eBay invite.........

[bimm_corp]

Received an email (not through eBay's email system) with an invite to join a live webinar about joining "eBay US Customer Support Services". Email was titled "Earn money helping other sellers on eBay". Went to the link in the email and the page appeared legit. Anyone else get this email? TIA.

[valueaddedresource]

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@no_zero369 wrote:

@valueaddedresource 

I nominate you as head seller's coach!  Impressive post, that thread.

I know who I am going to PM when issues arise! 😁  Aren't you lucky? 😂 👍

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@no_zero369  thanks! I'm honored. 😊 

Honestly, I'm happy to help where I can but I'm no guru and you will never find me among those hawking "how to make a million dollars on eBay" classes. 😂

I'm a big advocate of helping others help themselves.  Most of this stuff isn't magic, and doesn't require fancy degrees, but I do have a wide-ranging background in ecommerce that maybe gives me a bit of a unique perspective that helps to connect some of the dots that might not always seem so obvious. 

[no_zero369]

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@valueaddedresource wrote:

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@luckythewinner  I suspect therein lies the rub. 

From several angles, I can see this being a difficult thing to pull off well.  On one hand, there would certainly have to be some vetting and "coaching" involved to make sure users who take advantage of this service aren't getting the bum steer.

However, in my opinion, such "coaching" runs the risk of resulting in the same level of service already being offered by eBay SOP & training, which could tend to make this a redundant effort at best. 

And to me that opens up a whole wider topic which is - why is there sometimes such a wide gap between what an eBay rep with standard training would tell a new seller in a particular situation and what an experienced seller would tell them?

Rhetorical question 😉 but I think an important thing for eBay to consider if they really want to see a program like this succeed.

If the entire "value proposition" of this is to give new sellers access to the depth and breadth of knowledge experienced sellers have, what happens when that experience bumps up against or conflicts with eBay's stated policies and procedures? 

And more importantly - how do you incentivize those experienced sellers to share that experience, especially if they find that it isn't always in line with eBay SOP?  Gig economy part time pay may not be enough to overcome seller concerns of possible consequences for not toeing the line.

I think  if done right, there could be an opportunity here for something more valuable than money, and that is regaining some of the trust that eBay has lost over the years from their long time, committed seller community, especially after the cyberstalking scandal. That would require a real commit to the "openness, honesty, respect and doing business with integrity" that Jamie Iannone says "drives eBay's success."

I'm skeptical that eBay is going to allow that much leeway with this program, but would certainly be happy to be wrong about that. 😊

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Oh incentivizing is easy - just give them badges and posting level titles, no need to actually "pay them".😋

Plus the work of advising is much easier than listing, packaging, shipping and dealing with "cases" that it probably pays more per hour than many sellers make, if they add up their actual hours.  Some people like selling, other probably wouldn't mind helping others.

People are human, there is no way to make sure all advice given is perfect.  In fact, there might be more than one way to skin a cat, so to speak.  so often there is not one "right answer" as different people have different value systems.   This program isn't going to be prefect and will certainly have roll out glitches.  Can it be made better? Sure.  Your insights are good and should be incorporated. 

I think we should applaud eBay's efforts to help the little guys.  What a refreshing change from wanting to set up drop shipping warehouses through the "managed delivery" program.

[luckythewinner]

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@go-bad-chicken wrote:
"Limitless estimates that sellers could earn .......... in six weeks, enough extra money to cover the cost of an average annual household energy bill."

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The available hours in six weeks is 1008 hours. The average annual household energy bill in the UK is 1250 pounds.

So a seller "could" earn somewhere between 1.25 pounds per hour all the way up to 1250 pounds per hour.

Any guesses about which end of that spectrum most sellers will fall?

[valueaddedresource]

@no_zero369  by incentivizing, I meant more so what is the incentive to join the paid "expert" program vs continuing to be an unpaid volunteer here in the community.

For some, a degree of autonomy and "freedom of expression" may be more valuable than the paid offer. 😉

I think one challenge for eBay is going to be that those are voices and experiences that could be important to have included if the goal is to provide something different or more in depth than what current support or educational efforts offer.

If that's not it, and the goal is really just to have sellers who will be eBay spokespeople, that may be a tougher sell.

My hope for a program like this would be that it brings eBay some insight into some of the ways sellers can have vastly different experiences using the platform....and that insight would be used to create a better experience for everyone.

[valueaddedresource]

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@no_zero369 wrote

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I think we should applaud eBay's efforts to help the little guys.  What a refreshing change from wanting to set up drop shipping warehouses through the "managed delivery" program.

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@no_zero369  I agree it's refreshing to see eBay making efforts in some of these areas.

I've been very encouraged by seeing Harry Temkin engaging here in the community and being open to feedback about seller experience and tools.

I think this program presents some excellent opportunities for Ebay to continue making strides with those positive efforts, but as with so many things with Ebay, the proof will be in the execution.

I'm definitely interested to see how this program goes. 

[nuclearomen]

I got the invite as well, at first I registered, then I canceled, you need to install Zoom, from there IDK because they fail to mention anything else you need (webcam, mic etc...) 

[go-bad-chicken]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

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@go-bad-chicken wrote:
"Limitless estimates that sellers could earn .......... in six weeks, enough extra money to cover the cost of an average annual household energy bill."

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The available hours in six weeks is 1008 hours. The average annual household energy bill in the UK is 1250 pounds.

So a seller "could" earn somewhere between 1.25 pounds per hour all the way up to 1250 pounds per hour.

Any guesses about which end of that spectrum most sellers will fall?

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I am going to guess that for every hour worked the "Expert Seller" shall earn two (2) kilowatt hours of energy. 😉

[valueaddedresource]

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@go-bad-chicken wrote:

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@luckythewinner wrote:

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@go-bad-chicken wrote:
"Limitless estimates that sellers could earn .......... in six weeks, enough extra money to cover the cost of an average annual household energy bill."

---

The available hours in six weeks is 1008 hours. The average annual household energy bill in the UK is 1250 pounds.

So a seller "could" earn somewhere between 1.25 pounds per hour all the way up to 1250 pounds per hour.

Any guesses about which end of that spectrum most sellers will fall?

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I am going to guess that for every hour worked the "Expert Seller" shall earn two (2) kilowatt hours of energy. 😉

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So we have power covered....will they also be paying enough to cover the cost of internet service? 😉

[krazzykats]

You can zoom from a device that has a camera/microphone. 

My nephews wedding was done via zoom, and it was fabulous.

I could see customer service reps using zoom, maybe even integrated into the site community boards.  Possibly into a more personalized eBay sale tool as well for expensive items, cars, etc.

Simplified video conferencing and messaging across any device. 

[nuclearomen]

missing my point, i know what Zoom is and how it works on any mobile devise (pad/phone) - my point was > I don't want to downlaod and install Zoom - or any other application I don't specifically need to operate my business. I also don't need to spend 1000 hrs figuring out what ebay policy actually is to what they tell you it is... BIG difference there! Got better things to do. 

[go-bad-chicken]

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@valueaddedresource wrote:

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@go-bad-chicken wrote:

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@luckythewinner wrote:

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@go-bad-chicken wrote:
"Limitless estimates that sellers could earn .......... in six weeks, enough extra money to cover the cost of an average annual household energy bill."

---

The available hours in six weeks is 1008 hours. The average annual household energy bill in the UK is 1250 pounds.

So a seller "could" earn somewhere between 1.25 pounds per hour all the way up to 1250 pounds per hour.

Any guesses about which end of that spectrum most sellers will fall?

---

I am going to guess that for every hour worked the "Expert Seller" shall earn two (2) kilowatt hours of energy. 😉

---

So we have power covered....will they also be paying enough to cover the cost of internet service? 😉

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What are you saying? Is internet service a requirement? If so this job is getting more expensive by the minute.😉

[nuclearomen]

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@valueaddedresource wrote:

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So we have power covered....will they also be paying enough to cover the cost of internet service? 😉

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lol... i believe the answer will be no. It's like the job ad for "make money delivering with your vehicle" scam - you get paid $0.05 a mile, and reimbursed gas expense - but the toll you place on your vehicle is on you and repairs / loss of market value is on you.  

[valueaddedresource]

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@go-bad-chicken wrote:

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@valueaddedresource wrote:

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@go-bad-chicken wrote:

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@luckythewinner wrote:

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@go-bad-chicken wrote:
"Limitless estimates that sellers could earn .......... in six weeks, enough extra money to cover the cost of an average annual household energy bill."

---

The available hours in six weeks is 1008 hours. The average annual household energy bill in the UK is 1250 pounds.

So a seller "could" earn somewhere between 1.25 pounds per hour all the way up to 1250 pounds per hour.

Any guesses about which end of that spectrum most sellers will fall?

---

I am going to guess that for every hour worked the "Expert Seller" shall earn two (2) kilowatt hours of energy. 😉

---

So we have power covered....will they also be paying enough to cover the cost of internet service? 😉

---

What are you saying? Is internet service a requirement? If so this job is getting more expensive by the minute.😉

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Just in case the emojis aren't enough, I'll get in before someone says "aren't people already paying for power and internet service out of pocket to post here without getting paid?"

The answer may be yes, but that gets back to my previous question about incentives - what drives someone to use their time and resources on a volunteer basis may not be the same thing that would drive them to participate on a paid basis, depending very much on the conditions involved.

[krazzykats]

Ok.  Kind of a hostile answer.

If you don't want to join Zoom..so be it.

I'm hoping eBay finds more ways to use it on site.

An eBay Zoom party with prizes might be nice.😊

[nuclearomen]

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@krazzykats wrote:

Ok.  Kind of a hostile answer

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not really, not wanting to download and install apps I don't need or use is not hostile - it's smart. You like Zoom go ahead, use it. I'm passing on the EB help thing, I'm good without it.