Agree with many of the other post though, personnally I would maintain a small present on ebay though.

With all the recent events, ebay has certainly become a 2nd thought in many sellers minds, and posts on tamebay confirm, that it has made sellers think about where the future is.
Ebay certainly upset (to put it mildly) thousands of sellers with their hard new ‘rules’.

We have now set up on Amazon & ebid, early days yet, but frankly we will never by held to ranson by ebay’s arrogances’ again, but we will still be on there………………

All the best & great trading in the future, what ever you end up doing.

not here it ain’t

So I guess that is a common theme for many sellers, which brings me to my point – DIVERSIFY to survive!

Here are some reasons why from a top US seller :

http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/post/PLNKASZ6YO51LZXR

come on jamie you can blow the gaff now, whats the real story!

as a buyer, given the choice, I would much rather buy from a regulated and contolled site,
than from a web page set up and run by the trader,

I doubt that anyone will be on their way down to Cardiff anytime soon.

Some have already mentioned the comment from ebay, but for those that didn’t see it in the original thread in the ps forum, here it is,

Posted by Ricard Ambrose – Head of Trust & Safety

“Best of luck Lou – I remember meeting you in the eBay offices a few years ago when you designed our Jewellery Boxes & Supplies category.

Hope the website thrives.”

Regards
Richard

Now just putting aside people’s views on ebay and whether they are a good or bad company, I would not be saying goodbye and close the door on the way out to customers like that. Someone you have met, who has been a long standing customer, I would be wanting to know why they were leaving and what I should be doing to rectify the situation.

For the sake of £6 a month and £10 to £20 listing fees I agree that it would probably pay them to keep a very small presence on Ebay and.use it for marketing purposes, but all in all a sad indictment of Ebay at the moment.

I am thrilled that your business is flourishing and have no doubt you’ll be successful in what you do off-eBay: you’re tenacious, inventive and clever. I was working at eBay as your business grew and admired what you were doing and was pleased to meet you so many times. I also think every seller should be thinking like you and looking at other channels.

I agree with Scot and others: eBay can (and perhaps should) be part of the mix. Be it for liquidation, lead generation, SEO or whatever. But seeing as you’ve crunched the numbers and made a rational, reasoned decision, I wouldn’t presume to know better. ;o)

But, knowing the passion (dare I say love?), that you’ve have had for eBay in the past, I believe that your story should be disquieting to eBay staff. This line in the post stood out for me: “Lots of hobby sellers started selling for minimal profit; lots have come and gone, but our superb service and quality of stock has stood the test of time.

You are the sort of sellers eBay wants to retain, nurture and profit from. You provide the excellent service that eBay buyers want. In many ways you are the best of eBay. And if you’re off… well, as a shareholder (I have 2 shares!), I’m worried. But seriously, they should be fighting to keep you.

Best of luck in everything you do: not that you need it.

I believe that eBay has become just a Scot Wingo says, a liquidation site. The site is being flooded by high volume liquidators of new items.

What eBay had in uniqueness is gone, and so is the atmosphere it once touted. eBay still can be useful as an advertising tool to draw traffic, but even that is being taken away from the sellers.

Wishing you great success from your own website.

Sorry to read that you are leaving ebay, but I understand why.

Julie

I think ebay and a few others have under estimated the fun factor of ebaying