What is eBay doing? Well, let me tell you...

Wow Gary --

I think you are right. For weeks now, I've been trying to figure out by what convoluted logic the execs at eBay think this will work. This is most sensible explanation I've seen about their "strategy" (koff).

The main problem, as I see it, with all of us sellers and buyers, is that we bought the "we're a big community" happy crappola eBay management has been peddling for years now.

Our mistake. It's the money -- always has been; always will be. Time for us to grow up, be big boys and girls, and get 'er done, eh?

(BTW, tell your wife the NPBs can't neg her until May; and they can only give feedback for 60 days back under the new system. So she has a little while to report them!)

I wonder if eBay consulted with professionals in the behavioral sciences before making their decision on the new feedback system. Not all, but much of the negative feedback I see is emotional and has to do more with perception, expectation, disappointment, anger, misunderstanding, revenge etc. than with the facts of the transaction.

As good an honest seller get negatives they'll drift away over time. It may take 6 months or a year to see the real results of eBays new feedback policy.

Ebay has decided to just write-off any Good Will the company created since it started. I'm not sure if that has a monetary value on their books but I just don't know anyone who has anything good to say about them any more. They have created a hostile environment.

We all need to stop using ebay ... maybe this will open there eyes, using sites like http://www.onlineauctionexchange.com where they offer No Listing Fees, No Commission or End-of-Auction Fees is a great alternative to the auction giant.

what it sounds like by your analogy, and what i can discern from being a buyer and seller on ebay, is this: ebay is ultimately an overgrown gigantic mom and pop income generator for a couple who want more money all the time. they are growing older, want to retire, and are now creating a cartel. the cartel will take care of its own needs, no more pesky customer service to be provided by ebay directly; or cut way back.
this becomes apparent in all of the one-sided, whatever we want is the rules, and you have no say, just agree or leave, attitude. if you mention anything they do not like such as VALID CRITICISM OR competition, in a blog or group, you get suspended. heck, they now have rampant insane unsafe unsecurity people going on witch hunts randomly ATTACKING/ suspending sellers/ buyers for no known reason, by the thousands. because ebay is all being run subjectively and for strange and selfish personal purposes that are not explained, except vaguely. No reasons or blatantly ludricous or false reasons are given for suspensions. these are happening in the thousands, just do a google search of "ebay suspended" or similar words and see what i mean, bloggers are posting thousands of posts. that is just the tip of the iceberg. THIS IS HOW THEY MUST BE GETTING RID OF THE SELLERS THEY DO NOT WANT IN THEIR MARKET-CONTROLLED NEW CARTEL! and blaming the sellers for it.
PLEASE POST CONTACT INFO FOR THE ATTORNEY WHO IS DOING THE TRILLION-DOLLAR LAWSUIT.....THANKS!

oh and, this is what's really devastating to a good seller: when a bad buyer leaves a negative claiming they did not receive the item, and you have all kinds of receipts and confirmations that show it was delivered to the address on file at checkout.
even with all this evidence, ebay leaves these negative false fraudulent claims on the good seller's feedback profile and allows that bad buyer to keep on doing whatever they please. with no negatives allowed on the buyer's feedback, how will any seller alert other sellers to this bad buyer's antics? no more "seller bewares" left on feedback---unless you give them a positive fb and leave a note in caps???? but that is shamefully misleading as it gives them a higher number of positives....oh, Lord. (and I do pray about all this, since it takes Someone bigger than the behemoth to defeat it! Sweet Jesus, come by heah'.

Anyone with the name qween must think they are owed something. Questions - if you had a retail store or even a garage sale - and you didn't like your buyer...how would you warn other stores then? You see in the real world consumers get to complain at places like the BBB. And yes many times those complaints are not legit, but the point is that is how consumers expect things to work. that is they expect to be able to leave feedback for sellers...and the collective feedback will hopefully be meaningful to others. But outside of Ebay...name one place where retail stores can warn other retail stores about buyers. I'm not talking about bad check writers..I'm talking about that complaining never satisfied buyer that nobody wants. Where? Give me some real examples of what retail stores do to team up and warn each other of this...Oh ?? there isn't anything in place? So ...looks like you just got pwned. Just for the record the continued increase in listings are a much larger voice that many people are still very satisfied with EBAY!

The bottomline is that eBay sellers hate eBay; while Amazon sellers love Amazon. Which one will thrive?

I vote for Amazon!
http://www.cashbackatebay.com/Amazon.html

eBay has been hovering at $30 in the stock market and has been hammered down to the $28 range (currently at $28.74 2:53 June 17, 2008). Meanwhile, Amazon, which had been hovering at the $80 range is up at $82.97 today (June 17, 2008).

I would like to mention that I have sold on ebay for about 8 years and just recently quit.

From my extensive understanding of ebay, I don't think it is business as usual.

Meaning, I don't believe that their most recent changes are going to help them in the long run. Rather, I think it is just going to quicken the inevitable. They are eventually going to shrink, while other online companies take a larger share of online sales.

In the past, I have agreed that most of their changes were increasing their stock price and business. However, I think their new president is not exactly the most brilliant mind on the block. Frankly, I think I could run ebay better than he currently is.

Just as Fanny May and Freddie Mac used bean counters to come up with the brilliant idea of variable mortgages to increase profits (without actually thinking about the potential consequences), ebay also is essentially doing the same.

They also have hired been counters and the President of ebay somehow thinks he can turn an apple into an orange (ebay into some pseudo amazon.com). It "aint" going to happen.

Why is it I see so many sellers fleeing ebay? Why is it when I do a search for "car amps" 55 items come up, when back in 2005, it would have been more like 500?

Gee, less auctions means less money. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that.

However, they claim their auctions are not dropping? Perhaps they are fudging the truth a wee bit?

I have seen a huge drop in auctions listed on ebay, just doing normal searches. I know tons of sellers who are running away from ebay.

So, how is it their auctions are staying steady? That is frankly a lie.

So, they have to be loosing money.. Sooner or later the truth will be made known. I guess I am not a sucker and can smell a lie.


Sincerely
Tony

Reply to Chris:
With all due respect I appreciate your input, but here's the real deal for me some time ago. I was bombarded from a series of alleged "HONEST BUYERS" that were in a conpiracy to reek havoc and destroy my site in a successful effort to knock off the competition. Try selling bebe on ebay and see what happens to many sellers. FIRST COMPLAINT: FACT: REEKS OF SMOKE - which is a downright LIE. The items were Brand New With Tags, delivered right to a storage facility so this made it impossible to believe. Being a non-smoker, I knew immediately what these so-called honest buyers were doing. Not only did they lie, but wore the item(s) for up to 60 days, simply by opening a SNAD dispute with Pay Pal. Where did that leave me? Locked out of Pay Pal, unable to print labels, FORCED TO REIMBURSE buyers that actually dyed the item and returned it in a despictable, unbelievable condition. The funny thing is all these so called honest buyers were from Florida and California. I later gained knowledge that they were sellers of bebe. Due to the fact that the east coast had the latest fashions FIRST, this disabled their ability to mark up their old stock 300 percent. These are facts, Chris. In terms of devastation, that is an understatement. So give it a try. You will get negatives immediately, no matter how hard you try to avoid it. I'll make it easy for you. I'll tell you how and where to obtain these items BRAND NEW AUTHENTIC BEBE CLOTHES, SHOES, etc and then go for it. See the results you get. The sellers go crazy and will send money to get your items and then destroy them, of course, after they wear them out, then they get their BONUS = REFUND. Bebe sellers with high ratings are unscrupulous. That's just one name brand I am referencing. I could go on and on..but bebe is a cult like brand. And not to mention, they will attack your item description in every way, shape and form and every other item you are attempting to sell, all just to discredit the seller and discourage buyers from your site, no matter how much you try to justify their lies. Let me know how you make out. Thanks!

I have read some of the comments regarding ebays policies, some good some bad(mostly). I think if a forum for selling gives access to merchants, they are in some way responsible for the goings on in that forum, especially if they have their hooks in the profits, in addition to the fees(something I don't get, or agree with). If you are charging a fee for a service or space, that should be all the money that changes hands, period. It strikes me as empirical and crooked. Quick story(a true one), I was a buyer on ebay, and some time ago, suffered a heart attack. While I was down, some of the sellers left nonpaying bidder strikes(I understand). what I don't understand is that one, while I was down, ebay threw me off, and sellers that I had paid, decided they didn't have to send the items won by me, I lost hundreds of dollars. I came home and explained to ebay that I was ill and could provide proof of this situation, well ebay took my proof, and I think without batting an eyelash informed me that it could not help me, even in the face of the fact that I was willing to financially make any corrections necessary. I can provide proof of all I say, and I tell you that ebay will cut the rope on you as soon as your check clears, you are on your own, ebay is an irresponsible entity with no interest beyond its own at heart(which they do not have). What we need is a good competitive website that ebay can't buy up and control, like they have craigs list and paypal, and any other competition. They are unamerican in their business practice, and immoral in their phlosophy.How can we be so complacent and yielding to such a negative mindset??? It's the same apathy that led to this horrible state of our economy. sound dramatic? talk to some of these folks that have been steamrolled in the name of profit.

Isn't someone formerly connected with ebay thinking of runninig for a political post? I read somewhere.hat's a scary thought, brings to mind "meet john doe". you know how that ended??!! don't ya??

I bought coins from a vendor, the coins that he sent to me were not the ones that I ordered, I sent them back and asked for my money back. Several months
have gone by-no reply. So much for ebay. I tried to get their corporate address, so that I could contact the
atty general of that particular state. There is no one to speak to...