From New York Incubator Member and eBay seller Robyn Volker of Chiquelife.
I am a long-time, full-time eBay merchant with more than 25,000 transactions completed. For anyone that is a newer or small-time seller, you should also know that the fees are generally irrelevant to most serious business owners -- eBay is a pretty good bargain even with the new fee structure! It's a retail venue with an unimaginable amount of traffic.
While I am not a fan of anything that eats into my already slim eBay margins, the fee bite only affects a portion of sales. A smart business owner adapts selling strategy and pricing accordingly.
The REAL issue is a major change to the eBay community structure -- Feedback. Effective on 2/20, sellers can only leave POSITIVE feedback for buyers, no matter how the transaction goes.
It seems to be a part of a new CEO's efforts to put his own mark on the company, and I can tell you that small to medium volume sellers are in an uproar. The big ones -- not so much right now, but they
should also be concerned. Myself -- I'm taking a wait-and-see attitude, adjusting my business
plan, and exploring additional venues. And that is actually what I should have been doing anyway!
So if you are on eBay already, or are thinking about it -- it's still a good place to do business but there are also other options. You can check out the Seller Central message board for lots of info (and
plenty of emotion...)
Editor's Note: There are alternatives to eBay, namely eCrater and Etsy .
Hi! I am an e-bay PowerSeller beginning my small business in June of last year. I am with you, but not for the same reasons. I believe you will not like my explanation though.
In May, when e-bay starts the feedback system over - They will eliminate all feedback beyond a year and then add into the Seller's those feedbacks of repeat buyers. Whoopie! Mine will jump from 500 to 1700 as I have a 72% return client list. How will yours fare?
Posted by: WandaLou McInturff | February 13, 2008 at 01:05 PM
Minor correction! The fee changes go into effect on 2/20, the feedback changes in May.
Additional venues to check out are OnLine Auctions, Bidville, uBid, and iOffer.
Posted by: Robyn Volker | February 13, 2008 at 05:46 PM
Sorry it took so long to reply - I never dreamed that I would get a comment! Most Power Sellers, I believe, have a pretty good repeat customer base.
The real challenge is not the repeat customer feedback, but will customers leave feedback at all! Over the past 10 years, feedback has fallen off precipitously. But feedback is a tiny portion of the overall picture.
Feedback alone is just a small part of the eBay world. Far more important are the Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs) and the way buyers are instructed to leave the "stars" and the way eBay interprets them. Even the best sellers are struggling with this new system.
Combined with the default Best Match search, it's an uphill battle for many good sellers.
Posted by: Robyn Volker | April 30, 2008 at 09:44 PM