Comments on: eBay’s Q3 ’08 Earnings Call – Translation

By: Ignatius Reilly

Ignatius Reilly — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 04:00:47 +0000

Another analogy goes something like this.

An eBay employee is caught stealing another employee’s iPod and fired. Word gets around about the iPod theft and a few other employees report their iPods as stolen. No one is sure if the dismissed employee stole the other missing iPods.

Ebay issues a notice that because of the iPod thefts, all employees would be searched as they left the property.

Next eBay sets up a system where eBay employees suspected of iPod thievery can be anonymously reported. The iPod theft reports will not be investigated. Any eBay employee with 2 or more reports within 30 days will be suspended.

Once the suspended employee returns, any further Detailed Suspect Reporting system reports will result in dismissal. Again, the iPod theft reports will not be investigated.

This is what is now happening to good, honest long time eBay sellers, suspension because of unconfirmed reports.

Ebay justifies this, claiming their goal is providing an “excellent buying experience”.

Meanwhile, eBay seller “buy” (buy.com) racks up nearly 300 negative feedbacks a month, contradicting eBay’s justification for the DSR system and subsequent suspension.

Buy gets away with nearly 300 non “excellent buying experiences” a month and good honest long time sellers are suspended for 1 or 2 uninbestigated negative feedbacks in the same time period.

By: Mechelle

Mechelle — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 22:03:00 +0000

The board of directors should be charged with failing to perform their fiduciary duties to the corporate stock holders by protecting the solvency of the eBay corporation. The negligence is astounding & is shared by the corporate officers who are going along with JD’s idiocy. It is criminal

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:06:10 +0000

I wish people would stop referring to ebay sellers who don’t sell new Chinese garbage as “flea market” booths etc. like the above poster. “sellers of slightly used items have packed up their flea market stalls”

I don’t sell trash. I don’t sell Chinese knockoffs. I sell slightly used, frequently antique items. Most are no longer made. Doesn’t make my items “flea market”.

As for Donohoe and company, the sooner they take their profit and quit eBay, the happier I’ll be. The board of directors and major stock holders should be screaming for his head on a platter. Or handing him his signed resignation.

By: Henrietta

Henrietta — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 01:57:06 +0000

You hit that nail right on the head. Back when, eBay would have been my first stop looking for high quality slightly used items. In a flat or down trending economy eBay should be roaring but that can’t happen if all the sellers of slightly used items have packed up their flea market stalls and gone elsewhere.

I would love to know what Donohoe believes will happen to advertising rates when the buyers realize there aren’t as many visitors.

I am off to pull PayPal off my websites, I like GC better

By: exPowerSeller

exPowerSeller — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:59:56 +0000

Brilliant post…. dead on the money.