posted on April 30, 2002 07:01:27 AM
Disgruntled eBay Sellers Unionize.
Is a Strike Imminent?
On September 1st, 2001 Electronic Auction Sellers Union (EASU.Net) launched the first Union on the Internet with its Membership Drive. Since eBay's inception Sellers have been systematically raked over the coals by profiteering eBay corporate heads. Fees have been rising and the individual Sellers have incurred all the costs.
The Internet stock market has corrected, yet eBay has continued to charge astronomical fees reminiscent of the hefty price tags of overvalued Internet stocks. eBay is squeezing the lonely Seller Entrepreneur out of the market place.
eBay charges an insertion fee for every item you want to sell. Next they charge a reserve price penalty fee. For example, that means if your item is worth $50.00 and you don't want to sell it for anything less you have to pay eBay. If you are lucky enough to sell the item, eBay also charges you a commission fee. But if you're unlucky and can't sell your item eBay charges you that same commission fee anyway. Further ridiculous overcharges include fees for anything that eBay could think up, like bold and highlighted text; even fees to host pictures of items for sale.
Does this sound like the Seller Entrepreneur can afford to utilize eBay in the next year, in the next five years? If eBay does not cater to its main customer base the Sellers by reducing their fees, it would be ridiculous to think that the lonely individual Seller Entrepreneur, who is the cornerstone of eBay's income base can survive with these overbearing charges. This is not a sound business model as eBay is strangling their own income resources the Sellers, and ultimately restricting there own profitability in the future by eliminating the Seller Entrepreneur. Without the curtailing of fees, it is unreasonable to expect that eBay will be a robust company in the future. This Union wants its Members and eBay to be profitable.
If you feel this message has stuck a cord with your or anyone you know, we urge you to join the First Union on the Internet. The Electronic Auction Sellers Union. EASU.Net
posted on April 30, 2002 07:22:15 AM
Great idea! We haven't had a call-to-arms against ebay thread for at least a week or so.
I'm just a little confused. I saw the EASU site's history of the labor movement in America (and realize now the enormous debt we owe to these people who risked their lives fighting for the right for all of us to sell sports cards over the internet with low listing fees), but do you really expect a lot of ebay employees to strike? What would they gain? Oh, I see, you consider anyone selling on ebay an employee (my ebay W2 form must have gotten lost in the mail).
Ebay is a business. You are customers of that business. You are free to use their services or not use their services. Whether they choose to consider themselves a community is irrelevant, just as whether you consider small sellers the cornerstone of their business is irrelevant. It is ebay's business model, and your are free to boycott if you wish.
The fact that they are able to maintin high fee structures has nothing to do with the collapse of many internet firms.
So, what we have is a web site that is apparently asking 19.95 for a membership, with the promise that they will sponsor some form of on-line auction service for disgruntled ebayers. Psst: Disgruntled ebayers can use another auction service without sending you 19.95 (you heard it here first).
posted on April 30, 2002 07:35:24 AM
Seller's don't usually incurr any costs, they just pass it onto the buyer, and if the buyers decide it is too high, they shop elsewhere, then the sellers start leaving too, then ebay lowers their fees. That's the beauty of the marketplace, it is self correcting to the norm.
posted on April 30, 2002 07:42:08 AM
Just wondering what you have against Ebay's fees. My ebay/paypal/auctionwatch fees total less than 10%. Of all the ways to sell stuff, this is the cheapest.
posted on April 30, 2002 07:42:48 AM
What a concept, in order to get lower fees or hope to get lower fees, I have to give you money with hope that it will work.
Unions work when you are employeed by a company, not a customer. I also agree that if you do not like the fees that ebay charges, then go to another site. However, you will not be selling as much. It does take money to advertise the site.
posted on April 30, 2002 07:46:52 AM
this is very true,ebay does not force any one to use its service,for buying or selling.
some nice brick and mortar antique stores have listed nice items which did not reach reserve and are now staying away from ebay,you can easily spend over 100 dollars listing on ebay and not earning it back.
more and more.ebay is becoming a place for sellers to clear items and raise cash,it is seller versus seller.
consider setting up your own website and build your own brandname overtime.
posted on April 30, 2002 08:12:38 AM
ummmm.... isn't this post a violation of the AW community guidelines section 8.6 f?
f) Advertise products or services in the Message Center or to our members. This includes (but is not limited to) auction sites, software, and auction related discussion forums. Third party representatives may answer questions about services in a strictly factual and non-promotional manner if asked; however, AuctionWatch may end a discussion if we believe that a third party or any of its representatives initiated or are perpetuating the discussion, are promoting its services, or that ending the discussion is otherwise appropriate.
How long do you think it will be before easu's posting privalages are yanked?
posted on April 30, 2002 08:35:28 AM
Let 'em stay. This could be entertaining. We haven't had much fun since the old days, when some auction site was trying to peddle a "van Gogh".
posted on April 30, 2002 09:23:07 AM
what i dont understand is why are we paying for BUY IT NOW feature?
you would think buy it now releases ebay resources of hosting items??
it is a win win situation for all,customer gets the item faster,ebay and sellers get the money faster.
posted on April 30, 2002 09:29:31 AM
I have been a member of below for about 2 years and recommend the below to any honest seller It IS FREE. It can help with anything a "union" could do. (If it is truly an issue).
It looks to me like this is just a scheme to make money at the expense of the sellers that you claim to want to help.
It says on your site that "In America People Don't Cross The Picket Line!"
B*ll Cr*p! I don't care about your picket line. Right now a large portion of our personal income comes from Ebay sales. What you are really attempting to do is DESTROY OUR BUISNESS.
I think I will start an anti-easu.net site...
Edited to add: If you don't like Ebay, why don't you head over to AuctionDiner and join the MLA program. I hear you can make a fortune signing up new members...
[ edited by outoftheblue on Apr 30, 2002 09:50 AM ]
posted on April 30, 2002 10:16:08 AM
All of the above complaints can be best described as the cost of doing business.
The online medium is still one of the least expensive ways to market to a worldwide audiance. If your organization thinks eBay fees are costly, check out the cost of direct mail or running a business out of a brick and mortar location. You'll see you have very little complain about.
posted on April 30, 2002 11:41:28 AM
I read in the Wall Street Journal yesterday that Meg and whoever the head of technology at eBay is just got upped bonuses. Meg's bonus was small, only about $150,000, because the vast majority of her compensation is in stock options. The technology head's was about $500,000.
Where does eBay make its money? As far as I know, it's nearly all from seller fees.
Do you think eBay's technology has been improved so much over last year that the boss should get a half-million bucks?
posted on April 30, 2002 12:24:04 PM
But making money is the American Way. If you have a product and it does well, then you should make money. EBay spends a furtune on advertising which has earned all of us sellers better sell through rates. This is why we sell on eBay.
If we all were making the money that eBay does, would you want a big bonus.
posted on April 30, 2002 04:34:13 PM
I am with Damariscotta, I think this thread should stay, this can be fun. Let's see, become a union, If I am not mistaken, I believe you first must contact the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board)advise them of your intent to unionize, they then give you the restrictions of what you can and can not do for your organizing efforts and process. Example you can only speak to employees during breaks, OOPs did I say employees,Has to be, it simply comes down to management and rank and file. I do not consider myself rank and file,Nor do I cash a pay check signed by an Ebay Employee that has the authority to sign pay checks for Ebay. Next thing you need is a bargaining team to bargain collectively for you. This bargaining process is broken down into bargaining units, I wonder if they will handle the commonality by ebay categories, Baseball cards, vintage, sporting goods, music, And if you sell more than one particular category, does that make you another member of another bargaining unit.
I would like to see something along the lines of what we have here, to share, offer advise, help, lend an ear, but I would love to see something along the lines of a group Health Ins. A while ago someone on this thread suggested that independent business people no matter how small should really look into NFIB, @WWW.NFIB.com (sorry, I do not know how to make it clickable) I believe dues are whatever you can afford, they take part in lobbying for the small business person and they offer you an opportuinity to get into some group health plans, that otherwise you may not be able to either afford, or have access to. I recently inquired, and was sent quite a bit of information especially on the Health plans. This is what I would like to see on my side helping me.
Reenie
Edited to ad, I do not believe you are allowed to strike over money, you can only strike over un-fair conditions, or your present contract is being violated or not up-held.
[ edited by lattefor2 on Apr 30, 2002 04:38 PM ]
posted on May 1, 2002 10:38:55 AM
Thank all of you brave souls for taking the time to make your opinion on this very important topic which affects millions of people in many more ways than just pure economics.
EASU.Net is not an attack on eBay nor just the fees they impose. Doesn’t the eBay Check-Out system annoy you! Don’t eBay outages annoy you? How about Billpoint? Or those Pop-Up Windows? EASU.Net does not want to replace eBay, just give you a voice to make it a more profitable and pleasant place to live and work.
It is true as several of you have noted, that we are not eBay employs, we are the millions of people who spend many hours a week working hard to post auctions. Why should the top people at eBay bask in the good-life making multi-millions of dollars on top of our backs? Why can’t eBay provide us with a comprehensive health plan as one of you suggested? At the very least the Electronic Auction Seller’s Union is trying to build a membership base so that we can negotiate to lower fees for you. What is so bad about that.
Alone each one of us can only make a little noise gripe about our problem, many will agree but in the back of everyone’s mind is, ok so now what, eBay won’t listen, an so there is nothing that could be done but eat the same sh#t they are shoveling us day in and day out.
Let say we had 25,000 members, or maybe 50,000 members or lets say you sellers helped build the Electronic Auction Seller (EASU.Net) ranks to 500,000 members, this would still be a small number compared to the millions of sellers who use eBay day to day. But I ask you this, could eBay afford to ignore the demands of 500,000 voices? Would that voice be carried by CNN? You bet it would. And what would that voice do to the eBay stock on Wall Street? They will have to listen to us, but it is up to us.
We are in a unique position to use the Internet to communicate our problems, and organize a voice to try to solve those problems. Are there any other good discussion forums like AW that we can post this message?
If someone were to say to you that you would be selling thousands upon thousands of dollars of merchandise to people that you never met across telephone lines and computers 10 years ago you would have all laughed. Keep in mind that We the Sellers built eBay. We the Electronic Auction Seller’s must take matters into our hands, build a viable membership so that our voice can be heard.
The EASU.Net idea was not born yesterday, a lot of time and effort and research went into putting the site together so that we could have a solid foundation from which to stand and grow tall.
Today, May First is called May Day, Labor Day where protests and rallies are being held in many countries around the globe. The Unites States of America has one of the oldest and most admired Union histories in the world. Please take a moment to read more about union history at http://www.easu.net/history.htm As the pioneers of Organized Labor it is our unique opportunity to bring the Union Effort into the 21st century via Internet.
This awakening of our voice and the very building of EASU.Net site by several sellers was inspired by an auction, which some of you might remember was posted by a seller (bobmill) with a 12,000+ rating on eBay. He posted the Shooting Star Jacket up for auction for 1 cent as a protest to their lack of interest for their real concern, us the sellers! His jacket got over 151 bids, more than 14,306 page views, and at one point reached $100,099.99 before eBay shut down the auction to quell our anger and cry for representation. Fore more information about the inspirational shooting star jacket auction go to . http://www.easu.net/jacket.htm
We are not, nor do we want to be employees of eBay, however we would like to work with eBay to build a better environment, in which we can all benefit.
The only thing that is holding us back is fear. I understand and sympathize with your fear. These are new and uncharted waters, however it is our destiny to forge ahead and set an example at the forefront of all the possibilities that this bold new electronic age has presented to us.
There is nothing wrong with admitting your fear. We are all afraid of something. However anyone who is afraid and does nothing to change the situation should be ashamed of themselves. EASU.Net is the first Union on the Internet. Be part of something new and bold that could make a difference in your life.
The Electronic Auction Seller’s Union, EASU.Net needs your help to build a viable membership base. $19.99 + $5/month might look like a lot of money, however you get a FREE EASU.Net Charter Member T-Shirt, as well as
-Exclusive membership access to vote for issues that will be negotiated & bargained for. (Such as the reduction of fees.)
-An official EASU.Net Certificate Of Charter Membership To The First Union On The Internet.
-Frequent updates on Union news and progress.
-Exclusive membership rights to vote for a strike.
-Exclusive membership rights to free use of a promoted & advertised alternative auction site if a strike is called.
-Charter Members will receive a Free high quality 100% cotton EASU.Net Charter Membership T-shirt.
Note: Most Union Dues Average $15-25 Per Month. EASU.Net Dues Are Only $5 Per Month. In Many Cases You Will Spend More Than $5 Just Listing 1 Item On eBay, And That's Exactly What EASU.Net is Fighting To Change.
We are specifically looking into how we can get more people to hear this message. Your suggestions are more than welcome.
>>"Let say we had 25,000 members, or maybe 50,000 members or lets say you sellers helped build the Electronic Auction Seller (EASU.Net) ranks to 500,000 members"......
The Electronic Auction Seller’s Union, EASU.Net needs your help to build a viable membership base. $19.99 + $5/month might look like a lot of money, however you get a FREE EASU.Net Charter Member T-Shirt">>
Some people talk about a t-shirt like it is something of great value. Why would I want one?
My question is, where will this money go? Dumb question! It would go into someone's pocket. Let's see: 25,000 members times 19.99 is just under $500,000 + $125,000 per month. Not bad! Assuming you find 25,000 morons to sign up...
Edited to add: What is your current paying membership base anyway? I'm guessing less than 10.
[ edited by outoftheblue on May 1, 2002 12:54 PM ]
posted on May 1, 2002 12:43:11 PM
EXACTLY lets all sign up and pay 19.99 and 5.00 a month...I want a scam like this maybe I will be able to retire early.
Give me $14.99/month. I'll give you a T-shirt.
You sign up as many others as you can and I'll give you $2.00 each for them, once they pay up and get their T-shirt, then...
Oh wait thats MLM, I quit that years ago because Ebay was cheaper, and I make more money.
Face it EASU. WE ARE ORGANIZED! Primarily against your half baked scheme to sell us nothing, for a profit. At least Ebay gives us something for our money.
One of the primary reasons Ebay has been so successful is the total lack of buyers fees, user registration fees and the like.
Now if we assume that Ebay is in business to make money, and I hope they are, then the money has to come from somewhere. A half Million dollar bonus sounds cheap if you compare it to the size of bonuses, options, and other goodies doled out to executives of some high dollar, low profit companies that are currently poisoning the economy.
If as a seller, I can't figure the cost of selling my items into my overall cost of doing business, then I have a problem.
The costs of selling from my real store front, or through shows, or for that matter traditional Auctions, typically hit my bottom line a lot harder than Ebay/Paypal/Auctionwatch fees do.
posted on May 1, 2002 01:22:42 PM
Geez, I thought the 19.95 was bad - I didn't even notice the 5.00 per month.
Wasn't there an auction cooperative that started up as an alternative to ebay? There were posts about it here and quite a bit of enthusiasm. Are they up and running? Maybe these two organizations could team up.
maybe I will be able to retire early.