Comments on: UPDATED: eBay Inc. Portfolio Roadmap Preview by John Donahoe

By: permacrisis

permacrisis — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 01:59:26 +0000

As a holder of a trailerload of the type of Secondary Market items described on Analyst Day, I can tell you firsthand they will be very hard to move. Many brick and mortar retailers have ALSO adopted an outlet strategy, to get them thru this crunch. As they close the poorer performing stores, they put the excess in dump bins at the remaining locations. Oftentimes, flea guys buy these.

Physically, this works. Online, not so much as shipping costs foul the dynamic. Closeouts do well in open-air marketplaces, and you will see this in the upcoming flea season- you will be inundated by some really unbelievable bargains.

But the only unbelievable bargains you’ll be seeing on ebay are the loss-leaders, complete with a box-stuffer flyer drawing the buyer away from ebay for good. Offered in this way, these deals are actually a cheap form of advertising. And like ebay’s own click-ads, they are a one-shot deal.

With today’s cost of shipping, an item must compel to sell. Antiques and collectibles fit that bill. One-of-a-kind items which expire, shown in a time ending soonest format, are the only chance you’ve got. Let the surplus stuff ride piggyback, as before.

The “15 minutes of fame” afforded an individual seller is really the only value proposition ebay can even offer anymore– especially as the brand itself becomes so maligned.

By: Candy

Candy — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 18:44:58 +0000

Doctor Deals – you are a hoot :-) I can tell you that if you buy from my website then YOU are MY customer. I buy my webspace from Godaddy – you are NOT their customer….I am their customer and thankfully, they don’t forget that!

By: permacrisis

permacrisis — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 04:06:23 +0000

Poop, meet propeller.

By: Doctor Deals

Doctor Deals — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:55:52 +0000

RBH,

Sorry, I am still not clear with the response you provided and would appreciate clarity from eBay Management if you can get it.

On the eBay.com Marketplace, who is eBay’s “Customer”?

Does eBay consider Sellers, Buyers or Both their “Customer”? And if both, when interests of these two groups do not align, which takes priority as the primary “Customer” eBay feels they must serve?

There was a fair amount of talk during the Analysts Day about what eBay wants to do for the “Customer”, and if we do not know who the eBay “Customer” is in these plans then they cannot be put into context.

Thank you,

By: Candy

Candy — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 06:08:51 +0000

What I got out of analysts day seemed very clear to me. Ebay will get rid of the majority of sellers and will rely on huge sellers selling liquidation items. End lots, discontinued wares, etc. With large sellers such as these they don’t need much in the way of customer service as these companies can be responsible for themselves. Ebay won’t have to worry about fraud either. Get with it folks – Mr. Donahoe said it – let it sink in so you can prepare yourself to move on. I realized months ago that my time on Ebay has come to an end.

By: J B Althouse

J B Althouse — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 01:36:08 +0000

I was away from ebay for several years. Recently we decided to clear excess stuff out of the house. It’s all used, mostly worth only a few $ but too good to trash. I was disappointed at the increased complexity of selling simple stuff and particularly unhappy with the imposed shipping charge limit. Shipping has in several cases eaten most of the auction receipt. If the bidder wants the item why shouldn’t he pay the full cost? If I have on nearly all items I have bought from various online vendors. I put any value on my time I wouldn’t sell on ebay. Now that I think of it I guess I need to get acquainted with other sites.

By: Roger

Roger — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:41:23 +0000

The analysts are not buying into the doubletalk and conveniently weak in-house predictions for the already known lack of growth for eBay in 2009. And neither are the sellers. What a clever way to think that the share holders will be fooled by this nonsense so they won’t scream for someone’s head when the 2nd quarter results come in. They will not buy it either.

As I continue to see my STR decline lower and lower, I hope to continue making some bucks short selling this stock to compensate for the current direction eBay takes.

By: Anthony

Anthony — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 14:23:10 +0000

Many would say that the damage has already been done, several years ago when it all started changing without a concise direction. Finally, something official which states what everybody else has been thinking. Time will tell whether eBay can ride this on-going storm, but its highly likely that it’s peak is in the rear view mirror. The small business community is out and corporate business is in….

By: JJH

JJH — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 23:56:23 +0000

“A New eBay”. Phooey. There was NOTHING wrong with the old eBay. On the OLD eBay I made $1000 a month. On the “New” eBay I’m lucky to sell anything. I don’t even get any looks. What a shame. Who lost here? BOTH OF US.

By: Paul

Paul — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 22:29:11 +0000

I saw the article in today’s Wall St. Journal and I feel like Mr. Donahoe has Taken the fun out of Ebay with outrageous final value fees on items that sell for peanuts and forcing us sellers not to take money orders or personal checks from buyers in the USA on 99% of the items sold. I feel like I have lost good bidders because some folks will NOT work with paypal at all due to fraudulent experiences that have left them with sour taste. There are other auction/online sites as Craig’s List and onlineauction.com where the sellers have more flexability. The sellers are leaving because of they feel like Ebay only wants to cater more to the Ebay Stores instead and building up too many rules and Regualtions. Look at where ebay started, Mr.Donahoe. Small time sellers were the ones that made Ebay happen.
It is time for Mr. Donahoe to wake up and smell the coffee and listen to the sellers. The more you alienate, the more business Ebay will miss out on and other sites will do very well. Also Ebay needs to get out of Skype and not be so tight with Paypal.