I could not disagree with this article more. The voices of those who have been hurt by this new system have not calmed down or gone quiet and it is not working well for anyone and buyers are feeling the effects as well. If we want to post ebay support messages in the news letter that is fine but at least say your all for Ebay in it. I am a gold level powerseller on the verge of platinum or was until ebay started this disaster, and yes I mean disaster. This system has caused tremendous problems and placed listings all over the place. It has severly damaged my buisness and that of thousands of others and it is not getting better.
One of ebays recent posts suggested that powersellers were improving their DSR'S and now 67% qualified for discounts. What they didnt tell you is that they are all bronze sellers. Over 70% of the Gold level sellers and above have not recovered from this and it is getting worse. It was designed to get worse. Ebay knew that this would happen to increase revenue and improve stock value. Oh boy has it, but it has also raised prices across the board on Ebay. What was 99 cents is now $1.25 and shipping charges are rising as people switch to flat rate or even free shipping and bury it in the price. By the way Free shipping preference another money scam by Ebay. Cant put a fee on the postal price so encourage buyers by giving preference to listings with free shipping so the shipping is in the item price therefore it can have a fee put on it, brilliant. Now we get the new search board that has no store name and no locations on it. Another underhanded ebay move. Buyers had a preference for local buyers but now they removed that and unless you search it by adjusting the window your screwed. They did this for the big boys like buy,com and the chinese so people dont avoid them and will not know its them until they are in the listing page. Simple marketing says that once they are on the item page the likelyhood of them going to another is small. So Ebay does this to slant the field toward certain players. While the stores that have been here for a long time and helped ebay grow are taking it in the shorts.
A recent customer of mine told me that because of ebay and the rising costs that she is no longer going to shop on ebay and asked me to forward her comments on to ebay, that ebay was losing a 2,000 dollar per month buyer. She stated she liked my service and my prices but the rest of ebay was out of whack and it is. Long time buyers cant find your listings because they move all the time. The DSR Rating system is designed to lower you in search status so the big boy dealers that have special deals with ebay get little to no competition and ebay rakes in fees from people losing there shorts.
In your article you write the family will hold together. NO IT WILL NOT, The family is fighting and getting worse, it has become the Hatfields and McCoys and there is no end in sight.
I as well as several other sellers in my categories are talking daily and we control several distinct categories on ebay in total volume sales, and we are activly taking customers off of ebay to personal sites and others. Ebay has become simply a means to generate customers and do marketing. If the sales help it break even thats great but other than that I do not have a positive opinion of Ebay. Isend email to the CSME@EBAY Daily and will not stop. I will remain a voice for a long time to come. Ebay screwed up this time badly and just because some people want to act like the great flea market still exists, think again. It does not, It is now a corporate mess designed to make the average seller lose. You either go in all the way or drown thats it.
From now on Auctiva put up some articles that are honest. Yes you need Ebay to survive but try and show a little bit of backbone.
Joe