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Bears by EdieI just got a message from ebay that you can longer take payments by check or moneyorder on ebay.com.
I thought after this was shot down in Australia that was the end of it but I guess not.
Redmond, WAIt's true...starting sometime this fall.
The announcement is here.
Makes it very dangerous for those of us who went by the adage "Never take PayPal for any amount more than you can afford to lose". I did professional selling on eBay for an art supply company for a year and it was really eye-opening. It's so easy to rip off sellers it's terrifying. It's something that may never happen to you but if it does, it can really hurt. After my 'pro' stint using eBay I only sell items there that I can afford to 'lose'.
Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)I am livid: I've been an eBay supporter in the past, because 'the Piper needs paying.' and no one ever claimed it to be a non-profit, charitable organization.
But to present this news as a great deal for all concerned is MOST demeaning - an insult to our intelligence.
The only Sellers who profit from the new changes are the ones who pick up garages sales-type of goods (usually in wholesale lots so there are many pcs to sell with only one listing) and resell on eBay, and the very high-end electronics, who again are just middlemen, not those who actually produce/make the item for sale. These types of Sellers make up the largest percentage of the audiences that I've encountered at the 4 eBay Unis that I've attended in 3 different part of the county.
All of the rest of us, who have a hands' on approach to our offerings, who actually manipulate fabric, wire, metal, paint and every other type of artist medium into a creative design, and are the ones who have invested billable hours and materials into our listed items; in their Wisdom, eBay thinks that everything is working just fine for us.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr........................ WE ARE THE ONES PAYING THEIR SALARIES!!!!!!!!!!! HIGH FINAL VALUE FEES (going up, of course!) ARE BEING PAID BY ARTISTS, not by those acting as middlemen!
Oh, right... they HAVE given us one thing.... We will not have to pay the 50¢ for subtitles - IF we offer Free Shipping, which costs me approximately $8 per sale.
What a great deal.
It's one of my only consistent sales outlets at present; still less expensive and painful than travel or advertising.
And it's America so we CAN bite the hand that feeds us.
"This too shall pass..."
White Forest BearsThis is just totally sucky. I have a lot of ebay collectors who prefer to pay via check or money order. Guess I'll continue to do more website sales and less ebay.
Newcastle, OntarioI got the notice and couldn't believe it. I bailed on Ebay in May, when they changed the feedback rules. Even though I have 100% feedback and perfect DSR'S, I refuse to participate in an unbalanced playing field. I've done well selling from my blog to my old Ebay customer list and a lot of my customers are telling me they are shopping less and less on Ebay, I have my Etsy shop (when I can finally get around to making some more jewelry) and I've picked up a new retail store, so my sales are the same - just in different venues. I finally made a ME page for Ebay, just so I could add links to my blog and Etsy shop. I can't remember the last time I even browsed on Ebay. They have turned a wonderful venue into a sales nightmare!
hugs,
Brenda
'Bear' Bottoms OriginalsWOW... no checks or MO's...... Hmmm, that leaves..... PAYPAL! Which is owned by.... EBAY! Something smells rotten....
Kimberly W.
White Forest BearsI'm sure it will be challenged in court before it can go into effect.
Wow, that is just.. for lack of a better word.. stupid. Half of my customers pay with Cheques. Not that I use ebay that much anyway at this point.. but I don't really think that this will work to the seller, or the buyers advantage.. especially when the fees are already so high.
Hugs,
Melanie
Little Bear GuyThere was also something on CBC today
http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/0 … -ebay.html
time to start using other outlets I think
Shane
Flying Fur StudiosUrgh, I so out of the loop and haven't used ebay forever. But now that I'm thinking about bears again I don't know if I want to bother. I really hate how you can only use paypal now. It feels like an insult to my intelligence!
MerBear OriginalsI haven't sold anything on ebay although I do buy things there. I've found lately though that some US sellers won't accept Canadian Paypal payments..something about high fees. I didn't notice this listed in one auction and it cost me double for an item I wanted. I had to get a money order and send it registered post! Was not impressed I can tell you.
Marion
Ruby Mountain BearsPaypal charges more for out of country purchase, not fair since we are already paying them for the service and doesn't ebay own paypal, now they are holding fees till feedback is recieved and it is just another way for them to hang on to more money.!!!
Bears by EdieGosh, I didn't know about Paypal charging US sellers more for payments from Canadians! Pretty soon we just won't be able to buy on ebay - with the incentives for Free Shipping I think a lot of sellers will just opt out of selling outside the US as they won't want to offer free shipping worldwide. They can actually ship smaller parcels to Canada for less than they can within the States but only if they do it by Air International which has no tracking or insurance. I am finding more and more that sellers won't ship that way though as, again with PayPal and ebay rules, they need that proof of delivery to protect themselves from unscrupulous buyers! What a bummer!
The trouble is Ebay is just too big now to care about the complaints of a few of us - there will always be people buying and selling on there and they will continue to make it good for the majority (and themselves mainly!) and ignore the rest of us!
I know there are other online venues but I think part of the problem there is there are too many other "little" sites and what we need is ONE big one for bears that everyone will know to go to - but how on earth do you accomplish that and get ALL the bear sellers to move to that one other site and totally ignore ebay - in my opinion that would be the only way to get all the collectors going to somewhere other than ebay to look for bears! Just can't see it happening!
Bear Bottom Heirloom Bearswe need is ONE big one for bears that everyone will know to go to - but how on earth do you accomplish that and get ALL the bear sellers to move to that one other site and totally ignore ebay - in my opinion that would be the only way to get all the collectors going to somewhere other than ebay to look for bears!
Edie, I think that TT has a pretty big following and it has the Teddy Bear and Other Friends page to post your bears AND add a link to your website. Now let's just imagine that all of us used ONLY TT to list bears and quit using ebay all together. I think that collectively, we have the best bear artists in the world right here on this blog! The collectors would soon be scrambling trying to find us. Which of course wouldn't take all that long, because we and "Intercal" and others would soon point them in the right directiion. Isn't that a great fantasy?? 
I have used eBay to buy and sell and find with each new rule change I like them less and less. Right now, I'm just going to wait and see how things go after the latest changes of holding money and the lopsided feed back system.
Gail G
Wazza Bears AustraliaThe ACCC in Australia stop ebay.com.au from doing this, Maybe go to your comsumer affairs department. Another thing here in Aus at the moment. Ebay are trying to bring it back in and the RESERVE Bank. Which is the bank that runs all banks, they decided mortgage rate and so on. But they are now on to Ebay about the changes. Its not looking good for ebay here. LOL. The consumer system is very tight when it comes to dealing with customers farly. As I sell on the US site I am now wondering if I wll be affect by the changes. even though I am reg on com.au
Redmond, WAKathy> I hadn't heard about eBay/PayPal keeping a fee until one left feedback. Do you have a link to that policy? I don't leave feedback unless the buyer tells me, one way or another, that they are satisfied with their purchase. I'll be even more upset if I find eBay's been keeping even more of what little I make through their service. 
