eBay

rose-dee · ‎06-19-2015

Well, I suppose it was inevitable. Take a look at what I found today on Pinterest (I'll have to insert it in the post below, as I can't seem to do it on this message).

In a recent eCommerce Bytes article, eBay executives were reported to have said that the company wants to focus on alternate marketing routes (meaning social media, etc., i.e. anything but Google) as a means of boosting exposure. After seeing this Pinterest announcement today, I'd say eBay had better hurry up or Pinterest will beat them to it (and do a better job, since they're already heavily linked with Facebook and other social media sites).

Depending upon how this feature is rolled out, it could be good or bad for eBay sellers. Good, in that it's another venue to take advantage of, but bad in that it will water down the already troubled eBay exposure. (Pinterest is presumably still in Google's good books).

What do you think?

rose-dee · ‎06-24-2015

@sylviebee wrote:

I would like to respond to your replies, since I think this is an important subject for eBay sellers to be aware of.

1. The way I described that pinterest works for me was the way it worked yesterday. Tomorrow will likely be different and I know it was different a month ago. I've used Pinterest now for many months and have never noticed that the links work differently from what I described above, provided the items were pinned directly from the originating site(s), i.e. eBay, Etsy, etc.

2. Adding a third party to the mix will make them some easy fast money.. Kudos to them. Who can blame them for wanting to cash in on that? Not me. In fact, it was inevitable. Yes, I agree, on all these points. As I said, from a purely business perspective, it was both inevitable and clever. Whether it makes Pinterest a better place for users, and whether it waters down buyer traffic for other sites, remains to be seen.

3. I know my pinterest items have been pinned and re-pinned because I get an email notifying me when it happens. Yes, I know about email notifications from Pinterest. What I meant was how do you know when your eBay listings (not your Pinterest items) have been pinned to Pinterest by others from eBay directly? For an eBay seller, this would be very useful information. So far, I haven't been able to find that data on eBay.

4. Exposure it not necessarily a good thing. There is a real problem with "over-exposure" for many of my items. Over-exposure has a very real negative aspect to it. I agree, and as I mentioned, this is one possibly negative aspect for eBay sellers if so many other internet sites start jumping on the selling bandwagon. Will Facebook be next for example?

5. Most importantly: You are worrying about something that may never be a problem for you. Sellers are facing bigger challenges than pinterest will ever present. True, eBay itself presents more challenges than Pinterest likely will. I'm certainly not worried about Pinterest's venture, but I'll be intrigued to see how well this idea of "buyable" pins catches on. If it does take off, then I think it may be eBay who should be a little worried that they missed an obvious opportunity and may experience even more buyer dilution (and "buyer fatigue") than is already the case.