EBay's Whitman Says Changes Needed to Placate Sellers...huh?

EBay's Whitman Says Changes Needed to Placate Sellers

You'll see more changes in the next 12 months on our site than you've probably seen in the last three or four years,'' Whitman said in an interview. ``EBay was so successful that we did not keep up with the user experience that was required.

My worst nightmare come true.......more changes!

EBay doesn't allow users to pay through Google Inc.'s rival Checkout service on its sites because only one in seven Checkout users were ``pleased'' with the service, Whitman said, citing an EBay survey. ``That has to get higher,'' said Whitman. ``We will continue to look at Google as a payment mechanism on the EBay marketplace.''

I just can't see this EVER happening....would also love to know how many people took the survey.

Last, there is some discussion about how there are "too many listings" and buyers can't find what they are looking for. One example they gave in the article was this:

"Buyers have a tough time finding what they want. If you're looking for an Apple iPod, you're going to get 5,000 search results, and most will be accessories."

To address this, EBay last year imposed higher fees to reduce the number of fixed-price listings because buyers couldn't find the items. The goal was to increase the number of completed sales, boosting revenue for the company and its sellers, Whitman said.

I can see how this could be a problem for buyers. I truly can. I've had a similar thing happen looking for Gameboys and wanting the system but finding too many games and accessories listed in the wrong catergories to wade through everything.

I think that Ebay's way of addressing the problem though, is wrong. They need to enforce the rules that they have in place for sellers. Instead of enforcing the rules, they count on the community to enforce them. This is not how society works, I don't understand why they think they can make it work for their company. They need to focus on usability issues, and some of these can be addressed just by creating a task force to enforce the rules. Ban those sellers who continually Keyword Spam, list more than 10 duplicate listings or charge exorbanent s/h to bypass the fees. By doing this, not only would it make the buying experience better, but it would also benefit those sellers who play by the rules. Happy buyers, happy sellers = higher bottom line for Ebay.

Busy Back to School time soon

I'm gearing up for Back to School time sales on Ebay. My sales in the past and this year again, have been pretty dead since the end of April through June. I'm hoping for things to really pick up this month. I'm hoping that Ebay's announcement of adding a Store Tab to the top of the header, will also help with sales.

I've also decided, it is time for me to close up shop on Wagglepop. I truly hope that they do succeed. But I have been paying them $9.95 per month for unlimited listings for a year now, with a total of 6 sales. :-( I can't afford to keep hoping. I do think their site shows a lot of promise, and I think you can even do well there right now, if you have a real niche type of store. But for me, who sells a little of this, a little of that, the traffic just isn't there yet. Perhaps with Googles new programmable search, it will have better success.

Google vs Ebay: the battle continues

Apparantly, the battle is not over between Ebay and Google. In my previous post, Ebay pulls Ads off Google, I mentioned how the two companies were feuding in Boston during Ebay Live. Then, it was announced, that Ebay will run "limited" ads on Google once again. Now, it seems that there is a complete Cyberspace Showdown: Google vs Ebay, the results of which could completely change the world of online retailing.

This will be extremely interesting to watch playout. Both of these companies are such monstrosities, that I do believe things may change way beyond what you and I can imagine in the near future.

All I know is, Ebay is not what it used to be, and with battles like this one to fight, no wonder.