« Captain Picard Is Following Me Around| Main | BPM Key Factor in Modern Program Management »
E-Bay Hitting The Rocks?
Complaints about E-Bay seem to be popping up all over the place lately I've been hearing much of the same from people I know who use the site -- seems like fees are up, support is down, and the some of the small vendors are bailing out. Nothing earth-shattering yet, but there is momentum building. E-bay had better watch out.
If you poke around the web a bit, it's not that difficult to find sites where people are complaining about E-bay. I personally think the online auction concept is one of the most revolutionary things the web has provided. Talk about leveling the playing field! I can get online and sell my baseball card collection using the same mechanism as the jeweler down the street.
But we've gotten over that "gee whiz" phase of new technology. Now consumers are going to want more, and they are going to want to pay less for it. If I'm not mistaken, E-Bay has always had a hard time with its pricing model, so I'm sure they're under pressure to raise prices, not lower them.
The sector is also getting a poor reputation from hucksters who promise that anyone can make it rich on E-bay. Like I said, I know people who earn money this way, and it's not a "make money while you sleep" deal. It's hard work.
Quality, in the general public's mind, is a moving target. What worked great a couple of years ago now isn't so flashy or new. Things that were add-ons are now required. In that regard, E-bay has a lot of the problems that banks have.
WTF (What To Fix?) with E-bay? If I were them, I'd go to some kind of free auction promotion system and institute a promise not to raise rates for two or three years. Then I would start pushing small vendor success stories. There's a new list of critical success factors for companies like E-Bay, and they'd better be finding out what they are, and fast. I wish them the best -- they're a good company and I think they'll do fine.
3 Comments
Leave a comment
Having sold on Ebay I can tell you it is hard work! And Ebay is cutting it's nose off to spite it's face by making it almost impossible for the 'little guy' to succeed. Lots of people I know have had to bail for that reason. They can't afford the fees that keep going up and up and up. On the other side, there needs to be some balance. I was into selling books...I love books! But it was rare to find a book that wasn't listed by twenty other people at a time. While the choice is great for the consumer, it makes it hard on the seller and I believe that the higher fees may cut down on some of the competition and in the end could end up making the sellers who are able to stick it out end up with a more profitable situation.
I'd like to see eBay and other sites move toward a flat monthly fee for X number of transactions, or else base their listing fees on the volume of transactions for a particular seller. They could then raise their listing fees for non-subscribers, and give the regular sellers (subscribers) a break for their commitment and/or volume. For even more savings they could offer discounts for signing contracts of 2 years or more. I recently signed one-year paid-in-advance contracts for the Emusic.com MP3 download service and Sirius satellite radio, and I saved about 20% off their monthly rates. It's a great deal for the consumer, and the services get a nice chunk of money up front. In the case of eBay, a long commitment would also protect the seller from rate increases and permit more effective budget planning.
I was surprised and disgusted to find dog fighting paraphernalia for sell on E-Bay. This cruel activity is illegal in all 50 states. What next? Child pornography?