I guess this is what I would say to eBay as a collective if I thought I could get it’s ear. eBay, you are a wonderful corporation, and I am an eBay guy, definitely, so though the following article contains some outspoken critique, I write it in the spirit of attempting to be aspect of the resolution, not component of the problem.

I really feel the urge, to create this letter as a liaison car in between upset eBay sellers and the choice makers at eBay. Who asked me to do it? Nobody. What qualifies me to create such a letter? I’ve been a seller on eBay for 9 years on eBay, I’ve been in the antiques/auction company for far more than 25 years and have been a practicing auctioneer for much more than half of those years. I’m also active blogger and podcaster and use these methods to preserve my finger on the pulse of the antiques & collectibles planet.

Naturally eBay is properly conscious that a huge amount of sellers are extremely unhappy and/or afraid of the new feedback, detailed seller ratings, fee structure and search enhancements that are either already in spot or planned for. What I do not think eBay has a grip on is, why these sellers feel the way they do, and the depth of despair. If you’ll understand that, then no matter what the outcome of the new changes, eBay will develop and prosper as it should, and it’s likely that it will.

I think to ignore it, would at worst, be a death of a thousand cuts, and at ideal, result in eBay’s bottom line to reflect an “also in the race” market status rather than the market front runner. Let’s look at the core of the fire, shall we? Charge increases: They are inevitable. People grouse and complain, but, fair increases are expected and tolerated. What struck me and many others as a smack in the head, is that the new increases have been marketed to us as a charge decrease, when in reality it seems it’s only going to be less expensive for the persons who list a lot of points that never sell.

To indicate otherwise, appears to imply we cannot do the the math, and that is offensive. To major it off, some fee decreases will come by way of a pretty complicated carrot and stick process via the DSR method that most don’t completely understand and are for that reason afraid of. In reality, in 1 place eBay itself says a four DSR star is fantastic, and in a different web page degrades a 4 star rating, displaying that eBay does not completely recognize it’s own system. These are difficult financial instances, a lot of of the sellers concerned make a fantastic percentage of their revenue on eBay, they have a proper to be concerned about alterations that straight influence the their earnings.

That stated, I never think the uproar would have been practically as serious if you’d just outright raised fees for every single one particular proportionately alternatively of generating 1/2 of us really feel like we’re going to be punished for not meeting what we feel are unfair and complex standards. The initial and most frightening instance, at least for me, is your new rule that if a seller’s DSR goes below 4.5 or 85%, their products are going to be shown less in your search engines than sellers with a higher DSR.

As a 9 year veteran of eBay, nothing at all eBay has ever mentioned or completed had scared me as much as that new rule. The Democratic advantage of eBay’s magnificent search engine is THE explanation I use eBay, as a seller and a buyer. Without the need of a fair search, eBay is genuinely no very good to me. I have a 99.8% positive feedback. However, my shipping DSR is at four.6% one particular point away from the Penalty Box. Here’s the odd thing about that, I have a one hundred% satisfaction guaranteed policy, so how could everyone justify leaving low points?

Here’s how: I ship a lot of books and media, and some newbies never fully grasp that the USPS takes longer for these items to ship, or they disagree with the reality that I charge a dollar handling. Even even though I mention it in my description, and it is clearly stated in a number of other locations. Is it fair to agree to terms in a contract, and then turn about and leave reputation damaging feedback, revenue crushing feedback, on that transaction for the reason that you happen to be unhappy with the terms that you agreed to in the initial place?

How is that treating sellers pretty? How does in place yet another nickel in eBay’s pocket?

How to verify eBay account ship within 2 days as a policy and normally ship the next day as a practice, and can prove it mainly because I pay for my shipping on the web with Pay Pal and the ereceipt is dated, however I have gotten poor DSR for shipping time which eBay would not remove, nor COULD the purchaser take away if they wanted to. The average eBay seller has virtually their whole on the internet persona and reputation built about eBay’s feedback, do you definitely consider if they feel it really is threatened, that that could be a very good point for eBay?

What is much more probably is that the threatened seller will really feel they have to spread themselves out and dilute this threat by trying out other on the web sales venues, a great deal like a stock holder who does not want to place all his eggs in a single basket? That is the greatest case situation, the worst being that frustrated and intimidated sellers will take a knee jerk jump correct off of eBay onto one more source or leaving on the internet auction sales altogether mainly because there is nothing at all else like eBay out there..

My next problems is with taking the sellers right to leave buyer feedback away, which was in my opinion, a crucial error and is a huge portion of the cause for the panic buzz that is on the boards and in the forums. Aspect of the eBay argument for performing this is the belief that quite a few purchasers had been leaving simply because of the threat of feedback retaliation from sellers.

That could be true, I have no idea, I am not privy your numbers so I cannot say, but surely this could have been worked out in another way, in fact when I consider about it, there are lots of achievable fixes to this, but they all involve spending a tiny extra cash on help. One particular statement produced about this feedback switcheroo was, “we’ll, we’re seriously the only sizable on the web auction that utilizes dual feedback”.