It’s been an issue for quite a while, and it’s certainly not just us. A lot of sellers are experiencing ongoing problems with the eBay platform, and for us, today’s decision to place a hold on our funds was the final straw.
Selling on eBay has become increasingly difficult. Between the constantly changing rules, algorithms and policies, trying to make a genuine profit can sometimes feel less like running a business and more like playing a strategy game.
After more than 400 sales, we certainly aren’t one of eBay’s biggest sellers, but we’ve built up a solid selling history on the platform. So when we made two big sales on Sunday and eBay’s systems apparently decided to place a hold on our payouts, it was extremely frustrating.
Our account has a maximum limit of £49 million per month, so in our opinion, having two larger sales on a Sunday shouldn’t automatically trigger an alarm or result in our funds being held.
We tried twice to contact eBay Customer Service to find out what was happening, but on both occasions, customer support was unavailable. It’s frustrating when you need help the most and can’t actually get through to anyone. It’s also difficult not to notice how available customer service can seem to be until you actually need it.
And this isn’t an isolated issue. The constant changes to eBay’s rules, policies and algorithms make it increasingly difficult to know exactly what you need to do to sell successfully. What worked yesterday may not work today, and keeping up with the changes can become a job in itself.
We’ve done what we can, but ultimately, we’ve reached the point where we feel it’s time to move on.
From now on, we’re going to focus more on our own websites and other sales channels where we have greater control over our businesses, our customers and our payments.
eBay has been part of our journey, and we’re grateful for the sales and customers we’ve gained through the platform. But sometimes you simply have to recognise when something is no longer working for you.
For us, that time has come.
This means items will take longer to sell, but at a better price for all
Of course, there is a downside to moving away from eBay. Items will almost certainly take longer to sell when we rely more heavily on organic traffic to our own websites. eBay has millions of visitors already searching for products, whereas building that same level of traffic independently takes time, effort and patience.
However, we also have something that gives us confidence in making the move: we already rank higher in Google for certain radio-related products than eBay itself.
That’s a pretty important realisation for us.
If we can attract customers directly through organic search, rather than paying to access customers through a marketplace and having to constantly work around changing rules, algorithms and policies, then building our own websites becomes a much more attractive long-term strategy.
There’s another major benefit too: we can now offer much lower prices.
Selling through our own websites means we aren’t dealing with the same marketplace fees and costs associated with selling through eBay. That gives us more flexibility when it comes to pricing, allowing us to pass some of those savings on to our customers.
It may mean fewer sales in the short term, but we’re looking at the bigger picture. Building our own organic traffic, growing our own customer base and investing in our own websites gives us something that eBay never can — control.
And if we can offer customers better prices at the same time, then we believe it’s worth making the move.
So yes, some products may take longer to sell. But if we can continue improving our search rankings, attract customers directly and offer more competitive prices, we believe that’s a much better foundation for the future.
The one thing I have always said to people who rely on the one platform
One thing I’ve always said to influencers, fellow sellers and people I know who rely heavily on eBay is this: have your own website.
If you sell a particular range of products on eBay, build a website offering those same products under your eBay name or brand. Even if eBay is where most of your sales come from, having your own website gives you somewhere to build your brand and establish a presence outside of the marketplace.
For years, I’ve believed that relying entirely on one platform is risky. You don’t control the rules, the algorithms, the fees or ultimately how your business is presented to customers.
Having your own website means you have something that belongs to you.
That advice has become even more relevant to us now. We’re putting more focus into our own websites and organic search traffic. Yes, products may take longer to sell without eBay’s huge built-in audience, but we’re already seeing encouraging results. For certain radio-related products, our websites are actually ranking higher in Google than eBay itself.
That gives us confidence that we can build something sustainable outside of the marketplace.
There’s also a financial benefit. Without the same marketplace fees and costs, we can now offer much lower prices on many products, while still maintaining a viable business.
Ultimately, this isn’t about simply walking away from eBay and hoping for the best. It’s about building something we have more control over, developing our own organic traffic, offering customers better prices and, most importantly, not putting the entire business at the mercy of someone else’s platform.
If there’s one piece of advice I’d give any seller who currently relies heavily on eBay, it would be the same advice I’ve been giving for years:
Build your own website. Keep your eBay presence if it works for you, but make sure you have something of your own.
