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Who Killed the Golden Goose? A Farewell Letter to EbayTuesday, September 2, 2008
Did you ever get the feeling that somewhere wealthy people in suits were creating policies and procedures which did nothing but make your life more difficult? No, I am not talking about politicians. At one time the old joke went something like this...."Do you know what the ten most feared words in the English language are? "We're from the government and we are here to help." For Ebay users the joke has changed....to the point where it isn't funny anymore. Now the punchline reads like this " We are implementing exciting new changes which will create a safe marketplace for the seller and better buying experience for the buyer."
Recently, Ebay instituted a set of changes which included changes to their feedback system. The changes included doing away with negative feedback for buyers. Apparently, Ebay bought into the notion that large numbers of Ebay sellers were holding buyers hostage through the misuse of feedback. Ebay argued that sellers were blackmailing buyers into leaving inappropriate positive feedback by threatening them with a negative. As a result, sellers may no longer leave negative or neutral feedback for buyers. Well as you might expect this has opened the door to lots of non paying bidders and feedback extortion on the part of buyers. Not happy with shipping charges (even though you agreed to pay it when you bid), hit the seller with a negative. Not happy with the amount of time that it took to receive your item (three days), hit the seller with a negative. Buyer's remorse? No problem. Threaten a negative until buyer meets your hostage demands. You get the picture. In my humble opinion, make feedback a two way street or do away with it altogether. These feedback "improvements" were unreasonable, but hey, it gets better---the newest changes are unconscionable. Beginning in October, Ebay is going to require that sellers accept Paypal. In addition, cash, checks, or money orders will no longer be permitted as forms of payment. It should be noted here that Ebay owns Paypal and that Paypal get an percentage of the sale inaddition to the final value fee. I accept Paypal and have no problem doing so, but to FORCE sellers to accept Paypal while prohibiting other more traditional forms of payment seems to me to be unAmerican.....perhaps even somewhat illegal.
In addition to prohibiting paper payments and requiring that members take Paypal, Ebay has instituted limits on shipping and handling fees -- apparently Ebay believes that padded envelopes, packing materials, and tape are free. Ironically enough, buyers can still leave a negative or low star rating for excessive shipping. Go figure. To top it off Ebay is banning members whose seller dashboard averages are below 4.3 stars. Yet the rubric for the stars states that 4.0 stars demonstrates a good buying experience. When I was in school 80% was consider pretty good--a B at worst. Below is my open letter to Ebay.
Dear Ebay, It is with much regret that I inform you that I have cancelled my selling manager subscription and have not listed any auctions on your site for over a month now. This inactivity comes in response to Ebay's lack of response to seller's concerns related to Ebay's Draconian new policies designed to "protect" the sellers.
With the last set of "improvements" you made it where sellers cannot leave accurate feedback about buyers---only positive. Then you come back not three months later and tell us we HAVE to accept Paypal and cannot accept any other means of payment (e.g. checks or money orders), you will be limiting the amounts that can be charged for shipping and handling, and that sellers who dip below 4.3 (it should be noted that a four star rating on your dashboard is listed as GOOD) on the seller's dashboard will be banned from selling.
Clearly, you are trying to run off the small seller. Well, in my case, mission accomplished. I will not be posting anymore auctions or using Paypal until such time that Ebay reverses itself on these issues. I have been a member of Ebay since 1997. I have helped contribute to its growth and success, albeit in a very small way. Clearly, had Ebay started with these asinine rules, it would not be where it is today.
I would appreciate a response from a live breathing human being, but I will not hold my breath. Save your canned emails. Nothing you can say will explain away the disrespect that you have shown those who have helped create the Ebay marketplace. You have shown your sellers absolutely NO LOYALTY. Yet, many of your small sellers are hanging on---listing auctions--showing loyalty-- hoping that their collective voices will be heard. I am not that naive.
As we speak, I am looking for online alternatives to Ebay. Your coporate arrogance is amusing. Just as hundreds of thousands of small sellers built Ebay, we can do the same for an upstart fledgling company who recognizes and values those who produce revenue for the company. I will encourage those in the collectible marketplace to do the same. Comments  The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. If you feel that a comment is offensive, use the exclamation point icon beside the comment to send a report to the webmaster.
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Who Killed the Golden Goose? A Farewell Letter to Ebay (September 2, 2008) advertisement
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I stopped using Ebay after more than one person stole my identity and password and were buying and not paying. I was threatened many times from Ebay and they finally realized what had happened. NO THANKS IN THE FUTURE.
I find the Paypal requirement to be the most onerous rule. Paypal can grab your money from your account on the say-so of one of the dishonest buyers and you have no ability to protect yourself.
Example: I know of a seller who sent a new computer to a buyer. The buyer claimed that the seller sent him a broken machine and returned it. This was totally untrue. The buyer "returned" the machine. When the seller opened the box, it was a totally different used broken machine that was about 4 years old instead of the brand new computer that was shipped.
Paypal refunded the money to the buyer and the buyer scammed the seller for the new machine and also got his money back. The seller was just out of luck.
Paypal wants you to be "verified" and forces you to get that way if you use Paypal for very long. Verified means that Paypal gets to withdrawl from your bank account. This is very dangerous thing to do when Paypal makes decisions that appear to be arbitrary.
I STRONGLY suggest you Google Paypal and see all the thousands and thousands of people that are getting reamed by this company. I would not give Paypal a nickel and I certainly would not invite them to decide if I can use my bank account when they are done with it.
I think that Ebay will be safer for the honest buyers now, but I cannot imagine any reason on earth why someone would want to sell on Ebay now.
I personally have been held hostage on my feedback and I am an honest man. I do know that it is not right for either side to have the advantage.
I think that having all transactions above a certain amount go automatically into escrow would help.
E-bay can kiss me goodbye as a buyer. I won't use PayPal after they allowed another person to add an account to mine to money launder. It tooks months to resolve.