eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

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AuctionBytes Blog
News and insight focusing on
ecommerce and the online auction industry
by Ina Steiner, Editor of AuctionBytes.com

July 02, 2007

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

By: David Steiner

Mon July 2 2007 15:37:49

A check of Nielsen/NetRatings shows that eBay users are spending less time on the site than in previous years. In 2006, eBay trumpeted in a Seller Central Report on how buyers use eBay that visitors spend more time on eBay than on other sites, and that time spent on the site is increasing year-over-year. It used data from December 2003 to March 2005 to prove its point. A look at more recent data, however, shows the time spent has gone down.

I was looking at the Nielsen/NetRatings report along with other data to see if anecdotal reports had any merit - you can see my musings in today's AuctionBytes Newsflash article here.
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y07/m07/i02/s00

There's tons of data, I'm interested in hearing what readers have to say, please leave a comment below.

Comments (227) | Permalink

Readers Comments

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Andrew Waites

Mon Jul 2 16:33:53 2007

Your data mirrors our business to a ''t''.

Andrew Waites
eValueville

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Kewpieboots

Mon Jul 2 16:37:37 2007

I used to sell lots of vintage items on eBay UNTIL about 2 yrs ago when the prices for gas, eBay fees and USPS fees went up. I think the biggest hit was the gas prices. People quit bidding and buying in a sharp spike. It doesn't take a genius to understand that if you have to spend a lot of time listing and expending $$ for fees and have to sell your items for less than expenses that Sellers are not going to list either. eBay has affected a bunch of markets and not always in a positive way. It seems that Management wants the whole enchilada. Making eBay ''Fun'' doesn't bring profits into MY pockets.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Ed Tomchin

Mon Jul 2 16:38:50 2007

The answer is as simple as the nose on your face and as old as business. If it's not broke, DON'T FIX IT.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Fred Giuffrida

Mon Jul 2 16:41:20 2007

I'd add into the mix one inane advertising campaign after another. Seriously "IT"? I saw the next big TV ad splurge at eBay live and today I can't even remember what it was about except that I just shook my head and said, "When are they going to get a new ad agency?"

Then again, many experts believe TV ads to be ineffective vs. word of mouth, and eBay's word of mouth says that it's full of scammers and it's easy to get ripped off there.

Our sales have been down since Christmas.

~Fred

http://stores.ebay.com/paladinshops

http://www.paladinshops.com
http://www.myroadtoweightloss.com

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Bruce

Mon Jul 2 16:53:00 2007

Like the economy, eBay is always up and down. I concur that higher fees, reducing store visibility and the tons of myriad rules and regs eBay now enforces, all hurt sellers. Most call it Feebay (I have to admit, my sales are up but I'm much more selective in what I list and they are listed with higher starting bids).

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Jerry C

Mon Jul 2 16:53:12 2007

Great research Mr. Steiner. Graphs do show the truth, we use them in our business and I will be the first to tell you, your research is dead-on. Since the auction world does revolve around eBay, there are other things that may make sellers decide to leave eBay. Just a wild guess, but I would say eBays poor customer service. How can a company that has such a well adopted feedback tool for buyers and sellers not understand the importance of customer service? I don't get it. There is no resolution to problems, eBay just does not want to hear it. Must be nice not to answer to anyone. I think buyers and sellers are fed-up. I think eBay is one of the biggest double standards in the online world. If they can fix their customer service issue, and I mean a real fix, then I am sure sellers, buyers and Wall Street will come-through with business.

You're right, sellers are business people and use eBay as a partner to make money. The keyword is partnership. It's not a one-sided relationship. If sellers can't find support, can't make a profit or always getting pulled this way and that way, chances are they may move on. The current feel on the eBay site is, "it's us against them".

It won't work!

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: osama

Mon Jul 2 16:54:14 2007

You hitted the point !!! I am a seller from Egypt selling on eBay since 8 years.... my business was very stable on eBay even with no paypal account since years untill the first of 2006 almost half of the profit and double the expenses.... Actually the changes on eBay and being very greedy is the reason of this site fall down or broke... If they don't change this soon sales on eBay will drop down more and more many sellers ( real sellers ) left eBay after many shooting stars...

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: ccharned

Mon Jul 2 16:58:41 2007

Great article!

I would also add the introduction of "eBay Express," commonly referred to as "ExpressMess," as a cause for the ennui, frustration and lower sales. Last year, eBay began implementing ExpressMess. What for, I do not know. It appears they want to be the Wal-Mart of the Internet and no one seems to have told them that Wal-Mart has already been invented. ExpressMess concentrates on new items, for the most part, that usually can be purchased with far less hassle at discounters like Wal-Mart. No wait, no shipping costs, etc.

At the same time, eBay began its endless tinkering with search, now euphemistically called "finding." The "finding experience" has deteriorated. Store inventory (which, the last I knew, comprised about 87% of eBay's listings, whether they like it or not) can't be found without difficulty, leading to a _decreasingly_ effective "finding experience." I could go on and on here but the SIS fiasco, the change in search after SIS (eBay has always denied this but many sellers believe it), the radically increased fees, the introduction of the seemingly pointless ExpressMess (from which one can't easily even GET to eBay, btw), and recent changes in the "finding experience," all have contributed significantly to the problem.

For several months now, eBay has foisted a "back to basics," as they call it, campaign for "core" (doublespeak for auctions) listings on us. But, eBay refuses to listen to its customers - the SELLERS - who tell them that "buy it now" and stores are where it's at. Many customers no longer care to wait a week or so to find out if they won an auction. They want to find the merch, buy it and move on. Which is what made stores great. IMHO, eBay missed an _opportunity_ to brand itself as THE central e'commerce store location on the Internet. eBay refuses to consider the idea that auctions might be...passe. Most of the time, sellers feel like they are on a rudderless ship - from which they are jumping like rats.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Arnie C

Mon Jul 2 17:11:17 2007

Your posting is very interesting and touches on very relevant points. There is one however, that you fail to mention, which I think is equally important. And that is the subject of listing clutter. I remember in 2006 with SIS and lower fees that the average search used to come up with 100's of poorly priced and identical listings. It was essentially so cheap to list that people were listing items even if they knew many would not sell. Sure, this was great for listing figures but not for GMV. I'm not saying the fee hike did not hurt all sellers but it hurt the low quality listings the hardest. Since then, most of those have dropped off the system. That is exactly why we have seen higher ASP's and higher GMV despite stagnant or even lower total listings. One more thing, removing the clutter makes items easier to find and perhaps that is why the average user no longer needs to spend the 2 hours you mention.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: L Armstrong

Mon Jul 2 17:25:47 2007

For me, the one thing that has most negatively affected my business has been the increase in fees.

Your metrics show that all sorts of things are down on eBay, yet their profits continue to rise. They are sucking it from sellers and treating sellers as if we are the source of their problems instead of the source of the revenue.

Remember, before they implemented SIS, they pushed hard to promote stores to their sellers. They wanted every seller to open one. Then, they did an about-face and started acting like we, those who had opened stores, were almost criminals. We were punished with less visibility and higher fees, and told we were moving the site away from its core values.

If eBay wants to put the FUN back into 'finding', they need to help out the sellers and make it profitable for us to sell again.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Jay Smith

Mon Jul 2 17:28:42 2007

The one observation that I would add is that as business people, sellers have an expectation that, over time, as they work the bugs out of a system and accumulate repeat buyers, the seller's sales will become more profitable. In the beginning we assume that we may have to operate on very slim margins (or even at a loss) just to build business, but that as operations mature that we will be able to operate with a stable, consistent (but perhaps very modest) profit margin. However, every time sellers approach this point of happiness, eBay raises fees, changes the structure or search methods or item specifics, etc.,, eliminates/changes related support services (i.e. SAP changed to Blackthorne, etc.). To a small business person, these ''small'' changes are huge and disruptive, often reducing or eliminating profitability for a while. Added to that the dismal and completely disrespectful customer (seller and buyer) service and safety situation, I found myself realizing that there was no point at all doing all that work for a nominal return. Instead I focused on our website (which was already underway), now increasing it to 1380 pages and growing fast (with an eventual likely target of around 10,000 pages). If I could make as much money (still a modest amount) on eBay as I make in my other related operations, I would still be listing 150-200 items per week on eBay. But that possibility ended a while ago. eBay's conceit and arrogance are its downfall. As a professional buyer (buying for our inventory) capable of spending significant sums for material I need, I find myself now spending less than 10% of the time I spent on eBay 2 years ago. Though it is still possible for me to spend as much money as I have available to spend (not a small amount), I just don't want to mess with it any more -- it is certainly not fun any more. I am so often angry about whatever eBay or PayPal has or has not done recently (some of which to my mind is almost criminal), that I try to find other ways to spend my time and money.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Marg

Mon Jul 2 17:29:56 2007

Like others have said, eBay is continually changing things, and NOT for the better. Just off the top of my head I would say the many new ''innovations'' are certainly part of the problem, such as:
search (or ''finding'');
the ''stars'' rating for sellers;
bidder #1, #2, etc. on auctions over $200;
the proliferance of non-ebay advertisements;
the new ''sell your item'' form;
the new ''feedback rating'' system (where the price one paid for an item is right upfront for all to see);
the faulty eBay auction counters;
disallowance of being able to offer cash as an optional payment;
the ongoing suspension of sellers who are purportedly in the lower 2% of sellers; and
although not in eBay's purview, the rise in USPS postal rates. I'm sure I could come up with a few more unfavourable developments!!

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: grumpy3b

Mon Jul 2 17:29:59 2007

Arnie C:

I agree completely that perhaps people are spending less time because the site is overall more efficent.

Also, users have begun to digest the site and how eBay works. That too might lead them to find what the want and get out. Saved searches, fav sellers, the watch ''and forget it'' list. These all factor into the amount of time spent on the site.

For me metrics like bids/visit or items-viewed/visit would make far more sense as a gauge but no way is eBay ever going to release real data of any meaning what-so-ever.

heck with them we are done with eBay maybe next year and then it's gonna be fun to sit and watch as the place falls down for good. BTW, PP is where the entire shift of attention has been...eBay is no longer in the only line auction biz, if you had not noticed, they are in the credit/payment processing business.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: sharonhintze

Mon Jul 2 17:33:56 2007

I used to go to eBay before I went anywhere else, and ALWAYS to find something unusual. I bought a lot! I also sold items with wonderful success but not as a full time seller. EBay sent a message not to long ago and asked the reasons why my spending had decreased. I told them that previously there were ''Mom and Pop'' type sellers and I perceived I was getting a good buy. I could ''connect'' with these people and I felt comfortable and secure in purchasing.
Now there are so many big discount and
close out store sites it is not the same experience anymore. There were people I bought clothing from repeatedly that I can only assume aren't doing ebay anymore for the same reason I don't sell much anymore...the fees eat up your ability to make it even worth your while. There were eBay sellers I watched like a hawk to try to pattern after because they were always selling so much, now many are selling hardly anything or not selling at all. I know the big discount companies surely have found a valuable outlet at eBay and I am sure they are bringing much more revenue to eBay than my little sales and purchases and those of other little Mom and Pop operations..and hey, that's what business is all about. eBay is there to make money, not to satisfy us. I don't see how anyone can expect to change them. I just hope someone will come up with another fledgling auction outlet that will be as lucrative and as interesting for us little guys as it used to be and let the big box distressed merchandise guys stay with ebay!

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Beth Cox

Mon Jul 2 17:40:21 2007

I agree David, eBay has been broken for some time. We have gradually realized this as sales have diminished and fees have increased.
We had thought that a perfect feedback record and fantastic customer service would make us successful, but that turned out not to be the case.

We are gradually phasing eBay out of our marketing, and we have opened a real-world bricks and mortar store.
The eBay and PayPal fees combined have been running 18 to 20 percent of our total eBay revenues, and our sell-through rate from auctions has declined to maybe 30 or 35 percent some weeks. It has become increasingly annoying to pay fees for items that don't sell.

At present we are maintaining a low level eBay Store with virtually no auctions -- if people find our Store items, great; if not we have spent only pennies per item.
Meanwhile, we are developing an e-commerce Web site to mirror our real-world store.

We expect our eBay selling effort to just sort of fade away over time.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Ed

Mon Jul 2 17:40:23 2007

I had always looked at the volumes eBay always included in their quarterly financial reports like registered users, active users, gross sales in major categories, etc. I don't quite remember when but a few/several quarterly reports ago they stopped including many of the key volumes I had been watching. I felt, right then, that something was up. The data you've preseted seem to indicate why ebay removed the info. from their financial reports. Ed

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Jamie Curtis

Mon Jul 2 17:46:02 2007

Impressive article, thank you.

I sold on a pretty small margin so price increases were disastrous for me, but I also wonder if having a choice of venues isn't a little bit of a factor in the slow down? No one else is a large as eBay, but being number two or even three in the market can still attract sellers. Besides, eBay makes most of their money from the big guys, and us small fry seem to have been dismissed without thought or regret.... Maybe we were a bigger piece of the action than we (or they) thought.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Trevor Ginn

Mon Jul 2 17:49:22 2007

Interesting in the UK Bebo (a social networking site) has overtaken eBay as the most searched term see

http://www.hitwise.co.uk/press-center/hitwiseHS2004/bebo.ph
p

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Peter

Mon Jul 2 17:50:02 2007

1) The data on the slump trend matches our own decline in net and gross revenue on Ebay.

2) A lot of the reasons for this decline of business on Ebay are right on, but it is not about a multitude of reasons. It is about one reason which is at the top of the hierarchy of facts causing the decline: it is Ebay's core vision on her product.

Ebay has never seriously tried to analyze and understand the core reason for her success. Ebay is that odd company which had a lucky break, but never figured out how it got that break.

The core reason for Ebay's initial success was her unique laissez-faire marketplace offering. In a world where business people and consumers were otherwise restricted by government rules and tariffs, Ebay was a free trade area like none before, even in the worst regulated geographic area. Such freedom showed how efficient a free market can work, both producing optimal low cost and high revenue. It also gave sellers and buyers a lot of their personal time back, as they were able to trade from home, not wasting time traveling around.

In 2005 Ebay started to cater more and more to the moochers (politicians, lazy ignorant buyers, lazy business people) who wanted Ebay to give them privileges at the expense of the productive members of E bay (hard working business people, smart educated buyers).

Ebay started to impose rules and limitations on the productive people, like explicit censorship of specific words, anti-keyword spamming measures, limits to s/h, limiting visibility of products, limiting account use, limiting payment options, limiting store items visibility, abolishing specific subcategories, increasing fees most for high priced items etc).

From a laissez-faire venue, where buyers and sellers could set their terms on their own without interference from the venue management itself, the venue management became de facto a dictator, telling sellers as well as buyers how they should trade, instead of offering them options and letting them decide what to use and what not.

For sellers the Ebay venue management is now 'de factor' and employer, not a venue. Most of what we sellers need to do to sell, is directed, forced, not chosen.

Ebay's sole salvation, in order not to fail entirely, is to go recognize its laissez-faire roots and go back to them, but in its corporate culture and in its venue culture.

Anything else that is not a change back to its core philosophy would just an attempt to postpone its inevitable demise. Dictatorships never worked.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: steve49

Mon Jul 2 17:54:26 2007

eBay's downfall is going to be their complete lack of communication with, and total disdane of, the sellers.

They treat the very people who are putting the money in their packets as the "enemy".

If you look at their own boards you'll NEVER see a "pink" (ebay employee) post in the discussions. They won't offer to solve a problem, they won't even admit there IS a problem.

The latest round of suspending the "bottom 2%" of seller's with no explanation as to the reason for the suspension or what to do to get back on the "good boy" list is just the latest example of their arrogance.

When you treat your customer's (sellers) like crap they're not gonna be around long.

The constant tinkering with the search function is equally frustrating. Who know what you're gonna see when you hunt something. I haven't even tried the "playground" (oh, puhleeze) yet.

With their idiotic commercials, blogs, wiki's, playground, etc, I have to wonder what demographic they're going after anyway!

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Susan

Mon Jul 2 18:08:37 2007

Thanks for all the new data, it is confirming what we have been assuming for a while. We are an eBay Trading Assistant with a B/M drop-off store. Since we need to pay our sellers in a timely fashion, we have no eBay online store.

The biggest vulnerability I see for eBay is that most of their latest decisions, and PayPal policies for that matter, favor the buyers. We have 100% positive and average >$200/auction. However, the star rating system that is non reciprocal (what about buyers who don't pay on time, have threatened negative feedback unless they get paid off, or don't even communicate) only stands to disenchant its sellers. For example, buyers that have no idea what it costs to pack and ship something can now rate shipping costs - not shipping costs that they knew in advance to placing a bid through the calculator. We don't make any money on shipping, so this rating seems to encourage sellers to reduce their shipping costs to even a loss so an item sells higher (more in eBay's pocket).

If eBay is focusing on making the experience more positive for their buyers, unfortunately they are not taking the sellers into account, who are the ones who actually pay their salaries. That will eventually erode their profits.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: EstateRoadShow

Mon Jul 2 18:08:58 2007

Formerly as CatBecca and now as EstateRoadShow our focus has been on live auctions connected to eBayLive. We list on eBay for 10 days then hold the live auction. In 2001 we could expect 3000+ bids and 125 bidders signed on eBayLive, now getting 300 bids is difficult and having 25 signed on bidders is the norm.

Our last event showed something amazing, we received MORE bids from AuctionZip.com (a free site) than eBay for the first time since 2001, and those bids accounted for 33% of the winning bids.

My opinion is that the magic of no reserve auctions where the chance to win something at a great price is gone on eBay. Sort of like going to a Casino where the house always wins.

With EstateRoadShow, we are taking off where the old CatBecca model left off before we sold the company in 2005. We are listing 600 items at a time worth $25-$5000 and starting all items at $5 / no reserve. The focus is on the big picture, not on individual items. If more sellers did this, I think the magic might return. We have never lost money using this method, focusing on the big picture not individual items.

In the meantime, other sites like AuctionZip are gaining ground on eBay - heads up folks!

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Bob Furlong

Mon Jul 2 18:14:18 2007

Everyone is right on. It always stuns me that while storage cost and server cost per transaction are dropping like stones, eBay fees went up. They should be going down. Then they would get more listings and still be profitable...probably more so as they make most of their money in listing fees.
Our profit picture is not good either.
Higher fees, lower conversion ratios, higher shipping costs, and of course higher gas prices have all reduced our profit. Gas prices are a particular worry as they suck money out of our customer's hands like nothing else. I think most of us forget that a large percentage of our customers live on fixed incomes and paycheck to paycheck.
It struck home the other day when it cost me $40.00 to fill my VW Bug.

To top off the cake the rise of the Chinese bandits is bone chilling. Not only am I bombarded with wholesale offers but I also have to compete with a never ending supply of sellers who list low prices and high shipping cost from China. Their low feedback numbers suggest that they are flooding the market and then changing names. I bet they are stiffing eBay as well. Maybe the new requirements for ''overseas sellers'' will help.

I am a gold power seller with 10,000+ feedbacks and I don't know how much longer we can beat ourself up on ebay

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Anonymous

Mon Jul 2 18:15:17 2007

Thank you for such an interesting article.
First I would like to apologize - English is not my mther tongue so please excuse my mistaakes.
I do not think one can atribute the slow down to one mistake or another that ebay has done in the last two years. It seems to me that the general atmosphere has changed dramatically. When I registered to ebay back in '99, my user name was my email address. I could speak freely with sellers, ask them everything about anything and then just buy. I don't recall a time in which a seller tried to convince me to buy anything off ebay, and before paypal was a major thing - money just crossed the atalntic in an envelope.
Now, as a seller I feel like I'm being hunted (financially of course). Ebay had blocked direct and free contact between buyers and sellers and now when I get an e-mail from a potential buyer I feel I need a lawyer to answer it without being at risk of suspension. This, along with the never ending hike in fees has created two things which influence my business: The fees are reflected on the prices and sellers become less comfortable with their communications with clients. In other words there is no more fun for buyers either. Niche auction sites, in which I am active are much cheaper and much more tolerant to things which are a big no on ebay (such as free communications and off site deals). It influences prices and it influences the atmosphere in which buyers and sellers are doing their transaction.
And one last thing. I know much have been said about the fees, but the listing fees as they are on ebay now had killed the flea market atmosphere which is the base of the pyramid.
To conclude. Ebay has become a place which generates a paranoic atmosphere in which buyers and sellers are so much "protected" they can no longer trade with ease. And all that because of greed.
More than anything the figures shown in the article make me sad. It realy used to be a fun place - not anymore.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Emily Leonard

Mon Jul 2 18:17:32 2007

eBay's besetting sin is a total disregard for what Corporate America calls ''stakeholders'', the many constiuencies that must be well served to keep the company profitable.

eBay's stockholder's letters go unanswered, even those addressed to the chairman of the board by name. In most successful big companies such letters go to a department which does nothing else but keep the ''owners'' happy.

eBays employees (sellers) are exploited, insulted (where they find the idiots who staff customer support is a mystery worth of Mr. Holmes) and apparently entirely overlooked in both long and short-range planning.

Customers (buyers) are made to work so hard to find anything it's hardly worth the effort, expecially when there is no genuine attempt on eBay's part to stop fake emails, fraudulent sellers or those who charge exorbitant shipping fees. Attempts to draw their attention to one of these misccreants result in the most condescending form letter.....

And the general public is insulted by the most pointless ad campaigns ever devised.

It may well be that eBay is easing out of the auction business into the much more lucrative field of financial services. Did everyone notice that one can now pay for Northwest airline tickets via Pay Pal?

Too bad we can't find a smart venture capitalist to start a new auction site, staffed by people who understand the 'stakeholder' concept, and capitalized at a level that would allow for the very best technology, carefully selected and trained customer service personnel and really great advertising.

Or just put a handful of veteran sellers on the Board of Directors and on the Compensation Committee. Present management would either shape up or ship out.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Michael Paese

Mon Jul 2 18:24:16 2007

Here's my take on the whole situation.
1. SIS was a wake-up call to many sellers (such as ourselves). It showed caused us to go "all-in" on stores, and we had great sales as a result. Even after the reversal, sales improved while the percentage of fees (due to lower listing fees) DROPPED.
Sellers abandoned Core, which was overpriced and hard to justify for slower moving niche items.

2. SIS reversal was NOT about "clutter", as eBay (and one other posted) said. It was about stopping the free-fall in Core listing totals. (Want proof? If "clutter" was the issue, and not totals, why did they allow sellers to list 15 identical items? Some cats are now completely spammed by sellers, who admit to using all the listings to insure buyers can find just THEIR listings.)

3. EBay then proceeded to try to make Store listings less attractive (rather than improving Core performance), again because Core listing totals continued to decline, and with it the stock price.
This has since brought some degree of stability to the totals, but the trends are still bad.

HOWEVER, please note that the SIS was not the cause of the fall, rather the trigger event which made the disease apparent.
The underlying cause is the lack of faith which buyers have in the site. It is NOT about seller problems - it's about BUYER problems. Most seller problems would go away if buyers would return and be willing to pay more again!
If you speak to most buyers about eBay, the first word out of their mouth will be "FRAUD". They'll tell you how they got ripped off, or their friend did. They'll tell you how they had problems with their last purchase(s). Heck, even most EBAY EMPLOYEES openly suggest not spending more than $20 or $30 on the site as a safety measure! Even experienced buyers say that they have to be very cautious buying.

As for "fun" on the site, how much fun can it be if you always have to be on your guard? If you have to beware that the "thrill of the hunt" and "bargain hunt" isn't really "too good to be true"? Until they make buyers feel safe again, few buyers will really have "fun".

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: merrie

Mon Jul 2 18:26:55 2007

Great article, many useful observations. If Ebay wants to get back to the "CORE," then do it. The stores can be a separate venue. Most of the big guys that they have recruited are STORE type enterprises. They need to make up their minds. Auction, store or both, but don't keep whining about one thing unless you are sure that is really the problem. We, the sellers did not initiate the STORE concept. Make it work, integrate it or get rid of it. I sell both auction and store and am tired of Ebay blaming their slide on this or that.

Ebay, you are the market giant, make it work!!

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Kathie Harrow

Mon Jul 2 18:34:15 2007

I've been an eBay seller for 7 years, and for the first time I have nothing listed. It just isn't worth the time and effort right now.

I can live with the fee increases, but what they've done to the search function is criminal. It began with adding stores to search and then pulling them out, but the real disaster was the expanded listing numbering changes from product based to seller based. It used to be that numbers were assigned according to the type of item being sold so that items were on servers according to the type of item. Then they expanded the numbering with the first two digits of the new item number being the same for all of a seller's items - I think this is actually relates to a server number. I also think that servers are rotated on a regional basis so that a person doing a search for Item X in Maine will not necessarily see the same items that a person doing the same search at the same time in Oregon will see. Only a theory - since eBay will not discuss the issue.

Ebay Express has been a disaster and should be dumped along with the inane advertising campaigns eBay has run. Permitting ads from Yahoo, etc to compete directly on the same page with an ebay sellers items may be putting money in eBay's pockets but is taking it away from the sellers.

If eBay would direct the resources that have been invested in Express and all these cheap ''frills'' into combatting fraud and scams and improving customer service - eBay might become a more ''fun'' experience for all.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Bob

Mon Jul 2 18:59:11 2007

With all of the things going on,
aka MAJOR CHANGE

Store Search
Feedback Stars
Hidden Buyer ID's on $200 now making it easier for people to feel like they are being SHILLED
Higher store fees
Removing the Ads and Featured Store budget for those links (adwords)

AND eBay keeps making massive changes, and always says that it is what the users are requesting!!!???
WHO??
I have been a Gold PowerSeller and have NEVER been asked for MY Opinion.
I was rated by Sellathon in the top 40,000 sellers (ok, not major, but serious). And does anyone CARE???
NOT eBay, or at least they don't show it.

And to be honest, your SHRUG attitude you mentioned is exactly how I feel.
I really don't care anymore.
Yes, I am concerned about my business, but the decrease in profit and all the massive change, most being very negative,
have just made me apathetic.
eBay doesn't care, so why should I???
And that, my friends, is SAD

Really really SAD

People have been talking for some time that eBay has turned into a large Flea Market, not a nice unique shop to find treasures.

The best thing that could have happened to eBay would have been for Meg Whitman to have taken that job with Disney. Look at the amount of money in the high management, they are just bleeding eBay to death, a slow bleed....

Look at the stock options and how much eBay is giving away, all for a company that is in a spiral (downward and negative...) So why give the eBay execs all this incentive to ruin such a great place as eBay???

Is anyone awake at the eBay? Are you listening? Do you care?
Maybe you better show it to the sellers.

I wasn't even interested in going to eBay Live this year, why???
Just to get revitatlized for a few weeks, only to learn that all the promises won't mean anything when reality sets back in, and I come down off the high....

Sighhh.....

eBay is Apathy....

Can we all survive (the Sellers)???
I am not sure, only if eBay is listening and stops all this massive change and killing the great place that WAS eBay!!!!!!

I don't care about eBay Express, and Stars, and Wiki, and Blogs, and Reviews/Guides and whatever other CRAP you pile on, the bottom line is simple,
THE BOTTOM LINE.

Help the sellers make more MONEY!!!
eBay you are all about business and your stockholders and THEY want MONEY, and guess what, so DO the SELLERS!!!!!

Is that CLEAR!!!???!!!!

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Jeff Stannard

Mon Jul 2 19:12:07 2007

Hi- saw the AB's data article in my inbox right before listing more eBay items.

Maybe I'll wait, it is a holiday week afterall.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Rob

Mon Jul 2 19:29:18 2007

You trace all he problems to the top... to arroagant Queen Meg, more interested in her next bonus check (and stock options) than customer satisfaction... like another queen who once said ''Let them eat cake.'' Add Meg's liberal, controlling style. Add reliance on techno-nerds (with no Customer Service skills) who like to play with new ideas and find solutions to problems that don't exist. Add a frustrating one-way communication model that the Internet allowed (i.e. no customer interface) and you've got the Perfect Storm. So sad. Meg has cashed out her stock, is job hunting, and looking for another good company to wreck and plunder.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Chris

Mon Jul 2 19:43:19 2007

One of the biggest mistakes Ebay made was allowing the Asian invasion.
This dramatically increased fraud and this fact alone has sent buyers running - never to return. Yes, word of mouth is - never go near Ebay - you will get ripped off. Trust & Safety have done too little - too late. These buyers have been burnt & they won't come back.Management failed to recognise the Asian way of trading is very different to the Western world. Management have wasted millions in trying to woo the Asian population.
Allowing the Asian population to list on Western Ebay sites has driven prices down to a point where Western sellers have little or no chance at competing so they have left.
This, along with the never ending 'tweaking' of the site, draconian rules & fee hikes for less exposure makes sellers feel as though they are unwanted & we are just working long hours for very little return & employed by a bad boss.
We have been selling for over 4 years and the sell through rates have dropped from 80% to 25% in this time.
Ebay is no longer a safe place for sellers as one small listing mistake means Trust & Safety will wipe you off the face of Ebay for however long they feel like. Ebay refuse to disclose standards by which they expect sellers to adhere. Instead they just wipe you if they don't like your performance.
With all this, why on earth would sellers feel enthused? No wonder they have become apathetic & are looking at other avenues of selling.
We honestly think Ebay management are overpaid, top heavy, arrogant & the words 'customer service' or 'courtesy' just isn't in their dictionary.
Ebay have little or no respect for sellers - they seem to have forgotten who pays them!

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: steve49

Mon Jul 2 19:53:57 2007

I'm beginning to wonder if this whole ebay scheme isn't run by some teenage nerd in his basement.I

think he just goes out and takes a pic of a big office building and Photoshop's the ebay logo on it to make it look real. Every once in a while he'll wake up Grandma Meg and Uncle Bill and trot 'em out so people think there's a actual company.

How have I come to believe this? Just take a look at ebay's latest tricks...

Blogs, Wiki's (whatever that is, I bet the teenager knows)
My World (uh...huh?)
Regular Search broken for months. Nobody cares...they're makin' "Playgrounds" (there's that kid again) now.
"Hurry, open a store. No don't...too many listings. Just kiddin'...we REALLY like you!"
The famous 6% store fee hike (apparently the kid skipped math class).
Ignorant TV commercials that can only appeal the "lowest 2%" of viewers.
No phone number available unless you belong to the Secret Service.
No one to answer the phone that knows ANYTHING (must be his little brothers and sisters).
Suspend seller's for two weeks but don't tell 'em why or how to get back on the "good boy" list.

And on, and on, and on...

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Ray

Mon Jul 2 19:56:55 2007

David David David... You are my pal... It has taken a long time for what I have been saying to begin to show up in print.
I was a Gold Power Seller. A one man band at that. I was fortunate in that I could run 100 or so listings a week and produce pretty close to 20K in sales a month. I did that for close to six years. So while this is anecdotal, it stems from live blood, sweat and tears of full time sales on ebay. For what it is worth, I worked hard at this. To date I have 7000 total transactions, with 2 negs since 1998 when I signed up on ebay. So probably not the kind of seller ebay should drive away.

I bought my house, car, truck, put my son though college and relocated to the south from New England on what I made on ebay. Then... on March 1 the year Bill and Meg were compelled to play with SIS, sales just melted almost overnight.
You might wonder as what happened that I saw it so early in this ebay decline. How did I know this was not just some seasonal issue as Meg kept saying?... It wasn’t magic… 80% of my sales shipped to the west coast. I am in North Carolina now and moved here from Massachusetts. So have sold from the east coast a fair amount. One day the west coast simply disappeared along with 80% of my sales. The east coast was not searchable by the west coast. From the sounds of other sellers the effect seems to have gone both ways. I am only speaking to my own experience here.

I know that sounds extreme, but keep in mind I have been at this for a while and have come to know many powersellers personally on both coasts. I called all I know and we tested the east west disconnect from both ends at the same time. Folks in the west (as a practical matter west of about Kansas) could not find my stuff in the general search. But could find it if I provided the listing number. One guy ( a local guy) asked if I had anything listed at all. Then told me he did a search by seller and my user name came up as unknown or some such thing for a few days.
I had always set up my listings to end at 7pm or so PST to give my listings time to ferment so the west could bid at a reasonable early evening hour. It worked like clock work for years.

The east west disconnect was in place for most of a full year from its start. One day, poof, the west coast was back. Many, many emails and phone calls to ebay and never one response. At first I thought I was helping them a bit by pointing out the disconnect…
In short the volume has never returned. I am just selling off my inventory, locally and on ebay till it is gone. I have other irons in the fire and don't need to have Meg and Bill in my back pocket without earning their place there.
It is very sad. They make billions. They could have just shown their face once a year at ebay live and taken a 51 week vacation and made billions more.... Then they forgot the core of ebay is the sellers, real people not listings. They didn't listen. Maybe they should take a ride along the east coast of Lake Ontario and see what happened to the steel industry when they stopped listening... I can hear that steel rusting from Charlotte.... Too big to Fail?.... Not the steel industry, not Enron, not the Bank of New England and Not even eBay... It won't happen overnight, but they best start listening and acting on reality instead of Meg's imaginary community....

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Cowbell

Mon Jul 2 20:04:18 2007

Yanking of SIS was the beginning of the end for me. I now have more (and better) sales on other sites, afer six years of selling exclusively on eBay.

I chose sites where there is no fee until the item sells. eBay has no incentive to promote the sale of anything, as they get paid regardless.

I have come to believe that eBay sees FVFs as ''gravy.'' If it sells, fine. If not, no matter. They've already got a listing fee, a gallery fee, a BIN fee, and whatever else we poor saps buy to get seen over the other guys.

Why should they care that my sell-through rate dropped to 10%? They've already got my money.

Why should they care if anyone can find my store items? They've got the fee and five cents per item every single month.

eBay lobbied hard to get me to open the store in the first place. I had record sales until eBay pulled the plug.

If eBay really cared about ''clutter'' there were a number of choices they could have made.

They could have limited the number of items a seller could have in the store, for instance. They could have limited listings to one of each item.

How does making stores less attractive make core listings more attractive?

If a business wants to make one product more attractive to buyers, they do not raise the price of every other item in the store.

If eBay wanted me to sell more on the core, they would have lowered the price. They would have made gallery pictures free. They would have made BIN free.

They didn't, so I went elsewhere.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Bidofthis.com

Mon Jul 2 20:16:20 2007

I just listed my first auction on Overstock after reading your article.

Yes it used to be much easier to find a winning bidder on eBay.

brian

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Tully

Mon Jul 2 20:18:50 2007

I was glad to finally see in black and white some numbers that certainly made sense. Though I do think one of the most important factors was not emphasized enough- FEE HIKES.

Multiple fee hikes has sent MANY sellers fleeing from ebay. Those same sellers...were also buyers. Add to that what others have previously said:
Gas hikes
Ebay not listening seller OR buyers
ExpressMess
Fraud

I have been on ebay since the first year and have seen the up and down trends. But this down trend looks unrecoverable. I have 2 separate ebay stores and for the first time I am (like many others) having to look seriously at downsizing and finding options outside of ebay.

I'm afraid one more fee hike and there will be another mass group of sellers leaving and ebay won't recover.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: anonymous

Mon Jul 2 20:23:52 2007

Yes, EBay is broken - big time. The ''Powers that Be'' are more concerned with their profits than they are with working with their employees (the sellers) to create an atmosphere where the sellers make more sales/profits, thereby increasing eBay profits. They increase listing fees and final value fees - sellers list fewer items at lower costs - voila, eBay makes less money. If only eBay would go back to lower listing and final value fees, then sellers could get back to the business of selling more items for more money, making more money for themselves and eBay. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out - 100 sales at lower fees can be much more profitable to eBay than 10 sales with double the fees.

I have been a Power Seller and even though eBay will deny to the end that they ''picked'' on us, they pulled my listings right and left for trivial issues - when I was only listing exactly what the customers were asking for! I am an honest seller trying to make a modest living but eBay tied my hands at every turn. Now that I am not a power seller - and refuse their invitations to join the ''team'' - they have not paid a bit of attention to the very same type of listings they pulled before. EBay does not create a level playing field for sellers. We try to offer products the customers want at a competitive price and eBay pulls listings right and left from some sellers in that category and not others.

As for the store issue - I agree that eBay is missing the mark there. Yes, customers want to go shop, buy, and leave knowing their ''treasure'' will soon be on its way without having to wait a week for an auction to close and risk losing the item and having to start all over. When I go shopping in a local store, I want plentiful parking, well stocked shelves, helpful salespeople if needed, and no long lines for checkout. EBay can provide all of that without the hassle of leaving home, using expensive gas, and looking for parking - IF they want to. But they don't - they want to micro-manage the sellers. And in most cases, I believe that they have no clue what that seller's market entails. One Size Rules most certainly do not fit all in the world of eBay - yet they continue to force square-peg sellers into their round-hole rules. Customer service is a joke as they only give you canned explanations of those inadequate policies that don't do a thing to enhance the eBay experience.Fun? NOT! Many sellers are leaving eBay - and taking their mailing lists with them, I am sure. EBay was once THE place to find that hard to find item, but now, thanks to Google's increasingly powerful search, you can find it on any number of web sites without ever visiting eBay. Wake UP eBay - time to get back to the basics of what made eBay a phenomenon in the first place.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: duane

Mon Jul 2 20:28:11 2007

Right on David! You have hit the nail on the head. I have been an ebayer for over ten years and am pushing 7000+ feedback. I feel violated every time I use Ebay or Paypal and long for a new kid on the block.

On top of what Ebay does to its sellers, look down the road at the Internet Sales Tax. Add that to the list that will send even more buyers and sellers down the road.

The price of gas does figure into the the big picture for sure.

Also, the recent postage increase goes way beyond the 2 cent letter hike. Some rates increased by as much as 30%.

Lower realized auction prices and higher fees and much disrespect from Ebay itself all figure in to this.

Two quick suggestions.

1.An advisory board or seats on the board of directors comprised of veteran Ebay users. As I do not think that there is one person in upper management that would know how to make a living using the very service that they are selling.

2.The elimination of a set ending time for auctions. Make it so that an auction is not over until there have been no bids for a specified period of time. That would get rid of sniping and raise final realized prices thus create more revenue for once without increasing seller fees.

There is not one negative item in your article or in any of the comments today that I do not agree with. I feel that I will not be selling on Ebay any more within the next year. I have ZERO loyalty to Ebay and will treat them the same as they treat me when I ask an important question....with an automated answer that does not pertain to the question that was asked. And by the way...what about some real insurance as promised???.

The very concept of Ebay was fine all by itself without corporate thinking making suicidal changes as it has. The energy of that concept really was self sufficient and I believe it would be strong today had it been left alone. But once you have shareholders involved you have to make them more money by making your product cost less...their way of doing that was by making us pay more.

I could write a lot more...but I need to put more time into listing. Between what doesnt sell and and what is incorretly pulled for not being politically correct...maybe I'll still make two bucks in the end.

Ebay leaves a bad taste in my mouth and I have many testimonials from others that feel the same. These are people that used to be excited about using ebay...they arent any more.

One last point, Ebay and many other coroporations are in the practice of utilizing the free time of the consumer as their free resource. Be it though hold time, switchboard menus or some other form of time theft. We are out of time folks...it is time to let them know.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Don Davis

Mon Jul 2 20:32:23 2007

eBay needs Customer Service!

Stop spending money on these stupid "Toys", wikis, blogs, etc.

Spend some money on real live customer support that have a brain! The ones they have are over paid dummies!

Thanks eBay for suspending my account it just gives my more of an incentive to look into other areas to expand my business!

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Fed Up

Mon Jul 2 20:36:20 2007

Cowbell, you're dead on target.

One of the biggest flaws with eBay is that the company has very little to gain if an item sells. Oftimes the relist fee is more than the potential FVF!
Why should they care what the sell-through or ASP is? They make their money no matter what!
Compare that to Amazon, where they don't make money unless the sellers do. Which company do you think is more interested in the seller's health and best interest? On eBay sellers are simply a replaceable commodity.

Another huge flaw is that they give the same weight to poor sellers - those who spam the listings, those who list fakes and "vaporware", those who sell knockoffs, and those with lousy customer service. They desperately need to have a "preferred seller" program, open to everyone who becomes verified, maintains a minimum TOS and certain performance levels. Those who opt in would gain preferential search placement. This way, the market would give weight to the higher quality sellers, instead of the "survival of the worst" that we have now.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Fruity

Mon Jul 2 20:37:38 2007

Dear David,

Maybe everything blows because Ebay is a marketing drive company pretending to be a technology company. In their pursuit of the brand, they forgot about the secret ingredient. Buyers & dedicated merchants.

When you start changing the user experience at every log in and you start hiding inventory by not communicating and educating buyers how to find it, it shouldn't be any surprise that people are disgusted by the current state of ebay.

It's not about ebay telling buyers how they should be more efficient. Or continually blaming store sellers for their sucky GMV because they are too damn greedy to bust a cap into those who are filling core with crap. They need to start behaving like a venue instead of being our employers.

Where is the leadership to communicate to the membership. It is not there. Everything about ebays success is based on happy invested and dedicated merchants. When you start holding their livelihoods over a barrel and designing features that put them against the wall. It's not about enhancing anything except a bigger share of wallet and exploiting the merchants to be the worlds biggest sweatshop.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Fruity

Mon Jul 2 20:41:11 2007

and those blogs wikis and other user generated content. That's because ebay are a bunch of cheap bastards they dont want to pay for targeted quality traffic. So instead you get this passive traffic. Ebay probably doesn't want sellers to know that if they are generating this content and duplicating it on their personal websites, it will actually start affecting your external websites page ranking. Duplicate content is a recipe for spam. Go check out the google boards, you'll see. Ebay wants us to be their labor camp of keywords.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Mary

Mon Jul 2 20:41:13 2007

Thanks for a stellar article; you hit it right on the head, as have the comments from readers.

Over time, I have been much more a BUYER than a seller, and completely agree that eBay is just NO fun anymore (on either front). I HATE HATE HATE the wikis, blogs, reviews&guides, new feedback, myWorld, eBay Express, messed up searches (where things disappear and reappear mysteriously - how maddening!). And I really hate the Ads from Elsewhere, too. It all combines to make a cluttered mess that equates to a collosal waste of my time. I can honestly say I've probably read 100 or more guides and blogs, and found maybe 2% were actually useful. And yes, their ''customer service'' has become an oxymoron.

What I really liked was finding funky, unique, one of a kind stuff, and it just isn't there to the degree it once was. I'm sure the flight of smaller-volume sellers explains that. I also really enjoyed being able to follow other bidders around the site (found some GREAT sellers that way!), as well as being able to do research on what items were selling and how much they'd been selling for... Ahh , the nostalgia - - didn't one used to be able to look back 30, 60 and 90 days? Anyway, I know it was longer than just the three weeks you can look back now.

The atmosphere there has completely changed; it just feels like there is bad juju on the site (whether buying or selling). In part, I think it's now so rule-intensive you feel like one wrong move and you're going to get booted. Sort of like being shadowed in the aisles of the department store by a glowering security guard when you're buying, and having Big Brother BossMan looking over your shoulder when you're selling.

I hadn't heard until reading the comments that the lowest 2% of sellers were being summarily dismissed. What a shame, and what a way to discourage anyone from trying out the seller role...

I hope that eBay finds some way to breathe some life back into the ''experience.'' If they don't, it's just going to morph into some ugly giant with absolutely NO charm and even less personality. And bad breath. Really bad breath.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Chris

Mon Jul 2 20:58:34 2007

OMG, are you kidding me. I hate when sellers blame others for there failures. Industries are always changing. Technology changes, ways of business change.

Its up to YOU to change with it, now complain when your business goes down when you fail to attend the problem. Its always easier to blame someone then yourself. And thats exactly what these merchants do...big and small. Pathetic!

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Duane

Mon Jul 2 21:10:03 2007

Chris...you didnt read the facts? What is your experience/feedback level? Essentially your resort to name calling rather than offer an argument. The data? Many of the comments are from long time users? But you are right...it is up to us to change it and many of us will by leaving because it is broken! When the very people that sell what buyers really WANT -leave ebay, you will definitely see the change in what is available to buy on Ebay...brand new plastic trinkets from China and repopped Sponge Bobs. OMG....indeed.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Peter

Mon Jul 2 21:32:20 2007

Chris, when I pay $25,000 per year to a venue to provide me with traffic and a proper infrastructure, I believe I have a right to criticize that venue's management when they do not deliver what I paid for. That does not mean that I do not look for alternate sales channels to continue my business at. In fact we are working on a mall venue to share with our competitors.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Matthew

Mon Jul 2 21:40:27 2007

Great article!

I've been on eBay since the beginning, and I have several, related, theories.

"Community" means nothing if it's not genuine. It becomes a slap in the face. eBay used to be community oriented, but those days started vanishing once it went corporate. The boards are still active, but there's no longer an eBay voice on them. There's no customer service. There's no way to talk to eBay and, even if you managed to, eBay tends to be insulting.

Stores were a horrible idea, but one that eBay spoon fed to eager sellers who saw them as an alternative to eBay's unrealistic core fee increases. You can't drive auction prices higher if you have fixed price items in the same venue. If a person thinks a listing is gone forever after 7 days, they bid more. That experience disappears once they're able to find 50 identical items at fixed price. That being said, however, eBay may have realized that mistake but they handled it wrong. The decision should have been to either end stores, immediately, or find a way to fully support both venues, instead of starting a balancing act by punishing store sellers.

The new initiatives will prove to be yet another disaster. It's only common sense that punishing sellers over unexplained rules and discretionary guidelines only creates more animosity towards ebay which they can't afford anymore.

And I think that's eBay's BIGGEST problem. They don't understand the animosity which they've created on their own. Treat customers like garbage, and the customers will respond appropriately.

When I started on ebay, I used to spend $15,000 plus a year. Last year it was under $500. The decline in my spending has nothing to do with getting ripped off, but rather my sincere disgust and hatred for eBay. Everytime they come up with a new initiative it only increases tenfold. I don't like it anymore. I don't trust eBay corporate anymore. They are not friends, and they're not interested in helping me. And that's why I think fixing eBay is an uphill battle without 100% management change.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Joanne

Mon Jul 2 21:44:42 2007

When eBay tried to close Half and start Stores, I stuck with Half. Then eBay said they were going to promote Stores in auctions searches. So I joined up. I put a lot of effort into designing my store and listings. I even bought inventory in my niche that I could sell for profit only in Stores. It was great! I was making money. I was enjoying it and thought eBay Stores would be my next sales channel. Then they pulled the advertising and sales plummeted. Then they announced they were raising fees. I left and never looked back. I wasted a lot of money on inventory that was now of little value. And I wasted an incredible amount of time learning eBay, new inventory management software, and site design. What a complete waste! My overall impression is that they suckered people into Stores and then screwed them. I'll never sell there again.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Alex

Mon Jul 2 21:53:18 2007

I won't bother to re-hash the many real and pressing issues facing eBay. Most have been addressed at length in Ina's article & the responses written here to it. I will just say one thing. ALL of these things are related in one clear manner. They are all the result of eBay top management forgetting they are a SERVICE business - not a technology company. All of the reactionary changes to prop up their sagging stock, just makes things worse. While waltzing their way through all the cash they have raked in, they have failed to provide an acceptable level of service to the guy that ''brought them to the dance.'' One thing is very clear. Any company that has this many glaring & continuing problems needs a complete change of management & direction. Now, not later....

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Mike Knight

Mon Jul 2 21:58:28 2007

Rather than broken, a better word might be misguided.

Rather than looking at stores in search, a better place to look might be at management itself. ie: The emergence of John Donahue. The departure of a number of long-time ebay staffers documented on auction-bytes over the last 3 years.

Consider the negative press (well deserved) ebay has received in the last few years and the patent suit that was well publicized at the beginning of the decline.

My business has been relatively flat though items available have doubled in the last 12 months.

I rarely run auctions anymore due to the lack of bidding.

As a buyer, I have become less enthused because the number of items listed in which I am interested has declined while the ''clutter'' has increased. Hundreds of identical items listed one after another by the same seller (against ebay policy).

You seem to focus on seller dissatisfaction. I would suggest that the real problem is BUYER dissatisfaction and Ebay's inability to address buyer issues.

It's not just fraud or poor seller service. Express's search is a disaster for buyers. I NEVER go to Express because I can not find anything I am looking for but find all sorts of stuff that I am NOT looking for.

Now they want to roll that search tool out to the main site. Why?

The revision of Ebay Motors search offering has made the site more difficult and confusing. As an experienced user, I have finally figured out how to filter my results to a meaningful degree but it has been a source of frustration and it is still more time consuming than the previous interface.

My only conclusion is that someone in a high level position simply does not understand the average user.

I can only hope that, whoever that person is, the Board of Directors takes note and corrects the problem.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Peter

Mon Jul 2 22:10:47 2007

Matthew, 'Community' is actually the evil that is destroying our venue, just like in the real world socialism destroys trade. What we should be holding proudly in our business banner, is an independent rational selfish entrepreneurship. Sellers should be able to act as independently as possible on Ebay and so do buyers. Everyone should again be responsible for his own acts, his selling and his buying, instead of calling for mob rule, which is what Ebay's 'Community' is. Promoting 'Community' as the hghest ideal in a venue instead of individualism, is the same as saying 'don't think for yourself', go with 'the group'. That is what is makes Ebay worse every day.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Richard

Mon Jul 2 22:12:19 2007

Can't believe I waded through all the whining to finally get to Chris's entry...with which I whole-heartedly agree.
I'll be happy to resort to name-calling. I see a bunch of whiners and complainers.
I don't often frequent auctionbytes, but was engaged in some research tonight on a new angle and stumbled upon this discussion.
I've been selling fulltime on eBay since 1998 and my feedback is approaching 10,000. I've worked hard to discover what works on eBay and I alter my procedures whenever I feel it necessary. You gotta roll with the market.

Don't complain that nobody will buy your bowling balls because the shipping is too high.
Don't complain that a seller in China can undercut your price on MP3 players.
Don't complain about blogs and wikis and then spend all your time writing blogs and wikis.

Focus, Focus, Focus.
My business is good. June was good. July will be good. Because I say so.

btw, I first noticed the decreasing Alexa scores for eBay last summer. Some concern, but here's the rub, Alexa scores are percentages and not absolute numbers. As the web universe grows its understandable that eBay's percentage of the total will drop. It's a smaller percentage of a bigger pie.

eBay Users Spending Less Time on Site

by: Matthew

Mon Jul 2 22:50:02 2007

Peter,

Perhaps I'm not explaining what I mean by "community" well enough.

It's the relationship that eBay USED to have with it's buyers and sellers. When you had a problem, you could actually talk to ebay. When you had a question, it would be readily answered by someone actually connected with eBay.