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In every issue, readers soundoff about issues important to them. From feedback to payment services, from increased fees to posting policies, AuctionBytes Soundoff gives you a chance to air your views.
Ina,
I think the average buyer gets too confused with all the different programs ebay has come up with. Why do they keep coming up with so many changes like the new Blackthorne? It is so difficult and so much added to it that I have not switched because I have no idea how it works. And ebay is no help. All they know how to do is send stupid messages which I do not understand. I heard the speeches thanks for making them available but I have no idea what he was talking about the blob and other things. There are a lot of sellers over 70 and the computer is new and we do not understand a lot about it and ebay thinks everyone is a computer wiz.
Al
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Ina,
Just a note from a seller who has been on eBay since 1998....
These search issues have always existed. I have sent proof to eBay (page shots of grossly differing results from the same searches done seconds after the other) over the past 8 years, several times, and always got the reply "It worked when we tried it". That is basically the equivalent of "So what. We don't care." It has been a sporadic problem that has obviously become more prevalent...or maybe more sellers are finally realizing that eBay is not supplying in entirety what they claim they are, and what we pay dearly for. But heaven forbid if we don't pay our fees on time...
Just my 2 cents.
Barry
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Re: "eBay Sellers Deal with Expanded Item Numbers"
http://auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y06/m05/i15/s01
Ina,
The new ebay 12 digit numbering system is causing many problems for users. It uses sequential numbers, but also uses many different starting numbers. By current closings had numbers starting with 10, 25, 26 and a 10 digit number starting with 74. I've looked at some other listings and they also have many different starting numbers.
This may not seem like much of a problem but I file sold items in the order they are sold in numerical order so they are easy to find. Now I have to either hunt & peck or resort & refile all the sold items in the several different number groupings on my listings.
This also make it difficult to use the Feedback Forum to leave feedback as there are 3 different series on numbers. Of course the Feedback Forum has needed a redesign for years, but that's another story.
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RE: eBay Bans Sellers from Using Google Checkout
http://auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y06/m07/i06/s02
Ina,
Great article. What eBay is doing has now moved into an anti-trust matter. eBay is arbitrarily forcing independent sellers to not use another payment service. This is very similar to when Visa/Mastercard would not allow banks to selling competing services or when Microsoft attempted to block PC makers from incorporating competing software products.
I would push eBay on questions about this.
J.
Editor's Note: Thanks to J.'s email, I raised this issue with eBay in a follow-up:
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y06/m07/i07/s02
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Hello Ina!
This is great work you do here in the newsletter, and I really enjoy knowing the trends and complaints that my fellow sellers on eBay are experiencing. We are into our 4th year on eBay, and I have to agree with alot of the sellers regarding the eBay store search feature. We had phenomenal sales last year and early this year when our store listings were available in the regular search. We saw a boost in over 25% in our sales at that time, and our store was paying for itself very nicely. Then, suddenly, the store sales dropped right off, and we did not understand why until that month's Auctionbytes.
Ebay is covering their own hide when they say this is a "seasonal" slump. Yes, sales do slow for us in the months of May-September, but never like this! Our store items rarely show up in the search, and we are basically only selling items that are on auction or fixed price. It has been a tremendous change, and we attribute it to the Store search problem. We are treading water, barely putting it together each month, and hope that they decide to reverse their decision soon! Thanks again!
Scott
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Hi Ina,
I love your newsletter. I noticed you had written about a decline in sales. That may be in some peoples case, however I've seen such an increase in my sales. I have been working harder though, so that could have attributed to it. Also I haven't seen 1 ebay express sale generated yet, according to my sold page, I still see only store, auction and 2nd chance offer formats. I hope express works out, it's free to us, so that's cool, but I'm not 100% sure it will. I'm glad they started advertising the IT commercials again though, I've been noticing them daily, so maybe that could be a reason in increased sales as well. Just had to put in my .02
Keep up the great work, always look forward to your Newsletters!
Sincerely,
Suzan
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Re: "eBay Bans Sellers from Using Google Checkout"
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y06/m07/i06/s02
...and it's gonna be a given that it won't be "secure" enough to use on ebay, but if Paypal wants to branch out like Amazon Payments (which I accept on my site), it's gonna be an uphill battle. Paypal will have to prove that they are able to handle customer concerns instead of ignoring them (have you ever tried talking to Paypal "customer service"? I've never had a problem speaking to a person for any of the payment types I currently accept, but I can't say the same about Paypal).
Greg
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Re: "eBay Bans Sellers from Using Google Checkout"
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y06/m07/i06/s02
Well, like that comes as a big surprise. Ebay wants to be the sole monopoly in online auctions. No matter how safe or secure, or what kind of track record an online payment system has, ebay won't take it. Sellers will continue to use Paypal until they get screwed themselves, and then they'll learn. No amount of telling someone about Paypal (or ebay's) flaws will convince them, they need to learn for themselves.
I never cared about Paypal's security risk until it affected me, so it's logical to assume that others feel the same way. The Paypal system is quite easy to work around in terms of how to force an account closure of a user.
As far as other payments, I just leave my auctions open ended, and have people contact me direct for info on how to pay. That way, I don't have to use Paypal, and I can use payment systems that are less of a security threat to any funds in the account. People that complain they don't want to put a bank account in Paypal for security reasons are the ones who are at an even greater risk. If you have no funds in the account, there is nothing for Paypal to take if they close your account on you (and in their user agreement, it states that they have the authority to close your account at any time for any reason, and any funds surrendered become theirs). However, people who leave large amounts of money in the account are the ones who lose everything, because it's all sitting there for Paypal to take if your account is shut down. If you check out the site paypalsucks.org, there are testimonials from ex-PP employees who detail the vast number of reasons that could trigger your account to be shut down, and some of the reasons given would really surprise you.
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Hi Ina,
We met very briefly at the Authors meeting at eBay Live. I just wanted to inform you about an effort that we have put together to help Bobal, Bob Bull of Bob's Tips, and his wife to eBay Live in Boston 2007. It would make a great human interest story. Please see our Discussion Thread at:
http://forums.ebay.com/db1/thread.jspa?threadID=2000163221
Thanks for your time. If you have any questions please feel free to drop me an e-mail.
Sincerely,
Drew
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Hello Ina,
The last time I wrote to you, it was during the P&G (Pottery & Glass) Category rollup & Item Specific debacle in '04. I'm thinking that the current situation at ebay has surpassed even that fiasco. If you get a chance, maybe you could do a look-see and possibly write an article (they ALWAYS help light a fire under ebay - a big Thanks for that!). After 7 years on ebay, 25+ years electronics/computers and able to write HTML/CSS/PHP (my own web site, from scratch), I know glitches when I see 'em. I know too, that anyone can make a mistake every-so-often, myself included, but too many people, over too long a period of time and it is a fault at ebay. I'm thinking we have a couple of major faults, at present...
Search. Items not showing up, days after being listed; some are never seen when using exact, matching title keywords. Sometimes they show, then disappear, then show up again. I know about the Smart/Relative Search and Express search and their own, problematic search issues - I'm not speaking of them. Some sellers lay all of the blame on store items being removed from the general search, an argument which has its own merit, but I'm not talking about that either. This issue has been on-going since approx. January (I have an email to/from TS at that time). Store items not showing, or doing the show/disappear/show/etc. act, seem to be the hardest hit; or maybe those sellers simply are more vigilant and witness more of the problem. I can actually sum this problem up with one simple example:
A seller w/a Store may see XXX number of items in her Store, a different number in her My eBay and a third-different number in "See seller's other items" list. And, all three numbers may not show the true amount she actually has listed. I believe those statements fully explain just how FUBAR'ed the system is currently.
The second problem is an ongoing, spontaneous changing of options within the Seller's Preference settings. Some of the settings will over-ride whatever is set within a listing; some will not over-ride. That is by design. Unfortunately, the intended design is being ignored by a glitch? (who knows?) and when you factor in the spontaneous changing, it becomes one big mess! A lot of the sellers are attributing these glitches to a one time "Stuff Happens", about which we are all so familiar. I've read "between the lines" on many board posts and see where they have this issue (i.e. they have Combined shipping, yet the individual items' cost & insurance is simply added per item; they have Paypal Accepted checked, yet that method is missing in their listing; Buyer Requirements are implemented, when that wasn't checked).
Other folks have emphatically posted complaints about this very error - set of errors; constantly changing errors; you get the idea. I've attempted to get people to post on only a few threads, to see how extensive the error is, but you know how that goes! I utilize Listing Software that accesses the ebay API and on a forum hosted by that software, at least a dozen people have confirmed this error; I know that isn't a huge amount of people, but where there's a few, there's most likely a MASS. (ebay logic) I've included some links, below, to various board threads that pertain to these problems. I emailed TS about that "spontaneous change" snafu, as it has my options changing several times a day, they told me I have an infection of Spyware. That was good for a big laugh. I have 3 different spyware killer App's, hardware & software firewalls and current AV protection with Norton. I did perform a series of scans, just for the heck of it, but the only things detected were some Logging Cookies...sent from ebay! Of course!!
Thanks for reading my long-winded missive and take care,
Ralph
Search: just about every board has several threads. Here's a few really good 'uns:
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=1000275679&start=0
http://forums.ebay.com/db1/thread.jspa?threadID=2000136318&start=0
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?messageID=2002799444&forumID=21&x#2002799444
Changing preferences:
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?messageID=2002790286&forumID=21&x#2002790286
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?messageID=1005598053&forumID=21&x#1005598053
http://forums.ebay.com/db1/thread.jspa?threadID=1000309399&tstart=0&mod=1151684310270
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Dear Ina,
I love your newsletter and look forward to every issue. I am a powerseller on Ebay and have been selling there since 1998.
I noticed you mentioned Safe Sellers in this issue. I own and run a FREE Safe Sellers list for Ebay (and other auction and website sellers). To be included you must supply at least three positive feedback from customers (Ebay feedback will do) and to be removed there must be three complaints from three different customers on three different sales. When removed, the removal is permanent.
This list is for doll industry sellers, not open to the general public. Approval to the list allows the seller to display the personalized logo we provide for them in their Ebay auctions, on their websites, and on literature or other areas they may have need of the logo.
Please visit http://www.grandmothersattic.net/rbdssi for more information. Our Reborn Baby Dolls Safe Sellers List has been a big hit and our logo can be seen in many Ebay auctions.
Thanks again for providing such a wonderful resource for internet sellers, your timely information has helped guide and direct me many times.
Hugs,
Carol
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Ed Koon from http://www.ebaymotorssucks.com wrote in with a link to this television story on eBay Motors fraud.
http://www.proautogroup.info
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