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Wed Feb 20 2019 15:47:27

eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration

By: Ina Steiner

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It appears eBay is forcing sellers in Australia to use Good Til Canceled duration on all fixed-price listings as of yesterday, and sellers may be left wondering if eBay will export the new policy to other countries.

The policy change appears on eBay Australia's Seller Centre "Creating a Listing page," which shows that Fixed price listings created using the Quick Listing Tool and the Advanced Listing form can only have a duration of "Good 'Til Cancelled." 

Previously the restriction was only for fixed-price listings created using the Quick Listing Tool, a practice that has also been in place in the US for a few years now.

The eBay Australia help page now states:

"Important: From 19 February 2019, we're moving all fixed-price listings to Good 'Til Cancelled. This means short-duration options will no longer be available for new fixed-price listings. This is to create a better shopping experience, retain sales history, and secure more of what your buyers love on-site. Find out more on listing durations and timings."

But clicking on that link to "find out more" brings visitors to a page where there's no mention of the new policy - it continues to show that listing duration options with the Advanced listing form include 3, 5, 7, 10, 30 days and Good 'Til Cancelled for Fixed price listings.

A potential problem for sellers who don't want to use Good Til Cancelled (GTC) listings is the extra cost. Listings with GTC duration renew indefinitely, and sellers using the Advanced listing form must presumably pay listing fees each time the listing renews.

One of the reasons why eBay like longer-duration listings: search engine visibility.

We've seen a lot of seller confusion about the partial duration restriction on listings such as sellers in this thread on the US boards from 2017. When one seller was told they could get around it by using the Advanced Listing Form, the seller wrote, "Thank you so much! I thought I was losing my mind, lol. Every once in a while, I step back and take a break from eBay. Then when I come back, it's more confusing than when I left. All those "helpful" changes they're constantly implementing. Thank God for these forums or I'd really be in the twilight zone!"

Sellers in Australia were caught by surprise that there's no longer a workaround - we couldn't find any announcement about the change, and as we noted above, eBay Australia has yet to update the help page on the topic of duration.

Hat tip to the seller who saw the discussion on StampCommunity.org.

If you notice any changes to eBay's Fixed-price duration policy in other markets, let us know. It could be coming to a country near you. And let us know if and how it would impact your business.



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Perminate Link for eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration   eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration

by: pace306 This user has validated their user name.

Wed Feb 20 16:48:35 2019

Can you say MONEY GRAB!? I know I can boys & girls!

Perminate Link for eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration   eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration

by: notfunanymore This user has validated their user name.

Wed Feb 20 16:59:18 2019

Ok, another BLARING sign that you have NO CONTROL whatsoever of your business. WOW, every day there is something new going on, and it never gets better, its always more money out of pocket along with the tightening of control. Its all about control in a very subtle, actually, not so subtle way. You have to be blind not to see what is going on here

Perminate Link for eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration   eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration

by: Silver Ice King This user has validated their user name.

Wed Feb 20 17:15:57 2019

Wenig just cannot stop trying to get every penny he can from sellers rather than growing the business because he is an absolute idiot.  All this is going to do it drive off more business as sellers list less and less because they don't want to have to go out and cancel listings every month at month end.

Next Ebay will probably take away the ability to cancel a listing so that you have to leave it there in perpetuity. Anything to try and show growth as he is now absolutely in panic mode for his job.  I think that letter from Elliott has made him lose any business sense he ever had and its all about grabbing every penny he can to try and save his rear end.

What a joke this site is becoming - just like their CEO.

Perminate Link for eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration   eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration

by: Silver Ice King This user has validated their user name.

Wed Feb 20 17:22:19 2019

Actually as i think about it, this plays right into the Chinese hands as that is how they would prefer their listings because they are selling bulk new items.  So this is another step to get rid of Sellers of Collectibles and Antiques.

Ebay has taken the next step towards being nothing more than another Amazon or Walmart or any other online site.  They have no clue what they are chasing off and how much business they will lose if they force that on US sellers.  Nothing like seeing a  company in absolute panic mode.

Perminate Link for eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration   eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration

by: Scotty This user has validated their user name.

Wed Feb 20 17:23:46 2019

Don't worry, you won't sell anything to Australia anyway....since they enacted the 10% tax on all goods entering Australia (no matter the value).  I have had one sale to Australia since enacted....combine that with Pitney Bowes and their invisible restrictions on global visibility regardless if you are entered in GSP or not....and you have the magic formula for ZERO international sales.....oh, and an honorable mention to this contribution is the USPS and their outrageous yearly rate increases for International shipping.

Perminate Link for eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration   eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration

by: AngelaTC This user has validated their user name.

Wed Feb 20 17:57:48 2019

I must be using the wrong form, because I am in the US and had not encountered the lack of 30 day fixed price listings.  I'm torn on this: eBay has a point about Google search rankings, but their search engine penalizes us for having an item on their site for an extended period of time.  

Perminate Link for eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration   eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration

by: Iwishiwaskidding This user has validated their user name.

Wed Feb 20 18:10:27 2019

They cannot even be bothered to tell the help center folks before making these changes?  As usual, jerking sellers around in the hope that buyers will like it.  Idiots.  If it really helps search engine results, make an announcement, tell us when it changes, and make it easy for sellers to know when thier listing will auto renew so they can financially plan for it.  Not hard!

Perminate Link for eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration   eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration

This user has validated their user name. by: toolguy

Wed Feb 20 19:07:24 2019

sigh

It's all about the money, like always!

example: I have a basic store, I get 250 free listings a month

I have 500 items sitting on the shelves

I list 250 of them for free, after 30 days I list the other 250

So I pay no insertion fees to have 250 items for sale and rotate the other 250 items in and out every other month

With the new system I would have all 500 showing at once and be paying to list 250 of them.

Why can't eBay just tell the truth? We've found yet another way for you to pay us more without us doing anything. . ."it's for a better buying experience" ~ ROTFLMAO

Perminate Link for eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration   eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration

This user has validated their user name. by: Lightning

Wed Feb 20 20:31:45 2019

@Toolguy
IF the GTC only thing comes to pass, you could just end your 250 listings manually in bulk through your store.  Takes about a minute or two.  Set a reminder in your phone.  Then when you are sure you are into the next billing period, list the opposing 250.  Rinse and repeat.  A bit more trouble, but there's usually a workaround.

Perminate Link for eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration   eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration

This user has validated their user name. by: Lightning

Wed Feb 20 20:36:38 2019

Quite a 180 from the days when eBay HATED that we had products in ''stale'' long term fixed price listings.  They are like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Dr. Jekyll: PayPal is the only method we (eBay) will accept.
Mr. Hyde: eBay Payments only, no PayPal here.

Dr. Jekyll: Get rid of those stale fixed price listings
Mr. Hyde: Only list Good Til Cancelled

Perminate Link for eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration   eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration

by: maxmad This user has validated their user name.

Wed Feb 20 21:14:13 2019

Google / and most other search engines take about 3 months to fully crawl thru large sites , before pages get indexed so.longer duration listings will actually help some sellers to be found thru outside search results

Perminate Link for eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration   eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration

This user has validated their user name. by: iheartjacksparrow

Wed Feb 20 22:20:19 2019

You know eBay is counting on people forgetting that their listings will auto renew, thus generating more listing fees.

Perminate Link for eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration   eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration

by: Whatever This user has validated their user name.

Wed Feb 20 22:32:41 2019

I'm getting whiplash - glad I started back up with my website - at lease all my items are safely "stored" away till the new CEO takes over - hopefully it won't be a Wenig clone - one can only dream

Perminate Link for eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration   eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration

by: Opalie This user has validated their user name.

Wed Feb 20 22:32:53 2019

GTC is pretty useless for listings for ONE item. There's no "sales history" to retain and they'll just sink lower & lower in search until they can't be found anyway.

If ebay wants to go to the AMZ model of ALL listings are by default "GTC" then maybe they should also copy the AMZ model of no listing fees?

Perminate Link for eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration   eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration

by: TomH This user has validated their user name.

Wed Feb 20 22:54:15 2019

Ref Opalie: ''then maybe they should also copy the AMZ model of no listing fees?''

I totally agree, but that is probably the one thing about Amz that eBay wont copy...

Perminate Link for eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration   eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration

by: Chicago48 This user has validated their user name.

Thu Feb 21 03:43:25 2019

"which shows that Fixed price listings created using the Quick Listing Tool and the Advanced Listing form can only have a duration of "Good 'Til Cancelled."
^  
What are these Listing tools?

Perminate Link for eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration   eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration

by: phil-k This user has validated their user name.

Thu Feb 21 03:50:58 2019

Ebay have also disabled Turbo Lister early for Australia with no pre warning at all

Perminate Link for eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration   eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration

This user has validated their user name. by: Rexford

Thu Feb 21 08:25:07 2019

"and they'll just sink lower & lower in search until they can't be found anyway"

Into the black hole they go.  As long as eBay gets their money, they really don't care.   Take, take, take. Give nothing back.

Perminate Link for eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration   eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration

This user has validated their user name. by: The End

Thu Feb 21 09:06:36 2019

Ebay,
What an idiot.....

Perminate Link for eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration   eBay Further Restricts Listing Duration

by: JohnGermaine This user has validated their user name.

Thu Feb 21 11:33:25 2019

I stopped using GTC a LONG time ago. What sells is anything new or anything about to expire. GTC listings are stale, a complete waste. SMH at the ignorance of the company!

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