whats happened to EBay

[quapman]

"Best Match" is directly tied to your "Star Rating". This is the crap where a buyer gives one to five stars for each of the seller's performance categories (item accuracy, shipping fees, etc.). The higher your star rating, the closer to the top of the search list your item shows up. Fall below a 4.5 (might not be right, I forget) and you can also be suspended and your PAYPAL PAYMENTS CAN BE DELAYED. I believe this is known as extortion.

I'm no lawyer, but I think feebay is close to, if not actually breaking several laws.

Stated previously, what choice do we have?


S

[resq302]

Our choice is what I mentioned earlier...... a class action lawsuit!   

[GreenMachine]

     Buyers are generally not aware to change their default search from Best Match to Time Ending Soonest. 

  Thanks man, I didn't know it was a setting option. It's been bugging the hell out of me, I'll click on "ending soonest" and a few pages later it was back to "best match"   . After a few minutes I figured out how to change it, hopefully it won't automatically revert back later.
  I sell on Ebay occasionally and I also think it's getting worse and worse. At some point Ebay's made it's motto "If it ain't broke, fix it till it is". At this point I have absolutely "0" loyalty to Ebay, once something better comes along I'm gone. Some entrepreneur will create another "Ebay equivalent" once they're sure it's profitable.

[GreenMachine]

Well, I'm sorry but I don't have the same complaints.   I wanted to dig money up to apply it towards my expensive dash restoration so I went out to the garage and grabbed 3 Charger items sitting on the self.  1 week later I had 440.00  So I paid some selling and Pay Pal fees?  I'm bidding on ebay now for Charger parts, I've sold with ebay since day one, and I love it.  No complaints here.  It ain't a perfect world, bad things happen, but overall I have made a fortune on ebay. 

  Yes, but at the end of the month how much of that $440.00 did you give back to Ebay when they sent out their bill?

   
   

[b5blue]

I noticed all that stuff early on also. I run my searches "my way" and fight that best match crap all the time. I also run searches not logged in and keep track of item #s so I can wander around without having the "how about these" feature show me crap similar to what I may have just peeked at out of curiosity. That feature has pulled up stuff I missed somehow so I try to keep it on target. All in all it is what it is and I would rather have it and fight this crap then not have the resource, also I'm meeting allot of MOPAR brothers I would never know (just met a guy last week who is making a rag top Charger and another I've been talking to for a month that has had 28 Chargers!) Some day someone smarter than me will do it better and I'll use that one to keep my Charger on the road also!   

[superduperbee]

Last year during the ebay boycott, I checked out about 50 other auction sites. The problem is there's a couple hundred car/parts auctions on each site. If everyone could decide on one site to switch to, there would be enough traffic on that site to make it worth listing stuff there. I had a couple really good years on ebay as a seller, but quit selling for good last year when they changed the feedback rules. The mandatory Paypal thing I believe, will prove to be their final nail in the coffin.

[1969chargerrtse]

Well, I'm sorry but I don't have the same complaints.   I wanted to dig money up to apply it towards my expensive dash restoration so I went out to the garage and grabbed 3 Charger items sitting on the self.  1 week later I had 440.00  So I paid some selling and Pay Pal fees?  I'm bidding on ebay now for Charger parts, I've sold with ebay since day one, and I love it.  No complaints here.  It ain't a perfect world, bad things happen, but overall I have made a fortune on ebay. 

  Yes, but at the end of the month how much of that $440.00 did you give back to Ebay when they sent out their bill?

   
   

29.32 in total.  Somebody do the math, what % would that be?  That stuff was worth nothing sitting on the shelf.  If I gave them 50.00 I'd still be happy. Just don't tell them that.

[GreenMachine]

Well, I'm sorry but I don't have the same complaints.   I wanted to dig money up to apply it towards my expensive dash restoration so I went out to the garage and grabbed 3 Charger items sitting on the self.  1 week later I had 440.00  So I paid some selling and Pay Pal fees?  I'm bidding on ebay now for Charger parts, I've sold with ebay since day one, and I love it.  No complaints here.  It ain't a perfect world, bad things happen, but overall I have made a fortune on ebay. 

  Yes, but at the end of the month how much of that $440.00 did you give back to Ebay when they sent out their bill?

   
   

29.32 in total.  Somebody do the math, what % would that be?  That stuff was worth nothing sitting on the shelf.  If I gave them 50.00 I'd still be happy. Just don't tell them that.

That is 6.66% from my calculations plus whatever Paypal took, I figured 5.2% (from one of my own personal transactions). That's 11.86% total. Better than the Federal government I guess. It sure seems like more when it seems like I don't sell a whole lot but get a $50.00 bill from Ebay, I guess I'm selling more than I think.

[The70RT]

If you go to auction and buy a truck load of car parts and if you do good like I always have you just have to sell a small percentage and you got you money back. After that to me it is just selling stuff you got for free. I been to swap meets and did the same. Taking a bunch of stuff to swapmeets is a pain in the ass. You can't run around looking for yourself, weather, lowballers, crooks...yada yada yada. I would rather take eBay's screwing. I think eBay would have to go away or get rid of the little guy for any other auction site to have a chance.

[1969chargerrtse]

Well, I'm sorry but I don't have the same complaints.   I wanted to dig money up to apply it towards my expensive dash restoration so I went out to the garage and grabbed 3 Charger items sitting on the self.  1 week later I had 440.00  So I paid some selling and Pay Pal fees?  I'm bidding on ebay now for Charger parts, I've sold with ebay since day one, and I love it.  No complaints here.  It ain't a perfect world, bad things happen, but overall I have made a fortune on ebay. 
[/quot


  Yes, but at the end of the month how much of that $440.00 did you give back to Ebay when they sent out their
bill?


   
   

29.32 in total.  Somebody do the math, what % would that be?  That stuff was worth nothing sitting on the shelf.  If I gave them 50.00 I'd still be happy. Just don't tell them that.

Pay pal fees were 13.00

[rav440]

im not sure what the hell the management at EBAY is thinking but they are screwing up BIG TIME !!!

some good reads

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2009/tc20090121_143541.htm

EBay Sales: Going, Going...
The e-tailer's first quarterly sales decline reflects faltering consumer spending and shows efforts to reignite growth have yet to bear fruit
By Douglas MacMillan

digg this
save to del.icio.us
linkedin connections By his own admission, eBay Chief Executive John Donahoe is "frustrated." With good reason. Fourth-quarter results reflect the company's first-ever quarterly revenue decline, a sign that Donahoe's effort to reignite growth has yet to take effect.

On Jan. 21, the company said sales dropped 6.4%, to $2.04 billion, amid weakness in consumer spending and strength in the U.S. dollar, which reduces the value of overseas sales. "It's a sign that eBay hasn't been able to buck the trend" of poor consumer turnout during the holiday season, says Jeff Lindsay, an analyst at New York-based Sanford C. Bernstein. "All the advantage of the online channel has gone mostly to Amazon."

Fixed-Price Shopping Goes to Amazon
But eBay's (EBAY) most recent earnings reveal deeper problems than a sour Christmas. As CEO since the March 2008 departure of predecessor Meg Whitman, Donahoe has redoubled efforts to cut eBay's dependence on auctions, which have fallen out of favor for many consumers, and raise the company's reliance on fixed-price items. In short, management has tried to make eBay more like online retailing stalwart Amazon.com (AMZN). Fixed-price sales now account for almost half of all transactions.

Yet, consumers who shop online are flocking to Amazon and other retailers. At eBay, the core online shopping business suffered a double-digit drop in revenue, down 16%, to $1.3 billion. Transactions on its site, excluding the especially poor-performing auto category, fell 12% over the same period. "At the end of the day, if you compare the experience of buying fixed-price items on eBay vs. buying them on Amazon, Amazon wins," says Jim Friedland, an analyst at Cowen & Co. who has a neutral rating on eBay's stock. "It's such a better shopping experience."

Amazon doesn't report earnings until next week. But the site surprised analysts in December when it reported its best Christmas ever, with 6.3 million items ordered in the holiday shopping period. According to ComScore (SCOR), traffic to Amazon in December 2008 improved by 9.8% over the same month in 2007, compared with eBay's 2.5% drop in traffic over the same period. EBay still has the most unique monthly visitors, though the gap is narrowing.

Donahoe's Strategy Falls Short
Only a year into his job as eBay's president and CEO, Donahoe has spearheaded efforts to make the site more compelling for both buyers and sellers of goods. He has addressed making the site easier to navigate and making transactions more secure. His strategy for drawing more revenue from the site by helping the most successful sellers—by including a "search by popularity" function, for example—has drawn criticism from smaller sellers, many of whom have defected to other sites.

The company's most recent financials don't help his case. "I am as frustrated as anyone that the changes we made in 2008 didn't lead to immediate results, but I think it sets us up to go after our key priorities in 2009," Donahoe said in the earnings conference call.

Things may get worse before they get better. The company said first-quarter profits will be 32¢ to 34¢ a share, well below the 40¢ estimated by Wall Street. The company didn't provide a full-year outlook. Profits are being helped by the company's plan, announced in October, to eliminate 10% of its workforce. Shares of eBay slid 6.5%, to 12.47, in extended trading, after the results were released.

Economic weakness isn't helping Donahoe's cause. "Unless they can get the core marketplaces business to turn around, and a fair bit of that will depend on the economy, then they're going to have to look at some more strategic measures," says Sanford C. Bernstein's Lindsay, who has a market-perform rating on eBay's stock. Those measures include refinancing its debt, buying back more stock, and even spinning off or selling its Internet-calling unit, Skype.

And now, Amazon is not the only rival eBay has to worry about. Increasingly its auction business is being undercut by classifieds site Craigslist, according to Scott Wingo, CEO of ChannelAdvisor, which helps sellers manage merchandise on e-commerce sites. Those people who are "cleaning out their closet and selling what they find online" are migrating to Craigslist, he says, because "you don't have to deal with the complexity of fees."

Douglas MacMillan is a staff writer for BusinessWeek.com in New York.

Reader Discussion

http://www.glgroup.com/News/What-is-going-wrong-at-eBay--31834.html

January 22, 2009
What is going wrong at eBay?PrintEmail to a FriendAnalysis of: American Express, First Data agree on payment process pact (www.marketwatch.com)
This analysis is solely the work of the author. It has not been edited or endorsed by GLG.
Author of this analysisJoe Weingarten
Executive Director, Macintosh Reseller Association


Implications: As the economy slows you would have to assume that people would want to sell Grandma's antique green glass collection and on the other side of the coin people would want to buy at a bargain products. Could it be that eBay is hurting themselves.

Analysis: Most people when they read this type of article stop at the end of the article. Don't this time, read the comments, they will provide a very real insight into what is going wrong at eBay.

eBay in its quest to drive profits is doing everything wrong from the prospective of the sellers, without good sellers, the buyers will leave. Fees have gone up so much that sellers have been moving to other auction sites that charge much less. Then they started to push Free Shipping to try and increase eBay revenue. You see shipping is not included in the auction fee eBay collects, so some dealers overcharged on shipping, with free shipping the amount is included in the sale price, so eBay gets paid. Instead of fixing the problem of excessive shipping they drove off sellers and the overcharging shippers continue. They also put pressure in a very quiet way to move towards online stores thus removing the small seller who has unique listings and many one of a kind. Thus limited choices in the long run. Something that made eBay a place to find anything.

Then they took actions that did in fact drive off buyers. For example, a lot of buyers of antiques are older and less trusting of electronic payment systems, so eBay started to demand using their PayPal system only for payment. Buyers who use Money Orders or Checks left. Of course this tied PayPal and another revenue stream to eBay, but at what costs. And to top if off fees to list products keep increasing. You used to be able to look all over the world at other eBay sites with ease, now you have to sign in at each country, thus reducing both products and sales.

Here come the other sites to compete with eBay. Offering free stores with a commission on sales only or listings at about 50% off eBay fees and some allow listings for free, just making money on commission on sales, and no collection of payment restrictions. www.ibid.net, www.ioffer.com, /www.specialistauctions.com, http://listityourselfauctions.com just to list a few.

eBay continues to change its format to make it easier to sell and buy, the only problem it makes it harder and slows down the system. It is almost as if we were going to switch driving from the right side to the left side of the road. It appears this is being done to increase revenue from advertsiers on the eBay site. But at what cost in customer viewing prducts for sale.

Maybe eBay need to move backwards towards what worked in years past and stop being greedy, it is starting to hurt them.

[rav440]

EBAY is going down hill fast and it needs to change its way back to the way it used to be . this DONAHOE guy waqnt EBAY to be like AMAZON with fixxed price sale . he was quoted as saying he did not like EBAY besause " it looks like a giant yard sale "

WTF 

all i can hope for is that if this nitwit changes EBAY to a fixxed price format and no more online auctions 

is that the rumors of GOOGLE starting an AUCTION site rings true .

just for the record im pissed  ebay has been a way for me to fund my build of my road runner .
here is a link to the disscussion bords at ebay

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=520077825&start=0

and part of page 1 the so far 51 page thread people ARE NOT HAPPY and EBAY doesnt care 

My eBay (moderated) 
ceril@ebay.com View Listings | Report  Jan-20-09 13:50 PST 
Today marks the day the old My eBay retires and the new My eBay takes its place completely. We kept two versions from October until now to help you make the transition. But if you have questions about where to find a feature or how to use new features, this is the place for you.

You may also want to review the FAQ and User Guide posts tacked to the top of the My eBay board. 

Previous   1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 ... 51   Next  See last post 

2034 replies Date posted Reply #
nonenmac  (383 )  View Listings | Report  Jan-20-09 15:01 PST  1 of 2034 
n the pull-down menu on each of my SOLD items, the old MyeBay page shows each menu entry in color (blue for not-visited, or magenta for visited - or whatever my browser settings say they should be). But the new MyeBay page just shows them all in gray (except for the default item). This may be more aesthetically pleasing the eye, but I have come to rely on the colors to quickly tell if I have performed the corresponding task yet. This is even more important with the new page where sorting the list is not remembered between visits, so I get confused about where I am in the list. Please leave the old MyeBay page available until all of the open issues with the new one are fixed. Thank you.


tapking  (6899 )  View Listings | Report  Jan-20-09 15:27 PST  2 of 2034 
I agree on that same point of having the colors showing which item I've been into when I'm doing revising on the description or postage price on first class. I feel that Ebay is taking us backwards instead of forward with making changes to the screens that make no sense and I see no benefits to the new "Beta" set up and it is harder to look at. It takes a lot of time listing new items and relisting others and changing the format view, slows me down which takes longer to list items which is less listed, less items that Ebay gets to charge us on plus can't put things in as fast so Ebay doesn't get as many items entered so they can't get their charges as fast. People say "if it isn't broke, don't fix it". tapking


auction3d  (1824 ) View Listings | Report  Jan-20-09 16:07 PST  3 of 2034 
I HATE the new My Ebay. It is a confusing piece of crap and I know that it is impossible that 90% of users would voluntarily use it. they have been forced to because it is EXTREMELY user unfriendly and forces you to have a very confusing and UGLY Cheap looking page.

You've taken away my Photo's so I can easily see what I'm selling and not have to look up item numbers.

Ebay obviously hates it's customers because it seems to only have taken the advice of complete idiots. I will definately be buying and selling less if at all but I guess that is what Ebay has wanted all along.


metal_football  (1807 )  View Listings | Report  Jan-20-09 16:14 PST  4 of 2034 
Dear page designers,
You're fired. Please gtfo now or I'll call security.

The new MyEbay is terrible and I am 1 keystroke away from closing my account. 


high-tide-steve  (1338 ) View Listings | Report  Jan-20-09 16:19 PST  5 of 2034 
Count me in with the "HATE IT" group. I prefer the way I already designed it. I don't see how it helps sellers or buyers, or how it will increase revenue for eBay and its shareholders. Users should have the option of keeping the traditional display or choosing the new style. Choice is what eBay is all about.


oldbuckaroo  (502 ) View Listings | Report  Jan-20-09 16:21 PST  6 of 2034 
IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE "CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN"??


vtzoo  (2437 )  View Listings | Report  Jan-20-09 16:23 PST  7 of 2034 
THis is awful!! I can't see as much, I keep having to go to other pages to see what I'm selling and what I've bought and what I am looking at. I want to go back to the other view!!!


yinger  (540 ) View Listings | Report  Jan-20-09 16:24 PST  8 of 2034 
I hate it also, it actually hurts my eyes! What are they thinking. Don't fix it if it's not broken.


treasure_chest  (5280 )  View Listings | Report  Jan-20-09 16:25 PST  9 of 2034 
The new My Ebay is most useless confusing thing I have ever seen, I'm not sure I can even get to my customers, what the Heck am I supposed to do?


xjmeyer  (361 ) View Listings | Report  Jan-20-09 16:27 PST  10 of 2034 
I too hate the New My Ebay and I don't know who they talked to and or paid to say such nice things about it but I certainly don't like it. I too would consider resigning from Ebay but can't because it's not my decision to make. So yeah Ebay if your listening please allow us to have our old my Ebay back. I believe there is a whole lot of Ebay users who would say the same.


spf13  (1257 ) View Listings | Report  Jan-20-09 16:31 PST  11 of 2034 
The new My Ebay sucks big time. It keeps crashing my computer. Guess this is the final straw that will force me to stop wasting so much time and money on Ebay.


walterkurtzpicturetaker  (82 ) View Listings | Report  Jan-20-09 16:34 PST  12 of 2034 
I have to agree - the new My eBay is a horror.

Things that need to be corrected IMMEDIATELY......

1. There is no longer a summary for what has bids - to find out if there are any bids, you have to scroll through possibly HUNDREDS of items to see where your auctions stand.
2. There is no longer a dollar total for what has bids.
3. No matter how large you make the window, the columns stay the same. Everyone isn't on a 14" monitor - as you expand the window, the text needs to also grow to the right.

I'm mystified why i have to be telling eBay they screwed this up.


walterkurtzpicturetaker  (82 ) View Listings | Report  Jan-20-09 16:35 PST  13 of 2034 
I have to agree - the new My eBay is a horror.

Things that need to be corrected IMMEDIATELY......

1. There is no longer a summary for what has bids - to find out if there are any bids, you have to scroll through possibly HUNDREDS of items to see where your auctions stand.
2. There is no longer a dollar total for what has bids.
3. No matter how large you make the window, the columns stay the same. Everyone isn't on a 14" monitor - as you expand the window, the text needs to also grow to the right.

I'm mystified why i have to be telling eBay they screwed this up.


13th_engr  (1131 ) View Listings | Report  Jan-20-09 16:37 PST  14 of 2034 
The new my ebay SUCKS.I have neither the time or patience for this.Why are we being forced to swallow this crap? Is it too hard to make this optional for those of us who like things the way it was? If ebay is trying to lose business there doing a good job! 

[1969chargerrtse]

Say what you want, but I 'm going on ebay now for some hard to find Charger parts, and I'll bet anything they are there and not on Amazon.  I sold my vette on ebay, I bought my Charger on ebay.  Do I like all the changes?  No, but it's where it's at plain and simple no matter how many complaints are on this thread.

[rav440]

Say what you want, but I 'm going on ebay now for some hard to find Charger parts, and I'll bet anything they are there and not on Amazon.  I sold my vette on ebay, I bought my Charger on ebay.  Do I like all the changes?  No, but it's where it's at plain and simple no matter how many complaints are on this thread.

i feel the same as you . but it just grinds my gears that donahoe want it to be like amazon .

has anyone listed any items on EBAYMOTORS in the last month or so ?

if so is your listing / description page really really WIDE ?

[The70RT]

Say what you want, but I 'm going on ebay now for some hard to find Charger parts, and I'll bet anything they are there and not on Amazon.  I sold my vette on ebay, I bought my Charger on ebay.  Do I like all the changes?  No, but it's where it's at plain and simple no matter how many complaints are on this thread.

i feel the same as you . but it just grinds my gears that donahoe want it to be like amazon .

has anyone listed any items on EBAYMOTORS in the last month or so ?

if so is your listing / description page really really WIDE ?

Yeah it is. You have to scroll back and forth to read the damned discription.

[rav440]

Say what you want, but I 'm going on ebay now for some hard to find Charger parts, and I'll bet anything they are there and not on Amazon.  I sold my vette on ebay, I bought my Charger on ebay.  Do I like all the changes?  No, but it's where it's at plain and simple no matter how many complaints are on this thread.

i feel the same as you . but it just grinds my gears that donahoe want it to be like amazon .

has anyone listed any items on EBAYMOTORS in the last month or so ?

if so is your listing / description page really really WIDE ?

Yeah it is. You have to scroll back and forth to read the damned discription.

i spent almost 2 hours when ebay online tech last sunday trying to explain to him what the problem was . i finnaly told him to try listing an ad to sell just what the hell i was talking about .
you cant tell me that they didnt know about this probelm  prior to me talking to the tech . i have since Emailed ebay and tried to call ebay motors about this problem but they are not in on sundays .

[quapman]

I buy and sell on the bag. It is absolutely the easiest way to BUY parts. It's a royal PITA to sell there.

I used to sell 95% of what I listed on fleebag, now I'm lucky if half of it goes. Two items out of five this week.

Yes, the rare parts are still there that I need to buy, but is that a valid excuse for the site constantly changing for the worse, taking up more bandwidth, being slower, searching being more difficult (and fees going up for sellers)?

You know most sellers just pass those fees onto the buyer in their item and shipping prices.

This Jerkoff wants to be like Amazon? That's as smart as Daimler making Chrysler just like Mercedes-Benz. That worked, right? Feebay succeeded because it was UNIQUE. Now, this mental midget wants to COPY another site and like a typical greedmongering corporate c***sucker, wants to give the little guy the royal shaft. Do away with auctions? Duh. That's the whole point. Duh.

These uck-fays are always worried about making money for the stockholders. Where are the dividends for those who CREATE the revenue? THE SELLERS.

I bet fleebag's founder is so embarassed that he doesn't even admit to having anything to do with the site.

Like all us sellers from "back in the day" keep BEGGING....turn back the clock and put it back the way it was. The way that WORKED for almost everyone.

Let's give Feebay a big round of

DUH
DUH
DUH

[rav440]

I buy and sell on the bag. It is absolutely the easiest way to BUY parts. It's a royal PITA to sell there.

I used to sell 95% of what I listed on fleebag, now I'm lucky if half of it goes. Two items out of five this week.

Yes, the rare parts are still there that I need to buy, but is that a valid excuse for the site constantly changing for the worse, taking up more bandwidth, being slower, searching being more difficult (and fees going up for sellers)?

You know most sellers just pass those fees onto the buyer in their item and shipping prices.

This Jerkoff wants to be like Amazon? That's as smart as Daimler making Chrysler just like Mercedes-Benz. That worked, right? Feebay succeeded because it was UNIQUE. Now, this mental midget wants to COPY another site and like a typical greedmongering corporate c***sucker, wants to give the little guy the royal shaft. Do away with auctions? Duh. That's the whole point. Duh.

These uck-fays are always worried about making money for the stockholders. Where are the dividends for those who CREATE the revenue? THE SELLERS.

I bet fleebag's founder is so embarassed that he doesn't even admit to having anything to do with the site.

Like all us sellers from "back in the day" keep BEGGING....turn back the clock and put it back the way it was. The way that WORKED for almost everyone.

Let's give Feebay a big round of

DUH
DUH
DUH

[bull]

quapman hit it on the head. It seems to me that internet businesses are designed to be a flash in the pan operations these days. Nobody wants to run them and make a steady living, they just want to start up and sell out.

[Old Moparz]

After reading more on this thread, especially the CEO comments, I have no faith in ebay staying in business now unless they can his ass & do a complete turnaround. I'm curious now (but not enough to research it) what the CEO's previous job was? Was it for a company that made money? Was it an on line company? I bet he has a nice resume of fail or one that isn't related to what ebay used to be.

It might parallel this story about a local Ford dealership that recently went under. The economy wasn't the only reason, the owner was a greedy scumbag who screwed over a lot of people. The owner was the son who bought & took over the business from his Dad. He built a brand new showroom & service center, then stopped paying employees & suppliers, locked up a building full of unrepaired vehicles from customers, & filed bankruptcy.

Guess what he does for a living now? He's the head finance guy at another dealership on the west coast & can't be reached by creditors.