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"I think Ebay finally killed my business...." Topic


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napthyme28 Feb 2012 5:41 p.m. PST

There summer updates to the site are now going to force me to retake 1,500+ pictures and revise the listings.

here is the new rule that will go into effect sometime this summer.

New requirements for pictures. High-quality pictures can make all the difference in enticing a buyer to choose your item over the rest. Starting this fall, all listings will be required to have at least one picture, and all photos must be at least 500 pixels on the longest side and cannot have added borders or text (watermarks okay).

So for you who sell on there once in awhile be warned if it doesn't suit Ebay then "TOUGH NOOGIES!!!!!"

StarfuryXL528 Feb 2012 5:57 p.m. PST

It's still time-consuming, but less so than retaking all those pictures -- size them up in photo-imaging software. The rule as stated doesn't say the pictures have to be high-quality, just that they have to be 500 pixels long. Enlarge your existing photos to 500 pixels, then repost them.

If you have access to Photoshop, it's a piece of cake. You can even record an Action (basically a macro) and have PS batch process your pics while you go do something else. If you don't have access to Photoshop, Photoshop Elements is relatively inexpensive and can do the job (although I don't know if it can batch-run files). GIMP is free software. Heck, you can even do the resizing in MS Paint.

napthyme28 Feb 2012 10:04 p.m. PST

Yeah, not wasting time to do that for anyone. I did the revise for Ebay thing in 2008 and it nearly killed me with the 10,000 hours of added work. I still have stuff that is not listed that was bought in 2008.

I'm going to have to do something other then Ebay. If they take a listing off its not going back on EVER.

Wyatt the Odd Fezian28 Feb 2012 11:33 p.m. PST

That sucks. I'm having a garage sale to hopefully move a bunch of rubber stamps. I started taking group shots and then looked again at e-bay and saw that they'd sell better as individuals – I really didn't feel like starting over after doing 30 shots. At least I hadn't gotten into re-sizing and color correcting.

If I was in your neck of the woods, I'd offer to come over and reshoot the photos, Jim.

As it is, after spending the day on the computer – or shooting product photography – I've been burned out these past couple of weeks.

Meh.

Wyatt

napthyme28 Feb 2012 11:49 p.m. PST

Yeah I'm not changing the pics just because there not quite the size they like. The only way to edit pics on there is one at a time and that takes 3-5 minutes per listing, so its just not worth the bother.

And in 6 months it would be something else to have to Edit and the whole thing starts all over again.

The bad thing is if I can't find another solution on-line for sales that will bring in enough money every month its going to take liquidating both business's and the house just to pay off the debt.

And there went my big business plans for the year. Now I will be lucky to have clothes once I get done paying off the debts.

Mapleleaf29 Feb 2012 3:29 a.m. PST

There is always TMP

SMPress29 Feb 2012 4:50 a.m. PST

You may be OK. I just looked at two random listings on your site, and both pics were listed as 500 pixles…

GeoffQRF29 Feb 2012 7:17 a.m. PST

Presumably that would only apply to new listings from the autumn, not existing listings. They have at least provided 4-5 months notice.

However given that Ebay is ostensibly a site for non-professional sellers to sell second hand items, it does seem counter intuitive to introduce such restrictions. Equally teh 'no text on photos' rule would seem to exclude the helpful 'here you can see the mark/damage/problem' – you'll have to revert to the thousand words option as one picture may no longer do it.

Terrement29 Feb 2012 7:39 a.m. PST

However given that Ebay is ostensibly a site for non-professional sellers to sell second hand items,…

Their policies that seem to support the bulk sellers over exactly what you state would seem to argue otherwise, IMHO.

JJ

Delthos29 Feb 2012 9:31 a.m. PST

Ebay hasn't been a site for selling second hand items for at least three years now. Sometime ago the CEO of Ebay said that he didn't like how Ebay looked like a big flea market, or words to that effect. From that point on, Ebay was no longer friendly to the people who made them what they were. They just haven't been the same since then.

Rogzombie Fezian29 Feb 2012 3:39 p.m. PST

They sure know how to drive away their business.
I'll have to list the same pix somewhere else my customers will know to go to….

CPT Jake29 Feb 2012 5:02 p.m. PST

I know this isn't what you want to hear but:

I don't think you can blame ebay for killing your business. If your business model is so rigid that you can't adapt to changes from a vendor you rely on, given several months notice, perhaps a relook at your business model and some type of adjustment is in order.

Perhaps that means going with new ebay rules, perhaps it means a more drastic change to your business which excludes ebay and makes use of some alternative method to bring your product to the buyer. Or perhaps it ends up with YOU deciding the business is no longer worth it because you don't want to adapt.

It seems as if you have made yourself completely reliant on Ebay and made a poor assumption they would not change their practices, when in fact they have been in a constant state of evolution. To refuse to adapt and throw in the towel is your choice.

There are plenty of free software solutions out there (try Irfranview for example irfanview.com ) which allow the user to batch process photos and change sizes (as well as other aspects of the photo). You have several months.

I hope you can get it worked out. I bet you could, though it may not be easy.

Toshach Sponsoring Member of TMP29 Feb 2012 7:53 p.m. PST

What a peculiar rule. You would think that good old fashioned capitalism would sort out what works and what doesn't.

There must be some bottom line value to this. I wonder if a high percentage of negative feedbacks cite poor photography and inaccurate product representation or somesuch.

CPT Jake01 Mar 2012 5:41 a.m. PST

I know if I faced losing my house or taking and uploading different pictures of product I would have my camera out in a heartbeat.

Ironwolf01 Mar 2012 3:38 p.m. PST

hahahaha I'd have to agree CPT Jake

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