Back to it… with one last look at Chicago

MechelleOn 06.23.2008 at 2:41 pm Said:

@Richard

Of course not attending the event profoundly limits my perception being left to rely on the interpretation of attendants, various blogs, and news articles none of which can be viewed as entirely accurate representations due to the various experiences members have both from the past few months and the years on eBay. However, I noticed a persistent theme coming from eBay “leaders” of their continual expression of needing to evaluate changes, admittance of their not anticipating the result of the various changes fully, their need to look into things, their intention of fixing various issues before the holidays, and their requesting they be given a chance, because they are new to this and are learning.

The problem I have with the above is they have failed to consider us when they made these changes. The notion of try it out on us see if it works and then try to fix it really isn’t a very responsible approach to the situation. I know a lot of companies forge into plans that were not thought out all that well, but in those situations the people going through the changes have a weekly paycheck we don’t! The reality is they gambled on these changes and we are the ones who have been losing. This is reckless behavior and I am disappointed that they don’t seem to acknowledge the game they have played with our lives and the strain that has resulted.

Considering your actually attending the event do you view this differently? Is there anything you can offer from your experience that can offer a different perception of the situation?

implogOn 06.23.2008 at 2:44 pm Said:

Welcome home Richard and thanks for all the info on the fly. Take care of that cold.

It somewhat sickens me that it would take an eBay Live for senior execs to start to reconsider the disaster that is post May 19 eBay.

After all the board posts, blog posts, calls, letters, emails, boucotts, etc. they are only just beginning to look at and re-evaluate the mess they’ve made?

Does this mean President Norrington may address and perhaps…, I’m afraid to type this, even answer my first question posted on this blog asking her clarification on eBay’s approval of non-paying deadbeat bidders being allowed to leave negs/negtrals for honest sellers.

What a holiday gift that would be!

TheBrewsNewsOn 06.23.2008 at 3:10 pm Said:

Quote: “We’re sorry for the mistakes of the past, come join us for the future”.

My comment: eBay’s mistakes are not limited to the past. eBay continues to make mistakes in the present and they are not apologizing for those and they are not “working their backside off” to do anything differently so that the mistakes will stop. For example, in March eBay removed digitally delivered items and issued policy violations BEFORE the policy was even announced. eBay has done something similiar this past weekened - they began REQUIRING all eBay.com sellers to accept Paypal if they want to offer their items to Australia / U.K. but there was no policy announcement and no Powerseller rep or Trust & Safety rep was aware of the new policy when it was implemented. eBay continues to make the mistake, and even more so in 2008 than ever before, of creating and instituting new rules without informing the eBay community. I don’t know how any serious eBay seller would consider “going into the future WITH eBay” if eBay continues to make the mistake of changing the rules without notification over and over again. This is NOT a mistake of the past. I could give numerous examples of all the RECENT mistakes made by eBay but Lorrie has not and will not acknowledge those so I’m assuming an apology will not be forthcoming.

Quote: “Things were put on the record at this eBay Live! (”absolutely no PayPal-only in the USA;” “we’re going to address the Feedback system in time for the Holiday season;” “we realize that neutrals may need re-evaluation”)”

1. Absolutely no Paypal-only in the USA? But if you are a new seller, a seller who sells in high risk categories (as defined by eBay), a seller who wants to offer their items internationally, etc etc then you MUST take PayPal. Just who is left on eBay that is given a CHOICE of accepting PayPal? I guess as long as 1 or 2% of U.S. eBay sellers still have a CHOICE, the site is not Paypal-only.

2. Going to address the feedback system in time for the holidays? I have a real warm and fuzzy about that one (not). eBay wants us to be all excited that they plan on fixing the feedback system they broke and since they provided no details and no real timeline and not even a hint that they have a plan to “address” the feedback system I have absolutely no confidence that anything concrete will be forthcoming.

3. Realize that neutrals may need re-evaluation? According to Brian Burke, buyers who left neutrals recently really intended them to be a negative and that is why buyers are leaving more negatives so I doubt neutrals will be “re-evaluated” for more than two minutes. I counter that fewer neutrals are being left because buyers are more educated now about what effect neutrals have and thus they are not leaving neturals. In the past, buyers would have left fewer neutrals if they had the same effect then as they do today but eBay “assumed” buyers made an incorrect choice in leaving neutrals previously and have thus “rescored” them. I do believe more buyers are leaving negative feedback, both in an abusive manner (80+ in one day) as well as leaving deserved unfavorable feedback for poorly performing sellers who previously used retaliatory negative feedback and the mutual feedback withdrawal system to keep their negative ratings down. Brian is mistaken when he says that buyers would have left negatives instead of neutrals in the past and his argument that more negatives and fewer neutrals are being left today does NOT in any way support his “theory”.

Nothing has been “put on the record”. More empty promises from eBay… they promise the moon but deliver the cheese.

Now let me state emphatically that I certainly I hope I am wrong. I hope that by this time next year I can look back at this blog post and saw “Wow” eBay really meant what they said. But, just like eBay is asking buyers to judge eBay sellers based on their “history” and rewards / punishments are doled out based on history, I ‘judge’ eBay based on its history.

If a seller has satisfied 99% of their buyers previously (in the past) then one could reasonably expect to have a good experience with that seller today. If eBay has a history of making mistakes and they are making mistakes this year, this month, and this week, then do I think they will stop making mistakes “in the future”? No I do not. I would like nothing more than eBay to prove me wrong. As just a FIRST step… Why not have somebody “work their backside off” to simply announce the new rules / changes in a timely manner to the community? No, I don’t consider a policy rule change announcement that comes hours or days AFTER policy implementation to be timely.

Now I realize that it seems to be a waste of eBay company resources to keep the community informed of rule changes. Hey, it’s eBay’s Playground — we either want to play or we don’t. But whacking us over the head with a stick when we break a rule we don’t know exists will not motivate us any more to provide a good buyer experience. And eBay changing the rules constantly without any notification makes them seem like they are in a chaotic reaction mode which does not instill confidence in the eBay system.

We all get it… you didn’t make the necessary changes for 10+ years… you’re sorry about that… and now you are going to make up for lost time. If you truly want us to “join you for the future” then how about telling us where you are going so we can adjust our navigation systems to go there with you? Otherwise, if you keep changing your course direction (by changing the rules) without telling us then I have to assume you don’t really care if we come along with you for the bumpy ride you have set out on.

TonyOn 06.23.2008 at 4:26 pm Said:

It’s like watching a train wreck with ebay at the moment. Why on earth does it take until the holidays to sort out the feedback farce? It really shouldn’t take that long.

Ebay need to start treating their customers the way they expect their sellers to treat their customers because otherwise, Griff’s comment that Ebay was heading for trouble in two years will be true and Todd’s extraordinary rant will be seen as a rant from someone who was bang on the money.

The holidays are too far away, put things right, and you can start this today.

MistyOn 06.23.2008 at 4:50 pm Said:

Welcome back Richard hope you feel better soon.

I agree with what everyone else is saying here which is why I don’t often post much and I am sure there are many more out there like me.

I would like to add… I am a very small volume seller the 30 day rotation is too short of a cycle for me I don’t want to have to worry about meeting this quota because it is now just a hobby for me, I worked hard these last 10 years building a respectable reputation and now you want to just take it away - EVERY 30 DAYS!

I spent 30 years in my antique and collectible B&M shop, I love the auction atmosphere I expect I will spend my last day on earth searching auctions for that one desired collectible I have yet to find for my collection but I also enjoy passing on found treasures to others who are in search of their desired collectible.

Customer service has been my life its what I enjoy doing and what I have chosen and would like to continue to do as a hobby… with your cycles, limits, restrictions, penalty’s etc. you are not allowing me the freedom to do what I enjoy most regardless of the high quality buyer experience I provide ONLY because I am a small volume seller… yet in another breath you admit it is us small unique sellers who provide the kind of buyer experience your looking for! … Give us small & medium unique one of sellers a tier of our own without these 30 day limits etc.

Lorrie & Griff both repeated at eBay live that small sellers are very important to eBay… if this is true show us give us what we need to continue and protect us from the bad buyers you claim to [quote] “need and want even if they are bad”… sellers don’t need or want bad buyers they cost us dearly.

Weed out the bad sellers and buyers but not by taking the hatchet to all of us.

You want us to work with you…. Well then you need to work with us!

Patricia1On 06.23.2008 at 6:11 pm Said:

I read a blog the other day - the punch line was Ebay needs to empower sellers and then get out of their way. That rings so true. They should be spending their time routing out bad sellers instead of tying up ALL sellers! If anything Ebay is losing our buyers for us. My very best buyer no longer buys on Ebay. She said it hurts her too much to see the way Ebay is treating the artists (she only buys artwork). She cannot stand the lack of respect shown us and so she has decided not to buy off the site anymore…preferring instead to buy directly from the artists she enjoys.

I, myself, am fairly stunned. Most sellers who have been there for so many years (many from the beginning) and who were so proud of their reputations now feel like second class citizens. Its not the best way to feel. Ebay made some mistakes in the past - yes, that’s true, but if the past few months are any indication of the future, Well Lorrie, I’m afraid you’ll be going it alone! Not having experience is no excuse for the horrible treatment and for the damage to sellers businesses - many losing the income they enjoyed making on Ebay. I feel that with Ebay’s wealth they can afford to scour the planet and hire some experienced business minds to help them out of the total mess they’ve caused since January. I’m afraid the biggest “disruption” is Ebay itself.

Read an article in Motly Fool just a few minutes ago. I won’t put the link here because it will probably be deleted. Fool has always always been a supporter of Ebay - the title of this article: “Throw This Stock Away!” Ebay…Wall Street is finally seeing you for what you’ve become and it ain’t pretty! The article mentioned in particular the dismal Ebay Live 2008 and the hostility of the sellers. My mom used to say “it will all come out in the wash”.

So…you don’t wish to listen to us - that’s evident. We’ve tirelessly posted everywhere we can since January of this year, informing everyone we can find of the way Ebay is treating us these days. Its all coming out in the wash. Nuff said.

Beware everyone. The holidays has always been the time of year Ebay has pushed its worst changes on us. The time of year when we’re all busy selling for the holiday season. I can think of many holiday seasons they’ve ruined with this type of thinking!

Patricia1On 06.23.2008 at 6:18 pm Said:

Richard - I’m sorry to hear you’re not feeling well. I’m also very sorry that you never saw and experienced a real Ebay Live. My one and only experience was New Orleans 2004. It was so exciting! We had planned a lot of sightseeing but only spent half a day on it because we just didn’t want to miss out on anything happening at Ebay Live. What a difference between what it was and the dismal mess it was this year!

comedyofarrowsOn 06.23.2008 at 10:03 pm Said:

Brewsnews, quit lying. PayPal is NOT required for ANYONE in the USA.

Offering a payment method via CREDIT CARD is required for some, and PayPal is merely the easiest option for the new seller. Nobody is forced to use paypal in the USA.

JayneOn 06.23.2008 at 10:22 pm Said:

Sorry that you’re not feeling good (You said you were drinking lemon and hot water? Add some pure honey in it too!!!Honey works as a decongestant).

Everyone here pretty much sums it up for me … I haven’t listed for over 2 weeks … I miss eBay and my customers, I have been on eBay since the early days and it’s taking alot of getting used to!

At first, I was angry … now, I’m just sad

HenriettaOn 06.23.2008 at 10:25 pm Said:

@RBH
I hope you are feeling better and getting rid of your germs! Have you tried Airborne? Dump it into your toddy so it doesn’t taste so foul.

@implog

They are not reconsidering anything. I have it from a seller who got one-on-one with Mr D after winning an award. Mr D is completely and absolutely secure in the knowledge that he is doing the right things to ’save’ eBay. We can’t be expected to understand because we only see the one small part of the whole which concerns us. They may do a little tweaking and adjusting but the overall plan remains.

Mechelle please contact me

Patricia1On 06.23.2008 at 11:07 pm Said:

Henrietta - maybe it won’t be totally in his hands in the future? You never know

Sue @ TameBayOn 06.24.2008 at 3:05 am Said:

Glad you’re home safely Richard - really nice to meet you. Get well soon.

Bruce HershensonOn 06.24.2008 at 4:47 am Said:

I sold 330,000 items on eBay in ten years, for over 14 million dollars, over three million in 2007 alone. I am the world’s foremost vintage movie poster dealer, and have published 43 illustrated books on vintage movie posters and have a free website with over 135,000 vintage movie poster images.

But thanks to the latest changes, I now don’t sell on eBay at all, and I have auctioned in another way, for the past ten weeks, averaging $50,000 a week (just what I did on eBay without my special event auctions).

BUT, I now no longer pay eBay $120,000 a year in fees (which would have risen to $180,000 this year), and I can spend that money giving free gifts to my buyers, lower shipping, and spending some dollars on google and yahoo adwords, and still have plenty left over.

And I don’t have some crazed micro-managers breathing down my back every second, especially galling since they have never sold an item to speak of, and they choose to dictate exactly how I should run my business, and they make 180 degree policy changes with regularity.

Meanwhile there are still some bad sellers (which could be solved through seller verification, but eBay refuses to consider that), and none of the recent changes have made a dent in the number of bad sellers (who open new IDs at will), but they have succeeded in harassing countless good sellers, and many have scaled back their selling or are leaving eBay, thus diminishing the selection of interesting items even further. Meanwhile, eBay makes deals with mega-sellers, who list huge amounts and sell next to none of it, thus pumping up their numbers with endless quantities of the same newly made items, to no one’s benefit.

I get told a lot that it is a shame I have left eBay. I always reply that it is eBay who “left” me, by massively raising rates while delivering fewer and fewer buyers, and by attempting to constantly “fix” my business with endless rules, when it is not “broken” in the slightest.

I am a 99 cent no reserve seller who sells 1,000 to 1,500 items a week, and who has sold 330,000 items with 100% positive feedback, and I received one undeserved negative feedback in the last 60,000, unheard of among high volume sellers. I am exactly the kind of seller who made eBay what it was, who helped it grow from a tiny website to a multi-billion dollar household name.

One might think they would find it valuable to maintain relationships with sellers like myself (I am not suggesting any sort of loyalty, just that they would not casually cast off a three million dollar a year seller with perfect feedback).

But there is no room for a seller like me in the eBay of 2008, and I can not for the life of me figure out why (unless it is that they needed to get rid of sellers like myself because they are completely quitting the auction business).

Even if that is their plan, I still don’t understand why they didn’t simply “spin off” the auction side of eBay (a la eBay Motors) and keep a very lucrative part of eBay alive and well.

From the outside, it looks like there is little rhyme or reason to what they are doing, but I can’t imagine that is the case. I sure hope they have some wonderful master plan that they are keeping close to their vest, and that once they unveil it, all will become clear!

Bruce

kimbersOn 06.24.2008 at 5:46 am Said:

Just curious Richard, why would you say Todd Lutwak became famous overnight?

I would say that the person who became famous overnight was the anonymous seller whose frustration went public NOT Mr. Lutwak, the senior developer of seller development at eBay.

Since I wasn’t at eBay live, I would have had no way to know that that was Mr. Lutwak who those comments were directed at but I sure heard that seller.

Minimizing and disregarding that seller’s feelings and making that video about Mr. Lutwak only reinforces how out of touch eBay is with the damage the implementation of these changes has caused and how little they care about sellers.

Need more proof that eBay can’t or won’t see the hole in the dike?

Mr. Lutwak also gave an interview to Information Week last week. In talking about a Nielson survey that found that 1.3 million people (read sellers) make all or part of their income on eBay, either by already designing a business plan to sell on another channel beyond the traditional brick and mortar store or a hobbyist who thru passion became what “EBay insiders refer to as “accidental entrepreneurs”, Mr Lutwak said “They don’t refer to themselves as businesses,” Lutwak said. “If I ask ‘How long have you been in business?’ they’ll say, ‘Oh, no, this is not a business. This is fun.”

(Too which I say, an on eBay hiatus small seller and big buyer say, wanna bet?)

It may be a perception problem on my end but I know it is shared by many others. Even if eBay somehow manages to ‘fix’ the problems how will they fix their reputation?

Patricia1On 06.24.2008 at 8:54 am Said:

“, Mr Lutwak said “They don’t refer to themselves as businesses,” Lutwak said. “If I ask ‘How long have you been in business?’ they’ll say, ‘Oh, no, this is not a business. This is fun.”

This idea that ebay has that selling is “fun” is baloney and if they really believe that then they are, indeed, very misinformed. They ignore the fact that many many people depend on their ebay sales. Well, that thinking can only come back to bite them because ALL of those sellers are also buyers on ebay. Its a circle that even the most uninformed should realize. Break it up and you lose not only the sellers but BUYERS - that precious commodity that ebay has been trying to lure back to its site lately.

I applauded that ballistic seller - he epitomized the frustration in a LOT of sellers - frustration that is being ignored or downplayed by Ebay. The result is the “chipping away” of sellers and buyers and the word being spread that ebay is NOT the place to buy or sell anything these days. Is this the goal Mr. Donahoe’s disruptive innovation was aiming for? Because, if so, he is succeeding and if not…there’s BIG trouble ahead for the company!