posted on May 2, 2013 07:24:58 AM new
I swear I got a message from eBay, either in "my Messages" or on my "All Selling Page" offering 10,000 free listings if I upgraded my store level. I was too busy to do anything about it at the time but now I can't find it!! Did anyone else get an offer like that (free listings that exceeded the free listing amounts in the Spring changes)? I wasn't aware that it be a one time offer!
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posted on May 2, 2013 08:53:09 AM new
I checked my emails and found a promotional email from April 15 that offered 10K listings between April 16-18. Looks like it was just a limited time deal.
posted on May 2, 2013 09:28:18 AM new
Just recently I got an offer for 200,000 auction listings + free BIN for a week that expired on 4/29. I have had lots of similar promos. Mostly on ID that does not have a store. This one was on both.
posted on May 2, 2013 04:18:32 PM new
seriously, who cares about 10k listings for a 3 day period? I can only imagine that only the most exclusive businesses would care... and even then, they probably don't care.
Here's a novel idea. eBay send out a promotion that gets customers to the site. That would be impressive.
posted on May 3, 2013 09:24:10 AM new
It seems like the last promo I was offered (200,000 auction with free BIN from 4/22 to 4/29) was basically saying unlimited listings for that week. You can't do duplicates, so it seemed to be an arbitrary number.
posted on May 22, 2013 05:27:53 AM new
Ebay is run by EEOs that have never run ANYTHING. They are just lucky ebay has a huge following. Eventually, some company will step forward and ebay will die the slow death it deserves.
posted on May 22, 2013 08:52:56 AM new
One of the biggest complaints people have with buying or searching on Ebay is that there are so much junks on Ebay,it makes it hard to find what you are looking for.
Who has 100,000 listings of nice one of a kind merchandise to list on Ebay?But those who sell cheap trinklets.
posted on May 22, 2013 12:05:26 PM new
Did a several ebay searches only found 4 cheap trinkets lots of other cheap stuff.
eBays marketing plan is the same as any retailer the more stuff you have for sale the more money you make.
posted on May 22, 2013 12:27:50 PM new
If you are a postcard seller or wholesale beads seller and you have all these items 100,000 strong already listed with pictures somewhere like Vendio and can drop them to Ebay at a moment notice,yes ,you can make some money,but low priced items no matter how fat the margin,the total profit is not that much.
How many of us have 100,000 Cartier,Waterman,Rolex,Channel,Tiffany to launch at a moment notice?
Even the coin seller,I doubt they have 100,000 coins in their inventory?
posted on May 23, 2013 09:09:06 AM new
Why not just make it free listing all the time for anyone and get it over with
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Then some of the Ebay staff would lose their job.
posted on May 23, 2013 10:57:45 AM new
Look at the listing promos as being the same as a sale offered by B&M store
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JC Penny cant wean its shoppers out of coupons,sales and discount.
They wont buy unless the items are on sale/
posted on May 23, 2013 12:24:10 PM new
Ebay can't put stuff on sale like JCP or others because we own the stuff. So they offer a promo free listing for a week so sellers and of course eBay make some extra cash how can that be a negative thing?
There are those people I shall not mention names that no matter what you do for them they refuse to be happy!
posted on May 23, 2013 02:19:20 PM new
I doubt shareholders track Ebay listings on a daily basis,may be Wall Street analysts look into it/
On Ebay seller Central,they are blaming slow sales or no sale on a new Ebay search engine called Cassinni.
Does anyone know the inside scoops?
posted on May 23, 2013 02:38:36 PM new
I have been selling on Ebay since 1990s,by now 99.9% of my merchandise which I think would sell is listed on Ebay.
When I hear there is a free listing day,I ask myself what garbage do I have which I would not waste a dime on should I list for free?
Now how is this going to help Ebay and the buyers??
This is like a restaurant or supermarket advertising -we are about to ditch all the leftovers,spoils,rotten food soon,come and get it today before we do so.
posted on May 23, 2013 04:16:54 PM new
yes on the free shipping day, however, that was also in the day that listing fees were quite significant.
the modern eBay model is one where they aren't making much, if any money on the front end... mostly post-sale now.
eBay gets flooded with tons of product with free listings which means more items will be available to buy. Generally, more items available means more sales (only in volume) if eBay can drive traffic to their site.
So far, I have seen eBay advertising toward the convenience to sell items. They are cleverly attracting people to sell items using only their smart phone. They promote you can take photos of your items and list your items on your phone for free. We all know the problems with this concept - the weekend warrior floods eBay with terrible photos, amateur descriptions, and no experience in handling their listings.
Profits per unit decline for many sellers because supply and demand dictate the price we can expect to get. This holds true for most categories, even collectibles.
With collectibles, you may not see another item exactly like yours suddenly appear on eBay, but you may see more of similar items. Say you wanted an autographed team basketball and there is one on eBay. Suddenly, several sellers add other team autographs from the same team. Even though there is only your basketball, now the buyer can choose between a ball, a photograph, or a program for sale. A photo or program will likely cost a fraction of the value of the ball, so buyers may look for the value in buying a photo vs. your ball.
posted on May 23, 2013 04:33:25 PM new
well said ,Shag.
But my gripe is that I cannot find what I am looking for on Ebay despite the sheer numbers of listing which show up in search.
I have to wade thru so much junk before I come across something which come close to whatever I am looking for.
You would think Ebay knows by now most people who have something decent to sell have heard of Ebay and will be listing on EBay ,there is no need to advertise 100,000 free listings?
Most folks do not have 100,000 one of a kind antiques or vintage products or new products to sell,may be a few does with postcards or magazine prints??
And how much will EBAY make from sales of postcards and pages from magazines?
I know from all my years of selling on EBAY,there are people out there looking for nice things and willing to pay,I regularly sell items ranging from 100-300 dollars,but I dont have 100,000 of these items for sale,whether it is free listing or no free listing?
And we all know most people have heard of Ebay,Ebay is not short of sellers,who is Ebay trying to attract with 100,000 free listings?
Sellers from MARS??
posted on May 24, 2013 09:09:15 AM new
No... Sellers with Smart Phones.
The concept seems ridiculous to any long time seller, but to eBay it is another way for them to produce more revenue.
Good, experienced sellers see right through this. They see it for what it is and the headaches it will cause, not only for these fly by night smart phone sellers, but for us in the future.
Buyers will complain about the quality or condition of these items and the more this happens, the more experience they have utilizing the buyer protection system. That means they will figure out how to manipulate it to their benefit.
When we started our business 10 years ago, we had 3 real local competitors to what we are doing and each had their speciality. Every Spring we find it harder and harder to find good items, particularly furniture for local sales.
I just made a list of the businesses who now specialize in what we have been doing. I was able to easily count 18 stores. Of these 18 stores, at least 5 are either dealer malls or collectives of dealers. One store has about 25 dealers, another about 30, a few others with 3-5. Add the few dealers who constantly sell stuff on Craigslist without a store and then the secondary stores that sell some vintage. None of these malls or collectives existed when we started. The market is so flooded with stores that sell what we do that we are finding more and more difficult to find product AND supply is far exceeding demand at the stores which is driving down prices. The same items we sold for $750-800 are now at $500. I don't buy into the recession at this point. It is all about a flooded market.
I know of one dealer who buys off of Craigslist. They have Apps on their phones that search for keywords on Craigslist and then it notifies them when something pops up. They will call the seller. If they aren't the first to call and are told another person is scheduled to see the item ahead of them, they will offer the person more money to buy it if they can see it first. That is how bad it is getting now.
posted on May 24, 2013 11:01:22 AM new
I saw an ad on TV last night,it is an Ebay ad,URGING folks with mobile phones to list on Ebay and a demo on how easy it is to list and earn some extra cash!
But what you are describing is more sellers and not more buyers,remind me at one time someone who runs a tanning salon and soon enough his customers are starting to run tanning salon and theirs is newer and cheaper,in the end ,no one makes any money.
If you are patient,keep an eye on these dealers and buy from them when they go out of business.
Years ago when I lived in Chicago,an Ukrainian colleague told me some of their neighbors are going to Wisconsin to be farmers,soon his father who was a wheat farmer in Ukraine 17 years ago is going to join the party.
So many went under and the newcomers just wait and watch for bankruptcy auctions to buy the tractor,and plows and all the implements/tools they need to start the business of farming!
With billions of cash hoard on their balance sheet,I am surprised no one is buying Ebay?
posted on May 25, 2013 06:12:53 AM new
I have learned from 10 or more years of eBay as a small p-t bottom feeding seller that whining about what eBay does or does not do does not make me a single penny.
So during free listing day's (not this one) I list my 10-20 pieces of crap,junk,trinkets, garbage and good stuff and make some extra bucks.
If other sellers list 100 or a 100,000 items and sell all of it good for them. the eBay sales machine is working stuff in money out. If the machine isn't working for you guess who has to change.
