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12 Comments

    • eBay: Expecting Downside as Piper Eliminates 'Top Pick' Status [view article]
      Piper Jaffray, UGG et. al should pay a visit to eBay's user boards, where they are placing most "complaining"... threads on the back pages, but there are also plenty on the front pages as well. Indeed, ANY analyst worth their salary should be doing far more "in depth" research into the current situation and also bear in mind almost all of the "useful" metrics eBay feeds them are annual ones. NO company can alienate the majority of it's customers and then expect success. Success breeds success, failure breeds, well nothing, except huge shareholder losses. The ONLY thing which can lead to success for eBay is for their CUSTOMERS (the sellers) to be successsful, and a sell through rate which is mostly lucky to get to 40% is hardly doing that, especially when one figures in almost 25% of the gross sales goes to either eBay or PayPal in fees. May 14 01:42 PM
    • EBay's Craigslist Gambit: Will it Backfire? [view article]
      So: It is fine for eBay to make use of the fact that it is a big company and not consult the people who have invested money, sweat, and time to make their own business a success on eBay when ebay wants to do so and make changes. Yet, if another company does exactly the same thing when ebay is on the receiving end it cries wolf. Karma, a wonderful thing! Long live CL AND the principles they stand for. I am sure, in the court of public opinion ebay is already a "has been" due to their constant smoke screens when all they are concerned about is shareholder opinion winning stats to hoodwink the analysts and their own bottom line. All they have managed to do with this law suit is to reinforce the low public opinion. May 01 11:10 AM
    • EBay Vs. Craigslist: The Diluting Details [view article]
      So: It is fine for eBay to make use of the fact that it is a big company and not consult the people who have invested money, sweat, and time to make their own business a success on eBay when ebay wants to do so and make changes. Yet, if another company does exactly the same thing when ebay is on the receiving end it cries wolf. Karma, a wonderful thing! Long live CL AND the principles they stand for. I am sure, in the court of public opinion ebay is already a "has been" due to their constant smoke screens when all they are concerned about is shareholder opinion winning stats to hoodwink the analysts and their own bottom line. All they have managed to do with this law suit is to reinforce the low public opinion. May 01 11:10 AM
    • eBay Earnings Preview: Will the Loose Ends Tie Up? [view article]
      Boycott fizzled? While I have no access to the true numbers, and doubt any of us will ever know them because of the way the metrics are reported, hundreds, if not thousands, actually left ebay in February, many more have continued the boycott and there is a new one planned to commence on May 1st to run indefinitely. The one CRITICAL thing is the fact that most of those who are either boycotting, have left, or are planning to be actively involved with the much larger boycott for May are long term sellers/buyers. This point is also worth noting, many of the sellers are also buyers, so eBay loses both ends of the spectrum at the same time. I would suggest anyone interested in the effects these changes are having on the core business should take a look at eBay's own message boards or just Google "eBay boycott", with or without the "May" keyword. I very much doubt the metrics as usually presented will bear any resemblance to the true situation as they are Q/Q or Y/Y, neither of which will reflect the February boycott given the fact that eBay padded listings so heavily during that time as reported in other media coverage. They also count non-active users along with not taking into account well timed listing incentives which coincide with key timelines in metric calculations. More correct figures SHOULD be reflected in Q2 results, but who knows for sure with some of the intricate ways the metrics can be manipulated. Apr 16 03:46 PM
    • Not Seeing a 'Better & Safer' eBay [view article]
      Dinah,

      Thank you for your reply, it is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO refreshing to know that some authors do actually read the comments (not sure the kool-aid ones do, but maybe they are just thick skinned)

      Thank you again for publishing such a great article.       Apr 07 09:15 AM
    • Not Seeing a 'Better & Safer' eBay [view article]
      Congratulations Ms. Balk,

      It is refreshing to see that both you and Mr LaRouche have actually taken the time to do some REAL reporting on the issues involved with selling and buying on eBay now the new changes are coming into effect. The biggest changes, yet to be revealed, are the decline in both ACTIVE seller numbers, GENUINE numbers of listings, and buyers who actually buy rather than just look, ie. sell through rates, which remain at a dismal level below 50% and usually closer to 40%.

      One slight correction, if I may, is that the eBay community (yes buyers AND sellers) renewed boycott is set to start on May 1st rather than May 7th. Of course, many have continued the February boycott and have no intention of returning to being active members until eBay once again becomes a place where they can once again get that feeling of "well being" while they conduct business at the so called "only a venue" which is rapidly turning into one of the most dictatorial places of business available. Unfortunately eBay's inability to manage it's own problems is leading to more and more restrictive measures to try to combat those problems instead of facing facts and actually cleansing their own practices first. What do I mean by this? Simply that eBay appear to take little or no action against fraudulent sellers and buyers because they are more interested in short term dollars than long term resolution and reputation.       Apr 07 08:27 AM
    • eBay: Where's Oprah When You Need Her? [view article]
      Congratulations Mr. LaRouche !!

      This article is one of the more truthful and FACT based articles I have read on SeekingAlpha.com. Readers do grow weary of all the articles written by the eBay kool-aid drinkers here and it was well past time that someone authored an article which actually reflects the true situation with eBay and it's seemingly self inflicted path of destruction from within.

      I would urge you to keep following this chaos which is now eBay, then perhaps the institutional investors will "get a clue" instead of swallowing all the kool-aid pumped out by eBay and it's sheep like analyst followers.       Apr 07 08:10 AM
    • Message for e-Commerce Sellers: Go Multi-Channel! [view article]
      Thank you.

      FINALLY Scot Wingo ran out of the eBay kool-aid and has seen the REAL picture. eBay is only ONE of many vehicles to aid a seller, they are NOT the "one size fits all", and, right now, seem to be doing everything in their power to actually drive sellers to those other avenues to seek the success. Now, perhaps IF eBay would put down their own kool-aid and take off the rose tinted spectacles, they would also see the trend here, drive away sellers with bad policy changes and those sellers WILL find the alternate ways to market their product. Of course, one could also add that eBay is the most costly venue to sell, and, coupled with a dismal 50%, at best, sell through rate makes for a dark cloud over eBay as a viable business tool for the forseeable future. That 220% increase will increase Y/Y as more and more internet sellers either explore (or are pushed) towards the 'greener grass" on the other side.       Mar 20 09:37 AM
    • eBay Watch: Alibaba Stake, U.S. Store Promotion, e-Commerce and GMVs [view article]
      Wow, someone's been drinking the koolaid today!

      More eBay PR waffle as usual.

      What on earth has GMV growth to do with the ill perceived success of eBay?, yes more value MAY have been sold, but that is not eBay inventory, in reality all they sell (and they do that VERY poorly) is bandwidth and a search engine which belongs in the 20th century, now weighted so much towards worst match that buyers won't even get as far as a "buying experience' because the widget they are looking for is hidden among a gazillion cheap cellphone accessories etc.

      The buyers (who are the seller's buyers, not eBay's) will just click the back button when they don't immediately find their widget on a search and go search at other online stores via the base.google.com framework. So assuming the GMV figures are correct, well done to those sellers.

      What SHOULD have happened to give a positive outlook is that Y/Y growth increased rather than taking an almost linear % decrease. Someone want to tell me how a non existing inventory value increase is more important to a (non)service company than actual market penetration growth?

      EBay needs to accept the fact that their ONLY customers are sellers (buyers don't add a dime to eBay coffers as a stand alone group), and we all know about the sad relationship that eBay is now perfecting with it's sellers. Perhaps, if eBay was to concentrate on a "good seller experience", they would see real Y/Y growth and not this huge exodus to alternate sites of the long term sellers, surely they realize that you can't replace the ones who are leaving with a bunch of new, inexperienced sellers and expect EITHER GMV or Y/Y growth to increase.       Mar 20 09:26 AM
    • Q1 Data Bodes Well for eBay's New Fees [view article]
      The author has his head in the sand, just as the other people with a vested interest have. Poster Debipier has the situation summed up very well. Interesting that these wonderful and enlightening (not) blogs only appear when ebay needs the stock price shoring up, much the same way that the test/glitch/error/what... listings appear when the listing numbers need shoring up, all just a corporate illusion for the benefit of the unknowing, but all WILL be revealed in time. Mar 17 12:22 PM
    • eBay Watch: True P/E Ratio, Listings Update, Business/Casual Seller Mix [view article]
      The listing numbers havbe been manipulated in so many different ways it is unreal. Perhaps the Morgan Chase analysits (and all teh others) should visit the ebay forums, particularly Seller Cenral to find out all the ways they have actually been caught doing this, and that, like an iceburg, can only be the tip of reality.

      However, it does make sense that in recession all big business will try to cut costs, thereby increaing bottom line, wherever possible, and that would include ebay listings. The theory of mom/pop sellers of small to medium size increasing their listings also holds true as the revenue is a contribution to houshold economics. However ebay has adopted the very opposite to conventional thinking and economics and is by all manner of methods seemingly deliberately driving away the very people who would have been a vital part of it's income during a time of recession, thus establishing that ebay itself will also be negatively impacted by the recession.       Mar 06 09:44 AM
    • A Solution for eBay and Its Frustrated Seller Community [view article]
      Not for a very long time have I read such a piece of one sided, unbalanced, piece of reporting. This current, yes, current, as most who joined the one in February are in this for the long term, and the far bigger boycott coming in May is NOT about price increases. Sure, that is a part of the problem, but is no way the biggest part of the problem. The FAR larger problems are the change to the feedback system, best/worst match, search bias, and also the potential/probable 21 day money hold by PayPal. These changes affect both buyers and sellers. Indeed most sellers are also the buyers, with the exception of the hundreds of thousands of cheap imported items listed and the likes of GM boosting the figures. Not sure why GM are doing this, other than they themseves are in all sorts of trouble and are no doubt grasping at straws to increase the chance of sales. Would I buy a GM, or any other type of expensive car through ebay, of course not, 99% of the people want to see/drive the expensive new toy before they buy, so, at best Gm is using ebay as an advertizing medium to bring buyers though it's brick and morter doors, of course, the "regular" seller is not allowed to do that. If I want a car, I just go out, find one I like and buy it, sure, I might look at dealer websites first, but not ebay. Same for Sears, why would I go to anywhere but Sears to buy it, Wal-Mart (rumored for a long time to be starting on ebay) is the same thing. ebay is, it appears, trying to become yet another online mall, where it will lose all of it's widgets etc which actually INITIALLY bring the buyers in, many of whom then buy other things once on site. Finally ebay needs to remember who IT'S buyers are, they are not the third parties who shop with sellers, the ebay BUYERS are the sellers themselves, unless ebay is planning to charge a buyers premium they get no revenue from what they THINK are their buyers. I notice the author has a long position on ebay, hope that is a VERY long position as it will be a long time, if ever, before ebay is an investment option. Personally, I have used the boycott to more than double my income from ebay, not by listing, but day trading on SHORT positions. Mar 06 09:32 AM
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