“Next item on the block is eBay auctions: Going once, going twice, gone – to the big retailer in the back.”
Ebay is moving radically away from their roots – in what seems like a desperate attempt to boost their stock price. There’s a new sheriff (CEO) in town and all the mom-and-pop merchants who’ve made a living or sought additional income from eBay are pushed aside in favor of big businesses – like Buy.com using eBay as a fixed-price outlet for their overstock.
While eBay isn’t denying anybody from setting up their lemonade stand on the site, their new policy and fee changes are greatly favoring retailers with large, fixed price inventories over the little guy doing auctions. In addition, they are revising the revolutionary mutual feedback system between buyers and sellers that created a sense of trust. Only buyers can leave feedback on sellers, and sellers, unless they have something positive to say, are unable to leave buyer feedback on the transaction. Now sellers are unable to know if the bidder on their auction is a reputable buyer or someone who doesn’t like to pay for auctions they’ve won, or returns everything they buy damaged.
Furthermore, there are already reports of buyers extorting sellers for better deals after the sale is made using this new feedback system as leverage. This is a tough pill to swallow for merchants who’ve spend years building their eBay presence and reputation.
eBay Live, a show that traditionally feels more like a revival meeting than a business convention, is starting today. I wonder if the tone will change this year?
Never before have sellers been this critical and upset – resulting in the creation of a cottage industry of services, such as RepXchange – where sellers find new protection in sharing their blocked bidder lists, to fill in the gap where eBay has left a void.
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