You can read "A Seller's Pain Points" here. Reply to this message to discuss it.
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Grossberg is wrong on almost every point. eBay is not Amazon and never will be for one simple reason - eBay is not the seller. On Amazon they are the primary seller and all other sellers are secondary. Even to the point that a seller must use Amazon's payment system to process payments. I would almost be willing to bet that Grossberg's sales are not anywhere near the volume of his eBay sales and never will be.
The community spirit is what made eBay what it is today and the move away from that model is what is causing all of eBay's problems. Powersellers by the dozens are leaving eBay due to its move to attracting large sellers via false feedback, low or no listing fees, and lowered final value fees. They are protecting the large volume sellers at the expense of the small sellers and it is causing both traditional eBay sellers and buyers to go elsewhere.
The one point I agree with him on is the flawed feedback system. It worked best when both the buyer and seller could leave positive and negative feedback. Even as a small seller my NPB strikes have increased from one a year to several dozen. Fortunately I have not had a negative feedback yet and I believe eBay has made changes to remove negative feedback left by NPB's.
E-mail over load - while I have not looked at his listings I would be willing to bet his ads are inadequate, his policies are poorly defined, and his follow-up emails are either non-existent or poorly written. Even as my volume grows I have had very little email from buyers. Most of it is offers when I use the buy it now or best offer option.
For the sake of eBay's future I hope they do not listen to Grossberg and return to the original eBay model. Until they have their own inventory and are actually the seller they will never be Amazon. I have sold on Amazon and I know their policies are more rigid, the return policy more restrictive and their control over shipping prices can be very difficult to deal with. Not to mention that if you have a unique item, write a product description, have it approved by Amazon then every other seller who comes up with the same product gets to use your description. Branding is very difficult with Amazon.
Bring back the old eBay and do away with the volume sellers or at least level the playing field, and you will see eBay rise from the ashes of their own fire.
The community spirit is what made eBay what it is today and the move away from that model is what is causing all of eBay's problems. Powersellers by the dozens are leaving eBay due to its move to attracting large sellers via false feedback, low or no listing fees, and lowered final value fees. They are protecting the large volume sellers at the expense of the small sellers and it is causing both traditional eBay sellers and buyers to go elsewhere.
The one point I agree with him on is the flawed feedback system. It worked best when both the buyer and seller could leave positive and negative feedback. Even as a small seller my NPB strikes have increased from one a year to several dozen. Fortunately I have not had a negative feedback yet and I believe eBay has made changes to remove negative feedback left by NPB's.
E-mail over load - while I have not looked at his listings I would be willing to bet his ads are inadequate, his policies are poorly defined, and his follow-up emails are either non-existent or poorly written. Even as my volume grows I have had very little email from buyers. Most of it is offers when I use the buy it now or best offer option.
For the sake of eBay's future I hope they do not listen to Grossberg and return to the original eBay model. Until they have their own inventory and are actually the seller they will never be Amazon. I have sold on Amazon and I know their policies are more rigid, the return policy more restrictive and their control over shipping prices can be very difficult to deal with. Not to mention that if you have a unique item, write a product description, have it approved by Amazon then every other seller who comes up with the same product gets to use your description. Branding is very difficult with Amazon.
Bring back the old eBay and do away with the volume sellers or at least level the playing field, and you will see eBay rise from the ashes of their own fire.
I agree with you HenryN. Ebay has been trying to be Amazon for the past couple of years and that is the reason it is failing. Ebay was great as Ebay, so great that there was major love and devotion for the company and it's communities. What eBay did for the entrepreneurial spirit in the US could not be matched and it is very sad to see them stamp it out. But, that is what they are doing by trying to become Amazon. It's a tragedy.
I'm in Australia, and our eBay rules are slightly different to USA but I must say I do not agree with all of the points raised in this article. Community spirit is indeed what made eBay great, as can be seen by the furour over the cancelling of many of the chat forums on ebay aussie this month. If Mr Grossberg wants to run a business, fine, but its the smaller people who make ebay what it is.. leave room for us Please!
If we dont sell, we dont have $$ to buy, and in these tough economic times, online auction is where the little guy (oft unemployed little guy) is going to go to earn a buck to buy his computer games from Mr.Grossberg, isn't he?
The biggest problem eBay has is bending over backwards to not offend ANY bidders/ be they buyers or non paying non buyers. Stop that, and you'd have a happier eBay community.
I've been eBaying on eBay USA and Australia for over 10 years, as a hobby seller. (retired auctioneer who can't stop!!)
I think HenryN is right, level playing field would assist everyone!
If we dont sell, we dont have $$ to buy, and in these tough economic times, online auction is where the little guy (oft unemployed little guy) is going to go to earn a buck to buy his computer games from Mr.Grossberg, isn't he?
The biggest problem eBay has is bending over backwards to not offend ANY bidders/ be they buyers or non paying non buyers. Stop that, and you'd have a happier eBay community.
I've been eBaying on eBay USA and Australia for over 10 years, as a hobby seller. (retired auctioneer who can't stop!!)
I think HenryN is right, level playing field would assist everyone!
Regarding this seller, I have been an ebay seller for 12 years. I was around in the initial phase that was very difficult to deal with. I am not a Power Seller at present but was for 3 years. Community or no community, I find that what is being sold is becoming boring. It is all pretty much new commercial stuff -- not those great one-of-a-kind items. If this is ebay's direction, so be it. But, they will lose me as a Seller and Buyer. I realize I am only one, but lots of "ones" add up. If I want to buy boring commercial store stuff, I go to Amazon.com.
1. We need feedback that is mutual, not one sided blarney. Buyers are quick to leave negative or netural without first communicating what the problem is with the seller.
2. I looked at his auctions and found that the shipping was reasonable and all the same - however, he is selling the same type of product while I sell a multiple of different items and shipping.
3. I disliked selling on Amazon. I do not want to be told I have to take back items - even when they are damaged by the buyer. I do not want to be told how much to ship for, even below what I my normal ship costs are. I do not charge a handling fee - except for a small one on Interntional.
4. I understand ebays need to cure the shipping fees of a lot of sellers - whose shipping price is actually the cost of the item. I say just bounce them out of the community that should take care of these sellers.
5. A level playing field, where the big seller is on the same plain as the small seller. Give the small seller a chance to become bigger.
6. If Ebay is to be netural than stop tying the hands of the sellers and be impartial. after all they would have no buyers if they had no sellers.
7. Selling fee - begining is .35 cents - if someone is selling for a $1.00 they aren't making a $1.00 after pay pal and Ebay fees and cost of merchandise, they are making about .25 cents. Sellers need a better profit than that.
8. Ebay only needs to be Ebay and let the other online auctions catch up to the commnity spirit that ebay use to have.
9. I get about 4 emails a day. I do not find them a big deal. However Grossberg states he gets 300 or 400 - is he ingoring the buyer - so he is repeatedly emailing? I think 81 negatives are a big deal, even though he may have 10,000 postives. We need a feedback system, so people do not get lazy and take the customer for granted. Me included.
10. Ebaying should be fun for both seller and buyer and when it is not..............
2. I looked at his auctions and found that the shipping was reasonable and all the same - however, he is selling the same type of product while I sell a multiple of different items and shipping.
3. I disliked selling on Amazon. I do not want to be told I have to take back items - even when they are damaged by the buyer. I do not want to be told how much to ship for, even below what I my normal ship costs are. I do not charge a handling fee - except for a small one on Interntional.
4. I understand ebays need to cure the shipping fees of a lot of sellers - whose shipping price is actually the cost of the item. I say just bounce them out of the community that should take care of these sellers.
5. A level playing field, where the big seller is on the same plain as the small seller. Give the small seller a chance to become bigger.
6. If Ebay is to be netural than stop tying the hands of the sellers and be impartial. after all they would have no buyers if they had no sellers.
7. Selling fee - begining is .35 cents - if someone is selling for a $1.00 they aren't making a $1.00 after pay pal and Ebay fees and cost of merchandise, they are making about .25 cents. Sellers need a better profit than that.
8. Ebay only needs to be Ebay and let the other online auctions catch up to the commnity spirit that ebay use to have.
9. I get about 4 emails a day. I do not find them a big deal. However Grossberg states he gets 300 or 400 - is he ingoring the buyer - so he is repeatedly emailing? I think 81 negatives are a big deal, even though he may have 10,000 postives. We need a feedback system, so people do not get lazy and take the customer for granted. Me included.
10. Ebaying should be fun for both seller and buyer and when it is not..............
Regarding feedback. It has been my biggest thorn. I have only had 4 negative feedback in 12 years. However, two of them were this last year. Both were because the item was broken in transit and the Buyer didn't purchase insurance. I even offered to replace the item at a lower price, but cannot pay for shipping also. ebay told me to require all to purchase insurance. I think it is fair to leave it up to the Buyer. At one point, I couldn't even sell as the two strikes brought my total percentage down. It was right before Christmas too. I couldn't believe it. All of these years I have been saying how much I love selling on ebay. Not any more. I love what I do, but think of ebay as more of a "Big Brother" with no or little communication.
I am a Powerseller and on Ebay since 1994. I hate the new Feedback system and agree that it needs radical change. However, my biggest disagreement on these comments is on the 3 days no pay strike. A week would be better. I still take checks and money orders from my trusted buyers and they need time for the mail. By carefully phrasing a comment in my listings that indicates that I disagree with Ebay's payment policy, the buyers know I will take these payments. I, of course take PayPal and will process credit cards myself, but anytime I can avoid a bank fee it's better for me. - Melanie Simmons with abq-collectibles
I am a slow payer. I have purchased from Ebay sence July 2008 over $7,000. Those that get uppity with me about 7 days, I pay and then don't buy from them again.
If it were 3 days and a strike. I would be off Ebay and so would a lot of my slow paying customers.
If it were 3 days and a strike. I would be off Ebay and so would a lot of my slow paying customers.