days Vacation Setting? Would that help?
- Jan
  
  Yes we are putting our stores on vacation for the 3 days. If we need more strikes, there will be more too. If Ebay can’t make money off the little seller, it could hurt their greedy pocket books.
Jetskier1234

I hope sellers unite and strike for the few days. I’m closing my store and selling off all stock for pennies just to get out of the mess they have made out of eBay! Losing my 20% discount that I’ve worked so hard for was the final straw!
- denne
  
  i have already taken my items off e-bay except for 3 on auction which will end today–my new website at 1 and 1 will be good to go then..i’ll close my e-bay account within 2 days. how stupid this management team is
  - Jmg074
    
    Enough already. You’re obviously only on here to advertise this 1 and 1 website. How are you going to get anyone to your website without spending tons of money on Ads. Anyone can have a website. The problem is driving traffic to it. That’s why we pay ebay fees!!
Lyjotek

An eBay representative just informed me that in order to maintain Top Rated Seller status, not only do Friday sales have to be shipped no later than Monday, but also items sold all the way up to 11:59 PM on Sunday MUST be shipped on Monday. For companies with M-F business hours, this effectively requires same-day shipping rather than next-day shipping, since weekend orders are not received for processing by M-F companies until Monday and will have to ship that same day.
- Jan
  
  What they want is for you to purchase the tracking information and stamps from Ebay. It’s just to get you to give them more money in their pockets not yours. The problem is that if you purchase a tracking number from them and it shows no information on the tracking for 2 days, then it hasn’t been shipped in one day. YOU LOSE!!
  - Sqwooz
    
    I was wondering how that worked. I’m having a hard time keeping up with the one day shipping. I thought if I printed the labels the same day I could package the items the following day. So you’re saying it still won’t count? I thought when the label was printed the tracking # automatically uploads. Thats not enough to count for one day shipping? I’m hating this…I’m alway behind now.
Tink

i closed my store today..ive had it.
- denne
  
  my store is closing in 2 days; that’s when my new website at 1 and 1 will be ready to go–i’ll miss all the stupid people at e-bay including some of their buyers
  - Jmg074
    
    All I have to say is.. Good luck getting traffic to your new site. I hope you have lots of money to spend on advertising.
- Sue
  
  I closed my store too, I am now selling on Etsy and on my own web site, it’s great not paying hundreds to Ebay each month and I’m not working my **** off to keep my dsr’s
  - Mccdealer
    
    hahaha, Etsy, good luck with that…been there done that, one month no sales…no thanks!
Angela Bailey

They have to figure out a way to advertise the strike to all sellers if they want it to be big enough to make a difference. I hope they do it. Ebay is treating sellers like a bunch of idiots that cannot figure out how to run their business on their own. They are also letting buyers get away with murder. They can leave feedback, yet sellers cannot. Now you have to let them return items. They recommend you let them keep the item for 30 days. Ridiculous. There are a ton of people who sell used items on ebay. Maybe their plan is to get rid of those sellers with this plan. Frankly, I would not buy other items on ebay because I know what price something should be before I shop on ebay and many times new items are listed for more than they should be. I might be done with ebay at this point.
movingon

I will be HAPPILY joining the strike…..Ebay has been jerking my business around like a lame puppet for years….I have had 100% feedback for close to 13 years, but not an ounce of respect or consideration as THEIR customer. Where can I leave feedback for ebay?
- 1950
  
  I periodically get email surveys from Ebay. Some of them have questions like “would you recommend Ebay to a new seller?” You’d better believe I answer absolutely NOT, and that opens more questions, which I also answer. I’m very clear in my typed comments exactly what the problems are. Since no one pays any attention if you write a letter, and their “customer service” staff doesn’t care, either, that’s all I can do.
  
  That, and shop for an alternative. Still working on that one. I WILL be joining the boycott. I know it won’t have any chance of changing things, but it does express my disgust with Ebay. And I won’t change my return policy until I absolutely have to. Not because I don’t back my products, because I do, but I’ll be damned if I will support Ebay.
  
  I am a seller with 12 years experience, over 13,000 feedbacks. If they don’t care about me, I don’t care about them!
- Bayberrylanes
  
  Leave feedback for ebay? My first choice would be the Better Business Bureau at bbb.org. I see they currrently have an A+ rating, but if you look closer you’ll see the complaints with more details. For the last 3 years they’ve had 3682 complaints and 1593 in the last 12 months.
  
  I know I personally will use bbb.org when I want to check a company’s rating. Frankly I don’t pay too much to the rating grade…I look at the complaints. It does make a difference.
Rkical

I just had a relist rejected because it began…”relisted due to a deadbeat buyer”…got a form attached to the error notice saying (among other things) deadbeat is not a word allowed on ebay because some people find it unpleasant”. I find that very offensive, and the threat included to lose power seller status if I do it again….pathetic.
Pathetic also because I would rather cancel power seller myself and lose the discount than be subject to the insane policy changes demanded of small sellers. When I lose the discount it probably won’t be worthwhile to sell much on ebay anyway.
I’ll go for the three days, but feel that is too short. It’s “summer vacation time”, I’d like to break the listing habit and take a couple weeks off towards restoring what has been lost….ability to rate customers and fees on shipping.
Bill

I’m in. Why is it that eBay only protects buyers? How about forcing buyers to have the funds in their paypal account when they bid within the final 24 hours of an auction? I’ve had 8 winning bids reversed in the past two weeks by people who say “sorry I don’t have the $”?! Also, if they’re going to charge me a final value fee on the shipping as well as the winning bid (supposedly in order to keep scammers from selling an iPod for 99 cents and charging $200 for shipping), why don’t they instead charge a final value on the winning bid + claimed shipping costs MINUS ACTUAL SHIPPING COSTS when you use eBay shipping? That way they know the ACTUAL price you paid for shipping and can then charge the final value fee on your shipping “markup”.
I really wish there was an alternative; I still have a basement full of older office equipment and technology from my closed business and selling it locally’s not an option…
Bobd102

It’s a good idea but I don’t think it will matter. eBay does what they want, when they want with complete disregard for the sellers. The decisions eBay makes against the sellers makes me wonder about managements intelligence. There was a saying where I used to work about certain promotions that were given; “He has been raised to his level of incompetence”. eBay is full of mgmt that fits the above quotation. I’ll participate in the strike, but it’s not long enough.
- Jan
  
  NO SELLERS, NO MONEY!!!!!
- Planet Earth Thrift
  
  Sadly sellers leaving eBay won’t effect them much, because there are always new sellers starting out that are willing to try eBay out. If all sellers that left went to the same alternate venue to sell then there could be a viable eBay competitor, but that’s the problem, for years the sellers that leave go to numerous places and become too widespread. It’s just the nature of the beast. If you can’t live with Ebay’s rules, take your toys & go play elsewhere. I myself left years ago, and haven’t looked back since.
Jim Slagley

Idiots – – – If you don’t like the rules and policys of a place you simply just leave. And guess what eBay wont even miss ya. Have you ever sold at a flea market and told the owners how to run their market, that don’t work either. If you are part owners in a business then you have say in how it is run, if not then nobody is forcing you to sell there.
- Jan
  
  Your the idiot. My fees I pay them are huge. I’ve sold over $4,000 in the last 2 months and I’ve made zero because Ebay takes a huge hunk of change from me and then paypal gets their hands on the rest. To sell in Ebay you have to practically give your products away to sell anything. Then the rest goes to fees. I’ve worked flea markets and their rules are not like Ebays. The seller has a voice. We pay a small fee to the owner and you just sell and most items are sold AS IS. There are no refunds and what you make is your own, so your comparison is a lot off when you try to compare a flea market to ebays rules.
Alan

Count me in. I am very tired of running myself ragged, when the only one making decent money is eBay…. and all I get in return if a kick in the teeth! I’ve been seriously considering pulling items down from my store, so it might as well happen on 4/26. Oh how eBay has changed over the past 15 years I’ve been buying and selling there.
- bigbens
  
  I totally agree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Butch

I hope it works. I do not like the 90% shipping thing, What difference should it make too them how I ship my items, unless they get a kickback some how?? If I loose my TOP RATED SELLER rating I will stop selling and look for another place..
- Sqwooz
  
  Sure they get a kickback. They charge fees on the total cost. If you include free shipping your paying ebay a premium!
Gainbud

Can’t ship next day ever as I live 42 miles from nearest US post office.
eBay is totally unfair to little sellers like me.
- Alicia
  
  You just have to upload tracking… Only the auto 5star dsr’s are affected…. Use online shipping to print postage and upload…. Then take to post office as you would normally….. Problem is eBay is forcing sellers to be dishonest In order to keep our mandatory (to be able to keep our other bills paid) discounts.
  - Cakesdepot
    
    EXCELLENT IDEA!!!! I Have a full tiem job + ebay,I come home late to do my stuff and running to pack..is killing me!!! Yours is a simple but still excellent idea!!
  - Jan
    
    How is that going to work. If there is no information in the tracking number for 2-3 days, then they will know that it wasn’t shipped. And too, for one day shipping, you have to charge more. I’m like Gainbud, my post office doesn’t even offer 1 day shipping. They only offer 1st class which means that even with a tracking #, the item won’t ship right away. I also have many suppliers for my products and it takes them 2 days to process the payment. That’s why I list a 5 day handling.
Carla

I too am sick of EBays policy changes ~ what good is it to be a top rated seller or even have a store anymore, first they take and raise our price for items listed in a store from 3 cents to 20 cents, in lieu they give us free pictures, which now everyone will have. then they rank us differently in the search engine, so who knows whether anyone even sees our stuff. Now they are playing games again and and will undoubtably bury our ads deeper in the mass. All in hopes of what keeping up with the times? People want return policy, yeah right, people want to borrow items and then return them, and this has happened more than once without a return policy, just imagine going from a top rated seller down to the bottom, all because of ebay politics- who needs it
- bigbens
  
  Just a small comment on what you said here about the search engines. I was making over $100 a day in sales and when the changes to the search came along I was lucky to make $10 a day. Today, I’m lucky to get 3 orders a week.
  
  Last week I got an email from eBay that said I was no longer a top rated seller because my tracking numbers were not being uploaded fast enough. Nice! I thought that didn’t take effect till May, but I guess I was one of the lucky ones that got to test this policy before it took effect.
- bigbens
  
  I’m sorry, it was March 25 when I lost my top rated seller status and they sent me an email on the 26th. So it was longer than a week ago. I just wanted to correct myself.
- denne
  
  e-bay has the worst marketing team in business–they are greedy. sellers are a
  bother to them. who pays their stupid greedy fees; not the buyer. sellers are on
  e-bay to try and make a living. buyers are their to see how much they can steel from the seller.this week i took off my free shipping, i have to pay for postage so why shouldn’t the buyer. i will not even bother to leave fedback any more..no matter what the seller does, we cannot win.i have already closed my store and have taken over 100 items out of auction. i am just about done completing my new website with 1 and 1.i will close my e-bay account as soon as my web page is finished. let e-bay stick that where their brains are
Jmart

the more sellers that go on strike,the happier ebay will be,they dont want small sellers only big business and chinese
Amachan12

I called ebay and was told that my customers buying my items are ‘their customers’. They said they will ‘weed out’ sellers that ‘won’t’ (not ‘can’t’) ship by their (ebay) standards. Sellers are already penalized numerous ways for shipping. And, DSRs are totally subjective. Do teachers as students if they think the poetry test was “too long” “not clear to them” “took too much time to complete”? Is 3 days “fast” to one person and “slow” to another subjectively? Do we all live in huge metropolitan areas with post offices dotting the terrain?

My impression from the customer service rep is that ebay just doesn’t care whether sellers come or go. Ebay went from “we are just an auction venue” to “we made the customers who select YOU for a purchase”. After 10 years of selling, I created my own customer base of whom many would ‘go with me’ if I left ebay. That is the HUGE mistake in the arrogance of ebay.

Returns create revenue for ebay because they know well that buyers will return items to use the money for something else they see. Transactions on paper increase, ‘Activity’ increases. It’s all about showing stock holders statistics.

Ebay needs a boycott. They should divide into an “Amazon” electric, book, overstock site AND a collectible site with different formats and “rules” for each.

Bottom line: Sellers are treated like we don’t have a brain.
- Nashuachristmas
  
  Ebay needs more than a boycott – they need a valid competitor!
  
  Does anyone know of a blog site where we can monitor and block, if we so choose, some of the crazy scammer buyers that we can’t leave neutral or negative feedback for?
  - Snapmac
    
    Here is a site that I found several years ago: http://www.toolhaus.org/
    Here is a quote from this site: “What’s eBay doing to Feedback now?! FB, DSR, SNP…
    See Our FAQ with answers
    about Toolhaus plans to continue helping you look at FB!
    
    (Updated 01 Apr 2012)””. This could at least be a starting point.I have used it in the past myself.
  - Jimbo
    
    Try eBuyerFeedback.com for reporting the scammers and flakes.
Paul T.

I think the best way to protest is move the inventory somewhere else, gradually slowly ebay will start to miss customes.
Everything on the net happens too fast, so If I were ebay I would rather start taking care of customes, I am thinking since months ago how not to depends on ebay.
I am starting my plan now and ror rael I will implement, I am un unsatisfy customer.
Everything is not about fees, it is also how ebay educated buyer to complaint and get there items FREE
deondesigns

I am a top rated seller. Done this 3 and a half years. I really think most the sellers on eBay just don’t get it! Just quit selling on eBay and go get a full time or part time job. Then you’ll know the difference. If you want eBay to stay out of it then start your own website. You are just like
a sub-contractor working for eBay. If you’re going to play on somebody’s playground then
you just have to abide by the owners rules….like it or not. Grow up people… You are NOT running a business of your own. I ran my own business for over 15 years. Selling on eBay is not running your own business…it’s using someones business that charges you fees and calls the shots… so you can sell and advertise your goods. Every company I ever worked for when I had a job, before I started my own business, changed their policies all the time. That’s life…changes. Like it or leave it.
Now, don’t get me wrong… I don’t like some of the changes, but then if I really DON’T LIKE IT… I figure I can go get a job instead and put up with the crap of working TOTALLY for someone else. At least I get to work the hours I want from the convenience of my home and don’t have to deal with the boss hanging over my shoulder. I am a sub-contractor who gets hired by a company that gives me resources for a fee in order for me to do my work. How hard is that to understand?
- denne
  
  your one of the sellers that is wrong with e-bay–your willing to eat any of the crap they want to feed you–do what i am doing–opening my new website in 2 days and closing out my e-bay account.
- Linda
  
  we pay Ebay for what? There is next to no customer service- they make it difficult for you to even talk to a customer service rep. If I’m paying fees to sell MY stuff- shouldn’t they be just as fair to me as they are to the buyers???? I’ve had buyers rip me off, and get away with it. Ebay has an obligation to protect ALL parties- and without the sellers- no fees for them!!!! They have VERY poor customer service- and the sellers are the ones who pay them!!! There are many dishonest buyers and Ebay has an obligation to protect THEIR customers- the sellers. But they are too stinking lazy!!!!
- Mark
  
  A contractor hires workers, if salaried or paid hourly , it’s an employee, if paid a fee for a portion of the job, it’s called a sub-contactor.
  The employer, or contractor then collects ALL THE MONEY from the customer and pays the sub-contractor or employee.
  Ebay does not pay me, I PAY THEM . This is why they are merely BROKERS who have NO PRODUCT, NO INVENTORY, NO FACTORY, NO WAREHOUSE, they don’t even have cash registers and are basically absent from the transaction except that they own paypal too, so they get a finders fee.
  There are too many hot shot MBA’s at ebay and not enough seemed to have passed economics 101.
- Cakesdepot
  
  What you mean? I do have a full time job and I’m a top rated seller. Still in this economy I need 2 jobs and I can not work two full times, so ebay ,amazon,etc, appeal to me like the best options, and Ihave been doing this for 5 years . I do sell small stuff and they are not expensive ones. I buy them new from distributors and comes in seal package. Do you think that is my fault if they do not like them and still have to take the heat from them. How many times should I have to repeat in a posting that I’m a distributor, then you do not have a moderator that control their answer. I was downgraded because the shipping charges, they took my rate a point down. I do not offer free shipping because usually buyers get more than one stuff from my store. Is cheaper for them to pay a combine invoice. Still they do not understand that part. So I charge what the postal service does, I do show in the shipping label the shipping price. I do return extra shipping paid and still they complain. I asked ebay why they do not check that unfair policy or way to qualify. I’m honest and I do not get a high price to cover the “free shipping” but still I got punish. Then I bought something with free shipping, when about to pay, I paid the handling fees (I guess) because when I got it and I was about to leave feedback, I could not do it the shipping cost because it qualifies for 5 starts due to the fact that was free shipping, automatically the system gave it 5 stars??? But I did pay for something besides the item price, so I’m asumming was the handling?? Is that honest and right?? SO this guy has his 5 stars and I did got my downgraded because I did not qualify???. I’m a totally looser as you put it because I did not report the seller. I know every company and system has it flaws but ebay know is loosing peoople (why so many free postings nowadays??), so they should consider to help the sellers instead of trying to get more traffic.I know that every situation is different, but still if you feel that you have support, you will be willing to post more and try it hard. I feel that I’m going one way, that I’m used ,that’s all. Even if you want to go to a seminar you have to pay, will be nice that once in a while they invite us to free ones or something like that. I do more than 10,00.00 a year. It may not look as a big or huge company for them but 10 sellers my size can make a difference, and still we are the ones that can still improve and grow and we have no support
- Tblaney
  
  deondesigns… Im taking your comment to my local tax office this morning to declare im not running my own business?… I have a feeling im going to get laughed out of thier office!…
  
  My “BUSINESS” is a used parts warehouse, i have 2 lads stripping cars, and my chosen route of advertising is “ebay”… because of the sheer footfall
  
  to be fair, when i have 1 slight sniff that a transaction is going bad, i just pick up the phone and talk to someone at ebay…
  
  I get 1 whinging customer a month that leaves negative or neutral feedback… because of their own level of intelligence when buying either the wrong part..
  
  What is wrong at the minute is railroading my current 2000 listings into revisions such as “MVL compatability listings”……
Mbg4

Ebay is a bully company
Jimbo

Well, we as sellers can complain about all the changes, and pull our listings in protest, but the fact remains: eBay has 10 times more traffic than its nearest online auction competitor. I have looked at other sites to sell on, but they don’t navigate nearly as effectively or quickly as eBay’s does.

Still, they are leaving the door open for a corporation with deep pockets to effectively advertise and promote a site which uses the core principles Pierre Omidyar founded this (formerly) great company on. To compete on this level will also require a healthy dose of capital to get it off the ground, since none of eBay’s competitors have even close to the infrastructure (large & quick enough servers, etc.) than they do.

Example: Remember when the site constantly crashed for hours or days at a time in it’s infancy? And your auctions still ended at the same time, even if eBay was not functioning? Then the solution to the problem was to add the number of hours the site was down to the end of the auction. Wonderful thing when a listing was set to end at 5 – 7 P.M., and then ended at 2 A.M. the next day, when hardly a soul was in front of their computers to bid.

Any organization wishing to start an online auction site can definitely learn from this and other mistakes eBay has made over the years. And it will continue to get worse and worse until they have a competitor in place that has the technology of the “new” eBay, but the ideas & values of the “old” person-to-person selling venue, which WAS a fantastic place to do business.

The fact that they are now a dictatorship with silly rules (one-way feedback, commissions on shipping that is paid by the buyer, forced returns, buyer protection policies on “AS-IS, ALL SALES FINAL” merchandise, one-day shipping, etc., etc…..) will eventually be their downfall.

AND DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON PayPal, WHICH WAS A FREE SERVICE UNTIL eBay GOT THEIR GREEDY HANDS ON IT!!!!

MEMO TO Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Google, Warren Buffett (or any other venture capitalist): ARE YOU LISTENING???
Kathy

This is just ebay’s way of getting rid of the 20% discount for top rated sellers. With weekend buyers etc the one day shipping and uploading of tracking info will be hard to hit consistently for a lot of sellers. They are trying to be Amazon, and get rid of small businesses. They only want the big corporate sellers now.
- Sqwooz
  
  That was my first impression…and my last. You definitely have to have a staff to comply with one day shipping! I’ve been so busy trying to keep up I haven’t even had time to photograph stock I purchased 3 weeks ago! Now I’ll lose my discount and ebay will make even more – the fact that they push free shipping and then base their fees on the total really burns me.
  - Crybabies Vintage
    
    I feel ya on that..stuff is stacking up and not getting listed in my store for the same reason
Vince054745

everyone should list on ebid
Ed

I sell on eBay because they have the largest market. It is their company to run, and I do not have a RIGHT to use it, I have the opportunity and priviledge to use it. I use eBay knowing that they can change their policies. I CHOOSE to maintain a positive attitude and respond to changes as a way for me to improve my business. So far it has worked very well for me. eBay pushes sellers to improve. Those that do make more money, and those that don’t…well, that’s up to them.
- Pffft!
  
  Spoken like a true eBay cheerleader. Which eBay employee are you? You sir, have lost touch with reality, that is, if you were ever an eBay seller.
- Jan
  
  Not only is he a cheerleader but really living in the wrong world. Ebay is doing everything to make sure that we don’t make a profit. If I sell a PS3 for $400, I make $6 while Ebay makes about $20. I can’t ship in one day because my post office doesn’t even have 1 day shipping. I would have to drive more than 100 miles to be able to ship in one day. I not only lose my only profit of the 20% but I would lose my $6 too. One day you will see the mess Ebay is in and how they treat the people who sell for THEM.
Linda

I stopped selling on Ebay because of their ridiculous policies toward their sellers. One bad customer is basically able to destroy your business, if the transaction is large enough. I was selling gold and silver jewelry, and the same thing happened on numerous occasions- the buyer would claim that the item was not as described ( although I had EXCELLENT descriptions of all my items), and thy would demand a partial refund. Ebay would always take the side of the buyer,regardless of any proof that I provided that they were not telling the truth. I had one buyer (who was also a seller) that purchased a pocket watch case from me. It was worth quite a bit more than what they paid, yet they INSISTED that I lied about the karat of the gold (it was 18k, they insisted it was 14k). Ebay forced me to provide the buyer with a refund, but when I got the item back, it was destroyed. That’s when I realized why the buyer wanted his money back- HE had damaged the item. Ebay never provided me any assistance with this, and I had to sell the item as scrap, which really hurt, because it was over 100 years old, and in beautiful shape prior to this buyer destroying it. Not only that- they left me negative feedback, which caused my sales to drop. Although I agree that dishonest sellers should be put out of business- dishonest buyers should be put out of business as well, and Ebay fails miserably in that department. From my experience, there is rampant buyer fraud on Ebay, and they feed into it with their horrible business practices. I will never sell anything on Ebay again, unless they make their practices business friendly, and start to protect their lifeblood- which is their SELLERS- NOT their buyers.
averagejoe

some ask that zuckerberg fella (Facebook) if the wants another few billion. He already has the connections with nearly every person on the planet. What if he opened an online auction site???? Can you say Cha ChinG!!!
SeriesIII

Mark is right….the sellers on Ebay are Ebay’s customers…not the buyers. All the complaints I have read here are the same complaints from 2008 when I left Ebay. When I say “left” I mean that I don’t sell there and I make a point of not shopping there. There are still the sellers that just keep taking all the crap that Ebay dishes out and there are still the “cheerleaders” that chant, “it’s not so bad, if you don’t like it leave, etc., etc”. I hope the strike will work and send a message, but I know in my heart that it won’t mean a thing to the wunderkids who run Ebay or to their chief dunderhead. They simply don’t care, they are too big to care and if some of the rats leave the ship….more rats will follow to take their place. Ebay is like a beautiful candy cottage, irresistable on the outside,but rotten with worms on the inside. Ebay was a great venue once upon a time. If ALL the current sellers knew what a nice place Ebay used to be, they would be outraged now and more inclined to take a stand…..but they don’t know, so they won’t.
Llassik

I agree with Mark, I also have been selling on Ebay for a very long time and am fed up with there way of doing business and how the buyer has control…I too had an experience with a buyer who ruined my reputation after 8 years of 100% positive feedback all those years. You know how hard it is to get that 1 negative feedback off your image? Thank you and I will also close my store for those days…
- cdnstamps
  
  I already stopped selling on eBay a few weeks ago, eBay don’t understand that it is the seller that pays there bills. It is obvious to me that eBay has a big problem on there marketing skill, all i can hope is that a billionaire would start a new auction/store site like eBay, but with a much better marketing skill and spending a few dozens millions on TV/Internet commercial, that would be the end of eBay. I too had my first negative feedback after 10 years at the end of 2011…..and it was given only 4 business day after the shipment that was done(i have a 48 hours policy, which is NORMAL). I called them and told them that it is ridicilous to let buyers leaving feedback so soon, buyers should not be able to leave negative for at least 15 business days as postal service can be slow at a certain time of the year (holidays). I just hope that dealers will stop selling during the strike to give ebay a lesson.
Sick&TiredToo

eBay just allowed a disgruntled buyer (I opened an unpaid item case on her after 18 days without receiving payment) to leave me negative feedback…..for an item she NEVER. PAID. FOR. The eBay rep said “a buyer can leave their opinion of their overall purchasing experience” — I said that that is all well and good….but the words “buyer” and “purchase” would mean that they paid/bought an item. They take craps on sellers at every turn. Zero support. Almost 1100 positive feedbacks – 100% positive – until they allowed someone who has been a member for less than three weeks trash me and then their blasé response is “oh people looking at overall feedback will understand that not everyone is happy with a purchase. It shouldn’t affect your sales” —- not getting the whole – this person never paid for the item in the first place…….I literally wanted to throw the phone across The room. Instead, I’m also in the midst of planning to sell either on my own site or on another venue and just promote the heck out of it to try and get traffic/sales. If I do sell anything on eBay, I’ll close my store and just do the free listings a month —- and that is ONLY to be able to sell something and leave a “thanks for your purchase – here’s my new site and please take 15% off your first purchase there” card in their shipment. It’s a shame – eBay used to be so much fun to sell at. I’m tired of being yet another kicked dog of a customer. I truly hope more people leave that miserable site and that eBay actually “gets it” one day.
- Anonymous
  
  For what it’s worth, Sick, I always block buyers who leave neutral or negative feedbacks, as well as those who are non-pays. And on the rare occasions that I have to leave less than complimentary feedbacks (and it IS rare that I do so), I block that seller, too. It’s a sort of lock-the-barn-door-after-the-horse-has-escaped approach, but I know it has helped me, especially with a certain buyer who TOLD me he would destroy my business because I wouldn’t ship 2 items for the price of one (my combined-shipping charge invoice was less than my actual shipping cost).
  
  There are some sick buyers out there (shaking my head).
  - Jan
    
    I agree. Ebay also doesn’t give us enough room to write a response to the negative feedback. I want to be able to tell my customers what a jerk this person was and that I did everything right and he still left horrible feedback. I really hate the feedback system. Too much abuse by people who don’t know how to use it right. If your listings have everything in the listing and the customer complains, they should not be allowed to leave negative feedback at all. Ebay and Amazon are both horrible on this issue. They both charge tooooo much on fees. I really hate them both. I like onlineauction.com. I can place as many items as I want for $8 and if I want to pay for a featured ad, which I did and saw my listing on Google first page, then I can.
    - Sqwooz
      
      Do these other sited work? My business has really expanded and I can’t imagine getting many sales on a different site.
      
      RE: feedback. The post office lost a shower curtain I sold. I refunded the money as soon as we figured out it was lost. I was able to find the same curtain a week later and shipped it at no cost to the customer. She left negative feedback & when I questioned her on it she said her feedback “stands”. She herself had a feedback score of 3. I had 100% feedback til this incident. I ask you…is that fair? But I’ve learned to be very careful and I will never sell to a “newbie” again.
      - Done!
        
        Agreed – my only negative (from the kook I spoke about above) had 1 feedback when she bid on my item. I also got one neutral and a new negative (just when the kook’s was removed and i was back to 100%.) Both from newbies. One was just a neutral and the “comment” was a period. Negative was that I shipped fast but shoes were smaller than size stamped on the shoes. Neither bothered to contact me first…secondly….I described the shoe and the size it was stamped…shoes marked a size 9, so I sell as a size 9. I can’t control if someone’s foot doesn’t fit into a shoe. I can wear anywhere from a 9 to a 10.5 — this is why I don’t buy footwear online. But to not bother to contact….just rude. Trash someone’s star ratings. Shoes were as described, item was shipped fast, shipping was on the dot, you didn’t communicate with me at all, but can trash me for communication?? Just good riddance to that place. There should be a probationary period for new buyers…they should not be able to leave a negative unless they contact the seller – or have eBay contact if they’re too scared to do it themselves…..I would be happy to work with anyone if I was even aware there was a problem, instead you just have to sit and pray every time you click on your feedback that it’s good.
- Sqwooz
  
  Doesn’t ebay say if the buyer hasn’t paid they can’t leave feedback …or if they do its removed? Or is that just another lie?
  - Done!
    
    It was removed after it had been there for 4 days (they wouldn’t remove it until my case was closed on her – so she could have a chance to pay – which I told them I would refund any payment from this crazy woman because I will not deal with her at all after the crazy emails etc she sent me…..of course I didn’t have to worry about that because she never paid)— funny thing now is this chick has so many negative feedbacks (but left as positives) from buyers trying to warn others….in the month she has been an eBay member, she has won 300 things….and her feedback is riddled with “never paid” “had to open five cases against her” “beware” etc…….how many cases, problems does she have to have before eBay blocks her from buying? She is still winning auctions as of yesterday and has only paid for a handful it seems. eBay gives all the power to buyers, let’s bad ones like this lady crap all over decent sellers…..and then if they ever saw that “false positive” feedback was being left for her – they would again punish the seller who left it versus the horrible person the sellers are just trying to warn others about. She has 50 feedbacks and literally half are warnings/negatives.
    
    I started moving all my items to ecrater. Opened up a store there. I’m contacting old customers, getting on different directories….if I don’t sell anything for a while, that’s okay, because I refuse to give another penny to eBay.
    
    They really are the most horrible place with the crappiest policies. I’m tired of being bent over by those creeps.
Sarahphim

Yeah, I don’t like the changes. I’m a Top-rated seller, but very SMALL time. However, as soon as you linked to the idiotic Occupy B. Movement, you lost me in terms of joining any strike.
Carl

This is OUR fault we should have supported other better sites when they were trying to get a foot in the door. I used to prefer QXL and their policies we we voted with our feet and allowed Ebay to push them out leaving no competition. Amazon is just as bad. As much as possible i avoid dealing with either business but with a lack of real competition they dont care.
Maybe all the badly treated people should come together and create a site to start rivalry but i doubt it all talk from most people. Who will continue to feed the greedy machine
- Jan
  
  Take a look at onlineauction.com. This was an ex-ebayer who got fed up. He started his own auction house and is doing very well. I pay only $8 a month. No final value fees, no listing fees and up to 4 images for free. If I want to have one of my listings featured, I pay more and I’ve noticed that my featured listings are getting on Google’s 1st page. This guy just bought more servers and has placed them in Arizona. He’s really trying to work for the seller. The customers will come if the sellers are happy and with a monthly charge of just $8, I can place my items at much lower than Ebay or Amazon and make a PROFIT!!
zed

Ebay is on the ball with this, as they have been. They make these bad decisions, then enforce them during their and the sellers best time of year, the spring income tax rush. Strikes will never work this time of year, they need to be held in the summer-fall timeframe when ebay is on the downswing and more sellers are more willing to join it. But the only thing that will work is to move on and leave ebay. People ask where to go, it’s called alibaba.
Jlmcinn4

Why not go one step further and use that timeframe to try out an agreed upon auction site? then, advertise that site along with this strike new. Does anyone have a suggestion for another site?
Evelynpainter17

I make custom sized items, it takes longer than 1 day to ship as I have to custom size the item. I am a Top Rated Power Seller, but not for long. I refuse to provide a 14 day return policy, why should someone wear something for 14 days and then want to return for another item, or get their money back after wearing and washing for 14 days? Handmade items take more than a day to process. I guess all my hard work was for nothing. With the fees going up, between free shipping and the cost of my materials and keeping my prices low so I can actually sell something, I am going in the hole. I will boycot Ebay.
BETSMC

My opinion is not going to be popular. But as a newer seller on eBay (only started last year,) many recent policy changes make sense to me. EBay is trying to compete with Amazon and other large online sellers, many of whom offer free and immediate shipping, free shipping on returns no questions asked, and good prices. We sellers are still allowed to say no returns, and charge for shipping, but eBay has given incentives for us to move toward industry standards! For example, most buyers would prefer to deal with a seller who accepts returns, which is why eBay is guiding sellers toward a reasonable return policy and rewarding sellers who do a good job with this. I agree with the fact that WE are eBay’s customers, not the buyers. But that doesn’t mean that eBay should simply do whatever we sellers want, policy wise. Giving buyers clear and fair policies is part of that. eBay wants potential buyers out there to have a good experience with buying on eBay, and to that end, as sellers, we give our buyers good feedback. It’s part of turning the negativity around.
Ebay also does some advertising on our behalf to attract buyers to eBay so that we can get sell. A SUGGESTION: To meet the uploading of tracking requirement, just use eBay’s printed shipping labels! The tracking number is automatically uploaded, and you can order pickup of your USPS packages so long as at least one of them is a priority or international shipment. No more going to the Post Office! Good luck everybody. Change is hard. I, for one, appreciate the education and customer service that eBay provides to us, the sellers.
- HeresTheProblem
  
  The problem is that most sellers on eBay are one person operations – many offer personalized items, handmade items, etc. Many people are in very rural locations and get to the post office only once or twice a week (these sellers generally clearly state this in their auctions – if a buyer reads their shipping policy and is okay with it enough to bid/buy the item – that should be between the seller and buyer) and for many sellers, this is not their full time job – they are not at the computer 24/7 to be able to get an order, process it immediately, and ship. Amazon, etc. are hugely staffed with both merchandise and employees, therefore making shipping in one day a breeze – after all, when you have a couple hundred people whose sole responsibility is shipping, that’s easy to do. If you are a small seller, you will eventually be squeezed out of eBay with the rest of us as the only “people” able to sell will be the liquidators and large companies.
  
  Touching on your “as sellers, give our buyers good feedback…” – you do realize sellers are not allowed to leave anything but positive feedback for buyers, right?
  
  As far as the tracking goes, this will not make items get shipped any faster….it will simply mean labels will be printed within a day. As a buyer, one of my pet peeves is checking tracking and seeing a tracking number days before it’s even dropped off at the post office. As a seller, customers know that when the tracking number goes up, their package is literally about to be driven to the post office.
  
  Offering 14 day returns (minimum) again is great if you’re an Amazon or Walmart….when you will take back anything no questions asked because……you’ve got a whole warehouse full of replacements. The same can’t be said about the one of a kind vintage dress that someone buys from you, wears out a couple times, and returns it with stretched out seams and reeking of cigarette smoke. Why would anyone rent movies anymore or buy a book – just “buy” them off eBay, you have two weeks to watch/read – then return. Even if you have to pay the return shipping and even a dollar restocking fee, it’s cheaper than buying a new hardback or DVD.
  
  Don’t comply with the ridiculous rules? The hard earned top rated seller status and discount in fees are taken away —- which is what eBay wants……more money in their pockets.
  
  This is just bad all around for the SMALL seller and that is why you’ll be finding people going elsewhere in droves —- which is exactly what eBay wants.
- Sqwooz
  
  Just wait.
Cmgutay

GREAT ARTICLE! I ALSO HAVE TERRIBLE FEELINGS ABOUT EBAY! I SOLD JEWELRY AND HANDBAGS FOR FOUR YEARS! IN THOSE FOUR YEARS I HAD VERY MANY POSITIVES AND JUST A HANDFUL OF NEGATIVES! I HAD BEEN WITH THEM JUST A SHORT TIME WHEN THE RULES CHANGED AND ONLY AS A BUYER COULD YOU GIVE A NEGATIVE! I THOUGHT THAT WAS TOTALLY WRONG BUT I ALSO KNEW EBAY WAS WELL KNOWN AND RECEIVED LOTS OF TRAFFIC THAT I WOULD GO AHEAD AND STICK IT OUT FOR AWHILE AND SEE IF THE SELLING EXPERIENCE WAS WORTH IT! I FOUND THAT A FEW OF THE NEGATIVES I RECEIVED WERE NOT AT ALL DESERVING AND AFTER RESEARCHING THOSE BUYERS FEEDBACK HISTORY FOUND THAT THEY WERE VERY SLAP HAPPY WITH GIVING THOSE NEGATIVES! I HAD NO RECOURSE! I CONTINUED TO STICK IT OUT WITH EBAY BECAUSE I WAS SELLING AND MOST OF MY CUSTOMERS WERE GREAT AND GIVING ME JUST WONDERFUL FEEDBACK! WELL, JUST THIS MONTH THEY CLOSED ME DOWN AND UNLISTED ALL OF MY ITEMS! THE STORY THAT WAS GIVEN TO ME WAS THAT I’M NOT OFFERING ONE DAY HANDLING AND I’M NOT ENTERING MY TRACKING NUMBERS FAST ENOUGH EVEN THOUGH I’M STAYING WITHIN MY FOUR DAY HANDLING FRAME! MY HUSBAND AND I ARE SO VERY ANGRY AND I AM HURT! I HAVE SO MANY CUSTOMERS THAT WERE VERY HAPPY WITH THEIR ITEMS AND MY SERVICE! I WILL NEVER BUY OR SELL WITH THEM EVER AGAIN! MY SUGGESTION TO THOSE WHO WANT TO RALLEY FOR A FEW DAYS IS JUST GO AHEAD AND CLOSE DOWN AND TRY A NEW SITE OR EVEN A FEW SITES TILL YOU FIND JUST THE RIGHT ONE! IF ENOUGH PEOPLE CLOSE UP SHOP MAYBE THEIR BUSINESS WILL START HURTING AND THEY MAY WISE UP AND REALIZE SOME BIG CHANGES WILL HAVE TO BE MADE! I HAVE NOTICED THERE ARE MANY STORE OWNERS WITH EBAY THAT ARE JUST BEGGING THEIR CUSTOMERS TO GIVE THEM FIVE STARS AND NO NEGATIVES! NO ONE SHOULD HAVE TO BEG BECAUSE THEY ARE AFRAID! AT THIS TIME THEY ARE JUST TOOOO BIG AND NOT SMALL ENOUGH TO CARE! LET’S WORK TOWARDS CLOSING THEM DOWN! I HAVE RECENTLY SIGNED UP WITH ECRATER AND BONANZA! AFTER READING SO MANY REVIEWS I’VE DECIDED THESE TWO SITES WILL BE A GOOD PLACE TO START! I JUST WISH I COULD USE AUCTIVA WITH BOTH! THAT’S MY STORY BUT NOW I SAY “ONWARD MC DUFF”! I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO A NEW POSITIVE ADVENTURE AND MEETING LOTS OF GOOD AND POSITIVE BUYER FRIENDS! GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU!
THANKS FOR LISTENING!
CINDY
- Sqwooz
  
  You have to wonder whats up with ebay. I’ve heard horror stories about stores being closed down like yours for seemingly no reason. As far as one day handling, thats not even a requirement yet. I’d like to know exactly what their thinking is but you’ll not get answers from them. They stick to script and won’t tell you anything. PS: Auctiva offers websites. You just need a domain name / store name.
- Mccdealer
  
  did you type your item descriptions in caps too???
Gailkk

I’m unhappy with some of the new policies, but also with one not so recent change. I sold a bit on ebay years ago, then left and came back last year. When I sold years ago, sellers COULD leave negative feedback for buyers, which was important in the case of nonpaying buyers. Now all we can leave is positive feedback, no matter what. I think that is very unfair. They can leave us negative or neutral but we have to literally grin & bear it. This is especially unfair in the case of newbies who don’t really understand how the feedback system works. They (understandably) think that neutral means everything went fine, nothing was outstanding (even if we communicate well & ship a wonderful item quickly). That’s sort of what neutral really shoud mean, but that’s another story…

As to the new policies, the one I have the most difficulty with is the policy regarding one day turn around. I am a small seller and not in the best of health. Sometimes I can’t make it to the PO every day. I think a 2 day turnaround would be much more reasonable, especially with today’s gas prices. My vintage jewelry customers have always been happy with this practice. I can’t imagine that any reasonable purchasers of non-perishable MAILORDER good would care about one more day’s shipping time. I understand that slow shippers should not be Top Rated sellers, but this is rediculous! I have worked hard to achieve & maintain my Top Rated seller status and will try to maintain it, but may not be able to due to my health concerns and the need for occasional slightly longer shipping status. It seems that it would be to eBay’s adantage to allow at least a 2 day turn around.
Gigi

When I called eBay and voiced concerns about SO many people not paying – and then went on to voice concern over the new changes (after they did their standard script read of “I can see you are a top rated seller, blah blah blah…..”) — they responded that they are striving to have the same policies as competing stores – she mentioned Amazon and Best Buy. I said that that they have gigantic warehouses full of stock and full of thousands of workers to get items out in a timely manner, etc. They have thousands of items so if one is returned, it isn’t a big deal. As far as the non-paying buyers…I was told that it is like if people go to any store, put things in a cart, and don’t pay. I said “what, are you serious??” I said her example was like if people put things on their watch list and never purchase – it does the seller no harm – just as it does the store no harm when someone puts five cans if beans in their cart and then leaves the cart in the aisle and goes home – the store still has their inventory, other people can buy it etc……..clear over her head. eBay is dellusional. I finished with putting that essentially – since some people who do personalized of handmade items – they are basically going to be running a sweatshop. No answer. I said do you not get that many of the people who make up the selling population on eBay are running a one-person show – we’re not Best Buy or Amazon….No answer beyond “yes I can understand you’re frustration”. I’ve started the process of setting up a store on ecrater and I will be using every way possible to get people to come to it —- I thinki will have a few exhausting weeks ahead of me with little sleep, but it will be better than going to sleep at night feeling like it’s another day I was beat down by eBay. I have also made a real concerted effort to shop at the sites outside of eBay – people leave and come back because of low sales at other sites…..if more people buy outside of eBay (and I’ve actually found some great deals at ecrater and etsy), more and more people will be able to leave this horrible place!!
- Sqwooz
  
  Try Auctiva. I’ve been using their templates for years & you can have your own store with your domain name for $19.95/mo.
Hollywood323651

BEST NEWS FOR EBAY SELLERS EVER!!!!…. I’m happy to tell all eBay sellers including myself. That I know a new marketplace with headquarter in Los Angeles is coming on around summer, I know that because I sell on eBay and I have a part time job in Sony pictures doing computer repairs and last week I saw this guys shooting this amazing commercial and I was so curious to know the what company was it for but the answer was we can’t no say the name yet. Sorry!!! But we can tell you that eBay is going to get some serious competition with this marketplace. Especially with so many unhappy sellers. That’s all I was told but if I find out more I will let everyone knows.
Jude

Hi there. Yes I do think that eBay is growing a bit bad for us sellers, but we still choose it. Why? Because these things and all sort of changes they do are mostly for the buyers’ benefit, which makes them a big market and a supplier of a lot of buyers to the listings.
chuckman

I found a simple solution for problem sellers, When I get a “stupid” question from a buyer, I immeadiately place that buyer on my no bid list.. It eliminates potential problems. A small step, but it is a start
Wi-fisales

how come ebay keeps our hard earned money after closing our accounts??? where can we complain about that?
Wi-fisales

Ebay is the most Anti-American company I know. their customer service that’s overseas gets to decide what to do with our money. after working for them (for free it seems) for almost 7 years they decide to close my account and I can’t even get some one that speaks English to answer my questions about when they will refund my money.!
Allen

I sent the following to eBay several days ago with NO RESPONSE!

First, my seller name is OLDMERCEDESDIESEL. I am a power seller that averages around $70,000 a year
in sales with you. I am not a power seller that only sells a few thousand
dollars worth of merchandise. You have NEVER had to give a refund
on ANY item I have sold, and I have always easily made the qualifications in my
ratings from my customers. In short, I am a perfect seller for you that
you make quite a bit of money on, and never have to spend any time helping.
I have a big problem with you taking away my top rated seller status and discount with your
new qualifications that do not match my company or the items that I’m
selling. Most of my items that I make big money on are very large items
that I have to ship freight. I cannot ship these in 24 hours as my
shipper does not pick up until 48 hours. This alone will take away my top
rated seller status and discounts. Freight items should not have a 24
hour qualification to ship. Also, I should not have to take returns on
these as these items are too large to take back and they are always sent as
described. I am going to change my small listings today to meet your
criteria. If you cannot help me keep my top rated seller and discounts
with my freight items and other large items I will begin to start looking at
more direct sales and sales with other websites over this next year. I
currently take all of my payments with PayPal as well and if I do not get help
with this I will start taking money in other ways and from other companies that
take direct payments. Sellers like me should be rewarded for my service
to you. I have never even received a call from you thanking you for my
business or given a direct representative to help me with any issues I may
have. I apologize for the negative tone of this but I feel as if I have
never been thanked for business with you as you receive around $6000 currently
per year in commissions from my PayPal commission and eBay sales. Please get back to
me and give me an option to keep my top rated seller status and discounts if I
keep my standings up under current criteria.
Hautefab1

business on ebay sucks so bad, i would make more money standing off the freeway with a cup and a sign
BeyondRidiculous

I wish I would’ve read this article sooner. I definitely would’ve been on board. I agree with what every fed-up seller has said here. Can anyone recommend alternative sites that they’ve had a good experience with- either auction style listings or fixed price? Please share any info you might have, I’ve reached my boiling point and am ready to know what else is out there. Thank you!
Hermann

I face the same problem as you Mark.
Patriot10

Hello. I’ve been coming across tons of negatives comments & information about eBay. Yesterday, I saw a lengthy column from someone who claimed to be, previously, involved with eBay management. This person believes eBay’s new bosses wish to get rid of most sellers & become a site similar to Amazon. I sell once & a while; only using the free auction limit every month. I’m thinking about quitting. Lately, I have been listing very unique items; without any competition. The items don’t sell. I can list on other sites and have items not sell; with less hassle! lol Zero fees, too, if something does sell. eBid.net; Wensy.com, Kijiji all are options. Good luck to all sellers! The internet market isn’t what it used to be. Hope it changes for the better. Cheers!
Rangoog Weiss

eBay fees are too high – I pay 11% on my fixed price items even though I run a store (which costs $17/month too!) + they run ADS on my site – for the public to see, and more ads that only show to ME on my account and editing pages – outrageous. PLUS they charge that 11% on my shipping costs – only forces higher prices to buyers, which also reduces sales. Awful all the way around.
Best alternative is WEBSTORE.com = no fees of any kind. But it’s too young, and no buyers go there yet…give it a year. Until then eBay knows they have the upper hand, and they are using their power to squeeze sellers – they are definitely NOT working with us.
Am Image

The business reality is simply eBay using its sellers in the same manner the late 19th century railroads used their western farmers and ranchers. eBay is a monopoly, not by design but by the luck of time and place. As such, eBay can do whatever it chooses and the sellers be damned. Of course at some point in time such high-handedness and profit taking will alienate enough buyers to reduce eBay profits. As for myself, I am now making a concerted effort to find other ways to sell my merchandise. I’ve spent 13 years on eBay with my fees and labor ever increasing while the effectiveness of the site has consistently shrunk. However, there are now many options available for sellers of all kinds. eBay is no longer the only game in town, nor for that matter Amazon or any other site. The early sites such as eBay and Amazon have forgotten who their core customers are: THEIR SELLERS. Make enough sellers unhappy and it won’t matter how happy the buyers are, eBay and any other site will take a hit in their profits. If eBay is going to require more of my time and/or more of my money, while there is no discernible increase in my profits, I will of course do whatever is needed to circumvent eBay. My personal response to eBay’s new policies is to tighten up my listings, reducing my fees IN EXCESS of the increases caused by eBay’s high-handed policies. I’ve found there is more than enough room to reduce my fees through better management of my inventory. Between sending more inventory to other sites such as ETSY and reducing my listings on eBay I expect to more than make eBay pay for forgetting who their real customers are. If eBay actually believes it can become more profitable by attracting buyers while alienating sellers it’s about to hit a brick wall.
dawn

Ebay really needs to wake up to itself. One day an enterprising/realistic person is going to come along and realise that the Seller is the most important person to their business and will open in competition and I and millions of others will leave..we are not happy Ebay
Park Tae-Hwan

can you honestly try to imagine any type of justification in not being able to leave any feedback except positive to buyers. There is no excuse or justification for it. Can’t wait to see ebay a thing of the past within the next twenty years.
P.Rose

Mark, I ABSOLUTELY AGREE 100% WITH EVERYTHING YOU SAID!!! I have tried for months & months to tell Ebay EXACTLY was you said….they also told me “tough sh#” I left Ebay and never looked back. These customers KNOW that all they have to do is put in one little complaint, and Ebay will refund ALL of their money PLUS allow them to keep the product. Us sellers would always lose. So, after leaving Ebay, I left a message for them in an email…it simply said “I’m leaving Ebay because you don’t know how to treat your customers, ME, and my final word to you is not “goodbye”, it’s “tough sh#”
SoftwareWorld

eBay is being run by a bunch of suits.
Chav

I made a fortune on ebay selling fake designer goods, I didn’t worry about the chargebacks from disputes cos I was selling so much of the crap.
I mean, only a retard would think that a new $400 item that sold for $30 was genuine, as my feedback stated 98% of buyers knew what they were buying.
jay

I gave up on ebay and joined moonbid. com and have done rather well since doing so. not as big as ebay but becoming very popular due to the ease of use