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Changes in the eBay world, but change isn’t always bad…

I’m an avid eBayer, both as a buyer and a seller, and I have been for years (buyer:  since 2004 / seller:  since 2006).  My family tends to be frugal, creative and rather odd when it comes to holidays and gift giving.  The better the deal we can find for a gift, the happier we all are when we receive it.  Of course, it still needs to be something we want, but it is not uncommon for us, the gifters, to leave a sale price tag on an item just to show how well we did in finding a good deal. 

EBay allows all of us to find the crazy, fun and better priced gifts because we can literally shop all over the world.  China sellers somehow manage to sell items at ridiculously cheap prices, but you have to keep in mind that buying from China means ordering the item in July to get it in time for Christmas in December.  (OK, OK, I’m exaggerating a little bit, but if you’re a procrastinator when it comes to shopping, I do not recommend buying from China based sellers and definitely purchasing from sellers in the U.S.A.!)

In the last couple of years, some of my opinions on buying and selling on eBay have changed.  Buyers have always had a lot of power in the eBay auction world because how they rate a seller, an item, shipping charges and handling time, plus the actual feedback left will become a huge influence on future buyers.  As a personal rule when shopping, I have historically steered clear from poor seller ratings and feedback, bad photos, descriptions and eBay stores.  “Duh,” you say, “of course we don’t buy from bad sellers!”  No, I still don’t buy from a seller with really bad feedback.  However, I have learned that there are many things out of the seller’s control that can affect their ratings.  For example, if a buyer believes the shipping charges are too high or if the post office accidentally loses a package (yeah,
yeah, that never happens!  Plus shipping charges have really skyrocketed over the years.), either the buyer or eBay has the opportunity to give you less than a 5 star rating in such categories.  While this may seem not that big of a deal, it actually can affect the seller big time, especially if they are a Top Rated Seller, which takes a lot of effort to obtain and maintain.  Recently, as a seller, I had a package hang out at

the post office for an additional 4-5 days longer than it should have, while all of its buddies (that were dropped off on the same day) traveled off into the sunset.  Because of this delay, I took a hit to my star ratings.  The end of the world?  No, not this time.  However, what if that happens multiple times?   It’s not something that is in the buyer or seller’s control, but can still effect a seller’s ratings.  A buyer could view that rating as poor management on the seller’s end, yet they have fulfilled everything they are supposed to as a responsible business owner.

I also want to touch on another thing I mentioned above:  eBay stores.  Once upon a time ago, I would ‘pass by’ a store on eBay because I felt like selling on eBay was supposed to be for individuals, not for stores to jump on board and raise prices and rule the world.  However, I have slowly opened my eyes and realized what these stores had to offer.  More and more of them seem to be normal, everyday people running them with real photos of the item for sale.  Prior to my open-mindedness, stores always seemed to only have stock photos, which is still a huge pet peeve for me.  Well, if the store now has real photos, maybe there are real people attached to them with real deals and goals?  Huh.  What a concept.

In my time as a seller, I’ve seen eBay go through many changes in their fee structure, which have affected how we (sellers) have listed items.  Most recently, eBay began trying to make their services more ‘buyer friendly,’ where products can be available all of the time, like on Amazon, rather than listed as an auction style for a shorter period of time.  You see, the way it has been for years, a seller lists an item in an auction format, usually for a seven day period.  For any other listing format or time period, there is often additional fees.

Now, there is an option to list an item as a fixed price listing for no additional fee (for the first 150 listings), which means the item can be listed at one price for a longer period of time, normally 30 days.  The downside to this option, for the seller, is there is no potential in earning more for the item.  It is listed as what you’ll get, unlike the auction format where it is possible to have a bidding war and earn more.  The saving grace of the fixed price listing is it can be online longer with more exposure. 

Recently, a “Make Offer” option was added to fixed price listings, allowing the buyer to do just that: make their own offer on an item.  The seller has the option to accept or refuse the offer.  For the newer eBayers and the veterans alike, the “Make Offer” option has been an interesting learning curve.  Buyers need to remember this is a great new option.

Now that some of that has been explained, I will admit to the fact that I am now a proud business owner of an eBay store.  Yes, I admit it.  My name is KD and I am an eBay store operator.  

Due to the recent changes in eBay’s listing preferences, I can see the advantage of an eBay store for both buyers and sellers.  The stores have allowed private individuals, like myself, to present their items in a way that benefits buyers.

So, I cover all of this to help you, a potential eBay buyer, understand what us sellers are doing when we list items going forward.  On May 1, 2015, some of eBay’s most recent changes took place.  Due to these updates, you will start to see many, many more fixed price listings, less auction styles, and the items will most likely be online for longer periods of time, often until they are sold.  This is fantastic news!  

Cheers, happy buying and selling!

If you have any advice or questions as buyer, seller or just as an interested person, please share!