You can read "Is eBay Still the World's Best Business Incubator?" here. Reply to this message to discuss it.

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"We've yet to meet anyone who willingly headed back to that rat race. That sure sounds like a business incubator to us!"

I just graduated from college last weekend and have been selling on eBay as my only source of income for nearly 3 years. With the economy and such as it is right now, it isn't easy to find a job you actually want right now. So, my current plan is to work on expanding my eBay business and perhaps someday getting a physical storefront....either a card shop (my primary niche) or some form of an eBay drop shop. I hate working for other people and the "rat race."

HI everyone.I thought I would reply to the article as it is a little bit misleading in some aspects.I have been on Ebay now for 5 years.I have built up my store and my product range and was doing very nicely part time,In excess of £1000 per month. Then Ebay decided to start changing things around and our sales have dropped off to under £250 per month.Ebay has been very heavy handed over several things i.e the digital download rules. Now I agrea with this rule 101%.What I dont agrea with Ebay about is the fact that my statement saying THIS IS NOT A DOWNLOAD PRODUCT got 7 of my listings kicked off just because it contains the word download. I contacted Ebay via email and telephone but not 1 of Ebays customer care staff would tell me why they had been kicked off. I ended up writing to the C.E.O of Ebay.Suprise Suprise I got a phone call telling me why they had done this. (i wonder why). But even the CEO of Ebay Meg Wichman could be bothered to even reply to me by email. This goes to prove what Ebay thinks about it's customers. I have started Multi site listing on 4 other Auction sites and unless Ebay starts to treat there CUSTOMERS with a little respect then we will be taking our business off the site. I have spoken to numerous other Ebay business sellers and they all say the same.
So it's nice that someone writes these type of articles BUT HEY WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY. The TRUTH about what it's realy like to be a business seller on Ebay.

I know a lot of sellers who have been forced back into the workaday world and have left eBay for good. The fee increases are bad enough, but are an expected part of business. But the new policies of No Negs for Buyers, DSRs, Best Match, and many others are blatant avenues to drive those "flea market" sellers out of business. They have no choice but to leave eBay.

eBay has a clear agenda. They do have the right to conduct business in whatever manner they choose. But your article (just like so many others I've read) are CLEARLY based on nothing but the news spin eBay has been spewing since January. Clearly NOT well researched. There are boycotters - ones who are permanent - around the world. Look on the boards in the US, UK, Australia, Germany ... People are fed up. Many never bothered to "boycott" - they simply packed up and left. And what eBay (and the media) do not seem to understand is that those sellers are taking a vast majority of their buyers with them. AND those same sellers are also buyers. Or at least they were.

Please dig into the subject a little better when you report on eBay's recent problems. Yes, they will continue, I have no doubt. But they will never again be what they once were, which was a fun, eclectic place to shop. They are now nothing more than a strip mall. All the same wares for sale, just as boring as my local strip malls, and no bargains to be had.

Debbie
Former eBay seller/buyer "Justacrazymom"
Fair Shake Buyers & Sellers Network for Online Marketing

This article made me sick! Regurgitation of ebay propaganda by people who don't have a clue! Try being an ebay seller in Australia, before trying to shove this tripe down our throats.

Ebay does not care about its real customers - who are the sellers - they only care about profit at the expense of their customers. Wake up and smell the coffee - ebay does not want you!

Gee how much did ebay pay ypu for that article. They must surely be getting desperate to try and create some postives for themselves. Clearly a company poorly manged with no care for the community which originally built it for what it was. It is amazing how quick they can destroy something that was once great. I guess who can blame you for taking some bucks from them as they fall.

I quite enjoy seeing articles like this. It is obviously eBay-sponsored spin, and is excellent evidence that eBay is scrambling to counter a great deal of negativity about their business policies.

Of course, they deserve every bit of the public scorn, and more. I am going to be delighted when the press and stockholders finally catch on to the reality and eBay finally spirals down the toilet, a victim of some truly insane management practices.

I am so disappointed that you give ebay such raves. I have been a buyer and seller (Power Seller) for almost ten years. I am phaseing out all my auctions. eBay no longer cares about the small person. This has been a marvelous place to me to sell my lamp inventory and to buy things at a great price. However, with the new policies for feedback and the way they rate how your items show on search are totallt unfair. I give those of you that think it is still the 'great old ebay' just a couple of months and then tell me what you think. I am so disappointed that Auctive and not seeing the the whole picture and preparing to support another site. This will hurt Auctive as well as ebay. I have enjoyed the Auctive service, but can no longer tollerate ebay. BarbsLamps, now with eBid.com

My isn't this article a goldmine of information, thoughtfully constructed comparing in detail various sites on which one can develop your business.

A summary of their pro's and con's and ending with a balanced and informative critique . . .

Sorry must have been imagining something worthing reading, what a biased piece of eBay sponsored advertising bumf this was when I read it, unworthy of Auctiva.

Nevermind, at least there is no point in you wasting time and money starting up your own e-commerce arrangement with articles like that sitting on this site.

I have to agree with majority of the people's response on this forum. This article does not speak the full truth, and how much did Ebay pay you to write this article???

I've been selling on ebay for over 5 years and have been a powerseller for 2 years. Ebay use to be fun before all the changes with the rules and fees. Last time I remembered inflation is only 3% but their raise in fees more than doubled that. The most ridiculous change is sellers can't give buyer negative feedbacks??? How about the deadbeat sellers that never pay for what they bid on? If you give them a negative it does all the sellers a favor, telling them not sell to that individual. Without that information now you can not block deadbeat none paying sellers that just bid for fun.

Note to Ebay, if they really care to listen, which is unlikely. How about let small sellers develop their business freely so they can turn in to big sellers, instead of squeezing every dollar out of them right now and kill their business, just so Ebay can make wall street earnings for the next quarter. WOW, isn't that an idea...!!!

With the way fees are going Ebay is just going to turn in to an online mall where you can hardly find bargains. Just like what JustaCrazyMom says.

Might as well just use Google to search for websites that sell the item you are looking for, probably cheaper than Ebay too. I already found many deals through Google that link to websites that have products I am looking for, for much cheaper than the ones on Ebay.

The only thing going for Ebay is their well known name which brings them the customers. It is only time before another competition pops up and start stumping on Ebay's business, I sure hope that happens soon. In Asia Ebay is losing money in almost all of their operations, people their use Yahoo and other auctions which are more user friendly. The fees on those auction sites are not business destroyers like ebay's ridiculously high fees and paypal fees.

Well, that's my view toward all of this Ebay fiasco.

If anybody knows other sites where I can sell my items please let me know. I really like to get off Ebay, thanks. I am one of the boycotters.

J-

On May 21st, 2008 eBay initiated a new feedback policy that eliminated equal feedback options for both Buyers and Sellers. Buyers can now leave negative feedback for Sellers, but Sellers can now only leave positive feedback for Buyers. This letter is in response:


Open Letter to eBay and to All It May Concern,

For over decade, I have found eBay to be a happy, enjoyable, and reasonably safe place to do business; first through a friend, then as a Buyer myself and, eventually, as a Seller.

As you will see from my feedback record, I have bought and sold on eBay with equal care and consideration—often encouraging my friends and colleagues to take the plunge themselves and experience firsthand the premiere shopping frontier of the internet.

Actually, I did not become an eBay Seller right away. It took several years of becoming a model Buyer and building an impeccable record of positive purchasing before I finally leapt over to the other side of the eBay fence.

After hundreds of happy purchases and encountering only a few unsatisfactory Sellers in all that time, I decided to sell a few items from my family’s estate. I was surprised at how easy selling on eBay was and regretted that I had waited so long.

As much as I had learned as a Buyer, my real education began as an online Seller. I quickly realized how important it was to provide accurate, detailed descriptions and photographs for every item I offered to the public. As I would later admonish lazy or careless Sellers: “You are the eyes and conscience of each and every bidder who cannot see and hold the item themselves. You must have the integrity to point out the flaws as well as the features. Also, always remember the Buyer holds the disadvantage until they receive the item, so handle any dissatisfaction accordingly. EBay Selling is not supposed to be “Trick or Treat,” it is supposed to be “Happy Birthday.”

Wise words, perhaps, but the truth is; buying or selling any item sight unseen is often a “crap shoot.” As a Buyer, I have purchased more than a few items that didn’t make the translation from digital image to reality as well as I had expected. But then, other items greatly exceeded my expectation and were a bargain beyond belief. Just like any retail store, not every item is going to work out.

Ultimately, however, I learned the quality of any transaction does not rest with the item being bought or sold; it rests with both the Buyer and the Seller. No transaction is a good one if either party feels betrayed or exploited—period. To that end, I have never had a unhappy Buyer myself although I have had to give a refund or two to ensure it.

As my Selling experience progressed and positive Buyer comments were added to my feedback record, I began to reach out to other Sellers, offering advice and tips to help them better sell their own items. I would gently advise this person that a hat size is determined by the inside circumference not width and length or respectfully inform that person that the coat they were selling was vintage 40’s not 50’s. I once notified an art dealer that the lithograph they were offering was not of Laurel & Hardy but of Burgess Meredith & Zero Mostel.

Each time the other Seller would reply in surprise and appreciation that I had taken the time to point out their error, and gratefully acknowledge my kindness and consideration. I would merely remind them that, for me, eBay was a kind of family; one of the last few places where people could act in good faith, where Buyers and Sellers could be held accountable for each and every transaction, and where Buyers and Sellers could easily examine the other’s feedback record and decide to do business accordingly.

Most importantly, eBay was a wonderful magic carpet ride to finding or offering rare and remarkable treasures from all over the world. Items that had been sitting in a dark corner of an attic in Savanna, Georgia or recently plucked from a flea market in Europe. Unique and precious items that could never have been discovered by most of us accept through the wondrous and exciting porthole of eBay.

Certainly eBay has its flaws; every enterprise does. For all of the honest and forthright Buyers and Sellers online, there are indeed a few dishonest or unscrupulous participants. That’s to be expected—and those who violated eBay’s terms of service would soon be conspicuous by their negative feedback record or worse, banished. And should a Buyer or Seller be unfairly extorted with a negative comment, you could read between the lines of the respective feedback comments and easily determine who was at fault. It did not take a rocket scientist to figure out the intrinsic advantages to the eBay feedback system.

That all changed on May 21, when you altered this paramount dynamic for your own purposes; when you silenced the Seller in every future transaction and absolved Buyers of any accountability except paying, when you betrayed the loyal and dedicated trust of the very instruments who were responsible for your initial success; your small Sellers.

After posting my “Feedback = Seller Silence,” statement last week, I received numerous comments from other Sellers who also felt deeply betrayed by eBay. In her email to me, Judy Zewin, who suffered back and neck injuries and relies solely on her eBay sales, said poignantly, “I have never felt so helpless, I use to love selling on Ebay. It is my only income to raise my son. I have emailed eBay over and over and have also called them, but they just don’t care, and it’s so sad…”

My reply to Judy, who is proudly featured on eBay’s Seller Central, echoes the sentiment of millions of Sellers like her and myself; “I want you to know you are not alone in your feelings. I also feel betrayed. I loved buying and selling special treasures on eBay. That joy has abruptly been taken away from me along with my belief that eBay cared about the little people who sold...”

For the record, I have taken the time to read the numerous bulletins written by various eBay executives substantiating your new feedback policy. As a former media specialist, I must respectfully say I have rarely read such nonsensical, convoluted, corporate tripe. Quite honestly, I wonder if any of you have ever personally sold a single item on eBay.

You may disguise your new feedback system as a “huge investment in transforming the way Feedback works” and insist that it will “restore trust and transparency and improve the buying experience,” but nothing could be further from the truth. It does quite the opposite and any experienced eBayer knows this. Please stop insulting our intelligence with this propaganda—it’s truly offensive.

Your new feedback system is a symptom of a vicious and debilitating disease that plagues our great country today: corporate greed. Your new feedback policy is not remotely intended to protect the eBay Seller or enhance the selling experience. Any seasoned eBayer can clearly see that it is intended to increase eBay transactions by eliminating negative feedback to unscrupulous Buyers and to prevent Sellers from being able to identify these same risky and potentially harmful purchasing predators.

Perhaps some of you eBay executives, in your infinite prosperity, have not noticed how America’s economic crisis has affected many citizens who do not have your advantages. While corporate executives recalculate their profit margins, millions of people all over the country are losing their jobs, being forced from their homes, unable to provide for their families properly or even to obtain basic health care.

It should not surprise you to know that some of these unfortunate people are Sellers on eBay. They are not “Power Sellers,” mind you; they are merely small, noncommercial, unprofessional people who are trying to augment their already meager incomes. Those like the distressed lady who wrote me, simply trying to make ends meet.

And so, during what is likely the darkest hour for millions of Americans economically, eBay has cheerfully added insult to injury—and called it a “bold change.” Actually, many of us find this change quite cowardly; your having never openly consulted the eBay membership who would be most adversely affected but, rather, a singular group of PowerSellers who probably could care less.

A mentor of mine, who was both businessman and entrepreneur and employed hundreds of people during his lifetime, once told me: “Capitalism without a conscience is merely despotism for profit.” All of you eBay executives should gravely consider this as you proceed to reap the financial benefits of enlarging your “Power Seller” base on eBay and gradually eliminating the small, private Seller who was once your primary revenue-provider.

Additionally, every Buyer on eBay must consider whether they will be an instrument of this injustice. With each purchase, they will have to consider whether they themselves would want to be a “silent seller,” unable to share equitably in the eBay prerogatives.

Meg Whitman, one of eBay’s original visionaries maintained that, “EBay is a company that's in the business of connecting people, not selling them things.” Apparently, you all have forgotten that—or perhaps decided it was no longer a tenet of your greater purpose for eBay. Because, with a simple swipe of your policy pen, you have disconnected millions of Buyers and Sellers from each other; replacing a once primarily caring and trusting trade atmosphere with one of future angst, indifference, extortion, and distrust.

I am told the very first item ever sold on eBay was not a commercial product. It was not even a rare collectable. It was simply a broken laser pointer. It sold for $14.83—and the buyer knew that it was broken when he bid on it.

I don’t believe that was a random accident. I believe it was intended to remind eBay of its humble roots and that one person’s junk is another’s treasure. Think of it; eBay’s first sold item was a tool that was intended for but now unable to point the way. How ironic.

Of course, the direction doesn’t need pointing for Sellers who cannot prevail against your new feedback system. They will not be able to endure a double standard that deprives them of their rightful voice and accurate standing in any eBay transaction, a system that makes them second class citizens on eBay and renders them defenseless against dishonest or unscrupulous Buyers.

These people will now have to seek another internet selling venue; a place where every transaction is an equal opportunity between Buyer and Seller.

A place that was once eBay.

Yours most earnestly,

PropandWardrobe (760)

The article mentioned loyalty, loyal sellers several times, but its ebay that needs to show a little loyalty for once, instead of being loyal to their sellers big AND SMALL, they've been very loyal to their own greed, often times rubbing the noses of their loyal sellers in it, almost smirking at how they will only raise their prices so much this year and the like. I'm a pretty loyal person but ebay has burnt out my loyalty for them!

where to start 1st the article is enough to raise your blood pressure !!!! such bias towards ebay the writers must have been paid to create such doody (the nicest word i can think of believe me i can think of others). this article will make me avoid any other written by the same authors !!! as far as the new ebay policies go . they seem to want to make things better on the site ,reminds me of the time coca cola co. decided to change what had worked for longer than the average life span and introduced the NEW "coke" . fact is they spent millions of dollars to reformulate, advertise, research just to loose out the wazoo. i am a niche seller on ebay having only sold a small handful of things outside this niche market . over the 5 years i've been on ebay i've seen listings in this niche drop by 20 to 30 % where i've seen listing totals in excess of 150,000 now the totals often drop below 100,000 .about the time listings drop ebay will offer some listing incentive and it boosts listings but never to the levels seen in the past !!! looking at my feedback i see many many sellers listed as "no longer registered users ". my list of favorite sellers that haven't listed in forever seems to get larger and larger . favorite sellers new items email is getting very short and rarely more than 4 or 5 out of a max list of sellers .
i want to know how many sellers actually like the changes at ebay . i think to settle it all a survey could be sent out to all Auctiva users , and the survey says !!!

By publishing such a bogus story you have drawn Auctiva down towards ebay's level. I had thought better of Auctiva before. ebay is on a downward slide while other online selling venues are growing. I was rather hoping to see Auctiva get on board with offering their services to the other sites. Very obviously Auctiva has sold out to ebay payoff like google did a couple years ago.