posted on February 23, 2007 06:48:53 PM
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/ebays-slow-growth-auctions-spurs/story.aspx?guid={E9BCAFE2-E3F3-4BF5-90E2-574312DCF01B}&siteid=myyahoo&dist=myyahoo
Maybe, Meg - it is because you keep losing sellers because of the fees increases, paypal chargebacks, etc...NAH, that couldn't be part of the problem.
Skype was a great investment, just keep doing all those free listing days on international sites, we can pay for them with the dumb U.S. sellers.
posted on February 24, 2007 03:35:35 PM
"The auctions downtrend has gotten so stark that even as eBay executives try new ways to revive growth in the company's staple business, they're increasingly looking ahead to the day when the majority of their sales and profits will come from another source"
LOL what does that tell ya??
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If you dont want to hear the truth....dont ask the question.
posted on February 24, 2007 08:39:49 PM
One of the reasons I have decided to attend ebay live this year... other than its in Boston so close to me... is that I want to hear with my own ears what Meg and Bill have to say about "the core" their "family".I know I am but a TINY itsibitsi little tini weeni pin prick in their business but to me,in my life, what they do and say with ebay is HUGE! What plans do they have for their "core" Will they listen, do they listen at these events? I want to see for myself.
posted on February 25, 2007 10:09:27 AM
You may not get what you are looking for.
That was the exact reason I attended Ebay Live 2006.
I wanted to hear first hand what Meg and Bill said about stores and about our future on Ebay.
They loved us...they adored us....and we were the power of All of Us.
Then, they destroyed stores and told us how troubling we were and raised the fees (which they knew they were going to do before Ebay Live) to a price that put many of us out of business.
What Meg says to the crowds at Ebay Live and what happens at Ebay are often two very different things
posted on February 25, 2007 11:17:27 AM
eBay is not some alternate planet marketplace; every store, group shop, fleamarket, dollar-store, etc. is flooded with a surplus of new or used "stuff" that no one is any hurry to buy, much less compete for. I just came back for shopping a local antique show, and to be charitable, I will say most of the stuff was "vintage", and it was pretty dead. It ain't selling there, and it ain't gonna sell on eBay, either, and not because of any eBay rules or policy changes.
If eBay feels there is no long-term benefit to supporting this market, it behooves them to look to more productive areas.
[ edited by Damariscotta on Feb 25, 2007 11:18 AM ]
posted on February 25, 2007 08:56:46 PMPart of the recovery plan is also to make PayPal a much more secure option, like distributing a separate, ever-changing password for some eBay sellers and buyers.
That's why eBay is slowly losing it's appeal. They are simply out of touch. The problem with PayPal is they force you to accept unsecure payments. Their fix is to force you to have new and ever changing passwords. Go figure.
posted on February 25, 2007 10:48:18 PM
Growing paypal is the way that they can stay ahead, because there is much ground to be taken from credit card processors. As far as their "core", I say game over. Two years ago, I ran 200 auctions a week. Now I average 1 or 2, maybe. Almost none of my sales on ebay are auctions, and overall ebay has become a fraction of my overall business. That's pretty amazing that two years ago, ebay was about 90% of my business. Getting back to the "core" is trying to regain your virginity. It ain't gonna happen! I believe they are really going to regret what they did to store owners.
Cramer: eBay is the #1 Replacement for Google (EBAY, GOOG)
On tonight's MAD MONEY on CNBC, Jim Cramer changed his stance on Google (GOOG-NASDAQ) and thinks it has to take more of a breather.
Cramers #3 Internet stock to replace GOOG is Yahoo! (YHOO-NASDAQ).
His #2 Internet Stock to replace GOOG is IAC/Interactive (IACI-NASDAQ).
Cramer's #1 Internet stock out there to replace your GOOG holdings is eBay (EBAY-NASDAQ). The stock is up another $2.00 from when he changed his stance and that is after the stock was down in the mid-$20.00's. The company is not as good as GOOG to Cramer as a company, but it is his best as far as a Stock is concerned. To Cramer this represents the best spot on the web now. The funds have been accumulating the stock. EBAY isn't being held back because of decelerating revenue growth like GOOG. He thinks it has mindshare and it is getting great culture coverage, and he actually thinks Skype is doing better than anyone thought. Cramer also thinks the new search feature will pay off and he thinks that PayPal is potentially worth the current value of the company. Cramer even thinks that PayPal is beating GOOG on payments and the comparisons to revenues last year will be better because of easy comparables.
posted on February 26, 2007 09:53:58 PM
BJ: Be sure to give us a rundown of your impressions from the Boston meeting!
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People who want to share their religious views with you almost
never want you to share yours with them.
posted on February 27, 2007 06:43:05 AM
eBay Live really is a "bonding" thing. Frankly, while I had a good time (this was in NO where I probably wouldn't have gone otherwise), I think it's mostly designed for newer sellers, and for those who sell newer items. I didn't have any AHA experiences, and since I do a fair number of shows, I interact with other eBay sellers (who sell what I do) on a regular basis -- not to mention that I get more help and insights here on the vendio board.
I don't believe eBay is particularly interested in their smaller antique/collectible core sellers -- too few of us in the great scheme of eBay (only mention this because of what BJ sells). Not that they're UN-interested, but the focus was really how to make listings, how to upload pics, how to set up a store, how to find items to sell. Lots of workshops on how to source items, but most seemed to be geared towards the least common denominator. A very large eBay University if you will with lots of emphasis on eBay's add-on features.
If you don't have other eBay sellers to chat with, this may be a good experience and since it's close to you, why not? I don't believe you will hear anything that will make you feel better about your eBay livelihood though. And be sure to watch out for those high priced Boston hotels!!
I don't believe eBay is that different from the overall antique and collectable marketplace in general -- sometimes I just hope my customers live longer than I do and that I can benefit and still profit from the rapid changes in what customers want in my niche market.
