@thatsallfolks wrote:
@zamo-zuan wrote:
@thatsallfolks wrote:
@debvor wrote:
You win the cigar. The fact is Ebay doesn't care about sellers which are Ebay's actual customers and not the people that buy from the sellers which are our customers.
The people who drive eBay's profits are the buyers. Those buyers are using eBay's website and services. It's obviously a hybrid arrangement, where buyers are your customers, but they're also eBay's. Arguing that buyers aren't eBay's customers simply isn't logical.
The people who drive eBay's profits are the SELLERS. The buyers are the ones who drive the sellers profits, whos portion of seller profits then go to eBay.
The perspective you are looking at it through is dismissing this fundamental aspect of the marketplaces design. If you remove the sellers, then there will no longer be buyers.
Let me lay it out for you:
1) If 10% of eBay's sellers disappeared off the face of the Earth, their sales would be absorbed by other eBay sellers; net effect on eBay: virtually none
2) If 10% of eBay's buyers disappeared off the face of the Earth, their purchases would disappear with them; net effect on eBay: 10% reduction in revenue.
Any argument that starts with "if you remove the sellers" is absurd, because no event short of nuclear war or an asteroid strike is going to remove ALL the sellers. Sellers leave here all the time, sometimes voluntarily, sometimes not. And an existing seller or new seller steps up and takes their place.
eBay knows who drives their profits, even if you're in denial about it.
I'm not sure if you are being serious or just trolling me.
It seems obvious to me that you left out a very important part of the equation. If 10% of sellers left, you are leaving out the fact that they will be taking their competitive prices with them. Which means eBay's prices will no longer be competitive with other market places. Which means buyers will go elsewhere.
I question if you have any experience selling at the top of a category? If you did, you would know that in order to make it to that top spot, you are 100% reliant on finding the best prices possible for your product. That's the thing that separates other vendors from us. We worked very hard and have years put in to relationships with our partners. That's the one thing that other sellers can not compete with - hard work put in to business relationships. And that is what drives the top sellers on eBay.
Of course, if you do what eBay is doing, and 100% focus on major brand name items with a high ASP, then your conclusion makes sense. Those items have a MAP price that you will receive violations if you go below. So there's no true competition in those categories, and you are strictly buying based on feedback and reputation.
I also question if you are even familiar with eCommerce? Think about what eBay has focused on as it's weak points compared to other marketplaces. They have directly added the competitive pricing features of other marketplaces so sellers can compete with each other. This is the exact equation I mention to you above that you left out in your post.
They have focused on Guaranteed Delivery, because faster shipping is what other marketplaces offer, and this is a weak point of eBay.
They focus on trying to force buyers in to Free Returns, because that is something other marketplaces offer. Although other places do not force the sellers to provide it, they provide free returns only if sold by marketplace.
Even if we compare current eBay, they are still lacking in shipping time & returns compared to other places. I could ship my items to other marketplaces and they will pay for the free returns if a buyer wants to return. I could order off other marketplaces and receive it in less time than guaranteed 3 day deilvery eBay has.
The one place eBay has the advantage right now, is competitive prices.
Do you realize that free returns being paid by the seller, has made their prices less competitive than ever?
They are losing the one advantage they had, and trying to steal the market of other marketplaces, with subpar offerings.
That's the true state of eBay's eCommerce.
If you are going to argue that buyers are so important, I would like to request that you please don't leave out an integral part of the equation. The competition of sellers is 100% required of price. The only reason top sellers have to lower their prices, is usually if other competitors are lower.
You do realize that traditionally, 30-50% of eBay's profits are from the top 10 sellers in each category? And you are claiming that virtually no difference would be made if 10% of sellers left??? That's simply illogical.
Now I have to settle for a choco chip cookie.
