eBay Looks to Large Retailers and Consumers for Added Selection

[pierrelebel]

MUST READ

By Ina Steiner
EcommerceBytes.com
April 02, 2013

eBay presented its strategy for its three main operating units to analysts and investors at last week's Analyst Day. Christopher Payne's presentation on eBay Marketplaces was of particular interest to sellers, where he explained the changes eBay has implemented and how that has impacted the business.

Payne, Senior Vice President of eBay North America and a former VP at Amazon.com, said, "We are a different and better eBay." To create the new eBay, it used many different levers, and Payne said that during the presentation he would focus on three of those levers that were critical in driving eBay's turnaround:

1) Buyer Experience
2) Retail Standards
3) Selection

http://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abn/y13/m04/i02/s01 

[rose-dee]

Thank you for bringing this article to the fore. 

"We have a powerful set of capabilities for these large merchants."

Payne displayed some of the B2C merchants on a slide, including: Argos, Target, Media-Saturn, Best Buy, Toys R Us [...].

"Our goals is to become the partner of choice for large retailers and brands globally - and I'm not just talking about marketplaces (but rather, all of eBay Inc. assets) that make an unbeatable combination for large merchants. Nearly 20 percent of the largest ecommerce companies in the United States sell on eBay."

Payne pointed to Target, saying they recently opened up a store on eBay because of its strong marketing and customer-acquisition capabilities."

Another corporate conglomerate.  Lovely.  The above management direction, added to the following, will (in my opinion) inevitably push smaller but experienced eBay sellers out of the way, as eBay's policies become more and more focused on catering to huge volume sellers or the masses of fly-by-nighters who don't know and don't care about the rules.  This is already (again in my opinion) happening with this year's Spring Updates.  All I can do is groan.  Perhaps there's a better place for me than here. 

"So our mission is to turn eBay buyers into eBay sellers."

He said one way eBay is doing this is through its new C2C mobile selling app. "We've increased first-time selling by 67 percent," he said.

It's specifically the "C2C mobile selling app" part that I find especially freak-out worthy.  Just give 'em an App, wind 'em up, and let 'em go.  OMG. 

By the way Pierre, you no doubt know what all the references to "conversion" mean -- could you elucidate?

[pierrelebel]

Conversion:

"So our mission is to turn eBay buyers into eBay sellers."

One of their long term goal is to convert eBay buyers into eBay sellers. Let's face it, eBay makes money (fees) with sellers.  The more the merrier!

[rose-dee]

Let's face it, eBay makes money (fees) with sellers.  The more the merrier!

Yes, true, but they should probably also be thinking about how many buyers will be turned away if they continue to encounter bad service, inexperienced (careless) sellers, or sellers of shoddy merchandise.  Ultimately, if buyers get put off and look elsewhere, sellers won't sell.  It's chicken and egg, and I think eBay is only looking at all those eggs in its basket that are currently netting more fees for eBay.  Short term thinking, in my view.

What I see as distinguishing Amazon from eBay, despite eBay's claim (as reported in the article) that they have no warehousing concerns, etc., is that Amazon at least has control over customer service and customer satisfaction. 

The only way eBay can control those variables and keep buyers coming back is to ensure sellers care about and comply with the rules.  Those sellers who either don't care because they have such turnover it doesn't matter (all those new Chinese $2 per item sellers), or don't care because they're only in it for a quick buck and quick exit (backyard bandits), will always cause problems for eBay.  I refer here not of monoliths like Target, who have a name and reputation to preserve, of course.  But then Target will probably end up dictating rules to eBay that suit them. 

What has happened in many towns and cities in the real world is happening here: variety and uniqueness found in interesting little boutiques will be crammed into the back corner somewhere outside the "big box" centres.  I see this every time I do a search on eBay.

[pierrelebel]

"but they should..."

Let's face it: the management team of eBay Inc in San Jose California thinks it knows best what is good for their business and does not care what Canadian sellers think. 

We are irrelevant to their big picture.

[rose-dee]

"We are irrelevant to their big picture.

Yes, as usual, mere gnats.  Barely even an irritant.

[lovbugshop]

thank you for the update its Interesting 

[westernstargifts]

What has happened in many towns and cities in the real world is happening here: variety and uniqueness found in interesting little boutiques will be crammed into the back corner somewhere outside the "big box" centres.  I see this every time I do a search on eBay.

No matter where you go in Canada you see the same stores in the malls.  When vacationing I do not shop in the same stores we have at home.  I go to the little boutiques to find all of the unique and unusual products, many handmade in that area, that you don't find in the big box stores or at home.  The small shops can survive if they sell products that would not be found in the big box stores.

I do the same thing when I shop on eBay.  I completely ignore the big name retailers.  I might buy from them on their websites but not here.  And I absolutely refuse to click on, or even look at, the paid ads in listings and in search.