eBay

i*m-still-here · ‎10-22-2013

Has anyone else noticed that you can no longer do an advanced search to see a buyer's buying history?

A few days ago they changed FB for buyers, and now this has also changed.

That will change the way you guys respond to buyers.

I've always found it intrusive as a buyer............. so for me it's a welcome change.

It's nobody's business what I buy.

recped · ‎10-22-2013

Don't know if it's a glitch or intentional.........

On .com If you click on Seller then the Bidder link appears.

On .ca it's still as it has always been.

"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.

i*m-still-here · ‎10-22-2013

You're right.

They've just changed the way to get to the bidder's history ...............

Somehow, though, it seems like this is the precursor to doing away with it altogether.

It makes sense after the way the changed the way we see a buyer's FB.

Why change that and not this?

A lot of the recent changes on the Hippie Site are now showing up on eBay.

They altered these things a long time ago.

They also did away with FB and replaced it with a 5 star rating system. MUCH better, and I would not be surprised if eBay follows suit in the near future as well.

lady.stark · ‎10-22-2013

@i*m-still-here wrote:
Has anyone else noticed that you can no longer do an advanced search to see a buyer's buying history?

I've always found it intrusive as a buyer............. so for me it's a welcome change.

As a buyer, you said you find it intrusive and welcome this change. However, your question suggests that you like this feature as a seller. Otherwise, you would not have noticed the change... 😉

Personally, I hate this change. I hope they will bring it back to the way it was. If not, feedback is meaningless.

i*m-still-here · ‎10-22-2013

As a seller I use the feature and Toolhaus as well because I feel impelled to use all of the tools and resources available to me do the best job I possibly can to avoid NFB and problems.

Most of the time ............... if not all of the time................ it's a waste of time.

If they remove the feature : Good Riddance!

Out of sight ; Out of mind.

Just a thought: I have to wonder how that would affect these message boards. Sellers/posters like to "peek," and if that is taken away maybe the motivation to respond to buyers will evaporate very quickly as well.

lady.stark · ‎10-22-2013

@i*m-still-here wrote:
Just a thought: I have to wonder how that would affect these message boards. Sellers/posters like to "peek," and if that is taken away maybe the motivation to respond to buyers will evaporate very quickly as well.

You do have a very good point here. In order to help others, we often have to look at the items they bought or sold to help them. And to understand what the problem may be. But now... it will be hard to help others without that feature. There is still the search by item number or completed listings (for sellers), but it will take more time to give good advices and more steps will be needed to help others.

i*m-still-here · ‎10-22-2013

lady-stark.....

There's some truth to that.............. but IMO buyers can usually be helped without that information.

In fact.......... It's probably a hindrance to receiving true help more often than not.

My point is that posters/sellers here will find it much less interesting to hang out here if they can't "peek" at a buyer's history.

(For example: Look at how boring I am to other posters!!!)

For now it's still available, but that could change any day and there is some indication that it's coming.

Who knows?

rose-dee · ‎10-22-2013

The other side to this whole question, if I may offer my opinion, is that transparency does make for what I call market or site-wide "cross-pollination". I'm sorry to see these features disappear. For all the "peeking" and snooping and phishing, I'm sure there was just as much spontaneous purchasing going on, as in: "Ooooh, that's nice, wow let's see what else that seller has".

By removing this feature, we sellers are now on our own, entirely dependent upon eBay's search/placement system (Cassini). The plugs have been pulled from all those other spontaneous connections. If you think about this, you may realize that this move might have had other motives on the part of eBay besides cleaning up bad behaviour on the site. I think it's one more way to separate buyers and sellers and force sellers to bend to Cassini et al.

As a buyer (and I often still do buy on eBay), I'm not happy either. It was helpful to be able to go down a list of a seller's recent transactions and take a look at the quality, price and type of items offered. That kind of peeking was useful.

I know that as a seller I must simply accept these changes, as much as I dislike them, and do what's necessary to adapt if I want to continue selling here, because it's eBay's site, eBay's gameboard, and eBay's rules. This isn't a democracy, or even a collaboration of any sort.

As I've said before, this step tells me how far the new eBay wants to distance itself from its laudable founding credo of an open marketplace.

lady.stark · ‎10-22-2013

I totally agree with all the things you said rose. I think it's just another way to eliminate small sellers 😞

lady.stark · ‎10-22-2013

I just thought of something... if a buyer doesn't want people looking at what they bought, they had and still have the possibility to have a "private" feedback.

As for sellers, if they don't want to show what they sold in the past (which I don't understand, but that is their right anyway), they can have private listings. Of course, they will take the risk of loosing sales, because I know that, as a buyer, I hate private listings.

So... all things considered, there was absolutely no need for this change! It will just upset people who found that link useful.

captivatemedia · ‎10-24-2013

From a seller perspective, I've always found it interesting to see what my buyers tend to purchase, but I didn't use it for much more than that.

From a buyer perspective, and this happened to me all the time while "Snooping" as a seller, it was a way of "Browsing" on Ebay and coming across items I had never thought to look for before. I would never have thought to search for such items and would never have found them if it had not been for my browsing.

i*m-still-here · ‎10-24-2013

So far they've removed the information on FB.. and they've made the advanced search for buyer's more difficult to locate............ and that function will probably be completely gone in no time at all.

The next thing to go could well be Toolhaus.

It sure does make the whole process less personal..................

I always include a gift for buyers and I personalize it by peeking at their completed items.

I also spend too much time worrying about FB left and all that kind of thing.

Really......... even though I don't like to see these functions go, in the long run I don't think I'll miss them at all.

In many ways it will make my job easier, and especially as I become busier and less able to fuss with all that stuff..............

I'm really OK with it.

As a buyer I'd prefer if others couldn't see what I bought.

I've always felt that was intrusive and nobody's business.

lady.stark · ‎10-24-2013

@i*m-still-here wrote:
As a buyer I'd prefer if others couldn't see what I bought.
I've always felt that was intrusive and nobody's business.

Simple solution to that: make your feedback private.

i*m-still-here · ‎10-24-2013

Lady stark............. That causes more problems than is solves.

lady.stark · ‎10-25-2013

Such as?

lady.stark · ‎10-25-2013

I just left some feedbacks on my buyer account... and they changed the way feedback looks on a seller account. The "View Item" link is now back, but the buyer's ID is like in a bidding history such as y***y. It seems eBay is messing with the feedback system... for what purpose? Only they know.

i*m-still-here · ‎10-26-2013

When a buyer has FB set to private it looks like they are hiding something. Always made me suspicious.

rroader94 · ‎08-05-2014

I fully agree Rose and I stand corrected but these changes come as surprises. Sellers have less and less information on which to help sell and to be fair to Buyers in terms of current pricing. Historical information is among the best marketing tools we have and essentially we have none now. I don't agree with asking exhorbitant prices just because listing and re-listing is Free. Getting really frustrated with changes......when have we seen changes for the better for Sellers?