Ebay Boycott Planned
Posted by Lorren on February 15, 2008
Ebay recently announced that it was planning on changing its rules, and a lot of people, myself included, are not too happy about it. Many people are planning a boycott of Ebay from February 11-25th.
Ebay is announcing that their fees have been reduced, but that is only a half-truth. While they are reducing their listing fees slightly, they are increasing the percentage that they take from the final purchase, which will make it more costly to the seller, not less.
Ebay is changing the feedback system as well. I’ve heard two conflicting reports… one person is saying that sellers won’t be able to leave negative feedback for buyers, another person I heard from said that sellers won’t be able to leave buyers any feedback at all. At any rate, this hurts the honest buyer by not giving them the opportunity to build up any feedback. This is the part that I am most upset about in how it may affect me, but for sellers, there is more bad news.
If a seller has below a 95% satisfaction rating on Ebay, they won’t appear on the Ebay search engines. Sellers are more likely to get negative feedback under the new system, because there are some jerks that just like to complain… and since they can’t get negative feedback in return, they are more likely to leave less-than-positive feedback. While this might be a good thing for bargain hunters that are willing to comb through all the auctions to find someone with 95% feedback that nobody else is bidding on, it’s bad for the sellers.
If all this wasn’t bad enough, if you have less than 100 feedback and you want to sell your item using Paypal, Paypal can hold your money for 21 days! This won’t hurt the power-sellers, but small-time people trying to get rid of some clutter in their house are going to suffer. Who ever heard of selling something before you get paid for it? Even though you most likely will get the money eventually (as long as the buyer is honest and doesn’t try to get Paypal to refund them their money because they say they are not satisfied), people with under 100 feedback would still have to pay for shipping costs out of their own pocket. If they were selling something large like a computer monitor, that could be quite a bit of money.
I have issues with Paypal anyway… Paypal has personally stolen $300 from me. If you want to read some horror stories about using Paypal, visit Paypalwarning.com. I do not use them unless I have to, and I will never give them my bank account information… the reason I lost $300 was because they decided to take it out of my bank account without my permission, froze my account, and then told me I had to send in documents that I did not have to get my money back (I was living overseas in military housing, they wanted a utility bill, and the military doesn’t give you utility bills). So people are smart not to use Paypal to begin with, <100 feedback or not.
Ebay has instituted “Seller rewards”… but it’s not really a great deal. Only 7 Ebay powersellers (out of all the people selling on Ebay) even qualify.
Ebay started a new policy last year where they won’t let people sell teacher’s editions of textbooks. They say they don’t want students cheating, but you can get these same books from the manufacturer’s web sites anyway… I think they’re just kowtowing to the textbook manufacturers who’d rather be selling new books. People still sneak in “Parent Editions,” but there aren’t as many TEs for sale as there used to be. So Ebay is already less valuable to a homeschool teacher.
Hopefully a lot of people will honor this strike/boycott and perhaps Ebay will back down. They have a monopoly in the online auctions market, and they think that they can do whatever they want as a result. Well, I don’t have to be their customer either.
mxlr said,
I agree here is my anticipated roll out of eBay’s changes
I’s long- sorry
EBay’s evil Plot unraveled
Through out the last couple of weeks I have been stuck on trying to figure out what eBay/Paypal is really up to- how do all of the odd – seemingly unrelated- changes compliment each other. Well it hit me, and if you are pissed now just wait until I finish laying out their devious plot:
Overview
2007 eBay rolls out DSR (detailed seller ratings) the star system
2007 neutral feedback is calculated as negative feedback for sellers
Buyers don’t know this – so put a neutral thinking – okay the transaction was okay – not pissed but not ecstatic either = neutral
Seller freaks – oh crap -why didn’t they just email – we could have worked it out- that’s not right to not let someone make things better for you before you give them bad feedback (neutrals are the same as negatives in eBay’s eyes)
Why does it matter so much the rating? Why does the rating create such panic?
2007 Buyer satisfaction requirements- based on negative & negative neutrals (all negatives & neutrals) relative to positive feedback
Consequences of low buyer satisfaction ratings
Limited listing
Account restrictions
Maybe it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal to only be able to list 20 items instead of 120- but that could very well mean the difference in whether or not the sellers 6 year old boy gets dinner..
I know we are all looking at computer screens so it is easy to let the forum dilute the reality that there is a man or woman who works their ass off everyday working their eBay store and has a life to live, a family to support, and simply doing their level best not to have a breakdown concerning the constant pressure from eBay (their damn fees, lack of support, continual assaults on our intelligence, and their publicly announcing their false story of eBay sellers are nothing but extorting trash). Yes, we are bad bad bad people, so bad that eBay needs to protect our customers from us, yet not bad enough to be ejected from eBay. I always find that interesting.
So, with the constant abuse, we pay for monthly by selling (and yes buying) on eBay, and the never ending insane expectations driven with continual threats of suspension (if we do this or if that or if this and that) you get the point. Yes, panic takes over when the seller feels they have been unjustly given a negative (neutral = negative) feedback- you know because the buyer never paid, or the buyer wanted a refund and you had the nerve to tell her/him no you weren’t going to give them money just to avoid a negative, or the buyer gave a neutral not because they were to chicken shit to leave a negative, but because they clearly didn’t feel that the negative descriptor was appropriate for the experience.
This has caused some cases of sellers not handling the situation appropriately by throwing a negative out there (totally wrong reaction) to try and make the buyer agree to withdraw. This is the precise reaction that eBay had counted on. Tell the sellers their neutral is actually counted as negative, but don’t tell the buyer exactly what they are saying when the check the box. Result everyone is freaking.
This compounded by eBay’s other 2007 piece of the plot
In November eBay started letting non-eBay members bid auctions and commit to purchases. (yes, this is why all of our non-paying buyer instances have increased exponentially). Though they are not allowed to leave feedback or have protection on a purchase until after they sign up as a member (at which time all member rights are retroactively applied and the seller’s quarters are up for grabs).
So, eBay sets the scene with all of these little changes that didn’t seem to have any connection, but clearly do, and then they make the big announcements!!
We never recalled any of 2007 changes that have led to the sellers fear of the buyer, the buyer wondering what the Hell, and eBay enjoying a celebratory toast over how well their plan is coming to a front.
January 29, 2008- eBay Monster Part 2
Holiday season just ended – low turn out in general, but a high turn out of non-paying buyers. I’ll bet that every eBay seller was stiffed on at least 6 transactions during the holiday season. Their item in limbo for 15 days as per eBay’s policy. For those of us who had are best sellers shelved, because of a non-paying buyer, we are raw to say the least concerning non-paying buyers.
Low turn out for holiday season left us all rattled and overloaded with inventory and non-paying buyers to deal with. Sales are bad and money is scarce. Perfect Timing for eBay’s plan part 2
New eBay changes
(These guys are such freaking idiots they’ll totally fall for this one- he he he)
Fee Decrease- free gallery, nickel off of insertion, and a 3.5% increase in final value fees.
(I think they bought it- ha ha ha – I think so too- he he he)
(these store slaves are so dumb watch this- haaaahhhh)
Store listing fees Gallery from 1 penny to 0 pennies, insertion from 5 pennies to 3 pennies
(okay, this is my favorite part- oh man I wish I could be there to see their gullible faces)
Store FVFs from 10% to 12%
(you know only 1% of these fools will have enough arithmetic knowledge to see this is an increase- oh man this is great!)
Powerseller Rewards- Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha-
Currently, only 15% of eBay sellers would be eligible for the 15% discount on FVFees- Again- 15% discount on FVFs not on the FV of the sell price just on the fees eBay collects.
So, if you had an auction item sell for $1.00 eBay would get $0.0875, which of course would be rounded up to $0.09 in favor of eBay always.
If you are eligible for the 15% power seller reward discount than you would get 15% of $0.09, which comes to $0.0135, of course this would round down again in eBay’s favor, and you will get 1 cent- that’s it 1 cent
To be eligible the seller must have 4.8 score on each DSR area- it’s not an average- each one.
The sellers who have 4.6 and up until the 4.8 are eligible for the 5% power seller reward
So, the item sells for $1.00 eBay gets there 9 cents rounded up from .0875 cents- the power seller will be rewarded with 5% of$0.09, which comes to .0045- rounded down in eBay’s favor – the seller will get $0.00
Store Listings – item sells for a $1.00 eBay gets 12 cents you seller gets either 15% or 5% of eBay’s FVFees- you can do the math for this scenario
EBay’s first slap
(this one is too funny!)
Another power seller reward is “extended seller protection”.
(ha ha ha- can’t extend something non-existent- the little idiots)
Of course they are willing to “extend seller protection policy – a side from their not making good on the promise of seller protection 99% of the time- they for sure won’t have to do anything at all now, because they have the seller by their Balls(figuratively speaking of course) using their own customer’s hands-
In the scramble to avoid negative feedback hoping to avoid having their account limited or being suspended for some time resulting in their children going hungry, the elderly woman or man who supplements his/her soc sec income by selling on eBay, or the disabled individuals who find themselves better suited for an eBay (a once upon a time eBay anyway) occupation. Yes, it is these people that eBay terrorizes- it is these people that support eBay by being their customers. Funny how eBay expects so much from it’s customers who have chosen to sell on eBay- yet has no issues with telling us all to F*** off a hundred different ways every single day
(This one is really going to rile them all up, and they won’t even notice the rest- the freaking degenerates- life is to easy sometimes I think a rat would catch on quicker than these losers- ha ha ha disgust head shaking- hard to believe they are actually of the same species!)
Sellers can no longer leave buyers negative or neutral feedback- only positive.
Buyers can still leave positive, negative, or neutral feedback even if they never paid for the item at all
(eBay “we listened to our buyers and sellers and this is what you wanted” – an increase- I mean- a decrease in fees and public humiliation leveled on you by someone who never even paid you. This is why we encourage every buyer, who never paid, to respond to the dispute even if it’s only to say they’re not paying- so you can get your negative feedback we wouldn‘t want you to look like a good seller)
The eBay Bitch Slap-
The new extended and better for eBay DSR burn
Item description *****
Seller communication *****
Shipping time *****
Shipping cost *****
eBay has thrown item description, seller communication, shipping time to the side to focus on shipping fees. I find this funny, because I am someone who buys from eBay sellers and I am more concerned about item as described than I am with shipping cost- I would think that eBay would emphasize this score over the rest, but they don’t seem to think that the customers of people who sell on eBay care if their item is accurate. Interesting argument, I wonder how many people they spoke with actually feel this way
Why does eBay care so much about shipping cost?
Simple or complex- you decide
FVFees are based on the sold price of the item -fees are not assessed on shipping or taxes. EBay looses money when sellers inflate the shipping fee to compensate for the products low price. Fee Evasion – sellers aren’t out to screw buyers they are intending to screw eBay (cheer cheer). Unfortunately, this does illicit a negative feeling from a seller’s customer, and it’s not the best long term business practice.
EBay’s new Shipping fee DSR purpose- Best Match
For those sellers who are not enticed or eligible for the “massive power seller reward” they need another method to force them into loading the shipping cost into the product so they can get the new 3.5% FVF increase on auction/fixed price & the additional 2% FVF from store sells. How will they accomplish this
Instead of the sort default being time ending soonest- they have decided to determine the sort order by shipping cost & shipping fee DSR ratings.
So what does this mean for eBay sellers?
All eBay sellers continue to pay the exact amount of to list but,
The listings that the seller conformed with eBay and loaded the shipping fee into the product and has 4.5 or higher DSR in shipping cost will be at the top of the search results
The listing with shipping fees will be (doesn’t matter if it is exact postage) will be below all of the free shipping listings – regardless of time the listing is ending.
So, a listing that honestly shows there are postage fees- and hasn’t had the fees packed into the price for eBay to make money off of- will be lucky to ever be seen before the auction ends, and of course won’t sell
So for those who stand firm on the way they will be treated and demand respect from all parties (such as myself) eBay has a special treat to beat us into conformity – they think!
Paypal earns interest off of seller’s money
21 day fund freezes!!
For those of us who refuse to be extorted by one of those bad buyers (relatively speaking not very many, but enough to incite reasonable concern) or by eBay, we can expect to rack up the negatives quickly. While at the same time, because I refuse to deceive my customers by suggesting they are receiving free shipping, which is absolutely ridiculous- shipping is not free. My DSR in shipping fees may look very poor. I am a seller of some items that eBay/PayPal consider high risk, my customer satisfaction ratings have plummeted as a result of undeserved negative and/or neutral feedback and I am now at 5% customer dis-satisfaction ratings. So I am not ripe for the PayPal bully to steal my money to earn interest off of it. While I’m expected to ship the item on my dime, and hope the buyer leaves me feedback quickly otherwise PayPal will keep my money for 21 days!
EBay said the currently only 5% of all eBay sellers would fall into this category, but they never mention how many they are forecasting they will be able to rob once this takes place. Even using the 5% who will be eBay/PayPal victims right at kick off- they will be raking it in- oh my god that will be so much freaking money. With the amount of sellers screwed increasing daily until I don’t know paypal can freeze 100% of eBay seller’s money for 21 days or until the seller’s customer leaves feedback.
Literally 87% of my customers leave feedback right away, 2% could be anytime in the 90 days of be able to leave feedback. 11% of my customers have never left feedback! EBay would like the world to believe that this is out of fear, but the reality is 99.9% of my customer’s who never left feedback are 100% satisfied. People who are pissed react they don’t just walk away never to be heard from- the demand their selves be heard by either emailing the seller, filing a dispute, or going straight to the feedback board. Never-the-less, it seems rational to conclude that 11% of the time paypal will be holding the funds for 21 days, and possibly that other 2% who leave feedback when they log in next time.
Wow! WOW! WOW!
And they tell the public it us sellers who are depraved.
Who is the biggest con of them all? eBay
Who is eBays partner in crime? PayPal
Who is ripping their customer off? EBay
Who is adding to the blow? PayPal
Who is the shady character in this play?
The Ebay paypal demon monster!!!
business opportunity said,
This blog is relevant to Success Strategies that ebay recently announced that it was planning on changing its rules, and a lot of people,are not too happy about it. Ebay is announcing that their fees have been reduced, but that is only a half-truth.
If a seller has below a 95% satisfaction rating on Ebay, they won’t appear on the Ebay search engines. Sellers are more likely to get negative feedback under the new system. Therefore they must work for the organisation and work hard to become successul in ebay online business.
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