eBay

kates-of-mequon · ‎02-11-2015

Has anyone seen this new layout for listings? I have a button on my last listing called 'click button to view entire description'.

There is a completely blank screen unless one clicks that button. There is NO description of the item for sale until you click this button and then the description opens in a separate window.

What is this all about - an I in a test group?

tunicaslot · ‎02-12-2015

I've also had many questions about items - where the answers were front and center in the listing and wondered why the buyer wasn't reading the description. Now it all makes sense! Did those items with questions sell? No - probably because even though I kindly answered the questions - they had a preconceived notion that I might not be the best seller to buy from if I was too lazy to write item descriptions.

kates-of-mequon · ‎02-12-2015

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jeff
eBay Employee

However, we do have a "click to see description" functionality live on our apps. They've been live for a long time and conversion through mobile apps has been very successful (you can see some of our mobile results at http://www.ebayinc.com/sites/default/files/MP%20Factsheet%20Q4%202014.pdf ). This functionality on the mobile apps does not appear to be an obstacle for buyers, so it's possible that it may not be an obstacle for buyers on the full version. We'll know that for sure when the test is complete.
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I do not doubt your info about the mobile app – I would probably agree with it regardless of your data.
But, I do believe people have different expectations for a mobile app versus a full program.

I also think the mobile customer is VERY different from the PC customer.
I also believe that buyers are very different from sellers.

I think most halfway intelligent people would agree that you need to do a certain amount of testing and that testing loses integrity when announced. That said, it would have helped me to know so I could at the very least add more pictures to Ebay versus posting most of them via html.

I also believe that certain parts of the listing are sacred – the description is a very close second to the pics.
Thanks for your time Jeff.

mug-quest · ‎02-12-2015

Very well stated. I have worked in market research and major companies would not make a drastic change to beta like this unless it was a voluntary option. It's not really beta, because it's forced. The reward to the tester is they get to try out something new and advanced before anyone else. The company benefits by getting users to test it out to see if is better and get valuable feedback from the tester. This is ridiculous and what hurts my business the most is my store logo is gone from the listing. Regular customers can no longer differentiate me from other sellers. It seems you are punished if you provide fast and reliable service, while sellers benefit by having only 95% or less positive feedback and very little or no description.

electronicspart · ‎02-12-2015

My monthly ebay seller newletters says that 17% of my sales are from mobile devices.

Only 17% of my sales mean the rest are on PCs. The people catered to should be
those in the majority, no the minority.....OR do others here get a much higher percent

of mobile buyers?

treasure_hunt_junkie · ‎02-12-2015

Oh boy...this is not good. As a buyer earlier today, I hit the back button on a few items, due to what I mistakenly thought was a poorly-executed auction page, as evidenced by a glaring lack of any description whatsoever. Then I found this thread. eBay asks, "Tell us what you think!" So I did:

Dear eBay - It is NOT a good idea to hide descriptions because the vast majority of buyers will never see the link. For example, just today on the first few auctions I looked at, I did NOT see the link to click for the full description, thus I assumed the seller was too lazy to create one, which made me NOT want to buy their items. And I never buy items from sellers who fail to provide descriptions -- ever. Hiding a seller's description will ultimately result in NO SALE for the seller AND no final value fees for eBay.

Making matters worse is that the link is "blue" which does NOT stand out, as it completely blends into the page's overall color theme. Furthermore, the link is not large enough to capture any buyer's attention. Please reconsider this unfortunate decision to HIDE crucial seller descriptions, as you are really frustrating and confusing millions of buyers. Thank you.

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No sales/feedback stats as this is a POSTING ID only.

company_gunny · ‎02-12-2015

How do buyers know that this button is not a link that I have added to take them off eBay and onto some nefarious site? Clicking the link is a leap of faith on the part of the buyer.

holidayshopper201 · ‎02-12-2015

@jeff wrote:
@a_c_green wrote:
Jeff, in a nutshell: what is the problem that this test revision is attempting to solve?
We want to improve and simplify the overall buying experience. This test replicates on the main site how buyers are currently viewing descriptions on mobile apps today. The goal is to have a consistent experience across all devices and screens.

The problem with that approach is that mobile users and computer users don't expect to see the same format.

Mobile users know that the site is scaled down for their ease of use. Those of us with these big whopping computer monitors WANT to see everything in one place. We DON'T WANT to click a bunch of unnecessary links in order to view the whole listing.

This whole idea is so short-sighted. You've simplified nothing for the computer users. In fact, it's just the opposite. It's HARDER for us.

d-k_treasures · ‎02-12-2015

@company_gunny wrote:
How do buyers know that this button is not a link that I have added to take them off eBay and onto some nefarious site? Clicking the link is a leap of faith on the part of the buyer.

VERY good reasoning. You are the first one to bring this up in this context.

_____________________________
"Nothing is obvious to the oblivious"

kates-of-mequon · ‎02-12-2015

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treasure_hunt_junkie
Community Member|
snipped....

Making matters worse is that the link is "blue" which does NOT stand out, as it completely blends into the page's overall color theme. Furthermore, the link is not large enough to capture any buyer's attention. Please reconsider this unfortunate decision to HIDE crucial seller descriptions, as you are really frustrating and confusing millions of buyers.

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This is a VERY important comment.

On the mobile site the link for the description doe not melt into the rest of the screen.

If this is going to continue, a better test would be to make that button bigger, more obvious and it should be made clear that it is NOT a seller added placement.

moondogblues · ‎02-12-2015

After reading this whole thread, I realized that I had also noticed the lack of descriptions and backed out of listings because of it, and this was NOT starting yesterday...but days ago.

I also abhor the obfuscation that masquerades as 'helping' us sellers. The 'help' feels just like a slap in the face. A very very arrogant slap at that.

cad777864 · ‎02-12-2015

@amazingarts wrote:
@what-else wrote:
It's not so much that I want to be opted out of this test - I want my listings to be opted out of this test!
YES,

JEFF, I WANT CONFIRMATION THAT MY LISTINGS WILL NOT BE A PART OF THIS TEST.

WHEN CAN I EXPECT CONFIRMATION?

Your still in this wicked test. Losing money and your reputation like me.

ymeagainlord · ‎02-12-2015

NO it hasn't. I was talking about the issue with phone users seeing free shipping where it's not offered. That has NOT been fixed

Crusader Cat is watching

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. - L Tolstoy

"You are entitled to your own opinion, you are not however, entitled to your own facts."

treasure_hunt_junkie · ‎02-12-2015

@moondogblues wrote:
Could it have anything to do with this......

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/02/11/as-a-parting-gift-ebay-will-send-off-paypal-with-5-billion-in...

Very interesting...thanks for sharing that link. Two of the paragraphs in that article gave me pause. This one:

Under current CEO John Donahoe, eBay has worked to be more of a catch-all marketplace, with goods that appeal to both high-end and low-end buyers. Wednesday, CFO Bob Swan said the marketplace would narrow it's focus to the 40% of the buying pubilc "who love great deals."

And this one:

Incoming CEO Devin Wenig would oversee a marketplace tailored to customers "with more time than money," apparently conceding the high-end buyers who may shop for luxury goods or other big-ticket items. The new tack may put eBay in greater competition with other sites which are promising lower prices, even at the expense of shipping times.

A "narrowed" marketplace focused on 40% of buyers who love great deals? Tailoring to customers with more time than money?

Anyone care to take a stab at exactly what they are talking about and what this means for the small seller?

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No sales/feedback stats as this is a POSTING ID only.

macman4623 · ‎02-12-2015

I really hate having to hover in the image box in the upper left corner to see a detail of the image and keep moving around. I don't want to click to bring up another window. I wish all sellers would just put images inline so I can just scroll up and down to see the images

lamont_cranston1 · ‎02-12-2015

@cad777864 wrote:
@amazingarts wrote:
@what-else wrote:
It's not so much that I want to be opted out of this test - I want my listings to be opted out of this test!
YES,

JEFF, I WANT CONFIRMATION THAT MY LISTINGS WILL NOT BE A PART OF THIS TEST.

WHEN CAN I EXPECT CONFIRMATION?
Your still in this wicked test. Losing money and your reputation like me.