eBay's fee obsessiveness could cause its demise

I plan on reducing my listings substantially.What started out as a great idea has turned into another monopoly.The fees eat up what little you can make unless you have an "IN" to the maunufaturer.its no longer cost friendly for the "little" guy.Big business runs amuk again!

Well said Brian. Ebay's latest actions are just typical of them. They (surely) realise that they have really annoyed their customers, but instead of making amends with them, they are are more concerned at becoming the world's no 1 megalomaniacs. Its all very well trying to convert an auction website into one big traffic jam, after all the skypes the limit, but HOW MUCH LONGER are customers going to stand for not being listened to?

Buyers are fed up with being scammed; sellers are fed up with having their fees and the goalposts changed every two minutes. Just have a look at the top 10 items on pulse: http://pulse.ebay.co.uk/ . Thats right, get rich quick schemes. However, you're not going to get rich very quickly if you're a genuine Ebay seller. No doubt we'll hear murmurs of a merger as EBay tries to silence the growing disgust shown by their customers.

Ebay has become a shopping mall

what once was an innovative way to have a hard sale with 6 million people has quickly become a crowded mall where its hard to find anything you want besides packaged made in china junk

I predict craigs list/ myspace/ or google will start an auction site that people will flood to

But can you blame greedy corporate hacks for doing what they are bred to do? Make money on the backs of others???

If you are that angry dont list as much or at all, let them know you are doing it and vote democrat

Brian thanks for the post.

Here's a thought EBay. Why don't you grow revenue and profit by helping sellers sell more product rather than pricing them out of the game completely?!

This fee debacle will go down in corporate history as the biggest mistake since "New Coke" (Maybe a little overstated, but you get my point)

I used to spend $200 in eBay listing fees per month. As of August, I now spend $20. I use them mainly to help people find my own site, and the other, smaller, much less expensive sites (with lower prices). Yes, the other sites DO have buyers.

Using both eBay's traffic report and my own stats tracker, I could see for myself that the message board claims of sellers sporadically being hidden in search were true. I'm spending that $20 through the holidays. If I don't see enough sales to make it worth my time, I'll just run the sporadic auction for odd things and they can get maybe $5 a month from me. Multiply my dollar reduction by thousands of other store owners (most of whom have much larger dollar figures than I do) and you can see where eBay is headed.

We didn't flock to listing at core auctions because the sell-through is dismal and the fees are higher. Buyers seem to prefer a buy-it-now arrangement, but eBay is making that option difficult by making it harder to search for things and now charging more for the "privilege".

Brian,

This stock is shorted so much, I'm not sure investors concern themselves with longevity.

eBay has positioned itself as the classic industrial-management style, 'Don't do what I do, do what I say'

To really understand eBay management's reaction to their customers...may I suggest renting the dvd, 'Total Recall'.

Ubid.com is the site I use now. eBay has basically put me out of business with the new fee structure. I can't get enough response with the regular auction style to make it worth my while to keep listing, so I use eBay to drive some traffic to my main site and I use ubid.com now.

I have been a powerseller on Ebay for the last 4 years selling a gross amount of over 20,000 dollars a month. I have to say that Ebay has worsened considerably and looks out only for itself and its shareholders only. The security there is horrible with off the chart frauds taking place and all Ebay does is take measure to protect itself. Their fees are astronmonical in relation to the price and amount of daily auctions listed. My product is a tankless water heater (www.titantankless.com) and to simply feature my auction costs 36 dollars for 1 to 7 days. Once I sell an item I pay another 8 to 10 dollars to them and then another appox. 8 to 10 dollars via Paypal. So basically my 229.99 item has to be marked up so high I cant even compete. Ebay takes something like 20 percent of my total price after everything. They list something like a million auctions a day so figure out their profits. It is absurd. This is why their executives all make 7 figure yearly incomes. Their CEO has no formal computer training, and she absolutely has no clue about this form of entity. Their customer service to long time hard working and dedicated powersellers is horrendous. You are lucky if they even answer your call for problems. They take the money and run. I am praying that a reputable good company like Google will make a competing and superior auction site. They can probably cut Ebays rates by 70 percent and still make a killing without ripping off the consumer. It is unfortunate that companies become total mononpolies (no auction site can touch Ebay now) and totally rip off the consumer and make all their executives rich and forget where they came from.
They will learn someday when a big competitor makes an auction site that can easily outdo them.
I realize shareholders will be offended by what I say but it is best to see what its like at the bottom when reviewing a stock and see what it is like in the trenches. This is how a majority of sellers feel about Ebay and we are the back bone of the company. Without us they have nothing....just my thoughts...
Thanks for listening...
Policeofc@aol.com

How can you even consider establishing a business at ebay when they can just pull the plug on you anytime they feel like it.....no explanation and no one will talk to you about it. And now you still owe them for the ads they pulled...and they hound you relentlessly for the money. Is that anyway to run a business? Only those ignorant of their poor business practices are still selling on there. We wised up to them over two years ago and it comes as no surprise to us that they are still treating their sellers very poorly.

As it is possible to lose up to 108% of the final sale price in eBay fees now is it any wonder the tipping point in sellers patience appears to have been reached?

http://www.powersellersunite.com/ebayfeechart.php

The real worry for me is eBays inability to react to stock price pressure with anything more subtle than increasing core service fees. To do this at the exact same time as they made store listings virtually invisible to eBay searches was frankly idiotic.

This 'hike & hide' policy was not only bound to ignite a storm of protest from the most regular paying customers but also cause a longer term issue for many other site users as sales volumes drop and prices to buyers are increased as a result.

Despite the wall of silence put up by eBay management to its sellers in the US, Europe and Australia since 'hike & hide' day , a notable exception has occured in Canada.

Jordan Banks, the Managing Director of eBay Canada, has publicly announced his concerns about seller profitability and is seeking feedback from users. You can see the eBay Canada forum thread here:

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/ca/200608.shtml#2006-08-29131105

Surely Ebay should have realised that, having so successfully built a global community, users in the US, Europe and Australia would all see this Canadian announcement? Not only that, in the current environment, it was bound to be viewed by many as an admission of the problems sellers said would result from recent fee changes.

Rightly or wrongly, stock holders and users alike, appear to feel punished by eBay this year and I can see no alternative now but for the CEO, Ms Whitman, to go.

Only if a new, respected boss comes in that recognises the need to care for the core, money making business, will the stock cease being the dog it is in my opinion.

And hopefully that is not too far away now.

I THINK SHELDON LIBER IS A FRUSTRATED,TROUBLED LITTLE PERSON,WHO KNOWS ABSOUTELY ZERO ABOUT BUSINESS AND LIKES TO CAUSE TROUBLE WHEN HE CAN.
HE PROBABLY SITS IN A LITTLE DARK ROOM BLOGGING THIS SPEW.
WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE ARESUME ON LIBER AND WHAT HE HAS ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISHED IN LIFE.

Ebay has pushed me out the door! It seems ebay is going after the wrong people... instead of the moms and pops that made them... they should be going after the chinese crap, (they dont pay for listing anyway) and the ones selling 15 listings of the same item for a penny ... yea with the high dollar shipping and handling fees......ebay cant get a FVF off of 1 penny..........so they come after us lil and usually honest guys!

On top of everything else, eBay is quickly becoming very un-American in its treatment of U.S. sellers. Not only have they raised our fees through the roof while making our store listings hard to find, but they go and invest $100 million in China (land of the cheapo knockoffs), and allow those sellers to sell on the site for free!

Observe AOL's fate in the marketplace. Anticipate EBAY following the same pattern, once trustworthy and dependable competition is established. Anybody remember Steve Case? He's Meg Whitman's role model (or is it Carly Fiorina whose departure led to a rapid rise in HP?) and she will take her severance package and create havoc elsewhere. Commercial history shows time after time that consumer unfriendly firms will get replaced by friendly ones, once they get established and customers accept them and trust them. EBAY is in the early stages of that inevitable spiral that led to the demise of many dot coms a few years ago. EBAY - you cut new ground, provided a service, had millions of believers but now, you are taking your rips from just those folks you should be helping run their businesses. Your failure to accept responsibility for that small percent of sellers who are frauds adds further insult to injury. Your colors are fading and will be much less popular in the coming years. Your stock swoon is evidence that the marketplace doesn't put much faith in your stock any more. Goodbye - it was nice to know you in the early days.

I am running an australian shop and pay ebay about $15,000 aus per month. We are trying to take this business to the next level, by employing more workers ,larger warehouse etc. The new price rise is eating well into our small profits(electronics), and as it goes I believe that we will be out of ebay within 6 months. We are a well connected company that gets the "real deals" from local suppliers and imports some other amazing products at great prices. If we are unable to be successfull and profitable on ebay than I can't see how the small guys out there have any chance of making a living.Ebay is doing something wrong!!I have been watching a gradual decline over the last 3 years. supply exceeds demand- which means -no profits. Australia's largest store auctionbrokers has closed its doors 3 months a go, and doesn't seem to want to return.from speaking to fellow LARGE sellers - there are many more on the way.
The sellers are tired of low profits, and complete monopolistic attitude of the management and customer service.
Just letting out my frustrations, I know that no one there at ebay cares anyway.......


aussie seller

Take a look at the mess eBay have got in to in Australia:

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,20353434^15306,00.html

Seems the viewpoint of critics is striking a chord in the media. If this is Australia, imagine what the stats are in the US and Europe?

eBay has really dug themselves a grave in Australia. FVF's in stores are now 10% and listing fees are 50c (up 500% from the fees 2 weeks ago)

within 1 week of ebay announcing the fee increases, It's largest Australian competitor Oztion (www.oztion.com) gained 20% more members.

So far in Australia, almost every newspaper has given ebay 'bad press' over the increses. A South Australian MP is even looking at legal action against the company because of the way it promoted itself in the leadup to the fee increases.

Picked up on this:

http://express-press-release.com/29/4%20Day%20Ebay%20Boycott.php

Seesm the unrest is getting worse

I was one of the Australian sellers in the article http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,20353434^15306,00.html.
I used to be a staunch supporter of ebay (for 7 years), not any more! Until recently my monthly fees were around the $700 - $1,000 mark. My last bill was just over $20, I no longer sell (or buy) on ebay! I do search ebay, but if I find anything I want, I contact the seller and ask them to list elsewhere for me to buy, I REFUSE to transact in any way via ebay. I have moved all operations to my own website along with www.ebid.net and www.oztion.com.au. I, along with approximately 800 store sellers, have been badly treated by ebay this year, as well as being swamped by ridiculous listings from China. Ebay are welcome to these listings, they get very little - if any - reward from them!!!! In the past few weeks I have received phone calls from ebay trying to get me to change my mind, the last call (2 days ago) was from a very rude ebay staff member telling me I was banned indefinately from their community boards for speaking my mind. So much for free speech! Ebay very much dislikes criticism - well - try listening AND responding to your customers - you know - THE SELLERS! Instead of posting comments on your own boards saying things like - give us your comments and we will respond!!! Like hell you did!

I am also closing shop, $1200 a month in fees lost Ebay. I only have a hand full of bids on my site.