eBay's "Operation Catalog" Could Spell Disaster For Many Sellers

[mandy]

I'm hearing that eBay is introducing a pilot program next month in which a number of manufacturer and big-box retailer catalogs will be launched to eBay. Third-party vendors will work with these sellers to get them onto the eBay platform - no small feat given the quantity of product SKUs in their catalogs.

These Diamond PowerSellers will be given special privileges. Commission (FVF) fees will be negotiated individually, and it's my understanding that participants in this pilot will not be charged listing fees, nor will they have to meet eBay's seller standards during the 90-day pilot program, which I've dubbed Operation Catalog...

full article: http://blog.auctionbytes.com/cgi-bin/blo...50976.html

[sneakymagenta]

I agree with this comment from Auctionbytes

I cannot comprehend what all the complaining is about........

Do you think Nokia and Motorola are going to offer their $50 batteries for the $4 they're going for on eBay?  Do you think Apple is going to give away their iPods on eBay?  Do you think any diamond powerseller is going to sell their items for give-away prices as do many less-than-intelligent sellers on eBay?

http://blog.auctionbytes.com/cgi-bin/blo...50976.html

[mandy]

eBay responds:

The idea of bringing on Diamond PowerSeller level business (which include bigger sellers or retail stores) as competition is, with all due respect, absurd. eBay sellers are already competing with these businesses both online and in search engines. By bringing Diamond PowerSeller qualified businesses into the eBay marketplace, these businesses will bring along their sizeable buyer traffic. This is a huge benefit for the enterprising smaller eBay seller of similar merchandise since they get to compete right alongside of the retailer and offer the retailer’s customers a better deal.

The view among some that eBay is somehow a protected marketplace (”don’t let in my competition!”) or that said competition will be detrimental to the business of seller’s with less inventory is unfortunately, misinformed and has no basis in reality. In fact, big sellers have been a part of eBay since nearly the beginning; Sears, Disney, IBM, Dell, HP, etc to name a few. Some remain. But some found they couldn’t compete with existing sellers on eBay who by dint of their smaller size of operations, tend to operate much more efficiently than a bigger business. So, despite the uniformed predictions of some, selling on eBay is not and has never been, an “Either/ Or” proposition with regards to big and small businesses. Any attempt to portray online commerce, and commerce on eBay in particular, as Big vs Small, is lacking in any real understanding of business ...

full article: http://ebayinkblog.com/2008/09/08/some-n...ification/

[mandy]

Response's to eBay's BS:

In defense of larger sellers coming aboard next month, eBay stated, "In fact, big sellers have been a part of eBay since nearly the beginning; Sears, Disney, IBM, Dell, HP, etc to name a few. Some remain. But some found they couldn't compete with existing sellers on eBay who by dint of their smaller size of operations, tend to operate much more efficiently than a bigger business."

What eBay doesn't mention is that many of these large corporations were not able to compete on the eBay platform because they were paying listing fees just like smaller merchants - which is why eBay has changed the fee structure for these Diamond-Level sellers.

Sellers who receive free listings can put their entire inventory on eBay, as opposed to sellers who pay 35 cents per listing per month..

full article: http://blog.auctionbytes.com/cgi-bin/blo...59837.html

In strains credulity to state that this influx of large sellers won't have any impact of current sellers. Just look at the Books category on eBay right now after the Buy.com deal. Buy.com has dominated the category to the detriment of existing sellers.

If there was enough demand on the eBay marketplace right now, the introduction of these large sellers might not have an impact, but there isn't enough demand on eBay and these large online retailers will dominate their categories putting thousands of small sellers on the brink of going out of business...

full article: http://rksmythe.blogspot.com/2008/09/auc...about.html

[mandy]

Update:

eBay announced an API called "eBay Large Merchant Services" on Monday, and on Tuesday, Mercent, a third-party vendor, announced the launch of a "catalog merchandising and order integration software" for high-volume eBay sellers, integrated with the new API. Mercent heralded the launch of its enterprise seller tools for eBay and PayPal with the news that SmartBargains.com was the first client to adopt its eBay selling solution...

A list of Mercent's customers include: REI, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Fingerhut, Nautilus, Guess, Crabtree & Evelyn, Lucky Brand, Levenger, Fortunoff, Woolrich, Car Toys, Color Me Beautiful, Limoges Jewelry, Saffron Rouge and Gristedes...

full article: http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y08/m11/i25/s06

related:

Shoplet.com listings disappeared from eBay this afternoon...

A source had told AuctionBytes in the fall that eBay was working with ChannelAdvisor to bring Shoplet.com onto the site under the Operation Catalog program for Diamond PowerSellers...

full article: http://blog.auctionbytes.com/cgi-bin/blo...32768.html

[mandy]

An interview with Mercent's CEO:

Those who follow eBay closely know there is some dissatisfaction among long-time sellers with eBay's push to bring on large retailers. When asked about it, Best said, "Because our clients are selling cross-channel and want brand continuity across channels, individual sellers are going to find these large sellers have less flexibility than the traditional eBay sellers in terms of how aggressive they are on shipping offers, merchandising offers, product pricing, pricing discounts."

That's because of potential confusion if retailers offer different prices on different channels. "If you're REI, or Guess or PetSmart and you've got clients going to eBay and seeing an entirely different offer for the same product, you're creating confusion for your customer. Even worse, you're creating a credibility problem."...

full article: http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y208...bu0228/s03