posted on June 22, 2001 09:57:25 PM
Hello Glenda, yes, I'm aware of that, I still think it STINKS. I appreciate the fact that your hubby had some influence on the PTB, but the RECO situation still has me seeing red.
The bone that Meg tossed is so small I can barely see it.
So what it boils down to is unless you have a shooting star jacket your willing to burn in effigy at eBay central, nobody will ever give a second thought to squat. For Meg and Pierre to not to have some idea what was up means they are so insulated from what is actually happening to and with eBay that really they could care less. If I was going into a meeting with anyone I would have all the info I could, I hope they were really just playing dumb for Bob.
So I guess I really should care about my powerseller status and I should work my butt off so I can get a shooting star jacket, then I'll be able to use it to flag down ebay, maybe Bob will lend it to other eBay causes. Don't see it happening anytime soon so I guess I'll just try to find some cake to eat.
Again bob thanks for putting your butt on the line.
posted on June 23, 2001 03:17:12 AM
Yes, THANK YOU Bob you certainly put your money where your mouth is...wow..
One question,,,while you were meeting with them DID YOU TELL them ???how upset we all are over many of these horrible rules & changes..could you tell us their reaction?Please?
should we keep shoveling the cake or feel you made a dent in their being aware??
they have hurt so many families that rely on auction money for food money..Have we made them so rich they have no clue,,or refuse to see it..?Did you try to tell them?
specifically i am referring to:
the raised fees,the email dealy,Mostly THE BAN ON LINKS..what an anti-business idea that is..!!
They have hurt all our auctions by driving people to other sites..the horrible fraud rings that they seem to ignore..all of it..
Still sure appreciate what you did!!!
ps. gee ebay cannot even handle their new shops,me icon missing,view sellers other auctions missing..gheesh how will they ever get the reco opt out right?
thanks from Oregon
posted on June 23, 2001 06:03:55 AM
Ebay is STILL the 800 pound gorilla.
While I appreciate the fact that Bob was so fed up and frustrated he put his butt on the line, I believe that Meg is just paying lip service to this latest *crisis*. Ebay management has a history of making soothing noises to calm the troubled masses, then merrily proceed along with their original plan.
I don't hold out much hope that ebay will every pay attention to its sellers until there aren't any.
posted on June 23, 2001 06:12:22 AM
IMO the recommend emails were/are the LEAST of the problems at eBay - at least those kept bidders at the site!! I'm sure it was no skin off Meg's/Pierre's nose to "throw us a bone", as someone else put it.
Higher fees, less service, stability worsening, etc. etc. etc. eBay needs to stop throwing money into these ridiculous features that no one wants and hire programmers that know what they're doing!
posted on June 23, 2001 06:21:01 AM
good job bob (i loved the auction, personally) - however, and i've posted this on ebay, OPT-OUT = SPAM.
"less intrusive" = "less likely that you'll notice". if e-bay really wanted to 'stop spam', they'd make the feature opt-IN, and then 'less intrusive'.
if you use unix, set up your .procmailrc file as follows, where {CR} = the actual carriage retuirn key, and XXXXX should be replaced by your favorite ebay IDs.
then, when you get spam from ebay, it goes back to them. if you use netscape browsers, or IE, i don't know how to do it; HOWEVER, if you ask your system administrator, they can have the mail bounced / forwarded *for you*.
posted on June 23, 2001 11:41:05 AM
Selecto...you are a wise person. Everyone seemed to forget that they would also be on the recieving end of the recommendations...making this also an opportunity to have new customers that could be cultivated (by good customer service and quality merchandise) into loyal, returning buyers.
Meanwhile, eBay doesn't really care who makes a sale, as long as sales are made.
This is ebay's job...to draw new buyers to the site and to do all they can to encourage multiple purchases and to keep the buyers here.
If ebay "cared about WHO makes the sale" they would be creating an unlevel playing field..or, in other words, playing favorites. Something I don't think most sellers want.
I'd agree with the 50/50 statement, IF in fact the RECO emails were indeed tweaked so as to only send specific items to the underbidders. That of course does not happen. I've tried it out myself, on several items, and the RECO email were full of items that although in some cases were "somewhat" related, were never exactly like the item I had bid on. As the underbidder I was now being directed at "other" items in an entirely different pool of items.
What worries me is that impulse buyers might now start looking at items that are "somewhat" related to my item & decide to spend their $$$ on those items. Subliminal advertising if you will.
I appreciate the fact that MY items will be at the top of the RECO email, but all in all I don't need or want eBay helping me cultivate new customers.
I was recently told by an eBay employee that 65% of buyers on eBay use the Search feature to find the items they bid on. If we assume that at least half of the remaining 35% are experienced buyers looking for sleepers, that leaves a very small pool of buyers that are wandering around aimlessly. I imagine most new users discover the Search feature before too long, and those that don't could have been educated as to how it works instead of forcing an "Opt Out" feature down their throats.
eBay allows sellers to contact their underbidders if & when a deal goes south with the high bidder. My guess is they will never have to change this rule due to the fact that most underbidders will have moved on to a "like" item after receiving the RECO email.
Over the years I've had 100% success in selling to the underbidder when the high bidder went deadbeat. My hunch is that figure is about to drop drastically. Lucky for me I don't have too many deadbeats.
I understand why eBay implemented this feature, but that doesn't change how I feel about it. I'm looking at my bottom line, just as they are theirs.
posted on June 23, 2001 04:40:05 PM
I didn't see this mentioned - if it has, excuse me - but as buyers become used to receiving EOA emails with eBay's "recommendations" of similar items, what is the incentive for them to bid actively on your auction? If they wait 24 hours, they'll receive a nice tidy list of 'like' items.
Not only does RECO have an adverse affect on making sales to return buyers, but in the longterm, it will probably bring down closing prices even farther.
posted on June 23, 2001 08:38:56 PM
I don't see what the fuss is all about. I'm the first to criticize eBay but I just don't get it in this case. So, the items they send out are unrelated. You still get free advertising from eBay. And while this may lower prices down, it might also mean items being sold that might now have otherwise. I can understand a seller or bidder not liking the feature, but I don't understand the passion, like putting up your powerseller jacket in protest.
Anyway, that's no criticism of Bob. Although, I would disagree with his conclusion that "eBay is listening." Without the accompanying article published in C|NET, this matter would have been swept under the carpet like every other eBay trick. When C|NET comes knocking on eBay's door asking why their top sellers are protesting, you bet eBay will do everything they can to give that impression. eBay could give a fig about what sellers want. But major media attention is something eBay can't disregard. Not yet, anyway.
posted on June 23, 2001 08:50:36 PM
Bob: Thank you. It is gratifying to know there are still people who are willing to take risks and stand by their convictions.
posted on July 15, 2001 06:39:00 PM
ebay made a few promises they won't keep and had a free listing day to bring everybody back into the fold ...............nothing like a free listing day to make everything forgotten, they had one after the $1 charge for reserves too.....
