New ebay policies: WTF?!

On Jan 30, 7:47 pm, "phoenixarcade.com" <azarcadega....RemoveThis@cox.net> wrote:
> you know they make a lot of changes and many of us say we are going to
> stop using them. this time theyve done enough to warrant such a move
>
> ill keep using them, but only when i have something i want to get rid
> of and using a classified ad is too expensive.
>
> for business purposes ive used ebay sparingly and that will continue.
> the days of listing multiple items each week are gone.
>
> i hope this effects their bottom line this time.

Oh, I'll continue to use them allright.. As a BUYER! It seems to me
that their business model is pander to the buyers and put all the
burden on the sellers, because if the buyers are there then the
sellers have no choice but to go along with it. Here's what I see
happening.. The number of sellers and the diversity of listed items
will go way down. Ebay will become more like an amazon or buy.com.
as a seller, I think I would still consider selling brand new, factory-
sealed items because there is little likelihood that the buyer
wouldn't understand what they're getting and be dissatisfied with it.
But used items? Untested items? Non-working, blemished, dented,
scratched, worn, incomplete, etc. items? I'd have to think long and
hard about that. Part of what drives the prices high on ebay is the
euphoria of a bidding war, but that excitement quickly fades once the
buyer realizes what exactly they have bid on. Heck, I know, I've done
it many times myself. So now all a buyer needs to do is be
"dissatisfied"? What happens to the seller when the buyer is
"dissatsfied"?

Oh, and here's another pet peeve of mine.. things that I list for
$0.99, and end for $0.99 or $1.04 or something. Am I going to risk
getting a negative over something like that? Exactly how satisfied
should a buyer be that just paid a buck for something? It's bad
enough right now, while there is still that balance of feedback power
between the buyer and seller. If the scales are tipped all the way
toward the buyer, I can tell you what's going to happen. The seller
is going to have to eat the cost of most of these small items, or risk
all kinds of hassle. IMHO, there shouldn't even be subjective
feedback for transactions under a certain dollar amount.. say $10 or
something. for that matter, what about selling a $1000 item?
$10000? Shouldn't the buyer's satisfaction count a little more for
something like that? It sure does in the real world!
 >> Stay informed about: New ebay policies: WTF?! 

The situation is hopeless. I guess a big shot from Sears
(yet another American tragedy - thanks Martinez & Lacy) is
taking over for eBay and initiating all of these changes.
The "softer side" was not enough for Martinez, Lacy had to
put the final nails in the coffin by selling their
multi-billion credit department and then merging with
K-Mart!!!!

Yeah - let's hire a Sears exec to do anything but sweep
the floors (they'd surely mess that up too).

Why is it acceptable and a VERY common practice in America
to recycle failures and place them in other key business's
that were once great?

I'm totally disgusted with what is going on in this country.
And nobody seems to be paying attention to all of the monopolies
either. Applying for a visa tomorrow... lol

-Frank
 >> Stay informed about: New ebay policies: WTF?! 

I've bought and sold on eBay for years, and although I've never felt
good about their annual fee increases and whatnot, I've never once
declared that I was leaving. Well, this latest announcement contains
far too much bullshit to ignore, so I'm done. Which is really just as
well, as I have found the eBay experience to be a MAJOR pain in the
ass as of late. Aside from the excessive eBay and PayPal fees (which
are getting harder to ignore), final values have been going down, a
lot of stuff just isn't selling very well, and for whatever reason,
I've had a really bad problem with non-paying bidders over the last
couple of months.

It's all really too much of a hassle...a hassle that I'd be happier
without.

Time to investigate other avenues, I guess.
 >> Stay informed about: New ebay policies: WTF?! 

That's exactly why after almost 10 years of selling on Ebay and maintaining
a 99.8% Positive feedback rating as a Power seller. I no longer sell on Ebay
anymore.I stopped after their last Rate increase.Ebay can kiss my ASS!!!.I
wouldn't ever give them another penny.And with the things you just posted
they can also kiss my___ too!!!.If you figure everything out they are about
a 40% Partner between the listing fees,Final value fee and all the
extras.Then Paypal fee ETC..Nope not me.Im done with those greedy bastards.
<micrologix1500.RemoveThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:440c12a6-4534-4e11-8e67-e238e814ea7d@z17g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
> As al you have probably read by now, ebay is making MAJOR changes to
> just about every aspect of their operation. Not surprisingly, they're
> raising their rates, and pushing everyone a little closer to a paypal-
> only payment policy. They're making it more attractive to be a
> powerseller, which i suppose makes financial sense, given economies of
> scale. But what's really got me baffled is what they're doing with
> feedback.. "Buyers will only be able to receive positive Feedback."
> Huh?? Think about that for a minute.. I guess feedback doesn't apply
> to the buyer AT ALL anymore! As a seller, I'm VERY wary of this. How
> can you hope to get a fair shake from everyone, when they know they
> have zero accountability for their comments? and then there's the
> "safer payment option".. for "higher risk categories".. like
> computers. yikes! sounds like the "buyers have the seller over a
> barrel" policy to me! Paypal holding seller's payment until they get
> a positive feedback? from someone that has absolutely nothing to fear
> about getting a negative? hmmm.... yeah, i guess i needed another
> reason not to use paypal oh wait, that's pretty much all they'll
> accept now!
>
> Well there's one good thing, it looks like they're nice enough to give
> us a month's warning. guess what I think I'll be doing for most of
> february? you guessed it.. selling off just about everything i've got
> that i think i would want to sell on ebay!
 >> Stay informed about: New ebay policies: WTF?! 

On Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:15:53 -0800 (PST), "micrologix1500@yahoo.com"
<micrologix1500.DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote:

>As al you have probably read by now, ebay is making MAJOR changes to
>just about every aspect of their operation. Not surprisingly, they're
>raising their rates, and pushing everyone a little closer to a paypal-
>only payment policy. They're making it more attractive to be a
>powerseller, which i suppose makes financial sense, given economies of
>scale. But what's really got me baffled is what they're doing with
>feedback.. "Buyers will only be able to receive positive Feedback."
>Huh?? Think about that for a minute.. I guess feedback doesn't apply
>to the buyer AT ALL anymore! As a seller, I'm VERY wary of this. How
>can you hope to get a fair shake from everyone, when they know they
>have zero accountability for their comments? and then there's the
>"safer payment option".. for "higher risk categories".. like
>computers. yikes! sounds like the "buyers have the seller over a
>barrel" policy to me! Paypal holding seller's payment until they get
>a positive feedback? from someone that has absolutely nothing to fear
>about getting a negative? hmmm.... yeah, i guess i needed another
>reason not to use paypal oh wait, that's pretty much all they'll
>accept now!
>
>Well there's one good thing, it looks like they're nice enough to give
>us a month's warning. guess what I think I'll be doing for most of
>february? you guessed it.. selling off just about everything i've got
>that i think i would want to sell on ebay!

The positive only feedback thing is going to be funny, because there
will be positive ratings with miserable comments from unhappy buyers.
 >> Stay informed about: New ebay policies: WTF?! 

I'm guilty of not leaving feedback for buyers until they give me
feedback as a seller. For me, there's a good reason for it, the
transaction really only begins when payment is received. At that
point, you're at their mercy of claiming they didn't receive
something, or it was horribly packed, or any of a number of things
that I know to not be the case. It's fine if they email me privately
about the receipt of something, I'm always willing to work things out
that way if they're nice about it, I even once did a full refund of a
laptop including the cost of shipping back to me even though I clearly
stated "as-is, no refunds" on the auction. But when people destroy me
publicly and accuse me of things without any sort of communication
ahead of time, they generally are fishing to get what I sent them for
free. Buyers need to realize that they are not buying from Wal-Mart
or some other large company that they may feel deserves to be ripped
off, they're trying to rip off a regular guy or they're complaining
that a regular guy didn't shrinkwrap everything and use packing
peanuts and brand new cardboard boxes custom shaped to the item being
shipped. I have a lot of feedback praising the good job I do with
packing so I have to laugh when I get someone complaining about it,
knowing I did a pretty good job with it. I also love when someone
complains about slow shipping after they chose Media Mail instead of
something faster (because I give them options) and they're on the
other side of the country from me, even though I emailed them the day
I mailed the item out which was the day after payment was received.

We may complain about PayPal and such, but they have sided with me
everytime someone tried to get a refund for items that were tested and
working before shipping and sold as-is, due to my stellar 10 years of
feedback most likely. I don't even allow bidders anymore that don't
have PayPal and I have never been happier with how my transactions
have gone since then.

All that said, though, I am not happy at all about "no negative
feedback for buyers". That is really stupid. If they're going to
institute that, it should be with a clause that you can leave negative
feedback if they have already left negative feedback for you as the
seller. That and their account should be immediately closed and the
person banned for life if they do not pay for an item after going
through all of the prodedures to collect from them.
 >> Stay informed about: New ebay policies: WTF?! 

well being one of the people that have recieved badfeedback for
leaving backfeed back when there was no readon to give me bad feed
back as a buyer I am in favor of this no bad feedback for buyer

but I think sellers should instantly give feedback one payment is
revcieved not wait till buyer gives feedback to see what he says

if sellers would use the feedback as it was ment instead of usign it
as a weapon maybe this wouldnt even be thoguht of



On Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:15:53 -0800 (PST), "micrologix1500@yahoo.com"
<micrologix1500.RemoveThis@yahoo.com> wrote:

>As al you have probably read by now, ebay is making MAJOR changes to
>just about every aspect of their operation. Not surprisingly, they're
>raising their rates, and pushing everyone a little closer to a paypal-
>only payment policy. They're making it more attractive to be a
>powerseller, which i suppose makes financial sense, given economies of
>scale. But what's really got me baffled is what they're doing with
>feedback.. "Buyers will only be able to receive positive Feedback."
>Huh?? Think about that for a minute.. I guess feedback doesn't apply
>to the buyer AT ALL anymore! As a seller, I'm VERY wary of this. How
>can you hope to get a fair shake from everyone, when they know they
>have zero accountability for their comments? and then there's the
>"safer payment option".. for "higher risk categories".. like
>computers. yikes! sounds like the "buyers have the seller over a
>barrel" policy to me! Paypal holding seller's payment until they get
>a positive feedback? from someone that has absolutely nothing to fear
>about getting a negative? hmmm.... yeah, i guess i needed another
>reason not to use paypal oh wait, that's pretty much all they'll
>accept now!
>
>Well there's one good thing, it looks like they're nice enough to give
>us a month's warning. guess what I think I'll be doing for most of
>february? you guessed it.. selling off just about everything i've got
>that i think i would want to sell on ebay!
 >> Stay informed about: New ebay policies: WTF?! 

IMHO the buyer's responsibility doesn't end with payment. If problems
arise, it is both the seller's AND buyer's responsibilities to
communicate and resolve things efficiently. Then, the only way a
seller can be sure that problems haven't risen is if the buyer leaves
feedback, or sends an email "I got such-and-such ok". In either case I
promptly leave feedback. The whole idea of 'buying feedback' defeats
the spirit of feedback.

- Craig



On Jan 31, 1:08 am, death69... RemoveThis @sbcglobal.net wrote:
> well being one of the people that have recieved badfeedback for
> leaving backfeed back when there was no readon to give me bad feed
> back as a buyer I am in favor of this no bad feedback for buyer
>
> but I think sellers should instantly give feedback one payment is
> revcieved not wait till buyer gives feedback to see what he says
>
> if sellers would use the feedback as it was ment instead of usign it
> as a weapon maybe this wouldnt even be thoguht of
>
> On Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:15:53 -0800 (PST), "micrologix1...@yahoo.com"
>
>
>
> <micrologix1... RemoveThis @yahoo.com> wrote:
> >As al you have probably read by now, ebay is making MAJOR changes to
> >just about every aspect of their operation.  Not surprisingly, they're
> >raising their rates, and pushing everyone a little closer to a paypal-
> >only payment policy.  They're making it more attractive to be a
> >powerseller, which i suppose makes financial sense, given economies of
> >scale.  But what's really got me baffled is what they're doing with
> >feedback.. "Buyers will only be able to receive positive Feedback."
> >Huh??  Think about that for a minute.. I guess feedback doesn't apply
> >to the buyer AT ALL anymore!  As a seller, I'm VERY wary of this.  How
> >can you hope to get a fair shake from everyone, when they know they
> >have zero accountability for their comments?  and then there's the
> >"safer payment option".. for "higher risk categories".. like
> >computers.  yikes!  sounds like the "buyers have the seller over a
> >barrel" policy to me!  Paypal holding seller's payment until they get
> >a positive feedback?  from someone that has absolutely nothing to fear
> >about getting a negative?   hmmm.... yeah, i guess i needed another
> >reason not to use paypal  oh wait, that's pretty much all they'll
> >accept now!
>
> >Well there's one good thing, it looks like they're nice enough to give
> >us a month's warning.  guess what I think I'll be doing for most of
> >february?  you guessed it.. selling off just about everything i've got
> >that i think i would want to sell on ebay!- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
 >> Stay informed about: New ebay policies: WTF?! 

On Jan 31, 9:36 am, Josh McCormick <jmcc....RemoveThis@yahoo.com> wrote:

> So, while I'm against any action by eBay which could shrink the
> marketplace (new feedback changes, higher fees for sellers), as a buyer,
> for the sellers that aren't scared away, this is some really helpful stuff.
>
> Better seller feedback. Gallery pictures, which help me understand the
> item better, are more likely to be there because they're free.
>
> I just wish eBay made the sellers happier. eBay really stuck it to you guys.

I think you nailed it pretty good here. Many sellers are going to be
"scared away", but of the ones that are left, you'll have more
information on. I'm not sure you'll have a higher quality of
information than you do now, but you'll certainly have more to read
and consider. I think ultimately you as a buyer will have fewer
choices and higher prices, but fewer "surprises". and since "eBay
buyers want value and selection from sellers they can trust", this
will make you happy.
 >> Stay informed about: New ebay policies: WTF?! 

Manny wrote:
> All that said, though, I am not happy at all about "no negative
> feedback for buyers". That is really stupid. If they're going to
> institute that, it should be with a clause that you can leave negative
> feedback if they have already left negative feedback for you as the
> seller.

I think that is exactly what eBay is trying to stop.

Under the current system, people (from either side of the transaction)
can only leave honest negative feedback if they're willing to risk
revenge feedback. So, many times, negative feedback gets swept under the
rug. It takes longer than is should for the existing feedback system to
flag a bad participant.

My belief is that they've now 1/2 fixed the long-broken feedback system.
This, plus the detailed seller ratings, means that I can start to trust
the feedback system to understand the seller. If people have a problem
with a seller, for once, I'm going to know what those problems are, and
I'm going to know them sooner than I did before.

I don't see/understand how they've balanced the other half of the
transaction (buyer feedback). Is feedback really 'gone' for buyers? Or
are bad marks now automated? Or does eBay enforce more transactions
(through PayPal) and remove bad buyers? I'd like to see it spelled out.

I think, during the transition to the new system, some people may have a
perception problem when it comes to how to interpret the new feedback.
But long term, people are going to figure out how to evaluate someone's
reputation when negative feedbacks are more common. I'm going to have to
read Joe-bob being angry that it took a week to ship an item, and figure
out what, if anything, that means to me.

But I also know that some marginal sellers are going to quickly rack up
those negs, and blame the system, and not themselves. Great! These are
exactly the kinds of things I want to see happen as a buyer.

So, while I'm against any action by eBay which could shrink the
marketplace (new feedback changes, higher fees for sellers), as a buyer,
for the sellers that aren't scared away, this is some really helpful stuff.

Better seller feedback. Gallery pictures, which help me understand the
item better, are more likely to be there because they're free.

I just wish eBay made the sellers happier. eBay really stuck it to you guys.
 >> Stay informed about: New ebay policies: WTF?! 

Ebay turned me off after their last set of rate increases, which mostly
affected those who were selling using Ebay Store. It seems as though
this round of changes puts the nail in the coffin of the low-priced-item
seller. If I have a bunch of arcade game manuals to blow out at
$10/each, it stopped being worth it to list it in a store.. now it's not
worth it to list them individually.

What I find ironic is that the very thing that made Ebay successful - an
easy way for people to sell small items that were not practical to list
in their local Classified ads - is now looked at as a burden to the
company. I mean, could Meg Whitman sell Pez dispensers profitably on
Ebay today? Not unless they cost more than $25, I suppose.

So it would seem Ebay is abandoning the 'little stuff' market to
Craigslist? Who else is a good niche player in that range?

Oh well..

M.O.
http://www.madocowain.com
http://www.playmaille.com

micrologix1500.RemoveThis@yahoo.com wrote:
> As al you have probably read by now, ebay is making MAJOR changes to
> just about every aspect of their operation. Not surprisingly, they're
> raising their rates, and pushing everyone a little closer to a paypal-
> only payment policy. They're making it more attractive to be a
> powerseller, which i suppose makes financial sense, given economies of
> scale. But what's really got me baffled is what they're doing with
> feedback.. "Buyers will only be able to receive positive Feedback."
> Huh?? Think about that for a minute.. I guess feedback doesn't apply
> to the buyer AT ALL anymore! As a seller, I'm VERY wary of this. How
> can you hope to get a fair shake from everyone, when they know they
> have zero accountability for their comments? and then there's the
> "safer payment option".. for "higher risk categories".. like
> computers. yikes! sounds like the "buyers have the seller over a
> barrel" policy to me! Paypal holding seller's payment until they get
> a positive feedback? from someone that has absolutely nothing to fear
> about getting a negative? hmmm.... yeah, i guess i needed another
> reason not to use paypal oh wait, that's pretty much all they'll
> accept now!
>
> Well there's one good thing, it looks like they're nice enough to give
> us a month's warning. guess what I think I'll be doing for most of
> february? you guessed it.. selling off just about everything i've got
> that i think i would want to sell on ebay!
 >> Stay informed about: New ebay policies: WTF?! 

To play devils advocate here a little bit... if you do the math (and were
already using a gallery picture before) it's actually cheaper now to sell a
10 dollar item. Ergh... 9.99 item.

Anything above that, though, and you're getting hosed. Everything I ever
sell is above 9.99 so this totally screws me. The feedback thing is
rediculous.

Ron

P.S. ultimately, don't be fooled into thinking that Ebay cares or will
change anything to help anybody. The growth they've spurred year after year
can't sustain itself, eventually it's stock and company will have to crash.
Anybody that cared about the company is long gone with their share of the
fortune.

"Madoc Owain" <nospam.RemoveThis@madocowain.com> wrote in message
news:fnsn0a01og5@news3.newsguy.com...
> Ebay turned me off after their last set of rate increases, which mostly
> affected those who were selling using Ebay Store. It seems as though this
> round of changes puts the nail in the coffin of the low-priced-item
> seller. If I have a bunch of arcade game manuals to blow out at $10/each,
> it stopped being worth it to list it in a store.. now it's not worth it to
> list them individually.
>
> What I find ironic is that the very thing that made Ebay successful - an
> easy way for people to sell small items that were not practical to list in
> their local Classified ads - is now looked at as a burden to the company.
> I mean, could Meg Whitman sell Pez dispensers profitably on Ebay today?
> Not unless they cost more than $25, I suppose.
>
> So it would seem Ebay is abandoning the 'little stuff' market to
> Craigslist? Who else is a good niche player in that range?
>
> Oh well..
>
> M.O.
> http://www.madocowain.com
> http://www.playmaille.com
>
> micrologix1500.RemoveThis@yahoo.com wrote:
>> As al you have probably read by now, ebay is making MAJOR changes to
>> just about every aspect of their operation. Not surprisingly, they're
>> raising their rates, and pushing everyone a little closer to a paypal-
>> only payment policy. They're making it more attractive to be a
>> powerseller, which i suppose makes financial sense, given economies of
>> scale. But what's really got me baffled is what they're doing with
>> feedback.. "Buyers will only be able to receive positive Feedback."
>> Huh?? Think about that for a minute.. I guess feedback doesn't apply
>> to the buyer AT ALL anymore! As a seller, I'm VERY wary of this. How
>> can you hope to get a fair shake from everyone, when they know they
>> have zero accountability for their comments? and then there's the
>> "safer payment option".. for "higher risk categories".. like
>> computers. yikes! sounds like the "buyers have the seller over a
>> barrel" policy to me! Paypal holding seller's payment until they get
>> a positive feedback? from someone that has absolutely nothing to fear
>> about getting a negative? hmmm.... yeah, i guess i needed another
>> reason not to use paypal oh wait, that's pretty much all they'll
>> accept now!
>>
>> Well there's one good thing, it looks like they're nice enough to give
>> us a month's warning. guess what I think I'll be doing for most of
>> february? you guessed it.. selling off just about everything i've got
>> that i think i would want to sell on ebay!
 >> Stay informed about: New ebay policies: WTF?! 

Wow, they are all proud that they are reducing the fee's to list a $25
item by a nickel, but the final value fee of the same item when up by
50 cents! Gee, that's a 10 to 1 rate increase.

Scam a lam a ding dong.

Everyone is always saying there are too many scammers on ebay, but the
truth is ebay is the scammer.

Sure glad I don't sell stuff.

Brent
 >> Stay informed about: New ebay policies: WTF?!