Is every change Ebay makes to the interface bad, or do I just dislike change?
I like most of you seem to hate every single change ebay ever makes to the web interface (I don't care what they do to the phone interface, real work gets done on PCs).
As I woke up today to a horrid looking new message interface I realized that I eventually got completely used to the new listing interface and it doesn't seem to slow me down anymore.
This got me to wondering if the changes are actually all bad, or is that just my gut reaction to anything that changes?
I still don't get the obsession with trying to make traditional website interfaces look like they are on a cell phone though. I just don't see what that accomplishes.
30 comments
sextons-sweet-deals
·1 year agoThere is change that can be good when addressing an issue that has been complained about over and over and finally addressed and fixed.
Then we have the change that are either to make a seller to spend more time on eBay dealing with / figuring out changes or internal employees trying to climb the ladder as fast as they can and recommending changes that only benefit the company.
The best way for an eBay employee to understand what sellers deal with is to become one.
the-hook-and-the-loop
·1 year agoIs every change Ebay makes to the interface bad, or do I just dislike change?
EVERY SINGLE CHANGE HAS HAD A NEGATIVE EFFECT!
chariot_badges
·1 year agoMy mother was an RN.
I remember her saying once: "I don't understand why they don't get input from a nurse about design. We are the ones that have to actually USE the building. For example; why would someone put a linen closet at the end of a long hallway? Why not put it in the middle of the hallway where it is more accessible? Why have a storage room with a door too narrow for a gurney, or a bed?"
isaiah53-57
·1 year agoI agree - The number of changes that have been even close to good over the last 25 years you could count on one hand.
The worst being(possibly) when they changed the viewing of the sold items section and cut out the ability to send your own invoices with added discounts for multiple item purchases - Over the last 15 years they have made both buyers and sellers suffer in unimaginable and perverse ways from the inability to send multiple item purchase discount invoices.
Literally, Baboons could have done a better job...
carlmarxx
·1 year agoI been on eBay since 1996 and have seen more bad changes on the site then good . The new feedback page is god awful ,that you can now do one feedback at a time ! I had 3 pages of feedback to had out and the new setup took me over a hour + . I'm hoping for the old feed back page system back . if they don't then I won't give feedback ever again . also the search filters in seller stores are missing .
sapphire_studio
·1 year agoThis is a response to your comment "real work gets done on PCs"
I take pictures with my phone and I can list extremely quickly using my phone's keyboard for saved phrases. Like when I type "Bnib" it puts a suggested replacement as "Brand New in Box" or when I type "Sap" the suggested replacement is what I add to every description:
"Thank you for considering purchasing from Sapphire Studio. All products from our boutique are 100% authentic and are stored and shipped in a pet and smoke free environment. Your purchase (which will be supporting a small business) will be shipped out the following day after payment by USPS Ground Advantage. Have a wonderful day! "
I can scan new beauty product barcodes with my phone to quickly find comps and then sell similar to have item specifis filled in.
Basically the computer would be WAY slower for me.
onefootflipper
OP1 year agoMy computer also has a scanner and a mounted camera, and setting up macros like that bnib is also easy to do as well. Plus it is much easier to list when you can span multiple windows across multiple screens.
I have no doubt that you phone skills are strong and you are doing great with it. However the productivity ceiling for listing with a desktop computer dedicated to the task is just so much higher. I do by the way specify desktop computers, I have found laptops to be a clunky worst of both world's situation with their tiny screens, trackpads and terrible keyboards.
richard1rst
·1 year agoDitto that. I remember some years ago going into a Best Buy to buy a new PC. The sales people kinda looked at me strange and said you mean a laptop? They just couldn't fathom the idea that someone would want something so "old fashioned". Boy, did they do their best to push me into a portable. My complaints about them are the same as yours.
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoBest Buy seems really geared for the casual home user. I think most PCs now are sold for industry use, and the small business market and other user preferences in the middle tend to be forgotten. Meanwhile, guess what places like Best Buy and Home Despot use for inventory control, etc.? PCs. 🙄
When I worked as a data miner I needed a PC to do the work - I travel a lot and so when I had to use a laptop I also had to carry a regular keyboard and mouse with me because laptops were too clumsy and slow, not to mention the smaller screen size and processor.
hartungcards
·1 year agoI love change. That's why I do all my banking at First CityWide Change Bank. If you're familiar with First CityWide Change Bank, you're probably older than me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXDxNCzUspM
chapeau-noir
·1 year ago"We're gonna give you twenty-five 2s" 😂
1786davycrockett
·1 year agoAbsolutely NO changes should be done to pages used by eBay sellers, unless the techies who are making the changes have been actively selling on their own individual eBay sites since at least 2010.
That might stop some of the incessant and thoughtless "improvements" which many sellers (and buyers, as well) have encountered during the past 15 years.
Enough is enough: Stop trying to re-invent the wheel.
skipio_18
·1 year agoAmazing how clueless Ebay is. Only a matter of time before we are forced to used that awful messages interface. What a joke.
dbfolks166mt
·1 year agoI find it to be a mixed bag of good, bad and ugly. So much of the AI that they have attempted to implement ranks in the UGLY category. The listing change to the seller hub was/is a bad design and layout.
What is irritating is the lack of notification on some of the changes and what appears to be a lack of quality testing and/or thought behind the change.
They should do what some car manufacturers and Boeing has done with designs and that is to bring in mechanics, flight crews and drivers to assist with the design. Boeing greatly reduced their down time on their newer aircraft such as the 777 and 787 due to maintenance crew input during design.
There is nothings so frustrating to a mechanic when trying to change the oil in a car than to have to loosen a motor mount and raise the engine to get the filter out.
richard1rst
·1 year agoGot that right. I have a very good mechanic who works on my antiques. He told me once that he had to replace the rear shocks on a car. (Don't remember the make). So he pulled out his Chilton's manual and line one said:
Remove the rear window interior garnish molding. (Turns out the top bolt was buried under the rear seat.)
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoI had a Ford 1/4 ton pickup truck - it was late 70s, Ford engine (good), Mazda body (oh my gawd).
To replace a simple lightbulb in one of my headlights, I had to disassemble the entire grill, grill trim and turn signals with attendant fiddly bits. Then I could disassemble the headlight.
It reminded me of the Red Green skit where he shows us how to change the oil in his jalopy wagon and the last thing we see is his hoisting out the engine.
As for change here - most if it doesn't bother me. Change is inevitable. What *does* bother me is inadequate beta testing and the fact that they never seem to fix any of the legacy issues, so there are constant glitches. But I suspect they don't have documentation (which is why they couldn't update the shipping page - apparently no one understood the coding).
ETA: Fat fingeritis.
a_c_green
·1 year agoOh, yeah... on our 2005 Sienna van (which we otherwise love to death), I had to remove the entire front bumper cover and the entire front left headlight assembly in order to reach and replace the turn signal bulb. I did both sides' bulbs and side markers at the same time; not gonna go through all that again.
In the distant past (I may be mis-remembering the finer points), I recall the circa-1975 Buick Skyhawk, where they jammed a V6 into an engine compartment originally designed for a **bleep**el rotary engine (sigh... stupid word police... look up the name of the German inventor of the rotary engine): you had to jack up the engine to replace the right rear spark plug...
the '67 Riviera that needed the whole rear bumper removed in order to change a taillight...
the Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable that needed the dashboard removed in order to change the heater core...
this is what happens when Engineering has to take a back seat to the latest swoopy design ideas... which is where we came in: complaining about form over function on this site, and all the headaches it generates.
toomuchstuffagain35
·1 year agoI find most of the cost of any repairs to my PT Cruiser are labour costs because of how they designed the engine etc.
inhawaii
·1 year agoRemember when a small little change like GTC happened?
It was like the end of the word to some sellers.
The rants went on for months.
Now we don't give it a second thought.
sakic92710
·1 year agoEvery change eBay makes is for the worst.
winterpalace25
·1 year agoI agree. And this one with the messages is especially bad. They could put the programmers to work on replacing Turbolister, like they promised years ago.
chariot_badges
·1 year agoIt has been noted by one artist that
richard1rst
·1 year agoI remember years ago when eBay mandated that we all would be required to use Paypal from now on.
There was screaming and "end of the world" pandemonium all over about this unwelcome change
I remember some lesser number of years ago when eBay mandated that we could not use Paypal any more.
There was screaming and "end of the world" pandemonium all over about this unwelcome change
Does that answer your question?
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·1 year ago@onefootflipper At this point, I'm not sure I even ask myself : good change, bad change? It's more : Another change. Adapt again.
There are plenty of changes I'd LIKE to see ebay make, but I've pretty much given up hope that ebay will make them (or at least, that ebay will make them anytime soon). ebay will do what ebay will do, and all I can do is try to keep up with what they are doing, and do my best to figure out how to make it work. And unfortunately, if we have questions about the changes, the ability to get answers has declined enormously over the last few years.
Do I find the whole experience frustrating? Yes. Could ebay do much better? Yes.
But.....I just keep plugging along.
stainlessenginecovers
·1 year agoThe 'messages' haven't worked properly for years.
When I needed to go back and find a message from a certain buyer, I would click the 'messages from members' and it was NOT there; but click 'All Messages' and then I could find it.
Not that this 'new one' (I don't know, haven't seen it yet) is going to be much better.....
luckythewinner
·1 year agoThis got me to wondering if the changes are actually all bad, or is that just my gut reaction to anything that changes?
Only you can answer how you FEEL about the changes that eBay makes. But a quick read of this board makes it pretty clear that sellers have differing opinions about almost every change.
12345jamesstamps
·1 year agoI went to my emails today still half-awake. Why they keep changing some things and don't fix the real problems is beyond me.
I decided to not even look at my emails still morning. I guess it's a new email system for the super young in their 20's or by the super young in their 20's who work at eBay.
hartungcards
·1 year agoYou can switch back to "Classic View" but they're not making that link exactly easy to find. As to the OP's question, most of the changes are not all bad, they're just incredibly pointless. I guess they keep the tech people busy thinking they're being productive.
12345jamesstamps
·1 year agoI wish they fix combined shipping and shopping cart....before these other changes.
nikolaicollector
·1 year agoSo, 'not easy to find', but... Could you please hint where it can be found? Honestly, life is too short to spend days re-learning perfectly functional things every time a 20-yearold techy gets a new, phone-inspired brainfart that makes him feel creative or significant. (And yes, it might be better if one sells, but I am a buyer, and someone should give a toss about us as well.)