eBay recently sent all active sellers an email outlining a series of changes they plan to roll out in June of 2009. For the most part, it seems like most of the changes are actually going to be good for the sellers (I know, quite a shock).
Some of the changes will also be beneficial for the buyers. Other changes, however, seem to be basically pointless (which I will discuss below). In this article, I will try to touch on some of the main changes they announced, and discuss some of my thoughts on the changes.
eBay’s Announced Changes for June of 2009:
I will no go into dramatic detail on all of these changes, but if you would like to see the announcement in detail, you can check it out here. I want to highlight the main portion of it, which is below. First up: eBay’s First Major Changes announced:
1. Easier, more visual shopping; buyer incentives to drive sales
–New item page rolling out
–New product pages surfacing to more buyers
–New way to list in Fixed Price: Offer variations of one product–e.g. color and size–in a single low-cost listing.
–Buyer incentives and loyalty programs to drive more traffic
Most of the changes eBay highlighted above will not be a dramatic change. They seem to keep wanting to tweak the item page, which in my opinion is pointless. After all, how good can an item page be? If it isn’t broken, don’t try to fix it.
It can only be so good, and buyers nor sellers really care about that too much. As long as the page has a description, the necessary links (such as add to watch list), etc. it is fine. So I really wish they would quit trying to change things (item page, my summary page, etc.) that people don’t really care about. Instead, they need to focus on making eBay better by driving traffic, reducing selling fees, automating selling tasks, etc.
The fixed price options seems like it may be a positive change for sellers who list different items. This won’t apply to everyone, but I am sure those few sellers who do this will appreciate it.
The buyer incentives seem great, and I hope they continue to give out more coupons, focus on advertising, etc. They need to do everything they can to get buyers back to eBay, and they need to really invest in this area. The next changes announced:
2. Key information to set buyer expectations and reduce your costs
–New Smart FAQ answers buyers’ top 20 questions before they contact you
–Package tracking information in My eBay
–Extended deadline for return policy and handling time
–Custom item specifics
–Category and item specifics changes
The first 2 changes here are in my opinion the best for the sellers. A faq page is good, which I have done in the past, but it still doesn’t filter all of the questions. In my opinion, they need to add a page that a seller can totally customize & organize, and every time a question is asked (pre-sale or post-sale), the buyer needs to be directed to this page.
99.9% of the questions I get are the same ones over and over. “Where is my package?” Can you ship to X country? By having a FAQ page, it would cut down on these redundant questions that many sellers waste a great deal of time answering.
That leads me to the 2nd thing: Package tracking information. Congrats eBay, you finally listened to sellers! It is ridiculous that buyers can not see the item info, when eBay already puts this information into the seller’s account.
They need to make this VERY PROMINANT at some place in the buyer’s account, so that the buyer can check this without having to question the seller. This should help a lot. Now if the post office would update the delivery confirmation status more quickly…
I am glad they are also pushing the deadline back for a return policy, etc. Not because I haven’t updated listings, but because it is just plain dumb to expect sellers to go & edit their listings to include something they probably already say in the description.
Item specifics & category changes mostly just benefit the buyer, although I know a very very small percentage of them actually use it. Those things kind of annoy me as a seller, and really just add to the time it takes to make a simple listing. eBay needs to remember the KISS method: Keep It Simple Stupid.
3. Other enhancements to make selling on eBay more efficient
–New, more efficient process for handling disputes
–Selling Manager FREE for all sellers–with powerful new Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro applications
–Label printing on eBay
–Bulk editing tools
The dispute thing is good, but if you are a reliable seller you don’t really get them much. I maybe get 1-5 a year, and they are always just someone trying to get a freebie. But I suppose this will help for those sellers who do bulk items, and the occasional buyer who gets ripped off.
I am really glad they are offering selling manager free for all sellers. This is something they should have done years ago. By helping a seller automate things, it only makes them like eBay more. If they have to pay for it, it makes eBay less profitable, and thus, a buyer is less likely to use the additional management software, and the eBay experience becomes more difficult/frustrating.
I wish they would allow ALL sellers to automate feedback for free, as every seller must deal with that.
The label printing is good, but I use paypal already anyways, so I don’t really see an added benefit there. Especially since eBay & Paypal label printing are already basically in sync.
The bulk editing tools are always nice, and by adding tools that helps sellers, eBay gives itself a competitive edge. Just keep these basic tools free, okay eBay!
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