PeSA Makes Official Statement on eBay Marketplace

Patricia1On 10.01.2008 at 3:25 pm Said:

I’ve been saying for months now “Where’s the beef”! There are less buyers because there are less sellers! Wake up Ebay - you’re milking sellers - especially small sellers where there is no more milk to be had. You’re beating the stuffing out of them with crazy policies and ditzy DSR’s - they are throwing up their hands and getting the heck off the site! Those sellers are moving on - they have no choice - you’ve left them NO CHOICE! For most sellers this will be a dismal holiday season. One wonders just how much farther this site has to fall before the dawn comes.

TheBrewsNewsOn 10.01.2008 at 4:55 pm Said:

Today, we signed up with Terapeak for their free trial period and we used their service to analyze Elizabeth’s total number of listings, sell-through rate, and total number of items sold. What we found was:

Summary:
1. Actual number of items listed are way up from all earlier levels.
2. Sell-through rates since FP30 was instituted have declined noticeably from 30, 60, and 90 day levels.
3. Total number of sold listings since FP30 do not show any noticeable increases over earlier levels on average.

I, too, want to hear about success stories and to give full consideration to both sides of the issue. However, I am having a hard time understanding how the changes have helped Elizabeth’s eBay business as the numbers do not reflect an increase in total items sold, only an overall increase in the number of items listed and a decrease in the sell-through rate. As I said, I am new to Terapeak so perhaps there is something I am not seeing or perhaps there is something about Elizabeth’s business that I do not understand.

According to Terapeak, here is some stats about Elizabeth’s eBay listings / sales:

Listings:
Sept 27th - 500 items listed
Sept 16th - 87 items listed
Sept 6th - 302 items listed
Sept 3rd - 53 items listed
Sept 1st - 142 items listed
August 29th - 284 items listed

Sell-through rate:
Sept 27th - 4.8%
Sept 16th - 3.45%
last 7 days - 8.96%
last 30 days - 11.07%
last 60 days - 9.84%
last 90 days - 11.32%

Scott PoolerOn 10.01.2008 at 5:57 pm Said:

Richard,

I am shocked I am one of the first to comment here…

As I have mentioned on Twitter today, I see nothing wrong with posting an alternate view. Some may see the view posted here as something other than an honest opinion delivered by a person with an alternate viewpoint from their own…

But knowing what I do about you, I can only see it as an alternate viewpoint which deserved publication, just as other bloggers such as myself publicized the PESA “white paper” on the Trading Assistant Journal.

There should be every reason for people who are still successful using eBay to scream from the mountain tops about their good fortune, because frankly is seems as though they may be in a minority these days.

I am certainly hopeful that we will hear more positive messages about eBay than what we have heard in the last several months.

In fact, I asked my readers for just such a message some weeks back… Unfortunately I received very few positive replies.

We all know about the frustration, we all know about eBays seemingly incapability to communicate the positive aspects of any of the changes they implement, what we do not know, and apparently the market does not know… Is any of this actually working?

There is not enough information included in the letter above to get a real sense about what tactics or strategies Ms Bennett is being successful with when selling on eBay.

This causes suspicion, sellers want to know how to be successful, and they wonder why eBay seems to not want to share this information. Obviously it is in everyones best interest if every seller were to become successful on eBay, right now, that just is not the case.

Not one of the formerly successful sellers can understand why the rules changed so drastically and so often or why eBay seems to relish in the fact that almost no one can get a handle on how eBay wants to make sellers successful with these new programs and odd rules.

I know you try to disseminate the news the best you can with the resources you have. I also think you understand that I have spent more than an average amount of time trying to do the same from outside of San Jose.

The trouble is… and it makes me sad to say this, is I am about at the end of my ability to want to worry about any of these events or changes any longer.

Many sellers feel the same, I believe.

That is a sad thing for eBay and for the entire eBay story.

Patricia1On 10.01.2008 at 7:42 pm Said:

“The trouble is… and it makes me sad to say this, is I am about at the end of my ability to want to worry about any of these events or changes any longer.”

This is the part Ebay is either outright ignoring or just plain does not understand. You can only poke someone with a sharp stick so many times before they up and leave. Many sellers have been poked so many times that they simply threw up their hands and left and therefore, no longer care what Ebay does! After 10 years, I reined in my listings to next to nothing and put those items on 4 other sites besides my own website. If I’m not making sales on Ebay anymore than there’s no great loss. Its not easy to just up and leave Ebay after all that time - life used to be good there…but with each day, I seem to care about Ebay and what they do less and less.

AmberOn 10.01.2008 at 8:27 pm Said:

new eBay pricing is wonderful for my business

Well, yea for Elizabeth. I, however, have watched my sales plummet. The Fixed Price pricing/format effectively hides store inventory from everyone. It has pumped so many items into core that store items aren’t being shown at all. The few who could , just maybe, find my items aren’t being shown them in search due to the well known book catalog search glitch. (You know, the one where it tells a buyer there are ZERO results when there are actually ZERO in CORE and 20 in stores).

But, I do have to point out that PeSA is a LARGE group of ebayers. That they have taken the time to issue a statement about issues we’ve been screaming about for months should tell someone something.

The main point:

It’s not a small minority of sellers who are not happy with the state of eBay–either in buyer traffic, sell through, Average Sales Price, or any other the other tools we use to measure success.

The minority is the few eBayers left who are willing and able to adjust (yet again) their product lines, sales practices etc etc etc to remain on the site.

Donna DonnellOn 10.01.2008 at 9:13 pm Said:

I applaud PESA for formally putting in writing what dedicated sellers are going through. Sellers are speaking individually and are being ignored so I for one welcome PESA’s paper on behalf of all their members. Powersellers are not the weekend sellers, although there is definitely a place for part time sellers on eBay. I am happy for Ms Bennett’s success but it seems success is a moving target only obtained by what seems to be a handful. I have long suspected selective exposure, geographically and by categories. The sellers are the guinea pigs in the best guess format. I attribute all this to the great MASTER PLAN - DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION how long does anybody think sellers will continue to pay for services they aren’t getting. BEST MATCH is a fiasco with the changes back to back to back my sales are less than 50% of last year. Heck I can’t even find my items they are so buried. To control sellers placement and geographical exposure is not acceptable. The function is to provide a venue for me to sell my items, I sell, we both make money. This situation is intolerable please don’t presume you know what I need before I do. Thousands of people have left eBay because of the unreliability and total departure from what was originally created by Pierre. It’s sickening that someone can’t own up to we made a mistake, maybe you can stabilize the destruction already caused by seemly mindless RULES. In a years time we went from a community of buyers and sellers to major hostility, unreliabilty and very risky to sell on eBay not only the hatch has been released with the scammers but the UNFAIR treatment of sellers by eBay and Paypal. What was a fabulous opportunity for thousands of people/business owners and record profits for eBay - changes making NO SENSE are made to destroy the community feeling and the initiative of what made eBAY great.
The problems that were encountered could have been more readily fixed by limiting user ID creation, for having an arbitration unit not this childness DSR we’re going to penalize you because you don’t have enough feedback percentage. BUYERS DON’T WANT TO be bothered with feedback, does my completed transaction enter into the percentage No no feedback means bad seller, Well I big to differ, it is just a weapon for eBay to wield against a seller and a buyer to use to extort from a seller. The way I see it, a good seller is taking all the risk. Why would a non paying buyer be able to leave a vindictive negative for a seller and ruin their reputation, who thinks that’s good idea or good business? Why didn’t you ask your community what would make it better, no the changes are CRIPPLING what was a vibrate thriving community. We don’t need another Amazon we need ebay to be what made it a success, the variety, the mixture of auctions and fixed, stores for anything and everything under the sun. Not a cookie cutter dvd, book outlet I can go to the corner store for that. WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE - A TOTAL SHUT DOWN before someone reacts? I’m disgusted with everything and especially when there is no defense and accusations are hurled for a perceived infraction a suspension from selling and yet the blatant scammers and bad sellers continue on. Limitations on what quantity of an item that can be sold but yet never letting the seller know so they don’t cross the line. More sellers then not want the success of eBay we also want fairness and we want the spark and excitement back that we’ve lost in the last year. All sellers are presumed guilty that’s no way to thrive. Believe me I know there are many BAD SELLERS I’ve had my share of encounters with them but assuming all sellers are fraudsters and don’t deserve respect is not acceptable. It is very risky for a seller on eBay now. Ebay shuts you down and Paypal takes your money after they ok’d to ship. Sellers are buyers too we just haven’t the pizzazz to keep going.
Something tells me my comments won’t be approved, but that’s ok I got it off my chest.

Joe CorteseOn 10.01.2008 at 10:46 pm Said:

Hello Richard,

Thank you for posting the PESA position paper. By now, the level of overwhelming support it has received from numerous sectors within the eBay community, should be quite clear to everyone concerned. The paper has received wide distribution and considerable attention from anyone who has an interest in the marketplace. Suffice to say, eBay touches the lives of many, in one way or another, to some degree. All of these folks want the best for eBay; however, as Scott Pooler so correctly surmises, they want the same consideration in return.

To the community of sellers who have vested here over the last 10 years, the eBay marketplace has always been about so much more than some faceless corporation making decisions in a vaccuum. Every seller in this community believes in a single idea. They believe this idea is special. They believe that eBay is about a unique human bond.

Yet, the enormous passion, energy, knowledge, drive and determination in this community of buyers and sellers is critically under-utilized at a time when eBay needs it most, to differentiate it from the competition. An enormously valuable asset, virtually wasted. Why?

I know Elizabeth well, it would not make me happy to see her subjected to any public ordeal here. She is highly regarded within the organization and eBay circles. We support every member’s right to voice their opinions and concerns. The depth and breath of that diversity is our strength. If everyone agreed with each other all the time, there would surely be no progress.

However, I do hope this is about more than what one blogger at the Red Ink Diary points out when they write:
—-
“Naturally when anyone important drops pebbles on eBay’s glass roof there is a galvanic response.
Fortunately, Richard Brewer-Hay the eBay blogger who is both literate and likable was the spokesman this time. He manages to convey the official line without resorting to Bayspeak or denigration. Such a refreshing change.

If eBay chooses to parade a dissenting opinion as ‘evidence’ that this statement is incorrect rather than listening (as opposed to hearing) then, unfortunately eBay will reap the consequences in the fullness of time.”
——

Is there an official line, an official rebuttal? A lot of folks have a lot of questions.

If so what would the forum look like where that line would engage a viable dialogue on the issues from the folks who are responsible for their architecture? We have a series of white papers that will follow this overview in greater detail over the coming weeks on some of the relevant specific issues. It will be from the seller’s perspective, but no one wants it to be in a vaccuum.

Regards,

Joe Cortese

Kevin_TOn 10.01.2008 at 11:30 pm Said:

Quote from Ms Bennett: “my ebay business is up more than 30%, and my ebay fees are lower.”

My own experience is that sales and individual prices are still strong in spite of everything that Ebay has done to the site and it’s users, and in spite of receiving 2 phone calls in the last 24 hours from buyers (who use the Australian site) asking how they can restore their defaults so that they can find items again.

But I am amazed that Ms Bennett is experiencing lower fees. Until February I could maintain combined Ebay/PayPal fees under 10% of gross sales, usually around 9%, since February my fees are usually about 12.5%, and on two months have broken 15% of gross sales turnover. This is a sharp increase in costs, for a marketplace that is constantly being changed and thrown into turmoil, instead of just being allowed to get in with the business of commerce. What I am noticing at this end of the world as well, is that buyers are now just as frustrated by Ebay as sellers are, which can not enhance the marketplace at all.

Of course living in my birth country, means that I am not entitled to Ebay’s fee discounts, although I would “qualify” for them in all other aspects. Even with the discounts I am not convinced that seller fees have actually fallen for residents of the USA or UK.

Regards, Kevin

mindelecOn 10.02.2008 at 12:55 am Said:

“Today eBay merchants have an increased level of business uncertainty due to eBay’s poor execution of changes in many areas including seller performance measurement, fees, site search, buyer activity, and seller communication. ”

the about sums it up. instead of thinking about selling, sellers are wonder what mess ebay will create next. sure they have announced changes months ahead of time, but the actual tools to implement those changes don’t appear until a few weeks before and then once that one is done there is another and another and another.

my sales have dropped in half on ebay since may, though elsewhere they are going strong.

if ebay has a supply problem all they needed to so was put stores in core search. but no they need to try and wring more money out of the sellers instead with FP30.

ur_bringing_me_downOn 10.02.2008 at 5:16 am Said:

Hi all,
Just wanted to give my opinion on all this. I am a gold powerseller.

I know I am making a big savings on my ebay fees every month- definitely yes a big plus

My sales have declined yes, but I am hoping that ebay will bring more traffic soon.

What I do love about this change is that I save 45 minutes every single day not having to list anymore. Do you realize that is 273 hours of my time per year that I now have back in my life?

OMG, if ebay could just work out the few kinks here and there like remove all dsrs and just have 1 which asks the buyer if they would do business with you again. That is key- if the buyer would give you repeat business or not. Period.

They could enhance their customer service

Do more ad words/advertising/google etc..

And there you have it- a perfect ebay (imo)

nancybusinraleighOn 10.02.2008 at 6:00 am Said:

Sadly, while a few sellers may be trudging along without much of a problem at the moment, the sad and overwhelming truth is the majority of sellers, mostly the small to mid range volume sellers have been ruined by the changes in total.

Now, to highlight the rare claim of success is to ignore the greater issues.

It is the elephant in the room and it cannot be wholly ignored, try as one might.

Being honest about the total result and impact would be much more refreshing than touting a few who disagree with ebays claims of how green the grass is.

JayOn 10.02.2008 at 6:55 am Said:

@ur_bringing_me_down - Here! Here! (applauds)

Jeff SOn 10.02.2008 at 7:07 am Said:

10.02.08:

[eBay downgraded at Morgan Stanley from Overweight to Equal-weight. Seller checks indicate that trends deteriorated more than expected during the third quarter. Estimates also cut through 2009.]

Richard- maybe you can email your post to Morgan Stanley to change their minds. Everyone is watching Wall Street these days, and therefore your position here was anecdotal at best. Tell it to the bankers instead.

DaveyOn 10.02.2008 at 7:50 am Said:

As a buyer, I am finding less and less of what I used to come to ebay for–unique and used items, especially in the business electronics and aviation areas. You used to be able to find anything here, and a good deal to boot! Most of those items have vaporized, and when I located some of my regular sellers through old Paypal transaction records (yes, I keep them), they all gave up selling on eBay for the same reasons–declining profits in the face of increasing fees, scams, loss of community, and most commonly, FEAR. Yes, we’ve moved from a functioning community to fear. Many moved to other venues like Craigslist. Some, where their business was a glorified hobby, simply quit.

As a buyer, if I want BUY merchandise (which I will usually avoid as BUY has about the worst customer service around besides eBay itself), I’d go to their web site to start with. I know where the are and what they have. I have to admit, for Chinese carp like low-priced USB hubs, I can still find them for 99 cents plus the usual $20 shipping at eBay. That’s about all I buy here anymore.

As a small seller, my views are the same as those mentioned by PESA in their letter above. Only two negtrals (neutrals still are negatives for seller performance criteria) or negatives occuring as a statistical aberration within 30 days causes eBay to kick me to the curb for 30 days while my inventory sits and gathers dust. Why would I NOT fear? No matter that my 12 year record is perfect–that doesn’t count. I live in fear, although with an exemplary past. eBay’s bots don’t care. EBay’s CSRs aren’t allowed to care, only to apologize and request I clear my cookies. Why would I want to stay excited about eBay?? For me at this point, it is getting rid of inventory, developing other channels, and then I’m outta here and my unique items will vanish just as others before them.

The DSR scaling system still leaves me scratching my head. Being that I’m a small seller and while 80 percent of my buyers used to leave feedback, now about 10 percent do, so I can pretty much tell when a buyer leaves me less than a 5. When I’ve asked what was not satisfactory, the buyers have said, “Nothing! Our deal went great!” They all thought that a 4 was a pretty good rating too! Obviously, there is some common sense missing inside a certain green building in San Jose…

Meanwhile, eBay’s site reliability has been unusually awful, and of course, no site notifications or apologies. What a p*ss-poor way to run a business!

My competitors have all but left the space, leaving me alone. Our category is so small, Best Mash has not hidden my items. Still, my sales are down about 40 percent y/y, and my fees up 60 percent for this lower value. I get about half the watchers I used to. My customers are thrilled to find my stuff at the price I sell, which is the lowest of any source anywhere, but frequently ask me where all the stuff that used to be here went.

AmberOn 10.02.2008 at 8:41 am Said:

Speaking of ‘value’ can someone explain to me why the ebay bots are blocking the listing of media items that happen to have words that are ‘luxury’ or ‘brand names’ in the title?

Is the system incapable of telling the difference between a DVD/book and a diamond necklace now?

First it was a Breakfast at Tiffany’s DVD being blocked. Now it is books with Coach or Zenith in the title.

No one at Live Help or on the phones seems capable of helping. Emails to Trust and Safety are a joke and are always ignored.

Ebay needs to fix this issue now. It’s ridiculous that the few media sellers left are being banned from selling simply because their CORRECT book titles match a known ‘brand’

Just another example of eBay’s wonderful haphazard policies.

They HAVE to recruit big box retailers because the established ebayers have quite simply had it.