The Short-Sightedness of Public Companies

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Publicly Owned Companies

An epidemic problem in corporate North America today is the short-sightedness of executives arising from economic pressures to increase earnings month after month, year after year, despite the physical laws that dictate that everything in business, and the natural world, must go through innate cycles.
The greed of, and pressure from, shareholders inclines companies to do whatever is necessary, even to the extent of those actions committed by Enron and a host of others, in order to garner a short-term benefit come what may.
Ebay’s recent fee increases, for example, seem to result in my paying, on average, about $2 per listing. This renders the auction of lower cost items unfeasible particularly if they fail to sell the very first time. This effectively turns Ebay’s mission from “To help practically anyone trade practically anything on earth” into “To help those who can afford it trade more expensive items”. A second foreseeable outcome of the recent fee increases is that fewer potential sellers, looking at $2/item listing fees, are likely to choose to sell much on Ebay. As the seller base atrophies this will actually be a good thing for those of us who remain. A decrease in the type of merchandise and sellers can’t be in the best long-term interest of Ebay however.
Another short-sighted profit taking outlook is the focus on listings, mentioned in a previous thread, as opposed to a focus on merchandise sales. Over the long haul nickel and diming its sellers will result in a diminution of its marketplace as opposed to the long-term windfalls that would result if every possible door were opened to facilitate a auctions that are successful for sellers as well as Ebay.
The corporations of other countries, such as Japan, don’t seem to struggle with the same type of short-sightedness. Overcoming this myopia would seem to be a matter of integrity and resolve.

Marty

[amberwoodottawa]

Marty
Actually Japan went through their own short-sightedness about 15 years ago or so. Many Japanese giant corporations all thought that they had the know how to do business in North America, their way.

Alot of those corporations broke contracts they had with North American marketing companies and US joint venture partners and tried to pedal their goods their way.

The results were both immediate and distaterous for the Japanese and in less than a year, eitehr old alliances with their former American counterparts were rekindled or new ones formed.

Since then, American marketing is not only entrenched into how they sell their products in North America but also how they sell their products at home in Japan.

Yes I believe that eBay sees 2004 to be a poor year for sales so they have adjusted where they intend to get their profits from, being the front end fees.

Every once in a while we will be thrown a bone, a reduced listing day here and there or free pics or some other no-cost to them, token of being a team player with the sellers.

What is surprising with the new eBay fees, and the CP fee increase and others, is that these businesses really think that we are too naive to see through what they are doing as they are the all powerful and sucessful corporate giants who know it all.

I guess they never read David and Goliath!

Malcolm

[treasure-pot]

Sorry I have missed most of this discussion... I just got in from a day of shopping at Eaton's and had to check my stock portfolio before logging in... hmmm... let's see.... Enron up.... WorldCom up.... well, I,m having a great day. Good enough that I think I'll get a ticket on the next CP flight outta here to somewhere warm - maybe with a connection to a Pan Am flight to the far east. First, before I go, I'll want to talk to my financial advisors, Martha Stewart and Conrad Black at my Robert Campeau built condo... oh, enough.

It always amazes me that the pillars of business actually believe in their own immortality. Honestly, you would think they had never read a newspaper... maybe they don't and that's why Conrad's fortunes changed.

I have already changed my listing policies dramatically. I will be watching every penny I spend with eBay this year and the "freebies" don't attract me the way they did. After all, penny gallery days are there to spike eBay's income during a slow period and have little to do with concern for my costs.

For example, the .com penny gallery offer is for a Wednesday and Thursday... why not a Friday and Saturday when sellers will get the most benefit from it?

Everything is on the table for examination. I have already begun to move my image hosting for a savings of $10 USD per month. Last month I managed to reduce my eBay fees by almost a hundred USD over December and my sales were about the same. I'm just being much more cautious about my listings.

So if eBay really needed that nickel per listing they are welcome to it. It led me to much more closely examine the monies I send to eBay on a monthly basis. In any given month I list between 1200 and 1500 auctions. At the high number and at a nickel per, eBay will take another $75 a month from me, or at least that's what they hoped. They are actually going to find that, by being much more cautious about my listings I plan to reduce my monthly bill without reducing my sales. If last month is typical I will still save $25 USD or more a month over what I spent last year.

Now, I think I'll go fire up my AMC Pacer and swing over to Steinbergs and pick up supper.

Cheers!

Bill