Eggs in A Basket

A thread posted on the eBay discussion boards yesterday, now deleted said

Just a couple days ago buy.com's listing count was hovering just above 500,000 but now all of a sudden it jumped to over 800,000.

eBay's daily listing totals in the last week have dropped from approximately 15.3M to 14.5M ( 0.8M) and of that 14.5M, around 18% are buy.com listings. That is a lot of eggs in one basket.

My friend over at The Brews News has a moving and powerful post about a conversation with an eBay rep and the future of their business

I hope the “smart” people at eBay making the decisions can find a better way to communicate their plan to the rest of us less smart folks. If the eBay decision makers have a plan, now would be a good time to unveil it since eBay sellers are really in the dark.

and in an earlier post on the same blog . . .

There has been a slow movement of reputable eBay sellers who have been leaving the last 3 years but after January 2008 there appears to be a mass exodus. Sellers are leaving in such alarming numbers that it is more like a stampede out of the gates than a gradual movement. The severity of the problem is not being shown in eBay’s statistics yet because there are many sellers just like us who are trying to liquidate their current eBay inventory at a rapid pace. We are working hard to be set up in time to take advantage of our sales opportunities on Amazon and our websites for the 2008 holiday season.

Brews is not a small seller like I was and many of you were. They employ people, have a warehouse and a loading dock! This blog is written by a business person, a ten year eBay seller. Not a ranter. Not a whiner. A professional seller . . .


How sad that a seller with ten years on eBay, over 34K positive feedback, an average 99.8% 12 month rating, and three selling identities, is taking their basket of eggs and leaving. What eBay buyers will get is leftovers,

and buy.com


Y'all come back!

eBay PayPal Only Policy

This post was written in August 2008. Information may be out of date.
Red Ink Diary has moved lock stock and barrel (including this post) to HERE where you can read the latest eCommerce, Bonanzle, PayPal and eBay news.


It is hard to pick a single subject when it comes to writing about eBay, they have outraged so many of their customers they may well be the most hated corporation in the USA. It is very hard to remain objective about anything when it affects the way you earn your living. It is hardest of all to change the way you do business after years of learning that 'this' is the way it is done; but change we must if we are to survive as sellers with or without eBay.

eBay has asserted there is no PayPal Only in the USA policy. The reason for this is that we have laws preventing it. There may be no such official policy at eBay but we have now reached a point where there is a de facto policy, and this is open contempt of the law.

Here is a link to the relevant eBay page.

All new sellers must offer PayPal as a payment option.

I received this document last night from a colleague. I urge you to read, cut and paste anything that reflects your opinion and then forward a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission and to the Attorney General of the state in which you live and do business.

I would like to point out that I do not personally have a problem accepting any kind of payment, even PayPal. I am infuriated by eBay's open contempt both for the law of the land and their customers. It is a corporate disease and the only cure for that disease is legal action. I realize that almost nobody has both the desire and the financial means to take eBay to court but what you can do is make noise. Look at the example of what the Australian sellers accomplished, eBay backed down but is trying the same back door policy there as they are using here, clearly expressed in the Discouraging Payments Policy.

You have three choices. Accept everything eBay does to you, quit or fight back.
What will your choice be?

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The FUBAR Effect eBay IT up

We often hear the phrase "Amazonization of eBay" these days, which is in my opinion a legally actionable insult to Amazon; but maybe it is time to coin a new phrase to refer to the FUBAR effect on the eBay.com site, used as a verb, to "eBay IT up.""

An astounding statement after the eBay announcement regarding the PayPal transaction reporting requirements which will become law in 2011 as part of the American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008. Under the legislation, PayPal will be required to report to the IRS the total payment volume received by PayPal customers in the U.S. who:

1. receive more than $20,000 in payment volume in a single year; and
2. receive more than 200 payments in a single year.

This is in no way shape or form eBay's fault. It is just another step in the transformation of America into George Orwell's 1984 by our elected officials. Big Brother is watching you and wants to watch more. I don't actually have a problem with it, I pay my taxes.

BUY THIS Noah's Ark Note Card - CLICK

One good thing that may come out of it is that eBay and PayPal will be forced to upgrade the ancient version of Quickbooks they bought off Noah's online garage sale. The one that is not compatible with anything newer than an Apple IIe. We can always hope.


Ken Swab who is the senior Federal Government Relations officer at PayPal blogged on this on Tuesday morning. He said:

I want to emphasize that this new law affects a small percentage of PayPal customers.

Say what?

Either this guy doesn't know what he is talking about, always a possibility, or eBay as we knew it has disappeared a lot faster than we ever thought it could.

$20,000 a year averages out to $1666.66 a month, making you a 'gasp' PowerSeller! It would not be unreasonable to peg overhead at 30% of that if you include all eBay and PayPal fees, item cost, repeat listings, internet access, hardware, software and postage and packing expenses. Pre-tax, federal and state, net would be $1165 a month (rounded).

On a 60 Minutes program aired March 11th this year just before she retired, Meg Whitman said

"We have about – around the world, about 1.3 million people make most, if not all, of their living selling on eBay."

This was echoed by presidential contender John McCain in Martin County Kentucky who can be heard on NPR's Morning Edition, 25th March 2008 (1:28 into the tape) adding the information

"... most of whom are in the United States."

Yet Ken Swab "says this new law affects a small percentage of PayPal customers" The question is who is eBaying it up? The ex-CEO of eBay, Presidential hopeful John McCain or Ken Swab?

Ms Whitman, $1166 a month pre-tax is not making a living. Advice to you folks out there hopeful of "making a living on eBay" . . .Don't quit your day job!"





Y'all come back!




UPDATE:

Scott Pooler on Trading Assistant Journal has a different angle on the same subject.

Out to Lunch

My brain is out to lunch today!

Y'all come back later! OK? See you then.