@kathieskorner wrote:
Interesting read. This is what I got from it.
Bottom line is that the only way they can prop up the EPS and therefore the share price is through stock buybacks. Profits don't matter - it's all about EPS.
Sellers are being fleeced by additional fees for promoted listings to pay dividends to stockholders.
It also seems that eBay has cut their marketing efforts also to bolster EPS while expecting sellers to pay more for less exposure.
They blame the decline in the US marketplace primarily on the internet sales tax despite the fact that it really had little impact until October, and many online competitors were similarly affected. Yet, they ignore shipping inreases.
They don't seem to understand that the US site has been negatively impacted by the inclusion of Asian sellers making for an uneven playing field.
As one analyst put it eBay is a melting ice cube.....
I am certainly in agreement about the ever-increasing fees on eBay - it makes one feel like a hamster in a treadmill, or a cat trying to catch its own tail. The more I work on adding new listings, the less results I can see. With just 60 listings early December, I sold more than I am now, with 210, and the free lising promos stopped after it became obvious that I am not inclined to pay for extra exposure through PROMOs or relisting fees on the FP items.
As for Etsy: I don't know, but have heard they are copying every single thing that is causing eBay trouble, because their CEO used to work at eBay - so I am not too enthusuastic to list there. Both of these companies introduced "Promo" for extra fees to be paid by sellers, which actually, do not make a difference for many sellers, even if they decide to pay it. And as I heard, Etsy is worse than eBay, because they (Etsy) had glitch after glitch for example, with payments - by not releasing their sellers' money as scheduled, but not once do they publicly say, "Sorry." Then, you are also right on that, they both allowed certain sellers who have nothing but **bleep** or fake products, en masse; and reporting those sellers leads to nothing being done to remedy the situation.
Not counting the MEGA sellers, most eBay sellers are Mom and Pop businesses that are into this to pay medical bills, utilities, home repair and the occassional emergency. To ask them to pay more and more - and then give them less and less exposure in search that is saturated in low quality junk is a double whammy and most sellers would rather leave than pay more, or use Craigslist and the many cell phone apps, or Facebook, instead.
What made eBay such a huge success in the beginning?
(1) Easy and reliable software (not currently present, see the many posts about glitches).
(2) Personal communications (not encouraged now, since we were told to cut down on using the eBay messaging system by previous CEOs, like contacting a buyer on a shipped order might automatically count against the seller, even if it was only about sharing the information that the item was shipped. Makes one wonder, why is COMMUNICATION still a part of the feedback rating?).
(3) eBay's refusal to realize who its real customers are (hint: we sellers pay all the bills, through Final Value Fees on sales and other fees)
(4) Introducing AI into the search technology - a HUGE HUGE error at both eBay and other platforms. Search should be generic so buyers can find and view ALL OPTIONS, not just what is left after an artificial brain deems those items "worthy" of being exhibited for that particular buyer.
(5) Policies: Constantly changing and getting worse, with every Seller Update. Many sellers feel they are in a penitentiary institute. Psychologically, I often wonder how the people who invented these policies would feel like if the same strict rules were implemented towards them, in their daily job or personal life.
(6) The DEFECT system that is totally unjust and disproportionately penalizes small sellers. Example: I have, many months ago, accidentally sold an item that I did not realize sold earlier. I am not even sure it was me who relisted it, or the usual software error, but let's just assume, I made a simple human error. I have apologized to the buyer and all was fine. Yet, I received one (1) DEFECT to my account, and this is going to stay until the last day of a 12 months period. Seriously? If eBay execs would get a DEFECT for every single glitch and error they make in judgement or the software does, which they are supposed to approve and monitor - how would they feel like, for 12 months getting their pay deducted?
(7) The reducing of TRS and TRS+ benefits
(8) The reducing of eBay bucks earnings for buyers
(9) Literally impossible to reach TRS or TRS+ status now, after having lost it, because the rule is to have at least 100 sales and as soon as your sales pick up - as in my case, approx. 30 since I have returned to listing here in December - an invisible "hand" makes sure your items will not enjoy good search placement at all, so reaching this 100 number becomes close to impossible. And if you do, then you might still not become TRS again, because of issues outside your control (e.g. USPS or other carrier messing up the delivery).
(10) If you successfully jumped over all of these hurdles, then you might get a false claim of Item not as described - and wham! You are out, get your money confiscated from PayPal or whatever payment method you have (for those using Managed Payment, your pos. balance will go into the negative) or the payment from the buyer will be "pending" forever - and even if it was not you who was dishonest.
I could go on and on, but the point is, you are correct.
I think eBay needs to turn back the wheel and step back in time, to when Pierre created it as a highly successful and beloved company, popular with buyers and sellers alike. The first person who gets IT, will manage to turn around this company. But for this to happen, some who stubbornly insist on melking sellers instead of enticing them all to return to listing here, need to seriously think about what their goal is, short-term and long-term. Then create some charts of comparison, for all major aspects of selling and buying, listing in the left column how that aspect looked like in 1998 - and how it looks like today. In some cases, change was in fact necessary - but perhaps they would find some (many) other areas where the changes only made things worse, for eBay as a company, and for its sellers (who also buy here, ya know IF they make decent money as a seller).
This whole scenario reminds me of a children's story that I still think about, even though no longer a child, the story of the big round tasty cheese - and the two bear-cubs. The cubs found this big cheese one day, then rolled down the hillside meadow and arrived at the bottom. With nothing else to do to play, and the cheese having a temptind scent, they thought they will eat it. The problem came when they did not know how to break it up to be eaten,so they have enlisted the help of a big bear. The big bear broke the cheese into two halves - which were not equal in size. So, while the cubs were looking on salivating, the big bear suggested to take a bite of the half that was larger than the other "half." But now, this half that he just trimmed a bit, became smaller than the other. So he took another bite, this time from the other "half" of the cheese. Needless to say, before the bear cubs could figure out what was going on, the cheese was all gone, eaten by the big bear. The name of the two cubs is BUYERS and SELLERS. One could guess what the name of big bear is.
PW
