eBay

pierrelebel · ‎11-04-2013

By Ina Steiner
EcommerceBytes.com
November 01, 2013

eBay is testing a new Item page that completely changes how seller information is displayed on the page. The Seller information box has undergone quite a bit of change over the years, but has always been on the right side of the listing page and has always been presented under a header called "Seller Information." Based on what we've seen, that may be about to change.

Clicking on a hyperlink to "Try the new eBay," EcommerceBytes saw the new View Item page layout on Thursday evening, though variations of the new design have surfaced in the past:

The bad news: the seller information appears to our eyes to be less prominent.

The good news: the advertisement is gone from the top of the fold.

For more: http://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abn/y13/m11/i01/s01

mr.elmwood · ‎11-04-2013

Selling should be about the widget, not about the seller. Too many sellers are in this for the % and the FD score. They have no interest in the customer.

Every whining seller thread over on SC dot com starts with "I am 100% pos FB witha score of XXXX". Like, who cares? Do ya check Cdn Tire's score as ya walk in their door? I shop where I can find what I want, not with who has a big score posted out front.

This is all part of the revision of how business is being done. FB stopped being relevant years ago. DSR never worked. FB % is false and always has been.

All buyers should get a little tick mark for a buy. All sellers should get a tick mark for selling. Nothing else. All administration of accounts should be done in the back room as it is no-one's business except for the direct parties involved.

eBay should be about buying and selling, not egos.

.
.
.

bb_cool_stuff · ‎11-04-2013

This is all part of the revision of how business is being done.

Of course, online & offline.

This should come of no surprise to anyone.

rose-dee · ‎11-04-2013

I'd be glad to see the advertisements gone, but honestly, why move the seller information? Now there's a huge blank, blue space on the right. Visually very unbalanced to my eyes. However, who knows what this stupid change really portends, if and when it's implemented? I expect eBay is under pressure from its large commercial sellers to streamline its site visually and de-emphasize individual seller details.

As for door colours, I loved the "red door" -- easy to spot, easy to click on. Psychologists have proven that red is a colour that gets attention. I hate the blue door that merges visually with everything else on the listing banner, but what is my opinion worth -- nothing. Do what you like eBay, you will anyway.

What I mainly object to is the constantly changing, dizzyingly unpredictable, ever-shifting thing that the eBay site has become, particularly over the last year. I suppose they have to justify the 6-figure salaries of all those designers and programmers by keeping them busy doing something, anything.

Still, sometimes change for the mere sake of change can produce a negative result. Sellers are fed up with the never-ending alterations (and resultant glitches) to the site; how long before buyers get put off too?

mr.elmwood · ‎11-04-2013

Buyers do not car what the site looked like. They don't care how it worked yesterday. Buyers live i today.

When I put my buyer hat on, I look for what I want and buy. I do not care about anything else. Is there a button to push to buy? Does it lead me to the link to pay? That is all I want.

.
.
.

femmefan1946 · ‎11-04-2013

Well, I for one do check out the seller information, particularly location, feedback and DSRs, and whether or not they use the GSP.

And when I enter a new store, I check the layout, cleanliness, number of staff, and how long the lineups are at the cash (before shopping).

If there are greeters at the door, I leave. Those guys scare me.

If I am shopping, I will use the Watch List/Compare function. But if I am feeling impulsive that seller info helps ground me. A little. Unless I really really need another purse.

rose-dee · ‎11-04-2013

@femmefan1946 wrote:
Unless I really really need another purse.

Well, of course, now who of our persuasion doesn't always need another purse? (Men will never get it - I've just given up).

By the way, I agree with you. If I'm buying on eBay from a seller who is new to me, I check them out - FB received (and left for others), location, years on eBay, previous items sold and (before last week) even what they have purchased. If they have a "Me" page, I generally look at that too. I like to get a sense of the person I'm going to be dealing with.

I think this may be another difference between the "hunters" and "gatherers" you so aptly identified earlier. We women like to scope the place out before making a choice, maybe even snoop around for things we didn't really intend to buy, then make a decision based on a lot of input; men make a beeline straight to the product, grab it, pay for it, and run out the door, greeters or no.

mr.elmwood · ‎11-04-2013

There is a shelf, in our house, where purses go to die. Once on the shelf, they may be resurrected once, but only once. I hear them crying, faintly, sometimes, in the night. Gently, I hear: "Take me shopping. Take me shopping". It is so sad.

.
.
.

ricarmic · ‎11-04-2013

For me personally, I never buy before I've checked out how the seller responds to neutrals and negatives. If they respond poorly that tells me what will happen if I have a problem and I move on. (No response at all is not considered good either)

pjcdn2005 · ‎11-05-2013

@mr.elmwood wrote:
Buyers do not car what the site looked like. They don't care how it worked yesterday. Buyers live i today.

When I put my buyer hat on, I look for what I want and buy. I do not care about anything else. Is there a button to push to buy? Does it lead me to the link to pay? That is all I want.

I have to disagree. People get comfortable with the way things are layed out. Every time something is changed, the buyer or seller has to stop their regular routine and figure out what the change is and how to deal with it. It's one thing to change things on the site every once in a while, but this constant changing is bad for business and bad for morale too imo..

It's the same in offline life too. The grocery store that I often go to totally changed their shelves around recently so it's not as easy to find a particular item as it was before. If they were changing things every month or two, I don't think the customers there would be very happy about it. I know that I wouldn't be.

rose-dee · ‎11-05-2013

@pjcdn2005 wrote:

I have to disagree. People get comfortable with the way things are layed out. Every time something is changed, the buyer or seller has to stop their regular routine and figure out what the change is and how to deal with it. It's one thing to change things on the site every once in a while, but this constant changing is bad for business and bad for morale too imo..
It's the same in offline life too. The grocery store that I often go to totally changed their shelves around recently so it's not as easy to find a particular item as it was before. If they were changing things every month or two, I don't think the customers there would be very happy about it. I know that I wouldn't be.

I am completely with you on this! I had to smile about the grocery store -- I get very annoyed when stores significantly "re-arrange" their stock, and you suddenly can't find something in a familiar place. SuperStore did this recently, and after 15 minutes of roaming aimlessly about looking for a favourite product, I walked out in frustration and went to Sobey's, who hadn't reorganized their store. EBay too should remember there are other sites....

Fixing up and tweaking things here and there now and then is comfortable, but making constant, important changes to the way things look and work is, IMHO, not. I think it does risk "buyer fatigue", and when buyers get frustrated, they will look elsewhere.