Refunds have been promised to sellers who were victims of eBay's latest glitch. This time, an unknown number of items did not appear in search results. It seems no one knows which items did not appear yet. So it's a pretty empty promise from eBay. This is just the latest crisis in a long string of fumbles when sellers are already miffed. How much will eBay sellers take?
How much will people take before they take drastic action? Think of a few examples.
- We have a McDonald's in my town. I know, it's probably not good for me, but that's not why I hesitate to go there. The reason I hesitate is they get my order wrong over half of the time. My wife likes an occasional Sausage McMuffin w/ Egg - no cheese. Recently, I ordered one at the counter, the lady even went to the girl making the sandwich and specifically told her what I ordered. What I got was a Sausage McMuffin w/ Egg - no SAUSAGE! To top it off, when I took it back in, they remade it. The same way!
- We have an A&W restaurant. (I know, more fast food.) I love their food. They only accept cash. I don't hardly ever carry cash in the 21st century. They have an ATM where I can get $20 cash - if I pay a $2.00 charge. Nevermind, I'll go somewhere else. I like the Coney Dogs, but it's the principle. Look A&W - I take credit and ATM cards, and I just sell stuff online. They need to get up to speed, and I'll gladly spend my money there.
- The Circle-K has the lowest price for gas in town. They only have four pumps. About half of the time, the credit card processor on the pumps does not work. If it does, the pumps are excruciatingly slow. I've timed it. It takes a l-o-n-g time to fill up. My time is valuable (why else would I eat fast food all the time?) so I go somewhere else, even if it costs a little more for gas.
My question then is - how much inconvenience will eBay sellers take? There is an end to their patience. Many, many have already reached their limit. Others will follow soon. But what can they do when there are no practical choices?
Short term strategy for small sellers?
Small sellers will go back to yard sales and garage sales. The smart ones will play to their buyer's dream to strike it rich on eBay. Think about it, they know what sells on eBay. They know what buttons to push to pull in tons of yard salers on Saturday morning. You small sellers - you know which keywords work to draw eBay traffic - use them to hook and reel in the Craigslist crowd.
Lessons from the auto industry
Back in the 1960's and 1970's, the U.S. auto industry got fat, lazy, and they were arrogant. They made big, heavy, gas-guzzling cars. And they made them poorly. By the 1980's, people had finally had enough of the junk. They spent their money on the smaller, well-built Japanese and German cars. The U.S. companies acted like they never saw it coming.
When the imports began to trickle into the U.S. in the 1960's, they were a curiosity. Most were considered a joke. VW Beetles were cute, not serious. A Honda? A refrigerator on wheels! But in time, the trickle became a flood.
Think about the similarities. Many companies are trying to compete against the behemoth, eBay. At this point, most are a curiosity. A few devoted sellers claim they've found "the one" that will become their new home. But it's still too early to tell which of the small platforms will rise above the others.
It will happen though. eBay is producing junk. They are bloated, management is totally out of touch with the eBay community. Word on the street is they are disconnected within the company too. Employees feel management is jerking the company in every direction as it swerves all over the road. One of the most common themes is "no clear strategy."
More lessons from the auto industry...
Where will the "imports" come from? Think again about what happened with the auto industry. Going back to the post-WWII era in Japan. At that time, "Made in Japan" meant cheap junk. But the U.S. helped Japan rebuild. They taught them many of the secrets of industry. The Japanese took that knowledge, and combined it with their own cultural efficiency - and finally beat the U.S. automakers at their own game.
What can be learned from this? eBay has pulled literally millions of people into ecommerce. They've been taught the basic lessons of online retailing. Many of those sellers are better than eBay at selling things online. They have the agility, and the efficiency that eBay once had. They have a clear vision of where they want to go. Ultimately, one of the sellers eBay trained will beat them at their own game. We just have to be patient.
Oh and you'd better check your order carefully before leaving the parking lot...
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