eBay Doesn't Like You
eBay is on the down slope. It is clear through their recent policy changes that they are no longer concerned with maintaining a community-friendly product, but are instead aiming for short-term profits.
1. eBay has lowered the listing prices of fixed priced auctions.
Anybody who frequents eBay on a regular basis knows that only “eBay Spammers” list items at a fixed price. The reason is simple- people that make their living on eBay sales need to make a certain amount of money per listing. This retail approach is much less communal as it removes the auction “pull” from listings. The very heart of eBay is the auctions, and by removing this feature, eBay is no different than any other marketplace.
2. Sellers can no longer leave feedback.
eBay’s auction model is based on seller and buyer legitimacy. Ask any European and they’ll tell you how bad unregulated eBay is. The one power that users have in maintaining the legitimacy of the community is feedback, the tool for rating sellers and buyers based on their adherence to the common rules and guidelines of the web site.
eBay recently ruled against buyer feedback. eBay clearly wants to attract bidders at any cost, even at the legitimacy of their own community. By driving up the price of items, eBay will make more short-term profits.
3. No regulation of shipping prices.
The most frustrating problem for eBay buyers is the open-ended shipping policy. There is absolutely no regulation of shipping costs. Sellers can charge triple the cost of S&H, which further erodes the already weathered legitimacy of the community. This misleading practice suckers the “newbies” into buying items at a much higher price, which limits the site from growing to its full potential. This policy also enables the “eBay Spammers” who list items at 99 cents and charge twenty dollars for shipping.
eBay needs to take a stand now or they will soon find themselves in the tech landfill with Yahoo Auctions and the rest of the failures.