Has Ebay Gone Mad?

[Erum Munir]

I haven't sold on Ebay for a while. And I just realized today that they have added the dumbest feedback policy imaginable. You cannot leave negative feedback for buyers!!!

What, they now trust all buyers to be honorable and trustworthy? :-o

And here I was wondering why the number of scammers and runaway bidders has increased especially on high price items.

Has anyone else who sells on Ebay also noticed this trend?

Kind of beats putting up stuff on auction if all you are going to end up with are scammers or people who are not going to pay up and are completely backed by Ebay as you cannot even leave negative feedback.

(If anyone wants to read up on the details of my recent experience I just added a post to my blog)

[Erum Munir]

Except if this keeps on they are going to lose sellers. I am already getting a bit sick of trying to sell just one item. Have had two buyers disappear. And there seem to be many other similar stories. It is turning into auction nightmare :-o

[adamv]

Originally Posted by Erum Munir

I haven't sold on Ebay for a while. And I just realized today that they have added the dumbest feedback policy imaginable. You cannot leave negative feedback for buyers!!!

What, they now trust all buyers to be honorable and trustworthy? :-o

And here I was wondering why the number of scammers and runaway bidders has increased especially on high price items.

Has anyone else who sells on Ebay also noticed this trend?

Kind of beats putting up stuff on auction if all you are going to end up with are scammers or people who are not going to pay up and are completely backed by Ebay as you cannot even leave negative feedback.

(If anyone wants to read up on the details of my recent experience I just added a post to my blog)

You're a little late to the party on this one, that change happened a while back. I still sell a few things on ebay but I sell with a fixed price so I have not noticed the trend of increasing runaway bidders.

Ebay seems to make a major change every other week. It doesn't really make sence to me. The feedback policy is insane but as long as my feedback remains at or close to 100% I'll go ahead and keep selling. If the idiotic feedback policy becomes a problem for me I have no problem with taking my stuff off of Ebay and never coming back.

I used to have an ebay store but with their new policies that doesn't make sence either. I can list things at a fixed price and set it as "good til cancelled" and my listing will repeat every 30 days for 15 cents. The final value fees are huge but the listing fees are small so I don't mind that so much.

I don't sell a ton of stuff on Ebay but it's always good to have one more income stream, even if it's a little one. As long as I don't get screwed by the feedback policy I'll keep that little income stream flowing.

[Erum Munir]

Apparently I did miss it as I just put up an auction after ages.

I guess if you are selling at a fixed price with a pay asap option, then it should be alright. And you can always re-list the item.

In my case I need to get the item out fast as it is out of stock at a lot of stores so chances of getting a better price at the moment. Now if only these bidders will stop wasting that time.

[ScottBoyd]

I dumped ebay long ago. Check out some of what an insider at ebay claims at ebaysucks.com:

"1. Neutrals will be converted to negatives complete with red icons and reduced feedback scores. Afterward neutrals will not be offered as a choice of feedback.

2. The entire process of feedback will be automated. Buyers and sellers will chose standard feedback from a list. For sellers this operation will be performed automatically upon the buyer winning. For buyers there will be an extra free line with which to add a few comments about the seller without restriction to content. Replies will not be allowed.

3. The implementation of a stricter rules regarding shipping. From the boxes, packing, labels and tapes to where you can buy postage. Orders have been placed for prototypes of “eBay” boxes. UPS and FedEx will be instructed not to accept “eBay” merchandise if it’s not inside “eBay” boxing. They will know, of course, because when sellers buy the “eBay” postage from the “eBay” source, a detailed list of contents with item numbers will be available to the shippers upon scanning a bar code. As for those who continue to use USPS, another level of quality control will be implemented - buyers will be asked, upon confirmation of delivery, if the seller used “eBay” standard shipping items. Naturally, no verification of the buyer’s truthfulness will be attempted, and continued ‘infractions’ will result in suspension. eBay will have other ways to check if a seller is not using the “eBay” equipment - as they will be required to buy at cost the supplies immediately after items are listed. (This is such a large scale operation behind the scenes that I feel comfortable sharing as much of it as I know.)

4. Sales taxes will be included automatically; shipping cost and sales taxes will be used to determined FVF.

5. Item descriptions will be “standardized” with templates which include the posting of a new, universal return policy. Only yearly subscribers to the retail-outlet venue can opt out of these universal return policies but even they cannot alter the template structures being devised.

6. Strikes against buyers will be eliminated as the whole concept of a buyer and bidding will be altered. FVF will be calculated when payment is submitted.

7. Time to Close will be eliminated entirely. Best Match will be the non-alterable default. Best Match is a system that caters to the needs of shoppers not bidders.

8. Placement within Best Match will be determined by several factors, the most important of which will be the extra display features added onto the listing.

9. DSRs can be removed by retailers and powersellers who pay a certain yearly fee.

10. The end play itself which consists of four phases:
a) the main focus shifts to retail sellers whose fees are on a per listing basis
b) stores will be replaced by a classified section, fees will be based on yearly subscriptions and FVFs
c) occasional auctions will be conducted for unique items (celebrity auctions, items that have been featured on the news, etc.)
d) total elimination of auctions for regular sellers.

From the point of view of eBay’s agenda to change gears these alteration make sense. The powers that be want to turn eBay into a retail venue format. Therefore the “buyer” must be changed - bidding and commitments to buy are part of the past. In a retail venue, the item is either in your cart or not and you only commit to buy when you pay at checkout. The seller is also redefined in the way they will be required to do business. They will be forced to copy the methods of retail stores.

The goal is to become Amazon Lite. Unlike Amazon the merchandise will be stocked by the retailers in their warehouses, eBay will be just an electronic centralized venue for outlet sale - a “trusted” name with a wide customer base and popular name recognition.

That is the future and as I write this I know that it cannot be stopped. There are no investors with enough clout and will to challenge the CEO. Stock holders will simply walk away. eBay will not sink, however, it will be exactly in the position its rulers intend it to be at.

Sellers, my advice is simple. You are not wanted. Leave. If you stay, you will be crushed. Leave. Go away. You cannot win.

I am sorry because for too long I have been a complicit tool behind the scenes. I was part of those teams and think tanks that spearheaded many of the “innovations” you know very well and which will be used to destroy you. I know I will not be believed. I will be mocked and ridiculed by the tools and even those who are real, actual people will be hesitant to accept what I have to say. What has been done to this community, the plots and schemes hatched in meetings and across memos, is far, far worse to endure within my soul than any treatment I will receive at the hands of the tools by posting this. You do not know how much they hate you. It is my conscience that I want to clear going forward. Again I apologize. There should have been a better way for the powers that be to effect the change they wanted for eBay - instead they succumbed to cloak and dagger deception.

RIP eBay"

[adamv]

I really don't understand why they keep making so many changes. Ebay may very well go from one of the biggest success stories in the history of the internet to one of the biggest flops.

IMO they are shooting themselves in the foot repeatedly with the constant and radical changes to the way they do business and the way they treat the small sellers. Many of the changes are great for big retailers and makes it harder for the guy running a one man show to compete but it was the small sellers, selling unique stuff in a variety of crazy niche markets and the people cleaning out their garages and selling stuff that made ebay what it is.

It seems like Ebay is trying to become something totally different than what they were and I'm not sure it's the best move. They've lost a lot of sellers recently and I won't hesitate to leave too when the time comes.

[Paula_Brett]

@ScottBoyd

Wow! I had heard on the grapevine that eBay wanted to be more Amazon-esque; that they were trying to get rid of all the "little" sellers in favour of big names and companies, but your post has gone into great detail. Thank you

[adamv]

Wow Scott, that's the first I've heard of some of these changes. It just keeps getting worse and worse. They've come up with things I never would have imagined (and that's not a good thing.)

It looks like I'll be leaving Ebay sooner rather than later. Maybe I'll stay through Christmas and then get the hell out.

[Andrei Rotariu]

Amazon it it

[Erum Munir]

This sounds like an opportunity for someone else to step in and fill the gap.

[Pete223]

Originally Posted by ScottBoyd

I dumped ebay long ago. Check out some of what an insider at ebay claims at ebaysucks.com:

"1. Neutrals will be converted to negatives complete with red icons and reduced feedback scores. Afterward neutrals will not be offered as a choice of feedback.

2. The entire process of feedback will be automated. Buyers and sellers will chose standard feedback from a list. For sellers this operation will be performed automatically upon the buyer winning. For buyers there will be an extra free line with which to add a few comments about the seller without restriction to content. Replies will not be allowed.

3. The implementation of a stricter rules regarding shipping. From the boxes, packing, labels and tapes to where you can buy postage. Orders have been placed for prototypes of “eBay” boxes. UPS and FedEx will be instructed not to accept “eBay” merchandise if it’s not inside “eBay” boxing. They will know, of course, because when sellers buy the “eBay” postage from the “eBay” source, a detailed list of contents with item numbers will be available to the shippers upon scanning a bar code. As for those who continue to use USPS, another level of quality control will be implemented - buyers will be asked, upon confirmation of delivery, if the seller used “eBay” standard shipping items. Naturally, no verification of the buyer’s truthfulness will be attempted, and continued ‘infractions’ will result in suspension. eBay will have other ways to check if a seller is not using the “eBay” equipment - as they will be required to buy at cost the supplies immediately after items are listed. (This is such a large scale operation behind the scenes that I feel comfortable sharing as much of it as I know.)

4. Sales taxes will be included automatically; shipping cost and sales taxes will be used to determined FVF.

5. Item descriptions will be “standardized” with templates which include the posting of a new, universal return policy. Only yearly subscribers to the retail-outlet venue can opt out of these universal return policies but even they cannot alter the template structures being devised.

6. Strikes against buyers will be eliminated as the whole concept of a buyer and bidding will be altered. FVF will be calculated when payment is submitted.

7. Time to Close will be eliminated entirely. Best Match will be the non-alterable default. Best Match is a system that caters to the needs of shoppers not bidders.

8. Placement within Best Match will be determined by several factors, the most important of which will be the extra display features added onto the listing.

9. DSRs can be removed by retailers and powersellers who pay a certain yearly fee.

10. The end play itself which consists of four phases:
a) the main focus shifts to retail sellers whose fees are on a per listing basis
b) stores will be replaced by a classified section, fees will be based on yearly subscriptions and FVFs
c) occasional auctions will be conducted for unique items (celebrity auctions, items that have been featured on the news, etc.)
d) total elimination of auctions for regular sellers.

From the point of view of eBay’s agenda to change gears these alteration make sense. The powers that be want to turn eBay into a retail venue format. Therefore the “buyer” must be changed - bidding and commitments to buy are part of the past. In a retail venue, the item is either in your cart or not and you only commit to buy when you pay at checkout. The seller is also redefined in the way they will be required to do business. They will be forced to copy the methods of retail stores.

The goal is to become Amazon Lite. Unlike Amazon the merchandise will be stocked by the retailers in their warehouses, eBay will be just an electronic centralized venue for outlet sale - a “trusted” name with a wide customer base and popular name recognition.

That is the future and as I write this I know that it cannot be stopped. There are no investors with enough clout and will to challenge the CEO. Stock holders will simply walk away. eBay will not sink, however, it will be exactly in the position its rulers intend it to be at.

Sellers, my advice is simple. You are not wanted. Leave. If you stay, you will be crushed. Leave. Go away. You cannot win.

I am sorry because for too long I have been a complicit tool behind the scenes. I was part of those teams and think tanks that spearheaded many of the “innovations” you know very well and which will be used to destroy you. I know I will not be believed. I will be mocked and ridiculed by the tools and even those who are real, actual people will be hesitant to accept what I have to say. What has been done to this community, the plots and schemes hatched in meetings and across memos, is far, far worse to endure within my soul than any treatment I will receive at the hands of the tools by posting this. You do not know how much they hate you. It is my conscience that I want to clear going forward. Again I apologize. There should have been a better way for the powers that be to effect the change they wanted for eBay - instead they succumbed to cloak and dagger deception.

RIP eBay"

WOW... seems so far away from ebay founder Pierre Omidyar's original philosophy.
Quote: "He quite simply believes that the human race is basically good. He also believes that the Internet community should remain the central philosophy, fearing a steady commercial takeover."

Guess Pierre is out fishing or something???

Regards, Pete

[adamv]

Originally Posted by jojokinkaid

There is a forum I found on the internet that is free, and helps with Ebay, PayPal, business and the law. Just post any question, the experts will answer it if it has not already been answered!

The forum has a lot of expert advice on it.
modeeworld.com/forums
I found advice there about how to avoid EBAY suspensions, get past PayPal limitations, also lots of detailed help on creating your own business, getting past trademark violations, VERO and lots more. Plus general advice on how best to sell on EBAY, what sells the best, how to get the best price for your product, really everything related to EBAY and internet business.

Also advice about how EBAY really works and how PayPal really works. The inside scoop.

Beautiful forum. I was made a moderator of the forum and I love it!

Do you realize that this thread was dead 6 months ago until you revived it?

[Affiliate.Solutions]

^ I can appreciate what you are trying to do on your forum but it does not have that much content and so this appears to be a spam post., Thanks for the spam newbie

[dlwebb610]

And to think I was considering selling on EBay. Not any more.

[Dean Wh]

WOW... seems so far away from ebay founder Pierre Omidyar's original philosophy.
Quote: "He quite simply believes that the human race is basically good. He also believes that the Internet community should remain the central philosophy, fearing a steady commercial takeover."

This is the way it has been happening for a while now. There is a real move away from individuality, and to a mass. Mass is easier to control