The following is a letter from an eBay PowerSeller who wishes to remain anonymous. He reports from this Fall's Comdex, a computer-industry trade show, where eBay held classes and a 2-day "Seller Summit" for top sellers http://www.ebay.com/comdex.
Dear AuctionBytes,
I had the good fortune to be among the top 250 of the Electronics sellers invited to eBay's Seller Summit at Comdex and thought I'd write a quick synopsis. This year's Comdex attendance was really off. Rumors abound that there won't be a Comdex in Las Vegas next year.
eBay had a great presence at the show. In the hall before entering the exhibit halls eBay had Kiosks set up with computers that allowed users to cruise their site. These were attended by eBay employees and affiliates who were there to answer end-users' questions. In addition, there were eBay University seminars in the early part of the week held in a large hall on the second floor of the Convention Center.
eBay held a Summit for the top 250 Consumer Electronics and Computer Sellers, complete with thick folder notebooks and nice carrying bags, even a collection of custom coins given at varying points through the day to ensure attendance.
The Summit consisted of a reception and inauguration dinner on Monday night and a full day of seminars and roundtable discussions on Tuesday. Top sellers were encouraged to ask questions and voice concerns.
eBay mentioned they were considering a system of closely monitoring new signees and mentioned the possibility of a tiered system for new customers that would implement bidding limits for newbies. All sellers agreed that this was a step in the right direction.
There was an emphasis on the introduction of a new third-party extended warranty program that allows customers to buy a 1-year warranty, that starts after day 30, on used products bought on eBay. eBay is pushing this very heavily, it may be due to trying to improve the perception of eBay as a place to go for warranted electronics.
It was interesting to note that eBay places the NPB (non-paying bidder) problem as less than 1%, but most PowerSellers I spoke with estimate the real figure to be at least 5%. An area of contention lies with PowerSellers feeling that eBay profits from NPBs because even if a NPB is filed and the Final Value Fee refunded, eBay still keeps the listing and gallery fees. Thus the Powersellers feel that eBay doesn't have strong motivation to eliminate NPBs.
All in all, eBay's Comdex Seller Summit was an interesting opportunity to voice our concerns.
Signed,
An eBay PowerSeller
