EBay Sellers Seek Management Change

BlueCup writes to tell us that even though some seem willing to let eBay's Chief Executive Meg Whitman slide on recent problems, many eBay sellers are calling for a change. From the article: "'EBay's core (auction) performance is suffering tremendously,' says Steve Grossberg, a longtime videogame seller on eBay. He says he now lists an item four times on average in order to sell it, up from two listings two years ago. Adds Andy Mowery, an eBay seller of home and garden gear: 'It is time for new leadership at eBay.'"

Comments

eBay is committing suicide by auction fees

[AriaStar]

He says the company is taking "aggressive steps," such as a fee increase for store listings to "reinvigorate" the auction marketplace.

Increasing fees to the sellers results in sellers charging more for shipping, on which eBay does not charge fees, in order to recoup the costs. If a seller is charged a couple dollars in listing and selling fees on a low-priced item, why bother lisisting? eBay has lost its reputation as being a place for buyers to find bargain and sellers to get the highest price. Bargains are few and far between these days. No longer is it feesible to buy a book or new keyboard on eBay when the fees charged are so high that buyers are deterred due to the "shipping" fees and sellers are hesitant to list without a near guarantee of a sale.

Lower the fees and the market will have a new breath of life. Better to make $1 in fees on 10 auctions than to make $1.50 on five.

Also, acquiring Paypal hurt eBay in a way. They outright forbid vertain other payment services, such as Google's payment system, and by trying to force payment down a certain channel (for which they make more in fees), eBay is gaining more of a feel of someone standing over us beating us into submission rather than a comfortable play to spend time browsing and breathing easy and having options.

Not to mention both buyers AND sellers are being ripped off left and right these days and eBay seems to lack the inclination to do anything about it. If they're making their fees either way, why not let it continue?

Re:If ebay wants me back as a buyer

[NMerriam]

I agree completely that one of the biggest, most fundamental and most easily fixed problems is the feedback machanism.

The sellers should be required, without exception, to leave feedback prior to the buyer leaving feedback. Sellers don't do anything until the buyer upholds their end of the deal (payment), and while issues can still arise (bad addresses, fraudlent claims of loss), the vast majority of issues come from sellers not upholding their end of the bargain, or providing lousy service and communication.

This solution is so obvious and so easy, and I've seen it suggested so many times over the years that I've come to the conclusion eBay actually prefers to be a den of thieves allowing sellers to threaten retribution on any buyer who dares complain about bad service. The one time I honestly had a problem with a seller and reported it (should it take 5 weeks to ship something that was paid for within 45 minutes of auction close?), I instantly got a negative feedback accusing me of all sorts of horrible behavior. What a bunch of con artists.

Re:While I agree, it's for other reasons.

[Red Flayer]

the fact that sellers need to list something multiple times now on average is a bloody good signal that there's massive oversupply in that market, and the seller should try flogging something else.

That's not the only possibility. I'm sure increased supply on EBay is an issue for a lot of sellers, but there are at least three other distinct problems:

(1) Competition outside of EBay. EBay is no longer a market unto itself, the sellers there are in direct competition with other discount sellers and auction sites. I find that I can often do better by buying elsewhere.

(2) Visibility of product. I've noticed that EBay's search is no longer nearly as effective as it used to be. I tire quickly of paging through 200 items for the 2 or 3 listings that I'm looking for. Sellers have become very savvy in terms of making sure their product comes up in as many searches as possible, and this decreases the utility of search.

(3) The sheer volume of crap. It isn't about oversupply of goods that most would people actually want to buy, it's that the marketplace (not the market) is flooded with junk. I recently furnished a new condo, and looked to EBay for a lot of accessories. A colossal waste of time. Would you go to the dollar store to redecorate your kitchen?

So, what can EBay do to fix the problems?

I think the best thing they could do for themselves would be to fix their search engine. This would fix the problem of product visibility, the problem of good product dilution, and these would help solve the problem of shrinking market share for EBay.