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Location: big island | EBAY WORKERS may be in for a shock they didn’t bargain for, with a report claiming the firm is floundering and preparing to lay off about 10 per cent of the company's 15,000 employees.
According to an article in Barron's Weekly which cited a recent report by investment-boffins at Wedge Partners, the online auction giant’s business is " deteriorating".
Current economic hardships - especially weakness in the consumer economy- added to the fact that quite a few Ebay sellers have been severely hacked off by recent changes in fee structures has put Ebay in a tight spot.
"Seller discontent with eEbay is on the rise due to higher fees and other changes, and we believe Ebay has seen numerous sellers migrating away from the Ebay platform and creating their own selling sites," wrote Brian Blair and Ryan Hunter, two Wedge analysts.
To add salt to Ebay’s wounds, because about 50 per cent of the firm’s revenues come from outside the U.S., the auction giant’s finances are set for another beating as the dollar continues to strengthen.
"We don't have a handle on how much of the slowdown is due to economic conditions and how much is due to competition and execution, but we do believe a decline in these key metrics presents continued risk for the company" wrote Blair and Hunter, adding that gross merchandise volume for the third quarter could be well down from the $15.7 billion level reported in the second quarter.
“EBay shares are down approximately 30 per cent this year, trading near their lowest level in five years" the report continues, noting that 1500 jobs in the company are at immediate risk.
The company is apparently also taking a huge risk with a soon-to-be-released search platform currently being tested.
At the end of the day, however, no matter how much Ebay suffers in the short term, it's really the employees who may be sold short. |
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Location: Tennessee | I understand that they would, but decided not to because of they were aghast at the PayPal fees and that PayPal planned on holding the funds for 20 days. :cool: |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Yeah... They changed the rules and Annoyed alot of people. They tried to move over to just dedicated eStores and Power Sellers.
(Now... Why would I buy a $699 Ovation from an eBay pseudo-store and pay shipping, when I can get free shipping and a 90 day return with more free shipping from a Real Store for $599? :confused: )
Because of their new policies, the last few things I've sold I just put a reasonable BIN and Free Shipping... And either it sold or didn't! ~And they've all sold.
~BUT... Understand Capitalist economic double talk...
They didn't LOSE 15.7 Billion dollars... They just MADE 15 billion less than they wanted to!
So they will fire 1500 of the workers so they (the jerks who screwed the pooch) can pocket more money. |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | "They didn't LOSE 15.7 Billion dollars... They just MADE 15 billion less than they wanted to!
So they will fire 1500 of the workers so they (the jerks who screwed the pooch) can pocket more money."
Exactly, and me thinks the person that wrote that article does not have an eBay account, just a guess.
eBay is its own model, and a brilliant one at that.
They just provide a service. If you list something they make a little. If you sell that item, they make a little more, if the person you sold it to pays for it, they make a little more.
If less people use ebay, yes there is less revenue, but at the same time less overhead, so they just layoff 15,000 people and it's all good again... for the owners.
As stated above, "they didn't LOSE 15.7 Billion dollars... They just MADE 15 billion less than they wanted to" |
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| Hope this thread does not get canned, because I am like Snoopy dancing on his dog house with this one. Ebay has been getting more and more nasty with the sellers, changing prices, fee's for all kinds of crap, endless difficulties with listing or figuring shipping prices, and Paypal is as bad. They ended my Mothers old Doll auctions because She listed a few Dolls as "Like New" They say this is to misleading to a buyer. Bullshit......I think we all know what Like New means. It means like new. Sellers can't afford to run auctions like they once did (by the tens & hundreds of thousands) unless they end up generating more than $25. The hassle for $10 is just not worth it.
I hope they get a little more realistic and down to earth and stop hiring too many computer geeks and then have to find shit for them to do (like hasseling sellers) because they have nothing else to do.
Ebay ain't going anywhere but a little shake up would be very good right about now. They are way to big for themselves....... |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | They pulled my listing cuz I said that an Oscar Schmidt was a Gibson 335 "Copy"... Said I was selling a 'counterfeit' product. Explaining did no good, so I just relisted without mentioning Gibson.
But still, they are Stupid!
And this thread shouldn't get pulled if we don't get too nasty...
Miles contributed to it! :D |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | So big deal ebay is laying off 10%. Name one company that isn't. They are not immune from the economic realities by any means. You can look at my feedback and you'll see that I have bought about 1/4 the number of guitars on ebay this year as I did last year. I'm sure that I'm pretty typical.
Dave |
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Location: CA | What a coincidence — I also made $15 billion less than I wanted to this year.
Reality check: there aren't many shares of any company that didn't go down 30% this year.
And who are these guys who are 'migrating away and creating their own selling sites'? That seems like a bad joke. Haven't every single one of those clones (by Yahoo, etc.) been left in the dust by eBay? I don't like all the new EBay rules and fees either, but I still think eBay is one of the most creative business models of the internet age. No, it's not the cute, funky little thing it once was, but what is? (Well, okay, Craigslist is still pretty cute and funky). And without the new rules, scammers would have killed eBay a long time ago. |
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| Rules are fine, and I don't want the cute little funky thing back, too many Cyber genius's now, for sure. but when you start crapping in the bread and butter you get a shitty tasting sandwich and you realise you should not have
Shat in your own food.
Ebay is not going anywhere but the fee's may get reconsidered if (like a few people I know) sellers list less and less to make a point to the internet monopoly that they are.
I hope they taste the Pooo and change things a little that's all. |
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Location: Central Massachusetts | Interestingly enough, eBay owns a slice (25%) of craigslist. It's a contentious relationship. |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | own the comprtition, interesting concept. |
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Location: Texas | I now use my sister's ebay and paypal. I was banned for life from paypal because I sold a 42 year old collectable pack of Camel cigs. It was not against the rules to sell that little pack of cigs on ebay but it was against paypal's rules to use them as a form payment. I should have use a money order as a form of payment. Sorry, I didn't see that rule on page 58.
They are the same company and have two sets of rules and trust me, they did not care that it was an innocent mistake - I believe in their words - we have a zero tolerance about these things so you are banned for life. This is the crap that is driving people away.
Another thing - what the heck is the purpose behind a buyer being able to hit a seller in the gut with a bad feedback but the seller can't return the favor?
I would love to sell things and say no Paypal. But buyers want the ease of using paypal - say no paypal and your odds of selling your item dramatically goes down.
Someone that has never sold a guitar or anything else has no idea what the seller really ends up with (money) after ebay and paypal gets through with them. Ebay listing fees,Ebay final value fees and of course Paypal fees.
Green eyed monster does what it wants to do - the only thing I feel bad about is the people that will lose their jobs. |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Vision,
You sold a pack of camels, or paid for something with a pack of camels? Or is it an ebay rule that you can't sell cigarettes on ebay? 42 years old? Jeez, where they still even cigarettes? |
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Location: South of most, North of few | Originally posted by Mauvais Beal:
own the comprtition, interesting concept. Like Fender? |
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| 'Like Fender?'... :) I just hope they don't crash the plane before they learn to fly it...
Alot of ebay stores do well without paypal. I've bid on auctions that were 'paypal only'. I told 'em before I placed a bid I would only pay with a money order or a bank draft. They said fine, no problem. I win, I paid my way. |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | There are certain transactions that due to PayPal's structure aren't allowed. Tobacco and Firearms are the big ones. eBay has some selling rules, like anything Nazi related, and porn, guns etc... Can't pay for guns via PayPal either.
I had a listing pulled for "Like New" as well awhile back, but that is changing. Enough people probably complained and it (or some indicator) will be an option in the near future.
As stated above, as long as this off-topic stays On-Topic in its off-topic-ness, I don't think there is a problem. Many here use eBay as a means to buy and sell their guitars, and you really do have to look at eBay from the angle of what you personally want or don't want from it.
Just keep it factual and informative and it's fine. |
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Location: NJ | ". . Nazi related, porn, and guns . . ."
KillJoys. |
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Location: Cicero, NY | Just a clarification here (as I read the release) - "...gross merchandise volume for the third quarter could be well down from the $15.7 billion level reported in the second quarter."
As I read it, gross merchandise volume is neither a $15.7B loss, nor a $15.7B reduction in income. It's an estimated $15.7B reduction in gross listings, off of which eBay earns revenue. I would bet their actual income off of that would certainly be substantial, hence the layoffs, but nowhere near $15B. |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | So you can sell Nazi related porn and guns and tobacco, but you can't say they're like new and you can't use pay pal. That's weird. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | You all may be reading incorrectly. "Well down from the $15.7 billion level" could mean they will only have $14 billion in listings. That may mean the income is only a billion. I didn't read anything about ebay losing money, just not making as much as predicted. |
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| It's like Ebay is saying.."we didn't make the usual 15 billion...we only made 10 billion.."
They neither define or clarify the terms 'well down'. We know what 'down' means. What does 'well' mean? A 15%loss?, or 17%loss? or 23%loss?
Like anyone is going to feel sorry for Ebay.. :rolleyes: |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | I guess what is interesting in all of what eBay has done lately... is that it doesn't really make much sense. I don't say this lightly. Even on their forums, and as evidenced by the reversal of some of the programs implemented, there doesn't seem to be a solid "reasoning" or at least one that's visible.
While the fee structure changed... raising the final value fee... I just listed two guitar for .35 cents and they will be on for 30 days, as a fixed priced auction. That would have been several dollars before. In the end, it breaks about even, but the difference is I can put my product out there longer, for less money, and they might actually sell instead of having to re-list them (and pay) every week.
So it's not all bad, but at the same time... some things are just odd like no longer allowing people to pay with Money Order or Check. I see the reasoning, but I doubt it's really going to affect anything. In reality, the only thing it affects is GOOD people, who want to pay with a Money Order, now can't and how a person pays for my product, and the risk I want to take in allowing it, should be MY choice. I already only accept PayPal, but once in awhile someone asks if they can pay with a Money Order, and we let them. Haven't had an issue when it happens that way. It's not a big deal, I don't think I'll really loose any sales, it's just annoying. |
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| Miles,
It sounds like they want Ebay to become a totally cashless transaction. If I buy an item with a usa postal money order, what do they care? Unless they are paranoid about sales 'under the table'. And in that case they are saying they don't trust their sellers. So, they are gambling they will maintain enough sales while eliminating everything but paypal. But, maybe I'm missing something. What else could it be?... |
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Location: East Tennessee | The last two guitars I bought were listings on guitar forums,(like this one). The sellers are pretty honest and I have not been disappointed with the transactions. That being said I have purchased a couple of guitars on ebay and have not been disappointed either. I'm just a little more careful on ebay.
Dave you and I are probably the reason ebays profits are down. :D |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Yeah, they lowered the Listing Fees. But they raised the Final Value Fees!
Once you add PayPal's cut, they get a healthy cut of every transaction.
By stopping outside payment sources they increase their cut.
Now the percentage that they take in final value fees go down as the price goes up... Okay?
I don't see how those people that sell me my guitar strings make any money...
Between eBay and PayPal fees, they must be losing 25% of what I send them!
And I shop their cuz they are cheap (for me), plus they give me guitar picks sometimes.
I must say that I really do appreciate these folks.
[excuse me... I meant to type 'eBarf' :rolleyes: ] |
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Location: Texas | Originally posted by an4340:
Vision,
You sold a pack of camels, or paid for something with a pack of camels? Or is it an ebay rule that you can't sell cigarettes on ebay? 42 years old? Jeez, where they still even cigarettes? 42 years old - probably if you opened the pack it would be dust.
I read the ebay rules - put all the verbage - no one under 21 - not for consumption blah, blah - It never crossed my mind that I had to check paypal because others were selling collectible packs using paypal. What ebay should do - is say,"you have to use a certain disclaimer on selling these products but you cannot use Paypal because of credit card issues and government regulations. How hard would that have been for them to do? Sorry I missed that. They were totally rude on the phone and would not change their mind that I had committed a major sin and must pay the price. I wish another huge company would start up and put ebay and paypal in their place. |
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Location: Michigan | There is some porn on ebay, just did a quick search. No I didn't buy anything, don't have room for any more didn't see how you had to pay if you couldn't use paypal. |
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OT: will they sell eBay...on eBay???