This Week's Internet Top 10: Websites, Retail, Advertisers

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eBay getting further away from its customers and more into self interest. They lost a good many marginal sellers in February 2008 by raising their fees to a discouraging level. In 2009, so far, they have made their subsidiary, PayPal the de facto sole financial processor in eBay transactions. Then in June they announced and in August implemented a new program by which they took money directly from users PayPal accounts and made it inaccessible to account holders for 60 day, back to back periods, thereby putting sellers money from sales into "rolling reserve". These monies came out of seller operating funds, and at the worst time of the year. As a justification they labeled their selling partners as incompetent. and set themselves between sellers and their customers to decide any disputes with the sellers own money. Now sellers are sitting ducks for fraudulent buyers, unable to provide customer service, and unable to access their own PayPal funds which are frozen by PayPal. There we no options, alternatives, benefits or permissions granted to sellers, no matter what their customer service has been, and PayPal is sitting on millions of unearned dollars.
In September they automated a program that degrades seller's customer service and threatens buyers as well. It has long been possible for a seller to put a buyer into a non-payment classification. The process was seen as a threat by buyers and breaks down seller's customer care options. May sellers ignored the option a preferred to use email communications and service to achieve both payment and good customer relations. Buyers are subject to pay periods, and the plethora of problems that may delay payment for a few days.
Once again, eBay stepped in, cut seller customer service and automated negative strikes no matter what the situation. Then they reduced the transaction time from the standard 7days to just 4. The only option sellers have left is to change 4days in increments of up to 32 days. Buyers that fall ill, have a family emergency, are called out of town or for any legitimate reason will receive an "unpaid item hit" no matter what. Those hits will encumber their ability to buy on eBay, and even blacklist them.
My opinion is that eBay knows how to provide internet services but is ill-informed to incompetent when they get into the commerce itself. They are heavily degrading customer service and also risking sellers, liquidity, net profit, earnings, and reputations.
It's high time for an alternative company or actual dialog between members and decision makers. However, eBay's so called "customer support" is a barrier that cannot be overcome and is powerless to advocate for customers.

2009 Sep 22 03:45 PM