Power-Seller Card Merchants To Get Advantage In Search Results
storm888
Posts: 11,701 ✭✭✭
Bill Cobb says the venue will "experiment" with giving PSers'
listings preference in certain search results.
Amazing !!!!
listings preference in certain search results.
Amazing !!!!
Folks Who Bite Get Bitten. Folks Who Don't Bite Get Eaten.
0
Comments
<< <i>Bill Cobb says the venue will "experiment" with giving PSers'
listings preference in certain search results.
Amazing !!!! >>
Didn't see that - I'll have to check it out. But how the heck are they gonna do that? Place the PS in front of others in say the ending date? That would be an advantage - an unfair advantage to everyone else.
Many buyers will not buy from Power Sellers, they feel a Power Seller is a big business and therefore lacks the human touch they want.
So if true this is far from fair, another thing Ebay has to remember the non-power sellers make up as much or more monthly income for them as the power sellers do.
<< <i>Many buyers will not buy from Power Sellers, they feel a Power Seller is a big business and therefore lacks the human touch they want. >>
I've never heard that before. Personally, doesn't matter to me if they are or not.
<< <i>Many buyers will not buy from Power Sellers, they feel a Power Seller is a big business and therefore lacks the human touch they want. >>
Honestly, that sounds like nonsense. If anything, the logo reassures the buyer that the seller has "done this" a few times before and knows how to conduct business on Ebay, as opposed to buying from some kid who will send your card in a plain white envelope, if at all.
I don't think it matters much, but to say that being a powerseller hurts sales, that makes no sense.
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
There are huge blocks of buyers - across categories - that
would NEVER consider buying anything from a PSer.
Buyers of collectibles are particularly reluctant to buy from
PSers.
OTOH, many electronics and clothing buyers are more
comfortable buying from PSers.
MANY PSers do not display their PS-logo, because they
do not want to lose customers. The logo is more useful
when used for seasonal sales that attract buyers who
are less experienced on EBAY.
//////////////////////////////////////////////
Yup.
And, it is calculated on total FB received; NOT on total "unique FB."
<< <i>
There are huge blocks of buyers - across categories - that
would NEVER consider buying anything from a PSer.
Buyers of collectibles are particularly reluctant to buy from
PSers.
OTOH, many electronics and clothing buyers are more
comfortable buying from PSers.
MANY PSers do not display their PS-logo, because they
do not want to lose customers. The logo is more useful
when used for seasonal sales that attract buyers who
are less experienced on EBAY. >>
Buyer who refuse to buy from a power sellers are really limiting their quality resources. I am a silver powerseller and I am just a normal guy that provides great customer service. I do this in addition to working full time and going to school part time. I simply sell cards to provide my self with means to bolster my own collection for free. There are tons of powersellers out there who are just like me.
I would much rather buy from someone that can provide me with a quality scan, package my card right, act professional, and have feedback to show it; and powersellers are the main ebayers that can do this. When I think of the problems I have had on ebay, it is not with the powersellers.
Really it is sad that buyers would be so foolish as to lump all powersellers into the same category. That would be the same as putting bigtimesports in the same category as steve hart or any of you sellers that are not psers in the catergory as gary.
Sounds pretty foolish, don't you think???
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Also - I see the PS logo as much more of an advantage overall than any perceived disadvantage.
On the PS thing I have in my Ebay history left 4 negs 3 were to Power Sellers for not delivering the product. One had the balls to tell me that Ebay would suspend me if I did not drop my Paypal claim and mutualy agree to remove the neg.
I know not all PS'ers fall in this group, but if you look at alot of them they tend to brag about it in their listings spending more time on that than the item itself that is an automatic back button hit for me. When I joined the PS program I had about a 20% decrease in sales the first few weeks and had probaly a 50% increase in problem buyers. Buyers whining about not having their items yet when they only paid 2 days before. Amazingly after i dropped out I stopped getting those as much. Within 2 months I was back to the level and choose not to join and have never missed a beat.
Lets face it you can sell 10 items and have minor problems on all of them and be a powerseller or you can sell 100 items with no problems and not be a Powerseller. Who would you feel safer dealing with?
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Alot of the changes being announced in Boston are up and running
in Europe...................
Note that stores are also back in favor. A new stores tab will be at
the top of each page, starting next month
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
June 15, 2007 | 01:18PM PST/PT
Bill Cobb
Hello everyone...It's good to be here in the fantastic city of Boston. Last night I -- along with Meg (Meg Whitman, eBay Inc. CEO) and Rajiv (Rajiv Dutta, President of PayPal) -- had the opportunity to address 10,000 eBay buyers and sellers at our keynote. We webcast the keynote live for folks at home, and I hope you had a chance to join us online.
I want to share some of the announcements I made for eBay.com last night. Rajiv will also be sharing some important PayPal announcements he made last night, plus some of my team will offer more specifics in their own posts later on.
Creating Colorful Commerce
By now, most members have heard us talk about "re-igniting the core." What we mean is that we're investing in the quintessential eBay experience of buying and selling – person to person – in an auction format. Today online shopping is main-stream – but it's also becoming boring. We're taking a stand for what we believe – that different is good – that people are more interesting than things – that eBay is still the place to go for the rockin' deal – and that the combination of all these things is what has created eBay.com into a destination like no other.
Bringing this promise to life is a "high stakes balancing act" as I said last night. Millions of people use eBay every day. We understand that as we work to transform the site, any change is a potential disruption to our members. The benefit must be absolutely clear. I think you'll agree that the projects we're working on now bring significant value to the marketplace – and make the most of our "eBay-ness."
New Homepage - We're testing a number of variations of a new design for our homepage. You'll notice that we've made a conscious shift with these new designs – moving from a static table of contents to a page that serves as a gateway to the world of eBay. The new homepage will be better organized, more relevant to you, and much simpler. There's even some white space! You can get a sense of the new look in Mike Osborn's recent Announcement board post. Look for a final launch of our new Homepage this fall.
Visual Navigation – I said last January that fixing Finding would be a top priority for us this year. A big step forward on this front is a new feature we call Visual Navigation. Visual Navigation makes shopping more like shopping, and less like reading from a restaurant menu. You can sort by price or color across almost any category. We've begun to introduce Visual Navigation in new products such as eBay To Go and eBay My World. Over the next several months, provided it meets your needs, we'll be introducing this into several categories where we think buyers will appreciate a more interactive shopping experience.
eBay Countdown - Our Buyer Experience team is working on a number of new ways to make bidding more exciting and more convenient. You recently learned about eBay To Go, a new widget that lets you showcase your eBay discoveries on your blog or website, as well as Bid Assistant, which gives buyers a fun way to bid on multiple auction listings at one time, so you get more chances to win the item you really want. Another feature we're working on is eBay Countdown. eBay Countdown celebrates the competition that is such a big part of the eBay auction experience. eBay Countdown is a new tool buyers can use with a BIG clock and a..."price ticker thingy"...to remind you of items you've saved or are bidding on. Look for eBay Countdown – plus, a new fast way to place a bid in the last 15 minutes of an auction – this fall.
Now I'd like to talk about our sellers. Buyers have more options online these days, but so do our sellers. We know that many of you are multi-channel, and we know that we need to continually add to the value that you get on eBay.
eBay Stores
First I'd like to acknowledge that after eBay Live! last year, we did something unusual and raised our fees for Store Inventory format listings. Many of our Stores sellers weren't happy about that – but as I said then, there was a pressing need to rebalance the marketplace. I'm pleased to say we're seeing the results we wanted, and we appreciate our sellers for their support. While growth in overall listings has slowed (as we expected), conversion rates have improved, due in part, to better quality inventory on the site.
Now, for those who may be wondering, I want to share with you what I shared last night – there will be no increase in selling fees this July.
We're doing a number of important things to make it worth your while to have an eBay Store. Darlene Clementz of the eBay Stores team will be following up this letter with information about some great new Stores improvements, but I'd like to personally let you know about one change I mentioned last night.
A few weeks ago we launched a new header design. Our Stores sellers have made it clear that they don't like it, because there is no eBay Stores link. Well, you're right – you should have one. Within the next 30 days, we plan to put eBay Stores back where they belong – in the header at the top of every eBay page.
PowerSeller Program
PowerSellers are vital to the marketplace. As we work to upgrade the buyer experience, we also want to revitalize the PowerSeller program to offer incentives, rewards, and recognition to those sellers who consistently delight eBay buyers.
New eligibility requirements for Seasonal and High-volume/Low ASP sellers - You've asked for these changes for a long time. Sellers who have a high-volume seasonal business, or who specialize in items with low average selling prices (like trading cards, media, etc.) want to get recognized for their hard work, and we agree. Starting this fall, we're adjusting the eligibility requirements to accommodate these groups of sellers. Edurne Jorda who manages the PowerSeller program will be back to give you more details.
Unpaid Item Rebate on Auction Feature Fees – For years you've asked us to insure you from losses on those occasions when a buyer doesn't pay. Well, we've heard you, and starting on August 1st, PowerSellers will get a rebate on unpaid item feature fees for auction listings (where Immediate Payment is not an option) when they accept PayPal and specify reasonable shipping & handling fees.
I also told the audience last night that we're currently evaluating how a seller's PowerSeller status and excellent track record serving customers might be factored into our search logic on eBay. It's something our best sellers have been wanting for a long time. We're not ready to do this yet – but it is something we're moving towards.
So these are some of the ways we're investing in our sellers, and we'll be announcing more throughout the coming months. By investing in the success of our sellers, we're investing in the eBay marketplace.
And on that note -- before I close -- I'm pleased to offer our sellers a little summer relief to your selling costs. Starting June 19th and continuing through August 5th, we will LOWER the first tranche of Final Value Fees from 5.25% to 4.5%. This applies to auction, auction BIN, or pure fixed price format listings. Consider it a little eBay Live! gift to our fantastic community.
So stay tuned for more information on these and other announcements. And thank you for your partnership – no matter how sophisticated our features get, what really matters is you, the people!
Sincerely,
Bill Cobb
President, eBay North America
///////////////////////////////////////
June 15, 2007 | 03:12PM PST/PT
Edurne Jorda
Hi...this is Edurne Jorda with our Seller Development team, and I'm having a great time in Boston getting to know many of our best sellers who are part of the PowerSeller program. As Bill Cobb mentioned, last night we shared some good news for our PowerSellers, and I'd like to provide a few more details.
The PowerSeller program is a vital part of the marketplace. As we work to improve the buyer experience, we're shifting the focus of the PowerSeller program so that it offers more value to our best sellers who consistently deliver a great buyer experience. While more changes will be coming over the next several months, Bill introduced several important initiatives we're ready to launch this fall.
"Seasonal" sellers to be eligible. This long-requested change is finally happening! If you sell a high volume, but just during your particular selling season (such as if you’re selling skis, golf clubs, etc.), we want to recognize your contributions. We know you work incredibly hard, so soon you’ll have access to phone support and the PowerSeller icon heading into your peak selling season, right when you need it most.
High-volume, Low-Average Selling Price sellers to be eligible. Sellers who list items like trading cards or media or other items with low average prices will now be eligible for the PowerSeller program. Just like seasonal sellers, you work extremely hard selling a lot of product, and it's time to recognize your efforts. We'll be adjusting our eligibility requirements so each PowerSeller level can be obtained based on dollar OR unit volume.
Enhanced PowerSeller support for Bronze level. Later this year, Bronze PowerSellers that meet the annual sales requirement, either through consistent monthly sales or high-volume seasonal sales, will have access to phone support just like Silver PowerSellers.
"Unpaid Item Insurance" for PowerSellers following best practices. You've often asked us for protection against losses from non-paying bidders, and we’ve listened. I'm pleased to let you know that by August 1st, PowerSellers will get their money back for any listing feature fees when the buyer doesn’t pay for the item and you file an Unpaid Item claim. You simply need to follow these selling best-practices:
List in the auction format (since you don’t have the option of requiring Immediate Payment for auctions).
Specify reasonable shipping & handling charges.
Accept PayPal.
We'll have more information on this rebate available soon.
Those are the highlights – keep an eye out for more information about these, and other, changes to the PowerSeller program coming soon!
Sincerely,
Edurne Jorda
Seller Development
I like this part best of all..
<< <i>Its unfair because Power Sellers do not always spend more money. I have been "invited" into the program 4 different times and only accepted it once. When I did join I noticed an immediate DECREASE in sales.
Many buyers will not buy from Power Sellers, they feel a Power Seller is a big business and therefore lacks the human touch they want.
So if true this is far from fair, another thing Ebay has to remember the non-power sellers make up as much or more monthly income for them as the power sellers do. >>
I would tend to agree with this statement.
I'm currently a power seller. I've been qualified to join for many years and didn't for the above reasons. I finally relented a few month's back for one reason only, to have access to a direct phone for a customer service rep. as I was involved in a ebay dispute. That was the only reason to join.
PS's get nothing else in return but that stupid little icon next to your ebay name. We've all seen ton's of high volume power sellers with crummy feedback profiles too. That seems to be the norm.
I would rather give my business to a smaller seller any day of the week. Obviously not all power sellers are bad, but enough are terrible to blindly recommend them over a non-power seller vendor.
I also don't think power sellers should get a leg up on any searches either. That's like saying PSA should give better grades to higher volume submitters. That's just plain wrong to me.
I've often thought the only reason they have power sellers at all is it's something ebay can float out to their investors as a sign they're growing their business module. You can just hear CEO Meg Whitman touting, 'We now have 3,000,000 power sellers on boards and have increased customer satisfaction because of this'. It's all marketing BS.
The power seller thing doesn’t influence my decision to bid or not to bid one way or the other.
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<<< And on that note -- before I close -- I'm pleased to offer our sellers a little summer relief to your selling costs. Starting June 19th and continuing through August 5th, we will LOWER the first tranche of Final Value Fees from 5.25% to 4.5%. This applies to auction, auction BIN, or pure fixed price format listings. Consider it a little eBay Live! gift to our fantastic community. >>>
The above sorta tells me that some "big boys" maybe perhaps a Google is looking at how much money Ebay is making and possibly is thinking about becoming a major competitive player, and Ebay wants to send a signal to that possible player that they can reduce fees any time they want hence hoping to give some disincentive for that posible player to want to enter the internet auction marketplace.
<< <i>Thanks for the post.
<<< And on that note -- before I close -- I'm pleased to offer our sellers a little summer relief to your selling costs. Starting June 19th and continuing through August 5th, we will LOWER the first tranche of Final Value Fees from 5.25% to 4.5%. This applies to auction, auction BIN, or pure fixed price format listings. Consider it a little eBay Live! gift to our fantastic community. >>>
The above sorta tells me that some "big boys" maybe perhaps a Google is looking at how much money Ebay is making and possibly is thinking about becoming a major competitive player, and Ebay wants to send a signal to that possible player that they can reduce fees any time they want hence hoping to give some disincentive for that posible player to want to enter the internet auction marketplace. >>
I would love to see Google give ebay a run for their money in the auction arena. Competition would hopefully drive down fee's and make listing auctions again a worthwhile endeavor. The listing fee's and to some extent the final value fee's are what's hurting sellers and buyers. The buyers have less choices because the fee's are too high for sellers to list items. Charging 60 cents to list a $15 card is ridiculous.
is thinking about becoming a major competitive player,........"
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I wish that was the case, but there is no evidence that
GOOG is at all interested. They have had numerous shots
at giving it a try; the opportunity is far less attractive than
it was even 12-months ago.
EBAY is an extremely labor-intensive operation. GOOG is
not currently set-up for that kind of task. GOOG gets
their money - so far - mostly in a B2B environment; I
cannot see them easily adapting to having to deal with
the kind of customer-demographic that an online sales
venue produces.
I would love to open some GOOG stores, but I doubt I
will have the chance to do so.
NOTE: Thursday, EBAY moved all of their US keyword ads off
of GOOG, and onto YAHOO and MSN. There are anecdotal
reports of large sales increases in the past 24-hours. It
will be an interesting experiment.
I'm a Powerseller and I only choose to participant in the program to show all of the buyer I am committed to my high standards as a seller. I have done over 3000 transaction and I have 100% feedback. Have I had issues? Yes, there have been a few buyers unhappy but I make them happy in the end. I'm not a dealer either but I do sell enough goods to be a PowerSeller which means I want some special benefits. To be considered a PowerSeller you have to average $1000 or so in sales a month or quarter. Not sure of the criteria but you have to sell on a regular basis. I sell cards to buy cards and if buyers won't buy that fine. Most of the crap I sell is worth keeping so there isn't a big push.
lickablebean - Richard Myers
How do I qualify?
Each month eBay automatically sends email invitations to qualified sellers.
To qualify, members must:
Have been an active member for 90 days Average a minimum of $1000 in sales per month, for three consecutive months
Achieve an overall Feedback rating of 100, of which 98% or more is positive
Have an account in good financial standing
I hear a bunch of whining about the big dealers but I believe if the "big dealers" weren't around the hobby would suck. They drive SMR and offer the cards we need to complete sets. If you're willing to pay the bucks great if not you can spend the money on grading fees and shipping and still not get the desired grade. Personally, I don't send much to PSA for grading because it's to much of a risk. I would rather see someone else take the risk and then I can purchase if the the "Price is Right". If not, I try to a have a few graded. With many people collecting mid to mid high graded cards it's easier to get those graded yourself but high grade stuff is tough so I opt to buy from dealers and maybe get lucky with a few on the "bay".
I also see a bunch of people whining about dealer prices. Get over it! SMR is a guide and isn't up to date. Ever checked Beckett prices for 48 Bowman Football and then SMR. Raw cards have a higher book value then graded. What the hell is up with this? For three years now PSA 9 commons have sold for $700 - $1200 and SMR is $400. However, if you have some 48s in PSA 9 I'll buy them all for $550 each.
JC - Just collect the damn things and stop bltching.
Anyone want to trade?
Damn I've had a bad day so I'm laying it all out on this thread. Sorry!
Time for my meds! Have a great night!
<< <i>"...perhaps a Google is looking at how much money Ebay is making and possibly
is thinking about becoming a major competitive player,........"
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
I wish that was the case, but there is no evidence that
GOOG is at all interested. They have had numerous shots
at giving it a try; the opportunity is far less attractive than
it was even 12-months ago.
EBAY is an extremely labor-intensive operation. GOOG is
not currently set-up for that kind of task. GOOG gets
their money - so far - mostly in a B2B environment; I
cannot see them easily adapting to having to deal with
the kind of customer-demographic that an online sales
venue produces.
I would love to open some GOOG stores, but I doubt I
will have the chance to do so.
NOTE: Thursday, EBAY moved all of their US keyword ads off
of GOOG, and onto YAHOO and MSN. There are anecdotal
reports of large sales increases in the past 24-hours. It
will be an interesting experiment. >>
Interesting point - You are much more well informed than me on this matter. I just know what is widely known that Ebay and Google do not like each other. Suffice with any details, but I've seen "corporate wars" happen before whereby for various reasons the heads seem to take things personal rather than from a business perspective, especially if two businesses are "stealing" good employees away from each other.
Perhaps you're right and it doesn't make sense for Google to enter this market, but that doesn't mean it won't happen. One thing for sure, competition is good for the consumer and the consumer would be well served for ebay to have some good competition.
That seems like the case over on the coin message board, this huge aversion to power sellers. People afraid to have the logo next to their name... just plain silly.
I was a bronze level for about a year because I was liquidating a large coin collection over a period of many months. Sales were consistent with what I expected.
would be well served for ebay to have some good competition. "
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Absolutely.
I have opened stores on every venue that has popped-up
during the past three-years. NONE of them have produced
jack; some have been free, some have cost less/more than
EBAY. NONE of them have produced the kind of traffic that
is required to compete with EBAY.
GOOG has the money to compete, but the infrastructure would
have to be built with that money.
It always makes me laugh when the EBAY-haters spin fond
fantasies about how much nicer GOOG would treat its sellers
than does EBAY. I cannot dispute that EBAY is among the
most evil of America's corporate entities; but, I am sure that
GOOG would quickly be accused of being the same if they
had to run an EBAY-style operation.
The launch moto of the GOOG founders was "Don't Be Evil."
Today, their campus is full of signs and stickers that bear
that slogan. Of course, GOOG has already demonstrated
that it is "evil" by cooperating with the RED-Chinese in
efforts to supress information and, thus, freedom. BUT,
that allegation is vague to most folks, and GOOG can
endure the criticism. Can GOOG endure the kind of bashing
that its sellers would dish-out the first time listing-fees
were hiked? I do not think so.
It is a bit ironic that the threat of GOOG opening a sales
venue is one of the few restraints against EBAY being even
more abusive/evil than it already is. If both GOOG and EBAY
had sales venues, there is little chance that they would act
in good faith to "compete" with each other; the fix would be
in early-on and the "comptetitors" would cooperate to assure
that both outfits were profitable. REMEMBER: The same
institutions that own most of EBAY, also own most of GOOG !
eBay rethinks its ways as it enters middleage
POSTED: 3:34 p.m. EDT, June 15, 2007
Story Highlights• eBay's growth is slowing and the stock price in a funk
• They are undertaking an overhaul to make buying easier
• eBay also hopes to become more entertaining for buyers
BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) -- When Pierre Omidyar founded eBay 12 years ago, he wanted to build the world's most efficient marketplace. At the very least, he launched the most comprehensive one.
Today eBay Inc. is a conglomeration of Web sites where people sell everything from car parts to carp arts. (What den couldn't use a watercolor of a fish?)
But with $60 billion worth of goods changing hands on eBay's worldwide sites this year, all that stuff has a downside: It can be a drag to pick something to buy. If you were browsing for a video game system, how would you begin to choose among the 1,342 Nintendo Wiis listed on eBay one day this week?
And so with eBay entering something resembling middle age, with growth slowing and the stock price in a funk, the company is undertaking a crucial overhaul. The goal is to make buying things easier, more entertaining and more like shopping in the physical world -- three counts on which the company has fallen behind.
"Our user experience has always been fantastic, but it didn't keep up, in my view, as well as it should have," CEO Meg Whitman said in an interview Friday on the sidelines of the "eBay Live" user celebration in Boston. "You will see more changes to eBay's buyer experience in the next 12 months than you probably have seen in the past three or four years."
For example, to reduce buyers' skittishness about sellers they don't know, eBay has broadened the feedback criteria that can be left for vendors, and it has tried new strategies for reducing fraud. The company also is trying to make vendors' shipping costs more transparent, so fewer buyers feel sandbagged by hidden charges.
EBay just added a "bid assistant" program that lets people put multiple items on a wish list. If shoppers fail to win an auction for one of the products, the software enters them in another. That tackles a longtime eBay bugaboo because it raises shoppers' chances of actually winning an auction without increasing the prospect they bust their budget winning more than one.
Other moves make eBay more like typical e-commerce sites, such as last year's birth of eBay Express, where customers can load fixed-price merchandise from several sellers into one shopping cart and check out at once.
Perhaps most dramatically, eBay is crafting a more social experience, so people browsing from isolated computers feel at least somewhat like they're going to the mall with a pack of buddies.
That is why the company is extending its buying-and-selling platform so it can run on mobile devices, blogs, networking sites like Facebook and little "widgets" that live outside a Web browser on computer desktops. That same motive prompted eBay's 2005 purchase of Skype, an Internet calling service, for $4.1 billion -- a figure that still boggles some analysts. It also explains eBay's new game with tenuous ties to commerce, called "Match Ups," which solicits votes on whether people prefer one random thing over another. (Radishes or red cabbage? Johnny Depp or Brad Pitt?)
The buying process could get even slicker in the next few years. EBay is exploring improvements to its search engine and might add product-recommendation systems that can analyze buyers' preferences. The company also bought some ideas in this direction last month, when it spent $75 million for StumbleUpon, a Web site that lets people rate and share information online.
Here's the challenge: While the new lures for buyers are designed to help vendors move more products, eBay has to be careful not to upset its treasured community of sellers who earn serious bucks on the site and can be moody about changes.
"The more buyers they can bring in, we're going to cheer that," said Linda Hartman, a longtime eBay "PowerSeller" who offers dinnerware from Bristol, Wisconsin, and worries that a glut of sellers hurts her business. But she added that eBay might be banking too much on fancy Web adornments that will have little overall effect.
"The enhancements are great for techies," she said. "But my average buyer is probably a little old lady in Des Moines."
EBay has rarely required such strategic reformations. After Omidyar set eBay loose in 1995, it ballooned with relatively little corporate effort, a rare example of a cool new thing that could not have existed before the Internet.
As people clambered into their attics to find junk to sell to strangers, pretty much all that eBay executives in San Jose, California, had to do was make sure their servers could handle deluges of Web traffic, charge sales commissions and listing fees, and then get out of the way.
In 1999, eBay's revenue was a tidy $225 million. By 2002 it had sprung to $1.2 billion. Last year it was $6 billion, with $1.1 billion in profit.
But that trajectory can't last forever. In one telling sign, eBay recently stopped having "category managers" recruit and nurture buyers and sellers in most of its particular niches, such as coins or gardening. By now, because of eBay's wild success, there are plenty of traders, and no more new categories to add. Instead those managers are focused on wider-scale issues like improving eBay's overall buying and selling experience.
In the first quarter of 2007, users offered 588 million items for sale, but that was up only 2 percent from a year earlier. EBay's count of "active users" rose at a healthier clip -- 10 percent -- but that rate has been shrinking steadily since 2003. The growth in U.S. revenue -- half of eBay's business -- has slowed for four of the past five quarters. Although international growth is stronger, typically around 38 percent, eBay has struggled in the exploding markets of China and Korea.
Add it all up, and it's clear why the company is trying to "reignite the core," in the words of Bill Cobb, who heads eBay's North American business.
"They're not really screwing up, and it's not that Meg Whitman needs to go or they've gone in the wrong direction," said Martin Pyykkonen, an analyst with Global Crown Capital. "It's just that there's some finite limits to growth, and they're reaching that."
////////////////////////////////////////
Meg announced that EBAY was "mature" nearly four-years ago.
I suspect that GOOG is simply not interested in getting involved
in a phenom that has already maxed-out.
eBay's stock is stagnant for good reason. The same reason Wal-Mart and McDonald's stocks are. How much more can you do when you dominate an industry. The things eBay is doing to keep up are just poor choices. What are they expecting with their 4.1 billion purchase of stumble? Seriously, it is a free service!!! That is the type of service I use when I am on hold at work, and really do not have anything else to do. It is just easier to use Google when I want to surf, and just another lame attempt by eBay to beat Google at whatever.
As far as Google, I have encountered several sellers lately who do not accept PayPal, but accept Google checkout. Anyone else found this through eBay.
I must say though, I am impressed with eBay's strides the last couple of months. At least they are trying to improve the system!!!
but accept Google checkout. Anyone else found this through eBay? "
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
I would be happy to use google Check-Out; it is FREE
for all of 2007. But, it is against the rules on EBAY. A
seller can be NARUd for openly offering GCO on EBAY.
<< <i>"I have encountered several sellers lately who do not accept PayPal,
but accept Google checkout. Anyone else found this through eBay? "
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
I would be happy to use google Check-Out; it is FREE
for all of 2007. But, it is against the rules on EBAY. A
seller can be NARUd for openly offering GCO on EBAY. >>
True, but how long until more people find out about it and there is an a demand for it? In response Paypal would have to lower fees or be a little more competitive. We see Ebay lowering fees and becoming less of a monopoly, so when does PayPal start doing that???
one can only hope...sigh.
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Sellers have been complaining about no GCO for many months.
EBAY has no intention of allowing GCO onto the site; not EVER.
GCO was rolled-out before alot of third-party shopping-carts
were ready for it. That has led to problems for both online
sellers and buyers off-EBAY. It works very well now, but for
many months it did not.
EBAY cannot be forced to allow any payment method that they
do not wish to accept. If I go to COSTCO and "demand" that they
accept VISA (when they ONLY accept AMEX), I will be escorted
off of the property.
GCO will make some inroads online, BUT never on EBAY; unless
GOOG squanders its money and buys EBAY.
It amuses me a bit to see the forums on eBay where sellers are predicting (and cheering) the demise of eBay at the hands of Google. I remember not too long ago it was Yahoo who was going to be the eBay slayer.... it did not quite turn out that way though. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see someone successfully compete with eBay, breaking their monopoly, dropping sellers fees, and forcing innovation. It is just that some are so bitter with eBay that they are ignoring reason in favor of emotion. I do understand their sentiment and share in some of their frustration (which is why I do not sell much on eBay any longer), but it amazes me that some are so vehement in their hatred of all things eBay... forget the fact that they sit on eBay forums to express it.
Snorto~
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ALOT of the "haters" were present on day-one; they want the
clock to roll backwards. That cannot happen.
Those nostalgic sellers thought EBAY was their friend. Their
"friend's" conduct over the past two-years has hurt their feelings.
MOST of those sellers NEVER had any business experience until
EBAY opened the door for them. Now that the door is so often
being slammed in their faces, their hurt/anger is natural.
The "friendly" EBAY sold out to Wall Street long ago, and it can
never return. It is hard/impossible to be a star for shareholders
and customers at the same time.
I think part of the problem is just that most collectibles sellers really don't need ebay to earn a living, and selling cards at wholesale prices to the occasional psycho buyer just loses its luster after a while.
I've also met a few former FT ebay sellers in other categories. They really didn't quit because of the fees; it was more that it was a PITA and they were better off working in normal jobs. I think ebay will have a very hard time achieving any appreciable growth now that the word is out that trying to earn a FT or even PT income on ebay isn't all it's cracked up to be.
don't need ebay to earn a living, and selling cards at wholesale prices
to the occasional psycho buyer just loses its luster after a while.
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That is the sum and substance of the problem, as it relates
to sellers like me. If it is not fun/profitable, there is simply
no reason for me to be gung ho about doing it.
Paying EBAY to "help me" give stuff away is pointless.