eBay to Roll Out New Simplified Search

by: toolguy

OK, this is what I expect the new search to be.

A buy box for their #1 pick based on price, handling time, guaranteed shipping, & other misc. factors.

Then you get to see 30 other items in a "compressed" format, they may even shorten or change your title.

Then there's a button to see everyone else.

I got the feeling we're moving closer to looking like an Amazon page :-(

I don't see how this could be a good thing from a sellers viewpoint.

We shall see in 58 days, the countdown has begun. . .

by: beuler

I think it's already operational, tues morning after long weekend. Sept 5th. ..super laser fully operational 58 days...vader

by: Rexford

David,

Thank you for your response. Just so I am clear, it isn't the drug use that concerns me, but I hear you loud and clear.  It will be business as usual so many of us will have to find a way to coexist with the "elephant in the room".

by: maxmad

oh well, it's already broken, so a little more broken won't make much difference

by: ConnecticutGal

This sentence in your cover story potentially unnerves me the most:
"You’ll see Authentication of high end priced items where we’ll physically authenticate for buyers to improve trust"

What does this mean?  If I am selling an antique for, say, $1000, does that mean that they will want to see the item first?  

by: Snapped

Every step eBay has taken since becoming public has related to the goal of being perceived as a profitable entity marketplace seller in eCommerce.  That is, a place where one identifies AS a web destination to obtain goods, and where such a destination profits from that.

eBay's challenge was that, as founded, it was ONLY a place where any OTHER actual marketplace seller - aspiring or established - could contractually inhabit to comprise the entity marketplace eBay could, ONLY by such second party participation (not third) then APPEAR to be.  And it's profits were limited to THAT 'customer' patronage.

So eBay had to 'change' to operate so to wrest control of inventory (read - to control a supply of what is perceived demanded), without actually owning the rights to the goods.  And without being able to control fulfillment, being unwilling to either risk ownership or infrastructure.

So how to be perceived as a retailer when all transactions were only facilitated for independent parties?  Remove the independence of one of them by legally questionable decree and resource their 'independence and unpredictability' as part of a homogonized 'experience'.  And the place to start was by claiming the patronage of the buyers to be theirs alone to encourage, and satisfy. Using the aforementioned REAL customers as newly recharacterized 'resources' that channeled customer funding.  Or not, if they don't deem one type, category, or even individual seller voluminous or pliable enough.  Thus sellers went from customers to commoddities of eBay.  High maintenance commoddoties at that; the smaller, the higher.

Every policy, every change, every update, every program, every infrastructure 'tweak', or lack of one needed, it's all gone on to support 'the three-year plan' for over a decade now.  And that plan's only 'connection' to any given seller is related to how much each can be monitized.  So much the better if some can find their own content through it all, somehow.

Meanwhile, this latest 'manipulation scheme' is just more eBay SOP for 'public' consumption.  Any measurement of, or subsequent actual operational 'effectiveness' is neither important, nor likely to ever be revealed 'publicly'.  

Incidentally, the REAL Cassini probe is scheduled to end it's REAL historic and highly successful 13-year exploration by crashing into Saturn's atmosphere on Sep 15th.  

eBay's just caused all it's OTHER satellites to crash.  Yet they still claim a mastery of the visibility 'space race'.

T-minus 10....9....  

by: pace306

I'm the OTHER 1/2 "of the issue" that made David step in - and David - I apologize if what I said went beyond the behavior that you find acceptable.

I've had my arguments with him in the past - and if you will notice - THIS time -there was no name calling or direct demeaning. (I thought it was an improvement =) ! )

That being said - I dont think anyone (unless theres a gross violation that occurs) should be banned - but as its your site - its your rules - and I will do my best to abide by them.

PERSONALLY - there are ALOT of great posters here - some I agree with all the time, some I agree with some of the time and some ... are just "out to lunch". HOWEVER - all of them deserve the right to say their view point(s) - even if it makes them look ridiculous.

My personal resume was only brought up (whether anyone agrees with me or not on any point) only to show that Im not making stuff up out of the air, its simply experience thats speaking since Ive been involved "in the industry" since 1984.

It was never meant to be a "pissing contest", or a "Im better then you because" thing or anything else.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, one or two here ... seem to think they are entitled to their own FACTS .... they go against common logic and common sense ... but as its still a free America =) people can say and do as they please (with in the Stieners rules here) even if what they say makes little to no sense.

Getting back to eBay ... eBay lies, they always lie, they will continue to lie and until its spelled out what "simplified search means" ... its all more BS that the CEO of nothing continues to spew, to make the people in Wall Street happy.

eBay is considered a safe institutional stock, and that (continued growth even at a slow pace) is the underlying message the genius is trying to get across.

You cant "ignore" Wenig - hes too sly and devious, and as admitted by eBay blues - hes got hidden secret rules that can ruin your selling business - and its all at his whim.

Lets see where this goes - so far nothing has changed, as like in his past initiatives (eBay NOW etc)  - this too will fail and pass.

by: toolguy

"and some ... are just "out to lunch"

"even if it makes them look ridiculous."

"seem to think they are entitled to their own FACTS"

My God, you never know when to stop!

by: toolguy

"Besides all this - Walmart, Jet, Sams Club, Amazon etc all have better stock performance "

Here are some FACTS:

WMT: 12 month low $65.28 12 month high 81.99 current price 78.88
AMZN: 12 month low $710.10 12 month high $1083.31 current price $965.90
EBAY: 12 month low $27.28 12 month high $38.30 current price $37.79

JET: (Owned by Walmart)
SAMS CLUB: (Owned by Walmart)

Walmart is up 20% from it's yearly low

Amazon is up 36% from it's yearly low

eBay is up 38% from it's yearly low

If you don't like the 12 month metric let me know what metric you do like and I will do the math. . . 2 year, 5 year, 10 year

The numbers don't lie and neither do I. . .

by: Don Wagner

Likely Cassini is a good search engine tool, but only as good as the lunkheads at eBay trying to configure it to do things like promote big sellers and limit the exposure of small sellers. As we all know, the left hand there doesn't know what the right hand is doing, and if it's broken, don't fix it because the to-do list of what upper management has promised stockholders is more important than sellers complaining. You can put off seller problems almost indefinitely, but a missed campaign rollout date affects people's bonuses. I've worked for big corporations and seen this "we don't fail to plan - we just plan to fail" management style a dozen times over

by: toolguy

I don't seem to ever have a problem finding what I want to buy on eBay be it an ink cartridge, cell phone cover or a certain tool.

I really just don't see the problem?

If I need a 5x rivet gun I search for "5x Rivet Gun" and ebay shows them to me.

NEVER have I been left out in the cold on a eBay search. . .

by: Marie

@ConnecticutGal

No, it doesn't mean that.  They will just have a process or procedure for certain sellers to go through for SOME high end items.  I have no idea what it is or what $$ value they consider "high end".  To my knowledge they have not yet defined what all this actually means yet.

by: toolguy

I want to mention Paypal.

52 week low $37.54 52 week high $62.23 current price $61.13

It's gone up 64% from the 52 week low!

by: Sierra

''Wenig said it “gets fun from here” as eBay will start to see growth really accelerate in the business.''

Soooo ... eBay will start to see growth, but what about sellers??? Oh yeah, he was addressing investors. It would ''get fun'' for me too, if I started making some real money on eBay. Or Etsy. Or Amazon.  

by: JQ

I have been saying for years that 90% of the problems sellers have on eBay would be solved immediately if the site simply returned to a level selling field.

So on the one hand, I can be hopeful that a new search engine might be a step in a positive direction.

But years of experience have taught me that 1) Wenig and all eBay management are dishonest and not to be trusted, they lie by habit and policy, and 2) eBay has not rolled out a major innovation like this successfully in more than five years, so even if their plan is solid their execution is almost certain to be disruptive and harmful to buyers and sellers for six or more months.

The major announcement I have been looking forward to hearing from eBay for the last year concerns the firing of Wenig and all upper management. I am surprised he has made it this long. Is is possible the board expects this little from the people they pay tens of millions a year to to run the site?

by: JQ

Just a small example of life under Wenig.

In 2013 eBay accounted for 87% of my on-line selling revenue.

So far this month eBay has accounted for 19% of my revenue, less than both Amazon and BONANZA for Christ's sake. Barely ahead of Etsy.

Under Wenig things have just continued to get worse and worse every quarter for small and medium sellers and there is absolutely no reason to hope for change as long as he is in charge.

by: Sierra

Can Meg Whitman PLEASE return to eBay?????

PUHLEEEEZE!!!!!!!!!