eBay Live was last week and eBay sellers used the event to express their discontent - even to the extent of booing eBay executives. This is quite a shift from just a few years ago when eBay execs were were treated like heroes. Attendance was also way down from prior years, in part due to a boycott by eBay sellers.
There are many reasons why eBay sellers are upset, with a big one being changes in eBay's reputation system. For more on this topic see Kevin's Harmon's StartupNation blog post on this topic, which includes entertaining YouTubes of angry participants. The UK's Online Times also has a good summary called eBay's Small Sellers Rebel.
It is a tough time for eBay. Search engines have made it much easier to find good deals online and consumers prefer the simplicity and ease of buying fixed cost products over participating in auctions. Because of these changes, auctions are a shrinking percentage of eBay's business and many eBay sellers are choosing to sell from their own websites or other online malls and marketplaces.
Obviously it's never good to reach the point where your business partners are upset enough to boo you in public. But anyone who shops on eBay knows they have to change to continue to thrive. If anything the changes are overdue, and I hope they haven't waited too long.
Comments