Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
I suddenly notice that when I Relist an Item on Ebay THEY check the "Automatically relist this item up to 7 times if it doesn't sell. No insertion or additional listing upgrade fees for each relist". BUT I DON'T WANNA DO THIS!! You can remove the check mark that they put on by clicking on it. What they don't tell you upfront is the % that each relist will reduce your selling price. Am I missing something here? Thank you.
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I don't think you are missing anything. They have been trying out new "features" without notice ever since Donahoe started as CEO back in 2008 and continuing with his successors. Between that and their "managed payments" program (and a lot of other reasons) I decided to change the way I sell.
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Each time the item is relisted they drop the price by 5%.
I do not know how the selling form on ebay.com works but on ebay.co.uk I can stop them reducing the price but they automatically allow offers of 50% of your auction price even if the initial posting prevents offers, of course you may decline any offer made.
The price reduction system and offers system only comes into play on starting prices above £1.99.
With all systems it is imperative that you check that the system continues to meet your needs and you understand what the system automatically does and what you have to do to ensure you get what you want from the system.
This must be done often to ensure you are getting the service you want and are paying for.
I often carefully and slowly list a few items of differing price levels making sure what happens when I click or do not click the right sections. The most important thing is to schedule them to start at a later date so you can check the listing, if it is incorrect then you can fix it or remove it completely.
Get to know any system you use whether it is ebay, Delcampe, Stamporama, Hipstamp or Ebid etc etc etc. Once you know the systems capabilities and shortcomings you can work round it.
An example can be illustrated by the system here on Stamporama.
When I list an item here:-
Description:- (C555) 1990 MNH, SG 444
Country Selected:- Germany
Category:- Germany
etc etc etc.
When I sell item (C555) and go to invoice it The information given to me by the system is (C555) 1990 MNH, SG 444. NOWHERE does the word Germany appear YET I need to know the word Germany to ensure the buyer gets the correct item and it saves me time looking for the item.
The result is I now put in the description as (C555) Germany 1990 MNH, SG 444 which can look stupid in other parts of the system as the description reads:-
Germany, (C555) Germany 1990 MNH SG 444.
Now if I didn't put in my own code of (C555) or my word Germany in the description the invoice would read :- 1990 MNH SG 444 and would take ages to find and the buyer may get the wrong item.
A trivial shortcoming of the system but it shows that one must know a system intimately so you can use it for your own advantage.
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I think that eBay is trying to address a significant issue; having sellers constantly relist the same unsold material over and over.
Buyers certainly do not want to surf through the same unsold listings that they have previously viewed multiple times. Automatic relisting capabilities or programmatically uploading of a large number of previously unsold listings has increased the scope of this problem.
Don
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Listing on ebay gives the seller the chance to show their wares to a wide audience.
However the automatic relisting of 5 times is quite a stupid idea because if a seller lists on say a Sunday for seven days then that item automatically appears every Sunday around the same time thus being displayed in theory to the same possible customers week after week.
What a seller has to do is list an item for 5 or 10 days so the automatic relisting results in their item appearing on different days.
Once the automatic relisting ends the seller can then choose when they relist the unsold item for when it finishes thus reaching a wider audience.
This then disposes of the idea that buyers are seeing the same items time after time.(of course if buyers make use of the ebay search capabilities they can cut out the dross)
But Don may have a point as some sellers have not worked out how to work the system.
I shall repeat:-
Get to know any system you use whether it is ebay, Delcampe, Stamporama, Hipstamp or Ebid etc etc etc. Once you know the systems capabilities and shortcomings you can work round it.
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One other point regarding ebay.
If your item is due off at 8pm it appears that your item does not appear on every screen in your country logged into that section of the site at 8pm.
ie you will see it in say California but someone in New York may not.
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I think another factor is the ‘hobbyist turned part-time dealer’ situation. As hobbyists, we have to understand that our picked over remainders are often not that attractive to others. Listing them over an over is not going to make them sell better, if you have gotten a decent number of views and your listing has had little interest, then the odds are that you need to revisit the price and/or the way you have it listed. Just because the online venue facilitates relisting it without much work on your part does not mean that you can dodge improving the odds of making a sale. In this case this is exactly what eBay is trying to get sellers to do, revisit the listing and consider improving the chance to attract buyers.
Currently US eBay has well over 1 million stamp listings, the vast number are re-listings. In my opinion if the number of re-listing were reduced it would benefit both buyers and sellers.
Don
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"we have to understand that our picked over remainders are often not that attractive to others. Listing them over an over is not going to make them sell better, if you have gotten a decent number of views and your listing has had little interest, then the odds are that you need to revisit the price."
True so true.
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11:00:14pm
" ....I think that eBay is trying to address a significant issue; having sellers constantly relist the same unsold material over and over...."
Yes, Don, and a problem that could be looked over here on SoR as well. There are a few sellers who relist several hundred unsold items seeming endlessly and are a detriment to some buyers and sellers.
How so, one might ask.
As I scroll down through a day's new listings I frequently come upon a selection that I recognize as a part of a particular seller's "offerings." Since that list may be several hundred items long, all at the same price as the last ten times they were offered, I either have to return to the heading and try to exclude that seller's items or I may get bored (frustrated) and just move off to some other page. Thus the unfortunate seller who lists his or her items right after these unsaleable relists, loses at least one constant bidder for that day. Just for the record, both the former as well as the latter have occurred with increasing regularity. Maybe I'll catch these items later and bid and maybe I will not ever see them.
" .... In my opinion if the number of re-listing were reduced it would benefit both buyers and sellers. ...."
Now I am not sure how to do something that is fair to all here, and probably this situation must have been noticed before, but I agree again with Don.
One added note is that one of the most egregious multiple re-lister offers what, for the most part are sheets that any active collector can find in the discount box at every show I have ever attended, and it should come as no surprise that this seller sets his goods at a 20% or 30% premium.
Math problem; If a sheet that has a ten dollar face value is routinely available at $6.00 or $7.00 as discount postage, why would anyone meet a $12 or $13.oo listed price.
The facts are few will make a bid, or the same items would not be relisted at least every week or two.
Oh yes, a newbie might do so, and then at one of the few remaining stamp stores existing in the wild, learn what discount postage is.
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Charlie:-
You will probably find that "the culprits" are using the bulk uploader to continually list the same items at the same prices rather than listing them individually every time.
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Are these people actually selling anything? If not, perhaps a minimum successful sales percentage (lots sold as a percentage of listings) could be instituted. If a seller isn’t selling above a certain percentage then they get a warning that they will get selling privileges revoked unless they either lower prices and/or list desirable material.
THIS IS JUST A SUGGESTION! JUST “BATTING AROUND” ideas!
This system would happily also reward successful sellers as they would earn bragging rights about having a high percentage. 
So if your batting percentage is too low you either up your game or you are off the team and the .400 + hitters become Stamporama all stars! 
( a baseball analogy just for Musicman - the Tigers fan !)
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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/22/obituaries/naomi-parker-fraley-the-real-rosie-the-riveter-dies-at-96.html#:~:text=Unsung%20for%20seven%20decades%2C%20the,in%20the%20late%2020th%20century.
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Always love those baseball analogies!
GO TIGERS!!
(...if that's possible...)
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"If a seller isn’t selling above a certain percentage then they get a warning that they will get selling privileges revoked unless they either lower prices and/or list desirable material."
Sounds good in theory BUT:-
I for one try to list "desirable material" and so do others.
How is a seller supposed to guess what is "desirable material"?
If I was a seller that could predict what is "desirable material" I would not be banging the keys on this old laptop I would be lying on the beach with a vodka martini on the rocks (shaken not stirred)!
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How about before we go "legislating" this thing to death we poll the top 100 BUYERS on their thoughts. Perhaps they are happy with the current system and they are the people that really matter.
Why try to make our club emulate a commercial site? There is a reason our system works for members.
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"If it ain't broke don't fix it"
There are certain ways within the system to avoid "the culprits".
I repeat myself once more:-
Get to know any system you use whether it is ebay, Delcampe, Stamporama, Hipstamp or Ebid etc etc etc. Once you know the systems capabilities and shortcomings you can work round it.
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Whoa whoa whoa! Calm yer jets there Buck and Bucka Rogers! Folks voiced complaints and I merely put forth a possible solution. Just thinkin’!
YIKES! Holy macaroni! Golly gee willikers! Idea withdrawn! LoL
‘Scuse me while I run for cover! (Just teasing ya all)
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05:06:58am
" .... How is a seller supposed to guess what is "desirable material"? ...."
A clue might be when three or four hundred lots are clogging up the system multiple tines with virtually no sales per pass though.
I've watched seemingly automatic relisting within minutes of their voluminous offerings failure to sell a single item, or one at most. To be fair that bulk listing will occasionally get a few sales, that's occasionally..
In contrast, Ian, I see the number of your offerings mount up, but constantly result in 50% ++ successful sales, or more. Other large scale sales do well, 40% - 50% +++. An added difference is that your items are competitive. I am quite sure that if you noticed a large string of sequential items fail to generate a single bid you would either change something in the listing before you relist them the third time, or you might consign them to a backyard bonfire.
I know that when I get caught in a 300 - 400 lot listing of that type, I find something else to do and anyone whose lots are directly behind likely loses viewers.
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Desirability is in the eye of the beholder!
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08:38:08am
"Desirability is in the eye of the beholder!"
But it can be measured statistically.
We have 6 members who have listed over 5,000 lots so far in 2020.
Here are their statistics (usernames removed), listed in order of number of lots listed:
User / Listed / Sold / Sell-through Rate
********* 19849 5468 28%
********* 18876 188 1%
********* 10431 5371 51%
********* 8464 2488 29%
********* 7007 2083 30%
********* 6182 1102 18%
I think it's pretty clear that #2 is the one that Charlie is referring to. As a seller, he is using up a great deal of other members' attention, forcing them into work-arounds ("exclude ..."), or just down-right turning them off from browsing, while offering very little in return.
And this has been going on for years (I have previously written about this, many times.)
I would say that the membership has soundly declared that 99% of his offerings are "undesirable" and would like to see this pattern stop, but we don't have any mechanism in place to invoke a "cease and desist" order.
Roy
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To me it appears that No 2 is using the Bulk Uploader therefore to stop them is to remove the bulk uploader.
I know, I know that others use the bulk uploader and that would be detrimental to them.
As a matter of interest how many use the bulk uploader?
Personally I do not see the point of it as you can place any listing on hold for 14 days. During that 14 days you can list 100's of items and when you are ready you can activate them and even change the 14 days to anywhere between 1 and 14 days. OK it means that if they want to relist them at their price they have to physically relist each one using the same method OR the quick relisting system which automatically reduces the price by 20%.
Removing the bulk uploader then levels the playing field for every member instead of one group having an advantage.
Just a thought.
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What I do when I come across No 2 is fast scroll past the blighter. It only takes a minute.
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I would support the removal of the bulk uploader. Try this for say 3 to 6 months and check to see if it makes a difference.
I tried using the bulk up loader and found it to time consuming. I can list one lot at a time faster.
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10:59:35am
Removing a useful tool because of one abuser is counter-productive.
I haven't listed anything in a while because I have been so busy this year, but I wouldn't even consider listing without a bulk uploader.
Address the abuse, not the tool.
Roy
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Just got this in my E-Mail:
From 1 January 2021, eBay will be legally required to begin collecting and remitting VAT for UK imports. From that date, eBay will have to charge buyers the applicable VAT amount directly and remit this sum to the relevant authorities.
Irish sellers trading with UK buyers and listing on the UK or any EU site will need to provide both gross prices as well as the applicable VAT rate used to calculate the gross price on all listings. If sellers do not specify gross prices and VAT rates, eBay will have to assume that the price provided is the net price, and will add VAT on top of the price displayed to buyers.
We strongly urge sellers listing on eBay.co.uk or other European eBay sites to specify the applicable VAT rates on existing listings as soon as possible. All new listings should include a VAT rate. You will find the field for the VAT rate beside the price when you create or edit listings.
What you need to know:
- From 1 January 2021, eBay will start to collect and remit VAT for UK imports on all consignments with a value of up to £135. There will no longer be a VAT exemption for small consignments up to £15.
- In cases where the seller is a non-UK business and the goods are already in the UK, eBay will collect and remit VAT for goods sold to consumers within the UK, regardless of their value.
- Sellers should begin listing the applicable VAT rates on all their existing and new listings as soon as possible.
- From 1 March 2021, eBay will make it mandatory to add the VAT rate on all UK and EU sites when listing items.
Thank you for selling on eBay,
Your eBay Team
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My opinion on sellers that list overprice stamps over and over again at inflated prices:
We are first and foremost, a club. This club was started in order for members to trade their duplicate stamps. It's also become a selling platform and I think that's great because we see a wider variety of material. So we expect that prices be low since we are primarily a club and we don't charge listing fees, etc. I am for rules that benefit the seller (within reason) so that we can continue to purchase great material at great prices. This situation is actually addressed in the rules for sellers:
E: Unacceptable listing policies:
h. Items are not priced competitively compared to pricing of similar material for sale by others
In my opinion, this member is breaking the rules and should be warned. I realize there are not a lot of other members listing this material--I did buy some US miniature sheets last year from Brechinite so it does occur, and his prices were much lower.
Jackie
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This member that has everybody worked up about has sold several hundred items.
At an average pop at $5 per item that amounts to $3000 at $10 a pop thats $6000.
Is that an abuse of the system?
How many of you have sold these amounts?
I have said it before and I'll say it again:-
"What I do when I come across No 2 is fast scroll past the blighter. It only takes a minute."
I do the same with those that do not ship abroad or do not accept paypal.
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11:52:15am
I have picked up the occasional item from NUMBER TWO over the last year and a half and find him good to deal with. I find the prices a bit extreme at times but sometimes he has items I can't find elsewhere. We don't have to change the rules, just buy if you want to ... if not, don't! Just my opinion, for what it's worth!
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I do the same as Ian but my point is that there is a way to deal with this member if it's a problem. I have searched several of his listings and most of his stuff can be bought much cheaper on Ebay or other venues, but there are a few more specialty items that seem to be competitively priced. This comes up regularly here and I suppose if the moderators/auctioneers think it's a problem they will deal with it.
Jackie
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When I go to see what's for sale on SOR in the auctions I check exclude then the sellers list and if if he's there I just highlight his name refresh and bingo gone as I don't collect US stamps apart from Xmas seals.
Brian
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I hate it when I'm the only one in the room that doesn't know who Number 2 is
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You do not to be Dick Tracy to figure it out..think someone who lists page after page after page of U.S. postage.
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I've been informed, and had a look. Fair to say I'm no Dick Tracy, as I'd never seen his listings before
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Tar and feathers I say, and then it's off to the gallows.
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"Tar and feathers I say, and then it's off to the gallows. "
You forgot about breaking them on the wheel! Drawing and quartering as well!
Now if that happened to members who upset others with not taking paypal, not posting to other countries, not using Scott catalogue numbers, not putting catalogue values in their listings, not putting items in their Approval Books in order, listing their items at perceived too high a price, etc etc etc
There would be few, if any, Sellers left at all!!
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Approvals
I clearly didn't understand Ebay's Global Shipping Program, so maybe I'm off base with this one.
I suddenly notice that when I Relist an Item on Ebay THEY check the "Automatically relist this item up to 7 times if it doesn't sell. No insertion or additional listing upgrade fees for each relist". BUT I DON'T WANNA DO THIS!! You can remove the check mark that they put on by clicking on it. What they don't tell you upfront is the % that each relist will reduce your selling price. Am I missing something here? Thank you.
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11:35:31am
re: Another cute trick by Ebay
I don't think you are missing anything. They have been trying out new "features" without notice ever since Donahoe started as CEO back in 2008 and continuing with his successors. Between that and their "managed payments" program (and a lot of other reasons) I decided to change the way I sell.
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02:57:09pm
Auctions - Approvals
re: Another cute trick by Ebay
Each time the item is relisted they drop the price by 5%.
I do not know how the selling form on ebay.com works but on ebay.co.uk I can stop them reducing the price but they automatically allow offers of 50% of your auction price even if the initial posting prevents offers, of course you may decline any offer made.
The price reduction system and offers system only comes into play on starting prices above £1.99.
With all systems it is imperative that you check that the system continues to meet your needs and you understand what the system automatically does and what you have to do to ensure you get what you want from the system.
This must be done often to ensure you are getting the service you want and are paying for.
I often carefully and slowly list a few items of differing price levels making sure what happens when I click or do not click the right sections. The most important thing is to schedule them to start at a later date so you can check the listing, if it is incorrect then you can fix it or remove it completely.
Get to know any system you use whether it is ebay, Delcampe, Stamporama, Hipstamp or Ebid etc etc etc. Once you know the systems capabilities and shortcomings you can work round it.
An example can be illustrated by the system here on Stamporama.
When I list an item here:-
Description:- (C555) 1990 MNH, SG 444
Country Selected:- Germany
Category:- Germany
etc etc etc.
When I sell item (C555) and go to invoice it The information given to me by the system is (C555) 1990 MNH, SG 444. NOWHERE does the word Germany appear YET I need to know the word Germany to ensure the buyer gets the correct item and it saves me time looking for the item.
The result is I now put in the description as (C555) Germany 1990 MNH, SG 444 which can look stupid in other parts of the system as the description reads:-
Germany, (C555) Germany 1990 MNH SG 444.
Now if I didn't put in my own code of (C555) or my word Germany in the description the invoice would read :- 1990 MNH SG 444 and would take ages to find and the buyer may get the wrong item.
A trivial shortcoming of the system but it shows that one must know a system intimately so you can use it for your own advantage.
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re: Another cute trick by Ebay
I think that eBay is trying to address a significant issue; having sellers constantly relist the same unsold material over and over.
Buyers certainly do not want to surf through the same unsold listings that they have previously viewed multiple times. Automatic relisting capabilities or programmatically uploading of a large number of previously unsold listings has increased the scope of this problem.
Don
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05:43:41pm
Auctions - Approvals
re: Another cute trick by Ebay
Listing on ebay gives the seller the chance to show their wares to a wide audience.
However the automatic relisting of 5 times is quite a stupid idea because if a seller lists on say a Sunday for seven days then that item automatically appears every Sunday around the same time thus being displayed in theory to the same possible customers week after week.
What a seller has to do is list an item for 5 or 10 days so the automatic relisting results in their item appearing on different days.
Once the automatic relisting ends the seller can then choose when they relist the unsold item for when it finishes thus reaching a wider audience.
This then disposes of the idea that buyers are seeing the same items time after time.(of course if buyers make use of the ebay search capabilities they can cut out the dross)
But Don may have a point as some sellers have not worked out how to work the system.
I shall repeat:-
Get to know any system you use whether it is ebay, Delcampe, Stamporama, Hipstamp or Ebid etc etc etc. Once you know the systems capabilities and shortcomings you can work round it.
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06:01:16pm
Auctions - Approvals
re: Another cute trick by Ebay
One other point regarding ebay.
If your item is due off at 8pm it appears that your item does not appear on every screen in your country logged into that section of the site at 8pm.
ie you will see it in say California but someone in New York may not.
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re: Another cute trick by Ebay
I think another factor is the ‘hobbyist turned part-time dealer’ situation. As hobbyists, we have to understand that our picked over remainders are often not that attractive to others. Listing them over an over is not going to make them sell better, if you have gotten a decent number of views and your listing has had little interest, then the odds are that you need to revisit the price and/or the way you have it listed. Just because the online venue facilitates relisting it without much work on your part does not mean that you can dodge improving the odds of making a sale. In this case this is exactly what eBay is trying to get sellers to do, revisit the listing and consider improving the chance to attract buyers.
Currently US eBay has well over 1 million stamp listings, the vast number are re-listings. In my opinion if the number of re-listing were reduced it would benefit both buyers and sellers.
Don
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07:48:36pm
Auctions - Approvals
re: Another cute trick by Ebay
"we have to understand that our picked over remainders are often not that attractive to others. Listing them over an over is not going to make them sell better, if you have gotten a decent number of views and your listing has had little interest, then the odds are that you need to revisit the price."
True so true.
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
14 Nov 2020
11:00:14pm
re: Another cute trick by Ebay
" ....I think that eBay is trying to address a significant issue; having sellers constantly relist the same unsold material over and over...."
Yes, Don, and a problem that could be looked over here on SoR as well. There are a few sellers who relist several hundred unsold items seeming endlessly and are a detriment to some buyers and sellers.
How so, one might ask.
As I scroll down through a day's new listings I frequently come upon a selection that I recognize as a part of a particular seller's "offerings." Since that list may be several hundred items long, all at the same price as the last ten times they were offered, I either have to return to the heading and try to exclude that seller's items or I may get bored (frustrated) and just move off to some other page. Thus the unfortunate seller who lists his or her items right after these unsaleable relists, loses at least one constant bidder for that day. Just for the record, both the former as well as the latter have occurred with increasing regularity. Maybe I'll catch these items later and bid and maybe I will not ever see them.
" .... In my opinion if the number of re-listing were reduced it would benefit both buyers and sellers. ...."
Now I am not sure how to do something that is fair to all here, and probably this situation must have been noticed before, but I agree again with Don.
One added note is that one of the most egregious multiple re-lister offers what, for the most part are sheets that any active collector can find in the discount box at every show I have ever attended, and it should come as no surprise that this seller sets his goods at a 20% or 30% premium.
Math problem; If a sheet that has a ten dollar face value is routinely available at $6.00 or $7.00 as discount postage, why would anyone meet a $12 or $13.oo listed price.
The facts are few will make a bid, or the same items would not be relisted at least every week or two.
Oh yes, a newbie might do so, and then at one of the few remaining stamp stores existing in the wild, learn what discount postage is.
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04:30:32am
Auctions - Approvals
re: Another cute trick by Ebay
Charlie:-
You will probably find that "the culprits" are using the bulk uploader to continually list the same items at the same prices rather than listing them individually every time.
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re: Another cute trick by Ebay
Are these people actually selling anything? If not, perhaps a minimum successful sales percentage (lots sold as a percentage of listings) could be instituted. If a seller isn’t selling above a certain percentage then they get a warning that they will get selling privileges revoked unless they either lower prices and/or list desirable material.
THIS IS JUST A SUGGESTION! JUST “BATTING AROUND” ideas!
This system would happily also reward successful sellers as they would earn bragging rights about having a high percentage.
So if your batting percentage is too low you either up your game or you are off the team and the .400 + hitters become Stamporama all stars! ( a baseball analogy just for Musicman - the Tigers fan !)
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re: Another cute trick by Ebay
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/22/obituaries/naomi-parker-fraley-the-real-rosie-the-riveter-dies-at-96.html#:~:text=Unsung%20for%20seven%20decades%2C%20the,in%20the%20late%2020th%20century.
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re: Another cute trick by Ebay
Always love those baseball analogies!
GO TIGERS!!
(...if that's possible...)
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09:53:28am
Auctions - Approvals
re: Another cute trick by Ebay
"If a seller isn’t selling above a certain percentage then they get a warning that they will get selling privileges revoked unless they either lower prices and/or list desirable material."
Sounds good in theory BUT:-
I for one try to list "desirable material" and so do others.
How is a seller supposed to guess what is "desirable material"?
If I was a seller that could predict what is "desirable material" I would not be banging the keys on this old laptop I would be lying on the beach with a vodka martini on the rocks (shaken not stirred)!
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10:34:09am
re: Another cute trick by Ebay
How about before we go "legislating" this thing to death we poll the top 100 BUYERS on their thoughts. Perhaps they are happy with the current system and they are the people that really matter.
Why try to make our club emulate a commercial site? There is a reason our system works for members.
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10:37:46am
Auctions - Approvals
re: Another cute trick by Ebay
"If it ain't broke don't fix it"
There are certain ways within the system to avoid "the culprits".
I repeat myself once more:-
Get to know any system you use whether it is ebay, Delcampe, Stamporama, Hipstamp or Ebid etc etc etc. Once you know the systems capabilities and shortcomings you can work round it.
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re: Another cute trick by Ebay
Whoa whoa whoa! Calm yer jets there Buck and Bucka Rogers! Folks voiced complaints and I merely put forth a possible solution. Just thinkin’!
YIKES! Holy macaroni! Golly gee willikers! Idea withdrawn! LoL
‘Scuse me while I run for cover! (Just teasing ya all)
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
17 Nov 2020
05:06:58am
re: Another cute trick by Ebay
" .... How is a seller supposed to guess what is "desirable material"? ...."
A clue might be when three or four hundred lots are clogging up the system multiple tines with virtually no sales per pass though.
I've watched seemingly automatic relisting within minutes of their voluminous offerings failure to sell a single item, or one at most. To be fair that bulk listing will occasionally get a few sales, that's occasionally..
In contrast, Ian, I see the number of your offerings mount up, but constantly result in 50% ++ successful sales, or more. Other large scale sales do well, 40% - 50% +++. An added difference is that your items are competitive. I am quite sure that if you noticed a large string of sequential items fail to generate a single bid you would either change something in the listing before you relist them the third time, or you might consign them to a backyard bonfire.
I know that when I get caught in a 300 - 400 lot listing of that type, I find something else to do and anyone whose lots are directly behind likely loses viewers.
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re: Another cute trick by Ebay
Desirability is in the eye of the beholder!
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BuckaCover.com - 80,000 covers priced 60c to $1.50 - Easy browsing 500 categories
17 Nov 2020
08:38:08am
re: Another cute trick by Ebay
"Desirability is in the eye of the beholder!"
But it can be measured statistically.
We have 6 members who have listed over 5,000 lots so far in 2020.
Here are their statistics (usernames removed), listed in order of number of lots listed:
User / Listed / Sold / Sell-through Rate
********* 19849 5468 28%
********* 18876 188 1%
********* 10431 5371 51%
********* 8464 2488 29%
********* 7007 2083 30%
********* 6182 1102 18%
I think it's pretty clear that #2 is the one that Charlie is referring to. As a seller, he is using up a great deal of other members' attention, forcing them into work-arounds ("exclude ..."), or just down-right turning them off from browsing, while offering very little in return.
And this has been going on for years (I have previously written about this, many times.)
I would say that the membership has soundly declared that 99% of his offerings are "undesirable" and would like to see this pattern stop, but we don't have any mechanism in place to invoke a "cease and desist" order.
Roy
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08:58:43am
Auctions - Approvals
re: Another cute trick by Ebay
To me it appears that No 2 is using the Bulk Uploader therefore to stop them is to remove the bulk uploader.
I know, I know that others use the bulk uploader and that would be detrimental to them.
As a matter of interest how many use the bulk uploader?
Personally I do not see the point of it as you can place any listing on hold for 14 days. During that 14 days you can list 100's of items and when you are ready you can activate them and even change the 14 days to anywhere between 1 and 14 days. OK it means that if they want to relist them at their price they have to physically relist each one using the same method OR the quick relisting system which automatically reduces the price by 20%.
Removing the bulk uploader then levels the playing field for every member instead of one group having an advantage.
Just a thought.
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09:00:41am
Auctions - Approvals
re: Another cute trick by Ebay
What I do when I come across No 2 is fast scroll past the blighter. It only takes a minute.
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re: Another cute trick by Ebay
I would support the removal of the bulk uploader. Try this for say 3 to 6 months and check to see if it makes a difference.
I tried using the bulk up loader and found it to time consuming. I can list one lot at a time faster.
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BuckaCover.com - 80,000 covers priced 60c to $1.50 - Easy browsing 500 categories
17 Nov 2020
10:59:35am
re: Another cute trick by Ebay
Removing a useful tool because of one abuser is counter-productive.
I haven't listed anything in a while because I have been so busy this year, but I wouldn't even consider listing without a bulk uploader.
Address the abuse, not the tool.
Roy
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re: Another cute trick by Ebay
Just got this in my E-Mail:
From 1 January 2021, eBay will be legally required to begin collecting and remitting VAT for UK imports. From that date, eBay will have to charge buyers the applicable VAT amount directly and remit this sum to the relevant authorities.
Irish sellers trading with UK buyers and listing on the UK or any EU site will need to provide both gross prices as well as the applicable VAT rate used to calculate the gross price on all listings. If sellers do not specify gross prices and VAT rates, eBay will have to assume that the price provided is the net price, and will add VAT on top of the price displayed to buyers.
We strongly urge sellers listing on eBay.co.uk or other European eBay sites to specify the applicable VAT rates on existing listings as soon as possible. All new listings should include a VAT rate. You will find the field for the VAT rate beside the price when you create or edit listings.
What you need to know:
- From 1 January 2021, eBay will start to collect and remit VAT for UK imports on all consignments with a value of up to £135. There will no longer be a VAT exemption for small consignments up to £15.
- In cases where the seller is a non-UK business and the goods are already in the UK, eBay will collect and remit VAT for goods sold to consumers within the UK, regardless of their value.
- Sellers should begin listing the applicable VAT rates on all their existing and new listings as soon as possible.
- From 1 March 2021, eBay will make it mandatory to add the VAT rate on all UK and EU sites when listing items.
Thank you for selling on eBay,
Your eBay Team
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10:39:33am
re: Another cute trick by Ebay
My opinion on sellers that list overprice stamps over and over again at inflated prices:
We are first and foremost, a club. This club was started in order for members to trade their duplicate stamps. It's also become a selling platform and I think that's great because we see a wider variety of material. So we expect that prices be low since we are primarily a club and we don't charge listing fees, etc. I am for rules that benefit the seller (within reason) so that we can continue to purchase great material at great prices. This situation is actually addressed in the rules for sellers:
E: Unacceptable listing policies:
h. Items are not priced competitively compared to pricing of similar material for sale by others
In my opinion, this member is breaking the rules and should be warned. I realize there are not a lot of other members listing this material--I did buy some US miniature sheets last year from Brechinite so it does occur, and his prices were much lower.
Jackie
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11:26:32am
Auctions - Approvals
re: Another cute trick by Ebay
This member that has everybody worked up about has sold several hundred items.
At an average pop at $5 per item that amounts to $3000 at $10 a pop thats $6000.
Is that an abuse of the system?
How many of you have sold these amounts?
I have said it before and I'll say it again:-
"What I do when I come across No 2 is fast scroll past the blighter. It only takes a minute."
I do the same with those that do not ship abroad or do not accept paypal.
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
18 Nov 2020
11:52:15am
re: Another cute trick by Ebay
I have picked up the occasional item from NUMBER TWO over the last year and a half and find him good to deal with. I find the prices a bit extreme at times but sometimes he has items I can't find elsewhere. We don't have to change the rules, just buy if you want to ... if not, don't! Just my opinion, for what it's worth!
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01:01:01pm
re: Another cute trick by Ebay
I do the same as Ian but my point is that there is a way to deal with this member if it's a problem. I have searched several of his listings and most of his stuff can be bought much cheaper on Ebay or other venues, but there are a few more specialty items that seem to be competitively priced. This comes up regularly here and I suppose if the moderators/auctioneers think it's a problem they will deal with it.
Jackie
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re: Another cute trick by Ebay
I hate it when I'm the only one in the room that doesn't know who Number 2 is
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re: Another cute trick by Ebay
You do not to be Dick Tracy to figure it out..think someone who lists page after page after page of U.S. postage.
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re: Another cute trick by Ebay
I've been informed, and had a look. Fair to say I'm no Dick Tracy, as I'd never seen his listings before
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re: Another cute trick by Ebay
Tar and feathers I say, and then it's off to the gallows.
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08:04:35am
Auctions - Approvals
re: Another cute trick by Ebay
"Tar and feathers I say, and then it's off to the gallows. "
You forgot about breaking them on the wheel! Drawing and quartering as well!
Now if that happened to members who upset others with not taking paypal, not posting to other countries, not using Scott catalogue numbers, not putting catalogue values in their listings, not putting items in their Approval Books in order, listing their items at perceived too high a price, etc etc etc
There would be few, if any, Sellers left at all!!
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