Sing Along! Accentuate the Positive

A highly respected European pro-eBay blogger expressed a desire that some eBay bloggers read this article. Its very interesting so I thought I would give it a try. When you write a blog titled "How eBay lost ITs groove. A chronicle of eBay's destruction of the community." a real challenge is presented. One of the things I learned on eBay was to repeatedly rise to a challenge so I am going to accentuate the positive things about my ten year eBay experience and count my blessings.

1. Friends. I have made friends on eBay, some of whom I may never meet, others who have literally changed my life. Thank you eBay, genuinely & especially for Becky, Deb, Judy, Lidy & Lori.

2. Investments. My best friend (shades of kindergarten) whom I met on eBay, indirectly led me to bricks and mortar investments which have freed me from the need to earn a living on eBay. Thank you eBay.

3. Cattle. Yes cows, MOO. An eBay friendship led my husband to the source for some of the finest registered Angus seedstock available in the USA today, which is now enjoying a tropical lifestyle while growing a foundation for what will one day be the best registered herd west of the Rockies. Thank you eBay. The girls say thank you too, they like the climate.

4. The Answer Center Volunteers, my mentors, who taught me how to be a good seller on eBay and begun my education on the fine art of e-tailing; which is not exactly the same thing as retail but close enough to allow you to make some big mistakes. Thank you AC Volunteers wherever you are now, especially Bob & Glenda who are hopefully enjoying a yak dung free retirement. If eBay had customer service there would be no need for an Answer Center, so thank you eBay for your non-existent customer service.

5. Reality Check Back in 2006 I had sunk a considerable amount of cash into stock, eBay stores were in search and I was selling everything I had. The month I was one sale off PowerSeller status (my goal at the time) stores were taken out of search and sales came to a crashing halt. Every dark cloud has a silver lining. I learned that I could not keep all my eggs safe in the eBay basket. Thank you eBay for forcing me to make new baskets. I did not appreciate it at the time but now I know it was a good thing.

6. Web Skills If I had not had my reality check in 2006 I would not have learned how to build a web site or a shopping cart. I know it is not perfect but I built it and I am proud of it, so thank you eBay for opening up a whole new world of learning experiences.

7. Google Checkout. I was a PayPal user before eBay bought it. I was a PayPal enthusiast, and remained one until this year. The changes in PayPal's User Agreement led me to remove my funds from their Money Market Account and explore payment alternatives. Much to my surprise I discovered that Google Checkout was not only a lot more convenient but safer and a better deal. Thank you eBay for fixing PayPal to a point where I will shortly be all Google Checkout.

8. Alternative Venues If eBay had not started a war on small sellers there would still be no viable alternative venues. I boycotted loudly, most eBay sellers did not, they simply left, fairly quietly. The exodus of eBay refugees has given a much needed boost to these sites, many of which also have a much more viable fee structure. Thank you eBay for showing me that if I pay less to sell my low GMV items I get to keep a higher percentage of my gross.

9. Feedback Changes Yes I am going to thank eBay for the changes they made to feedback this year. It wasn't the adjustment to Final Value Fees that drove me to boycott eBay, or the increasing micromanagement of my business by suited theorists who know less than I do. I boycotted eBay as both a buyer and a seller because eBay put me in a position of extreme vulnerability with my feedback. I spent a lot of time, money and effort building a stellar longterm online reputation, only to be told I had no track record, it was meaningless to eBay. While it is meaningless to eBay it is a valuable asset elsewhere so I quit while I was ahead. I am grateful to eBay for shoving me out of the nest. I no longer log on every morning stressed, anxious and apprehensive as to what business devastating new policy will be announced. Thank you eBay.

10. Networking The changes on eBay this year and the subsequent February boycott together with increasing censorship in eBay Groups led to the foundation of off eBay Groups. Some of them were just rant centers, others have developed into valuable resources. A place where you can find a fellow seller who has made the transition to an alternative venue and will assist you to do the same thing. This is the eBay Community Spirit, no longer to be found on eBay but alive and well elsewhere. Without eBay there would be no such thing as eBay Community Spirit. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you eBay for once upon a time being the kind of place that engendered the eBay Community Spirit.

So dear reader I have counted my eBay blessings, I feel good. Do you have eBay blessings to share?


Y'all come back

These Boots Are Made For Stompin

Often at the moment when things are happening we are so busy reacting, doing damage control or simply trying to understand, that it becomes very difficult to look up and see what is ahead so we can be pro-active.

We know we need a plan. Success does not come to those who do not plan. Most of you reading this had a plan which involved eBay. eBay, which likes to keep plans secret, has announced so many major changes recently; implemented with their normal lack of forethought (or maybe not, who knows?) that any pre-existing plans we had are worthless. Sometimes I feel as if management is busy fiddling while eBay burns, Donohoe as Nero.

My plan was to 'duck and cover'. I certainly suffered from 'unease and paranoia' for a while there! I pulled my listings and joined the boycott. I have come out of this with my reputation intact which was my goal. Now it is time to look forward and make new plans; so let us take a step back together in order to try & see more clearly what lies ahead.

I just finished re-reading John Lawson's (President of 3rdPowerOutlet) funny and very informative three guest blogs on Scott Pooler's Trading Assistant Journal. Please go read John's takes 1, 2 and 3 on the Pesa/ECMTA Summit in New Orleans April 23rd 2008, be sure to read the comments on Part 3, and then come back.

For me, a very small ex-eBay seller it is interesting to read what the 'big boys' worry about. To summarize, in order, Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs) and feedback, eBay's desire to see free shipping, and DSRs. In the comments he mentions being unsettled about the secrecy surrounding the Buy.com deal. SNAP! Exact match. These are what would prevent me from returning to eBay in the forseeable future.

In many ways I agree with John on the question of feedback. I would agree totally if the whole feedback/DSR scheme weren't so loaded and so tied to finding. If I had more belief that eBay would step up to their responsibilities, which they never have, I might be able to swallow it. eBay's whole historical modus operandi has been to strap on the bovver boots and start stomping first, then look at the dead seller on the floor and go 'Ooopsie, a glitch'.

Just about a month after implementation of feedback changes there are a lot of damage reports on the boards both in the UK and Australia. I admit I don't check the US boards, it is a disassociation thing and I will not apologize.

To summarize, we have sellers being suspended or restricted. Sellers who have not been TOLD WHY they are suspended or restricted, or how long they are suspended for; because eBay does not know, it is an automated process with no appeal. Sellers who have no access to their dashboards so they can complete their contractual obligations to buyers of listings ended prior to suspension. A venue which obliterates those listings in the suspension process so sellers loose all the data, and that my friends, is pure spiteful pettiness.

What do you think? What direction does your new plan take you?

Y'all come back

Censored! Purging eBay to usher in a new era....

Censors run wild!

Our guest blogger today, we will call her "Anna" (not her real name) posted this in an eBay forum, where it went POUF! within seconds. Do you see anything objectionable or violating forum usage policy in this?

Anna says

I'm a former PowerSeller that stopped selling when the changes were announced. My DSRs are all 5s except for shipping which is 4.6, & I have 100% feedback. I was dropped from the PS program two weeks ago due to zero sales for the last 5 months.

These new feedback policies certainly do bring out the worst in people! Perfectly good eBayers going bad. It becomes more and more mind boggling every time someone shares another experience.

My opinion only (for what it's worth), but I think eBay is trying to purge the site - of both sellers AND buyers. People have complained for years about bad sellers AND bad buyers, but nothing much was done to keep either in check very well.

Sure, these new policies leave most sellers neutered and ready to quit, BUT they are also doing a bang-up job of flushing out the dishonest buyers en mass. Even good buyers who in the past never gave a thought to screwing a seller over or some who are sellers themselves - all are running amuck - tossing negative & neutral feedback left and right, backing out of sales, returning empty boxes and ruined items. It's incredible - but its happening and I'll bet there's a method to eBay's madness concerning this as well.

The big retailers they are trying to lure aren't interested in selling their stuff alongside of used flea market items any more than they would want to deal with the rotten, buyers who are currently wreaking havoc here.

These feedback policies expose the bottom feeders for what they are. If eBay wants to clean up the site to make it more appealing to retailers, ridding it of this unsavory element is a good way to start. They are encouraging sellers to report the non-payers. Maybe they will take action and keep them from creating new IDs this time?

Or maybe we are all just playing into their hand. Ebay will be able to point to the Sodom and Gomorra this place will have become and say to the media: "We tried to clean up the site but are disappointed and horrified at what it has become. Regretfully, the original eBay values and philosophy are no longer viable; therefore we are announcing the "new direction and future of eBay...." Enter the big retailers - exit the used items and what's left of the smaller sellers. And eBay comes out looking great. "We've cleaned up the site! Welcome back buyers!" Wanna bet they'll make everyone re-register and we'll see user verification at last?

I've seen fishermen who catch small sharks in their nets take those sharks, slice their bellies and toss them back into the water, to keep from catching them again. The little sharks feverishly begin devouring their own entrails, not even realizing they are contributing to their own demise by eating themselves as others join in to finish them off.

We buyers and sellers of "the old ebay mentality" are those clueless little sharks and eBay is sitting back with their dripping knife, watching and waiting for us to finish each other off so they can usher in a new era: "the new and improved eBay buying experience."

I'll bet they change the eBay logo along with it - perhaps something like a colorful phoenix rising from the ashes of what once was the eBay we all knew and loved.

What do others think?





Y'all come back and be sure to click VICTORIOUSLY on any interesting links in the sidebar!

MayDay! MayDay! MayDay!

May 1st 2008 is the day online Sellers of all sizes from Mom & Pop with 10 listings a week to Power Sellers with thousands of sales monthly will withdraw their business from eBay.

eBay Sellers are entrepreneurs, individualists to the nth degree yet they are united in their resolve to remove their business from a corporation which has shown nothing but contempt for its customers. eBay will not even acknowledge that Sellers are customers.

Here is a list of eBay Seller concerns, this list is not in any particular order and I may well have left out some points. It should be noted that all of these concerns are closely inter-related. Sometimes it is hard to tell where one ends and another begins.

1. Implement some form of Buyer verification. This will prevent fraudulent buyers from simply returning with a new eBay ID after being NARU (Not a Registered User) or banned from the site.

2. Rethink the new feedback policy due to be implemented in May. There are other ways to deal with the problem of retaliatory feedback without preventing Sellers from leaving negative or neutral feedback for Buyers. Banning automated like for like feedback programs would be a start. As it stands buyer will have five opportunities to register displeasure with a Seller who has no ability either to judge the caliber of the buyer, (who will only have positive feedback), or protect themselves from malice.

3. Fix the Detailed Seller Ratings To tell a buyer that 4 is the correct score for 'shipped quickly' is deceptive, more so when Sellers are being rated on the speed of the USPS not the speed with which an item is out the door. A score of 4 carries severe penalties for a Seller. Items with free shipping should not be rated on shipping costs, this is a simple programming change. 'Would you buy from this seller again' would be a more accurate question.

4. Customer Service is a joke. Three identical queries will produce (eventually) three different responses none of which answer the question asked.

5. Enforce regulations eBay relies on customers to police and report listings which contain policy violations. The reporting mechanism is so poorly framed that it is almost impossible to report certain violations. eg banned seller returning with a different ID. We don't need any more new rules until the old ones are fully implemented.

6. Fix Search or Finding or whatever you want to call it The recent 'improvements' or Best Match currently result in buyers being unable to find what they are looking for. Some previously effective listings do not receive a single view. Tying 'finding' to DSRs means that a low volume Seller can easily be sabotaged by a competitor who simply buys an item under a new ID and leaves a score of 1. It seems incredible that a low volume seller, a fee paying customer with a long term track record of excellence can be judged guilty and condemned by one 'anonymous' rating from a new buyer. Please do not expect Sellers to have faith that an already dysfunctional Customer Service department will fix this.

7. Respect eBay recently announced that it would ban digital sales in five days citing suspected feedback manipulation. eBay then immediately began ending digital sales listings. Listings sellers had paid for, some that very same day. Thousands of Sellers found themselves instantly out of business. This is not the first time eBay has reacted with a sledgehammer to kill a flea. This pattern of corporate behavior is indicative of total disrespect for the businesses that pay to list on the venue. How can anybody run a business when your 'landlord' changes the terms of your 'lease' without warning or notice? There are several ways to limit feedback manipulation, including restricting feedback to items sold over a predefined price. Most Sellers tend to think they are selling items not feedback.

8. Micromanagement eBay frequently declares in legal filings that it "is just a venue" and therefore not liable for anything. eBay does not however act like just a venue. eBay micromanages the business of its customers, for example preventing Sellers from utilizing legal and proven payment methods in favor of its wholly owned subsidiary Paypal. Paypal's business practices are covered here

9. Dishonesty is rampant in the eBay corporate environment. Recent examples include:

(a) eBay's denial of censorship on the Discussion Boards,
(b) the 'test' revised to 'glitch' that caused Shopping.com listings to appear on the site during the recent boycott. eBay stated publicly that there were only 5000 listings, later revising the figure to 35,000. Unfortunately there is proof (in the form of saved screen shots) that the total listings inflating statistics during the February boycott were closer to 245,000.

Its a Secret Any successful business relationship must be based on mutual benefits. Happy confident performing Sellers will have happy and confident customers or buyers. Buyers pay for items and in turn Sellers pay fees. Logic would dictate that eBay should be open with its customers, fee paying Sellers, regarding the direction eBay management wishes to take its business. Unfortunately logic is absent. eBay prefers to make a series of pronouncements to which sellers can only scramble to react.

When a renowned and respected Seller like Skip McGrath who makes his living selling eBay how to books says "I try and make a habit of checking the eBay announcement board frequently so I can keep up with all the changes on eBay, but for the past few months I've been almost afraid to. It seems every time I look at the announcement board, eBay smacks me upside the head with some new draconian policy." then, San Jose, we have a problem!

eBay doesn't think so, it is dismissive and disrespectful. I think I speak for many other Sellers, not just myself, when I say that I would rather be told upfront that the corporate direction has changed and to take my junk & leave by a specific date.

Is there a solution?

Probably not. eBay has said quite clearly "We're not changing our plans,"