Comments on: No more under-99p BINs on eBay UK

By: Golde

Golde — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:24:11 +0000

Myself and many others including some of Greedbay’s biggest PowerSellers have this week deleted everything on our user accounts and moved totally over to EBID.NET which is currently the worlds no2 online auction site. Free listings, 2-3% final value fee only. No enforced PickpocketPAL or blackmailed terms. Its like Greedbay was 10yrs ago. Read Greedbay’s forums and then EBIDs forums..you can actually feel the difference.

By: Sue Bailey

Sue Bailey — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:25:03 +0000

Dodger, quite a few low vol high value sellers have been advised to do that very thing by their account managers, in order to keep their DSRs up.

In practice, I don’t think it’s anything as considered as stopping DSR (or feedback) manipulation. I think no one thought the policy through til last week when various people on eBay boards were asking for an answer. I think it came off-the-cuff from somewhere in eBay Towers with no real consideration as to the implications for anyone.

By: dodger

dodger — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:58:44 +0000

Our we sure this is about feedback aquisition for newbie sellers and not seller DSR/feedback manipulation?

I sell low volume high value.
To keep my DSR’s up and reduce the impact of a neg or two in a slow month I’ve been listing 50 of 1 item at 25p on BIN that other sellers sell for a pound. Sell the lot in a day or two and then wait a month and do the same again.
Doesn’t cost me anything much apart from my time.
I imagine other sellers could be using a similar strategy to maintain powerseller status levels as well ???

By: Gill

Gill — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:40:29 +0000

I counted up last night (had been putting it off!), and around 600 listings, about 40-45% of current ebay inventory, will need to be moved to my website and Amazon.

This change will pretty much kill off the sale of individual step by step (non die cut) decoupage sheets on ebay, which was until now a thriving market at around 70 – 80p a sheet. Rather a shame for all the ebay buyers who like decoupage.

I’ve just written up and printed an extra little flyer to go in with all ebay orders containing an under 99p purchase, to let my customers know about ebay’s decision and my future plans.

I hadn’t really promoted my Amazon shop previously, but I’ve made sure to mention it in the flyer for those buyers who feel nervous about buying direct from an independent website

By: Kate

Kate — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:07:57 +0000

#51 I’m in pretty much the same position as the record seller on “You and yours”, in fact I was interviewed for the program but they only used a very short clip, right at the beginning of the program – blink and you missed it! But I was making much the same point – low priced items, one-offs, and as it’s mainly CDs I don’t really care about gallery anyway. I don’t want to chage WHAT I sell, music is what I know and care about, it’s a logical extension of my hobby really. So the only thing I can do is change the WAY I list, which really does mean listing less and taking the slower moving stuff to the car boot instead.

By: pHilip muld

pHilip muld — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:03:46 +0000

Ebay does the most damaging of things for the weirdest of reasons. Decisions that in the long run must cost them dearly.The decision on Hidden Bidder ID’s comes to mind.How many hundreds of thousands of Buyers did THAT alienate.
The least one can expect from large companies is intelligent reasoning behind changes introduced. This Off the Cuff insanity is just surely not acceptable from a major Company,yet is typical of the autocratic,high-handed,Amatuerish shambolism that Ebay indulges in with major decisions.

By: northumbrian

northumbrian — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:48:26 +0000

visibilty is our main requirement too
ebays fees are a minor part of our costs

By: john

john — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:33:09 +0000

The figs you quote re gallery and multiple items are completely irrelevant if you sell from a shop and do not use the gallery.

Secondly, the free gallery and listing fees are amply counterbalanced by the hike in FVFs to 10%.

Believe it or not Chris, the majority of business sellers are non VAT registered small businesses.

To come out on top with the new pricing structure you need to be shifting roughly in excess of Â£6000.00 per month in takings in relatively high value stock.

Many businesses use ebay as a sideline and do not have that turnover and will end up paying more to ebay to sell the same proportion of goods.

I think you will find the majority of business sellers (absolute numbers) will actually pay more, not less.

By: Mark Classic

Mark Classic — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:27:49 +0000

To rent a shop in our high street costs about Â£34k (something like that).

Ebay is cheap…

Mark

By: Mark Classic

Mark Classic — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:26:44 +0000

#54

My biggest issue has always been visibility.

Now with some clever listing, I think I will break even (but have not done the maths), but am listing on .com, so different scenario altogether.

Even where I to pay more in listing, I finally have the visibility I crave for as a seller of antiques.

When shop used to be in core, our business boomed.

Last month when we had a 2 week bin on .com for $0.35 per listing, our business boomed.

When I have visibility, I have sales.

So even if I pay a little more, it will be the difference between a backstreet store and a high street store.

That is assuming that best match does its job properly…

So the fees are not the only consideration with the changes.

As a business we are excited about the future months on Ebay, lets hope it is left alone long enough for us all to relax and get on with selling rather than keeping pace with change…

Mark