Too many complaints here from eBay sellers --who are NOT "customers."
When you say "eBay depends highly on "serious sellers," what exactly is a serious seller? I presume you mean sellers who are using the eBay site to operate a small business. As an eBay buyer of one-of-a-kind collectibles exclusively, most of my purchases have been from other individuals. Every one of these transactions has been a pleasurable experience, often leading to interesting correspondence arising out of a shared interest. My fewer experiences with "serious sellers" (i.e., people who are obviously running a business) have not been as enjoyable. I have found these sellers to be less friendly and helpful, to be more likely to have very high reserves, to be slower in completing transactions, and to have more restrictive (if not insulting) policies such as holding checks for as long as ten days before shipping. Admittedly, this reflects my limited anecdotal experience.
I do wonder if "depending highly on serious sellers" is what eBay is all about. eBay refers to itself as "your personal trading community." Moreover, I always thought that eBay is a place where individuals find each other to make person-to-person trades. I thought this was the niche carved out, if not invented, by eBay, which made them unique when compared to auction sites such as Onsale or Egghead.
Further, "serious sellers" on this board often refer to themselves as "customers of eBay." I question whether sellers can at the same time be customers. Users, yes ... but customers? The reason I think this distinction is important is that eBay sellers dominate this board with their criticisms of eBay management and policies (lately, that is). Their usual refrain is that eBay is not sufficiently "customer friendly." As a buyer, I am certainly a customer in every sense, and in my experience eBay has always been very friendly and helpful.
Is it possible that eBay's attitude toward buyers (true customers) is somewhat different than it is toward sellers? And is it possible that this makes good sense? No one would dispute that customer satisfaction is the linchpin of a successful and enduring business. I would argue that in the case of eBay this translates into giving the highest priority to making sure that buyers are satisfied with their purchase and are treated well if problems or disputes arise. The old saying, "the customer is always right," would confront eBay with a real dilemma if they were to consider buyers and sellers as both being "customers," wouldn't it? After all, the most common problem to arise with a site like eBay is a buyer/seller dispute.
The closest analogy I can think of here is an antiques/collectibles hall in my area, where many sellers lease semi-permanent booths or tables. I know one of these sellers, and he has told me how strict the management is with him -- about keeping his display neat, being courteous to customers, having his booth manned, adhering to the management's policies, etc. This is all in the interest of running an operation that provides customer satisfaction. But the customer is not him ... it is the buyer(s) who shop there. Indeed, if he does not comply with the requirements he loses his space.
Since I do not sell on eBay, I have no true knowledge of the deficiencies on the part of eBay that sellers are always complaining about here. I am sure that there are some, and that there is room for eBay to improve. Any and every company can benefit from constructive criticism, whether from suppliers or customers. But I do sense an "attitude" on the part of some of you sellers. Namely, that you believe you are the key to eBay's success and you should be pleased, placated, and catered to by eBay management.
If eBay sees otherwise, than I'm with them. It takes two to tango in the auction business, but as far as the egg/chicken question goes, it is the buyers who must come first. If the buyers show up because they like the site and they have fun searching and buying ...then more and more buyers will come ... and that is what will bring more and more of the sellers ... and everyone will live happily ever after. Personally, I would even like to see eBay move back closer to its roots, and discourage "serious sellers."
My comments have little to do directly with eBay as an investment. I still have some long shares but it's not a significant holding. I am sure the steady drumbeat of criticism here has a negative impact on share price and I'm not happy about that. But much more important to me is the enjoyment I get out of being an eBay customer. Successful companies generally make a mistake when they stray too far from their roots, and I am hoping eBay isn't influenced to do that by the negative comments they see here. That is only sellers talking, as in the case of the recent outages, which were insignificant to the buyers. The voices of eBay's real customers -- us buyers -- don't show up here often enough. |
