EBay cutting listing fees, boosting commissions

[iwakuralain16]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/01/29/ebay ... pstoryview

Hm....

[Mat4226]

I like the idea of lower listing fees, but I'm not too sure how the boost in lower end commission will help increase listings.

Here's the commissions right from Amazon:

For Amazon Marketplace items, your payment fee is included in the per-transaction fee of $0.99, a variable closing fee, and a percentage of the sales price:
# Computers = 6 percent
# Camera & Photo and Electronics = 8 percent
# Items in the Everything Else Store = 10 percent
# All other product lines = 15 percent

(Note: the $0.99 per-transaction fee is waived for Pro Merchant Subscribers.)

For Auctions items, you pay $0.25 plus 5 percent of the total amount of the purchase (including shipping and handling).

Compare these variable 11%+ commissions with Ebay's 8.75%+ and we'll see whose auctions rise.

[ReiTheJelly]

I'm mostly angry about this:

#3 Feedback Changes
Significant changes coming soon will increase buyer confidence and showcase good sellers.

* Buyers will only be able to receive positive Feedback.
* Positive repeat customer Feedback will count and Feedback more than 12 months old won't.
* Negative and neutral Feedback left by the buyer will be removed for transactions in which a buyer doesn't respond to the Unpaid Item (UPI) or if the member is suspended.

[bran-chan]

Alot of people are mad about that. Can't blame them really.

[iwakuralain16]

oh man that is STUPID! We cant leave negative feedback?!?! I kinda want to know if the person is a dead beat ya know?!?! aah!

[bran-chan]

Here's a link to the whole mess from ebay themselves where they "clarify".

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200801.sht ... 1-29061132

[iwakuralain16]

I read it but I am still unhappy about it. I am glad to get free gallery listing.. which is actually benefits the buyers more than the sellers because now we can browse by gallery picture. I will have to change my listings to if you do not pay by x number of days a non payer bidder complaint against the buyer will be initiated. That will be the only way sellers can protect themselves from negative feedback and that is IF they do not respond.

hm.. ebay will be a last resort for me on all items I sell now. >_>

[jenn-b]

Heh...this one scares me more than a little:

Also, for a small number of these transactions paid with PayPal, when eBay suspects the transaction may result in a dissatisfied customer, PayPal will delay release of the payment funds to the seller until the buyer has left a positive feedback or 21 days have passed without a dispute.

Granite, they clarify that:

I'd like to put context around this last detail for our good sellers: Sellers with an established track record and more than 95 percent satisfied buyers in the last 30 days will not have funds held.

But I have not sold anything on Ebay in the past 30 days. And perhaps I won't start the auctions that I was considering starting this week

[Keropi]

So with these "30 day" things they're trying to get you to use eBay more often?

I've barely used eBay the past several years. I guess this puts me way down on their list then.

[iwakuralain16]

Heh...this one scares me more than a little:

Also, for a small number of these transactions paid with PayPal, when eBay suspects the transaction may result in a dissatisfied customer, PayPal will delay release of the payment funds to the seller until the buyer has left a positive feedback or 21 days have passed without a dispute.

Granite, they clarify that:

I'd like to put context around this last detail for our good sellers: Sellers with an established track record and more than 95 percent satisfied buyers in the last 30 days will not have funds held.

But I have not sold anything on Ebay in the past 30 days. And perhaps I won't start the auctions that I was considering starting this week

I saw that too Jenn and that scares me as well. I don't sell stuff on ebay ALL the time. Def. not every freakin month. Hm... I say someone puts together a website with a domain such as boycottebay or something like that and get people to join. Show Ebay they can not do crap like that to their sellers. If Ebay has no sellers they have no reason to exist.

[jenn-b]

I mean, if they are trying to spark seller interest and increase listings, they are doing it the wrong way. That just makes me even more hesitant. As always with Ebay and Paypal, everything benefits the buyer.

[Moop]

Heh...this one scares me more than a little:

Also, for a small number of these transactions paid with PayPal, when eBay suspects the transaction may result in a dissatisfied customer, PayPal will delay release of the payment funds to the seller until the buyer has left a positive feedback or 21 days have passed without a dispute.

Granite, they clarify that:

I'd like to put context around this last detail for our good sellers: Sellers with an established track record and more than 95 percent satisfied buyers in the last 30 days will not have funds held.

But I have not sold anything on Ebay in the past 30 days. And perhaps I won't start the auctions that I was considering starting this week

But do you fit into any of the effected groups?

"all new sellers would be required to offer PayPal or a merchant credit card as a safe payment option. This requirement gives buyers a higher degree of protection when transacting with sellers who have little or no track record.

This year we're expanding this requirement to the following sellers:

* a small number of sellers who have the worst buyer dissatisfaction rates
* sellers with less than 100 feedback
* sellers who list in certain categories with higher rates of buyer complaints.

Also, for a small number of these transactions paid with PayPal, when eBay suspects the transaction may result in a dissatisfied customer...", etc.

If the word 'these' wasn't in there, I'd worry more... but unless they're being intentionally misleading, it looks as though this is all aimed at certain groups of sellers, into which the majority probably does not fit. If you take it at face value, it is saying that sellers who "list in certain categories with higher rates of buyer complaints" will be exempt, if they have a good track record and 95% satisfied buyers in the last 30 days.

Not that eBay's changes are ever geared toward helping anyone but themselves.

[sugarcels]

OK, this just doesn't make any sense. Buyers will only be able to get positive feedback? So, they could be one of those deadbeat bidders (which I've run into more than I'd care to) and not be punished for it? Other sellers can't be warned? They could leave me negative feedback and there's nothing I could do?

I'm kinda... angry about that

[iwakuralain16]

This is not going well on the ebay website. There is talk that ebay has already taken down topics with sellers trying to form strikes. hilarious. I will very rarely sell if sell at all on ebay after the feedback and price hike takes effect. I have other places I sell things anyways. >_>

[Sugarflower]

I was reading something last night on a post on eBay about the new feedback system. Yes it seems ALOT of people are really upset about this and I for one do not think it sounds like a good idea of the strange changes they are going to put into effect. Are these the changes they tested out in Europe for a month or so before making the decision to start using them?

Maybe we should start our own auction site!