eBay Noise: '5 days straight and not 1 sale', Sellers rant (goes viral)

Examiner ^ | July 9, 11:17 AM | Monique Stout

[granite]

On April 5th, 2010, just 6 days after eBay implemented another round of changes -- click here to see the official announcement --  eBay seller zenartinc posted the following topic in eBay's Seller Central Discussion Forum: "5 DAYS STRAIGHT, NOT 1 SALES. SELLING FOR 10 YRS.WHAT THE IS GOING ON HERE!".  It has now been over 3 months and it is by far still the hottest topic on the forum.

As of today, there are over 5,600 replies in response to to the original post (click here to read entire thread), the majority of which are complaints from sellers about the lack of sales on eBay.  To be fair, the replies are not from 5600 unique sellers, but there is something to be said for any forum topic that stays in the forefront for that amount of time.  

Apparently, eBay sellers who have posted in the thread have a laundry list of complaints:

• Lack of visibility.  Sellers' two biggest complaints are that their listings are either buried by listings from eBay China (whose sellers pay no fees and consequently flood the site with unlimited listings of the same items), or what sellers suspect are "rolling blackouts" on eBay's servers. 
• No clear definition of how the "Best Match" algorithm works.  "Best Match"  doesn't seem to work for either sellers or buyers.  Buyers often get a hodge-podge of listings when searching -- try searching for "iPod 30gb".  Everything from an iPod to iPod parts shows up on the first page. Sellers have no idea what is necessary to achieve high placement in best match.
• Heavy-handed buyer favoritism which has allowed buyer scams to dramatically increase.  I won't elaborate on some of the scams sellers have complained about since I don't want to inadvertently provide tips and tricks.
• Seriously flawed feedback system.  While other sites have one-sided feedback systems, this is something that does not work for eBay.  Sites such as Amazon are true "store" sites: you place your item in a shopping cart and you pay.  Until you pay for that item, it remains available in the sellers store.  Simple.  eBay allows buyers to "Buy It Now" without requiring immediate payment (unless the seller actively selects that option when listing the product).  Using "Buy It Now" effectively ends the listing, but until the buyer actually pays for it, the product is in limbo: the seller can't re-list it and sell it to another buyer until the first buyer either pays up, or the seller files and successfully closes and UID (Unpaid Item Dispute -- a process that takes a minimum of 8 days to complete).  Without the dual-sided feedback system, sellers have no way to warn other sellers of "deadbeats".  To add insult to injury, once a buyer has "bought" an item, they are free to leave feedback whether or not they have paid for the product.  Granted, eBay allows you to have negative feedback removed if it is determined that the buyer never actually paid for the item, but it is not automatic (as it should be) and you will have to get customer service on the phone to get it done.  You'll recoup your final values on the sale, but guess what?  You'll have to pay to list it again.
• Other complaints:  Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs) (anonymity doesn't help identify problems, causing difficulty in taking corrective measures), disproportionately preferential treatment for high-volume sellers, canned responses from customer service, and inability to request check, wire transfer or money order payments except in select categories (eBay lists PayPal as the "preferred" method of payment, not surprising since they own PayPal).

Whatever is going on, someone in management forgot that most of eBay's small-medium sellers are also buyers:  alienate one and you have alienated the other, which explains the continued growth of Amazon and the rapid growth of eBay-alternative sites such as eCrater, Etsy, and Bonanzle.

Back in 2007, eBay CEO John Donohoe said: "We had to create a vision of the future so people could let go of a very successful past."*   If the current customer dissatisfaction is any indication, management has performed admirably.

* Quoted taken from www.leggmason.com, full speech is available here.

[packrat35]

You know much my friend. Those are some of the reasons I quit 2 years ago. Experienced some of those things over and over.

[packrat35]

Craigs List is better for car sales.

[packrat35]

Happens ALL THE TIME. I would have people get the item and leave good feedback, then contest it on their credit cards. PayPal would refund their money and a $10.00 fee. I would then see the guy reselling my item on eBay and they would do nothing about it.

[Iron Munro]

In the early days eBay was loaded with items everyday people inherited or dragged out of storage in their attics, closets and cellars and put up for auction at reasonable prices. Sort of like the early days of Flea Markets.

And now, just like local Flea Markets, there are fewer and fewer of those sellers and more and more “store front” and “power” sellers pushing the same foreign manufactured junk as 100 or 1,000 other sellers.

[packrat35]

I had issues with their VERO also, never totally blacklisted but they even admitted it was up to me to prove that it wasn’t covered if I wanted to relist.

I said no thanks and never relisted.

[FunkyZero]

I bought my first items on ebay in 98. since then, I've sold a bought a lot... mostly in the first few years.

the last few years, ebay hasn't been much of a resource anymore. I commonly find the things I'm looking for cheaper elsewhere and from a reputable business with much lower risk of getting hozed.

I've gotten ripped by a few sellers over the years, and ebay, regardless of their advertising, is not there to back you. I even purchased one item (an aimpoint sight) that was advertised as "brand new condition". when it arrived, it was super-glued together. 3 months of waiting and emailing back and forth and ebay AND paypal sided with the seller... and provided no reasoning behind such an idiotic decision.

Another incident was when I paid for an item along with 45.00 for 2-day shipping. I received the item via postal mail 37 days later (From Texas). Again, ebay and paypal were absolutely no help.

I highly recommend you spend your money elsewhere.. unless you simply like the thrill of doing high-risk things with your money. It's just not worth it.

In the end, I've had to file with my credit card company and forcefully retrieve my money every single time... and they are a hassle to deal with too.

[packrat35]

I sold on eBay for 10 years and I knew what I was doing. The last 10 times people contested me, confirmation did not protect me. They still refunded them the money.

eBay and PayPal hate their sellers now.

[hmmmmm]

http://us.ebid.net

[Tanniker Smith]

I stopped buying, too. Mostly because I’m in NYC, and by the time all is said and done (and the outrageous shipping prices are added in), I could probably find it cheaper in person.

[packrat35]

Yea but the Flea Markets always have something else to offer. I really save a lot on money at flea markets.

[Ted Grant]

Buyers leaving negatives can be real annoying, too.

I once sold a CD set to someone who had the winning bid. He paypaled late Sunday eve, and I shipped it early Tuesday (I never represented I would ship the next day).

This wasn’t fast enough for him, and he left me a negative feedback. I just took the hit and never complained.

Over 99 out of 100 buyers on Ebay are fine. I just think that every 100 to 200 transactions there is a bad buyer and its the cost of doing business. I don’t sweat it. I also never hold it against a seller if they have more than 100 transactions and one or two negatives. It happens.

That being said, If someone has a few hundred transactions and a rating of 95% or below, I tend to start thinking something is wrong.

[chris_bdba]

You are right yyou have to know what you are buying to know whether it is a good deal or not. I’ve often found thigns from stores $20 or more cheaper than what they are lsited on eBay for. You have to be careful and not impulsive.

[clifcrds]

I have been an eBay member since Nov 1997. At first it was great . . . the main mission was to bring buyer/seller together for a small profit. Then "what's her name" with her Harvard business degree took over as CEO, the company went public, and totally changed eBay forever. It went from bringing buyer/seller together to making as much money as possible for the shareholders.

For the sellers there were fees upon fees upon fees added to every sale . . . and fees for items that do not sell (you really have to know what you are doing) And the ironic thing about it is the fact that the seller does all the work . . . eBay just sits in the background collecting their piece of the pie.

Every now and then I go on eBay to buy something (mostly used photo equipment) but I haven't sold anything on eBay for close to 7 years now. It's just not worth my trouble.

[wally_bert]

CJ5?

[wally_bert]

True but I figured I would test the waters to see what it might go for before I put local word out and get driven insane by everyone in the greater Richland area who would want to argue or discuss every tiny detail. At most I am out a $7 listing fee if it doesn’t hit my reserve.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

Several years ago, I bought a 1935 Dobro on ebay. A desirable guitar. The seller swore the neck was straight. It wasn’t. Complaints got me nowhere, and then the seller just disappeared! Closed their account, but they probably just opened another, with another name, cuz they were doin’ a lot of business on ebay. Cost me $200 to get the neck straightened out. Nice guitar though!

[Gordon Pym]

For the sellers there were fees upon fees upon fees added to every sale . . . and fees for items that do not sell (you really have to know what you are doing) And the ironic thing about it is the fact that the seller does all the work . . . eBay just sits in the background collecting their piece of the pie.

I wonder if the increasing fees are due to the government leaning on a business entity that does its transactions in an arena they see as under taxed. It wouldn't be the first time they taxed & regulated something into oblivion just because they could.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

I have a very nice diamond engagement ring to sell, but don’t want to list it on Ebay.

[ApplegateRanch]

Canadians will rip you off.

I occasioanlly buy, (I only have less than 300 purchases in 10 years12 years) and was only ripped off twice. One of those was for about $25, purchase from a Canadian. The other one was also inexpensive, but a Brit.

OTOH, I've bought stuff from a $2 45 RPM record, to a running/functioning bulldozer, all without any problems, including from Singapore & the UK...but the other Cannuck, while not ripping me off, was far from truthful. Never again trusted Canadian sellers.

A few of the items, including the bulldozer, I had to drive half way across the country (Idaho & Delaware are the farthest) to pick up, but then remained in friendly touch with some of the sellers.

Check the seller's feedback rating before you buy and the number of transactions they've had is important too..

ALWAYS!!!

[wally_bert]

I ALMOST got scammed. Whoever Helen Smith is, I will tip my hat. Communications were good and in American english until I got a message in my Gmail - ***You’ve Made A sale - Please Ship Out The Item(s) Sold To Helen Smith!!!***. The message body was very long, convuluted, and had the killer at the end - Nigeria.

It also said I made a sale at Craigslist.org. New one to me.

One thing about about shipping did raise my suspicions a message or two back. “She” preferred USPS and seemed a little weird about UPS, the only way I would send with a signature verification.

Of course I forwarded on to spoof at Paypal. Paypal just kicked back with agreement.

Oh well.