Has eBay Recovered from its Slump?

[mandy]

A long-time owner of a jewelry store in St. Clair, Mich., Patrick Coughlin viewed the hype about Black Friday and CyberMonday as so much marketing hooey. Then he tried selling on eBay.

Coughlin was expecting a couple hundred shoppers. But on Monday more than 1,000 mobbed his virtual store. ``I was so skeptical,'' he said. ``We didn't have any specials.'' Next year, he said, he'll be ready.

The annual post-Thanksgiving kickoff to the holiday shopping season brought more than seven million shoppers to eBay's site, making it the most popular online shopping destination in the United States, according to Nielsen//NetRatings.

More importantly, the success sent a signal to eBay's beleaguered management team that their efforts to rebalance the mix between items sold on the auction site and those sold on eBay stores were finally paying off after a monumental misstep last January...

full article: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercuryne...125859.htm

[BellisimaJ.]

Scot Wingo, chief executive of ChannelAdvisor, which provides auction management software, said PayPal continues to be plagued by phishers, bad guys who have been able to defraud people via fake e-mails that used a person's eBay auction ID.

However, Wingo said a recent decision by eBay to hide bidders' IDs for items over $200 had ``almost eliminated phishing.'' EBay has also launched a crackdown on sellers of counterfeit goods.

Wingo said he believes that eBay's efforts to fight fraud have had an even bigger impact than its effort to rebalance the marketplace.

``We are seeing a five to 10 percent increase in conversion for most of our sellers,'' Wingo said. ``There are a lot of buyers feeling good about the marketplace now.''

WIngo seems to think so. I think maybe not. Still a lot of complaints from store owners on the SB about sluggish traffic/sales. Of course, that may be because ebay is still using the "blackout curtain".

Additionally, I think many buyers, especially those venturing into the online marketplace fairly recently, simply don't know where else to go for what they consider to be bargains.
I also still believe that the auction format is dead or dying. Most people do want to buy without the bidding.

However, Wingo said a recent decision by eBay to hide bidders' IDs for items over $200 had ``almost eliminated phishing.''

Yeah, maybe phishing, but look out for what is bound to be rampant shilling!

[sneakymagenta]

However, Wingo said a recent decision by eBay to hide bidders' IDs for items over $200 had ``almost eliminated phishing.''

Put down the crack pipe buddy! IDs are only hidden on Ebay Motors in the US.

[BellisimaJ.]

[quote author=sneakymagenta link=topic=6167.msg34547#msg34547 date=1165000060]

However, Wingo said a recent decision by eBay to hide bidders' IDs for items over $200 had ``almost eliminated phishing.''

Put down the crack pipe buddy! IDs are only hidden on Ebay Motors in the US.
[/quote]

Yeah, and when it goes site=wide in early 2007(projected), the sellers who use shill bidders will have a boinking worldwide party.

[FiberGuy]

It hadn't even dawned on me that the hidden bidder thing hasn't gone into effect yet... 

I think it's not so unreasonable to consider the agenda Mr. Wingo has to promote "healthy" ebay sales, before taking his word as gospel. 

[BellisimaJ.]

Bolding in quote is mine.

[quote author=FiberGuy link=topic=6167.msg34554#msg34554 date=1165004157]
It hadn't even dawned on me that the hidden bidder thing hasn't gone into effect yet... 

I think it's not so unreasonable to consider the agenda Mr. Wingo has to promote "healthy" ebay sales, before taking his word as gospel. 


[/quote]

Gee, Fg, you mean he has ulterior motives cranking that agenda?


Like the fact that he would have no business without ebay, and Amazon, etc.? :turkey1: