Eunice

The Name 'Kijiji' Isn’t Cutting It for eBay

A name change may be in order, but EBay Classifieds will clearly take in the wrong direction.
Let us not forget the uncountable hordes of former eBayers who cringe in horror at anything remotely related to eBay.
The eBay brand has been tarnished beyond repair.

eBay Worsening

I LOVE John Donahoe and I owe him a wealth of gratitude!!
For years as a silver eBay power seller I worked hard to maintain an impeccable feedback rating and earn myself a low 6 figure income on eBay. Then along came John Donahoe. He insulted me. He stole from me. He did not hide his disdain for me. He unceremoniously drove me forever from eBay. In doing so he opened up a wonderful new world for me. I am now free from the inane restraints on my business and have a much lower operating margin. Profits are skyrocketing and business has never been better.
I would like to use my new found wealth to throw a big bash for John "The Liberator" Donahoe. I hope the legions of other former power sellers will join us in celebrating our new found freedom.

eBay's Weakening Bid

Ebay may be a household name but that in not necessarily a good thing. Not too long ago I was proud of my association with eBay and bragged about it. Now the eBay brand is associated only with corporate greed and gross mistreatment of its customers (ie the sellers that built the site and provide its revenue). As a respected member of the society I rapidly became ashamed of my association with such an unethical "household name". It was not easy to give up the $100,000 in annual gross sales I generated on the eBay site but I felt strongly motivated by my principles and sense of moral integrity. As a result I was able to reduce by prices as I was relieved of the burder of paying thousands of dollars in monthly fees to eBay. My reward for having scruples and separating myself from an amoral corporation is skyrocketing sales on alternative sites.
I know that I am not alone as I am finding shopping fun again. Independent Mom and Pop sellers have a personal vested interest in providing good service and keeping their customers happy. Business seems to flourishe under those condition rather than stagnate as it does under the whip of a greedy corporation.
Ebays dismal sales are only of their own making and have nothing to do with the economy - just look at the double digit growth of the eBay alternatives in this very same economy

eBay's Weakening Bid

Talk about convoluted logic!!! Yes the poor ecomony drives people to look for bargains. That is why the ever increasing number of eBay wannabes are seeing explosive growth. Ebay should be thriving but is faltering.
You speak of eBays turnaround when the ecomony rebounds!!!!! Taht is when it will plummet. No one will need it anymore.

eBay Q3: What it Means for Sellers

I think it is a naive to assume that macro economic factors are contributing to the fall in eBay's core business rather than masking a much deeper erosion of the marketplace.

Troubled economic times should be a godsend to ebay's marketplace. The hordes of cash strapped casual and first time sellers should be digging deeper into their closets and basements and attics for new listings. The rest of them should be scouring eBay for bargains on used items that they can't afford new on other sites. Clearly this is not happening.

I am amazed by the number of my own personal contacts who have not heard fo my 180 on eBay (former silver power seller), but not surprised that they have contacted me for answers as to why their first time attempts to sell on eBay have failed so dismally.

The answer to why has been repeated over and over again on this and so many other blogs. The longer eBay refuses to listen the less likely they will ever be able to turn things around. Failure will become inevitable if the economy turns around and there is no more need for eBay.

It is not so hard for a once revered brand such a eBay to become tarnished. Once tarnished, however, there is no precedent for going back to the way things were.

eBay: A glimmer of Hope for Feedback

None of these so called fixes begin to address the most serious flaw in the feedback system, namely the inability of the seller to give true feedback for the buyer.
Perhaps buyer DSRs are in order. Take for example the buyer who pleaded for immediate shipment and then canceled her Paypal eCheck as soon as she was assured the item she so deparately needed was in the mail. I got what I deserved for trusting a buyer with 100% positive feedback - but then again isn't that what they all have. Then there is the buyer who won an auction June 7th. He still emails every couple of weeks to tell me I need to have more patience as he will pay when the it is more convenient for him. He never noticed that I relisted the item and it sold for $28.00 - but that doesn't really matter as the second buyer never paid either.
I could drone on and on and on with similar instances but the point is that I cannot warn any other sellers about these buyers. This just alows this type of activity to grow and flourish. I can't even alert other sellers to the NPB who threated to kill me and my family because I filed for a refund of my FVF.
This is why I left eBay despite over 10,000 100% positive feedbacks and 4.9 DSR across the board. Also, despite by Elevated Status the searches I looked at always seemd to show my listings below others with poorer scores.

eBay Down Further as Morgan Stanley Downgrades

I am an eBay Power Seller. I have in excess of ten thousand 100% positive feedbacks. I have 4.9 DSRs across the board. I have NO use whatsoever for eBay.
The last straw was not the escalating fees. The last straw was not the skyrocketing number of non paying bidders. The last straw was not the advent and growth of the fraudulent buyer (supported entirely by eBay). The last straw was not the death threat against me and my family by a non paying bidder over a $25.00 sale. The last straw was when I forwarded these threatening emails to eBay and got in return a canned response suggesting I provide better customer service to avoid future disputes.
Why would any sane, rational member of civilized society ever want to do business with a corporation like eBay?