Changes to Media and Jewelry categories

JJHOn 07.25.2008 at 7:15 pm Said:

Huh… I had a listing pulled and a policy violation placed against me for use of the words “Like New” in the title.

I guess there really is a double standard after all.

So, Like new is OK for eBay but not for the seller. Sweet.

GailOn 07.26.2008 at 11:04 am Said:

JJH ~ I’m sorry your listing was pulled.

Does eBay allow “Like New” in the decription, but not in the title? Since “Like New” is being added to Item Specifics in media, have the bots been programmed yet to differentiate, or will every dvd in ‘like new’ condition be pulled before they realize there’s a conflict?

Does the keyword spam bot not check Item Specifics? Is there a keyword spam bot, or does eBay rely on items being reported? Just musing here…..

DakotaOn 07.26.2008 at 10:13 pm Said:

Those of us who sell jewelry do NOT like this change.

Our market is over saturated to begin with.
Now, those that sell used jewelry will be mixed in with those of us who sell NEW jewelry.

This isn’t right!

Stop it eBay!

Patricia1On 07.26.2008 at 11:00 pm Said:

Again copying from Amazon. Their listing for an item starts with new then like new, etc. Ebay was original and unique, now its becoming just a cheap imitation of another company.

Patricia1On 07.27.2008 at 9:52 am Said:

I knew a fellow once who went thru all the motions to be successful. He made an office in his home…brought in all the equipment and would sit at his desk for hours looking very businesslike….but he had no work! no customers! no clients! I’m afraid ebay these days is spending far too much time knitpicking and making everything look just so. One more time I have to ask WHERE ARE THE BUYERS? When is some attention going to be brought forth to bringing in buyers. Is all this change and hoop-jumping on the part of sellers for nothing? Reverting back to an old commercial that was quite famous…”Where’s the beef?” If you’re waiting for sellers to bring in your buyers its not going to work…sellers are busy getting buyers to go to other venues along with them!

Darth-kittyOn 07.28.2008 at 7:13 am Said:

They forgot condition “broken”
which some of us crafters look for.
and some poor buyers get when they think they are buying new and don’t read the teeney tiny print

JayOn 07.28.2008 at 7:15 am Said:

There’s no double standard - the ‘Like New’ in the Item specifics will allow a buyer to choose between the differences, and it won’t clutter the search any more than what has already been cluttered.

Also, Item Specifics cannot be found in the keyword search, so don’t use ‘Like New’ in your title.

If RBH announced that eBay was giving away $1 million to each seller, someone would still complain. It’s what the community does best.

TheBrewsNewsOn 07.28.2008 at 11:25 am Said:

@Jay

I agree that the eBay community would complain if there was an announcement that eBay was giving away $1 million to each seller… because when you read the DETAILS of the “give-away”, you would find that in order to be “awarded” the $1 million from eBay, you would have to pay eBay $2 million for the CHANCE to be awarded $1 million (you know… kinda like the Powerseller discount incentives for offering free shipping).

Of course it SOUNDS good to hear the announcement of a $1 million giveaway until you click several links down to find out the details.

If the eBay seller community is “best” at complaining, perhaps it is because eBay themselves are “best” at creating lots of things for sellers to complain about. But that is not something I would think eBay would be too proud of being the best at.

Patricia1On 07.28.2008 at 12:31 pm Said:

@Brews - I couldn’t agree more. Most of the problem with Ebay ARE Ebay themselves! You can’t say much good for a company that has driven a wedge between its own buyers and sellers and puts up signs everywhere telling buyers that if their sellers are not walking on water then feel free to neg them! I’ve never seen anything like it…and hope I never do again! Ebay has become a textbook case of what NOT to do in business LOL

HenriettaOn 07.28.2008 at 2:16 pm Said:

Yup! What Brews said.

Just like my buyer coupons that do not work on PayPal checkout.

I have the coupon, they emailed it to me, it is just worthless.

JayOn 07.30.2008 at 12:00 pm Said:

So many complaints… so little account closures.

TheBrewsNewsOn 07.30.2008 at 1:24 pm Said:

@Jay

Mature and responsible employees who are unhappy with their employer don’t quit their job without having something else lined up…. same goes for mature and responsible eBay sellers. Professional ecommerce sellers depend on their online sales and are not silly enough to make emotional decisions but rather make decisions that are based on sound financial reasons.

I can assure you that there are many “Professional” eBay sellers who are building up their sales elsewhere and are dumping inventory on eBay as they make changes in their online selling strategy.

Many eBay sellers, like myself, will probably never completely close our eBay accounts because eBay is a great place to liquidate (ie dump) product that does not sell well in our brick-and-mortar stores and/or does not sell as well as we had hoped in the “good” ecommerce markets.

Account closures on eBay are only one indicator that sellers are moving elsewhere and that buyers who are in search of the most desirable product will ultimately follow them. When good sellers list their “best” product elsewhere (on other ecommerce sites where the sellers can get the better prices and where sellers feel more secure) then what will remain for sale is the leftovers, suitable for the flea markets and eBay.

AnniePOn 07.30.2008 at 1:53 pm Said:

Hi Jay I’ve been reading your posts on this blog. What position do you hold at Ebay?

JJHOn 07.30.2008 at 4:48 pm Said:

@Jay

Since you directed your comment to ME, I suppose I should answer.

OK, lets assume what you say is true. In fact it IS true. That was the answer I got from customer support (you must an eBay employee). Anyway, I made an HONEST error. There was NO explanation anywhere that this was not allowed. Certainly none I would casually come across. In short, I made a MISTAKE.

What is eBay’s response? Take my listing down, and slap me with a violation. Anyone ever hear of a WARNING? How about a polite email telling me I must modify my title within 24 hours or face sanctions? Oh no, that is way too easy, way to personable. It’s MUCH easier to just cancel my listing and place a violation against me that could a) cause my suspension, b) reduce my standing in search, c) take away any discounts (assuming I was a power seller, which I am not).

Then, when I contact customer service to find out what happened, I’m told “don’t worry about it, it won’t be held against you”. Well, that was a lie, because right there on my seller dashboard is a “policy violation” for “Keyword spamming” (don’t you like that term? It really describes well what I did wrong). Along with this violation, which is still showing on my dashboard by the way, is a terse warning NOT to commit any other violations or “I risk” a number of different punishments.

Well, you know, it’s hard to not make mistakes when there are so many stupid rules.

So, there you are. You can call it what you want, I still call it a double standard. I also call it RUDE. I could have been contacted, told what I had to do, and life would have gone on. But, I guess the right thing to do is too easy.

Patricia1On 07.30.2008 at 8:58 pm Said:

JJH - I’m sorry that happened to you. I think almost every Ebay user feels Ebay could stand to take an extensive course on how to treat people. It surely is something that is lacking in the management on that site. The strange part of it all is they expect and demand sellers to treat their buyers with the utmost respect…something they actually know little about