There are so many new changes being implemented on ebay between now and May that it is difficult to focus on all of them.

Bottom line is that ebay is no longer the Utopian site for selling on the internet.

The last feehike sent many sellers off looking for other homes. A few came back because there really was nowhere comparable for exposure and buyers. However, things are changing. If not now, soon there will be stiff competition for ebay and the ebay sellers leaving in droves will help hasten that day.

Of course, the recent evacuation will not be the downfall of ebay, no one wants that -not really. But there are many sellers who are going to be feeling the pinch with what is really another fee increase in disguise; and losing their selling capability because of the removal of their being able to give appropriate feedback, which will make them victims of unscrupulous buyers who will toss those negs around with a vengence.

Ebay has in essence set a very unbalanced playing field. What many have not even been mentioned because of all the other changes, is the bar that Ebay has set for sellers is an excercise in failure. The futility is just beginning to dawn on sellers as they incorporate the new ideas. Ebay has initiated a rating system referred to as DSRs. They give the buyers explanation of the ratings as 1 very poor, 2 fair, 3 satisfactory, 4 very satisfied, and 5 excellent. Well, wouldn’t most buyers be happy with sellers who are 3 satisfactory & 4 very satisfied? Well, not so on the other side of the fence. If sellers get a 4.8, they lose cash incentives, if they drop below 4.6 they can have their accounts restricted and ultimately be removed from selling. Also, if a seller receives a certain number of negatives or neutrals over a 90 day period (sometimes this only takes two or three) their percentages drop below the top 5 percent of sellers, they also have their accounts frozen and can ultimately lose their privilege of selling.Now with all the power given to the buyer, they can indiscriminately neg anyone for any reason, even so far as causing them to go out of business and the seller has no way of warning other sellers that a buyer is NOT a good buyer.

Sellers have been given the ability to block a bad buyer but how can they identify one until AFTER a bad transaction. In the past, the negatives from other sellers was the only way to identify the poor buying habits of bidders, so now they have NO way of protecting themselves from buyers who perpetrate frauds, scams or other unsavory habits like…gasp… NOT PAYING.

With all the ‘noise’ that sellers are making, I only hope that ebay comes to their senses regarding the feedback and also the Paypal 21 day hold on seller funds which is a whole nuther outrageous plan, but I will let someone else address that.

One last note. I know of many sellers who have left every time Ebay enacted radical changes, but have never seen such a volatile reaction as with what is on the planning board this time. Many many more sellers will be leaving Ebay for other selling options. Support the sellers for without them, there will be nothing to buy

Even they’re stocks are loosing faith. This article from Forbes re-caps what’s going on behind the scenes. (Do Not) Buy It Now: eBay To Get Even Cheaper

What can I say? eBay doesn’t care about the small sellers that made them the company they are. Expect more changes to come. This article from Wired sums it up. Ebay Sellers Riled Up About New Fees, Rules

I’ve closed my store on eBay and have found the perfect eBay alternative EZ33 Free Auctions. They are a new site so not a lot of activity right now but if enough people get ticked off and knew about EZ33 that could drastically change the situation. They have all the features and more… check it out, you’ll see I’ve set up a store on there (Gold Misers) and get this $3.33 for a year!

From Denise Van Patten,
Your Guide to Doll Collecting.

Explaining the eBay Stores Fee Increases and How They Will Affect You

I wasn’t going to devote an entire article to the latest round of eBay fee increases, because I ran extensive articles on the last fee increases in January 2006, and eBay seems to raise fees so frequently now that I had to ask myself if it was really news. Well, I noticed today that at the top of my “What’s Hot” articles on my site was the January, 2006 article on the eBay fee increase, so I realized that people are actually looking for information on this, the latest eBay fee hike.

Read the full story…

By Ina Steiner
AuctionBytes.com
July 23, 2006

eBay Store owners posting on discussion boards last week reacted strongly to eBay’s announced fee increases. Sellers are considering various options, from “clearing out deadwood” inventory, to taking the drastic action of closing their Stores.

eBay is increasing both listing and commission (Final Value) fees for Store inventory effective August 22. Listing fees will rise 150 percent for items under $25 and will rise 400 percent for items priced at $25 and over. Commission fees will rise 25 percent for items $25. For items priced over $25, the percentage increase in rates is variable depending on the selling price (http://pages.ebay.com/sell/announcement200607/overview/fees.html).

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So what should eBay Store sellers do in light of last week’s announced fee increases? I decided to ask some experts for advice on how they thought eBay Store owners could cope in an even more challenging and costly environment.

Read the full story…

On August 15, 2006, there will be a mass boycott against eBay’s recent fee hikes. eBay store owners are urged to close their doors on this day and completely shutdown their store. Obviously, if only a few people do this, it won’t make a big impact on eBay. The purpose is to show feeBay that we are the ones who pay their bills, and when greed clouds their vision and they make poor decisions like raising fees by 500%, there are consequences. If we can get 100+ store owners to shut their store down on August 15 at about the same time, we can give feeBay a good kick in the pants. I will be closing my store. Will you join me? If so, welcome to the revolution! If not, I wish you all the best of luck dealing with eBay.

The forums are everywhere, this one caught my eye:
eBay Protest

The protest merchandise was soon to follow: Check out this Cafe Press listing:
Cafe Press

As a protest, many eBay store owners began by listing
‘fee hike’ auctions of varied items, a doll without legs
and arms, a card box house (to replace the one you’re
going to loose by closing your ebay store). But eBay
didn’t like the protest so they shut down protest auctions
as fast as they were listed.

I have listed my most recent protest site at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jzc1V_1gC0

Feel free to add your own!

by Pratt Braithwaite

My store…is shutting down
My face…just wears a frown
‘Cause whatever I say
It won’t stop eBay

My yard…is filled with this crap
From toys…to clothes from the GAP
Won’t sell it tomorrow or today
Thanks all to eBay

Gonna go to Amazon or 7Bids
Gonna go to Yahoo or uBid
Because I, I can’t sell anymore, no way
The fees are too high for me on eBay

I sell from the same state as another
oh great, “IT” found out…and they
blocked my account.

Tell me what I did to deserve all this pain
Tell me why PayPal locked up my account again
No I don’t have money to just throw away
Thanks a lot to eBay

So lets all ban eBay