The eBay Seller strike is over with mixed results.  It does appear that eBay listings were down about 10%, but eBay is not budging on their recent fee hikes and policy changes.  I did not participate in the strike this past week, I’ve got consignors that need money and bills that need to get paid.  I am very disappointed that eBay has taken the position that they are not going to budge on these policies.  Rather than strike, maybe it is time to start a mass-migration to another site such as Amazon or Overstock…

Over the last few years I have paid eBay over $60,000 dollars in fees, a number that rises every year as they make new adjustments.  I see this is as a cost of doing business and am constantly analyzing whether I could do better with a move to another site.  I stick with eBay because they have the volume of  buyers that are needed to have a real auction with multiple bids, these other sites can’t currently compete.

I have a huge issue with Feedback changes, and I think that this is the issue that will end up driving many sellers away from eBay.  The site was started as a person to person commerce hub, and grew rapidly because it provided a fair platform for making transactions, mainly because of a balanced feedback system. Both players had something to lose, both had something to gain.

I got a call from a friend the other day that had sold a pair of skis on eBay.  His buyer was claiming that these skis had “structural faults” and that a couple of scratches on the bindings had not been mentioned in the description.   These were new skis without any faults and the scratches were in the photos, this was seeming to be a very clear case of buyer’s remorse.  This buyer is now demanding a full refund of shipping charges both ways and the price of the skis, now what is the seller supposed to do?

He has the option of losing money on the transaction by refunding the skis fair value + shipping, or he can tell the guy once again that he knows the skis are fine and that there will be no refund.  Lose – lose situation, and the buyer is able to go on and do this again and again.  Anyone that has ever worked in customer service or has owned a business knows that “the customer is always right”, except when they’re wrong.  You can do everything in the world to try to please some people, but ultimately they just want to get their way and leave you out to dry. 98% of my transactions on eBay go smooth as can be, but that other 2% is going to get very expensive now that the buyers feel they have all the power and can make ridiculous demands.  That extra expense is hard to absorb, especially when I am getting hit with more fees annually.

Add to that the fact that eBay refuses to reconsider these changes and you have a recipe for a  mass seller migration.  I am hoping to see a competitor step up in the next few months with a promotion that will attract buyers and sellers…

Amazon or Overstock… how about sellers can use the site free for 3 months, and new buyers get a $10 dollar credit to use towards purchases.  Work it out, we’re all ready to jump ship if you can make it worth our while.