Every platform has problems

[tunicaslot]

New c-net article about what's been going on behind the scenes at Amazon. This has affected the 3rd party venue sellers over there and really put them at a disadvantage.

https://www.cnet.com/news/amazon-reportedly-probing-employees-leaking-data-for-bribes/

[castlemagicmemories]

---

@gramophone-georg wrote:

---

@tunicaslot wrote:

Sorry georg I've listened to this doom and gloom for 20 some years. I have good days and I have bad as I've aged - just like I have good days on Ebay and I have bad. Thing is - I accept there are problems - I realize the changes are not always in my best interest - but I refuse to be so negative - I'll make lemonade out of those lemons.

I'm of the mindset - that if you expect the worst - you'll get the worst - I'd rather think of all the good things I've been able to do because of the venue. I don't live in the past and take each day as it comes - life is too short to be miserable. I feel sorry for those who are.

---

Don't you think that eBay should strive to fix the issues? You aren't concerned about buyers getting turned off by these things?

---

Not to step on anyone's toes, but I anticipated just this response.

The site has been plagued with issues; there is no doubt of that, even an Ebay executive has acknowledged that.  Buyers and sellers alike can be turned off by these things.

But if I may, the mindset that Tuni is protesting is the mindset that everything wrong is Ebay's fault.  You see it on the Board all the time.  Every situation, every response, leads back to, that's Ebay fault.  Ebay can't mandate integrity on the part of buyers or sellers.  That is their personal responsibility.  Ebay can only do what they can to mitigate the situations.

[tunicaslot]

I agree - I don't like this catalog - I don't like variations listings that are misleading - but I found the same frustration while shopping on both the Sears and Kohls site on Sunday trying to find a piece of luggage for my son that was available for pickup. Sort by store pickup - 15 items available - I click each one to find - sorry this item is not available for store pickup. The other site said 20 were available for store pick-up - but they wouldn't load - I got a blank page. Found 2 sets at yet another store - on clearance and supposedly available - until you opened the listing - not available.

I'd love for them to fix all these problems so I can shop without getting frustrated - but these sites don't seem in too much of a hurry to fix the problems either. I think the younger folks thse days are to focused on new ideas than they are art fixing existing problems.

[castlemagicmemories]

---

---

@tunicaslot wrote:

I'm sure it does - but many here feel Ebay is to blame for everything and things are all rainbows and unicorns over on the other 3rd party venues. If people would take the time to read and educate themselves - they'd find problems exist everywhere.

---

The problem eBay has that's head and shoulders above everyone else is on the buying side... error messages, worthless search, catalog based shopping multi listings that are confusing as all get out, almost weekly major unannounced changes to things that make things even more difficult, constantly fiddling with buyer preferences with no input from the buyer, non- functioning coupons, unnanounced beta test opt ins, etc.

I can count the number of error messages and failures on all the other sites I've ever used combined on less than one finger. Here it's an accelerating constant. 

It's almost as if eBay is running out of ideas for passive- aggressively antagonizing sellers so they've started in on buyers.

I can turn on one click buying at that big rival place and find+ buy what I'm looking for in less time than it takes the first page of non relevant search results with error messages on eBay to load. 

I fear this holiday shopping season is going to be a rout for eBay while their rivals post double digit gains... AGAIN. I would not find actual NEGATIVE growth for eBay in Q4 surprising at all, especially with the big payment provider change that you just KNOW they'll force right about the beginning of November... untested and error prone.

Nothing works and nobody's in charge.

It's one thing when I as a seller decide enough of the nonsense and stop selling here... but if I as a BUYER find my time constantly wasted with complication and fail here constantly vis a vis the entire rest of the WWW, when do we stop telling everyone "it's not eBay... it's YOU" and "every other site has the same issues" and face reality?

It's NOT, and they DON'T.

Wake up, eBay.

---

georg, very valid points.  It may be that Ebay does have more issues than other sites, but since you frequent the Boards, you are also aware of the mentality that EVERYTHING is Ebay's fault.   Yes, you can find and use one click.  IF you can find.  I always find far better variety here.  Many things you can't find there, and if you do, it is more expensive than here.  

My dog bit the mailman.  Ebay's fault

Burned my scrambled eggs.  Ebay's fault

Daughter got stood up for the prom.  Ebay's fault.

Every little interaction in life that hits these Boards often has those coming out in full force, saying that is Ebay's fault.  

[sharingtheland]

---

@castlemagicmemories wrote:

Sometimes it seems that if it were raining, that would be Ebay's fault as well.

---

I started working really hard, long hours every day, on ebay stuff last Friday; it's been raining ever since.

Coincidence?  I think not.

[wickedwolfauto]

quick way for ebay to fix the "ebay's fault" is for them to step up and be accountable for their actions and be more transparant on their changes.  

WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES! we just need ebay to say the same!

[gramophone-georg]

---

@castlemagicmemories wrote:

---

@gramophone-georg wrote:

---

@tunicaslot wrote:

Sorry georg I've listened to this doom and gloom for 20 some years. I have good days and I have bad as I've aged - just like I have good days on Ebay and I have bad. Thing is - I accept there are problems - I realize the changes are not always in my best interest - but I refuse to be so negative - I'll make lemonade out of those lemons.

I'm of the mindset - that if you expect the worst - you'll get the worst - I'd rather think of all the good things I've been able to do because of the venue. I don't live in the past and take each day as it comes - life is too short to be miserable. I feel sorry for those who are.

---

Don't you think that eBay should strive to fix the issues? You aren't concerned about buyers getting turned off by these things?

---

Not to step on anyone's toes, but I anticipated just this response.

The site has been plagued with issues; there is no doubt of that, even an Ebay executive has acknowledged that.  Buyers and sellers alike can be turned off by these things.

But if I may, the mindset that Tuni is protesting is the mindset that everything wrong is Ebay's fault.  You see it on the Board all the time.  Every situation, every response, leads back to, that's Ebay fault.  Ebay can't mandate integrity on the part of buyers or sellers.  That is their personal responsibility.  Ebay can only do what they can to mitigate the situations.

---

First- Sure they can. It's called site security. They could also elect to follow their own written policies. It's not so much these sorts of problems though... it's the fact that eBay alone seems to exacerbate them by not only not following their own policies, but also never being clear about anything and making constant unannounced changes.

But that aside, what I'm  talking about is the poor glitch plagued programming's effect on buyers. This most CERTAINLY is owned by eBay and eBay alone, as they even purport to be a software company. No sane person can possibly claim that eBay's constant software failures and borked search results are out of eBay's control.

Let's be serious here.

[gramophone-georg]

---

@pjcdn2005 wrote:

---

@tunicaslot wrote:

Sorry georg I've listened to this doom and gloom for 20 some years. I have good days and I have bad as I've aged - just like I have good days on Ebay and I have bad. Thing is - I accept there are problems - I realize the changes are not always in my best interest - but I refuse to be so negative - I'll make lemonade out of those lemons.

I'm of the mindset - that if you expect the worst - you'll get the worst - I'd rather think of all the good things I've been able to do because of the venue. I don't live in the past and take each day as it comes - life is too short to be miserable. I feel sorry for those who are.

---

I agree with you.  I think that some people are always going to promote gloom and doom.  However, I do think that ebay doesn't always realize how much some changes and constant change affects buyers and how frustrating that can be.   Or how things such as using variations listings being used improperly so that search is skewed can upset buyers and cause them to leave.   Lately it doesn't seem like ebay is just upsetting sellers, it is upsetting those who are just buyers as well.  They really need to step back and look at the direction they are headed from a different point of view.  Personally, as a buyer I hate the product page direction. If I wanted to shop that way I would go to the site they are immitating.

---

First, let me point out that the site they are imitating WORKS... and that's a huge difference.

Yes. You exactly understand the point I am making. eBay has always thrown one hoop and roadblock after another at sellers, and sellers have adapted and survived... but when the platform starts actively disappointing buyers and they leave to buy at another platform where things function, you've lost those buyers for good.

A prime example (pun intended) would be the buyers who only buy on eBay and Amazon for the holidays. These people DO, in fact, exist.

Every year when they come back to eBay, they find all sorts of seemingly useless changes in all aspects of the eBay buying experience that they likely get bogged down in what I call 'eBaying' which means trying to figure out how to find what you want, and then how to navagate the non functioning cart and counterintuitive checkout process to buy it.

The same buyer goes to Amazon, and finds the sameold familiar site and functionality of last year, the year before that, and the year before that. One or two changes may have been made, but these changes are quite intuitive and make the experience better... especially when compared to eBay.

Is it possible to see how eBay sputters in single- digit growth every holiday season while Amazon grows 35% or whatever it was last year?

Like I said- sellers are resiliant and they are great at adapting and overcoming venue created problems... but how does one overcome THIS one? It's simply not possible.

[castlemagicmemories]

---

@sharingtheland wrote:

---

@castlemagicmemories wrote:

Sometimes it seems that if it were raining, that would be Ebay's fault as well.

---

I started working really hard, long hours every day, on ebay stuff last Friday; it's been raining ever since.

Coincidence?  I think not.

---

So you think I hit on an inadvertent truism there, do you?

[castlemagicmemories]

But that aside, what I'm  talking about is the poor glitch plagued programming's effect on buyers. This most CERTAINLY is owned by eBay and eBay alone, as they even purport to be a software company. No sane person can possibly claim that eBay's constant software failures and borked search results are out of eBay's control.

Agreed.  But the point was not that Ebay doesn't have problems but that not every problem is Ebay's fault.  There is a difference there.

I feel badly about the site issues because it lessens and erodes trust in Ebay by both buyers and sellers; it damages their credibility, frustrates buyers and sellers, and ultimately may hurt Ebay.  

[gramophone-georg]

---

@castlemagicmemories wrote:

But that aside, what I'm  talking about is the poor glitch plagued programming's effect on buyers. This most CERTAINLY is owned by eBay and eBay alone, as they even purport to be a software company. No sane person can possibly claim that eBay's constant software failures and borked search results are out of eBay's control.

Agreed.  But the point was not that Ebay doesn't have problems but that not every problem is Ebay's fault.  There is a difference there.

I feel badly about the site issues because it lessens and erodes trust in Ebay by both buyers and sellers; it damages their credibility, frustrates buyers and sellers, and ultimately may hurt Ebay.  

---

Whether or not a problem is ebay's fault, it's their site and they're not powerless to do things about it.

My post was that in general I'm agreeing with the OP but the problems I am pointing out are things that eBay must do something about... or how does eBay survive?

I think the point that other sites don't have these issues for buyers is dangerously valid.

[bubbleman2010]

I find site issues that have been broken for well over a year with no plans in sight of ever being fixed kind of amusing. As the glitches continue to pile on and sales decrease and revenues have to be made from seller listings rather than sales the down spiral will just keep going down...

[tunicaslot]

And yet you are still here! If not - I see no reason for all the discussion. If Ebay and I ever part ways - you won't see me hanging around these boards. I'll be on the new sites forums - educating myself on what to expect and what to avoid.

[gramophone-georg]

---

@tunicaslot wrote:

And yet you are still here! If not - I see no reason for all the discussion. If Ebay and I ever part ways - you won't see me hanging around these boards. I'll be on the new sites forums - educating myself on what to expect and what to avoid.

---

Wherever I am or am not affects the validity of my point not one whit.

[harleyman49-us]

You can make lemonade out of lemons, but if enough of the lemons are bad no one will drink it.

[gracieallen01]

Comment - in general:

It is true that ebay gets the blame from many or most everything.  This may or may not be true or fair.  One must consider many situations, though.

ebay sets the 'game plan'.  ebay decides the shape of what ebay will be in the future - and everybody who participates on ebay 'approves' of that vision by, as Tunica says, 'adapting'.  A little bit here, a little bit there and, before you know it, it has morphed into something completely different.

ebay hires the vendors.  They choose, vet and utilize vendors of their choosing. It isn't unusual to not see vendors 'changed', but results on the site would show it.  No changes here, just more glitches and complaints.  Anything from programming to CS to search to 'kick-ass' ideas for advertising.  It just seems that, though things change, they don't get better.

Perhaps some of us are unfair to ebay  Or, perhaps it isn't being unfair as much as by focusing on the 'wrong' things, perhaps someone, who can and will do something, will finally see and start to fix things.

There are a lot of things wrong with a lot of places, not just ebay  There is a lot more wrong here that I mentioned, though those two cover one whole heck of a lot of territory.

(personal opinion - your mileage may vary)