The eBay "fad" is wearing off

Nick Carr asks today, "Is eBay a fad?" Nick's source of inspiration is a BusinessWeek article noting that more and more sales on eBay are through fixed-price sales, rather than auctions.

"If I really want something I'm not going to goof around [in auctions] for a small savings," says Dave Dribin, a 34-year-old Chicago resident who used to bid on eBay items, but now only buys retail.

I think the larger problem is that the "savings" have been somewhat nonexistent for some time. It used to be that you could find deals on eBay. Today, those are fewer and farther between as eBay has become a haven for "real" merchants rather than Aunt Louise selling her handmade doilies.

This, coupled with the amount of effort that goes into eBay's auctions - first you have to dig through the site to find what you want, and then you have to sit around waiting for the auction to close, only to be outbid by software set up to win the auction in the final few seconds - make eBay a raw deal.

I personally feel like the right model will be one where sellers find buyers, not buyers finding sellers.

Think about it. I list what I want, and what I'm willing to pay for it, and let that information seep out into the ether. Someone, somewhere wants to sell me a similar product. Let them find me. It's their job to sell, not my job to buy. Provided that one could create a safe environment where I could entertain offers for my business, such that I wouldn't be deluged by spam, I'd be all for a system like this.

But not eBay. While it wasn't necessarily a fad, it was an idea that required too much effort and inspired too little trust to be successful once the web grew up and became more efficient at connecting sellers with buyers. We're still a ways from that dream, but eBay is proving too stale to keep up.

[loganq]

Ebay made itself into a "fad." Person to person auctions was a super idea, and for the company (Ebay) hosting it, with no product to ship, no warehousing, no customer service, little advertising and absolutely no overhead but running some servers, it was an amazing money maker for everyone involved. There was enough money for the excutives to get rich and for the buyers and sellers to benefit too. Problem was, the Ebay executives were so greedy and crooked that that they weren't satisfied being multi-billionaires and had to try to suck every last penny out of the sellers. They created a hostile environment filled with fraud in order to exploit the business, and today's Ebay is a result. The idea is still a great concept, but the reputation the company created by abusing the marketplace has driven everyone away. Sites like Amazon, Ecrater, Oodle, Ioffer, etc., now have some opportunities to recapture the magic.

[RicRoe]

If auctions are falling out of favor on eBay it is not due solely to a change in culture, but a change in fee structure.

eBay and PayPal have increased fees, there is a bigger risk of placing items up for auction as prices brought by an auction may not cover fees owed when a sale completes.

Recent changes in policy at eBay are also dogging the venue.

Buyers no longer find the items once offered at bargain prices due to discriminatory listing practices designed to favor mega sellers. Buyers quit long before they find what they are looking for.

Many small sellers now feel they are being charged first class fees and receiving third class service in return.

Buyers and sellers alike are finding these new policies onerous and are leaving eBay to move listings to other venues like eCrater.com and blujay.com in order to escape the high fee structure and anti seller bias, which is now rampant at eBay.

eCrater and blujay are two smaller venues that offer sellers the ability to list items for sale without being charged any fees. These venues are growing steadily as evidenced by solid listing volume increases since the eBay changes have become effective.

It is doubtful that new CEO Donahoe?s plans to change eBay from its popular and familiar ?yard sale? image to one more like a strip mall will be embraced by buyers. One thing is for sure, sellers are abandoning eBay in ever increasing numbers in reaction to the manner in which the plan is being implemented.

Buyers and sellers alike are frustrated, and have lost all trust and confidence in eBay as a venue, and eBays pending downfall will be by its own hand.

[Patricia013]

Mr. Asay - ebay already has the situation you describe....I believe the Want It Board is still in operation. You can go there and post what it is you need and a seller will get in touch with you and put the item on auction so you can bid on it...or put it on buy it now so you can outright buy it. Its the fault of ebay that this is not publicized more. They are obviously only thinking of ways to satisfy their own greed. I used this feature only late last year when I wanted a special t-shirt and couldn't find it anywhere. This is part of the magic of ebay. Unfortunately, today its being taken over by mega-sellers and drop shippers. Ebay has decided that the small seller who has cleaned out grandma's attic and is putting rare finds on ebay is no longer needed. We are pushed so far to the back of the bus that we are no longer even seen - yet we are allowed to pay the same fees as the heavy hitters! Many small sellers are leaving or have already left. As a 10 year small seller I will soon be gone too. So, what you are ending up with is kind of a cheesy Amazon clone. So be it...look for the small sellers on onlineauction.com, ioffer.com, ecrater.com, blujay.com and so on and watch for the new and very innovative site wigix.com (still in beta). By the time ebay comes to its senses, it will be no more....may it rest in peace! I like to think it became so very greedy that it gorged itself on sellers' fees and imploded!

www.ACEOart.net

[tehart]

Ebay already has what you are talking about. It is called "Want It Now" and they have had it for a long time. All you do is list what you want. Sellers are able to scan the list and if they are selling something a buyer is wanting, they submitt their auction # to you. Sellers are not allowed to make personal contact with buyers. In fact, the only time a buyer would have contact from the seller is if he/she bid and won on that sellers auction. Maybe a little more research is in order before writing articles such as this.

[douwe715]

Many sellers have removed themselves from eBay as a mass boycott to eBay. Sellers are scorn by Feebay's blatant disregard for those responsible for eBay's success by implimenting EBay's fee increases for some auction features as well as to Store commission and subscription fees. These increases would greatly impact sellers with low margins. The FeeBay song and dance and dizzying doube-talk has frustrated sellers to just say "Enough is Enough"! Sellers no longer have any protection from less than scrupulous buyers who do not pay for items or leave negative and irrational feedback. The eBay Seller's and Buyer's reputation on eBay is fundamental in operating a successful business and positive feedabck.

Alternatives to eBay have never been more prominent, and might I add successful more today than ever before. For years noone could touch eBay's popularity but now eBay's is synonomous with greed, Fee Increases and law suits. Many sellers have moved on to Ecrater, IOffer, Amazon, Etsy and many more. Sellers offer support to eachother via social groups like one created by Gail Reese of Delectably Yours at www.sellingbeyondebay.ning.com and Power Sellers Unite.

Jackie
www.flippinout.ecrater.com