Ebay policy changes

Posts: 4717 · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 1:27 pm

Sellers are certainly not going to like having their money subject to hold for 21 days.

Posts: 5 · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 4:34 pm

Well I doubt ebay will be reversing course anytime soon.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24164000/

Seems like sales are up. Perhaps when the new feedback system takes affect in May, there will start to be a dip in sales. If you read between the lines though, profits maybe up due to the weak US dollar resulting in a higher revenue from fees from international sellers.

Posts: 406 · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:21 pm

Another one bites the dust, but with a stylish farewell.
http://www.ebaygoldmine.org/ebay-listing.png

Posts: 1007 · Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2008 6:28 pm

I still think the ACCC will stomp on paypal payments..

http://www.itwire.com/content/view/17697/1023/

Brette:)

Posts: 995 · Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2008 6:37 pm

This will be interesting to watch. I don't know how they can do this. Just about every Seller I buy from in Australia offers direct deposit and for many, I think the reduced fees makes the difference between Selling and not Selling on Ebay.

Why do companies universally feel they have to constantly increase profits? It's like a child sneaking into the fridge and stealing a little bit of ice cream - just a little bit more, just a little bit more - then there is none left.

Greed, Greed, Greed, the world is doomed, doomed I say! Greedy

Posts: 995 · Posted: Sat May 10, 2008 11:27 pm

Any update on this policy change. I recently received an ad saying Ebay Australia was going ahead with the changes. Did the ACCC cave?

Posts: 4717 · Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 7:54 am

I had thought they were going to implement the No Neg Feedback this month too.

Posts: 1007 · Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 7:59 am

HermitFromPluto wrote:

Any update on this policy change. I recently received an ad saying Ebay Australia was going ahead with the changes. Did the ACCC cave?

No they haven't made a ruling yet... I believe Ebay can do this until they actually say they can't.. should be soon I believe..

Brette:)

Posts: 1007 · Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 1:19 am

"Mayday! eBay raises white flag over forced PayPal in US "

http://www.itwire.com/content/view/18186/1023/

Brette:)

Posts: 4549 · Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 1:42 am

beasterbrook wrote:

"Mayday! eBay raises white flag over forced PayPal in US "

http://www.itwire.com/content/view/18186/1023/

Brette:)

This article is absolutely amazing...what's more insulting, that Ebay intends on treating Austrailian Ebayers as red headed stepchildren (they still intend on trying to force the Aussies into paypal only) or that they think for a second that not forcing paypal only down the US buyer's throats is a simply a friendly gesture on their part. It's got to be some sort of government regulation, of the thought of going against US banks that is giving them the scare (would the Sherman Anti-Trust Act apply here?).

On top of that, just plowed through an older Wall Street Journal today with a story about the failure of the new Donahue initiatives on the EBay site. To wit: Sales haven't increased substantially, and apparantly buyers aren't coming back in the droves Ebay management thought they would after the elimination of the "no negative feedback for buyers" initiative. Even more ominous, net income for the first quarter rose 18%, but interestingly it was all due to gains in Paypal and Stubhub, and not due to anything Ebay has done. Even worse, revenue grew but it was almost SOLELY DUE TO RISING FEES, not increasing business, AND rising market share at the expense of sellers who have left because of the changes (again not because there are more buyers, which there aren't) drove added earnings for entrenched sellers. That is a very shaky danger sign for a business, basically akin to stopping yourself starving to death on a desert island by eating your foot...feeding off yourself is not a good business practice.

Mike B.

Posts: 4717 · Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 6:25 am

I still maintain that they are finished. I think it's just a matter of time.

Posts: 7612 · Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 6:43 am

it still just defies belief for me. if they stay fair, they would continue to make an absolute fortune.

this is just the perfect example of greed at its worst.

shameful stuff and frank, i think you are right too.

Al

Posts: 406 · Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 7:36 am

Deadlord39 wrote:

I still maintain that they are finished. I think it's just a matter of time.

I'm starting to take that view myself. This model of squeezing the customer for every penny can't survive in the current Internet environment, unless the fundamentals and traditions of the Internet itself are modified. That said, the greedy corporations are trying to do just that, reserve a high performance Internet for themselves whilst relegating everything else to the backwaters. If they succeed then eBay's model will probably become the norm.

Posts: 4717 · Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 9:44 am

Actually, this would be the PERFECT time for a challenger to come into the picture. As the year grinds on, I expect to see more and more people auctioning off things just to keep their heads above water (here in the US at least). If an online auction company was set up with rock-bottom fees, it would likely drive eBay into the dust.
I have no problems with comapnies making money, even a LOT of money. What I take issue with is hiding it behind bullshit statements like "customer safety" and "better experience". I doubt the average person is smart enough to see the big green schlong waiting for them in those words.

Posts: 4549 · Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 11:24 am

Deadlord39 wrote:

Actually, this would be the PERFECT time for a challenger to come into the picture. As the year grinds on, I expect to see more and more people auctioning off things just to keep their heads above water (here in the US at least). If an online auction company was set up with rock-bottom fees, it would likely drive eBay into the dust.
I have no problems with comapnies making money, even a LOT of money. What I take issue with is hiding it behind bullshit statements like "customer safety" and "better experience". I doubt the average person is smart enough to see the big green schlong waiting for them in those words.

The parallels between Ebay and AOL are ominous (at least they would be if I was a stockholder). The biggest difference is Paypal...which seems to be the one componet AOL was lacking, a huge moneymaker with no downside (for the company). Regardless, Ebay reminds me of AOL in their glory days, when they had crushed the competition, and became used to moving and shaking the industry and spouting fiats from on high with no thoughts of repercussions or adequate competition.

AOL was brought down by the slowly eroding market share taken by companies that gouged out little niches in the same industry (and by Prodigy's death gasp of eliminating all hourly fees in favor of a flat rate model, something AOL had to move to and which caused it to lose millions a year). Slowly but surely Ebay's increasing draconian measures are causes leaks and dribbles and spurts of the smaller (and sometimes larger) merchants on ebay to either leave for another service or start their own website. This is happening WITHOUT either new sellers or buyers filling up the ranks. My earlier comparison to cannibalization is apt; the same thing happened to AOl in the day as they attempted to require an ever shrinking market base to fund more and more of the cost, and ignored many of the innovations that went on to allow the grow of such giants as Myspace, Facebook, and other social networks (AOL could have done this a decade ago if they had any vision; they already had all the pieces in place!)

AOL's demise was hastened by their buyout and subsequent mis-management by Time Warner. I don't think this will happen to Ebay, as surprisingly their purchase of Paypal is basically keeping the entire company afloat at this time and probably will in the future.

I'm going to look into my crystal ball and see we'll eventually see Ebay as a niche marketer with around 10 million volume in auctions at any one time (they hover around 13-14 million now): respectable, but never approaching their heydey. They'll still make money but it will be dwarfed by the amount Paypal brings in, and they'll have had to make many concessions just to keep the amount of buyers/sellers at a steady number. I don't know what form this will take (free listing fees, flat 5% seller's fee on items sold, discounts for multiple listings) but as the slow but steady eroding of their client base continues I think they will be forced into it.

That being said, I wish I had the time and money to attend Ebay Live this year. In contrast to past years, which have been love fests, I bet much like the Democratic convention this year it's going to be a blood bath.

Mike B.

Posts: 4717 · Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 12:15 pm

Mikey, the reason Paypal stays afloat is eBay. They basically won't allow any other payment service.
if a rival site gains any sort of foothold, I can guarantee they won't endorse Paypal. Even if they wrer forced to, they could simply allow other Paypal-like services (with cheaper fees) to be used.
Paypal was OK until they started forcing everyone to upgrade to a Merchant account. We have all paid huge sums of money to them for what often turns out to be a mere data change. And let's not forget that they earn interest on whatever balance is left with them. That is how X.com made THEIR money.
Paybay is going down. The signs are all there.

Posts: 976 · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 2:36 am

http://www.theage.com.au/news/biztech/the-gloves-come-off/2008/05/14/1 210444497491.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

This should be an interesting lawsuit to watch ... eBay vs Craigslist.

Posts: 612 · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 8:09 am

improvstone wrote:

http://www.theage.com.au/news/biztech/the-gloves-come-off/2008/05/14/1 210444497491.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

This should be an interesting lawsuit to watch ... eBay vs Craigslist.

This strikes me as eBay wanting to be the biggest money maker instead of the best internet auction site. If you are the best, you don't have to worry about competition, and most importantly, people will respect you for it and be forgiving when you make mistakes. eBay is poised for an entrepreneurial force to usurp it from the top if they don't change their attitude. Maybe Google will take them on! Smile

Or Microsoft! Confused

Posts: 1007 · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 5:39 pm

My money will be on Google...

Brette:)

Posts: 1351 · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 6:17 pm

Google has some serious advantages if they did, in no particular order:

1) they already know what the most searched for items are

2) they can keep you from being noticed by taking you out of search

3) they are the most popular search tool in the world (last I heard)

4) they can feed ads targeting a specified audience via Google Mail or Desktop

5) they provide free access to the internet in some places

6) everything provided is free, for the most part, to the casual user - they could charge way less than eBay and still make a fortune

7) they already have a PayPal equivalent

and I'm sure there are more...

Google all the way!