Turmoil at eBay

As sellers leave eBay, we'll have room for them at OnlineAuction.com where our name means we'll always have an auction format and where feedback remains a two-way street.

I have been a Seller and Buyer on Ebay for years. Not only are the changes in Feedback wrong, but we are being told that Paypal can hold our money for 21 days. So basically we are being told to ship the item but not get paid for 21 days. If we don't ship right away buyers will leave us a negative. I can't pay to ship an item and not get paid for 21 days. Is this even legal for Paypal to hold someone's money? We aren't getting interest on that money being held. Paypal is owned by Ebay so I guess they can do whatever they want. I am also a single Mom who needed the income from my small Ebay store. Or as Mr Donahue called us "flea market" sellers. How insulting! We made Ebay what it is today. As a Seller I am also a Buyer. Most sellers are also buyers. Mr Donahue should be fired. He is way out of line with his insults. I for one am closing down my small store with Ebay before May 1st. and moving to other sites. Ebay is implementing to many wrong changes. The arrogance of corporate Ebay has destroyed the place that used to be a great place to buy and sell at. No More. I am done.

As Stated Above
Boycott Victoriously …..while making noise!

If you have favorite sellers who have left eBay, many will keep their 'names' as they go elsewhere - try searching for their names. Some will sell a few items on eBay as advertising - be open to what they say if you Ask a Question with email shared.

A few resources:
www.powersellersunite.com
www.pheebay.com
www.auctionbytes.com
www.e-commerceguide.com
www.kenzy.com
www.boycottvictoriously.com
www.thepoint.com/campaigns/subat
www.myspace.com/boycottebay
forums.delphiforums.com/boycottebay/start
http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=000091095675867607379%3Aqqi_7hgshck

eBay's real problems IMO:
They DO NOT enforce the standards they claim to uphold.
Their dispute processes are full of wrong thinking.
They train their users into an adversarial mentality.
They attempt customer service by robotic email response.
They are attending to everyone else's business while neglecting their own.

They have forgotten that eBay grew to be what it is BECAUSE it is the central location for all the unique items in the world to find their way from possessor to desirer. THAT is their power-market that no-one else yet fills as well. If I want Wal-Mart, I go to Wal-Mart (or Target or Sears or...); if I want Amazon, I go to Amazon (or used.Addall.com or base.google.com or...); but if I want something nobody has, where do I go? ummmm - it used to be eBay but now its anywhere else I can find (there are a LOT) - hopefully soon it will be a multiple site auction search a group of us is trying to build. Come by, learn more, chime in, help out!

eBay has absolutely served its community poorly. BUT, as righteous as the boycott may have started out (and it did), these same members while angrily gathering numbers and information on eBay's own forums, and loudly proclaiming to anyone who would listen about eBay padding their listing numbers during the February boycott in order to mitigate any losses that might have occured, are now employing these same deceptive practices themselves. They have begun a listing auction blitze because it suits their agenda. This past weekend, sellers were listing auctions that took pointed jabs at eBay and their management while allowing those on their forum who needed feedback for better DSR ratings, or higher feedback numbers to manipulate the system to their own benefit. And to what purpose? If they are leaving eBay and are asking members not to list any auctions, why do they care about their "stars" or their feedback numbers and why are they listing? Is it because they know in the end, they, too, will return? If I were eBay, that is how I would see it. They have overplayed their hand and now are no better than the eBay management they wish to boycott. These are the same members who are so angry about the upcoming one way feedback system but who themselves have corrupted this same system and insulted every seller and buyer on eBay who honestly earned their feedback numbers through the years. Feedback was given by both parties immediately. They may get a warm and fuzzy feeling by thinking they have helped their fellow boycotters, but I am sure that is how eBay feels about the changes they are implementing. Both parties have muddied the water so badly, that it is hard to see how any party will benefit from their actions. I think the boycott was, and is, the right thing to do -- but somehow it too, is not what it appears to be. With too much time on their hands until May 1st, it appears the boycotters don't know what to do with themselves other than feed eBay their listing fees and reap the benefit of a feedback system from a company they have demonized.

I WAS a power seller for years on ebay, I always took the good with the bad. But the fee increases and new feedback policy was the last straw for me.

then I get a retalitory feedback from someone that was a non paying bidder. I went through all the steps on ebay befor leaving neg feedback and I also blocked that buyer! Dont ask me how, but that blocked bidder came into my store, purchased a item, left instant neg feedback for me, Yes its retaliatory, but not according to ebay!

I left ebay aprox 3 weeks ago, Joined onlineauction.com.
I love that when i make a sale the money goes in my pocket, not ebays! OLA charged $8.00 a month with NO FVF'S

Jump ebays ship and join alot of us at online auction, YOU will be happy!!

I have been on ebay buyer/seller over 4 yrs, Single mom Disabled and Loved working from home, I am a trading assistant, Which means I sell for others for a commission, I dont know how my customers would feel when I say they may not get paid with-in 10 days, but more like 25 days! We Are a HUGE community on ebay...so you will get different takes of what they find wrong with the changes, I do alot of Forums, and what I see are:
1. The buyers will be effected like this: They will not be able to See Fair feedback, Or Retaliatory feedback, which will undermine the buyer's choice to bid. As Sellers will only be able to leave positives.
2. The buyers will not be able to easily find what they are looking for as Best Match is now the default search, which is a way of eBay showing you what THEY want you to see first, maybe great drs, or high feedback. (If you jump through some hoops you can change that.
3. I was told by a BUYER only, that she felt awful about the Dsrs as a balloon pops up and says "you can be honest" your seller cannot see your ratings" please be honest, "she told me she wants to leave honest feedback, and she wanted me to see it! Why are they making seem like I cant trust you?.
These are very important to buyers, simplicity, and trust.
*ebay lies when they say they are fearful,the buyers' 2% were, thats a small portion to punish 98% of the population of ebay.
4.Buyers will no longer know if they are being scammed by shill bidders as All Items in Auction format that have bids are now HIDING the ebay ID's.

The sellers are affected in major ways...feedback drs don't work for buyers or sellers, and should have been taken away after seeing that wasn't the answer, wonder if they ever questioned the buyers or sellers, as I know I never received one questionnaire about did I find the Dsr's useful? 98% would have said no, yet they have their analysts, wonder what it was based on? its at the very least, secretive which underscores a trusting community.
2. All Sellers have to pay more in fees, a huge 3.50% HIKE.
3. No Seller can leave neutral or negative feedback for any reason.
4. Paypal amended its policy on march 15th to all Sellers, that it now has the right to Hold ebay Funds for 21 days upon ITS SOLE DISCRETION. ebay says some causes but read the paypal policy update.
Buyers and sellers don't have the right to use Google checkout, Google has been trying to get into ebay as we wanted them, but ebay stopped it, and said it hasn't been proved to be a safe payment method, what they meant was, you have paypal we own it, and we want all the money, you have no choices, so just eat it.
eBay states on their about us page.. "From day one, Omidyar built eBay around what remain the company's core values; a belief that:
* People are basically good
* Everyone has something to contribute
* An open environment brings out the best in people"
And now all the implementing they have done to the ebay utility, it should be clear, it has turned against its members as well as turned some against each other for no good reason, it is bringing out the doubtful side, the distrusting side of humanity, and remember..We were special in eBay cause at one time, eBay facilitated trust, Peace...sorry know it was long but hey this is whats going on! hats off to the editors, nice story:)

Who needs John Donahoe, when before he even becomes CEO & President of EBay, he gets boycotted?
Ok, let's be fair. Ebay is probably the single most boycotted company of all time, despite its young age. But, if we are going to be fair, don't we need to be honest as well? I think so, therefore, I think it is only fair and honest to also mention Donahoe is the only CEO of ebay (well, heck, any company) to get boycotted twice in one year!

Ebay investors; I am speaking largely to you here.
Are you considering investing in ebay? Well here are a few things to consider:
1. As stated, your money will be entrusted to a man who has been the cause of two boycotts; and he has yet to even take office! He's already off to a rocky start.
He can't handle people who bring your money in. How will he handle the money you are entrusting to him?
2. He refuses to listen to the people with whom ebay receives money. Do you really thinks he's going to listen to anyone?
3. Too many questions arise from recent stock dumpings. Was this all a ploy to manipulate stocks?
4. What type of leader comes in, makes radical changes, without considering the consequences?
5. Ebay has lied to the press throughout the boycott. They have been proven to have padded listings during the strike. First they claimed it was "normal test auctions", then, when proof was offered, they admitted it was a "glitch". If this were true, why havent they shown up in the past? Why don't Craig's List items show up? Why don't Half.com items show up? Answer: They lied. And, if they're willing to lie about the numbers of listings; what else are they willing to lie about? Maybe how much they are really worth? Enron, anyone?

I'm only asking questions. But, the way I see it, ebay has a lot of explaining to do. Don't you think?

Tim
http://forums.delphiforums.com/boycottebay/start
www.myspace.com/boycottebay

One negative in 30 days from a newbie can cause a 21-day PayPal hold on my funds. That is my main concern with the feedback change.

Even though I have sold on eBay for 3-1/2 years, have 144 positive feedbacks, with only one negative that was resolved satisfactorily and withdrawn, and I have left no negatives.

How the new feedback system works, is, if a seller has a 5% buyer dissatisfaction rating within a 30-day period, PayPal can withhold my funds for 21 days. If I sell 10 items in a month, one negative from inexperienced newbie would put me at a 10% buyer dissatisfaction status. That can result in my funds being held.

How am I supposed to ship items without the funds? What will happen to all my other 9 customers waiting for their items? There would be 9 additional negatives in short order, I assure you. That would ruin my seller reputation that I have spent 3 1/2 years working hard for. Not only that, but how will we buy food, and how will we pay the heat bill in the meantime?

Additionally, the DSR ratings, where the buyer rates their satisfaction from 1 - 5 stars, can also put me at risk for the dissatisfied buyer status. The way eBay has it set up, they tell the buyer that a rating of 4 is good, and that a 3 is neither good nor bad. But eBay then judges a 4 as poor, and that puts the sellers into the dissatisfied customer status.

A contributing factor is that shipping costs a lot these days, and for an uneducated buyer, shipping/handling costs can be quite a shock. Many times a buyer will blame the seller for the high cost of shipping.

In order to prevent breakage, if a seller buys bubble wrap and packing peanuts, they need to also charge for that in the shipping/handling. There are a lot of sellers who have testified that they ship immediately and charge only the shipping charge--no handling, and their DSR ratings still come out in the 3 or 4 category.

This is because many new buyers are not educated in the true cost of shipping and the shipping times--and also because eBay tells the buyer that a 4 is good, and a 3 is neither good nor bad.

If an uneducated buyer doesn't like how much shipping cost, and that it took a week to 10 days to get--even if the buyer chose the slower shipping in order to save money, that buyer will often leave 3 or 4 stars.

Frequently, the buyer is only stating that they don't like the cost or the time it took. Both of these factors are frequently out of the seller's control, leaving an uneducated buyer's opinion, even whim, dictating the success or failure of a hard-working seller's business. The dissatisfaction rating only reflecting a 30-day time period is unreasonable.

As far as the fee changes, with the listing/gallery fee costing less, I anticipate many new sellers listing the same item I have for sale, but for less. This increases the competition, and I will also have to list for less. With more of the same items listed for sale, competition will cause fewer sales, so I would be relisting more often. This will cost me double or triple the listing fee.

Then, when the item does sell, the Final Value Fee will be so high, I won't make a profit. This method attracts buyers, but to the cheapest, newest, least reliable seller. It forces the regular sellers to keep their prices so low, they can't make a profit.

eBay doesn't get that they are seeking the lowest common denominator by doing this, not the best, most stable, long-time, reliable, realistic seller.

Thanks for listening.

See ya' ebay!

After 9 yrs. with ebay (as a buyer and a seller) I'm going to place all of my online auctions with

http://www.ewaey.com

The atmosphere's friendly, there are no members' fees, no listing fees, no final value fees AND NO monthly fees! The only cost is $1 to get verified for a lifetime membership for the first 5,000 members!

It can't get any better then that!!!

Plus a lot of other ebayers have joined up, too!

I have used and sold on eBay since 1996, those were the good days.

Now I have found new life in a great eBay alternative at http://www.plunderhere.com
has real customer service and a great forum where I get answers to anything within hours of posting - -you will regret not being part of this fast growing site.

Free stores and listings you cannot go wrong like we all did with Fleabay!!

eBay don't seem to recognise now that it's the sellers who made them into the number 1 auction site. Not just the powersellers, but also the smaller sellers who've been there since long before the world at large knew about eBay. And they seem also to have forgotten that sellers also tend to be big buyers too. So if eBay really want to self-destruct, I think they're doing everything just right!

Incidentally, I expect that a huge chunk of people now leaving eBay for pastures new are the mavens who will draw people by word of mouth to competitors. eBay have ticked off the wrong people this time.

I am a powerseller. I took part in the Feb. boycott and am in the process of moving everything to Online Auctions.
What I have found fascinating is that while I am moving, I am still selling on eBay, well, at least I have tried to sale. My sales are way down. I will not meet my powerseller quota this month, nor did I last month. I thought last month was because of the boycott, still do think so. That doesn't explain the dismal sales this month. When eBay drove off the sellers, they also drove off the buyers. I don't think eBay counted on that.
I have asked live help what is going on and they say it is the economy, not the new policies. Hmmmm, sounds like denial to me.
I just have to accelerate my move to OLA. I am seeing the new fees attached to my sales and they are tremendously high. Buyers are not there, and the ones who are still want bargain basement prices. Only the sellers of expensive items can afford this new fee structure. On top of these fees, the post office is increasing its rates in May. The May boycott couldn't come at a better time.

I wonder sometimes why E-bay is doing what their doing. It is of course all about the money. the people who run e-bay are just very well paid landlords. Maybe on the verge of slumlords. High rent, poor living conditions, almost impossible hoops to jump through, and rules, forever changing. I realize that these people have to make more and more every year, to pay for their golf courses, and homes and cars.
It is all about the have's and have not's. This company just glided for years on easy street, while the sellers and buyers got together and had fun! But alas, meg is leaving, and the new guy has to justify all the money they make. All the money they are sitting on, able to buy skype, paypal, and so on and so on.., so what else can they do? I personally am not a stockholder, but isn't that what it's all about? Isn't that why e-bay is acting so scandelous that any normal person couldn't believe that a company would stoop so low! Hello enron! Why do We the people have to continue to give our hard earned money to a monopoly that can basically change the rules at halftime during the superbowl???
Who protects us from these cooporations? How can they upset the lives of so many, in the blink of an eye.
I am the seller/buyer who would never say anything, the one who just leaves, the worst kind. I usually would'nt give the company a chance to make up with me. But so many think only the voices heard count, I can tell you, multiply the 100 messages or so, by a couple hundred thousand, and that might be a more accurate number of miffed off buyers and sellers. the only thing we can do, is what we doing, just don't give in, don't stoop to there level, continue with the lawsuits, more to come btw- the evacuation, and the fight to let it be known that this company has lost. I don't think anything they say or do, will outshaddow all the neg's that this organization is capable of.
Do not kid yourself,. padded listings, foolish P.R. stock manipulation, it's all real!
PEACE=LOVE

Sneaky business. No thanks. I've bought with integrity and sold with integrity. Ebay has no integrity and now I am gone, too.

I also am a powerseller on Ebay, with 100% positive feedback, that has left Ebay over a month ago. I have not had an auction listing in over a month and although I didn't close my store until 2 weeks ago, it was on vacation mode all that time, yet items were still selling out if it. Go figure since those items wasn't supposed to be visisble, so I say that it wasn't me who was doing sleazy antics. What say you Ebay? Why was my vacation store items showing up in the first few pages of store listings, to boost your sale figures maybe? Oh, did I forget to mention that the last 2 sales I had, have been non paying buyers too? That's okay though, I'm totally out of there now and Ebay can just keep their fees made on the last few sales. That will be the last of the fees that they will ever see out of me. I set up shop at etsy and have done amazingly well there. In just a little over a month, I have had 25 sales. Sure it's hard starting all over but it can be done if every body would just take a few extra steps to insure their success elsewhere. First, I added a signature line to my emails so everybody would know I was moving, where to and why, then I downloaded my paypal history and am currently in the process of sending a post card to all of my past customers that doesn't know where I've moved too...offering them a discount on their first purchase. I figure that they are my customers, not Ebays and hopefully I will get alot of them to leave too. I work to hard and put in to many hours to put up with Ebay and their antics any longer and with me goes my money both as a seller and a buyer. As somebody stated earlier, "Ebay will Reap what it Sows" I just prefer to do my own "Sowing" and I will succeed because I did on Ebay and now there are so many other possibilites out there. I refuse to go down with a sinking ship especially when there is no loyalty on Ebay's part to the people who made them what they were. Notice I didn't say, what they are? They are what they are due to their own management!

We used to own eBay stock -- it kept going down so we sold it. We bought and sold on eBay for a number of years -- costs kept going up and service went into the tank. eBay and its subsidiary PayPal are in business for themselves and have never heard of customer service. When the first boycott came along, I was so sick of eBay that I closed our eBay store and moved to onlineauction.com, becoming a founding member. I see no reason to ever go back to a company that only exists to further its own greedy motives without regard for who or what gets trampled in the process. Take your business to onlineauction.com!!!

The only reason eBay is changing the feedback policy is to force more sellers to accept Paypal. That's right, it's all about their shady payment service. If you read the fine print in their annoucements, you'll will see what they are pulling here. If a seller gets too many negs or even low DSR's, eBay will force that seller to accept Paypal. That's their underhanded way to snare the veteran sellers who know Paypal is not a safe payment method. First eBay forced new sellers to accept Paypal, now you have to accept it if you have less than 100 feedbacks and soon you'll have to accept it if eBay claims you're a "problem" seller. They are tying Paypal in with eBay, which is a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. They are being sued right now over this tying arrangement. Let's hope the judge hearing the case will stop this forcing of Paypal and blocking of all of Paypal's competitors, such as Google checkout. How on earth can eBay get away with not allowing a perfectly safe and secure payment method such as Google checkout? Not right, ethical or legal, IMO.

The reason sales are down at Ebay is because Ebay forgot that most Buyers are also Sellers. Ebay get a clue! Mr Donahue left Walmart for a reason, he wasn't very well liked there by Walmart employees either. He has always had the attitude that he is far superior to the lower class workers and he feels the same way about small sellers on Ebay. He stated this outright by calling small sellers "flea markets" The man is about putting more money is he pocket, he doesn't care about Ebay, it's about the bottom line-HIS! Look he has already brought in another ex-Walmart guy. When these annoucements came it it said -You spoke we listened- My question is: who spoke? as a seller and a buyer I was never asked, I was never sent a questionaire. Was anyone else out there? The lies just keep coming from Donahue and his bunch. Feedback, padding listings, selling off stock, then rebuying stock. When is this company going to be investigated?? WorldCOM,ENRON, where is it going to stop?

What Ended This Long Union?

You think you all are shocked, bewildered and confused! I am an ebay affiliate with more than a fair amount of success. This Monday I got an email that ebay is no longer part of commisiion junction and my 9,000 + links to their auctions will not be recognized as of May 1 ! What they mean is, the links will work but I will not get paid!

Now get this. They send this bomb shell out 3/17/2008. There will be no information on how to migrate to the in-house ebay affiliate program until 4/1/2008 ! No one knows what has to be done to migrate their links. Then on top of everything else, once the information is released, I will have 30 days to comply! Give me a break. I'm screwed. I have been trying to contact my software people for three days. Their servers crashed under the volume of concerned clients and has yet to return, if they ever will.

I can not imagine the arrogance and stupidity behind this move. Ebay and cj go back to 2001. Now I have 30 days to save my business. I don't know if its worth it because the new ground rules are not available til April. What a way to treat 100,000+ affiliates. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

After reading this thread, I am more in shock than I was on Monday. ebay may be the number 1 ecommerce site right now but I bet it will not be by summer. I feel like a Russian in 1917. The whole of my world is about to change.

I'm sorry Dave. I can't imagine how you feel. eBay is not really known for smooth implementation of new projects.:(

Scott Wingo, eBay sockpuppet that he is, had a small item about this the other day.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/69003-valueclick-faces-new-future-without-ebay

I don't think I could summarize any better what the two previous pages of comments have said. I was a powerseller on ebay since 1998 and have nearly 9000 postive feedbacks. I am both saddened and maddened at the changes happening at ebay, and as of a month ago, I packed my bags (and items!) and moved over to onlineauction.com where the atmosphere is SO much friendlier. Come join us!

eBay is on its way DOWN.
So, with that said, Check out the Fastest Growing Auction Website at OLA.COM Buyers, please note that registration is FREE and best of all, it is EASY. There is alot of wonderful merchandise on OLA right now. Come check it out.

The changes that John Donahue wants to make is like rearranging the deck chairs on the deck of the Titantic!!! The Internet will be changing...Internet II will soon be here and Ebay will be part of the past and I hope the upper Ebay administration will have a lifeboat!!!

The changes that John Donahue wants to make is like rearranging the deck chairs on the deck of the Titantic!!! The Internet will be changing...Internet II will soon be here and Ebay will be part of the past and I hope the upper Ebay administration will have a lifeboat!!!

I hope the upper Ebay administration doesn't have a lifeboat! Let 'em sink!

I have been a member of Ebay for the last 6 years...I started off just buying, but loved finding deals and unique items so much that I started selling items that I found. The last 10 months I have been a "powerseller" on Ebay ~ granted not a big powerseller, but one none-the-less.

My husband is a very hard worker, so that I can be a stay at home mom...the money I made on Ebay helped to pay for little "extras"...like little league baseball, ballet, etc. The new fee structure forced me into closing my store in February, which broke my heart...but to add insult to injury, Ebay is touting a "new" feedback system, that is a nightmare for anyone legitimate...so is using the DSRs to determine a person's visability (all pay the same fees and should get the same chance at exposure)...and the new PayPal policy which will allow PayPal the option of holding a buyer's payment until the buyer leaves positive feedback or 21 days is absolutely over the top...espicially, when Ebay will force anyone with feedback under 100, or people with lower DSR scores who list in "high risk" catagories to accept it.

How hard would it be for Ebay to develop a balanced system?
An Alternative Feedback Suggestion

The new feedback system being proposed is one sided and will not work to protect buyers or sellers the way that Ebay claims that it will. After the “warm & fuzzy” feeling that buyers will have because they cannot receive a negative wears off…they will be no more protected than they are under the current feedback system.

I propose that if Ebay actually wants to retain and entice new buyers and sellers into their marketplace, that they make things safer and balanced for buyers and sellers alike. Ebay needs both buyers and sellers…so why alienate one side?

I strongly believe that it would be very easy for Ebay to set up a BALANCED feedback system using a system similar to the NPB system which sellers currently use to report a buyer who hasn’t paid for their auction. With a little bit of tweaking this system could help buyers and sellers alike.

If a buyer goes into the feedback system and clicks on “leave negative” for the seller of an item they recently received, they would be redirected to a page which would ask them to describe their complaint fully (was the item not the one actually listed? Was the item blue instead of green? Was the item stained or broken? If broken, did they pay for insurance?, Was the buyer over charged for shipping? Was a cheaper shipping method used than what they paid for?, etc.). This complaint would be sent to the seller of the item…the seller would then have 7 days to communicate with the buyer to work out a resolution. During this time, neither party would be able to leave feedback.

IF a solution was able to be reached between both parties, then each would AUTOMATICALLY get a positive feedback with something along the lines of “Buyer & Seller worked together to mutually work out a problem”. (this would rid the system of retaliatory feedback…which Ebay says is its primary goal). This automatic comment would also allow other buyers/sellers to see if the person has continual problems…buyers may not want to allow this person to bid on their item or and buyers may not want to buy from this person. Sellers would be able to block individuals with excessive amounts of complaints…similar to not allowing XX amt of UPI disputes.

IF the buyer and seller are unable to reach a solution for the problem…the complaint would escalate to a claim. At this point an outside arbitrator would look at the listing (description, etc.), any pictures the buyer is able to provide to document the problem (if it’s regarding something that wasn’t addressed in the listing’s description) and all communication over the last 7 days between the buyer and seller. It would be the arbitrator’s job to see if the complaint is justified, or not. If the complaint is found to be justified, then the seller would get an automatic negative (but he/she would have the ability to post a reply if they didn’t agree) and if the buyer is found to be overly complaining or unjustified in their complaint, they would receive a negative which they too could reply to if desired.

A balanced system, which requires communication between the buyer & seller, is the only way to fix what ails Ebay. Both sellers and buyers are equally important (you’re not going to have one without the other). Both parties need to feel like valued customers.

Personally, I've started listing elsewhere...I just hope Ebay decides to rectify things before it's to late.