PowerWheelerChris' Blog: Questions eBay Sellers Should Be Disscussing
Questions eBay Sellers Should Be Disscussing
PWC Blog - September 17, 2008
I understand
that many sellers are concerned about the changes eBay is making - I am one
of them and my past vacation did relax me a bit -- I still feel like I am in
quicksand at times with all the changes eBay is wanting from us sellers at
the start of the holiday selling season.
I am also
very troubled about some of the things I have observed this past year.
For
example,. when John Donahoe
had the webcast in January from the event (2008
eCommerce Keynote Archive.)
and Meg Whitman, who was still CEO at the time, was not there that morning -
Donahoe said she was tired - it was a red flag to me - I read it as Whitman
does not agree with the direction eBay is heading under new leadership.
The last
three months of Whitman as CEO she, from what I saw, was not really involved
with eBay - for whatever reason - and it came across to me that Donahoe was
taking over.
The last day
that Whitman was officially CEO she did not even post a farewell message to
the eBay community - at least none I could find - on either the announcement
board or eBay blog.
During her
time at eBay I always felt she was very personable and likeable, a eBay
member like the rest of us and when there was a problem, she talked to us
members as a equal. She did not say good bye - it might sound strange but
to me it was another red flag that Whitman did not agree with the direction
Donahoe was taking eBay.
I have seen
eBay stocks drop this summer, I track them on my website, I have seen a
growing amount of bad press from reputable sources in the business
community, and now this story of eBay laying of 1500 employees and according
to the article I sited:
The Wedge report,
according to Barron's, said eBay's business was "deteriorating"
I tend to believe what I have read from the news story. Barrons is a
respected publication. I will of course wait for confirmation but at
this point if Barrons reported it I must not just dismiss it as pure
speculation. I seem to remember the reports that eBay allowed Buy.com
to dump thousands of listings on eBay for free, which was denied by
eBay, however it has come to light that eBay did indeed allow Buy.com
free listings to pump up the inventory (makes me as a seller feel we are
nothing more than content providers for eBay). This is based on a story
in the New York Times -
www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/technology/14ebay.html?8br size="4"> - which
I would consider a reliable source of information and I feel most other
people would as well.
I was very saddened to learn that eBay did allow Buy.com to dump onto
the site. I remember back in the early days I was part of eBay, eBay
stating the sale point for people to sell on eBay was that regardless of
if you were a big corporation like Disney or a small person selling from
his one bedroom apartment, that everyone had to pay the same fees.
I would hazard a guess those days are gone.
Between
the red flags, IMHO, I have stated above, and this news report, I feel
sellers have a should be asking these questions both amongst themselves and
maybe even of eBay itself:
What is the
health of eBay?
What is the
future of eBay?
Will there
be a eBay worth selling on in a year from now.
I have been a loyal member of eBay since 2001, I have been an Education
specialist since 2004. With the facts of the eBay stock dropping in
value, news reports (regardless of if they are speculation or not - the
reports are not always favorable for eBay) and the sentiment on the
site, why should I continue to do business on rBay and what reason can
eBay give me to give to others who ask me, when I am wearing my
Education Specialist hat, why they should buy and sell on eBay?
I know eBay is making great strives to making eBay the safest it can be
for anyone to conduct business through, but with the recent news
stories, sentiment, etc. (which I feel that most people would admit is
negative in many ways) why would it be a wise business move for any
serious seller to stay with eBay?
IIMHO, I
really can not feel I could tell someone that eBay is a good move for their
business. Can you give me a reason that I am wrong? Right now, and for the
past 8 months, my wife and I have been talking and I am feeling stronger and
stronger each day that maybe it is best to go a different direction in my
life and take my business to it's own website.
I feel this
is something sellers should be thinking about. I would strongly suggest,
again IMHO, that sellers do not put all their eggs in the eBay basket, have
more than one sales channel and start preparing an exit strategy to leave
eBay if things get worse - I have been working on my own exit strategy since
the announcement in January just in case things get worse or I feel eBay is
no longer a viable option to sell on/through.
I feel we should be concerned what is going
on within eBay - because folks what is going on inside eBay will affect all
of us!
A few years ago I would tell people that eBay is a great place to sell,
start a business, or even use eBay as your sole sales channel. About a year
ago that changed to eBay is a good place to sell but do not use it as you
only sales channel.
Today, I would honestly tell people eBay is a good place to unload
distressed inventory but DO NOT use eBay as your primary sales channel.
If in the history of eBay they have never had a mass layoff like this one
that is being reported, what is going on with eBay? What is the future of
eBay?
These are topics that I feel need answers because frankly if this is a sign
of bad times to come for eBay it may not matter what we charge for shipping
- if no one wants to buy or sell on eBay.
I really
hate saying it since as you know eBay was there for me when I had my stroke,
and I feel at times I am turning my back on a good friend, but at the same
time I feel my good friend eBay has turned its back on us sellers
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