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email from President of eBay

image Seems to be someone is listening! Lee

A Message from Bill Cobb


Since becoming the President of eBay North America in December, I've spent a lot of time listening to you, our Community. There's a lot on your minds right now. I've been taking it all in and thinking hard about how we can make sure eBay remains a fun, safe place to trade, and a prosperous home for our many dedicated sellers.

One of the issues I've heard a lot about is our recent fee increases, particularly the increase in Store Inventory Format final value fees. I've also heard concerns about customer support, the amount of change we make to the site on a regular basis, and trust and safety. We're listening to everything you have to say.

eBay has become a hugely successful marketplace as a result of the innovation, enthusiasm and hard work of our Community. The site has also become more complex as it has grown to meet many of your needs. So our challenge is to keep pace with the Community's changing requirements, while preserving the things that make eBay so special. With that in mind, I'd like to give you a preview of some upcoming changes for the United States and Canada.

eBay has a fantastic Customer Support team, but Meg and I agree we haven't invested enough in giving our CS reps the flexibility and tools they need to really take care of you. So, to start, within the next 90 days, we'll shut down most of our automated email responses. Our users will get a "real" e-mail response to their questions - you'll hear from a human being who will try to help you with your problem or question right off the bat. We will only use auto responses to acknowledge receipt of spam or policy violation reports.

We also think the time has come to expand phone support. Currently phone support is available only to Silver, Gold, Platinum and Titanium PowerSellers. Starting April 1, all eBay Stores owners also will have access to phone support. We'll provide details on the benefits of phone support to Stores owners soon.

We know pricing is a critical issue for our sellers. While we stand behind our decision to increase final value fees on Store Inventory Format listings - because they make sense for items that list with insertion fees of two cents - I know this increase has been difficult for some of our sellers. To reward our eBay Stores sellers, we'll be crediting $15.95 - a month's Basic Stores subscription - in May to all sellers who operated an eBay Store for the month of April. Stores owners will receive more details on this soon.

We also want to do something for the rest of our sellers. I'm happy to announce that effective at midnight tonight, eBay.com and eBay.ca will reduce minimum insertion fees for Auction-Style listings, Fixed Price, Motors Non-Vehicle and B&I non-Capital Equipment Categories from 30 cents to 25 cents (CA$0.35 to CA$0.30). eBay Germany has always used this pricing, and users there have benefited from higher conversion rates on items with lower starting bids.

One of the great things about eBay is the candor and passion of our Community. Your input keeps this company focused on what's right and important. Later this month, I'll be hosting an online meeting to hear more from you. You'll see more details on the Announcement Board soon. And I'll periodically post notes like this one to talk about issues of importance to all of us.

eBay has never stopped listening to our users and we never will. I know many of you already have Meg's e-mail address and frequently send her messages about things you care about. I hope you will do the same with me. I promise I'll read every e-mail. And most of all, I'll listen.

Sincerely,

Bill Cobb
President
eBay North America

Comments

  • What caught my eye in all that BS was:

    We will only use auto responses to acknowledge receipt of spam or policy violation reports.

    I would think that policy violations would be something their users would like to get ....... A "REAL" email responce, "From a human being", to their questions.

    Evidently Bill don't listen that good



    << <i>eBay has never stopped listening to our users and we never will. >>




    LOL ... LOL ...
  • RussRuss Posts: 48,514 ✭✭✭


    << <i>eBay has a fantastic Customer Support team >>



    image

    Russ, NCNE
  • stev32kstev32k Posts: 2,098 ✭✭✭
    There does not seem to be much emphasis on the buyers. I guess he thinks the buying side "looks all good to him".
    Who is General Failure, and why is he reading my hard drive?


  • << <i>What caught my eye in all that BS was:

    We will only use auto responses to acknowledge receipt of spam or policy violation reports.

    I would think that policy violations would be something their users would like to get ....... A "REAL" email responce, "From a human being", to their questions.

    Evidently Bill don't listen that good



    << <i>eBay has never stopped listening to our users and we never will. >>




    LOL ... LOL ... >>

    How many of these do you think they get each day? How many times just here have we had threads where the posse went riding and lynched someone only to find out later that the lynching was in mistake? Just an observation!image
  • bearcavebearcave Posts: 3,996 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Guess my spam filter got mine.
    Ken
  • What's funny about this was the criticism hurled at those complaining about Ebay fees. Those who questioned Ebay or called it "greedy" were accused of being whiners, losers, and even communists (both here and elsewhere). This is a good reminder that capitalism works both ways -- and looks like all those whiners effectuated change some significant change at Fleebay. Even the WSJ is reporting on Ebay's changed tune:



    EBay to Reduce Some Fees, Expand Customer Support
    By Mylene Mangalindan

    EBay Inc., responding to seller anger about some planned fee increases, plans to lower some listing fees and expand customer-support services.

    After listening to feedback from sellers, the online auctioneer said it plans to broaden the customer support services it currently offers users. It will replace most automated e-mail responses to users' queries with e-mail responses from actual customer-service representatives who will try to address questions or assist with problems, said Bill Cobb, eBay president of North America, in a message posted on the company's Web site Sunday. The company will send out automated e-mail only to acknowledge receipt of spam and policy violation reports. This change will occur within the next 90 days. . . . .

    Effective midnight, EBay plans to reduce the minimum insertion, or listing, fees for auction-style listings, fixed price, nonvehicle motors, and noncapital equipment business and industrial categories to 25 cents from 30 cents on its U.S. and its Canadian Web sites. (EBay Canada insertion fees will be reduced from 35 cents Canadian to 30 cents Canadian.) . . . .

    These customer service and other changes stemmed from the seller response to the company's Jan. 12 announcement about changes to its fees. EBay mostly raised optional fees such as the "gallery" picture feature that accompanies auction listings and its fee to host a "store" on the Web site. Some sellers have said they plan to leave the site or boycott it to protest the fee increases, which go into effect Feb. 18.
    Realtime National Debt Clock:

    image
  • BearBear Posts: 18,953 ✭✭✭
    This is mere damage control, untill the anger subsides.

    Does anyone seriously believe that real changes are in the works?
    There once was a place called
    Camelotimage
  • BFD! They are crediting one month of store fees. That will just delay mass store closings by a month or two.

    Most of that letter was a glorified way of saying this: were are doing nothing, suck it up, here's a "bone", now STFU!!
  • BearBear Posts: 18,953 ✭✭✭
    The only thing that will get the companies serious attention, is a significent and

    prolonged drop in bussines and profits.
    There once was a place called
    Camelotimage
  • robertprrobertpr Posts: 6,862 ✭✭✭
    I think that, for the rather stiff price increases the store owners face, eBay should be doing something to help increase traffic into the stores to justify their higher costs. Thus far, I have seen nothing of the sort. Doubling the ten day format particularly pisses me off.

    For $191.40 a year, you can get a very reasonable website hosting package, complete with domain name, and still save money below that figure. How can eBay justify charging that rate, PLUS 8% of the closing price of each item????? That's just plain outrageous.

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