Monday, May 19th, 2008
Knowing Where You Stand
In an AB Post today regarding changes in eBay Marketplace policies, John McDonald, Sr. Director of US Trust & Safety said the top-line reasoning behind these changes is to “create more choice and selection for buyers and make it easier for them to find what they’re looking for. Second, these policy changes add flexibility, convenience and cost-savings for our sellers.”
And there is some great news here. For instance, the Choice Policy (good name for a policy that actually limited choice), is being eliminated so that sellers can now list items in different sizes, color, etc. in a single listing. This helps buyers with a more convenient shopping experience and provides sellers with relief on insertion fees.
But what I want to focus on here at Ink is the expansion of the Seller Dashboard and Best Match rankings because they are intertwined and very relevant to the issue of transparency. I would go so far as to say that a lack of transparency in the recent past has both pulled us away from our roots and hindered our relationship with the community. However, I’ve been encouraged, since joining the company in January, that the concept of transparency is being so widely embraced. It’s definitely something everyone is trying to get better at doing (how else would we have got this blog up and running with comments to begin with?).
The Dashboard is a significant step forward in making eBay a more transparent company with which to do business. And in the interests of transparency, it seems that we are disclosing some issues with Best Match ranking that were perhaps not made abundantly clear:
Since launch, we’ve been monitoring and making adjustments. Some of our adjustments will result in a larger number of sellers with below average performance scores being lowered in Best Match search results. If either of the following conditions apply to you, the visibility of your listings may be reduced:
- Your shipping cost DSR is 4.5 and below
- Your buyer satisfaction rate (shown on the dashboard) appears as “needs improvement,” “poor” or “unacceptable.”
The good? Sellers with 4.7 and above (on all DSRs) should start to see an additional boost in their search standing in Best Match (yes, the announcement is another outbound communication from eBay hammering home the message that sellers are being rewarded for providing the best possible buying experience at the expense of those sellers that are simply “good” rather than “great”).
What I’m interested in hearing about from you though, when the Seller Dashboard is unveiled later this week, is whether or not it is providing you with the information and transparency you need in order to make your business decisions? Is it really letting you know where you stand in the marketplace?
Here are links to some key docs associated with the news today:
Policy Changes FAQ
Seller Non-Performance Policy
Circumventing Fees
Chance Policy
Links Policy
Tips for Improving DSRs
Cheers,
RBH
Tagged: buyers, dsr, ebay, ecommerce, feedback, john+mcdonald, policy+changes, seller+dashboard, sellers, transparency
CAMOn 05.20.2008 at 4:09 pm Said:
@Richard
How do we make it work?
I’ve been a seller on eBay for 12 years. A buyer for 13. I’ve been a powerseller for about 5 years (not right now, don’t have much time to sell right now)..and all these groups are fighting.
I’m a buyer, a small seller and a powerseller and everyone things the other is getting the better deal. So Richard, how do we make this work?
I just can’t go anywhere without seeing these “factions” fighting.
Buyer vs. Small Seller
Buyer vs. Power Seller
Small Seller vs. Buyer
Small Seller vs. Power Seller
Powerseller vs. Buyer
Powerseller vs. Buyer
Power Seller vs. Buyer
and all three vs. eBay
Meg talked about the “magic” of ebay, and that still holds true if you don’t get mired in all this. Heck if I stayed off boards and out of blogs, I’d think everything was great (except the constant changes)
My buyers are great, My sellers are great. eBay kinda bytes right now, but I’ll live.
How do we get to a place where we appreciate each other?
I had great hopes for this blog, and am seeing the same group vs group fighting starting and I really want us ALL to work together for our success. It takes all of us to be successful. If it were only the small sellers then there might not be enough selection for the buyers. If not for the small sellers there might not be enough unique selection for the buyer. If not for buyers, we’d not be selling at all. And if it weren’t for eBay, we wouldn’t worried about the above three :).
I’d like eBay to begin begin my partner again, not my parent. I’d like small sellers to see the challenges of power sellers and powersellers to see the challenges of small sellers and understand the needs of the other and buyers to understand not all sellers are out to rip them off, and mistakes will and do happen.
How do we get there? And what can you or this blog do to help? (if you think its important)..How do we change the paradigm?
-Cam
LurchOn 05.20.2008 at 4:24 pm Said:
Cam - really?!? We need our own little area - I’m always looking for folks like you - I came on to AW in the second week. When did you, if you remember?
I hear what you are saying. I’ve watched it gradually deteriorate over the years, and have seen how eBay has really facilitated this. Any attempts to point out issues about this have been completely ignored (or disregarded. Given the lack of responses, I assume ignored). It’s been headed in this direction for some time. This was compounded by the fact that over the years eBay has instituted things to make it less fun to use, particularly from the buyer side of it. That’s not to say there have not been certain changes over the years for the betterment of the site, because I’ve never made that claim. It’s just been funny over the years to watch prediction after prediction (of mine) play out somewhat, or at times, very close to they way I foresaw it.
LurchOn 05.20.2008 at 4:30 pm Said:
BTW: I have some rough ideas on how to alter the pardigm a bit, but I’m not sure it is even possible anymore. And it would require some drastic changes implemented in a well-thought, well-planned and well-researched fashion with a whole lot of communication to folks, and still, not all of those would be acceptable to all. However, when I say drastic, I do not mean draconian. I have always thought that there would be a number of things that might not be feasible or would need heavy alteration due to inside info that eBay had access to which I did not (and thus, could substantially alter what appeared was needed from the outside), but I don’t even really believe that anymore, given the scientific method utilized to gather data on the increase in retaliatory feedback.
There were a large number of things that needed to be implemented, enforced, fostered, etc over the years. I used to try to engage in dialog with folks at eBay about this. I gave up quite some time ago. You can only go so long with being ignored.
Patricia1On 05.20.2008 at 4:36 pm Said:
Funny - I don’t remember all this fighting between the factions before ebay went ballistic. Maybe I just wasn’t paying attention - I was too busy attending to the needs of my buyers. Well…now it seems since ebay has “fixed” things, I have plenty of time to do whatever I please!!! Get it?
MechelleOn 05.20.2008 at 6:12 pm Said:
@Richard
you are absolutely correct eBay employees/leaders are the epitome of transparency.
SandiOn 05.20.2008 at 6:33 pm Said:
It’s a bloodbath. I have never seen so many negs and neutrals given. Wow.
Richard, in the spirit of transparency it would be interesting to know how many negs and neutrals were given today compared to a week ago. Possible for you to grab that data? It would be available since they track those numbers for discounts, seller non-performance, etc.
implogOn 05.20.2008 at 6:48 pm Said:
The comments below were posted under a wired.com article on eBay’s feedback “enhancement”.
President Norrington, Mr. Burke, your thoughts?
Posted by: upset big time | May 19, 2008 8:33:52 PM
DEAR EBAY BIDDERS:
WANT TO GET FREE STUFF OFF EBAY? HERE’S HOW:
Buy using PayPal. Then, after you have received the item, file a claim with PayPal and use these magic words: ”NOT AS DESCRIBED.” PayPal will immediately put a HOLD on the money in the seller’s account–just for you. Next, send back an empty box, for proof of return of course. After that’s done, PayPal will instantly give the buyer their money back, every time. My friends and I have claimed thousands of dollars in free stuff off eBay this way.
Also, ”NOT AS DESCRIBED” works in cases of buyer’s remorse. It doesn’t matter if the item is described accurately, or even if the seller has a “no return” policy. PayPal is so stupid, they will refund your money back again, and again, and again. You won’t believe how easy it is. Thank you PayPal, you are a pal. 
This is not a joke. If you don’t believe me, try it one time, you’ll see.
Posted by: techslinger | May 19, 2008 8:33:52 PM
Funny Techslinger!
TEN WAYS TO EXTORT A SELLER ON EBAY AND WREAC HAVOC:
Buyers, have at it on eBay! You are free to extort any seller stupid enough to sell on May 19, 2008 (or just have fun messing with them):
1. Click “Buy Now” but don’t pay for the item, then send the seller a negative for not delivering. (Hey you can give a negative, even if you haven’t paid a cent!)
2. Pay by eCheck and ask for Priority Mail, then give the seller a negative for not delivering fast enough. (eChecks take 4-5 days for PayPal to clear.)
3. Buy a book and pay for media mail, then give the seller a negative for not shipping fast enough. (Media mail takes & + days to deliver.)
4. Buy anything cross border and say you didn’t receive it even if you did and then give the seller a negative. (Sellers can’t buy postal insurance for a foreign country and can’t track whether you got it.)
5. Buy from a competitor, then give them a negative just to decrease their rating.
6. Buy something fragile and don’t purchase insurance, then give the seller a negative because the item arrived broken. (You can give a negative, even if you didn’t pay for the insurance!)
7. Buy something on eBay because you like the picture (but don’t bother reading the dimensions in the listing), then give the seller a negative because it was too big or too small.
8. Buy something with insurance. Then after the item comes nicely packaged and in good condition. Tell the seller that you didn’t get insurance, so you want your money back. If he doesn’t give you your money back, then give the seller a negative.
9. Buy something and click Paid by Money Order, then don’t send the money order. Then give the seller a negative for not delivering. You don’t even need to send an item not as described because then you’d actually have to come up with a number. Or if you have a number, cash it under the sellers name, then extort the seller using that number.
10. If you’ve paid through PayPal, go ahead and file a non-receipt or not as described through PayPal. (That will hold the seller’s funds for 21+ days). Don’t worry if the seller has a delivery confirmation, because you’ll get your money back in that time and the seller can’t do anything about it.
DISCLAIMER: We do not actually wish any buyer extort any seller on eBay. We simply wish to illustrate to sellers how extremely unsafe is is for you to sell on eBay!
Posted by: cashbackatebay | May 19, 2008 9:32:30 PM
http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/05/ebay-feedback.html?negative
implogOn 05.20.2008 at 6:56 pm Said:
@ Sandi
You wrote:
“Richard, in the spirit of transparency it would be interesting to know how many negs and neutrals were given today compared to a week ago. Possible for you to grab that data? It would be available since they track those numbers for discounts, seller non-performance, etc.”
And while you’re at it, could you ask Mr. Burke how many of the negs and negtrals were “retaliatory”? 
Patricia1On 05.20.2008 at 7:16 pm Said:
“And while you’re at it, could you ask Mr. Burke how many of the negs and negtrals were “retaliatory”? ”
Okay…now you come here and clean the tea off my monitor! LOL
spinach.chinOn 05.20.2008 at 7:22 pm Said:
I see no reason for not allowing buyer/seller to have total control over the feedback they leave. Each should have the option to remove or change their feedback within a set amount of days. Why ebay insists on getting into feedback and controlling it the way they do causes nothing but more disruption between sellers and THIER customers.
Simply put, eBay wants sellers to have more negs. They are conditioning them to accept lower feedback numbers, as they believe they are artificially inflated now.
DawnOn 05.20.2008 at 7:51 pm Said:
And while you’re at it, could you ask Mr. Burke how many of the negs and negtrals were “retaliatory”?
Beautiful!
Patricia1On 05.20.2008 at 8:15 pm Said:
“Simply put, eBay wants sellers to have more negs. They are conditioning them to accept lower feedback numbers, as they believe they are artificially inflated now.”
Makes absolutely no sense and somewhere down the line I’m confident they are going to come to that conclusion whether they ever admit it (heaven forbid) or not! Only ebay would ever want their customers to appear unsavory LOL The only thing being artificially inflated is how this type of action is going to bring in buyers or even enhance a buyer’s experience - unless the buyer feels enhanced by bludgeoning sellers with negatives…that will make them feel superior LOL
spinach.chinOn 05.20.2008 at 8:38 pm Said:
Makes absolutely no sense
The theory is that it’s currently impossible to distinguish good sellers from bad sellers, as the vast majority of them have 99% and above (or something like that).
The more negs given, the more that it’s supposed to become clearer who the better sellers are.
Not saying it’s proper thinking on eBay’s part, just what I believe they are thinking will happen.
spinach.chinOn 05.20.2008 at 8:44 pm Said:
I’m confident they are going to come to that conclusion whether they ever admit it (heaven forbid) or not!
No, they’ll never admit it. They’ll just do a complete overhaul of the site (again) when they reach that conclusion.
Remember a couple of years ago when they drove a lot of the store sellers away because they wanted to improve core? Now all of a sudden, BIN/”new in season merchandise” is the wave of the future.
They are incredibly short-sighted. They’ll never be successful like they once were, because they are unable to see trends as they are emerging.
LurchOn 05.20.2008 at 8:51 pm Said:
“It’s a bloodbath.”
C’mon, now. It’s not a bloodbath. There may have been an increase (and yep, stats on this might be interesting). Yes, eBay is using it punitively (in a way I don’t particularly agree with), but it’s ultimately just eBay feedback. No one is being physically drawn and quartered. Or mass beheadings. Unless I am wrong, and you are aware of horrible physical mass murders recently that can be directly attributable to eBay feedback. The evolution of this kind of thinking, and so much related to it, is why I lightly objected to the way feedback was introduced back *when* it was introduced - keep in mind, I didn’t have the foresight to foresee that eBay would utilize it in the way they currently have been, but at the same time…
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