EBAY AND THE BIG LIE
- From: Borked Pseudo Mailed <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 2 Feb 2008 14:11:04 -0700 (MST)
Posted by: Brian - February 1, 8:55pm
http://www.pcretailmag.com/news/29353/eBay-sellers-to-strike
EBAY AND THE BIG LIE
It's been years since Ebay has really been a user friendly company,
especially when it comes to sellers. Their customer service is, by far, the
worst I've ever experienced. This is easy to prove, just try any of the
following: See all the hoops they make you go through to get a refund on an
unpaid item, or try to have a patently unfair feedback removed, or try to
fight an unfair PayPal chargeback, or try to contact an actual, living
customer service representative -- and if you do succeed in contacting one,
see how helpless they are at resolving your problems.
But now, eBay has reached a new low in their disrespect toward their
sellers. They have cloaked their largest fee increase in the company's
history, as a benefit to the entire eBay community. And they have portrayed
their short-sighted changes to the feedback / selling rules, as a positive
change for sellers. This "Big Lie" strategy has used by many in the past --
blaming one group of people for the ills of the world, getting sleazy
politicians elected, leading countries (including our own) into wars.
Now, eBay is using this same tactic in an effort to put a positive slant on
the changes they have outlined for February 20th. This time, I hope, it
won't work.
In their announcements concerning the changes, President Bill Cobb and VP
Jim Ambach made a number of statements, concerning these changes. I'd like
to look at eBay's own statements, and compare them to the facts:
Lie #1 -- Bill Cobb states, "Our goal for these changes is to continue to
improve the overall experience for our customers, both buyers and sellers."
Truth #1 -- While these changes may improve the experience for some buyers,
they drastically worsen the situation for the overwhelming majority of
sellers. And if the changes should cause a mass exodus of small sellers from
eBay, these changes will then hurt even most buyers, as well.
Lie #2 -- Bill Cobb states, "We're making a fundamental change to the
economics of selling on eBay, resulting in three significant price
reductions."
Truth #2 -- The overall fee changes will NOT result in a reduction for
almost anyone, excepting those who's items do not sell (they will save a
nickel). For most everyone else, this is a massive fee increase of more than
40%, in many cases. Most of the trumpeted "fee reductions" are for expensive
add-ons, that are rarely used by the majority of eBay sellers.
Lie #3 -- Bill Cobb states, "First, we're reducing the up-front risk for all
of you by lowering insertion fees for auction and fixed price listings
across the board...and we're balancing that change by adjusting some final
value fees.
Truth #3 -- When one balances something, it is presumed that they give and
take equally. In this case, eBay is giving a token listing fee decrease (a
5-cent reduction on most listings), and 'balancing' it with a whopping 67%
increase of the final value fee. In practice, this will increase the cost of
selling a $25 item from $1.91 to $2.74 -- 43%. This is by far the largest
fee increase in eBay's history. I fail to see the balance.
Lie #4 -- Bill Cobb states, "All of these changes came as a result of
listening to your ideas and concerns ... You told us that you want free
Gallery. You said you'd prefer fees for success, not listing. But more than
anything, you told us that our overall pricing structure is simply not
working for you, and that high insertion fees, in particular, have been a
big deterrent in moving more of your merchandise onto eBay."
Truth #4 -- I wonder how many sellers feel that a nickel off the listing
fees would be a major improvement in their listing structure? And how many
of those same sellers would think that a massive final value fee increase
would be a fair trade off? It is true that the free Gallery is a plus, but
If Bill is really listening, and he really wants to eliminate the 'big
deterrent,' I have a suggestion. Lower the across-the-board listing fees by
67%, or 50%, or even 33% -- and add only a commensurate increase to the
final value fee, when an item sells. This would have been a true way to
eliminate the "big deterrent in moving more of your merchandise onto eBay,"
and it would not greatly detract from eBay's bottom line.
Lie #5 -- Bill Cobb states, "I know that all of the changes we're making in
pricing, seller standards and incentives, and feedback are big ones ... and
that not everyone will like them. But the overall package is what you should
focus on ... and the overall package is strong. I think we've demonstrated
that we're committed to making improvement to the overall customer
experience and that requires higher standards and bold changes. That said,
the vast majority of our changes work to strengthen our relationship and
they'll be great for the marketplace as a whole, and certainly great for
many of you."
Truth #5 -- When Bill refers to overall package as 'strong,' one can only
assume he's referring to the odor. What eBay has really demonstrated is
their short memory. Remember that this site was started by Pierre to give
his girlfriend an outlet to buy, sell and trade Pez dispensers. It was
created for little people just like me -- who sell collectibles and other
small items at a small profit. And while I sell small items, I sell lots of
them -- paying yearly eBay/PayPal fees of close to $10,000 annually. But,
time and time again, eBay has pushed people like me -- their originally
users -- out the door. They do this to make way for the high end items and
mega-retailers they seem to covet. Bill says, "the vast majority of our
changes work to strengthen our relationship and they'll be great for the
marketplace as a whole." If he is confident that this is true, why not put
these changes to a vote -- and let the buyers and sellers decide. After all,
it is we who pay all the eBay's fees, thus paying these executives their
salaries. However, Bill does get one thing right ..... not everyone will
like these changes!
Lie #6 -- Jim Ambach states, "Let's take a quick look at all the things
we're doing to strengthen our partnership with our sellers:
1. Reducing insertion fees 2. Free Gallery on all listings! 3. Reduced
Feature Plus and Pro Pack fees 4. Increased listing exposure for sellers
with great DSRs 5. Pricing discounts for PowerSellers with great DSRs 6.
Protection from chargebacks for PowerSellers 7. All addresses are confirmed
addresses for PowerSellers on their eBay listings that are paid with PayPal
8. Unlimited PayPal protection for PowerSellers 9. Repeat Feedback credit
10. Rolling 12-month Feedback Percentage 11. Personalized Seller Dashboard
Truth #6 -- Jim forgot to mention a few things, that might not "strengthen
our partnership with our sellers."
1. A stunning increase to final value fees -- many, many times higher than
their minuscule reduction in insertion fees.
2. The free Gallery (which I must admit is the one positive in all this
mess) is really much more of a benefit to buyers. For sellers who previously
used Gallery it will actually hurt them, since now all listings will have
the Gallery pic -- so their listings will no longer stand out. Many other
sellers got by without using Gallery in the past, so getting it free will
probably only be a minor perk.
3. OK, lets have a show of hands, how many sellers have ever used either
'Reduced Feature Plus' or 'Pro Pack?' It's like if McDonald's raised the
price of a big Mac to $10, while lowering the price of their cookies a few
cents.
4. As an honest seller, I already have a big advantage over dishonest
sellers. When buyers check my feedback, and compare it to theirs, they
invariably come back and shop with me. 5. Ebay's "Pricing discounts for
PowerSellers" only eliminates a small portion of the fee increases. Even
with the full 15% Powersellers' discount -- fees will increase monumentally.
At the risk of kicking a dead horse, with or without the small discount for
PowerSellers, THIS IS STILL THE LARGEST FEE INCREASE IN EBAY'S HISTORY!
6. I've had experience with PayPal's chargeback protection. Last year, an
overseas buyer purchased an item from me, and as always, I gave them a
choice of shipping options ..... CHEAP -- with no insurance and they must
accept responsibility should the package become lost or stolen ..... or, NOT
SO CHEAP -- with insurance and I will accept responsibility for delivery.
They chose cheap, and sent an email stated that they would accept full
responsibility. We shipped the item the next day. Two weeks went by, and we
were contacted by PayPal, letting us know that there was a dispute against
us. This buyer has claimed that the package has not arrived. Of course,
since there is no tracking number on the package, we had no way to know if
he was telling the truth. We told eBay that: 1. We have 100% positive
feedback with thousands of transactions, so we are not in the habit of
cheating our customers. 2. We have a customs number and postal receipt
proving that the package was mailed. 3. We still have the email from the
buyer, stating that they requested no insurance and that they would accept
responsibility.
PayPal said the customs number is not trackable and they asked for the
tracking number. Of course, we did not have a tracking number, since the
buyer did not want insurance. PayPal took a day to make their ruling, and
after "looking at all the facts," they deducted the full amount of the
payment from our PayPal account. Therefore, we not only lost the item, but
we had to pay for the shipping charge, as well.
This scenario has been repeated with us several times. And this is the same
PayPal who is going to protect sellers from chargebacks!
7. When they state, "All addresses are confirmed addresses for PowerSellers
on their eBay listings that are paid with PayPal," they are not telling the
real truth. If you read the fine print, it says that this will apply to most
(not all) countries. 8. See #6.
9. The "Repeat Feedback credit" is a double-edged sword -- multiple negative
feedbacks will also count against you when this change takes effect!
10. This is mainly an advantage for poor or dishonest sellers. I have built
up a nearly spotless feedback record over 10 years, but the first 9 years
will soon disappear. This is great if I have lots of problems I want to
hide. But now, one vindictive buyer can ruin my reputation -- and I won't
have a long record of positive comments to counteract the damage.
11. I'm not sure what a "Personalized Seller Dashboard" is, but I doubt it
will be the highlight of my business life.
In addition, here are a few more serious flaws in this new sellers' program:
12. There are many new penalties to sellers who do not meet eBay's criteria
for success. For low-volume seller's, one vindictive buyer has the power to
increase your fees and lessen the exposure of your eBay listings.
12a. Sellers can no longer punish abusive, dishonest or deadbeat buyers with
negative feedbacks -- sellers can ONLY leave positive feedbacks!
12b. The new one-way feedback structure eliminates any constraints on the
buyers. They c****e feedback as a weapon to extort concessions from
sellers, and sellers will have absolutely no recourse, or protection.
12c. Buyers can, in some cases, cause sellers to have to wait for 21 days
for their PayPal money, by simply withholding a positive feedback. Here's
the eBay policy in their own words: "When eBay suspects the transaction may
result in a dissatisfied customer, PayPal will delay release of the payment
funds to the seller until the buyer has left a positive feedback, or 21 days
have passed without a dispute."
Notice that this can affect sellers, even without there being a clear
problem. This policy can be instituted even if PayPal suspects there "may"
be a problem. That is a little scary to me.
12d. eBay can now force many sellers to accept PayPal, even if they don't
want to. They claim that newer sellers must get PayPal or a merchant credit
card. However, the cost involved in obtaining a merchant credit card makes
it prohibitive for most low-volume sellers. This leaves PayPal as the only
feasable option. And who is it that benefits financially by PayPal's usage?
Monopoly anyone?
12e. Buyer's can anonymously hurt sellers by leaving a low rating on any of
the "Detailed Seller Ratings" categories -- on any of the four seller
attributes. Like feedbacks, these DSRs can be used by buyers as a weapon by
buyers, against sellers. What makes this particularly disturbing, is that
eBay benefits by this practice. If a buyer gives a seller a low rating, the
seller will lose their PowerSeller discounts on eBay fees. Which will mean
more money for eBay. So the entity who I'm counting on for protection,
greatly benefits by not protecting me.
Here's what can now happen; if a seller states in his description that they
use priority mail for all packages, the buyer can now demand that they use
another service. And if the seller refuses, the buyer can leave a 1 on the
"shipping cost" attribute. This will hurt the seller in numerous ways
(higher fees, lower visibility to their listings), but they will have no way
to determine who stabbed them in the back.
In conclusion, eBay has instituted a widespread series of changes, and they
have tried (and lied) to project these in a positive light. They have made
an attempt to imply that these changes have widespread benefits to the
selling community. But, if sellers take the time to even give even a cursory
glance at these changes, they will find that in fact, they benefit only two
groups -- buyers (especially the dishonest ones) and eBay itself.
As an honest and hard working seller, these changes are quite upsetting to
me. However, when eBay tries to tell me that they are for my own benefit,
they become even more repugnant. If they just were honest about it, eBay
would announce something like, 'We want to make more money off your labor
and we want to make a big, public show of protecting buyers -- even as it
comes at our sellers' expense.'
It has become ever increasingly clear, that eBay does not respect sellers,
does not care of our concerns, and does not choose to truly try to reach out
to us in a spirit of mutual benefit. But at some point, anyone with any self
respect has to say, "enough."
I have never been one to stay where I am unwanted. If these changes become a
reality, I will let eBay know that they have gone too far. I will stop
providing them with thousands of dollars in annual fees. I will stop
recommending them to my customers and friends. And I will find other venues
to use, in order to sell my merchandise.
Maybe if enough sellers follow this example, eBay will finally stop treating
its sellers as second class citizens, and instead, work with us, to fix the
company's problems.
.
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