ebay boycott day ist may worldwide

COOLTRIKERCHICK

just found out that there is a ebay boycott day on thursday 1st may... where people are showing their frustration about ebay fees policies etc..

and strangely enough ebay came back with a 5p cheap listing day.

this is what i have found, so if you have any other links or view on the boycott....

i know my friend who is a powerseller and normally lists 100's of items is not listing/buying or even visiting ebay website on thursday

http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/04/21/Global-eBay-boycott_1.html


dont know what to do now...lol.... as i have been listing things on turbo lister over the last few days....lol...

StaffsSW

Boycott, schmoycott....

I'm self employed, going on strike will hurt eBay more than me.
I can't handle the eBay changes, so I'll strike and hope they change back to suit me.
I can't find another selling venue that offers the same traffic levels at a cheaper price.

It's all a crock of cr4p. The more people that strike, the better it is for those of us that continue to sell as we have less competition for week, until they all come back with their tails between their legs. Therefore can I ask for as many CD & DVD sellers to go on strike, so I can have all of their buyers please?

If they can't stand the heat, then get out of the kitchen!

Personally, I'm not overjoyed at the changes that eBay have made, some are fundamentally flawed, some I fully agree with, some I can see the principle, but the application is flawed, but ultimately I ask myself the question - "can my business still make money with these changes?" So far the answer has been yes each time - I've had to adapt to some new practices, changed listing strategies, but I'm still making money.

Just as in the real world, striking is only for those that will not or can not adapt to a changing environment.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

i must admit even though i dont like some of their changes either.... but bottom line is

i need ebay more than ebay needs me if that makes sense.....as part of my business is selling on ebay.....and some times that is the diff in my business making a profit or loss at certain times...

RFW

I'm with the two above. Just wondered what the point of not listing for a day is? If they have stuff still 'live', ie with days to run it is pointless, if they list the following day then that too is pointless (as well as costing more money to do!). The only way for a proper boycott to work would be for a ten day period, otherwise it will have nil effect. The only way the changes are going to be undone is if they aren't working in 6 months time. I love the idea of self employed people going on strike, if they keep doing it, then they'll be able to boycott Ebay permanently.

BTW the 5p listing day coincides with a 50% off listing day that was run on the first Thursday in May 2007, so they aren't even reacting to the boycott.

Snooze

A complete waste of time imho. It's pretty much the same as all the fuel-protesters saying don't buy fuel on a certain day. The company doesn't give a toss because they know you'll just buy it on the day after. It's not quite the same as the Ebay situation but despite all the moaning I reckon the vast majority will still continue to list stuff on Ebay - they'll just list them on Friday instead of tomorrow.

Ebay know that there's no good alternative that has anywhere near the same traffic levels so they can - and will - get away with charging whatever they want.

Rob

COOLTRIKERCHICK

RFW... some good points there..

it making me think then if it is the people who are doing ebay as a 'side-line' that are making the most noise...

what i can make out from talking to other people... is that the new managing director doesnt want all the small 'flea market' type stuff on ebay... so is making it that it is not worth selling something under x amount...

but to be honest i love looking at the tat on ebay.. as it makes me laugh at what some people will sell and in what condition..

like this person... who have re-listed this:eek: does he honestly think its going to sell

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=140228038198&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:VRI

cplatten

The thing about the Ebay boycott is it involves Buying as well as Selling! People like myself who have been using Ebay equally for over 9 years have decided to boycott both activities. There are more people joining in then you would think - particularly in the US.

The information is out there on the web about why people are so upset. Just don't look for the boycott info on Ebay's own forums - Ebay removes those as soon as they are posted and suspends users accounts!

It all started to go wrong when Ebay stopped showing UK listings to US buyers last year and a lot of us saw our sales drop drastically. These are usually in the fields of antiques and collectibles where people collect the most kooky items (including myself!) around the world. This is the fun part of Ebay - not the dull Powerselling CD / DVD sellers! However, these are the sort of sellers Ebay wants to encourage despite the fact that Amazon covers this field far better. Ebay's new Chief Executive has said that they want to create a better "retail experience".

For this sellers can now no longer leave feedback on buyers. I had a non-paying bidder for an expensive book recently and I couldn't leave feedback to warn other sellers that this person was a time (and money!) -waster.
Years of hard-earned feedback are counting for less than the new Detailed Seller Ratings and they are given to sellers anonymously and unfairly.

Ebay have also increased their fees and are making it mandatory in a lot of cases to offer Paypal so that they make even more money. I have seen a severe drop in profit on items that sell for just £1 or £2.

The big sellers who make a living from Ebay will continue, but the guys who made it individual and fun are beginning to pull out. Unfortunately, it is changing in a direction that a lot of us won't go down - either buying or sellign now.

cplatten

One other thing to mention - I am new to this forum stuff - but it isn't a one-day boycott. In the US the boycott has been on-going since February and gaining. They wanted to use the date of 1 May to bring other countries onboard - such as Australia where Ebay is insisting on Paypal payment only - and to keep it ongoing.

As everyone else says Ebay will keep going - just the fun flea market element is being priced out - so it will be more like shopping at any online retailer soon.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

cplatten wrote: »

One other thing to mention - I am new to this forum stuff - but it isn't a one-day boycott. In the US the boycott has been on-going since February and gaining. They wanted to use the date of 1 May to bring other countries onboard - such as Australia where Ebay is insisting on Paypal payment only - and to keep it ongoing.

As everyone else says Ebay will keep going - just the fun flea market element is being priced out - so it will be more like shopping at any online retailer soon.

so do you think this will happen here?

RFW

cplatten wrote: »

For this sellers can now no longer leave feedback on buyers. I had a non-paying bidder for an expensive book recently and I couldn't leave feedback to warn other sellers that this person was a time (and money!) -waster.

Why not? The feedback changes haven't been introduced yet.

A lot of the so-called problems are from those who aren't fully aware of all the changes and when they have or will be introduced.

martinlewisfanclub

cplatten wrote: »

.

The big sellers who make a living from Ebay will continue, but the guys who made it individual and fun are beginning to pull out. Unfortunately, it is changing in a direction that a lot of us won't go down - either buying or sellign now.

As an occasional seller and buyer, I found it fun to ebay but the charges which, when you add to actual postage, makes it hardly worthwhile selling stuff which may go for a low start price of say 99p. I've got a pile of good quality stuff to shift but the effort (photo/list/find packaging/pack/trip to queue at PO/await problems!) is really not worth it. So I've just about talked myself out of the 5p day- charity shop can expect an eclectic mix soon!
I was thinking that, with MSE subscribers' clout, all us non-power sellers could decide from today to support a different auction. Anyone have any suggestions that aren't affiliated to Ebay? Perhaps someone could start one up?!