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.

eBay Woes: Fee Increases, Buyer Feedback Changes, and a Boycott?

Besides buying and selling vintage items on eBay- I often network with other experienced eBay Sellers. It helps to share experiences good and bad- both as a buyer and seller. One of my favorite places to “talk” eBay is on the message boards of a certain mommy networking platform. On there are  several informative groups on eBay topics. Some of these groups are for sellers new and old. Other groups are places to showcase newly listed auctions and store offerings by eBay sellers. There are even fun groups about being addicted to buying on eBay.

As you can imagine the current buzz about eBay on the Sellers Board is the new changes forthcoming. These changes include the fee increases we have all been anticipating and dreading; along with the bombshell new feedback policy. In particular, the new policy wherein sellers can’t leave buyers negative feedback. You heard me right! Sellers will NO LONGER be allowed to leave buyers negative feedback.

I myself have participated in over 750 transactions in the past year and have only left negative feedback once. It’s really not part of my selling strategy to leave negative feedback willy nilly, so frankly this new policy does not phase me in the least. Note, I didn’t say I agree with it, because as a seller I would like to have the option of giving negative feedback to a buyer available to me. There are instances of abusive customers and erstwhile scammers that could use a heavy handed dose of negative feedback.

However, I actually understand where eBay is most likely coming from with the policy change. For the most part most sellers do not give feedback until they have received feedback first from the buyer. In all reality, this is holding someones feedback for being a good buyer hostage until then the buyer leaves positive feedback. So the current system is already broken.

Due to the new feedback policy and the increased fee structure, many sellers are feeling left out in the cold. On the internet there is a call for an across the board boycott of eBay by all sellers. Many of my fellow group members from CafeMom are planning to participate- some of them referring to eBay as “feeBay”. Groups and forums on eBay itself are debating whether or not to boycott the auction giant in the upcoming weeks.

My feeling is that boycotting eBay will not achieve any purpose but to hurt the bottom line of smaller sellers who need the extra income. I truly believe that eBay is adopting these new policies to make a better online auction experience for both buyer and seller, of which I am both.

eBay has lowered the upfront cost to list items, which is a great boost right now. With the economy slow many sellers are faced with lagging sales and have to relist things more often then they initially anticipated. The lower upfront charges will help sellers with lagging sales, to still be able to list items.

Furthermore, the feedback policy I believe was made with best intentions. I initially spoke of leaving negative feedback just once to a buyer. However, I neglected to mention the 3 or 4 times I would have like to have left negative feedback to poor sellers. In recent dealing with vintage jewelry sellers on eBay, the quality and customer service has been severely lacking from more then one seller. Some sellers I encountered went to extreme measures of lying about their products to make the sale. Worse yet, I have dealt with sellers who have omitted damage and have inflated the descriptions of their items to get bidders to bid higher. All the while secure in the knowledge that if they received negative feedback, they could retaliate in return on the buyer.

My recent buying experiences in the vintage jewelry category, tell me that eBay has my best interest at heart as both a buyer and seller. Sure it is expensive to do business on “feeBay,” but you get what you are paying for. A safe environment for buyer and seller- and the marketing power of a company with millions of users.

The proposed eBay boycott dates are February 18th -25th. I won’t be boycotting eBay.