Small Sellers: Our Competitive Advantage

implogOn May 9, 2008 at 1:40 pm Said:

Ms.Norrington.

Welcome.

Please clarify your eBay Announcement Board post saying that non-paying bidders can leave a neg for a seller if they identify “item condition”. How can an item’s condition be determined if the item is never sent because the buyer never paid?

Richard & Ms. Norrington:

I strongly urge you to read the Seller Central posting at the link below. The seller filed an Unpaid Item Dispute (UID) against the non-paying bidder. The bidder left the seller a neg and responded to the UID with the words “I’m not paying!”.

The seller contacted eBay and was told that the neg would stand because the non-paying bidder “had responded”.

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=1000695810&tstart=0&mod=1210357884990

LAGOn May 9, 2008 at 1:56 pm Said:

I would feel better about this entry if Lorrie had also addressed the ‘powerseller only’ issue for seller protection shipping internationally and for feedback.

MistyOn May 9, 2008 at 1:58 pm Said:

Lorrie,
I do not disagree with what you are saying, by all means have the best of both worlds, that only makes sense. What don’t make sense is your refusal to provide us “small guys” with the same level of protection and security, we are more vulnerable than the big guys are!

I think my rare antique piece of Moser valued at $8,000 requires more protection than a $19.99 toaster does.

implogOn May 9, 2008 at 2:05 pm Said:

Seems the thread in the link I included went poof. It has been reposted at the link below.

Again, according to eBay, non-paying buyer gets to neg seller by responding “I’m not paying!” to the Unpaid Item Dispute. This resulted in no “delight for the seller.

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=1000695790&tstart=0&mod=1210356656550

AmberOn May 9, 2008 at 2:31 pm Said:

“it is clear that gaps remain between buyer demand and the supply of inventory on our site.”

As a media seller, I find this completley unbelievable. There is no dearth of new books on the site. The logic doesn’t hold AT ALL.

And please explain how powersellers are somehow “safer” than long-term low volume sellers re: feedback protections.

AmberOn May 9, 2008 at 2:32 pm Said:

“new-in-season inventory”

Again, how does a 5 year old (in terms of publication date) romance qualify as in-season?

AmberOn May 9, 2008 at 2:36 pm Said:

Please reference this listing:

150244824440

“Usually Ships in 1 to 2 business days
When selecting Budget Shipping, items may take an additional 3-5 business days from the time frame listed above to process prior to shipment”

How is waiting 5 days to ship, then shipping via Media Mail going to deliver a terrific customer experience?

AmberOn May 9, 2008 at 2:43 pm Said:

“We are determined to create opportunities to succeed on eBay for all sellers who consistently deliver great customer experiences– no matter your size.”

Can you please delineate the opportunities that low volume sellers have?

Especially if selling used items we are:

1) disadvantaged in search by sellers selling New Items
2) disadvantaged in search by sellers who are Powersellers
3) disadvantaged by the lack of Paypal address protection
4) disadvantaged by the lack of a “waiting period” for negatives
5) disadvantaged by not receiving FVF discounts
6) disadvantaged in the Seller Non Performance sanctions

I could go on, but frankly I’m disgusted. You DON’T care about the little guys. You never have. And your preference for powersellers is revealed in every little new policy change you announce.

TheBrewsNewsOn May 9, 2008 at 2:48 pm Said:

Lorrie, thank you for the communication. As an eBay seller, I understand that eBay must make changes in order to survive in the online marketplace. If eBay doesn’t survive then I am “out of a job” as an eBay seller. Our goals are congruent. I am an eBay Powerseller managing multiple eBay selling IDs but I started out as a small part-time seller. In addition, as an eBay education specialist, I endeavor to educate new “small” sellers.

You make the point, Lorrie, that “having a unique selection alone is no longer enough to maintain a growing and healthy marketplace. People also want to find inventory that includes the latest and greatest brand name models.”

I agree with you on that point! But I disagree with your assertion that the Buy.com eBay seller will be the answer to help you accomplish your goal of maintaining a growing and healthy marketplace.

The question I would ask is: Why are there gaps between buyer demand and the supply of the latest and greatest brand name inventory on eBay?

Answer: Manufacturers do not want to sell directly on eBay and they do not want their product to be sold on eBay because of the perception that anything sold on eBay is done so because it has to be dumped.

eBay is known as so much of a dumping ground that many manufacturers make distributors sign agreements stating that they will not sell the product on eBay. Manufacturers go to great lengths to prevent their product from being sold on eBay and, in contrast, are more than happy to see their product sold on Amazon.

For example, take a look at the makers of Aerogarden and their success with partnering up with Amazon:

PRESS RELEASE:
AeroGrow Products Top Amazon.com’s “Most Wished For” List for Second Consecutive Year

BOULDER, CO–Dec 19, 2007 — AeroGrow International, Inc., makers of the AeroGarden kitchen garden appliance, announced that AeroGrow’s products ranked #1 on Amazon.com’s “Most Wished For” list, #2 on their “Most Gifted” list, and #5 on the “Bestsellers” list for the Patio, Lawn & Garden category as of December 17, 2007. In addition to being ranked first on the “Most Wished For” list, a total of 5 AeroGrow products were ranked in the top 25 and 9 in the top 100. The 2007 holiday season marks AeroGrow’s second consecutive annual appearance at the top of Amazon’s “Most Wished For” list.

Aerogrow went to great lengths to have their product removed from eBay in 2007. They repeatedly had eBay listings removed under the guise of protecting their VERO rights. They removed legitimate items from sellers who used their own pictures and descriptions and who were selling at the correct MAP pricing. They simply did not want the product sold on eBay, even if the price was the same or greater than on Amazon. Months later, Aerogrow did have their VERO takedown notices reversed. The point is that Aerogrow embraced the idea of their product being sold on Amazon but not on eBay.

Aerogrow is just one example of many. Manufacturers simply do not want to see their product sold on eBay.

Even though eBay may not talk openly about the “elephant in the room”, we can all see it there, and I’m sure eBay privately acknowledges that eBay has a major image problem with the manufacturers and U.S. retailers.

I really and truly do understand that, from a business perspective, eBay must make changes. But I think that eBay has unfairly targeted sellers, both large and small, as being the main source of eBay’s problems. While I certainly agree that there are plenty of eBay sellers, both large and small, who fail to provide a good buyer experience, there are also a good number of eBay buyers who are exploiting eBay sellers and taking unfair advantage of the eBay and PayPal system. eBay has no plans to address that problem, at least not that we have been told. And unless and until there is a plan to address that problem, you will never have a healthy marketplace. No amount of Buy.com - type sellers on eBay will make the current marketplace a healthy and growing ecosystem.

AmberOn May 9, 2008 at 2:56 pm Said:

@TheBrewsNews,

Good Point! As I don’t sell “brand name” items, that didn’t occur to me. Especially during the holiday season, the selling boards are filled with sellers being restricted from selling brand name items. Selling limits and VeRO take downs run rampant. I don’t blame sellers for not invensting in inventory when they have no assurances, even for “established” sellers, that they will be allowed to list those items.

DagnyOn May 9, 2008 at 3:04 pm Said:

Lorrie, Thank you posting.

Your first paragraph says eBay does not dislike small sellers. Ok, I expected the second paragraph to explain what eBay is doing to help and to protect the small seller. I was disappointed. :(

The new pay PayPal policies directly target small sellers, new sellers and casual sellers in a very negative way. All the new “goodies” are going to Power Sellers and the restrictions are being placed on non-power sellers. This quote from Monroe Labouisse is telling…

“Provide great experiences for buyers, qualify for PowerSeller status, and then along with the many other benefits eBay provides, you can get this protection from PayPal.”

–eBay and PayPal are focusing on Power Sellers. I infer from Monroe’s statement that if you are not a Power Seller you will just have to suck it up and risk loosing your money and merchandise… and we are in most cases forced to take PayPal.

Small sellers pay more and risk more and are disadvantaged in “Best Match”, we can not offer free shipping as eBay says is the “online” norm. We can not make it on eBay anymore.

You say eBay does not dislike small sellers….eBay’s actions say differently. :(

SharonOn May 9, 2008 at 3:24 pm Said:

Ms Norrington

“Let me be clear: eBay has always believed that small and casual sellers — “the little guys” — are eBay’s most important competitive advantage … These sellers created our community, bring a human touch to the marketplace, and continue to make eBay a truly one-of-a-kind shopping experience.”

I am one of those little guys. If we are indeed Ebay’s most important competitive advantage, what do you think all the “noise” is about. Every change that has been made recently by Ebay has served to disadvantage the small and casual seller, i.e. best match, no negatives for buyers, DSR’s, no seller protection, and let’s not forget, Non-paying bidders. While the recent changes have been geared toward Powersellers (large volume sellers)

If no payment is received, there is no transaction. Hence, no feedback should be left. Sellers should not be afraid to file for their final value fees to be reversed because of fear of a retaliatory negative from a non-paying bidder.

These changes have so disadvantaged myself and others that sellers are leaving this site (and I used to buy on this site more than I sold). Why would you not care to retain sellers (who are also your buyers and your CUSTOMERS)?

Is Ebay really proud of the partnership with Buy? They may have 4.8 DSR’s but have you looked at their feedback? With their volume of sales they can absorb all the neutrals and negatives (as can all volume sellers, they are not worried about these changes) but the small seller will be hurt by one or two negatives.
All the anger and frustration that you see is caused by these changes. No, it’s not the large volume sellers you are hearing from. It’s just business as usual for them.

But for some sellers, Ebay is seriously hurting our business. Do you understand that many sellers supplement their income, or in some cases, their entire income comes from selling on Ebay? If you were selling on Ebay to support your entire family and that ability was seriously impaired, how would you feel?

Thanks for being brave enough to come here and I hope you will read this and understand from a small seller point of view instead from corporate Ebay.

Formerly Known As MarikaBooksOn May 9, 2008 at 4:30 pm Said:

Ms. Norrington, you said:
“I think it’s important that we address the misperception that eBay dislikes small sellers. Let me be clear: eBay has always believed that small and casual sellers — “the little guys” — are eBay’s most important competitive advantage … These sellers created our community, bring a human touch to the marketplace, and continue to make eBay a truly one-of-a-kind shopping experience.”

Do you consider that it was a “misperception” on my part that I thought I must have somehow angered the Ebay gods when my listings were having serious visibility issues? This was well BEFORE Best Match and the current disadavantaging of listings in search.

At the time, quite a few members thought I was crazy when I said that I could not, no matter how I searched, get one of my listings to come up in a search, even though I had the ‘one and only’ on Ebay at the time. Now they see what I went through since many more sellers are now finding themselves invisible while they continue to pay the same fees as folks who aren’t disadvantaged.

This is just ONE of many slaps in the face that smaller sellers have felt and many of these slaps came out of the blue. That fact alone tells me that Ebay doesn’t value ANY of its sellers very much unless a small number of PESA-types are getting advance notice of site changes which seriously affect business plans.

The little guy is just getting one bomb from the sky after another in the form of little-advance-notice changes. A perfect example is what was recently done to digital download sellers who got ONE week’s notice that their Ebay businesses were decimated.

Small sellers are valued? Really. Then, please, tell us all what Ebay has done for them lately. And the so-called fee decrease doesn’t count because most people saw an INcrease in their total fees and we all know it.

And when you are ignoring my questions as Richard does (probably because I am no longer selling here so to heck with me), try to keep in mind that I no longer BUY on Ebay either.

Everytime you all lose a seller, you lose more than one buyer. Ignore me if you like but it might be wise to answer ALL current sellers’ questions before you insult them one time too many and they take their buying dollars elsewhere, too. The buyer is #1, you know.

Patricia1On May 9, 2008 at 4:41 pm Said:

“In reading some of the comments in Richard’s eBay partners with Buy.com post and the Evolution of the eBay Feedback post I think it’s important that we address the misperception that eBay dislikes small sellers. Let me be clear: eBay has always believed that small and casual sellers — “the little guys” — are eBay’s most important competitive advantage … These sellers created our community, bring a human touch to the marketplace, and continue to make eBay a truly one-of-a-kind shopping experience.”

With all due respect, if you can understand that - then you can also understand the misery you people are putting small sellers thru! If you can understand your paragraph above then all logic fails in this situation because not one of you really “see” the trouble you are handing out to small sellers while you keep benefiting and protecting the powersellers! No, I’m very much afraid you all do not understand - because you don’t want too. If you really wanted small sellers to stay then you would never ever treat them in this manner. Every small seller who has kept up with the changes so far truly believes it is only a matter of time before they are tossed out of ebay - and not one of you have said anything to the contrary - or showed any kind of consideration or respect! Ebay-speak aside - ebay’s actions since January prove our point - ebay really has little use for small sellers and will watch them drop by attrition or leave in disguest while they ease in the bigger retailers. The few kind words we receive once in awhile (that are never backed up by actions) are only meant to keep us dangling until we’re no longer needed. Believe me…our regular customers see what is happening to us and are concerned. Ebay should be a bit more concerned too because we all know that good news may spread but bad news spreads like wildfire!

HenriettaOn May 9, 2008 at 4:55 pm Said:

Listing above Price $7.20
3 weeks S&H $3.60 total price $10.80

On the river Price $4.04
Immediate S&H $3.99 total price $8.03

Savings 25% Satisfaction - priceless

JJHOn May 9, 2008 at 5:00 pm Said:

Ms Norrington, you said:

“Let me be clear: eBay has always believed that small and casual sellers — “the little guys” — are eBay’s most important competitive advantage … These sellers created our community, bring a human touch to the marketplace, and continue to make eBay a truly one-of-a-kind shopping experience.”

What I want to know is why you have created this “class” society (or should I say “class community”) where PowerSellers are now elitists, and everyone else is disadvantaged garbage?

I have been here for 10 years. I was a powerseller about 4 years ago, for about 4 or 5 years. Back then, it really meant nothing to be a PS, you basically just got a “badge” you could put in your listing. OK, that’s then, this is now.

I am a small seller now. I can’t keep up the load I used to, but I still use my small sales to supplement my income AND YOURS. I have 100% “lily white” positive feedback. I have DSRs of 4.8,4.8,4.9,4.8. And for what?

My RECORD shows I am a good seller with excellent customer service.

Why don’t I get any benefits from this? I’m the type of seller you want here on eBay. I MAKE the “Better Buyer Experience” as proved by my marks. I *AM* your “Better Buying Experience”, I spend time on every customer. I have the time too do that when I only have to manage a few buyers a week instead of 300 a day.

Why am I told “sorry, you get nothing for that”?

My take is “sorry, you don’t make us enough money. Go away.”

Every week it’s some new PS benefit that does nothing but PISS OFF all the good non-Psellers.

I *URGE YOU* in the strongest of terms, no I challenge you, give us SMALL SELLERS who qualify with the same standards the powersellers have to achieve the SAME respect and privilege they get. I honestly feel you OWE it to me out of loyalty. I’ve stuck around here and helped build you this past decade, and make you what you are. I deserve some sort of “thank you”. Lip service I don’t need. Lip service doesn’t pay my bills.

HenriettaOn May 9, 2008 at 5:28 pm Said:

Patricia with all due respect Ms Norrington is not saying that she understands, or that she cares. She is using a well known nanny technique, think Mary Poppins. A spoonful of sugar (or three.)

When listening to or reading comments from top executives it is important to analyze, not simply read, because just reading will lead you to make assumptions which may be the norm in the civilized world but absolutely do not reflect what that person is truly saying. They do not lie overtly. They are very sincere. They are also highly skilled in saying nothing using a lot of words.

For example:
eBay has always believed . .
Note past tense. My five year old believed in the tooth fairy. Does she believe now she is 30?

. . these sellers created our community
Absolutely, no harm in acknowledging that sugar.

. . bring a human touch to the marketplace
Absolutely, no harm in acknowledging that, sugar.

and continue to make eBay a truly one-of-a-kind shopping experience . . .
But? and she goes on to say that is not the direction of the future.

You picked up on the fallacies of buy.com product which is so far nothing not offered by other sellers on eBay, or in other venues including their own website for less, but there IS a lot more of it and buyers may choose it in hopes of building feedback.

What else does she say, well, actually, not much, in fact, nothing. The kicker is in the ultimate sentence
” . . . we are determined to create opportunities to succeed on eBay for all sellers who consistently deliver great customer experiences– no matter your size.”

THIS I find completely confusing. I don’t need Ms Norrington and her colleagues to create anything, I created that myself when she was busy doing something else at Intuit Inc., before Bill Cobb broke it. What I need is for them to quit fixing something that ain’t broke with a sledgehammer, but that would require stepping back and saying whoopsie. Not going to happen. Not in this life.

LAGOn May 9, 2008 at 5:34 pm Said:

Ms Norrington,
Please remember that actions speak louder than words. No matter how you try to spin it, every action that ebay has taken in the last year shows that the small sellers are not appreciated.

I am a current small seller, not as long as most of the posters here, 4 years, over 1500 - 100% positive feedback.

Like many others, I am getting increasingly disillusioned with eBay and I am currently researching alternative venues. I am disgusted with the feedback changes, best match, the unfair playing field and the DSR double standard - telling buyers that 4 is good but penalizing sellers if they have less than 4.8.

I have already had sales on one speciality site where listing is free, stores are free and final value fees are 5%. I can charge less and make more.

The site owner listens to suggestions and responds to queries within 4-6 hours with answers that actually apply to the question - how strange is that. Even small sellers are made to feel wanted and valuable.

I would much rather deal with him than a bot that sends me a canned response that has absolutely nothing to do with my problem 24-48 hours or more after the fact. Or management that consistantly ignores the valid questions being asked and suggestions offered in the comments in this blog.

There may only be a few posters here but they are doing a fine job of expressing the thoughts of the silent majority of small sellers.

Ebay management would be wise to take note.

AmberOn May 9, 2008 at 6:11 pm Said:

LOL Henrietta,

The “value” aspect is missing, isn’t it? I’d rather pay full retail price (another .75 or so) and have it shipped for FREE from my local Borders store.

Or I can order it at full retail price from the River, add another 2 books or so, and have free shipping–from a DC close enough that I’ll have it the next day.

I don’t see how there is any benefit to the buyer OR eBay in having overpriced inventory on the site. All that does is encourage the buyer to seek out cheaper websites. And once they’ve determined eBay is too expensive, they won’t come back.

Patricia1On May 9, 2008 at 7:43 pm Said:

“I don’t see how there is any benefit to the buyer OR eBay in having overpriced inventory on the site.”

Maybe to puff up the listings? That’s the big benefit I see. Without them…listings are on a downward trend.

BernieOn May 9, 2008 at 10:30 pm Said:

Dear Lorrie Norrington,

Boy there is so much I could tell you about what it is like to be one of us. I will focus though.

Before I do I would like to float the question that if ebay corporate management had feedback and stars, what do you suppose they would look like and why? Maybe not perfect.

I sell old stuff I am a “traditional” ebay seller. Often very fragile items requiring great care to pack. One cubic foot of packing peanuts costs about 4 dollars. Unless one buys in a gigantic bag in which case it is three. A typical box costs about one dollar.

So I can’t use those things or I would have to add 4 or 5 dollars and up to my shipping fee. I have to find recyclable stuff. I hunt for it for nothing.

I charge what it costs me to ship in terms of outlaid dollars nothing for “handling” or packing, etc.

And I watch my shipping charge stars go down , and down, and down. And I do not meet the 4.6 minimum standard.

People don’t know how much it costs to send things. The rates are going to go up again soon and what will happen is I will take more hits as people give me other than a 5, not knowing from the key that other than 5 is bad.

So what is it like for me to see the ebay corporate solution to rising shipping costs be “Make Shipping Free!”

What I am I supposed to think?

It seems like either there is a lack of thought about this, or that ebay in a disingenuous way wants me to run incorporate my shipping fee into the item price so that ebay can then gain a FVF percentage on it.

But ebay and I are in it together. Ebay as an entity is dependent on shipping.

But the message from ebay seems to be shipping costs are the fault of bad sellers who need to make it free.

Where is the help for us? We are told to educate our customers. Each of us on our own.

But I ask why does not ebay see the critical need to point out to people the value added when something is shipped to them? The convenience of having items delivered to their door? The cost per mile of driving to the mall, or shopping around is often as great or greater than a shipping fee? The savings in time?

I can find something on ebay in minutes or seconds that would take me hours, or in the case of some vintage and antique items, years, to find locally?

There is nothing like that to help us and yourselves. We get “Make Shipping free customers like free shipping”

I ship worldwide. A man just paid me 90 dollars to send him his radio in Italy. Can we expect he will check that his shipping fee was “very reasonable”?

It actually cost me 93.

Help us with that issue please. A shipping charge is not a negative it is a service for value and in most cases well worth paying. Help us communicate that.

I know ebay wants to grow, and transform, but all the ideas are seemingly about the “new” direction while the goose that laid the golden egg goes neglected. Basic issues go untended.

Knowing something about this I can tell you what will happen as a result of the shipping stars is that shipping fees will actually rise. The standard is impossibly high for most so sellers will stop trying to hit it. It will lose it’s motivating value.

Briefly I will add that ebay is in essence a search engine geared to bring buyers and sellers together. I think you would agree that without the search engine, ebay would cease to be.

But it is tinkered with experimentally based on the latest new idea quite recklessly. While at it’s core, it’s basic functionality, has gone unimproved for years.

So I would like to say grow and expand and evolve, but also do what got ebay here better and better.

Thanks

Bernie

SandiOn May 10, 2008 at 2:24 am Said:

3 pages of comments on the initial blog post regarding buy.com - Ms Norrington states she has read them - so why did she fail to answer any of the questions posed by readers?

This blog is looking more and more like nothing but something direct from ebay’s PR department.

MJOn May 10, 2008 at 8:02 am Said:

A lot of the recent changes now make sense with the Buy.com and how it all shakes out, I guess we all will see.

The new feedback system (Neutrals counting against your feedback score) truly will level the playing field - virtually all 100% Positive scores will be removed overnight, making it easier for places like Buy to get away with their projected 98.9 (currently 99.5 and dropping) Score.

I have to say that I am somewhat relieved in that the days are over of us issuing immediate refunds, losing money to crazy buyers, UPS call tags, etc. — all just to maintain our 99.9+ that will soon be a 99.1

I guess I would be upset more if I was selling directly against them, but for now only a few items crossover against us. Maybe more will soon? Either way it has kicked up our new efforts to advance sales in new channels even faster.

One thing I think will be interesting is to see how many people buy once from Buy on eBay and then simply move on to buy.com , bypassing eBay all together the next time.

If eBay wants to be the Mall (aka a brick and mortar) it might just find itself in the boat many malls are in today — customers bypassing the mall and shopping directly form the stores online.

I love eBay, it has changed my life and I have made a ton of money hear. For those of you directly affected by this deal, I truly wish you well and hope you can stick it out and find new and creative ways to make you business work here and elsewhere.

MJ

Kathy_the_green_fishOn May 10, 2008 at 11:55 am Said:

There is an in between group
Those who are not powersellers
Those who are no using eBay as an online garage sale.
I’ve been on eBay since 2000.
I did not need any assistance from eBay to grow my business, quality goods, great customer service, and being able to screen my customers grew my business.

Though my average sales barely scraped $10, over the years I was able to earn $200 to $300 a month.
Pretty darn good.
However, you have taken away my ability to screen bidders. You will not remove fraudulent listings. You will not verify buyers or sellers to make it an open honest marketplace. The fees increased to a point that it is mathematically impossible to make money on eBay. When I emailed Trust and Safety about feedback extortion, I received a form letter on downloading the eBay toolbar. If this is how you plan on protecting me while increasing my fees almost 57%, you are wrong. Sellers are eBay customers. We pay a fee and expect a level of servioce. We pay more and we expect a greater level of service, the bare minimum you expect us sellers to give our paying customers. You should share what the future plans of paying for placement on the default search. A new scary thought.
You have turned eBay into page after page of similar crap where honest sellers cannot compete against the high amount of stolen, gray market, and non-existent goods that Trust and Safety refuse to remove.

I will be keeping my ID active, as despite the monstrosity you have changed eBay into, I still love it. I love the people I met and the great people I have yet to meet. I am still hoping someone comes to their senses and creates real meaningful change instead of short term fixes that destroyed the value of my eBay stock.
Yes, that is my seller ID up top.

LisaOn May 10, 2008 at 12:56 pm Said:

May I quote you Lorrie?

“We have chosen to partner with Buy.com because we believe their new-in-season inventory, 4.8 DSRs, liberal return policy, and low shipping costs meet unfulfilled demand on eBay.com”.

Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating. But I respectfully disagree. I decided to see just how Buy.com planned to utilize it’s new alliance with eBay by purchasing a book. Buy.com charged me $4.85 through eBay to ship this book. That doesn’t seem like a “low shipping cost”. What’s even more bothersome, is the cost for shipping this same book, had I purchased it directly from Buy.com, would have only been $3.60. That’s $1.25 more on eBay. Now why would I buy from Buy.com through eBay when the same item on their site is less? This seems like tunnel-vision. Did Buy.com tell eBay their shipping rates were low or did eBay just assume it was low? In fact, had I bought the book on Amazon, that seller would have been locked into $2.50 for the book (via media mail of course). So I gambled and lost - no biggie, come May 19, I’ll leave appropriate feedback with no fear of retaliation.

This alliance only means that more eBay Power Sellers will have to undercut Buy.com and some will. Certainly they can do better on shipping costs. The small seller of unique items has nothing to fear. It’s not like there’s a “Collectible Warehouse” out there with a huge online presence that we dealers need to fear. No collectible jewelry, glassware, hummels, etc., will be suddenly available in mass quantities at below wholesale prices to scare us. We have little to fear from the new partnership. We have much to fear from the lack of ability to leave feedback. We can only hope that using the buyer requirement to block bidders that others had problems with will help.

Overall, eBay won’t benefit from the Buy.com alliance once people realize the same item from Buy.com’s own site will cost them less than buying through eBay.

The ColonelOn May 10, 2008 at 1:54 pm Said:

The new eBay policies taken as a whole present significant barriers to entry for new sellers.

The “Powersellers” of tomorrow often start as the casual or small seller of today.

To deny the new seller an equal opportunity and a chance to participate on a level playing field will undermine the diversity of items listed that eBay has built it’s reputation and market share on.

eBay will simply cease to be the dynamic venue it has always been, a place where you could pick up stamps for your collection, a rare piece of porcelain for your breakfront, an item or two for your business such as a printer or computer, that ideal gift for your loved one, and a CD or DVD to enjoy at home.

Compare eBay to Major League Baseball Teams. How many of those teams would disband their AAA farms? None.

Because again, the power slugger of today was the minor league player of yesterday.

Patricia1On May 10, 2008 at 2:13 pm Said:

@ Sandi - “3 pages of comments on the initial blog post regarding buy.com - Ms Norrington states she has read them - so why did she fail to answer any of the questions posed by readers?”

Maybe she didn’t get her “talking points” yet ;-)

The ColonelOn May 10, 2008 at 2:26 pm Said:

The “Powerseller” program, IMHO, has become meaningless and flying the PS masthead may actually be detrimental to the lower tier participant’s reputation.

But then again, that is assuming there will be lower tier Powersellers left after July 1st.

In the old days, a small seller felt proud to be invited into the program. That person was doing good volume, keeping the buyers happy, and doing good for his consignors. It was neat to fly the PS Logo next to your UserID.

But what did the program really give to the lower tier sellers? (By lower tier, I mean the Bronze, Silver, and Gold sellers) Nothing really. Nothing besides a special phone number to call for customer service. And that only applied if you were Silver or Gold or above. Futhermore, if you were a drop shop or auctioneer, you had to be Platinum or Better to be called a “Trading Post”.

So aside from the phone number, access to the Powerseller Discussion Boards, and a nifty logo, there was really no advantage. We still paid the same fees and we still got what we paid for (the same listing placement consideration as anyone else). But this was before “Best Match”.

I guess back then the program meant something. You played by the same rules as everyone else but you did it better and were recognized. You got what amounted to no more than a Boy Scout Badge or a Good Conduct Ribbon.

When all was said and done, you were still just like anyone else on eBay, subject to the same rules, subject to the same protections. You were just another soldier who earned a medal, nothing more.

Now it is a completely different program. As a Powerseller myself I am glad that I will no longer qualify after July 1st.

Now Powersellers get shipment protections that our brother sellers do not get. That is unfair. Everyone should get it or no one should get it. (I am referring to PayPal)

Now Powersellers get discounts based on DSR’s. Yet our selling brothers, the part timers, many who have ratings better than us do not qualify. That is unfair.

Powersellers will soon get negative feedback protections that other fine sellers will not be afforded. That is unfair.

And to make matters worse, to be a Powerseller, if you are an auctioneer or a drop shop, means you have to subsidize shipping costs. Well, subsidizing shipping costs for a paltry 5% discount simply is not worth it.

Furthermore, there seems to be some sort of animosity now being indiscriminately levelled at Powersellers of any level, even us small low volume high ticket price sellers.

But worst of all, smaller sellers pay the same insertion fee as anyone else but are discriminated against in Best Match. That is completely unfair. These people pay the same price as anyone else, yet they are receiving inferior service, and by design. That is totally wrong.

One last thing…You might ask why a Powerseller is sticking up for non-powersellers. The answer is real simple…if I do not stick up for my brother when he is being unfairly persecuted, who is going to be there when they come for me.

eBay is supposed to be a community, a transparent community, an equal opportunity community. Not some dark, smoke filled room in which secret deals are cut.

NancyOn May 10, 2008 at 3:24 pm Said:

I finally decided to get my butt in gear. Since I have a gazillion punches and dies for scrapbooking and spent over $300.00 stocking up on paper I was going to make my die cuts and my punchies and really try hard to make a successful go of it. So I sat down and was getting ready to list more stuff (wishing there was a shopping cart for my customers who purchased 300 of my items) to find out that nothing under a dollar was going to be supported. I sell things for as low as a penny because I sell lots of things in one order. So here I sit, store closed, feedback of a perfect 100% wondering what the hell just happened….

JJHOn May 10, 2008 at 3:46 pm Said:

“But what did the program really give to the lower tier sellers? (By lower tier, I mean the Bronze, Silver, and Gold sellers) Nothing really.”

Back when I was a Bronze Powerseller, I guess it was from 2000 to 2005, you got nothing really, just as you said. You got the privilege to display a badge in your listings. Also, back then, sales volume for Bronze was $2000 a month, not the $1000 a month required now. It took work even to become a bronze seller. They just lowered the standards.

As a Bronze PS, all I got was a special email address for help (”customer service”) that got me a reply within 4-8 hours. Many of the replies were actual replies from a human, but had mixed canned paragraphs scattered in too.

Over time, I began to become aware that in some buyer sectors, Powersellers were considered something to avoid. Word was starting to get around that they had lousy service, high shipping prices, long time to ship, bad communication, etc. You know, perhaps EVERYTHING ebay is “attempting” to conquer with their DSR system and other “better buyer” changes. So, if there was/is a problem, I say it was ebay that created it.

For my last two years as a PS, I actually took my listing badge down, and turned off the little icon that displayed next to my name. If there was a negative feeling against Powersellers, real or perceived, I didn’t want any backlash affecting my sales.

“When all was said and done, you were still just like anyone else on eBay, subject to the same rules, subject to the same protections. You were just another soldier who earned a medal, nothing more.”

In other words, a LEVEL PLAYING FIELD.

“Now Powersellers get shipment protections that our brother sellers do not get. That is unfair. Everyone should get it or no one should get it. (I am referring to PayPal)

Now Powersellers get discounts based on DSR’s. Yet our selling brothers, the part timers, many who have ratings better than us do not qualify. That is unfair.”

Thank you, thank you, and thank you again!

“One last thing…You might ask why a Powerseller is sticking up for non-powersellers. The answer is real simple…if I do not stick up for my brother when he is being unfairly persecuted, who is going to be there when they come for me.”

Thumbs up, Colonel. Thanks for the kind words of inspiration.

oakteakOn May 10, 2008 at 4:45 pm Said:

Colonel, Your words are so measured and true and have great integrity. Thank you for the very insightful posts.

If only people in a position to make changes would see it as clear as you do.

I don’t have much hope, unfortunately.

permacrisisOn May 10, 2008 at 5:32 pm Said:

“having a unique selection alone is no longer enough to maintain a growing and healthy marketplace”

It is when you’re the guy with the unique selection. But to heck with him — you can’t mass produce uniqueness, so ebay left that guy in the dust. Off to $ greener $ pastures eh ebay.

If I hadn’t already left, the ‘no longer enough’ statement alone would have provoked me to do so.

It proves an absolute lack of understanding of what makes ebay tick: someone gets up one morning, looks at something sitting on their dresser, and says “I think today I will sell this.”

Why does ebay so fanatically prohibit us from linking or mentioning other venues of used and flea market items, if it is disavowing this marketspace ?

Because it wants us to die off, that’s why.

It’s working.

Patricia1On May 10, 2008 at 5:35 pm Said:

@ The Colonel:

“Now Powersellers get discounts based on DSR’s. Yet our selling brothers, the part timers, many who have ratings better than us do not qualify. That is unfair. ”

The big joke of it is there are lots of oldtimers like myself - who are serious sellers. In the arts categories there is so much competition that one must feature auctions at least one or two a week - an extra 20.00 a listing - or be buried completely. I’ve been at this for 10 years….most often having about 50+ listings at a time - all paintings that I must produce myself…no such thing as dropshipping here. Through all the years (up until this mess of a year) I hovered just under powerseller status. I probably would have made it if I didn’t have to also stock my website - that aside, I still maintained a 100 percent feedback record with more than half my customers coming back again and again - my DSR’s are all 5.0 and one 4.9. What do I get for this hard work and dedication? Probably a good swift kick in the sitter when the time comes to clean us all out and make way for the dime store sellers and all the chinese trash. I can tell ebay something they don’t want to hear. I have a small following of buyers who will leave when I do. I already list on 4 other sites and they have become in the habit of checking out what I sell on other sites. All this year I’ve been directing them to my website - luring them with free shipping - enclosing small gifts - whatever marketing it takes to keep them is what I will do. I’m not alone in this - there are thousands of sellers just like me and all of us will drain as many buyers off of ebay as we possibly can! I hope ebay is ready for this because its already begun and I feel they know it. As it is they cannot keep listings up without a gimmick. There is traffic on the site but they aren’t buying like they should…why? Well, maybe they’re at the countless other online auctions that are getting hale and hearty while Ebay fiddles and watches its business burn! For their sake, I hope their plan is well thought out and they are willing to live or die by it because soon they won’t be able to turn things around if they see their plans are failing.

permacrisisOn May 10, 2008 at 5:57 pm Said:

Ironic, given that Donahoe said in 2002, ALWAYS have an exit strategy.

The ColonelOn May 10, 2008 at 7:07 pm Said:

JJH, Oakteak, Patricia1, Permacrisis

Thanks everyone for your replies to my post.

Maybe eBay will wake up and realized that we are all in this together…buyer, seller, management, shareholders, all of us.

Imagine if we were all working as a team. eBay would not be floundering….it would be untoppable.

Patricia1On May 10, 2008 at 7:27 pm Said:

Colonel - I don’t think ebay feels its floundering. I think they know they have to take a hit in order to change things so drastically and evidentally they feel its worth the loss. I think anyone who isn’t actively pursuing other venues is fooling himself. I find fault in their rhetoric - obviously they no longer care if they lose our trust and respect. (shrug)

SandiOn May 10, 2008 at 8:50 pm Said:

Maybe eBay will wake up and realized that we are all in this together…buyer, seller, management, shareholders, all of us.

There are two possibilities here, either ebay’s management are all strak raving looney or they have their own agenda that has nothing to do with “buyer or sellers, us”.

What has plagued ebay more than anything? Fraud, fakes, and such. They have spent more time in court than spending their buzillions. All their bad press comes when some thief ring or counterfeit ring gets caught. Come on guys, there are no stories on the nighhtly news regarding shipping, negative feedbacks, etc.

Two Options - expend the monies to clean up the site or bring in major retailers who they know will not be sellling fakes, committing fraud, using ebay to rid themselves of their latest heist.

Problem with option one, they would have to spend monies, not a pasttime they enjoy. Problem with option two is it could produce bad pr, they would look like they were kicking out the very people who made it what it was.

They have opted for option two obviously, they just came up with the “spin” it’s for the buyers. They have gone so far as to create this blog which to date has done none of the things promised in the press release.

They have convinced buy to offer the same pricing here as they do on their site apparently, the only difference is if you buy on their site vs ebay you get to use google checkout and get a bonus for doing so - which still makes their site offer the better deal. They probably pulled that one off by saying they didn’t really have to do that one only thing or cut the fees way more than intented - buy is a business afterall, there has to be something in it for them.

Their feedback is a little hinkey though, they were not major players on ebay a year ago, and those DSRs are higher than one would expect with the number of negatives, neutrals and false positives, maybe a little ebay magic, especially since up until this announcement they were definately adding a handling fee into the shipping - I mean 5 bucks to ship a DVD wouldnh’t get any other seller a 4.8 now would it? Add buy’s own rating outside of ebay isn’t anywhere near the stellar number’s it is here, isn’t that a little weird?

Colonel. Patricia hit the nail right on the head, anyone who isn’t quickly making plans to exit ebay, is simply fooling oneself.

DaveyOn May 10, 2008 at 11:16 pm Said:

“Their feedback is a little hinkey though, they were not major players on ebay a year ago, and those DSRs are higher than one would expect with the number of negatives, neutrals and false positives, maybe a little ebay magic, especially since up until this announcement they were definately adding a handling fee into the shipping”

Yes, Sandi, there is something that smells like rotten fish here. BUY.COM has one other thing in common with eBay, and that is a reputation for the worst customer service found anywhere, canned responses, reps that can’t speak English, etc. And, yes, their “Free” shipping on the last item I ordered took 1 week to ship, then almost two weeks’ transit via media mail (and it wasn’t a media item either). This has to be massaged data we’re seeing.

Ms. Norrington, if you read this, tell me what has eBay done to show their appreciation for my business, save raising my fees over 50 percent this year?

I can’t add to the things that have already been said here. Yep, Ms. Norrington gives lip service, but nothing to support her contention that small sellers are valued by eBay. And, no responses to long-standing questions asked on the blog post she supposedly read. How is that listening??

Mark ClassicOn May 11, 2008 at 3:31 am Said:

Hello :-)

I have an interesting question for you Lorrie :-)

It seems Richard does not want to answer it, so maybe you could comment on this observation?

(This is the third time I have posted it).

Whilst on the subject of feedback, can you ask Brian Burke to answer one simple question for me please?

If I am to deal with any seller that has a lot of negatives, I like to know what sort of problems they have.

So I check the negatives by clicking on the link in the feedback rating box.

Why is it that I cannot click on the negative feedback on the BUY seller account?

Is this a special arrangement they have so that their negatives cannot be accessed via the normal means?

Or is this a dishonest manufacturing of high feedback on a highly rated politically sensitive account?

I do not submit this as an accusation, but as a question.

Because if that is the case, then the whole validity of the Ebay feedback system is all a puff of smoke in the wind.

If Ebay are engaging in this type of dishonesty, it will ultimately come back on them in a very embarrasing way.

Or is this merely an oversight on Ebay’s part?

Mark

TheBrewsNewsOn May 11, 2008 at 8:35 am Said:

Mark,

I am not sure that I understand the problem you are having in reviewing the Feedback on eBay for the Buy seller.

I was able to review their neutral and negative feedback with no problems and was able to classify the problems based on buyer’s comments.

Neutrals and Negatives for the last 10 days for Buy:

Buyer did not receive item (last 10 days):
7 neutrals
11 negatives

Buyer received wrong item / item not as described / or DOA (lat 10 days):
5 neutrals
8 negatives

Other reasons (such as found cheaper elsewhere):
3 neutrals
4 negatives

Mark, can you explain what is different about the feedback reporting for Buy as compared to other eBay sellers? I am able to view their feedback in the same manner as I can for any other seller, although I do agree that it is interesting that they can still maintain 4.8+ DSRs with the number of neutrals and negatives they are receiving. As I commented previously, more specific detail in my Seller Dashboard would help me to understand why my 100% feedback rating is only producing 4.6 DSRs in shipping costs as compared to Buy’s 4.8 shipping DSR.

implogOn May 11, 2008 at 10:02 am Said:

Imagine the “delight” of this oddly still active eBay member who is having an “excellent buying experience” at the expense of not so delighted sellers.

Lorrie - Any comments?

http://toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs?User=greenteapass&Dirn=Received+by&ref=home

InterpretorOn May 11, 2008 at 2:43 pm Said:

Norrington Text

“In reading some of the comments in Richard’s eBay partners with Buy.com post and the Evolution of the eBay Feedback post I think it’s important that we address the misperception that eBay dislikes small sellers. Let me be clear: eBay has always believed that small and casual sellers — “the little guys” — are eBay’s most important competitive advantage … These sellers created our community, bring a human touch to the marketplace, and continue to make eBay a truly one-of-a-kind shopping experience.”

Translation:

‘The little guys allowed us to become the biggest online company in the world and survive the tech bust. Thank you for my stock options.’

Norrington Text:

“However, having a unique selection alone is no longer enough to maintain a growing and healthy marketplace. People also want to find inventory that includes the latest and greatest brand name models. As a result, in January, we lowered insertion fees, for all sellers, to decrease the risk of selling on eBay and bring more overall inventory onto eBay.”

Translation:

‘However, we are tired of you and your garage sale junk. Executives from other companies laugh at me at retreats. I need an image upgrade and it’s easier to only deal with a few sellers instead of the unwashed masses.’

Norrington Text:

‘After a few months observing these changes, it is clear that gaps remain between buyer demand and the supply of inventory on our site. This is an obvious opportunity to delight buyers. ‘

Translation:

‘This was an obvious opportunity to pump listings before the end of the second quarter.’

Norrington Text:

“We have chosen to partner with Buy.com because we believe their new-in-season inventory, 4.8 DSRs, liberal return policy, and low shipping costs meet unfulfilled demand on eBay.com. Put another way, we are actively pursuing the merchandise our shoppers want and are willing to experiment with new ways of securing it for this holiday season.”

Translation:

‘We’ll show Amazon. Yeah, we will . . . Them and their constant growth and spotless reputation. We can offer books and CDs. We’re just as good as Amazon. My therapist said to repeat this every morning 10 times in the mirror.’

Norrington Text:

“We are closely monitoring the results so stay tuned for next steps. But regardless of the outcome of this particular experiment to bring more supply to eBay, we are determined to create opportunities to succeed on eBay for all sellers who consistently deliver great customer experiences– no matter your size.”

Translation:

‘Your ebay.com is a done-tom-turkey and will never, ever, ever return. Deal with it!’

Just my 2.19 cents [2 cents plus FVF]

MJOn May 11, 2008 at 3:45 pm Said:

Lori,

Taking you at your word that the smaller sellers still have a place a the eBay table will be a great releif to many.

If this is the case, then there has been a big failure in eBays managemnt’s ability to convery this to those sellers. Announcement after announcment seems to chide and marginilze many in the community.

I for one, after taking the time to digest them, have come to accept and even laud many of the changes that are coming. But the way they have been presented has been lacking and something that needs to be acknowledged so all can move in.

If you have hundreds and hundreds of active Powersellers with good ratings feeling disenfranchised more and more, than either they are all crazy, or eBay’s management needs to rethink the way they diseminate information.

Sellers always new we had a contract of adhesion with eBay, but bought into the community from an ethical and financial standpoint. We just want to know you have that same commitment.

Finally, a little off subject, but important. I think I understand the resons for the new role Neutrals will play in the FB score, but you guys did change the rules in the middle of the game by taking the Neuts from the last 12 months and turning them into something that adversly affects the FB score. You may want to rethink that one as a good will gesture.

Thanks
MJ

LurchOn May 11, 2008 at 4:07 pm Said:

I find this interesting:
“However, having a unique selection alone is no longer enough to maintain a growing and healthy marketplace. People also want to find inventory that includes the latest and greatest brand name models.”
and
“We have chosen to partner with Buy.com because we believe their new-in-season inventory, 4.8 DSRs, liberal return policy, and low shipping costs meet unfulfilled demand on eBay.com.”

OK, so it is the sellers’ faults that buy is here, because inventory that buy lists didn’t already exist, right? So you want the uniqueness of their inventory to meet supposed “unfulfilled demand.” I did randomly check a couple dozen items they have listed, and currently AND in the recent past, none are/were unique to buy. Other sellers (many of them smaller) offered the same product. Ignoring this for a few moments, though - since “having a unique selection *alone* is not enough.” So it must be the other elements of buy that you refer to.

Let’s look at this:

“We have chosen to partner with Buy.com because we believe their new-in-season inventory, 4.8 DSRs, liberal return policy, and low shipping costs.”

Liberal return policy? Really? Like this clause in their 1500+ word return policy? “Unless otherwise stated below, you have 14 days from the date your product left the warehouse (regardless of when you actually took delivery of the product) to get a valid RMA from our website and get your product to a shipper to return back to us. It does not have to be back in our warehouse within 14 days, but it does have to be in the possession of the shipper (along with the valid RMA).”

You only have 14 days from the date the product *left their warehouse* (and it could take up to 10 days or more in transit from them to you, if you pick the most economical shipping) to get the item back to a shipper. You also must FIRST receive an RMA from them (and I am not sure how long that takes, but it must take some kind of time). This makes for a very, very tight turnaround time for the buyer. And while it may be liberal, it may not be very workable for buyers, as per this feedback comment they received: “fast shipper description, not acurate, too complicated for returns.” There’s also this one: “14 day return policy can’t be performed. It’s a hoax. Not possible, no contact.”

Or their 15% restocking fee?

And yeah - that low shipping cost? As pointed out above, the low cost options could well make it difficult or impossible to return an item. Thanks to their “liberal” return policy.

Re, their in-season inventory. I’d love some examples of the unique “in-season” inventory. Much of what they are selling is older. I took a glance for ONE DVD title which came out this last Tuesday - Bewitched Sixth Season. Buy doesn’t have it. A couple dozen other sellers have it, but buy doesn’t.

I also took a look at the recently published Vonnegut book “Armageddon in Retrospect” (published at the start of April). They have the audio CD set of this, but not the book — they did have the book, but ended it early because it is “no longer available for sale,” which seems to come up each time they refuse to ship to someone, based on their negative feedback about this. Plenty of other sellers carry the book, however. So I’m not sure what “in-season” items they actually carry, particularly unique “in-season” items (even though unique is no longer enough - eBay needs to have the same item listed by both individual sellers AND buy).

Also on the low shipping: I just noticed this interesting new neg left recently for them, and have to wonder if it is accurate: “After committing to buy I didn’t like the high handling with the free shipping” - if accurate, this might explain their “low shipping prices.” They also have a couple of these: “No free shipping as advertised” - so it’s looking like there are hidden costs in their free shipping.

Better buyer experience? This would have been a *perfect* opportunity to address how eBay feels about buy reserving the right to be a non-performing seller as well (maybe there should be a link on each of their listings to the NPS report page?). Normally I wouldn’t pick apart sellers’ listings/TOS, but since buy is being trotted out as a fine example of enhancing the better buyer experience, it seems appropriate in this case.

“But regardless of the outcome of this particular experiment to bring more supply to eBay, we are determined to create opportunities to succeed on eBay for all sellers who consistently deliver great customer experiences– no matter your size.”

Yes - the more one looks at them, the more clear it gets that they are, indeed, able to bring product that already exists on eBay, and since uniqueness ALONE is no longer enough, then the other advantages of bringing them on - well, those don’t particularly exist either.

How does this *partnership* with buy and their hundreds of thousands of items which are competing with currently listed items, help other sellers? Is this an example of an opportunity you have created for small and large sellers to succeed on eBay? Could you explain how that works exactly?

The ColonelOn May 11, 2008 at 5:08 pm Said:

I just did a little research on Buy and Buy.com

First lets look at Buy

Buy is rated by epinions as 3.5 out of 4
That is a pretty good rating.

Resellerratings rates then as 2.10 out of 10.00
with a lifetime ratings of 4.32 out of 10.00

The Better Business Bureau rates them BBB
with 2,977 complaints in the last 36 months.

Average all three of these together and you have average company. Nothing great.

Yet on eBay they have amazing feedback and super high DSR’s.

Something does not jive here.

Patricia1On May 11, 2008 at 8:33 pm Said:

You know, I’ve read thru this thread and come to one conclusion…what does it matter? It doesn’t matter what we say or what we do, ebay has an agenda and they’re following it to the letter. If Buy.com isn’t the greatest, ebay will make it look like the greatest…they are never wrong, they are always right. They will have another fine quarter even if we all leave and nobody buys a thing - they’re masters at that alone. I am facing the fact that I have to move on to other things. Whether ebay rises or falls or changes or doesn’t is not my real concern. My real concern is my own future. I care about ebay just about as much as they care about me.

Patricia1On May 11, 2008 at 8:36 pm Said:

The one thing they fail to see is that the “noise” has quieted now that most sellers are coming to just about the same conclusion I did. I only try to impress upon them that when they leave they must take as many of their buyers with them as they possibly can. This is to assure that other sites we list on will improve and not fall by the wayside ;-) I think all sellers should be spreading that message to other sellers and buyers. Its the most important thing right now…we brought the buyers to ebay - they didn’t do it - we kept them coming back - ebay didn’t do that either - now we need to take them with us.

TWOn May 12, 2008 at 9:00 am Said:

Ok, so lets pretend that the small seller is wanted on the eBay site (I say pretend because I have seen nothing to think it is true) and all the new policies were to assure a strong buyer experience as well as bring new buyers to the site.

My question is …. Where are all the buyers? Since the announcements I have noticed a slow erosion of buyers in my market. An item that used to sell for well over $100 is now bringing $50 or less. The problems happened so rapidly that it can not be explained away by the economy.

Did eBay misinterpret their research? I think so.

Is eBay too stubborn to admit they made a mistake? Obviously.

From the DSR’s to Best Match, from wanting sellers to give away shipping to feedback, from board censorship to execs pretending to communicate while not communicating at all, it is one big debacle.

I feel that as a small seller that the tools to succeed have been stripped and replaced by all the tools to fail. I was doing well in January, now I am struggling to survive and all the adapting (which I have tried to do) in the world will not be able to overcome the policies set forth.

Communicating is not just one way Ms. Norrington. Communicating is give and take. Not take and take.

Patricia1On May 12, 2008 at 9:27 am Said:

@ TW I think they know exactly what they’re doing. Their positioning the field so the big boys can come in and set up shop. They won’t have to deal with us small seller riff-raff anymore. I’ve been asking where’s the buyers for weeks now….so now I’m just about totally on another site in particular and doing surprisingly well - and my stress level is back to normal where it should be. I’m among countless other ebay refugees on other sites and we’re supporting each other and brainstorming every idea we can think of to get our buyers to come with us. It will happen - its just going to take time. In the meantime, ebay has made their site so unwelcome for us that it doesn’t take much effort to move on anymore.

implogOn May 12, 2008 at 11:27 am Said:

I don’t really believe that President Norrington wrote the initial post above.

Look at how it is “signed”.

Thank you,
Lorrie Norrington
President, Marketplace Operations

Hardly an ending for a blog post by someone with an ounce of online experience. It’s more like a corporate communication on paper.

PLUS

Not once does she say that she is “excited“.

That’s not the President Norrington I know.

Thank you,
implog
Power Seller, eBay Marketplace