I hate laptops.

Could have been worse

I hate laptops

I’d say they are, Richard. If they’ve managed to get 4.6+ on all four DSRs and keep to 98% feedback when buyers are no longer afraid of retaliatory negs, then that’s damn close to perfect in my book.

“50% of PowerSellers” is a fairly meaningless statistic unless we know how many people have been removed from the PS Program too.

I wish I’d noted what my totals were to know whether that was true.

Why only Powersellers? I was so damn close to getting my PS status back this month but just not close enough. It’s soooo frustrating. I’ve been on the site for years, got 100% feedback (even on ebay Australia!) good DSRs and it’s depressing to see the seller dashboard say “items sold: required level 300 your level 287″ and know that I’m just missing out on discounts and all the other advantages that make it worth while being a PS (when I was a PS for a few years with NO advantages at all).
I’m feeling as if I’m gradually being edged out with all the changes that are being made.

You should leave honest and accurate Feedback without the fear of receiving negative or neutral ratings”

100% correct, At least in 12 months if you see a seller with 100% you will know it is honest and genuine feedback unlike now. I just can’t wait to see the results of what can only be a better ebay.

As for the sellers claiming (as usual) they are leaving as they can no longer neg buyers all i can say is, Hurry up and go! ebay do not need you maybe ebid do.

We will be strengthening our advice in this regard to buyers who are about to leave a neg – and blocking them from doing so for a week for tenured Powersellers.

I would imagine that once the new system has settled in and sellers are receiving a few more red and grey blobs, the 98% requirement for the PS programme (and for the DSR discounts) will be adjusted downwards, or am I being a little over optimistic?

Yes, this is the principle. We want to keep roughly the same number of Powersellers, and roughly the same number of them getting discounts.

I think the whole point of the changes they’ve made is to get rid of sellers. eBay want to be able to say that their marketplace is the best on the internet: they want to say that every. single. time. you buy from eBay you will have a fantastic experience, guaranteed – and the only way they can do that is to get rid of sellers who aren’t pretty damn close to perfect.

There are some sellers whose time on the site will be curtailed by these changes, but I don’t think we’re expecting close to perfection from sellers. 50% of all Powersellers are getting fee discounts, for instance – they can’t all be close to perfect.

It will take very little (maybe a postal strike, or a medical emergency) to Naru a seller, particularly as it seems there is no way to improve once an account has been limited.

This is more or less the #1 thing I’m monitoring at the moment. I’m pretty clear that SNP does a lot more good than harm to the site, but it’s fair comment that the rehab process is very much tougher now, and we’re looking closely at that.

Ebay wants to be a strip mall, and wants everyone listing the same retail stuff

This is a myth, but I can see how it’s been built up. In a year, in two years, the site will still be full of unusual, esoteria auction items. Retail/ fixed price is growing quicker, that’s true, and getting more share of the airwaves at the moment, but we all want a balance on the marketplace.

Cheers
Richard

[Edited by Sue to correct HTML tags.]

And as most sellers claim they did not hold buyers to ransom with neg feedback there should not actually be a problem, The only sellers that have to worry are the bad one’s. And about time to.

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

On another matter, my DSRs have gone down by about 50 marks since yesterday. They were on 135, 135, 132, 132, now they’re in the 80s. I don’t currently have access to the PS board (I will soon again hopefully) so I don’t know if anyone else has got this problem.

I get very few cheques or pos these days.

And my own experience is that I don’t think they are deliberately trying to get rid of sellers like us, I think auctions are still viable, and collectable buyers are still plentiful and happy to pay reasonable prices for run of the mill collectables and excellent prices for rarities.

No, Sue, I am the kind of seller they are getting rid of.

It has nothing to do with feedback, I do not fit their corporate image and do not sell new retail stock. They are attempting to suck the life out of my area of the market to create a strip mall (although my sales are still good so far). Ebay are prepared to shed older buyers, the kind who will seriously compete for collectibles but will not trust putting their financial details on-line and will not sign up with ANY online payment service. And while Ebay cast off the buyers they don’t want, they have made it clear that they will not discount (or compensate over the transition period) because “you pay the fees — but what you’re paying for are buyers.” (quoting Simon Smith at the same meeting as his tactful heroin comment)

When most of the current promotions are for fixed price items, listings that use pre-filled information, and items listed by Power Sellers, you really have to wonder whether Lorrie Norrington’s lip service to small sellers this week is a little misguided. Ebay wants to be a strip mall, and wants everyone listing the same retail stuff (unique and unusual items do NOT have pre-filled information). I want to run my business, using auctions to determine the fair market value of old and unusual items. We are no longer compatible. We may mutually use each other while it is still financially viable to do so, but I am one of the types of sellers that Ebay wants to be rid of.

Kevin

cos I won’t be living the eBay life very much longer if my first estimate is true…

The flip side is that if we have an eBay filled with happy confident buyers, we should all make more money from it.