Real Change or Same Old, Same Old?

We were one of about 225 sellers invited to eBay's eCommerce Forum in January 2008 in Washington DC when the changes to Feedback and DSRs were announced. It was both an emotional event, as many of the announcements caused something between concern to outright anger from most participants.

While the initial session where the changes were announced were not well-received (I witnessed one seller screaming at the top of his lungs at John Donahoe outside the conference room with animated arms), over the 2 days, it was plain to see that eBay had finally gotten the message that had been preached for years by organizations such as the Professional eBay Sellers Alliance (full disclosure, we are members) - that eBay needed to revisit old policies and mantras that were allowing competitors like Amazon to move millions of dollars of business off the site.

I came to appreciate the new executive lineup, and their approach to these issues. When viewed comprehensively, the logic of their approach is apparent. However, it is so detailed and complex that when a seller considers just one aspect with blinders on, it creates an emotional response.

Perfect example: Sellers can no longer leave negative feedbacks for buyers after May 2008. At first glance, this just seems ridiculous. The idea that eBay is "just a venue", and that the transaction and contract is between a buyer and seller who both have the right to evaluate each other after the transaction just flew out the window.

I had heard rumors that this was coming, so it was not completely surprising. But, I made sure that Matt Halprin from eBay knew that this was not going to stop us from leaving "retaliatory POSITIVES" for buyers who abuse the feedback system for personal gain. Feedback Extortion has been an ongoing problem on eBay since it's inception, and I, for one, have turned in many persons who attempt to use negative feedback (or the threat of negative feedback) to leverage discounts or free items that they do not deserve. eBay has NEVER to my knowledge EVER penalized a buyer for this infraction.

So, with hundreds in the audience, I put this issue in front of Matt, and he responded appropriately. He said that eBay acknowledges poor responses to sellers on this issue in the past, and that in order to earn seller's trust and to avoid sellers just posting negatively written comments that get a green rating (aka retaliatory positives), eBay needed to actually start holding buyers who abuse the system accountable.

Frankly, if that were true, it would alleviate my concerns. Therefore, while for years and years we have been begging eBay to do something about Feedback Extortion (like actually hold a buyer accountable), the new change in leadership seems to be open to making these types of changes.

That was an example of the positivity I took away from the conference.

But, it was only a week later that we had our first new incident of Feedback Extortion. Someone that had already returned an item and who had already received a full refund (including S&H) was now demanding we pay him $26 for his RETURN shipping in order to remove a negative feedback he left for us (a full month after his full refund).

We turned this case in to eBay, and were told that eBay could not pursue Feedback Extortion because, get this, THE ITEM HAD ALREADY BEEN SHIPPED. After a few days of writing back and forth, someone from eBay eventually apologized for the response, and said they could not explain why a T&S representative would make such a claim. But, despite that, as far as we can tell, there has been no consequence for the buyer.

Therefore, while it is possible to see positivity in the changes eBay is proposing and enacting, actions speak louder than those words. And, in some cases, it is just more of the same time-wasting runarounds from eBay people, leaving sellers in the lurch with significant issues remaining unaddressed.

I am not saying that this is the case on all issues, but just like it only takes one retaliatory negative to drive a buyer from the site, it only takes one horrendous negative entanglement with eBay to drive a seller from the site too. And, I am referring to good & honest sellers who just want to run their business - not ones that try to be a thorn in their side. And, unfortunately, all that is left on eBay are sellers who have endured NUMEROUS negative experiences with eBay's T&S, VeRO, Account Management, and Executives - and for some reason still don't leave. Maybe it is hope, maybe it is a feeling of being trapped.

But, I can tell you from interactions with hundreds of sellers, "dealing with eBay" is not a positive experience for the vast majority, and they are not willing to be open an honest because eBay holds nearly infinite power to destroy these people. When they see their peers get thrown off eBay for nothing, and then get back on when eBay admits they were wrong, but does not get an apology or (gasp) compensation, it makes the rest of the herd wonder when the cowboy is inevitably coming to take them to slaughter.

I personally feel it is worth my time to continue to contribute my time and energy to make eBay better. Plain and simple. But, while sending private emails, or participating in closed discussions (like eBay Voices or eCommerce Forums) offers access to managers and executives has been favored by eBay, I personally believe it is time to have these discussions out in the open, off eBay discussion boards where they can be deleted (or eBay can sanction an account) because of one thing: FEAR.

eBay made it clear that the Feedback system was broken. They cited the specific example of a buyer getting a single negative feedback that drives them from the site forever. So, they created DSRs to provide an anonymous means of a buyer evaluating a seller - as if anonymity itself would solve the problem.

Well, eBay's means of receiving feedback about themselves is broken too. I know literally hundreds of sellers who are AFRAID to tell eBay what they really think for fear of RETALIATION. And, you know what, they are right to live in that fear. eBay has made sure that getting honest feedback that may be 180-degrees from their opinion is only given by those who have effectively already left. People that are no longer on the site have valid opinions, to be sure. But, it is most important to get them from people that still have a vested interest in the SUCCESS of the site. Some off the site for good are only interested in damaging or destroying eBay.

My purpose of this blog is to give real-time opinions on our experience, not only to help other sellers adopt best practices that will enable them to survive these changes, but to simultaneously give eBay unvarnished information that will help them adapt as well. And sometimes, that means being critical.

I promise to be fair and honest, and therefore when I see good, it gets reported just the same as when I see bad. It doesn't make me or my opinions negative, but may appear that way IF YOU TAKE SIDES. That message is important for eBay to get, as they have dodged touchy issues for years by simply calling the message or the messenger "negative" to avoid the issue entirely.