http://www.WebProNews.com Top 10 Frustrations for eBay SellersChris Crum | Staff Writer An Extensive Look at the Peeves At the beginning of the year, eBay announced some changes it was bringing in with its new CEO John Donahoe. The changes spoke of things like "Detailed Seller Ratings (DSR)" and "discounts for sellers." To some, the changes didn't sound like anything to be concerned about, but some saw through the plan and noticed other phrases in there, like "removal of bad feedback for buyers" and saw the potential for smaller businesses to be shut out. This is a notion we are seeing proven accurate months later. BusinessWeek took a look at some real-world examples of businesses being affected by eBay's policy changes and the frustrations that have plagued sellers. WebProNews has covered such frustrations in the past as well (that also includes payment policy changes and a boycott of the site by sellers). After scouring the Internet, reading various articles and comments, and even contacting some sellers first-hand, I have put together the following list of the top ten things that sellers are frustrated with about eBay: 1. Management2. Feedback Policy3. Small Businesses Get Shut Out4. Lack of Communication5. Payment Policies6. Fees/Lack of Profitability7. Unwarranted Account Suspensions8. The Buyers Themselves9. Glitches10. Lack of Innovation ==================================================================== It's hard to truly give an accurate ranking of these problems in terms of significance, and technically there is a fair amount of overlap with issues under each category. It suffices o say that they are each significant. Sellers have spoken, and these are the issues they have with eBay. 1. Management I'm going to place management above all because, ultimately, it is where the rest of the frustrations stem from. Many of the negative comments I have read (and about 98% of those have been negative) have pointed the finger squarely at eBay CEO John Donahoe who took office shortly before these changes came about. Some noted a significant decrease in stock since he stepped in as well. In fact, a BusinessWeek reader even pointed to a petition that has been created, callingfor Donahoe's termination. 2. Feedback Policy This is really the one that is getting most eBay sellers fired up. Buyers can leave feedback on sellers, but sellers can't leave feedback on buyers. Out of the sellers that I personally contacted (that got back to me), all but one of them agreed that eBay's feedback policy, which changed in May, is their biggest frustration. One seller responded, "Allowing buyers to give neg feedback w/o recourse. Without leverage i.e. return Negative feedback. This keeps ignorant buyers from learning how [to] work out differences - 'expressing how they feel'. Mistakes are made. Some 'new' buyers just give Neg FB w/o contacting [the] seller about exchange[s], returns or refunds." I have also seen people cite buyers' lack of understanding about shipping costs leading to negative feedback. Another respondent said: "The most frustrating thing about selling on ebay is the complete disregard of SELLER's RIGHTS." He then directed me to this site, which is dedicated to creating awareness about eBay's policy changes, and illustrates the DSR system . "The FEEDBACK SYSTEM Penalizes Sellers who do not have at least a 4.6 Rating in ALL 4 areas," that seller noted. "I have been selling on ebay since 2002 and have NEVER had so much trouble with them!!!" I have an excellent record & I still get LOWERED SEARCH STANDING & HIGHER FEES!! THE SYSTEM IS NOT FAIR FOR SELLERS AT ALL ANYMORE!!!" 3. Small Businesses Get Shut Out BusinessWeek's article was about this very topic. It looked at a few small businesses that lost their ability to sell on eBay, in large part due to the feedback issue, but that is not the only thing affecting the little guys. Another part of this is eBay's deal with Buy.com, which some people indicate is prioritizing merchandise from that site over their own. Combine that with the charges that small businesses must incur for selling through eBay, and profitability slides. There seems to be a common theme resonating among sellers, saying that eBay has basically sold out. They've gone too corporate and are no longer appealing to the little guys. 4. Lack of Communication Another common gripe is that the company will not communicate with sellers to their liking. If sellers have problems, they get the runaround. They get impersonal automated responses via email, or low-level employees if they make a phone call. They can't get through to management. They can't appeal their suspensions (which are often considered unjustified).Another communication flaw some have cited is that once their account is suspended, they can't even communicate with customers who may have already placed orders. This is not good for the buyer or the seller. 5. Payment Policy Last month, eBay announced that they would no longer allow sellers to accept checks or money orders as payment. Well, sellers were not happy about this either. Most felt like that decision should be up to each individual seller. Many have chalked this up to the company simply wanting people to use eBay-owned PayPal. Taking away options for payment can alienate some customers, and sellers know that and found the new policy unfair. eBay said they would accept PayPal, credit or debit card payments to the seller, ProPay, or "payment upon pickup" as possible payment methods. They claimed to update this policy to provide users with a more "secure checkout experience." 6. Fees/Lack of Profitability As I said, there is a lot of overlap in these and this ties into the small businesses getting shut out problem. But many users are having a hard time justifying paying the fees they must pay to use eBay as their selling platform. Fees cut into the profits they could otherwise be making by selling directly from their own store, or from another platform that doesn't charge as much. 7. Unwarranted Account Suspensions Apart from those who are seeing their accounts suspended based on their DSR, I have seen many claims that their accounts are deemed "security concerns" and suspended as a result, without any justification for this assessment. One person claimed their account was suspended for this reason when they had not even bought or sold anything through the site yet. They went to try to sell something, but their account was already suspended. 8. The Buyers Themselves There seems to have been an increase in tension between buyers and sellers on eBay since their policy changes took effect. Buyers have been accused of lying to get away with cheating sellers by not paying for items while eBay does little to combat the problem. Others just don't think they can reach the right audience with eBay. They consider eBay buyers to be the type that are looking for bargains, and for those looking to sell quality products at prices that aren't necessarily discounted, will have a harder time selling those products. 9. Glitches Some complain about technical glitches at eBay. A BusinessWeek reader mentioned a variety of them including store glitches, PayPal glitches, search glitches, DSR glitches, etc. Any company is bound to experience some hiccups from time to time, but those hiccups are going to be frustrating to users, and there's not much that can be done about that other than trying to catch such glitches before customers do. 10. Lack of Innovation Finally, some just don't feel like eBay is doing much innovation anymore. There seems to be a general consensus that in eBay's earlier years, the company was somewhat revolutionary and appealing to anybody who wanted to get rid of some "old junk." As time has progressed, many sellers have become less impressed. eBay has made some acquisitions over the years like Skype and StumbleUpon, but these have had little if any impact on eBay the site. In the End... Not all eBay sellers are sitting idly by while they vent their frustrations. There have been a number of sites started dedicated to catering to those who feel cheated by eBay. Sites like Shopify, Wigix, SeeAuctions, EveryPlaceISell, and I'm sure many more. Sellers know that they have other options. Many have turned to Amazon for example, or have opened up their own eCommerce sites to sell directly. But not everybody is anti-eBay, so let's make that clear. The one person I contacted who didn't cite feedback as their top frustration, actually said, "You know honestly there really isn't that much frustration that goes on with selling on my end. About the only part is mailing out items and them getting 'lost' in the mail. That is about it." eBay could hardly be to blame for that. This person's business didn't even appear to be particularly large. I'm fairly certain that this person isn't alone in her opinion of eBay either. Even though many people are upset with eBay's practices, some still find it a useful place to do business and will likely carry that mentality with them into the holiday season as consumers look for good deals on gifts for their loved ones. However, it is quite clear that the company has alienated a broad range of users. I can't imagine that all of eBay's management finds this acceptable. Will there be changes made? What will eBay do to win back customers? Or will they just continue to target new ones? What does the future hold for eBay?Are you an eBay seller or buyer? Give us your comments here: http://aj.600z.com/aj/64051/0/cc?z=1&b=64067&c=64066 ====================================================================
UK appeal court dismisses mod chip conviction The UK court of appeal this week ruled that games console mod chips do not bypass copy protection systems and are, therefore, effectively legal here.UK appeal court dismisses mod chip convictionhttp://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/06/13/appeal_court_weighs_in_on_modchips/
According to the Twitter FAQ, "Twitter is for staying in touch and keeping up with friends no matter where you are or what you're doing." Wikipedia says, "Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send updates via SMS, instant messaging, email, to the Twitter website, or any one of the multitude of Twitter applications now available". Basically Twitter asks the question, "What are you doing?" and allows you to send a short update (your tweets are limited to 140 characters) to your followers (family, friends, colleagues, customers, potential customers etc). Twitter allows you to send and receive updates (also called tweets) via your browser, email, instant messaging clients and SMS (using your cell phone). No matter where you are, you can tweet! I haven't been following Twitter since day 1, so I'm not going to comment on it's evolution but I will speculate that as its popularity grows, as more and more marketers use it, 2 things are inevitable: 1. Rules on Twitter etiquette will continue to evolve as we learn what we like and dislike about it, and as we respond to the inevitable abuse of Twitter (don't mean to sound negative but it happens with each exciting new opportuníty - people end up abusing it).2. More and more companies will jump on board and try to get in on the conversation. Start Twittering (or is it Tweeting?) Remember, when you first join Twitter, it can feel like a lonely place. When you aren't following anyone and no one is following you, you may find yourself asking "what is the point?" I've heard so many people say they just don't get it. In fact, I've said that myself. The key is to find the Tweets you want to follow so you can keep your finger on the pulse of your niche. The next key is to start building your followers. More on that in a minute. How can Twitter help your business? The more contact you have with a potential customer, the more likely you are to get their business. You can stay "top of mind" through Twitter. Let them know what's new in your industry, in your company etc. You become a source of quick news flashes for them. Here are just a few of the benefits of Twitter: It reminds people that you exist. It shows people you have something to say. It shows them that you are human. It allows you to mention new offers, sales and breaking news immediately. It allows you to form a more casual relationship. You can use Twitter to promote your social bookmarking submissions. You can ask for referrals, suggestions, feedback and help, and people will respond. Twitter is also fun and is contributing to the new language we are constantly developing. For example "Twitterference" - the intrusion of twitter updates on your phone making it hard to have a conversation on your phone. Finding Followers: Start by reaching out to your friends, family, mailing líst etc. You can also add your Twitter link to your email signature line; add links to your website and Blog. Mention your Twitter account in your newsletter. Twitter Rules One cardinal rule (that is in your best interest to follow): if you use Twitter as a pure sales tool, you will lose followers quickly. As with all forms of social media, it is about creating a conversation and sharing news - it's not all about you shoving your sales message down their throats. Tweets are limited to 140 characters. This is to allow them to be easily sent over mobile SMS systems. You aren't able to embed HTML with the exception of hyperlinks. (But they are no-follow links, so they won't help you in your SEO quest for backlinks) Bonus: Twitter automatically uses the TinyURL service to shorten links. Don't tweet too much, or too little. There is no magic number and it varies according to your audience. Some people say don't update more than once per hour. Others say not more than once or twice a day. I tend to be in the once or twice a day camp. If there is breaking news and some days you just have to update more often then it's OK. If your tweets are valuable information, people will be more tolerant of frequent updates. On the other hand if you are too quiet, people have nothing to follow so make sure you find that balance and tweet just enough to keep people informed but not annoyed. Don't forget that your profile shows a history of all your tweets, so if a new person comes along and sees that you don't have many tweets they may decide you aren't worthy of following. Also if your past tweets aren't informative or interesting, you lose some potential followers. You'll find that sometimes you get involved in personal conversation with someone. Try to avoid doing too much of this. Not everyone will be interested in your personal communications. If you do need to do this, put the @ symbol in front of somebody's name - this indicates that this message is for them. One thing to keep in mind about personal conversation tweets - some people who are following you may not be following the person you are talking to. This means they get only one half of the conversation. One suggestion is to word your tweet so that spectators have an idea of what you are talking about. That way, they can feel more included in the conversation. Trust and Twitter With so much hype in marketing, people are really looking for a company that can trust. You can build trust with prospects by allowing them to get to know you, and by providing them with information. Twitter allows you to do just that.A great tip: look at your Tweet history - is the information valuable, does it build trust? Would you want to follow yourself? Get tweeting! It may take some trial and error, and you probably want to check out what others are tweeting about to get a feel for the style. But don't spend too long lurking - check it out and then jump on in.
According to the Twitter FAQ, "Twitter is for staying in touch and keeping up with friends no matter where you are or what you're doing." Wikipedia says, "Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send updates via SMS, instant messaging, email, to the Twitter website, or any one of the multitude of Twitter applications now available". Basically Twitter asks the question, "What are you doing?" and allows you to send a short update (your tweets are limited to 140 characters) to your followers (family, friends, colleagues, customers, potential customers etc). Twitter allows you to send and receive updates (also called tweets) via your browser, email, instant messaging clients and SMS (using your cell phone). No matter where you are, you can tweet! I haven't been following Twitter since day 1, so I'm not going to comment on it's evolution but I will speculate that as its popularity grows, as more and more marketers use it, 2 things are inevitable:
1. Rules on Twitter etiquette will continue to evolve as we learn what we like and dislike about it, and as we respond to the inevitable abuse of Twitter (don't mean to sound negative but it happens with each exciting new opportuníty - people end up abusing it).2. More and more companies will jump on board and try to get in on the conversation. Start Twittering (or is it Tweeting?) Remember, when you first join Twitter, it can feel like a lonely place. When you aren't following anyone and no one is following you, you may find yourself asking "what is the point?" I've heard so many people say they just don't get it. In fact, I've said that myself. The key is to find the Tweets you want to follow so you can keep your finger on the pulse of your niche. The next key is to start building your followers. More on that in a minute. How can Twitter help your business? The more contact you have with a potential customer, the more likely you are to get their business. You can stay "top of mind" through Twitter. Let them know what's new in your industry, in your company etc. You become a source of quick news flashes for them. Here are just a few of the benefits of Twitter: It reminds people that you exist. It shows people you have something to say. It shows them that you are human. It allows you to mention new offers, sales and breaking news immediately. It allows you to form a more casual relationship. You can use Twitter to promote your social bookmarking submissions. You can ask for referrals, suggestions, feedback and help, and people will respond. Twitter is also fun and is contributing to the new language we are constantly developing. For example "Twitterference" - the intrusion of twitter updates on your phone making it hard to have a conversation on your phone. Finding Followers: Start by reaching out to your friends, family, mailing líst etc. You can also add your Twitter link to your email signature line; add links to your website and Blog. Mention your Twitter account in your newsletter. Twitter Rules One cardinal rule (that is in your best interest to follow): if you use Twitter as a pure sales tool, you will lose followers quickly. As with all forms of social media, it is about creating a conversation and sharing news - it's not all about you shoving your sales message down their throats. Tweets are limited to 140 characters. This is to allow them to be easily sent over mobile SMS systems. You aren't able to embed HTML with the exception of hyperlinks. (But they are no-follow links, so they won't help you in your SEO quest for backlinks) Bonus: Twitter automatically uses the TinyURL service to shorten links. Don't tweet too much, or too little. There is no magic number and it varies according to your audience. Some people say don't update more than once per hour. Others say not more than once or twice a day. I tend to be in the once or twice a day camp. If there is breaking news and some days you just have to update more often then it's OK. If your tweets are valuable information, people will be more tolerant of frequent updates. On the other hand if you are too quiet, people have nothing to follow so make sure you find that balance and tweet just enough to keep people informed but not annoyed. Don't forget that your profile shows a history of all your tweets, so if a new person comes along and sees that you don't have many tweets they may decide you aren't worthy of following. Also if your past tweets aren't informative or interesting, you lose some potential followers. You'll find that sometimes you get involved in personal conversation with someone. Try to avoid doing too much of this. Not everyone will be interested in your personal communications. If you do need to do this, put the @ symbol in front of somebody's name - this indicates that this message is for them. One thing to keep in mind about personal conversation tweets - some people who are following you may not be following the person you are talking to. This means they get only one half of the conversation. One suggestion is to word your tweet so that spectators have an idea of what you are talking about. That way, they can feel more included in the conversation. Trust and Twitter With so much hype in marketing, people are really looking for a company that can trust. You can build trust with prospects by allowing them to get to know you, and by providing them with information. Twitter allows you to do just that.A great tip: look at your Tweet history - is the information valuable, does it build trust? Would you want to follow yourself? Get tweeting! It may take some trial and error, and you probably want to check out what others are tweeting about to get a feel for the style. But don't spend too long lurking - check it out and then jump on in.
How can Twitter help your business? The more contact you have with a potential customer, the more likely you are to get their business. You can stay "top of mind" through Twitter. Let them know what's new in your industry, in your company etc. You become a source of quick news flashes for them. Here are just a few of the benefits of Twitter:
Twitter is also fun and is contributing to the new language we are constantly developing. For example "Twitterference" - the intrusion of twitter updates on your phone making it hard to have a conversation on your phone. Finding Followers: Start by reaching out to your friends, family, mailing líst etc. You can also add your Twitter link to your email signature line; add links to your website and Blog. Mention your Twitter account in your newsletter. Twitter Rules One cardinal rule (that is in your best interest to follow): if you use Twitter as a pure sales tool, you will lose followers quickly. As with all forms of social media, it is about creating a conversation and sharing news - it's not all about you shoving your sales message down their throats. Tweets are limited to 140 characters. This is to allow them to be easily sent over mobile SMS systems. You aren't able to embed HTML with the exception of hyperlinks. (But they are no-follow links, so they won't help you in your SEO quest for backlinks)
Bonus: Twitter automatically uses the TinyURL service to shorten links. Don't tweet too much, or too little. There is no magic number and it varies according to your audience. Some people say don't update more than once per hour. Others say not more than once or twice a day. I tend to be in the once or twice a day camp. If there is breaking news and some days you just have to update more often then it's OK. If your tweets are valuable information, people will be more tolerant of frequent updates. On the other hand if you are too quiet, people have nothing to follow so make sure you find that balance and tweet just enough to keep people informed but not annoyed. Don't forget that your profile shows a history of all your tweets, so if a new person comes along and sees that you don't have many tweets they may decide you aren't worthy of following. Also if your past tweets aren't informative or interesting, you lose some potential followers. You'll find that sometimes you get involved in personal conversation with someone. Try to avoid doing too much of this. Not everyone will be interested in your personal communications. If you do need to do this, put the @ symbol in front of somebody's name - this indicates that this message is for them. One thing to keep in mind about personal conversation tweets - some people who are following you may not be following the person you are talking to. This means they get only one half of the conversation. One suggestion is to word your tweet so that spectators have an idea of what you are talking about. That way, they can feel more included in the conversation. Trust and Twitter With so much hype in marketing, people are really looking for a company that can trust. You can build trust with prospects by allowing them to get to know you, and by providing them with information. Twitter allows you to do just that.A great tip: look at your Tweet history - is the information valuable, does it build trust? Would you want to follow yourself? Get tweeting! It may take some trial and error, and you probably want to check out what others are tweeting about to get a feel for the style. But don't spend too long lurking - check it out and then jump on in.
