EBAY should split itself into two so it can have the New & Improved & the Original

[fine_find]

It has become obvious to most of us sellers that eBay has made so many changes that no one recognizes it anymore.  I have a solution for you eBay.  Why not have eBay and eBay 2??  You could then have this new and improved eBay you are destroying the old 'tried and true' oiginal ebay for.  Everything would be brand new and shiny in your new one but the older one that everyone loved and still wants would be available also.  All your sellers could decide at the beginning which eBay they want to be a part of and your buyers wouldn't be confused either about which store had what.  Give us the older original with equal competition and visibility between sellers the way it was in the beginning without all the bells and whistles you are placing on the new one.  Just don't destroy the original eBay to make way for this 'new' image you have in mind that is not proven.  If you will just think about this, it really does make since.  Use your older software and stuff for the older eBay.  We sellers who will choose this eBay will live with it the way it was, and you can pour your money into this new fantasy/idea you have for everything new.  Surely you must know on some level that there is a place for the old eBay with all its vintage, antiques, one of a kind, used and never seen before kind of stuff it used to sell and still would if you would only take the time to show to your customers.  It would be a win, win situation for both you and the sellers.  Everyone would have what they want then.  You, more money with an exclusive new place with both eBay's up and running and the sellers who still want to be here that you are now trying to push out to make room for the new sellers.  There is room for both types of sellers if you would only think about it.  This is one of the best ideas anyone has given you in a long time and it was free.  You didn't have to pay me anything for this and maybe you should fire a few others who are paid way too much who couldn't come up with something so simple and doable.  Please consider this before you loose a goldmine of tried and true sellers who still are willing to be a part of moving you forward to the next level by bringing you back to your beginnings where you should be.  There is enough room for both types of eBay's so make it happen.  I will even offer my services to keep it going if you will just give it a try.  Please, please, consider what I have said, think about it, please.  And thank you for at least taking the time to read about one of the best recommendations you've been given some time.  I still love eBay and want it to succeed but not by destroying what it was.  There's a better way.

[fine_find]

So they list on both sites. I think that would end pretty quick when they find out that this eBay would not allow them to list the same item 50-100 times per seller. Sure you can list, but no more drowning out the USA sellers with their numbers the way they are doing now. We are not allowed to list but one of an item unless it to put how many you have available. I know this for a fact when I accidentally listed one twice. It was removed. And yet, even when reported, the Chinese sellers are allowed to do this in whatever number they choose and eBay will do nothing to end this shameless practice. I don't mind the Chinese selling here, what I mind is how they are allowed to do it. If I had the position to write the rules, they would be what they once were and they worked great for both buyers and sellers. I believe that could happen again.

[chrysylys]

This has been discussed many, many, many times over the years.  It's not a new or original idea.

The more sensible plan would be three versions and the seller would not get a choice on which to list.  They would have to comply with the category rules.

The original version; odd, old, vintage, ecclectic, antique, collectible.  The stuff that made the site popular to begin with.  Sellers would have to reside in (or have their primary business location) in the US or Canada.

Version two:  new, unsold, unused retail or mass market type items.  Most established B&M stores and those with their own retail websites would go here. Again, only for those who reside in or have a primary business location in the US or Canada.

Version three:  International.  Those who live or have their primary selling and distribution sites based outside the US or Canada would go here.   They would NOT be able to use 'ship from' locations to qualify for the main site.  Some might argue that .com is the main global site, but there are a number of foreign versions already.

I don't recall 'Express' or why it didn't survive, but a retail version is sorely needed to help separate the new from the stuff that people started coming here for in the beginning.

[fine_find]

When I state 2 eBays, I don't mean an extension from the one which is what eBay express was. I am talking about 2 places where the right items could be sold in a more proper setting than what they have now. EBay wants to be a platform for selling 'new' stuff. It cannot equate success without it being 'new'. So let it have that without destroying what it has been. If we don't get its attention before too long, before it's too late, before they completely destroy what it is, then we will have no eBay to try to save. I really don't think the powers that be understands what they are doing nor who to listen to regarding what it has or these changes wouldn't be taking place. I just want to stop it before the changes destroys it completely. Once all of us seller are gone, it will be real hard to reassemble them again. I want to get them before they all leave, and they will if the changes don't stop. The only way to stop the changes is to get eBay's attention and hopefully a commitment to pursue rebuilding the original eBay before it's too late. I understand why eBay is making all these changes. Because it knows as do I, that it cannot have both in one eBay. One eBay cannot support the settings for both the original and the new eBay. It has chosen the 'new' eBay over the original. I am trying to get them to embrace the idea that they can have both successfully. And they can but we'll need to convince them.

[chrysylys]

On the subject of returns and refunds, we have to remember that laws and payment service policies have changed over the last 20 years and now basically require them in most cases.  Seller policies prohibiting them are no longer practical.  The notion of 'do it my way and take what you get or get out of my store' doesn't really work these days.

[fine_find]

I'm just curious, did you ever call the Resolution Department or just talk with Customer Service with this? There are many departments within eBay and they all have a different function.

Really sorry you had to go through this but glad you are still here. Best of luck to you in the future.

[chrysylys]

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@theposhmermaids wrote:

*And there would be something like a "neighborhood committee" who would set the rules, and protect both sellers and buyers---not the ebay board of directors who only care about their profits.

I can dream, can't I?

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When I buy the site outright,  become the sole owner, fire the Board of MisDirection and become Chief Cook and Bottle Washer, the community boards will be more involved in those things.  All off site 'social comedy'support' will end.  CS will work the boards directly and interact openly with members on all inquiries that do not involve personal or financial information.  They will be able to make changes and correct issues directly without having to 'pass it along'.

There will also be dispute mediation where buyers and sellers can present their cases for the community to weigh in on and make recommendations.  If either side refuses to participate, it could go against them.

[clipclop1]

super great idea. i started with ebasy before they even did pictures. not fisar to us oldies to ruin ebay with all the china junk. we built ebasy sand now they are pushiing us out. did you suggest that to ebasy?

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

So Ebay is short buyers and you want to make life MORE difficult for the remaining ones? They have to read and agree to be stolen from and negged for the privilege just like in the old days? I don't think that's going to encourage more money to come to the site.

Buyers buy here because they are protected. Remove that and you'll have a bunch of happy sellers with no buyers.

[ebbyisme]

Will never happen and wouldn't be in eBay's best interest.....

1. The reason why Chinese and big box sellers wanted on the site in the first place was access to site traffic and your customers.

2. It is like we are all in one huge super market.... big box may be displayed at the entrance, on end caps, eye level or at the check out.... you are in row 16 top shelf and each product "supplier" company only gets paid if their item sells.

Now this super market gets 10,000+ customers a day, eBay promises Giant Widgets Inc the store will have 10000 customers a day and they will guarantee 5,000 customers "see" their items. Now all these products don't really fit well together, I mean some people want new macaroni and some people want the vintage campanelle.... so let's say they build another super market right next door.... and the big boys aren't happy "You promised us 10K visitors a day" and "why am I paying for 10k and only getting 5k"? and Trashy Junk Co says,"Hey 90% of my sales are impulse buys, they don't come to the store searching for my items, you took away half of my potential customers!" and the people paying for advertisement in the store says,"I am paying for twice the traffic you are providing"!  IOW your money, your customers and your traffic are needed to make this site work, removing them weakens it and makes this site worth much less, and adding another site creates more expense. Two separate sites are worth less than one for eBay. 

Now if there was a way to start another site without taking anything away from the first.... eBay may be interested.

[yuzuha]

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@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth wrote:

So Ebay is short buyers and you want to make life MORE difficult for the remaining ones? They have to read and agree to be stolen from and negged for the privilege just like in the old days? I don't think that's going to encourage more money to come to the site.

Buyers buy here because they are protected. Remove that and you'll have a bunch of happy sellers with no buyers.

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Agreed.  I've been buying here for 19 years and I've never returned a single thing - heck, I never even return stuff to B&M stores unless there's something wrong with it - and I would never sign an agreement like that.  I want to be assured that I'm protected just on the off chance that something DOES go wrong, because that can happen.  I once bought a $150 collector's edition of a video game from a retail store and the one they shipped to me had one of the items inside damaged.  I contacted the store with photos of the damage and they immediately sent me a return label, told me to ship it back, and that they'd send me out a new one as soon as they received it back.  No muss, no fuss-- that's how it should be.  It should never be difficult or complicated for a buyer to be made whole in a situation like that.

[fine_find]

I think it didn't work before because it was made as an extension of the one eBay. The times have changed enough that a separate one would work because of the nature of humans. The love to be the first at something new and a new eBay would be just what they need. A new eBay would give them the choice of not wasting their time trying to find what they want because everything IS crammed in together now. You have 2 types buyers here and they don't want to have to go through all the other stuff before the find what they want. Another eBay would give those buyers the ability to choose which one they want to shop at and saving time IS what the buyers want on either side.

[fine_find]

We are basically on the same page. The only reason I said 2 instead of 3 is because the International is not needed. It already exist as the eBay in each country. We can still pay to have our listing shown in those other countries if we choose to do so. We do need to separate the other two, however. The buyers are worn out trying to navigate this behemoth that eBay has become to find what they're looking for. You have 2 types of buyers and each is tired of having to go through all the other stuff just to get to what they are looking for. EBay is trying to make it easier by placing listings as well as the buyers/sellers in little cubicles that they can no longer get out of which causes frustration to both the buyer and the seller. The frustration comes from eBay failing at this task because eBay doesn't know the buyers well enough to place them, but it thinks it does. The buyers know they are being kept from seeing everything eBay has to offer but doesn't know how to get around it. EBay won't let them out of the cubicle it picked for them. In the beginning, any buyer could see everything eBay had to offer whether they wanted it or not. It made for a unique shopping experience. Unfortunately, that has been taken away and so too the number of sells it would have generated by the buyers finding things they didn't even know they wanted until they ran across it. The one thing eBay forgot was why people came here and that was for that unique experience that only eBay could give them. So if there are fewer buyers, and I believe there are, then you need to understand why it happened. EBay's constant need to control went beyond what was best for eBay and now we are all feeling the pain. Which is why I believe that 2 eBays would work. People would come back to the original eBay for the freedom of being able to see everything the way they once did and of course you would also have the new eBay for the newer generations who need to be shown the way and told what they need.

[fine_find]

Pushing out the older sellers is just another knee-jerk reaction from eBay trying to run everything. They, in reality do not know what the answer is so they are trying everything they can think of to keep the ship from sinking. In my opinion, they are listening to the wrong advice and making mistakes but they are committed in the moves they are making. They are not going to change the course which is why I was hoping for a chance at saving the original and have 2 eBays.

[yuzuha]

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@fine_find wrote:
 A new eBay would give them the choice of not wasting their time trying to find what they want because everything IS crammed in together now. You have 2 types buyers here and they don't want to have to go through all the other stuff before the find what they want. Another eBay would give those buyers the ability to choose which one they want to shop at and saving time IS what the buyers want on either side.

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They already have that ability-- that's what the "New" and "Used" options in the search are for.

[fine_find]

Where did you get the idea that the buyers wouldn't be protected? I am every bit as much a buyer on eBay as I am a seller. Of course the buyer would have protections but so would the seller. Each needs the other to exist. They would simply be handled differently. However, forcing the sellers to give their items to unscrupulous buyers is not the answer. Right now there isn't one buyer that comes here that doesn't know exactly how to beat the system. I am grateful that most buyers really are honest. However, the bad ones reek havoc wherever they go and right now eBay does nothing to stop them. Now, that said. I would guess 80% or more of the sellers have no idea how to navigate the system to find real help here. Take that and compare it to the buyers and you can see what the problem is but eBay is doing nothing to fix it. Sure they hear all about Seller Protection but eBay does not make certain that its sellers understand how to use it. They make certain every buyer knows, so why doesn't it do the same for its sellers and the answer is easy. It saves a lot of money by keeping the sellers in the dark. Best to just pay for one side instead of both, right?? If the sellers are too stupid to figure it out well hey, that's okay with eBay. That's wrong, but that is also eBay.

As for why there are fewer buyers, it's because they are tired of being stuck in a cubicle they can't get out of to actually find what they want. EBay doesn't know what everyone wants but it thinks it does, hence the cubicle. Most buyers are smart enough to figure out that eBay is not allowing them to see everything available and after enough frustration with the limitations they go elsewhere. Count me in as one of those buyers also.

More money would come here if eBay would lift the limitations on what buyers can see instead of trying to force them into buying what they want them to buy by constantly showing them the same things over and over. I can see more of eBay by actually signing out of eBay and getting on the web.