eBay Plots a Course to Modernize Its Marketplace

by: EBAYCRUSHER

So the functionality has not improved dramatically over the past 20 years, and there are some limitations that are inexcusable.
1. Sold listings are only viewable for 3 months. After that, if you try to view it, you get a stupid "we looked everywhere page" telling you they can't find it. Well listing an item, with detailed information, takes a long time, and having to start from scratch on an item is a huge waste of time.
2.  12 photos?  Seriously?  Storage costs have plummeted, but you only allow 12 photos?
3.  Shipping choices.  Since last week, when I go to purchase postage, instead of having the choice that I offered and that the buyer chose, the default is either US Priority Mail or UPS 2 day.  If you don't pay attention, you'll choose a much higher shipping cost.  Why is this?
4.  Background removal. When listing, eBay now has a "feature" that removes the background, asking if you want to use their photo.  99% of the time it looks like a four year old used photoshop on it.  It's an absolute embarrassment.  The developers who did this should be fired.
These are but a few of the annoyances which help to make the eBay experience unpleasant.  I'm sure that these changes they are announcing, likely the result of input from developers and management that never, ever used eBay, will benefit eBay financially and offer absolutely nothing useful to sellers.  Guaranteed.

by: Paul W

To add a bit to cfrphoto's comments about stamps:
eBay's requirement to add item specifics ''certification'' and ''grade'' are ridiculous.  First, probably 99%+ of stamps on eBay are not certified, so that IS should be optional,  and second, most casual stamp sellers seem not to understand that ''grade'' refers ONLY to the centering of the stamp. It has nothing to do with the ''condition'' of the stamp (which is either sound or faulty).  Thus we see examples of horribly centered stamps rated ''superb'' for all the wrong reasons.  I wish eBay would require a ''condition'' IS with the only two choices being sound or faulty.

by: The End

Here you go Pete :
https://connect.appypie.com/apps/stripe/integrations/ebay
Make Ebay give us the option of Stripe Only.
I can't come back until this happens.......

by: HappyOne

As a seller and buyer one of my gripes is to having to by-pass two lines of unrelated listings and photos (“related sponsored items” “similar sponsored item””sponsored item from this seller” ) before getting to the description of the item I have searched for or am offering for sale.
As a buyer I am finding sellers putting little effort in descriptions now. Many have see photos, Excellent used condition (not) and boiler plate that they don’t ship on Saturdays and Sundays or no returns (not)
As a seller I put an effort into each used item descriptions with size, condition, and other important item details - a twenty to thirty word paragraph. All this is not seen or read by buyers as questions that are asked are in the detailed in the description.
If the these often unrelated listings have to be in my listings put them AFTER my description.

by: HardWorkingSeller

This seems to be eBay's version of the "New Coke", a product enhancement that the customer never asked for.

Yes, the new Vacation functionality is much overdue (and pretty much essential if you use shipping policies).  But most of the stuff they come up with is about eBay making more profit and driving sellers' margins down.  That's why sellers are leaving.

The new entrants such as OfferUp replicate the eBay flow 15 years ago.  A photo, a short description and a seller contact link.  They don't insert themselves in the process and try to skim a margin on all aspects of the deal.  If eBay loses its 'classic' market to these guys then the magic of the site goes away.  It just becomes a clunky Amazon me-too site but with less consistent customer experience.

Sellers want to make a decent living.  Not the millions of dollars that eBay execs pay themselves, but enough that they get a fair return on their time and skills.  That's what will make eBay the selling platform of choice.

Less is more.  eBay needs to remove the clutter on the site, slim down the bloated staff levels by 50% and reduce fees accordingly - and allow sellers to differentiate themselves.  That would mean having a meaningful and challenging set of performance metrics that can be used by buyers to know before they click on 'Buy Now' exactly what the experience will be.  The problem is that despite all the features eBay keeps adding, it's still a crap-shoot as to what the buying outcome will be.  Being Top Rated just means that you get stuff out on time.  Feedback means nothing, and you can't filter search results on seller performance.  On eBay today the profit maximizing approach is to ship out untested junk for a low price (as that's all that Cassini can understand) and handle buyer disappointment via returns.  eBay doesn't seem to understand that buyers don't want generous return policies, they want the stuff to be right in the first place, which they stopped measuring (ie. managing) 5 years ago.

If eBay was really listening about seller's product needs they would have not killed TurboLister which did a great job of managing archives of listing content going back decades.

One-size-fits-all returns policies just adds cost or lowers sellers' margins.  The latest announcement trying to force airmail returns of large and heavy items just shows how little eBay really cares about helping sellers with their businesses.

I don't know what killer features eBay thinks will resurrect the marketplace for sellers.  I'm concerned that they will add yet more friction and unnecessary process, while reducing flexibility and seller differentiation.

by: wellspring

How about fixing the “inventory” feature to allow once again to relist in groups instead of a workaround of one at a time.
How about adding Easy pricing as an option in bulk editing instead of editing one by one.
How about adding another custom (sku) field so I can I have two to use.
How about no store fee and free listings? Only pay when it sells?
How about a simple listing page like mercari and poshmark? Ebay is antiquated and overwhelming for new sellers.

by: wellspring

Thanks for “making life easier for buyers” instead of mutually for sellers.  

by: The End

Condensing everything written in here;
All of us want an "Ebay".
Only One "Ebay" will do.
Freedom to choose the payment gateway,
Freedom to sell to whom / where (continents) we want to sell,
Freedom to openly communicate with our buyers,
Freedom to bid or buy it now,
Focused Listing Page > NO ADS from other sellers on our page.
Study the Ebay of 2000....
A 5% Ebay take is Plenty.
Take it from here Pete......

by: toolguy

@The End

The eBay of 2000 sucked BIG time compared to today's eBay.

I guess you've forgotten how eBay was back then.

I have not, I've made a full time living on the site since June 2000, been a member since Jan 1998. . . . .

by: spooky

A new glitch everyday. Now the app on my iPad I use to list crashes over and over. I wish they would STOP trying to fit what already works fine

by: LasVagueness

I wish eBay all the success in the world. When eBay succeeds we all succeed.  

by: The End

Ebay of 2000 was FANTASTIC.

by: The End

Hey Tool,
Step off.
You're annoying and contradictable.
Nobody died to make you Sayer of So.
Stop picking fights in here.
We speak free of you.

by: pace306

Why was the eBay of 2000 bad?

It was before Managed Payments
It was before promoted listings
It was before VERO
It was before Cassini
It was before DW
It was before the idiots from Walmart
Was it before Sleeping Griff? (not sure but dont think so)
It was before "Seller Protection"
It was before Item Specifics
It was before the forced labor to create eBays catalog
It was before most bad things that make eBay 2020 what it is ....

so your point (TOOL) is?

by: Vox29

As a long time user of eBay, I watched it deteriorate from a decent selling site to the nightmare it is now. I closed my account and went with my own site instead.

Those of you who claim that the only viable payment method is Stripe forget that most buyers prefer PayPal. That's just a fact. If you want to lose sales, keep thinking that one service over another is the only way to go.

I'll be watching to see what eBay does in the future, because I think they could do better. Maybe if their CEO is ousted (again) we'll see some improvements. Or a return to the old system, since that was simpler and did not have so many glitches.

by: iheartjacksparrow

"Our focus is on becoming the seller platform of choice and building lifelong relationships with buyers, offering all our customers the best possible experience[.]"

It's obvious from this statement that eBay thinks the buyers are "their" customers, and sellers are just eBay's fulfillment service.

And the eBay of 2000 was fabulous. It all started going downhill after the 2006 holidays when JD started sticking his fingers in everything.

by: ebayout

To paraphrase Vince Lombardi...
"Gentlemen. this is the bread aisle."

by: Geetar

modernizing the marketplace=

seller negative
Buyer neutral
Ebay positive.

Nobody wins but ebay! It's ebay's way!

by: Whatever

the further and further away from eBay I get the less I am interested in their malarkey

by: RKTOYS

Most buyers prefer PayPal?  Since when?  A credit card processor is a credit card processor from a buyer's perspective.  Not sure how you can say choosing one service over another is a losing strategy and then seem to advocate for PayPal as the only choice.

Anyway, I also was on eBay in 1998 and prefer the eBay of the early 2000s.  Better selection, lower prices, and fewer dead ends and mysterious "oops something happened" errors from a web design perspective.  The only two really positive changes were eBay offering picture hosting and integration of credit cards.  Not FORCING PayPal.  Customers would've gravitated in that direction all by themselves if credit cards and contemporary services like Google Checkout had been an OPTION for sellers.  But they weren't.