Comments on: eBay Reduces Workforce by 10%

By: Ray Sterling

Ray Sterling — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:04:54 +0000

I’m a PowerSeller in UK and offer my Buyers secure online credit card payment through Google Checkout. At just 1.7% fee, it is half the price of PayPal standard tariff of 3.4%.

By: Just a thought

Just a thought — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:12:23 +0000

That’s what business is all about…..MONEY. I worked in company with the same attitude. The management always says that the company is losing and have to layoff workers. They do it almost every one or two years. I have the presumption that our president hates employees so he always make retrenchments. Imagine, from more than 200 employees, now less than 50.

But just last year, the company made another retrenchment and for ten years of my employment, alas! I was included in that retrenchment due to the company’s very low profit(says the dumb management) but later I learned that they constructed a very large roof that cost 1.8 million pesos. So the conclusion: to reduce the cost of expenditures, they have to sacrifice the poor employees.

By: Tom (UK)

Tom (UK) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:14:33 +0000

Agree with KIM ZEE YONG above.
We’re encouraged to leave honest feedback, but as a seller, we can’t. (i recently had to wait over two weeks for payment / contact, and still had to leave pos. feedback for fear of recieving a neg. in return)
Fees are too high, in order to make a profit, we have to start items for sale at a higher starting price. Surely this must result in less buyers bidding?
New search is a joke, when i use the new search, it comes up with lots of items that don’t even include the words that i’ve searched for!
Why don’t ebay ask us, thier customers, what we think about proposed changes, before they just go ahead and do it?
As a buyer, i’ve virtually stopped! Difficulty in searching really winds me up, and there just aren’t the bargains that there used to be due to sellers passing on costs by raising starting prices.
Anyone know of a good alternative to ebay?

By: Jay

Jay — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 19:30:46 +0000

“Now some of those employees know what it’s like for the tens of thousands sellers who have had to leave eBay due to the ridiculous changes, fees and horrible insecurity about being forced to use Paypal.”

Just because the employees are forced to say it doesn’t mean the necessarily agree with it.

By: Janice Cook

Janice Cook — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 11:12:33 +0000

Sad for anyone to be out of a job.

Is this because of many needless badly thought through changes at ebay?
Lot’s of decisions are made then quickly reversed?
Latest example is the negative feedback fiasco.
So now we have another change to feedback rules?
So many different and changing rules.
Is this driving buyers and sellers away?

By: J

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:58:37 +0000

Ho-hum, as everyone says – just tinkering and taking more profits.. no interest in the sellers and buyers – certainly not in the UK!!! I’m sure that their anti-competitive practices will come back to bite them in the a**e soon.

I agree with most that is written here, but a couple of salient points should be made – true – selling in a REAL auction is more costly BUT it costs a lot more to run a real auction (per lot) and you (usually) get to see what you are buying and take it away. Feedback – simple solution TRUSTED sellers and better feedback moderation. If you are a good seller then you should be allowed to leave feedback (of any flavour) and this should be able to be altered (for a period of time). Same for buyers. Alternatively weight the feedback… its not rocket science…

Support – PLEASE get rid of most of these people by simply sending them an email (as I did) saying

==== PLEASE READ EMAIL AND DO NOT SEND AN AUTOMATED REPLY BEFORE READING AND UNDERSTANDING ====

and simpy dismiss all of the morons who do not read – they aren’t providing service they are losing customers!

I’ve got enough rant to keep going for ages but better leave in there… :)

By: Kim Zee Yong

Kim Zee Yong — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 19:17:35 +0000

Sure we are sorry for the loss of jobs at ebay.

And sorry ebay keep changing the layout.
And sorry as a buyer I have to use paypal.
And sorry as a seller the fees are so high.
And sorry I cant post negative feedback on non-payers
And sorry the big corporate sellers get discount.

Not sorry I also searched for better auction sites.

By: Cricket Bats

Cricket Bats — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:12:32 +0000

Sad for those who loose their jobs.

ebay shot itself in the foot, by reducing shop visability, increasing fees (only to reduce them later) and failing to stop blackmarket and greymarket sellers. Sellers have closed up shop in their thousands!

By: Dennis Richards

Dennis Richards — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:41:40 +0000

Well, well , well. Whilst sorry fot those being laid off I am happy to see more evidence of Ebay collapsing. I once used to spend £1000 a month selling on Ebay. I have spent nothing for two years plus . Why? Constant price rises, being told that the rises were for ‘my benefit’, being told to compare other venues, why? other venues have real buildings, have to process real things. Ebay merely have some computers. It costs the same to ‘host’ and sell a £10 keyboard or a £10,000 car. Why is there a difference in charges? Because they can get away with it. Ok , but they got greedy, very greedy. Ha ha. If I worked for Ebay I would look for another job. You will all need one soon.

By: Deb Darling

Deb Darling — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:09:21 +0000

Hi
I can see why the 0.001p starting price on listings were abolished (expensive for ebay to process & people listing complete rubbish), and the tighening up on overcharging on post and packing (many people dont read listings properly and get a nasty shock when the find they are being hit for grossly excessive postage charges). I offer a postal discount, (even on international parcels) and buyers are apt to buy more items because of the saving.
Since the changes I have seen a growth in my ebay buiness, I do have 100% positive feedback, and high DSR, the listing changes have increased my shop profile substanually and I have opted for a featured shop because it means a reduction in my ebay monthly charges.
The changes will have its winers and losers, but change is an enevitable factor in life, nothing stands still, you either grasp the changes and use them to your advantage or throw in the towel, the choice is yours.
Deb