posted on March 1, 2003 03:10:30 PM new
In the wake of 5 cent BIN fees & 10 cent TEMPLATE () fees & 40000000000% increase in the RESERVE fees, feeBay has announced some new fees designed to "enhance" our experience, according to Kevin GloveINmyPurse, eBay lackey & running dog, in an email dated...
"Starting FEB 30th, feeBay will institute a $0.50 Take-A-Pee Fee -- through the wonders of modern metrics & NSA snoopping, feeBay can now determine when & if you leave the site for a "call of nature" -- however, the fee will be refunded...."
Unfortunately, I lost the rest of the email during a lightening strike here in NE FL -- so, those of youse out there who also got this email can maybe supply the rest of the new fees planned...
Ralphie loves Mr Blonde:
"Are you gonna bark all day little doggie, or are you gonna bite?"
http://tinyurl.com/5duz
posted on March 1, 2003 06:25:32 PM new
so quite your crying and find a better deal. Maybe you jack and fetish can start your own site and have a grand time complaing to each other and sell each other tissue to whip away the tears.
posted on March 1, 2003 06:50:43 PM new
Make some templates and sell them on eBay. There are alot of folks who would buy them. Think of using eBay's greed against them. If I weren't HTML illiterate, I'd do it myself.
[ edited by jensmome on Mar 1, 2003 06:51 PM ]
I got that email too, but deleted it.
I do remember one other new fee mentioned & that was a one cent charge for every letter in your eBay user ID, numbers are exempt.
posted on March 2, 2003 08:16:29 AM new
Well, nobody is making you pay the $0.10 to use their templates. It would be wonderful if they didn't charge for SERVICES they are providing (like Buy It Now, Templates, Bold, Highlighted, Featured), but they are a business, for chrissakes, and businesses are there to make money.
Tis a shame that eBay is in business to make money. Would you rather they eliminate all their fees? See how long they would be around then....
posted on March 2, 2003 09:40:30 AM new
I've been saying for over a year that eBay is dying a slow death.
I agree that the fees are gouging, but I also choose do show my opinion of them by not using them, and thereby depriving eBay of the funds. By not using them, sellers will send a message to eBay that the fees are hurting its income source, and perhaps convince them to make a change.
If the sellers don't show their opinion and continue to use them, then all the complaining in the world won't do a bit of difference. It is dollars and cents.
Do you think eBay cares about your opinion, or anyone else's (save its major shareholders)? Of course not. The only way to make your voice heard is by action, not by complaining. eBay is a business, and they speak in dollars and cents.
posted on March 2, 2003 09:54:44 AM newI've been saying for over a year that eBay is dying a slow death.
Yes, I have heard that same statement over and over and ebay just keeps getting bigger and it keeps chugging right along.
Do you really think if you stop listing it's going to make an impact? For every seller that drops out there is someone to take their place.
I love it also when I hear people suggest that sellers stop listing and show ebay how they feel about fees. Guess what, many sellers rely on ebay to pay their mortgage, buy their groceries, pay their utilities, etc. Many are sitting on volumes of stock and they are not about to give up now.
And for all the whiners pizzing and moaning about the cost of a template, try running a real life business with the high overhead and try taking out a fancy display ad in the newspaper. Once you do that you will realize that ebay isn't so costly after all.
posted on March 2, 2003 10:09:38 AM newYes, I have heard that same statement over and over and ebay just keeps getting bigger and it keeps chugging right along.
Enron was a heck of a lot bigger than eBay. So was Kmart. So was MCI Worldcom. And what happened to them????
Do you really think if you stop listing it's going to make an impact? For every seller that drops out there is someone to take their place.
If others do the same thing, then yes. If everybody jumped off a bridge, would you do it as well? After all, if you didn't, there would be someone to take your place....
I love it also when I hear people suggest that sellers stop listing and show ebay how they feel about fees. Guess what, many sellers rely on ebay to pay their mortgage, buy their groceries, pay their utilities, etc. Many are sitting on volumes of stock and they are not about to give up now.
I pity those sellers who are putting all their eggs in one basket. It seems foolish to put all your faith in a giant that most of you can't even stand. I wouldn't put my livelihood into the hands of my enemy (or even worse, my competition), so why do you? After all, eBay is your competition. They have financial stakes in many of their top end sellers, and they do their best to advertise and promote those sellers.
How long do you think it will be before the eBay "fad" dies? Before the bidders get fed up with the corruption, and decide it isn't worth it anymore? Who will all the masses of sellers sell to then? Each other?
For that matter, how long do you think it will be before PayPal goes the way of all the other failed "eBay Companies"? How many of the companies that eBay has bought (and put their greasy paws on) are still the wise investments they once were? Southeby's? Kruse? Half.com? Billpoint? All the auction sites that eBay bought and eliminated?
Think about it...
[ edited by revvassago on Mar 2, 2003 10:14 AM ]
posted on March 2, 2003 11:00:17 AM new
ebay is not my only livelihood. But I have used it to my advantage for quite a few years. Where else would my little widgets get that much exposure for the fees I am paying? ebay changes as it grows and if we want to survive there we have to do the same thing.
Some sellers probably used ebay all they could and they did very well and now they may have moved on to other things.
I have competition right in my own city and I work with them or around them daily, it's all part of doing business. Costs have risen greatly for me in my RL business so naturally I expect them to do so on the internet. I don't like it but that's life.
As long as ebay is the current fad I will be there if I can afford to be and if it continues to work for me. There are many happy sellers on ebay right at this moment despite all the doom and gloom that is written on the boards. There are also many happy bidders, don't forget that.
Will it last forever? Who knows? I never run my life thinking that things will last forever. But I do know that the work that I put into a project helps to ensure the profits that I get out of it. As long as I am making money on ebay I will use it as a venue to sell.
posted on March 2, 2003 11:06:58 AM new
I did agree with getting away from the BIN fee but now I don't. I think the BIN attracts buyers to your items and if it is something they want and the price is right they buy it with no waiting until the auction is over. I always add the 5 cent charge to the BIN so really I don't lose out on anything. Remember Meg and the bunch have to live to. They need to build up their stock portfolio so when they retire they can live in accordance with the life style they are used to. Me, I have dropped about $20,000 a year with no portfolio.
When you talk about PayPal, I think that that is a better run organization than eBay. At least they keep an upper hand on the people that are the cheaters. Even if they are owned by eBay I doubt if they have the same management at least I hope they don't.
posted on March 2, 2003 08:31:49 PM new
Although Ebay has still grown lately, I suspect the newer sellers are among those who are "garage sale-ing" their personal stuff or trying to start a small Ebay business, only to find out later they aren't making what they'd expected. If Ebay continues to price serious sellers out of too much more of their profit, eventually you will have only high-end merchandise (although the new reserve fee will kill a lot of that) and the people selling off their own "stuff" to get something back on it.
Many small sellers are going to realize they just can't make a profit at it anymore.
Ebay is a beast that doesn't realize it's begun to slowly swallow it's own tail. It keeps on "feeling fuller" and thinks it is doing well. It WILL eventually reach a point of dimishing return.
Ebay has an internal sickness now (as far as small serious sellers are concerned) that will eventually eat away too much and a downward unhealthy spiral will occur. Just because they are making even more than ever and appear strong on the surface does not mean it could not collapse. I don't expect it to be quick, but it could be if they make too many bad moves suddenly.
They know that. That's why they spring these new costs on sellers over time.
Charging for templates is nuts! But they will continue to add fees on endlessly as long as SOMEONE uses and pays for it, whatever the next "it" is. I really think they are feeding off small sellers who are not adding up their costs or who do Ebay as a hobby and don't know or care if they make a profit.
There will be no end to the additional fees Ebay's gonna cook up. I can bet you that they have any number of new fees on a list that are to be "sprung" on the sellers over time. They know if they did them all at once, too many sellers would leave at once. Don't kid yourself that you will ever see the end of additional fees for X, Y or Z.
I expect at some point, they will start charging more for Paypal. And maybe charge more for Non-Ebay Paypal transactions. The possibilites of how they can continue in this vein are almost endless.
Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now!
I do appreciate the humor, though, that started this thread!
Patty
[ edited by meadowlark on Mar 2, 2003 08:33 PM ]
[ edited by meadowlark on Mar 2, 2003 08:34 PM ]
posted on March 3, 2003 04:18:42 AM new
Whaah Whaah Waah...I'm getting an empty half gallon milk jug and a funnel & hose...Won't even have to look to make sure I'm hitting it, can keep on listing...
"As a child I had a quicksand box in my yard...I was an only child, eventually"...
posted on March 3, 2003 06:41:01 AM new
That's okay, I just had a catheter surgically implanted.
I took a look at those templates, and they suuuuck. They won't do a thing for me! so, there's a five cents fee I don't have to worry about.
"And All Shall be Well, and All Shall be Well, and All Manner of Things Shall be Well"
I'll still stand by my earlier statements, depsite stock prices. The Ebay many of us knew and loved is already dead. The newly developing hybrid it has become over time will lumber along like a big giant for some time yet.
Sure, it will continue to grow as yet. My whole point is that is has an "internal disease" of sorts that will eventually lead to it's demise. One of the most noticeable symptoms of the "disease" is that powers that be continue to shoot themselves in the foot by changing what already works very well and upsetting and alienating their sellers.
The giant has big feet though and it will take a while before the accummulated "bullets" bring it down.
Maybe simply a difference of opinion on our parts. I may or may not be right. Simply my opinion based on observations, and I don't expect to "convince" anyone. You can choose to agree or disagree. Accept or reject.
As the dreaded pirate Roberts (Wesley) said to Princess Buttercup:
) fees & 40000000000% increase in the RESERVE fees, feeBay has announced some new fees designed to "enhance" our experience, according to Kevin GloveINmyPurse, eBay lackey & running dog, in an email dated...
They need to build up their stock portfolio so when they retire they can live in accordance with the life style they are used to. Me, I have dropped about $20,000 a year with no portfolio.