More press coverage of angry eBay sellers...

[regic]

...Smart Money has an article on eBay sellers:

Seething Sellers

Whenever eBay does something to boost its bottom line and make shareholders happier, there is usually some sort of hell to pay with its sellers. The rate hike on merchants running online stores that eBay is putting in effect today is no different, and it begs the question of whether eBay can afford to alienate the very community that helped make it an empire...

One of the biggest complaints is that eBay is pushing them into auctions so it can ring up "relisting fees." The listing fee for an auction lasts roughly seven days while the listing fee for online stores last 30 days. "With the significantly higher listing fees of an auction listing, profit evaporates for low priced items that don't sell. Relisting often results in a financial loss on the item even if it sells," writes one seller...

EBay's conundrum, though, is this: Boost the bottom line or cater to the community of sellers. The two ideas — at least for eBay — have now become mutually exclusive. For investors, any way to propel eBay's slowing sales is a good thing. But if the company alienates its sellers enough and another site — like Google — begins gaining traction, I believe eBay just might start feeling the impact of those boycotts...

full article: http://www.smartmoney.com/Techsmart/inde...y=20060822

[thentavius]

Whenever eBay does something to boost its bottom line and make shareholders happier

Ohhhhh..... so THAT's what they were trying to do.

All this time I've been trying to figure out what the heck they were up to.

[maryrussel]

[quote author=thentavius link=topic=4859.msg21372#msg21372 date=1156356022]

Whenever eBay does something to boost its bottom line and make shareholders happier

Ohhhhh..... so THAT's what they were trying to do.

All this time I've been trying to figure out what the heck they were up to.
[/quote]

I just posted my theory of what I think they are trying to do in my I Write For U blog.

[stardust]

My 2 cents:  They're desperate to make Express work -- to make it a 'new' type venue with a shopping cart functionality.  (it's my opinion that it's going to bomb big-time, but who cares what *I* think)

Original design was/is for Express to include store items.  They've found that there's too much 'junk' in store items and they don't want that in express.  'Junk' may be considered as millions of used books, cd's, tapes, old music.  Witness the suggestion that those items be moved to Half.com.

The only way to really force this huge inventory out of stores (and hence out of Express) is to raise the fees sky high, making it non-feasible for most to keep the  items on ebay.com.  The PTB's KNOW the auction format is basically no good for those things anymore.  We will most likely see things like rusty beer cans and broken glass shards and dime-a-dozen stained baby bibs, etc., disappear from ebay.com for the most part.  It just won't be worth it, anymore, to even try to sell those kind of items on ebay.

Until that kind of dead inventory is mostly moved OUT of stores, the store listings will take a back seat to core listings on Express -- as they have indicated they will do. 

Unfortunately, it's apparent that they believe they can't raise fees discriminately on particular groups of items, so they have to raise it across the board -- which hurts everyone.  Their high listing and FV fees on higher-ticket items is their method to force those items -- such as antiques, collectibles and art -- into the core site as BIN or auctions.  That may or may not work.  If ebay chooses to *hide* store items, it will definitely force some items into the core site if core/store fees becomes just about equal.  Won't be equal for high $ listings, tho, when it still costs $4+ to list anything over $200 on core.  They are really out in left field on that one.....

I rather think that if and when Stores clear out to ebay's liking, they will again be included up front in Express, with new restrictions as to what can be listed on ebay.com in the first place -- core OR store OR express.  As another thought, I don't believe they will EVER make any attempt to rid the site of fakes and knockoffs.  That's too much of their core business coming out of 'oriental/far east'  factories -- and it permeates not only the US.com but those in Europe, also. 

For anyone wanting to *use* ebay as part of their internet selling strategy, some interesting plans will have to be devised to keep one's nose above water -- which will be very tricky, considering the search engine can be manipulated at will to suit ebay's whim at the moment.  Even the All Items search tab does not include store items, and 100%-buyers will for the most part not know that.

[xppman]

Ditto EVERY word you just typed. Good one Star...

[maryrussel]

I think you hit the nail on the head Star.

[cranky_hippie]

I never thought my books were junk but I guess I was wrong.

[stardust]

*I* don't consider books as junk, either.  But with GAZILLIONS of them on ebay, they MAY be making the initial moves to relegate them to Half.com -- making THAT the primary go-to site for music/media/books/etc.  Who knows for sure?

What I've been trying to reason out was the announcement that Stores inventory would be shoved to the back of the line -- not to be seen, in effect.  The big promotion to store owners was that express was going to be their salvation -- a new and exciting site.  Apparently they are backpeddling, because they don't want to have to include the majority of the listed store items in their new express.

None of this affects moi.  My feedback is only at 69.  70 if my last buyer will ever write his feedback for me.    I don't qualify for Express, and don't have a store right now, so I can just sit back and reflect unemotionally.

No offense to anyone, please, regarding what they sell on ebay, as we might discuss the subject.

[maryrussel]

I don't sell in eBay stores either but I am interested in what eBay is thinking just because, as Thentavious has noted, this latest move appears to make no sense.

Illogical decisions bother me.

I have shared my article with others today and have heard and read some very intriguing points of view. They all differ from mine and they all hold merit.

It is fascinating to me what other sellers are thinking. I hope that others will also post their impressions on this.

[cranky_hippie]

"It is fascinating to me what other sellers are thinking. I hope that others will also post their impressions on this."

I'm thinking that Ebay stinks.