ebay Boycott 2008 ~ February 18th through the 25th

I received quite a lot of traffic directly after I posted about the upcoming eBay Boycott. Again the dates for boycotting eBay are February 18th - 25th. The boycott is getting a lot of press lately from CNN and other news agencies. While I understand the outrage, I still won’t be boycotting the auction giant. A lot of users assume that the fee increases are just a way for eBay to make more money and bleed their users. I have a different take on it.

Sure companies want to make a profit, but have you ever thought about the amount of research and development that goes on at huge companies like eBay. As a partner in a mom & pop web development firm- I have a tiny bit of insight into the amount of research and development that a company has to invest in, in order to keep their websites cutting edge for their users. Too- a lot of money and time must be put into security. A business such as eBay has to stay vigilant in a hostile internet security environment. I am certain that a good portion of the fees are going back into eBay’s R & D programs, so that they can continue to provide a premier auction experience in the future. I think a lot of users who never see the back end of web sites and the development involved, never realize that these types of platforms are not the stagnant interfaces they believe they are. eBay is a highly dynamic environment and I believe it’s users underestimate the cost involved in the eBay website infrastructure. From time to time it becomes necessary for businesses to raise their fees in order to stay operational.

The fees and charges are consistent too, with the marketing power that eBay provides it’s users. Many of the sellers who are boycotting are planning to go to other auction and e-tail sites. Some of these include Etsy and Mommy Auctions both of which I have recommended on my other sites. Mommy Auctions in particular strives to give their users a quality auction experience. The only problem with these smaller sites, besides the fact that they are smaller is that a lot them are niche specific. Etsy caters to the craft and handmade crowd and Mommy Auctions is heavily populated with listings for baby and young family specific products. Many sellers are not going to find alternative sites to sell their goods. The other problem is sellers might find themselves selling on multiple sites and that is going to add to the time factor. A seller could conceivably find themselves selling books on Amazon, selling crafts on Etsy, and selling a line of baby clothes on Mommy Auctions. Too are buyers going to want to go to several sites for their purchases. eBay does offer a one stop shopping experience that is going to be hard to replicate.

The other issue that has sellers up in arms is the new feedback policy, wherein sellers won’t be able to give buyers negative feedback in the future. If the new policy proves unsuccessful, how about the double blind feedback policy proposed in a recent comment. It’s actually the most reasonable proposal I have heard regarding eBay’s broken and ineffectual feedback system.

Dan says in his comment:

Maybe a double-blind feedback system would be better. Neither the buyer nor the seller can see the feedback the other has left until both have left feedback. After x days, you could no longer leave feedback and if only one left feedback that feedback would then be publicly available.

Sounds reasonable to me, a double blind system for leaving feedback might actually work. Sellers would have to actually have to take a hard look at the customer service they provide and the quality of product. For buyers a double blind system might wake them up to issues they are having as well, including being difficult and those who are constantly slow paying.

All this ruckus with eBay is a good thing, it shows that they are willing to make much needed changes despite the possible hard feelings and bad taste it might leave to their current sellers. In business as with life, change can be painful, but often it’s the catalyst to better results.