What Does eBay Accomplish with User Surveys?

by: Ed Gadfly

How likely is it that you would recommend selling on eBay to a friend or colleague on a scale of 0 to 10 (0 being "not at all likely" and 10 being "extremely likely."

Wouldn't it be something if that value was included in your personal User algorithm to determine your placement in Search?

"Would not recommend to friends," yes sir, JD, I'll put that one on the first page with the default Messed Batch option.

by: wanda

Well, since Ebay has little to no regard of what their sellers and buyers want, i can only assume they are fishing for ideas to jack things up even more.

So, i don't do surveys... they will have to come up with their own ideas on how to best apply their disruptive innovation... they will get no help from me.  

I don't want America destroyed... they apparently do.  There can be no other explanation for what they do.

by: The End

Back in the day, Ebay would send a survey asking , for instance, what I thought of "the New" PayPal.
I said it was an unnecessary 3rd party buttinski.
In a few months, we could no longer even mention that we accept checks and money orders in our listing or we'd be shut down.
I learned from that experience, NEVER answer an Ebay survey.
The real reason they send them out is to further degrade your business and strangle / suffocate your ability to live well and pay your bills.
Ebay is nobody's ally or partner.
Ebay is a predatory entity hell bent on destroying (under Donahoe) all independent Ebay based U.S. businesses.
WOW ! I just found this information :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Donahoe
Says he's made TONS of acquisitions since he took over Ebay.
Looks like he's a "Cocaine of Acquisition" addict.
No wonder Ebay's crappy. Instead of reinvesting in the core, he blew it all on stupid purchases. Looks like he may have spent MORE than Ebay took in, creating a WHOPPER of a debt.
Looks like Donahoe has a legitimate mental problem in the ego department. Trying to prop up is fading manhood with all the nonsensical purchases.
If he thinks he's staying there for 10 years like Meggy did, that means we have FIVE more torturous years of this nitwit.
Looks like he only divulged HALF of the purchase information.
"Something's rotten in Denmark".
An Official investigation and audit is in order.

by: Basset

Although I don't do surveys, I agree eBay surveys do seem to hint at things to come.

Have not had any problems with editing. So that means it is likely to change, I guess.



Seems to be an absence of eBay Customer Service satisfaction surveys these days. Haven't seen one in a looong time!  Telling.

by: FeelingFroggy

Fleabay sends them out to get the people to reply in a negative way.

They then have the self satisfaction of how screwed up their system is and what they can do to screw it up more.

by: Bloggo

They phrase the questions in ways to give them the answers they want.

by: iheartjacksparrow

I thought the consensus was that eBay's surveys included questions regarding changes they already planned to make so they could ultimately say, "You spoke, we listened." Has eBay ever published the results of any of their surveys? Such as, 99% of respondents stated they would not recommend eBay as a selling venue? Or, 100% of respondents stated they would support JD being kicked out as CEO of eBay?

by: Marie

Unfortunately no one here can really answer your questions.  To get real answers, you will have to get them from Ebay.  All we can do is assume and guess what if anything they are doing with the information gathers.

What I can say is that for at least the past two years I've probably taken a dozen or so surveys on Ebay.  In the vast majority of them the question about would I recommend selling on Ebay to someone else appeared.  So I don't know that with time they think your answers will change or what.  But it is a frequently asked question my them.

My answer however has remained the same.  I don't recommend selling on Ebay to others in certain categories at all.  The risk is way too high and Ebay has made selling on Ebay so complicated.  It is very hard for a new seller to be confident they know enough to be successful.

It is hard for seasoned sellers to stay up on all the changes and stay up on the written policies.  Then there is how do you teach someone about the unwritten policies that EBay enforces.  

While rules are a necessary part of selling on the internet via someone elses site, I get all that, but Ebay has made many rules that are both un-necessary and ill thought out.  A drastic overhaul needs to be made and Ebay needs to remember they are a venue, not my boss.

I don't need or want to be micro managed by them.  They get their hands into things they have no business being in. They could relax some of these types of rules without harming the integrity of the site.  In fact it would go a long ways to improving it.

The moment your customers [sellers] have to fine work arounds for so many stupid things Ebay has, is when you know the site needs a complete restructure.  

Ebay could be so much better for both buyer and sellers if they were only not so darn arrogant.  And it is that arrogance that is seriously damaging the venue for all members.  They have forgotten or just don't care that there are real people at the other end of the decisions they make.

Kind of like the congress right now.  Granted by law they can't take away their own pay while they have the government essentially shut down.  But if there were some way to force it, some loophole that could hit them in the pocketbook took, I think we would see them working just a harder to resolve the issues.

The same with Ebay.  Until there is a real hit in income, it won't change.  

by: Ric

Received a recent PayPal survey asking about my satisfaction with their service.

My responses were mostly negative based on the fact that trying to build a business with under the cloud of possible account holds makes planning extremely difficult.

Also responded that I would not recommend PayPal given the fact that eBay orders PayPal to hold new seller revenues.

My responses must have been rather disconcerting to PayPal as I received not one but two follow up phone calls from someone claiming to be a PayPal supervisor which I declined to return.

When they could not get me on the phone, a PayPal supervisor sent me an email requesting contact. I ignored that email as well.

eBay's CEO considers sellers such as myself to be little more than "noise" to use his description.

Rehashing my concerns with a company that is known for blatantly ignoring user concerns seems like a tremendous waste of my time.

I said what I had to say in my survey responses and feel that those responses speak for themselves.

by: Marie

Ric

For me, I would have taken the call and the opportunity to see what they had to say.  You never know, sometimes you do get through to someone that has the power to get change rolling.  And you can't know that unless you participate.  

I am NOT saying you did anything wrong.  You have every right to decide what you want to do and what you don't want to do.  I am only saying that I would have done the opposite.  I would and do all I can to make sure they don't just dismiss my concerns.  Certainly it doesn't always work, but I will always continue to stand up for myself and those like me.

by: The End

Marie does not speak for me.

by: Marie

@The End

It was my opinion. I don't expect everyone to agree.  Ric clearly doesn't and there isn't a thing wrong with that.  YOu and Ric and everyone else are completely entitled to their opinions as am I.

by: bitbybit

With visibility always in question, I seldom respond to any survey. Answering positively or negatively might cause my items to be even more hidden in search and I even suppose not answering at all might have consequences. The thing is you never know what abuse of power ebay will inflict. The first question about recommending ebay makes me back out of continuing.

I once read somewhere where the last question or next to the last question is the real basis for the survey. Don't know if that is true but it does make me wonder ebay's real reason for the survey. Ebay has created a site where sellers are filled with paranoia, stress and mistrust. Ebay is no longer ''just a venue'' but a dictatorship.

by: feline

you spoke we listened

Only to what they want to read any thing they may not want to read  terminates surveys early in my experience

by: Brused

I started with eBay over 14 years ago and filled out surveys.  And I attended several of the eBay national conventions including the first one.  The lack of conventions where the decision makers can meet members is another confirmation that eBay does not really value my input.

by: Anonymous Annie

Back when I was still receiving surveys (and back when I still cared enough to respond to them) I was always suspicious of them.

I'd read-between-the-lines to try and figure out and anticipate what might be coming up next. --- I suppose, in a way, the surveys were more valuable to ME than my responses were to eBay.

Ultimately, over time, I concluded that eBay's surveys were not intended to guide and shape the future direction of eBay (ie: technical features, policies, etc)... instead, I always got the feeling that I was being surveyed on a decision that had ALREADY BEEN MADE.

The hidden purpose was so that eBay execs could test-the-waters and gauge my resistance (and possible displeasure) with their newest policy, feature or absurd requirement.

Once they were able to make that determination, they would know how best to ''spin'' the roll-out of whatever fresh-hell was coming toward us.

In essence, for eBay, the surveys were equivalent to ''opposition research'' conducted by politicians against their opponents and adversaries.

by: NetWatch

Yes, ebay has created a climate of fear and distrust for sellers, an adverserial relationship between buyers and sellers, and a general feeling among small sellers that a Sword of Damocles is hanging over their heads because of the DSR, Guardrail or Quick Decline and trending mechanisms ebay has in place directed against small sellers.

by: edwatt

Over the years, I have never replied to any of there surveys.  My fear was that if I answered honestly, I would get more buried in search, and they wouldn't change there plans.
But reading some of these responses has given me new an idea.
From now on, I will reply to all surveys, giving them 5 stars for everything and telling them their ideas are brilliant.
What difference dues it make and it might help me in search.  Lets make them feel good.
If they think we like it, they may do the opposite.

by: comet

@EDWATT--

Clever--but I am sure their Department of Spin has thought of this.

I agree that whenever you see something from ebay coming at you with what APPEARS to be a clever NEW system--be that Paypal only;  managed returns;  Postage TAX FEES---etc---then you should run SCREAMING as these are already on the way.

Ebay is very transparent in it's bizarre behaviors-- kinda like the kid whose arm gets stuck in the cookie jar and claims the dog stole the Oreos.  

by: Toledo Maude

Yesterday, I responded to the same survey about whether as a seller I would recommend to someone to start selling on eBay.  I have been responding to this same question and survey for at least two years.

In 2011 as my sales were improving with each month, I would have said sure!

But being “blackballed” in 2012 (with legions of other sellers) I responded to this survey as “you got to be kidding!” or “Why?”.

As I have sold little on eBay for the past few months and so far this month nothing, there seems little point in responding to that survey.  I guess eBay is pretty much a vague memory of an old habit.

Does eBay highly compensated upper management and brilliant MBA’s look at the results of these surveys, it appears no.