“Scot Wingo in his presentation at Catalyst on the lifecycle of eCommerce retailers said that eBay is often a place to start and over time as you become more successful you become multi-channel. …we have to make changes that encourage multi-channel eCommerce retailers to move more of your inventory to eBay…”

Mr. Lieberman, I am a grandmother, a small Ebay seller, selling personal collections and misc., with the hope of growing as others have at Ebay over time. Just as I was seriously getting started at Ebay, all of these changes hit the system.

As a former administrator and business consultant, I view these new changes to the Ebay system as destructive to the Ebay model and very negative for Ebay Sellers.

The Feedback system changes will destroy the Buyer/Seller feedback balance that good Sellers and Buyers work so hard to maintain. Bad Sellers will be punished, but so will good Sellers. 100% positive feedback scores for Sellers will be a thing of the past. Bad buyers will rule.

Most of the other changes in the Ebay system are also negative for Ebay Sellers and changing the “search” system frustrates Buyers and Sellers alike.

The net result is that many Ebay Sellers have been driven to seriously seek out other selling venues. They are becomeing “multi-channel” alright, but not in the way apparently meant by Ebay (“we have to make changes that encourage multi-channel eCommerce retailers to move more of your inventory TO eBay”).

Ebay Sellers large and small are being “encouraged” by a negative Ebay experience to branch out and list inventory on OTHER online auction sites. Ebayers, and former Ebayers, are Emailing their customers and advertizing their new selling locations. While business is still slow on these alternate sites, it will grow over time as it is both easier and cheaper to list on many of these small auction sites.

In the long run, the Ebay changes that are driving Ebay Sellers off Ebay is the best thing that could happen for the online Auction Community. An auction site I looked at today gained 3,000 new members this month. Other sites are doing even better.

No other auction site has near the Buyer turnover of Ebay yet, but Sellers attract Buyers, and there is something to be said about better profit margins and much less listing work at other sites where “Stores” are free or very low cost.

Growing the competition and loosing Sellers and Listings was not the intent of the recent Ebay changes, but that is a result….and it may be too late for Ebay to reverse.

Thank you for taking the time to explore with eBay the ability to have tiered levels of sellers! I truely hope eBay seriously considers it, as I believe it will have a very positive effect for the site as well as its users.

I started out selling my household items on eBay, but quickly learned that I could make a business out of my household sales. When I started looking into suppliers for brand new merchandise, I realized that I could not sell these items on eBay for much of a profit. It seems to me that most of the buyers on eBay are looking to pay no more than 50% under retail value.

However, I have sold these new items successfully on a different selling venue for the past year. It has been my experience, on that other venue, that I can sell the these items for only $0.50 to $1.00 under retail value very successfully and frequently, unlike eBay.

I believe the primary difference is in the type of buyer that other site attracts. Buyers who are willing to pay a realistic price for an item in order to have the convenience and ease of dealing with a professional seller. A professional seller, who gets their items from a supplier, can not compete with the low prices offered by the casual, average person who is just getting rid of unwanted items on eBay, unless there is something which distinguishes the sellers level of experience and service from one another.

The current PowerSeller program is not worthwhile to my business, given the lack of profit I would make off of any sale on eBay, when trying to competitively price against hobby sellers. Perhaps distinguishing professional sellers from hobby sellers would encourage those looking to deal with a professional seller to pay a realistic price for the item, rather than going for the lower, bargain price offered by a hobby seller.

The PESA and ECMTA are opening up their members only conference call this week to readers of the Trading Assistant Journal.

Call in Thursday at 2PM Pacific 5PM Eastern to learn what PESA & ECMTA members are doing to improve DSR’s and improve best practices.

If your interested in listening in, either on the phone or via a live feed, follow this URL: http://snurl.com/23zdf

My favorite (although it’s a bit off-topic) is when I was contacted for the 10th Anniversary eBay Live in San Jose. They wanted me to come out for it to talk to media and I don’t know what else (I got the idea that it was essentially to be paraded around) as being possibly the longest existing user – no one knows for absolute certain on that. I ultimately agreed to do it, and said that I could get there on my own as San Jose is fairly close and had friends I could stay with, but since I wouldn’t otherwise be going, that I’d need to be comped in. This seemed like a huge problem – they said they’d check and get back to me. Never heard from them again. Guess they couldn’t take the 70 dollar hit, even though it was no loss, as I wasn’t going except for this. To his credit, Bill did personally apologize for that when I told him about it, but still… pretty pathetic.

And if it does go anywhere, do the eBay reps here (um, if they’re even still here) have any appreciation of how someone who has been around since the very start of eBay might have useful insights in present situations along with ways to remedy them in a way applicable to the present, but keeping in mind what has worked and what has failed in the past – how history can play a role in shaping the future (if any) of eBay?

Because if not, I’m not going to bother contributing here. I’ve already run into the attitude that the past has no bearing on the present or future in any way inside eBay: when we met Bill Cobb here in Sacramento a couple of years ago – again, because of how long we’ve been with eBay – Rachel Makool also was there and was interested in our involvement with the Voices program. It took a number of months for someone to contact me, who after a little discussion with me promptly stated in no uncertain terms that they had no interest in anyone with a long-term history of eBay. And that there was nothing from eBay’s past that could help guide the future (and presumably, nothing could be learned from it either). And I never heard from them again.

So – should I even bother if I decide to? If anyone is still around to answer anyway.

I appreciate your praise indeed sir…
Join in anytime, we could all use a little sage advise from a pro like you!

Scott
(Not adverse to the Guest Blogger Idea)

Scott, you are answering more questions than RBH or Usher. You may need to be added to the payroll soon.

Keep it up!

RKS