eBay! Sellers! Voice! Concerns! About! eBay Express!

[bargainbloodhound]

So far no updates on the PayPal site to the user agreement or seller protection policy, so unless they do update it you're taking a chance by using eBay Express and PayPal together. 

eBay Express announcement
http://pages.ebay.com/sell/announcement/...press.html

US Buyers and Sellers only for Express

Selling on eBay Express is the same as selling on eBay. Remember, an eBay Express listing is an eBay.com listing. Therefore the same selling policies, seller protection, feedback and qualification for PowerSeller status on eBay apply to eBay Express.

Since SPP requires confirmed addresses, no SPP

[stardust]

I get the distinct feeling they're trying to move in on and/or catch up with thebig0 with their 'new merchandise' ads.  Isn't amazon also known for their 'new' books, cd's and stuff?  Ebay's been selling itself as the world's greatest garage sale/flea market.  Perhaps they are trying to remake their image, and from reviewing stats of other sites over the last years, they've discovered the new trend of 'new' stuff sells better than 'used', which is why Target and Sears and Walmart and Home Depot, etc., are doing quite well on the web. 

Ergo, Ebay Express answers that call for 'new' stuff only, with a shopping cart, which all buyers want. They cannot incorporate a shopping cart on their current sites, but they can sure build a new site and incorporate a cart system from the gitgo.

Ergo, they had to do something to appease store owners, because buyers will surely shop Ebay Express now, and not the auction area as much anymore -- so store items will now show up in search on the 'old' ebay.  And they also threw another carrot, knowing it's now going to be even harder for store owners to make a go of it, by adding more categories for organization and presentation purposes.

Whether or not a particular ebay seller will benefit from -- or be hurt by -- this move will strictly depend on what they sell and how much competition they will have.  On my end, I'm going to have to think this out a bit -- and someone is going to have to absolutely define 'new'.  I mean, a piece of particular clothing can be made in 1975, but has never been worn, so is still 'new' -- maybe even 'with tags'.  But, then again, it's not really new.  So, what's 'new' really going to mean?

Another note of interest:  By demanding the 100 fb score on the new site, perhaps they are trying to weed out 0 feedback fraud sellers from the gitgo.  No, it doesn't weed out those somewhat bad sellers with 100K+ sales and tons of negs, nor those who charge $50 to ship out a $1 rolled print, but it surely does shut out the newID scammers -- and perhaps even the 'illegal, fraudulent copy *pawnitoffastherealthing* sellers that abound on the old site.  That, the rest of us peons with under-100 fb will have to try to out-maneuver still..........

Non-confirmed PP/shipping address?  I ship 50/50 that way, because I prefer a business address to obtain a delivery signature vs. trying to catch someone at home, which is where their 'confirmed' address will always be.  And my buyers like it, too!  Plus, if you want to sell internationally, confirmed addresses just don't exist anyway, do they?  So, this particular uproar doesn't affect me at all, I don't think. 

[mandy]

An eBay employee post points to the following thread as the main place eBay will be communicating with its customers about eBay Express:

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000071413&start=0

The reaction to the new eBay Express by sellers on the first 2 pages of that thread is ovrwhelmingly negative due to concerns of a loss of PayPal seller protection.

Coming Soon: eBay Express
vera_j@ebay.com View Listings | Report Jan-18-06 13:29 PST
Hi Seller Central. I'm not sure if you've read Bill Cobb's letter to the community yet. An excerpt I'd like to highlight is about eBay Express.

Here is what Bill wrote...

Finally, I want to tell you about a new specialty site called eBay Express that will launch this spring. eBay Express will be an exciting new buying experience, offering items that are available for purchase right away. We think eBay Express will encourage more shopping among our existing buyers, who today may only buy on eBay for certain purposes or types of products. We also think it will attract new buyers to eBay who prefer a more conventional e-commerce shopping experience.

While eBay Express will be a specialty site, it'll be part of the eBay marketplace, so Store and Fixed Price listings that qualify will automatically appear on both eBay.com and eBay Express -- at no additional cost. Many sellers will benefit from the additional exposure without having to list their inventory twice, or change the way they sell. eBay Express will offer quick and easy ways to search and browse, a shopping cart (yes, at last!), and payments via credit card or PayPal. And because payments are made at the point of purchase, sellers will not experience unpaid items.

We're consciously making the buying experience on eBay Express different. And to deliver that experience, we'll be opening eBay Express to sellers who have a positive track record on the site and who list items that are available for immediate purchase. Only sellers with 98 percent positive feedback or better -- and a feedback score of at least 100 -- will be eligible to sell on eBay Express. Sellers must also accept PayPal. There are a few other requirements for selling on eBay Express. To learn more now, please click here.

eBay Express is a complicated undertaking; we're now finalizing our planning and development work, and we'll have more details to share in the months ahead. At launch, eBay Express will be available only for US-based sellers, although we have plans to expand in the future to our international sellers on eBay.com.

The eBay Express team is interested in your thoughts. We'll begin monitoring the board tomorrow. In the meantime, let us know what you think -- either on this thread or to a special email set up for the team -- eBayExpressFeedback@ebay.com.

Sincerely,
Vera J.

Reuters is carrying a story on eBay Express:

EBay Inc. on Wednesday said it planned to offer an instant-purchase service to supplement its bid-and-wait online auctions, pitting the company directly against conventional e-commerce retailers.

EBay Express will feature an online shopping cart that allows buyers to select multiple items and pay for them all at once, as Amazon.com Inc. shoppers are used to doing.

full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060119/wr_n...icing_dc_2

===============================
related topic: eBay! Raises! Fees! Sellers! Get! Boinked!  http://community.tuliptools.com/index.ph...243.0.html

[xppman]

In a nut shell here is what Bill is saying:

Our reporter caught up to him and he made this statement
below to the Happy Hour crowd
at a local lounge last night.

===================
QUOTE FROM BILL
ebay's main site is so screwed up that we can not fix IT.
There is so much code and useless junk
that we fear by even removing one of our hundreds
of stupid glitchancments we will kill the site.

Now let me clarify that last statement and let you all know one thing.
I in no way, have ever been involved in the half a$$ed lame brain
ideas all these other departments have come up with
and implemented ON THEIR OWN at mid management levels.
I was kept out of the loop.

With all that said one thing here at ebay we do realize is that
there is only one true answer if we are to try and salvage
the company as a whole.

WE MUST START an entire NEW site from scratch.

As far as the requirements for sellers that decide to join us.
We understand your concerns about accepting all PP payments regardless
if the address of the buyer can be conformed or not.

IT is a moot point and you are all just confused.

As you all know by now the SPP and BPP are very
limited mechanisms that were introduced shortly after we bought PP.
The reason these "programs" were implemented in the first place was to TRY
and persuade the general public
(who BTW were leaving the site due to concerns of
being SCAMMED)
that ebay was indeed still a safe place to trade.

Now let me clarify that last statement and let you all know one thing.
I in no way, have ever been involved in this
half a$$ed lame brain idea either.
I was kept out of the loop and these programs
were implemented before my tenure began.


So lets review.
The main site sux for so many obvious reasons and we know it.
People are and continue see the old ebay as SCAM CENTRAL.
The SPP and BBP offered by PP are worthless.

This new site will be GREAT and we promise we
will do everything in our power to try to keep our hands
DEEP in your pockets.

So what do you say.
Are you with us???

END QUOTE

Bill then fell off the table he was standing on and was
poured into his car by co-workers and a bouncer at the club.

[amy]

eBay "Pinks" are supposed to stop by that thread to answer questions today.  The only answer so far:

vera_j@ ebay.com View Listings  | Report  Jan-19-06 01:23 PST  62 of 84
OK...I couldn't resist answering one question before I go to bed. [xxxxxxx] your answer in post 60 was right on target.

- If the buyer buys your item through Ebay Express, the buyer is required to use Paypal (or have Paypal process their credit card payment).

- If the buyer buys your item through Ebay, they can use any of your payment methods.

[bargainbloodhound]

eBay Express is a complicated undertaking; we're now finalizing our planning and development work

I'll take that to mean the the only thing they've done so far is come up with the name. 

[iron_chick]

That is certainly how it seems at this point. 

Sorta like Business Registration and the Digital Download stuff.  Only with the potential to REALLY mess with the core workings *using that term loosely* of the dot com site.

[bargainbloodhound]

Only with the potential to REALLY mess with the core workings *using that term loosely* of the dot com site.

I think it will result in fewer bids on many items and less traffic to eBay Stores.  The introduction of eBay Express and ProStores aren't exactly ringing endorsements by eBay of its eBay Stores platform.

[dimucci]

with a shopping cart, which all buyers want

Express guarantees eBay Stores buyers will never get what they want.

[sneakymagenta]

Pinkie posted and said no SPP protection if you ship to unconfirmed addresses.

Why does eBay Express require me to transact with buyers with unconfirmed addresses?

Our buying community tells us that a “conventional” e-commerce shopping experience (which eBay Express is designed to be) must include the ability to have purchases delivered to the address of the buyer’s choice, whether it be work, home, or in the case of a gift, a friend or family member’s house. As it is, over 95% of current US sellers on eBay already choose to accept unconfirmed addresses, which hopefully helps show that the majority of sellers have decided that the business gain of accepting these payments has outweighed the risk. That said, those sellers who are not comfortable shipping to unconfirmed addresses can opt-out of having their listings included in eBay Express.


Some of my items in eBay Express will not qualify for the Seller Protection Policy since I’ll have buyers without confirmed addresses. What type of seller protection is offered on eBay Express?

On eBay, the vast majority of transactions are made with buyers with confirmed addresses. That said, there will probably be some small number of buyers using unconfirmed addresses. Should an issue arise with a transaction to an unconfirmed address, PayPal will of course work with you to fight chargebacks on your behalf.

One thing to note: 95% of sellers on eBay choose to accept unconfirmed addresses, which hopefully helps show that the majority of sellers have decided that the business gain of accepting these payments has outweighed the risk. And of course you can help minimize your risk of getting a chargeback by doing things like communicating clearly with your buyers, including a return policy, setting the expected shipping time, etc