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]

I meant 'cents' not since. Sorry. 🙂

[fine_find]

I meant 'sense' not since or cents. **bleep** this English language. 🙂

[triodiode]

Sounds like a great idea to me. I loved ebay when it first started it was fun fun fun. It started out with honest buyers and honest sellers. When the crooks moved in instead of ebay throwing them out they just went with the attitude all of us were crooks and thieves and punished all of us sellers.

The problem with going back to the old ebay is that we are still going to get stuck with the crooks and thieves that shop on the updated ebay.

[thatsallfolks]

The only drawback would be expecting eBay to successfully run and update two sites, when they can't do one.

[the-pine-dock]

I agree, and i left Ebay because of all these changes. When i first left EBay years ago, i was hesitant on coming back. Ebay used to be so great, but then i sold this expensive race bike to a customer.. the customer complained about the wheels as soon as i shipped it. He said he didn't want it anymore. I was being generous, so i upgraded the wheels for free, and shipped him a new set. At that point i made less than $10 profit, but i was okay with it, because i like my customers happy. About 2 weeks later, he sends me this picture. He said, "I don't really like this safety feature, so i welded this part to the frame, but now the wheel falls off when i press the brakes. I need to return it, but first im going to take it to a bike shop." I couldn't even figure out what in the world he was trying to do to this bike (he just said he hated the safety pin feature) or why he couldn't just leave it alone (instead of botch welding it) . Then a few days later he sends me a receipt from the bike shop stating that i need to pay for its repair. It was almost $100. I told him that we are incredibly sorry but we are unable to refund him because of the modifications he had made to the bike, and that it is uneligable for return. He went off and he opened up an ebay claim demanding a refund. I figured Ebay would side with me, seeing how this customer even took pictures of his welds and modifications. Well they told me that i had to pay for return shipping and told me to print the label for him, and if i didn't in a timely manner that they would refund him the money and let him keep the bike. I was clearly very upset, and i tried to talk to the Ebay represenative and call after call.. they refused to listen to me. They kept saying "do this or worse will happen.". So i sent him a label for the same weight and dimensions of the box i sent him. He called Ebay saying that the shipping label wasn't enough, and that he preferred shipping through UPS..  and then messaged me saying he was standing at the post office waiting for me to pay for another label and send it to him. Ebay contacted me and told me to paypal him the money so that he can pay for the overage which was quoted (from him) at $380 (which the quote i recieved was not this much but ebay said i had to refund him the amount he said) and again if i did not do this in a timely fashion they will give him the full refund and let him keep the bike. He clearly wasn't interested in shipping back the original because the weight and dimensions were off and i didn't even want to take the chance.. so i wrote it off and let ebay yank it out of my account. I pulled off all my listings and stopped selling. Being just a small family business, i couldn't even pay my bills, so it really hurt. Now whenever i sell something, i get feelings similar to PTSD. I don't enjoy going above and beyond anymore because the blow from that still stings. 
I don't even know why i keep coming back here thinking it's ever going to be the way it once was. It's not just Ebay doing this, it's the dishonest people. I want the old Ebay back, before china took over with thier cheap junk so that they can dominate United States consumer trade. Before the customers realized that they can get whatever they want by being dishonest. Before competitive sellers started buying from us just to crush our heads with negative reviews & feedback. Before the demands started to make less sense and become less fair. Somebody please develop a new selling platform and save us shipwrecked merchants! 

Truly - 

The Pine Dock & Kewaii Trade Partners 

   

[candd205]

I'm so sorry this happened to you. It really makes me feel bad that someone did this to you. Some people think we are wal-mart. They don't realize that many of us are small independent sellers. Here is a big warm hug for you.

@the-pine-dock

[mstcwrld7]

        Ebay wants to be all things to all people.  Life is not like that and businesses are not like that.

  Ebay started out as an online flea market, anythign goes.  Find something wonderful of for next to nothing or maybe get disappointed. 

      Ebay has wanted to get rid of that image (but not by tossing out sellers who are big enough).

The rules for sellers have become more and more draconian.  First sellers were not able to leave fb for buyers.    Then (or am I out of time sequence)? we were not permitted to say w e ccept checks or MOs.  By accepting those  we were not under the complete contral that ebay wanted to have. 

        Now ebay wants to have the impeccable respectable repuataiotn that big box seller catalogues have. 

         Well ebay still does not have that kind of reputation. Because ebay tolerates the bad sellers, continues to do so, unless overwhelmed with complaints against them.   You probably know who some of these bad sellers are, everyone does.

       Ebay wants a clean rep wihthout the housecleaning required,  without being consistent about earning one.

       As a result, nhonest selelrs of quality items suffer. We cannot get fair retail prices because too many people are dubious about ebay. 

      I have friends who wont' buy on ebay because they don't trust ebay. 

      It would be difficult for ebay to completely get rid of the dubious flea market image it has had. 

And let's face it, ebay is not trrying.  Ebay wants the dubious flea marketers and the honest businesses of quality too.    As I said I know too many people who will not buy on ebay because they dont' trust it, and we sellers lose their business.

[mstcwrld7]

Excuse the typos. But I really wish ebay would decide to become a consistently quality market.
Maybe then people would buy here because they think it is a good venue -- not because they feel they are taking a risk to get a bargain. Many many people just steer clear.

[theposhmermaids]

Thank you for writing this!  I wrote a post like this a few weeks ago, but deleted it before sending it because I was afraid everyone would laugh at me1 

I was thinking eBay Classic for those of us who want the old ebay back, and eBay Retail for big sellers who sell volume new things (and Chinese cwap).   

[theposhmermaids]

@The Pine Dock & Kewaii Trade Partners 

I am so sorry for what you went through.  Shame on eBay!  As a disabled single mom.  I sell on ebay to feed my daughter and keep a roof over our heads.  I use to make enough here to actually buy a few necessities.  Now I'm just one return away from disaster.  I try not to sell anything too expensive because I usually need to spend my earnings immediately to pay bills.  If something like that happened to me, I wouldn't be able to financially absorb it.  I sold a Dali etching in October and the 180 days just ended.  I feared a charge-back everyone of those 180 days.  Overall I have had wonderful buyers, but ebay has never supported me when there were problems.  I wish one of these tech billionaires would start a rival site to ebay.  I'm sure many of us would leave in a fast minute if another viable site were available. 

[vanman1029]

What a great idea! The new Ebay could target the new buyers they so desperately want to attract, like new millenniums, generation X and martians! They could also create new payment methods like using your thumbprint or scanning your iris plus do away with the post office and have items delivered directly by drone!

Just as long as they give us back the original Ebay and leave it alone!

[downrightspecialkids]

The "new" ebay could have all the Chinese junk we have to week through to even find what we're looking for! I was looking for a specific item. 50 came up-all from China that were NOT the same brand-they were Chinese knock-offs. I reported EVERY single listing, but they are still there. Then they pull my authentic pair or shoes (bought at the mall by me) saying they MIGHT not be authentic. 

The scammers now know how to get things for free, how to use and abuse things at the cost of us small sellers, and ebay is ok with that. It wasn't always this way. 

I want the old ebay back as well! 

[triodiode]

Going back to the old Ebay is a great idea. Go back to when it was fun and you could sell about anything Customers would actually look at what they were bidding on and would read the description carefully to make sure there were no miscommunications. If they did have a question they would ask somtimes several times before they bid on it.

The problem is that we would have to go back in time as well because if we didnt we would still have the same small group of liars and thieves destroying ebay that we have buying and selling on here today because ebay will still blame everyone for a small group and not remove them from there site like they should have in the beginning.

Ebay polices the good buyers and sellers because we complain and try to make things right. They dont go after the bad buyers and sellers because they keep quiet and just keep on stealing.

[gracieallen01]

ebay is already, often it seems, split in two - the right hand and the left hand, and never shall the twain meet or know what the other is doing. 

Just from outward appearences, that is.

(personal opinion - your mileage may vary)