Ebay Fees | Changes | Increased Prices | eBay Feedback Changes | Best Match

When is a sale not a good bargain? When it's an eBay (EBAY) sale. Tuesday, eBay announced a new holiday buyer incentive program (starts Nov 3 for 45 days). It is a prime example of why eBay stock has plummeted under Donahoe's watch because discounts are not applied at the time of purchase. Who wants a Paypal credit 2 months later? Not me.

This long time seller read the terms & conditions and discovered:

Buyers only have 60 minutes from the time they go from Microsoft Live Search to eBay, find IT, and then click buy IT (Paypal only) to qualify for cash back rewards;
The rewards are actually Paypal credits good for eBay purchases only; and
Paypal holds buyers' Paypal credits for 60 days before releasing them. This author suspects Paypal is using these funds to earn money on the float the same way it does when it places holds on sellers' accounts.

What else is wrong with this sale? It is nearly impossible for a buyer to find anything on eBay because Best Match doesn't work. This means buyers may not be able to take advantage of the holiday incentives, which may be a blessing in disguise.

The free shipping icon started appearing in many sellers' listings over a week ago despite shipping costs being stated. Local pick up and delivery is also set to Free by default. This may be enough to push small sellers over the edge because when a buyer sees Free Shipping he/she expects it to be free. No resolution appears to be in sight.

So what kind of sale is this? I don't know but I'm beginning to think it was designed it to rid eBay of small sellers because sellers will probably get placed on suspension for dinged stars as a direct result of shipping that isn't free & discounts that don't instantly materialize.

Small sellers will also have Paypal holds to deal with because many featured items are considered "high risk" (electronics, DVD movies, etc.) and subject to an automatic 21 to 180 day hold. This is how a couple sellers are dealing with Paypal holds:

rootmandude: Paypal is holding hundreds of dollars. I'm DONE - finished as a seller here on eBay. I'm never using Paypal again. If this policy isn't revoked, I'm DONE. All those years of painstakingly giving a damn about building a reputation as a great eBay member - all flushed down the toilet by a few idiots who just don't get IT.

jaycpotter: I have sent all my buyers since Friday notices that I am refunding all purchases and No Longer Accepting Paypal. If Paypal is going to hold my money I'm not interested in using Paypal. I have not had any disputes in 4 years.

This author wonders why the State of California, the remaining 49 states, and the Federal government has given eBay/Paypal the authority to mandate what form of payment buyers & sellers can use, especially in light of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Does anyone know where Arnold is? Sellers sure could use his help.

Click here to find out information about taxes and eBay.

No Christmas for eBay Sellers

http://seekingalpha.com/article/100588-no-christmas-for-ebay-sellers

October usually marks the time of year when eBay (EBAY) sellers gear up and prepare for a busy holiday season. New inventory is almost always purchased, shipping supplies are procured, and new listings are prepared so that sellers can list items at a moment’s notice during the busy holiday season.

But not this year.

Christmas has apparently been canceled. Sellers are leaving at a frantic pace to set up sites elsewhere because they no longer trust eBay to have a functional site. eBay’s search engine (Best Match) has crashed twice this month alone and there seems to be no resolution in sight.

dfromnm writes:

My search button doesn’t work half the time...HELP!

serverfactory writes:

Yes, I think it [sales] may worse than 50% for me. It has something to do with the "best match" which is really screwing things up! I can’t make any sense of it.

Donahoe recently blamed eBay’s poor 3rd quarterperformance on the economy (see conference call transcript), but this simply isn’t true. eBay’s performance is directly tied to Donahoe’s disruptive innovations because they don’t make sense and never work.

For example, ladyjane writes:

What balls eBay has to tell you to end your auction and relist because they can't get their act together (free shipping icon appearing). They told me the same thing yesterday when the search wasn't working. I guess that's the new canned response, what a way to run a business.

The stock closed Friday at 15.35, which is less than half its value year to date and it looks like a toboggan run because buyers, sellers, and shareholders have lost confidence in what was once the world’s biggest, most user friendly auction site.

Perhaps Santa will swing by San Jose and leave eBay a new CEO for Christmas - one who understands that eBay’s success or failure lies in its small sellers of hard to find, wacky wonderful items eBay is famous for, like a special spoon to complete grandma’s set.

I hope Santa will also leave sellers a special Christmas gift, including keyword searches, the old SYI form that worked, and a functional shipping calculator so sellers can get back to the business of selling on eBay.

But it is doubtful that sellers ever will return because it’s all about trust. Sellers simply don’t trust Donahoe, especially after he lowered listing fees, more than doubled final value fees, and added a ton of advertising to complete with sellers.

Disclosure: Author is a long time eBay seller

Ebay to ban sales of ivory products in January
Monday October 20, 8:12 pm ET

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081020/ebay_ivory_ban.html?.v=2

Ebay to ban sales of ivory products starting next year

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Online auction site eBay Inc. said Monday it will institute a global ban on the sale of all ivory products starting next year.

The ban, announced on the company's blog eBay Ink, sought to ensure the protection of African and Asian elephants, eBay blogger Richard Brewer-Hay wrote.He said he had recently been at a meeting to discuss the sale of these products when the ban was decided. The company banned cross-border sales of ivory products last year, he said, but the sale of it on the site "continued to be a concern within the company and among stakeholders."

"The team concluded that we simply can't ensure that ivory listed for sale on eBay is in compliance with the complex regulations that govern its sale," he wrote.

The policy change will go into effect in December and will be enforced started in January.

Exceptions for some items with small amounts of ivory, such as pianos, will be made, though the items must have been made before 1900.

Items that have a large amount of ivory, regardless of their age, will not be permitted for sale. These would include chess sets, ivory broaches and ivory jewelry.

The company said it works with international and domestic law enforcement authorities like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and will help them in investigations they initiate.

The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International applauded the decision and said they first brought the issue to eBay after an investigation in 2002 discovered thousands of ivory items.

"EBay's decision to wash its hands of the uncontrollable, bloody ivory trade is commendable and should set an example for others," said Teresa Telecky, policy director for Humane Society International.