If you could change one thing

[statesplace]

Let’s have a discussion - without complaining and negativity - what is one thing you would like to see changed about the Ebay platform and why? What would the change do to help your business grow? Don forget the last part - the why is everything. 

I’ll start - I would have Ebay require onboarding for new members when they want to sell items. I believe this would help with a lot of the new seller painpoints and bring a positive light to Ebay in general. It helps my business because it builds trust in the community - most trust equals more sales for myself and everyone else. I would also love to see Ebay explain their why during seller updates. I get that I need to require 30 day free shipping for top rated discounts but WHY is that going to help my business. Some facts would decrease the anxiety for most people. 

[swenson8781]

Consistency, that is the one thing I would like to see on here.

Why? Just read an interesting article comparing eBay & Amazon.  One thing that really struck me, is how often eBay makes whole system/selling/buying changes, twice a year.  The article pointed out that Amazon has made very few changes since conception.  Yet eBay has continued to change things, for better or worse, twice a year minimum. 

With every change, tweak, whatever, more sellers (who are also buyers) leave.  With each change, more buyers leave.  Each time one enters the site to purchase something, is shown different items than they searched for, is frustrated by having to learn a 'new process' and hunt for the item they want, they leave.  Why re-learn when they can find it somewhere else quicker?  

And I just read the latest blog about GenZ buyers, that their patience is limited to 8 seconds, right?  Well, continual changes certainly don't bode well for attracting buyers in that generation then either.  Consistency is my wish 

[wandering.shopper]

EBAY EXECS: DO YOU READ THESE POSTS??? DO YOU CARE??? SURE SEEMS LIKE YOU DON'T!!

[magsmg101]

@castlemagicmemories

Which is why ebay should not impose their "best practices" on others.

[sharingtheland]

And I just read the latest blog about GenZ buyers, that their patience is limited to 8 seconds, 

I had dinner tonight with two GenZ'ers, ages 6 and 6.  MY patience didn't last for 8 seconds.   

I just have to wonder why we spent so much time discussing a group that is (supposedly) not old enough to be allowed to buy on ebay.  

[gotta-get-stuff]

I want live chat back. That's the one feature I really really really miss 😉

[banana*shoe*boutique]

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@mistwomandancingwrote:

Fell in love with Zappo's quite awhile ago and have purchased several things (shoes) from them.   Free shipping BOTH WAYS.   lol      If it doesn't fit, send it back with their label and on their dime.

They became so successful that I understand Amazon is buying them!  

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@mistwomandancing

I belive A owns them already.  Zappos is great but their prices are very high!  I'm assuming to cover the costs of all the try-ons people do with shoes.

[alfredn215]

I too would like to see buy it now added to auctions with no additional fee. I'd prefer a choice with all of my listings rather than getting some auction and some buy it now. I'd like the option to decide how to use my free listings.

[roslynroadshow91]

Please bring back  the number of watchers/watching on the LISTING page.

[mallontown]

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@mistwomandancingwrote:

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@mallontownwrote:

Remove Ebays unfair practices which have given China and Hong Kong an unfair advantage over USA sellers.

That would be epacket and  multitudes of Chinese counterfeits/knockoffs 

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The epacket program isn't an eBay thing.   That was given to China under the Obama administration.  There isn't anything our USPS or eBay can do about it.  

Yes, it would be wonderful to get counterfeits off of eBay.   Counterfeits of one thing and another have been with us for at least a few hundred years so I don't think they are going away soon.   Counterfeits and fakes are found on every website... not just on eBay.   I'd love it if this could be stopped.   Frankly, I don't think it can be.   With listings in the billions and billions, I don't think eyeballs are going to look over every listing.   And, frankly, there are TONS of buyers who knowingly buy counterfeits and are thrilled to do so.   The money in counterfeits keeps it going, and there are millions of buyers who are happy to make the purchases to keep it all lucrative. 

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The e-packet is an ebay thing, the original announcement below where ebay puts USA sellers on an uneven playing field and favors  Foreigner sellers over USA sellers

http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2010/pr10_058.htm

here is the first paragraph of that announcement

SHANGHAI — The U.S. Postal Service entered into an international tri-lateral agreement today in Shanghai, China with eBay Greater China & Southeast Asia (eBay GC) and China Post Express & Logistics Corporation. The agreement creates a new, simplified shipping platform for international tracking and delivery of lightweight goods ordered by consumers in the U.S. from eBay sellers in China.

As to countries/knockoffs ebay supplies information on products to Chinese factories/sellers.

Ebays syas counterfiets are not allowed, sounds like doublespeak to me.

[retrose1]

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@castlemagicmemorieswrote:

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@krazzykatswrote:

I really dislike auto play videos or graphics.

I see them everywhere these days, and they automatically start playing, whether you want them to or not. They degrade browser speed, are distracting, and annoying, and cause me to spend less time on sites that play them.

If they became an allowable listing feature here, I would want the option to turn it on/off in my profile as well as, in the listing. Not a fan of auto play video or graphics.

And in some pages, it destroys the webpage content so much, that I just stop looking.

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You brought back a memory.  When I first started on ebay, around 2000, I was mesmerized by all the listings.  I was searching in the middle of the night, when all of a sudden, I clicked on a listing and music started playing!  It scared the daylights out of me  I quickly shut it off before it woke anyone up!

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When I was discussing what my website should look like and include with a web designer back in the early 2000s, he told me that my site/listings should never include any sound effects as it will tip off bosses that the employees are shopping/playing online and not working.

[retrose1]

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@roslynroadshow91wrote:

Please bring back  the number of watchers/watching on the LISTING page.

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Heck yeah, nothing prods buyers into buying like seeing that someone else is interested in the same item.

Everything ebay does seems geared into driving buyers away or fixing it so they don't really want to buy.  Etsy is another site that has made very few changes to it's look, search and pages over the years and my consistantly growing sales there reflect that.  

ebay is constantly trying to copy the success of other sites, you'd think that the big shots can put 2 and 2 together and try nothing for a change.

Personally, it would be nice to see ebay take the wayback machine and restore the site to the way it was back in the mid to late 2000s.  You know, before the destructive innovation.

[memphiskansasgirl123]

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@retrose1wrote:

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@roslynroadshow91wrote:

Please bring back  the number of watchers/watching on the LISTING page.

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Heck yeah, nothing prods buyers into buying like seeing that someone else is interested in the same item.

Everything ebay does seems geared into driving buyers away or fixing it so they don't really want to buy.  Etsy is another site that has made very few changes to it's look, search and pages over the years and my consistantly growing sales there reflect that.  

ebay is constantly trying to copy the success of other sites, you'd think that the big shots can put 2 and 2 together and try nothing for a change.

Personally, it would be nice to see ebay take the wayback machine and restore the site to the way it was back in the mid to late 2000s.  You know, before the destructive innovation.

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"Heck yeah, nothing prods buyers into buying like seeing that someone else is interested in the same item."

 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This is 100% correct^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[nc-daydreamer]

Just one? Really?  Is that even possible??

There are many, but 9 is about as short of a list as I can reply with... (not necessarily in order of importance)... (and a note in advance - I am not yelling, just capitalizing for emphasis.)

# 1 - STOP ALL OTHER ADS FROM APPEARING IN THE AD SPACE I PAY FOR. (ie: other vendors, both inside the venue and off site)

# 2 - ALLOW FOR A FAIR APPEAL HEARING TO WHERE (IF/WHEN) AN ITEM IS RETURNED; A SELLER HAS THE RIGHT WITHOUT PENALTY TO REFUSE REFUND (part or full) - OR AT LEAST PERMIT SELLERS THE CHANCE TO SAY WHY (DEFEND/EXPLAIN) WHEREAS A REAL PERSON CAN CONSIDER THE SITUATION - INSTEAD OF HAVING A ROBOT MAKE AN AUTOMATIC DECISION BECAUSE THE BUYER IS NOT ALWAYS 'RIGHT'.  (ie: sold a prom dress so that it can't come back after being worn for the occasion smelling of sweat, having ripped seams and having had soda pop or/and makeup stains on it.) 

# 3 - STOP THE BLURBS FROM APPEARING ON OUR HOME PAGE, "This listing hasn't had any sales in at least 16 months. Please consider updating it." WE ARE NOT STUPID - WE KNOW THIS. AND WE HAVE PAID FOR EVERY ONE OF THOSE MONTHS - SO WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? As long as the listing is getting a view or two in that time, then it is relevant as it stands!  Focus on more important things than to annoy sellers with such garbage. (And when we DO update it - the message never goes away!) 

# 4 - ACT ON VIOLATION REPORTS WHEN MADE (or at least within a month).  Because I have been reporting some ads for over 5 years now with no improvements.  Reasons? 

     4A -- Generic pictures - one picture of bubbles for instance does not indicate the dishes being sold. 

    4B -- Quantity of baby bottles showing as 10 in the picture, when there is only 1 being sold.

    4C -- Have words (not watermarks), borders or other overlays.

    4D -- Some ads require insurance to be paid by buyer.

    4E -- Have their dot-com addresses as their user name or posted inside the description.

    4F -- Ads which misuse variances by having choices offered, often with different prices (ie - pick your appliance - a washing machine, a toaster oven or a hair curler, etc. in the same ad... or ads which offer a whole list of 20+ items (ie DVD's) saying pick any one and select another 1/2 off)... or buy any 5 and get a lottery ticket included w/order... etc.

IT IS ONE THING, NOT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT A SPECIFIC ACTION WILL HAPPEN - I UNDERSTAND THAT - BUT THIS IS ONGOING FOR AT LEAST 5 YEARS WITH NO CHANGE AND NUMEROUS REPORTS - AND THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE TO ME.  EITHER THESE HIGH RANKING SELLERS HAVE SPECIAL PRIVLEDGES AND CAN BREAK RULES AT THEIR WHIM, OR THIS NEEDS TO BE A FAIR PLAYING FIELD.

# 5 - WHEN WE ARE IN EDIT MODE, DON'T KEEP SWITCHING US BACK TO PAGE 1 OF THE WHOLE GROUP WHEN WE ARE WORKING ON PAGE 3 OF A SPECIFIC GROUP (ie) - AND FIX THE JUMP-TO PAGE AS IT HAS BEEN PROMISED FOR YEARS... A SELLER SHOULD NOT HAVE TO WADE THROUGH 77 PAGES JUST TO GET TO PAGE 78 AND THE PAGE OPTION NEEDS TO BE AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE AS WELL AS THE BOTTOM (Speaking of the landing page where our personal lists are.)

# 6 - STOP HOLDING SELLER'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TIME THE CARRIER'S TAKE TO DELIVER.  TIME SHOULD BE MEASURED AT THE TIME OF FIRST SCAN - NOT THE LAST ONE.  IT IS APPROPRIATE THAT EBAY RECOGNIZES THAT THE SITUATION IS OUT OF THE SELLER'S CONTROL ONCE THE PACKAGE IS IN ROUTE TO ITS DESTINATION.

# 7 - WHEN A SELLER REPORTS THAT THE UPC INFO YOU HAVE IS WRONG, OR THERE IS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE ADJUSTED - THEN FIX IT OR DON'T FORCE US TO USE IT.

# 8 - BRING BACK CUSTOMER SERVICE EMAIL CONTACT.  (The ones responding to these types of inquiries can be a 'work from home resource' as to lessen company expenses for this task.)  LIVE CHAT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE BACK AS WELL.

# 9 - FIX THE BULK EDITOR AND THE NOTE EDITOR.  Both fail miserably w/formatting, editing and search functions.

As I said at the beginning, this list could go on, and on, and on.... giving the Energizer Bunny competition - but I will not continue for now as many other responders have also made very valid points in this and similar threads.  There is only so much that can be said, as it is doubtful anyone with any authority to make corrections will actually listen and/or hear us anyway; so this effort is little more than a chance to rant and vent.  😞

However, if anyone does care, and if any of these points need further explanation, I'll be glad to have a real conversation with a tech - allowing them to use Team Viewer, ShareIt, or other similar program to demonstrate the issue for them.

[let_me_shop_and_no_one_gets_hurt]

A lot  of good suggestions!  plenty more I'm sure as they have done so many terrible "enhancements"  the last ten years.

I haven't seen this mentioned yet;   how about letting me suppress or turn off  ebay's lousy suggestions of so-called similar items?    How about in my ebay page, not showing me items they say are similar to the one I just Bought?

More than 100 times I have told them what I think of their annoying, useless, and flawed suggestions, I just wish they'd let me turn them 'OFF'

[thepnwthriftstore]

Consistency . 

I sell on this platform and the "other" platform . One reason I tend to put things on the other platform vs here? I know what to expect on that platform in 6 months. I do not know what to expect here. 

My confidence in eBay has dwindled with every new "this will help sellers....." update rolled out. Will this update stick? Will it be rolled back quietly in 6 months? Will suddenly all my listings need to be XYZ and I will have to pull them?