eBay Wants Small Sellers!

[williams]

After telling a gathering of high-volume sellers that eBay is becoming a more retail-like site, eBay executives Lorrie Norrington wrote a special post on the eBay Ink blog to tell the community that eBay does indeed want to retain small sellers. Here are some actions that speak louder than words.

- eBay cancelled next year's annual eBay Live user conference, an event at which many small sellers have traditionally attended, saying it would attend smaller meetings next year instead. I can't think of a "Small Meeting" in this industry that is not composed of "Large Sellers," (okay one, but it's out of the price range of many small sellers who enthusiastically attended eBay Live each and every year).

- Shipping costs are rising, and eBay is forcing sellers to reduce shipping charges. This favors high-volume sellers who get volume discounts from shipping services. This, combined with the shipping DSRs, puts the squeeze on small sellers.

- Low-volume sellers are disproportionately affected by negative DSR ratings, leading to a vicious cycle of less exposure, fewer sales, lower volume.

- eBay is giving special deals to Buy.com (and others?) it is not giving to small sellers.

The timing of Lorrie Norrington's post, meant to reassure small sellers, could indicate eBay is worried that small sellers may leave and/or list less. While eBay is headed in a direction where that might not matter to them, for right now, it appears to be of concern.

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[Andelin]

That sums it up nicely.  Ebay has made it almost impossible for small sellers to conduct business on their site.  I dont believe for one minute they were not aware of the outcome of their changes either.  They didnt realize how fast it would happen.  The worst possible change is the one to feedback.  For small sellers who sell maybe 20-25 items a month, one negative, given by a buyer who had a bad day, will totally have you suspended from listing for 30 days. I dont know what they were thinking when they rolled out these changes, but they have made EBAY a four letter word.

[zorich]

Interesting timing on Ms. Norrington's comments. It's hard to find a positive headline about eBay. The "vocal minority" seems to constantly be in the press - in fact, reporters are seeking them out to comment on the Australian PayPal fiasco, the feedback changes, DSRs. So why not throw those sellers a bone and make them feel wanted.

It's not that eBay wants small sellers. They want small sellers to SHUT UP!

[mona]

The Lorrie DonnaHo will soon need radical rhinoplasty if she doesn't already. One wonders how many people she trips just walking down the hallowed halls of the most despicable company in America.

These overpaid chumps couldn't tell the truth if their lives depended on it. They literally don't know what the truth is anymore -- they're just spinning themselves into corporate irrelevance and taking the livelihoods of a good people with them.

Lorrie had better keep her shiny little resume all nice and polished so she can click on the Monster ads that clutter up the search pages ebay sellers pay for.

[dans]

The timing of Lorrie Norrington's post, meant to reassure small sellers, could indicate eBay is worried that small sellers may leave and/or list less. ''

How naive is ebay management to think sellers are that stupid!  I think we're all so sick of the ebay rhetoric that's been spewing from their management since Jan. 2008.  Any small seller who isn't scoping out and listing on other venues is an outright fool.  Don't just list on other venues, get your repeat buyers to follow you.  If they don't know what's going on - explain it to them!  Mine are doing just that!  I have no real idea where ebay wants to go - whether they want small sellers or not...my allegiance to them broke for good in Jan and my buyers are NOT their buyers!  Lots of other sellers feel the same way...some are even big sellers.  Just check the listings on other sites - they are going up and up while ebay now needs gimmicks to keep their listings from nosediving.  Ebay doesn't have to worry about getting rid of small sellers - they DO need to worry about keeping the buyers who frequent small sellers.  When buyers understand what's happening they just don't want to be associated with ebay anymore...the people in power there are not nice people!  Can't put it any plainer than that!  I sure hope they all get exactly what they deserve for putting sellers thru the wringer this year!  They really showed the stuff they're made of!

[Hoss]

OK- we all know what ebay is trying to do to the small seller (myself included.) So what are the good alternative websites? Where are sellers finding new business? I have been scammed twiced this week by buyers on ebay and lost close to a $100. Nothing is done about it and it will get worse as time goes by. We now need to support one another as we start over on other sites. I have not made the move yet because I am not sure what direction to go in. If anybody has any good suggestions please post. Let's bring back a positve community that sellers of any size can grow in. Ina (we love you) can you help us with that? Thank you for reading.

[Arash]

Of course Ebay values its small sellers. They want you to keep paying their bills until they are ready to shove you all out the door and lock it behind you.

The current spin is because they don't want small sellers to leave too soon. They need to finish using you up and milking you dry.

But they only need you for a little while so.

Sargi, go to powersellersunite.com if you want to know what other sites are out there. Check out the forum and you can see what sites other sellers are using and pros and cons for each of them.

But don't look for another Ebay. There isn't one and  why would you want one anyway? If you want success, you must change your thinking. Set up shop elsewhere and learn from those who are already successful just what it takes to make the venue work.

Yes, it will take work but so does Ebay. Don't expect immediate miracles. It will also take time but getting the ugly Ebay monkey off your back will make it well worth it.