Hi,
Thanks for writing about the category roll-ups on eBay. I think someone goofed big time, and the site designers are putting consistency of look ahead of common sense. The site is a big mess.
I've been selling on eBay for a few years, but 75% of my items are books. After seeing how bad the book category changes were, plus the way search was changed (which I don't think you mentioned in this recent article), for the first time, I have started selling on another site.
I was one of the diehard eBayers, but the category change plus putting ALL featured auctions on the first pages of search results (rather than just ending featured auctions, as was done previously), meant that many buyers didn't know that ending auctions of non-featured books started on page 6 (or wherever the featured auctions ended). After taking into account seasonal affects, my auction hits and bids have plummeted.
Hope you continue to stay on top of this story. I am trying to stay one step ahead of the category changes, but I don't know what I'll do once the tinkering (or damage) is widespread.
Diane
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Ina
I love reading about e-bay etc., on your newsletter but does anything ever happen anywhere else than America?
I live in UK where we have lots of E-bayer. What about us???
John
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Good story on item specifics. There's another story that needs attention but is largely ignored. Slowly but surely eBay is shutting down all communications between users except via their site. Take a look at the new contact member email. What a disgrace! The actual message content, the reason for sending the message, is obscured by eBay statements basically telling the recipient that the sender may be a crook. I find it outrageous that eBay treats all users as crooks by default.
Also, you can't just reply to the email, you have to click a link and sign in and reply via ebay. Worse still, the message content allows no formatting of any kind. The message must be one continuous paragraph. Makes for a sloppy message. Hardly in keeping with the ebay community spirit of "open and honest communications". It's the exact opposite in fact. The contact member email can only serve to stifle communications.
Similarly, the changes in the NPB process coming soon will cutoff communications outside ebay. Everything is done on their site.
I can see what is coming. Sooner or later all contact between users will be limited to the eBay site and in a most ineffective, inefficient manner. Why? Because eBay thinks we are all crooks out to do business outside eBay. eBay is punishing the vast majority of honest sellers because of the minority that may cheat them out of fees. What a disgrace!
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Ina,
Thanks for the great Ebay Live Coverage it has been a blessing!!!! I was wondering if it is possible to post a list of all the venders that attended the show I really believe this would be a great resource for those of us that could not make the show.
Thanks,
Mike
Excellent question, here's a link to eBay's site with a list of exhibitors:
http://www.ebay.com/ebaylive/highlights2004.html#sponsors
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Thanks for wonderful service.
We are over from the UK attending ebay developers conference and now doing ebay live.
If you have not yet had feedback: in the developers' last session, we had a panel of powersellers telling us what they wanted us to develop for them. Interesting they said that we developers should all subscribe to your service to find out what is going on. They spoke very highly of you,so in case you did not know it, ebay users vote for you.
Thanks again
Douglas & Karen
auto-online.co.uk
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Ina:
There is two fundamental flaws in all the marketing analysis programs that purport to work on Ebay data - 1) Most items are USED, not new, and condition (or the evaluation of the item's condition) is critical to an accurate understanding of its worth or salability. 2) The sellers knowledge or selling ability, or photographic ability often makes or breaks a sale. If the research you are doing involves relatively ( less than several thousand) few items, these factors often skew the analysis to such a degree that it is worthless!
I buy used, restorable items that are of fundamentally high quality, then recondition them and resell. It is critical that items have accurate descriptions to enable me to buy what I need as raw materials; and so that buyers understand the high quality of my items (which justifies the pricing). Key wordings such as "vintage" "old" "Classic" "excellent condition" etc. are mis-applied constantly, and many sellers don't even know what they are selling. I have frequently found my descriptions (in some cases even my photos) being used by other sellers to describe their lower quality items - but that's another issue!
As a result confusion abounds unless you are referring to NIB sellers who deal mostly in manufacturer overstocks, or new items - Analysis can be accurate in those situations, but not for the average Ebayer, who deals in used, condition dependant, items. I have referred these problems to Andale (who grudgingly admitted that I had a point) but I don't believe a solution is possible in the free-wheeling set up that is Ebay's strength! But Analysis??? Give me a break!
Thanks for letting me vent!
Charlie
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Ebay doesn't seem to understand that everyone isn't hooked up via Straight Line or DSL. Their (ebay's) communication to the users appears to follow the adage, Very little, Very late. That's better than Too little, Too late, but still it is a problem. Oftentimes, they put one little link, of few words, on a page that may guide a user to an announcement of huge proportion. Such was the link, "Category changes are coming! Click Here" placed upon the P&G portal page (http://pottery-glass.ebay.com). Ironically, that link is still there, and now it once again has meaning.
I have no delusions that ebay owes me (us) any explanations - ever - about any of its business plans. It is its own business and none of my business, in a lot of ways. But, if they want and value our input (and it appears that it may very well be crucial to their goals as well), then they need to re-think their communication channels and how those channels are implemented. That is the biggest problem as I see it - Communication!
Thank you,
Ralph
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I am writing this e-mail to you to inform you about a website being setup by many E-Bay powersellers. This website has been designed by the many users E-Bay alienated. The site has been live for about 2 days. We have received over 100 sign ups and getting more every hour. I would be interested in getting some press coverage from your company about the website. You a visit the page by going to www.BidStay.com . Please contact me for further information.
Thank You
Constantine
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We mentioned eBay Stores new feature in the last issue, "Stores Custom Listing Header," a feature that allows Store sellers to have their Store branding appear in all their eBay Listings:
http://pages.ebay.com/storefronts/latestnews.html
Hi,
finally i get to say something positive about a new ebay feature! last month i had 7 store sales, after i turned the header on i got 10 last weekend and another 8-12 this weekend. i only wish that they let sellers know about these things better, i found out by chance from another user.
robert
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Ina,
I am sorry I didn't meet you at eBay Live. I thought the show was very good but could have been promoted better. The gala with the clapping and the grand entrance with encouraging people from eBay was awesome - something to remember. I believe there should be vendor tracks to highlight what is actually going on in the demonstration area. Sessions that were supposed to discuss vendors usually just said you can see this or that on the vendor floor.
One thing I think you could do that would help everyone is:
I spoke with a developer and we searched for my auction. She used *, ",", and () to make the search much more specific. I told her that eBay should communicate these capabilities - perhaps you are the forum that would be effective.
Thanks,
Chuck
Excellent suggestion, I found eBay's Help page that contains the search commands you mention:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/find/search_commands.html
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Can I just say one thing to you about eBay Live and the gushing prose coming out of it from various attendees? It was a love-fest, no matter how much you (and a few others) make it seem like you are "reporting" on a news event. The eBay Elite were there. You even call yourselves that. The Power Sellers were there.
But not us poor schlemiels who are barely breaking even trying to sell off family heirlooms because we need extra funds due to loss of job, disability, etc. I know - the disability group was there and they got gushed over too. But I can't travel, have no power wheel chair, and in fact have to fight my long term disability insurer for every cent.
We can't meet the PTB at eBay, and chuckle over a chair breaking during a Q&A. We can't even get a simple customer service question answered properly through e-mail by the CS agents at eBay - although they can probably buy eBay stock through an employee stock purchase plan. (I hope they can - I wish I could!)
Facts:
- We pay eBay to be our employer when we sell on their venue.
- We get gouged with higher and higher rates.
- PayPal gets bought out by eBay and rates go up,
- Buyers only bother to look at your auctions (if they can find them at all with the new Item Specifics plan) IF you offer PayPal.
I don't want to unsubscribe from Auction Bytes because I need to get all the info I can get for free. But please don't gush any more in these "newsletters." It hurts too much.
Pat
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Hi Ina,
I would like to know eBay's policy regarding "selling away" from the eBay platform. That is as sellers we are not supposed to circumvent the eBay platform if we acquire a buyer/bidder through eBay.
However since Paypal is owned by eBay and has similar protections/safeguards as eBay, can Sellers circumvent eBay if a transaction is conducted through Paypal exclusively?
Sellers would want to do this to thwart fees (instead of getting hit with a double whammy by BOTH eBay and Paypal fees) yet stay within eBay guidelines.
Do you or any of your readers know the answer to this conundrum?
Cheers,
Brian
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If you agree or disagree with other readers, feel free to jump into the forums and speak your mind.
http://www.auctionbytes.com/forum/phpBB/index.php
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