Entries Tagged 'eBay News and Talk' ↓
September 10th, 2008 — eBay News and Talk
David Steiner from AuctionBytes comments today on an interesting saga that is unfolding between AuctionBytes and eBay. It's well worth watching, and it is the reason for the Walmart post I wrote yesterday.
eBay's Double Standards
Basically, eBay has one standard for small sellers - toe the line or else - and one standard for big sellers. They can deny the details, through the eBayInk Blog, but any difference in the treatment of big sellers and small sellers is going to make people mad.
eBay has spent a lot of capital on the changes of the past year. Those changes have wrecked some sellers' businesses, angered many others, and caused buyers to quietly shop elsewhere. Supposedly, the new policies are to bring the current sellers up to higher standards.
But what about eBay's standards? I know I've paid a lot to eBay for a place to sell my stuff. Have they raised their standards? I don't believe they have.
- They have been heavy-handed with small sellers, their customers. They take swipes at sellers on the site - while taking away the ability for those sellers to warn the community of nasty buyers.
- They have taken the old eBay principle that "everyone has something to contribute" quite literally - you don't get much back these days...
- They have made the site into a mine field of rules and restrictions, along with convoluted promotions. There is nothing simple about eBay anymore. It's nearly impossible to teach the (increasingly few) people that want to learn to sell.
Wise people will not sit and hope for change at eBay - it's time to take the training wheels off and strike out on your own. At least until eBay ups their own standards to the level they require small sellers to meet.
Popularity: 18% [?]
September 9th, 2008 — eBay News and Talk
Since the early days eBay members have been referred to as a community. It really is a good moniker for the millions of people who trade with each other, help each other, and just get to know each other through eBay. Times have changed though, and the community is now taking on another characteristic of it's brick and mortar namesake.
The "Level" Playing Field
For many years, eBay has welcomed sellers of all sizes. Everyone paid the same fees, and played by the same rules. Much of the charm of eBay was the fact that small sellers could compete right along side big sellers, and everyone knew what everyone else had at stake. No one got special deals.
Additionally, if a seller -big or small- listed an item, it was pretty much expected that it would show up when a shopper searched for it. Search results were simple, not manipulated.
The community of buyers was kept in check by a feedback system that, while imperfect, helped the vast majority of members remain civil. The fact that the person we were transacting with could leave us a negative feedback comment made us think twice about being nasty to anyone.
The field is more level for some than others...
Things have changed. As eBay has matured, their philosophy has changed too. In an effort to please every little group that complains, or respond to every transaction gone wrong, they have taken a "we know what's best for you" approach to the community.
Just as government manipulates markets and social groups through legislation, eBay is doing it too.
- Rather than let everyone pay the same prices, big business cuts special deals.
- Rather than simply letting people find things unfiltered, eBay has begun censoring search results.
- Rather than allow for the honest opinions of both buyers and sellers, eBay will only allow the seller's opinions if they are positive.
"We know what's best for you."
Buy.com and the Diamond Powerseller Level
Last Spring, the eBay community became privy to a special relationship between eBay and Buy.com. eBay won't release the details of this relationship, but many are of the opinion that it involves Buy.com listing hundreds of thousands of items on eBay for free - or nearly free. Sellers were scared of the big box store, flooding the site with merchandise. At eBay Live! in Chicago a new Powerseller level was announced that immediately had one member - Buy.com. That level is the Diamond Powerseller. The requirements are at least $500,000 per month, and 4.8 DSRs across the board.
The Walmart Effect
Walmart is the biggest retailer in the world. When they want to move into a town it usually causes a stir. Why? Because they have low prices, a huge selection, everything in one place, big parking lots, greeters, and on and on. Small mom and pop stores may specialize in one product line, they can't get their products at the same low-rate levels as Walmart. Walmart, whether perceived or real, has a reputation for crushing the little guys out of business. They are thought of as community killers in that they draw the business away from downtown to faceless, no-personality shopping centers.
eBay is inviting these same big sellers to their community. Just as when a Walmart moves to town, eBay is offering "incentives" to bring them into their community. They claim the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. eBay says the big box sellers will bring their loyal buyers along with them. This is supposed to spill over into the rest of the eBay seller community and help everyone make more. The problem is many sellers on eBay are selling the same merchandise as Buy.com. Will those small sellers be able to compete side-by-side with a seller that:
- pays less for their products?
- offers a big well-lit store with one-stop shopping?
- has such a variety of inventory they show up virtually everywhere?
It's not likely. Besides - eBay has just not figured out that perception matters. If people FEEL like they cannot succeed due to the big sellers moving in, they will not succeed. They won't list on eBay.
Community Leadership
The difference with your real community, and the artificial eBay community is the leadership. Where you live, if Walmart or another store wants to move in, you can go to the city counsel meeting and stand up and speak. Your voice will be heard. If you don't like the results, you can vote the leaders out, and try again. Not so with eBay. You only have your dollars to vote with. No one is obligated to listen to you.
Rather than look for responsibility from leaders of an artificial community, where you have no rights, why not forget that whole idea and go sell on your own? Learn how to set up a website, and a blog. Gather and use the tools that get people to visit your site. Admit what is happening to eBay and establish yourself before your real competitors do. Take the lead in your own business, it's going to take learning, and hard work, but people do it all the time.
Just ask yourself - what would you do if you had a cute little store in your town, and Walmart moved in on the edge of town? Which way will you go broke faster? Protesting the Walmart in hopes they'll change their mind and go away? Or figuring out how to get people into your store and working hard to do it?
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Popularity: 18% [?]
September 4th, 2008 — eBay News and Talk
Randy Smythe mentioned eBay's third quarter for this year, and that layoffs are rumored to be in the works. It's possible.
Linked to the exit of several middle and even upper-middle eBay managers is the term "operational efficiency." Evidently moving some people out makes things more efficient. They've certainly been efficient with their sellers this year.
In any case, eBay has had layoffs before. But they tend to do it very quietly, over a period of time. If people are departing, watch for them to trickle out. And just like in the movie "Office Space," eBay handles the dirty work on Friday.
Peter Gibbons: You're gonna lay off Samir and Michael?
Bob Slydell: Oh yeah, we're gonna bring in some entry-level graduates, farm some work out to Singapore, that's the usual deal.
Bob Porter: Standard operating procedure.
Peter Gibbons: Do they know this yet?
Bob Slydell: No. No, of course not. We find it's always better to fire people on a Friday. Studies have statistically shown that there's less chance of an incident if you do it at the end of the week.
No kidding. If you're an eBay employee, stay home on Fridays - at least get your TPS Reports up to date.
Popularity: 10% [?]
August 21st, 2008 — eBay Announcements
eBay has release the monthly change list, and it's a big one. I'm not going to rehash the announcement. You can read that for yourself. But here are my gut reaction predictions, pros and cons.
Pros
Fees are generally going to be lower. I've already closed my eBay Store. That'll save me $15.95 per month.
Visibility for fixed-price listings will be greater. They will last longer, and if a seller sells multiple items with the new 30-day duration, they'll get indexed by search engines. This will hopefully bring some organic search visibility for your eBay listings.
Another positive, the more recent sales an item has had, the higher that listing will appear in Best Match results.
Cons
Lower upfront fees, and longer durations will likely mean more items on eBay. More items essentially more competition, both in a literal way, and due to eBay's new "Finding" system. Sell-through rates will likely fall across the site.
Small sellers of one-of-a-kind items will benefit the least from these changes. The bigger sellers with multiple items will get the benefit of greater visibility over time.
Automatically suspending sellers with less than a 4.3 DSR. There's not much screaming about this yet. But it will likely lead to more sales of Selling on 'the River'.
Bigger media sellers will be affected by the new fee structure / fixed shipping. Ultimately, it will cost buyers more to buy media items. These large sellers make a little bit on shipping, which they'll now pass on to buyers.
Summary
It's a little harder to pick on these new changes. Overall, I think the changes are positive. I still disagree with some of the other changes made this year, but this set is more positive for the masses.
Maybe eBay's Q4 2008 will not be a bust after all. Time will tell.
Popularity: 19% [?]
August 1st, 2008 — eBay News and Talk
Oh I know, you thought eBay just fiddled around with sellers - well not anymore! eBay announced today they will be changing the way they pay for ACRUs (Active Confirmed Registered User). Up till now, you could up as an eBay affiliate, and send visitors to eBay via ad or link. If that person registers and buys something within 30 days, you'd get $25 flat - easy.
Those days are pretty much gone.
Some people are making a lot of money as eBay affiliates. Most make money by referring users who are already registered. When those people buy something, the affiliate gets a little cut of eBay's commission. ACRUs are not as plentiful as they once were. Lots of people have already registered, and people who aren't registered already - aren't in a hurry to do so.
The new system for ACRUs will be based on the quality of the aggregated traffic sent to eBay. In other words, if you have multiple affiliate sites, sending traffic to eBay, your traffic will be lumped all together to determine your quality level. Quality level will be based on a large part on the revenue generated by the users sent to eBay.
Payouts will now range from $1 to $50 for an ACRU. eBay will decide the quality of referrals, and will place affiliates in "tiers." To move into better payout tiers, an affiliate will need to improve the quality of their traffic. Initially, all new affiliates will automatically be placed in the lowest tier. Their traffic will be reviewed once per month to see if they will move up and get paid more. This new structure only affects ACRU payouts, and will immediately affect new affiliates. If you are already signed up as an active eBay affiliate, the changes will not take place for "a few months."
The bottom line is, eBay is applying the same "carrot on a stick" philosophy here as they do with Powersellers. "Work your tail off to send us traffic, and we MIGHT just throw a few nickels back to you."
Earlier this year, eBay switched the management of their affiliate program from an outside company, Commission Junction, to an in-house program called the eBay Partner Network. The switch was painful for affiliates because they had to migrate existing links from their websites to the new network links. In some cases this meant reworking thousands of links. The eBay Partner Network (EPN) then had problems with reporting, and the dust still hasn't really settled.
Now, in true eBay tradition, they are making changes to the program before the previous changes have had time to set. It's like framing a new building while the concrete foundation is still wet...
You can find the full announcement and all the details here.
Popularity: 20% [?]
July 28th, 2008 — eBay News and Talk
Twenty-three years ago this month I was living in New York and the world was all a twitter over "new" Coke. Coca-cola had built a brand, and a unique taste that had lasted through two world wars, and spread to nearly the entire world. Then they decided to tinker with the product. If you remember those days, you'll remember it was a big deal. eBay should take some lessons from what happened back then - I know they won't...but work with me here - I can dream can't I?
The Cola Wars
In the years leading up to 1985 Coca-cola was losing market share. People seemed to like the sweeter taste of Pepsi. Back then you could go into a grocery store in the U.S. and there would be a little stand inviting you you to take the "Pepsi Challenge" - blindly comparing a small sample of Pepsi (product "M") and Coke (product "Q") to see which you liked best. (I always picked Coke.)
Well, Coke figured they'd better do something, even if it meant tampering with a legendary formula that had been nearly unchanged for a century. They did research. They spent over $4,000,000 on research and conducted over 200,000 taste tests. All that served as the basis for the launch of a new, sweeter Coke on April 23, 1985.
The world went mad. Seriously. The launch created a public outcry, Coke headquarters received over 40,000 letters of complaint and over 6,000 calls a day to the company's 1-800-GET-COKE number. A psychiatrist Coke hired to listen in on phone calls to the company hotline, told executives some people sounded as if they were discussing the death of a family member. (Sound familiar eBay people?)
87 days later, on July 10, 1985, the company responded to the public demand and re-introduced the original Coke formula as Coca-cola CLASSIC. ABC News' Peter Jennings interrupted regular programming to share the news with viewers. On the floor of the U.S. Senate, David Pryor called the reintroduction "a meaningful moment in U.S. history".
What went wrong?
Coke spent a considerable amount of time trying to figure out where it had made a mistake, ultimately concluding that it had underestimated the public impact of the portion of the customer base that would be alienated by the switch.
The Aftermath
By the end of 1985 Coke CLASSIC was outselling Pepsi three-to-one. It put Coca-cola back in the number one spot over arch-rival Pepsi. (Some conspiracy theorists have even suggested the whole fiasco was a cleverly planned stunt to put Coke back on top. But Coke President Donald Keough answered all speculation by saying "We're not that dumb, and we're not that smart", as Coke Classic was reintroduced.)
Lessons for eBay
eBay's changes over the past year have had obvious effects on sellers in the trenches. The executives can talk about all the research they've done, they can try to spin the New eBay as better for everyone, they can say (which they regularly do) that "this is what we hear you want." But they have underestimated their customer's emotional attachment to eBay. Sellers are leaving, and for those that are staying - it will affect you too.
For sellers who stay on at eBay and say, "Go ahead and leave grouchy sellers, it will just mean more for us!" Consider your local shopping mall or (God forbid) flea market...are you more likely to spend time shopping at a marketplace with LOTS of vendors or just a few? We've all been in those malls on the edge of town that only have a couple of second rate shoe stores and a lot of closed stores - after a time or two of not finding what you came for, you don't go back right?
In examining the aftermath of the "new" Coke fiasco - it was discovered that there was much more to the story than just taste. The Pepsi Challenge was a sip taste or CLT (central location test). The Coke people made their decisions based on this small test. But often the CLT is blown away when a person does a home-use test. In other words, if people took a case of Pepsi home, they may not like it more than Coke.
eBay is doing something similar. They add or change little bits here or there, and they say it's what customers want. But are they actually asking "customers" to look at the whole, new eBay? or just one-off features and changes? Once the customer gets the whole product, with all the changes, they don't seem to like it.
Those Coke executives lost site of the fact that people don't drink soda "blind." They associate the drink with the brand. They have emotional connections with that Coke logo. Coke focused exclusively on the product, and left the brand behind. eBay execs have done the same thing. They're ready to throw out everything that made eBay - eBay in pursuit of a "better product." It seems eBay is trying to be more like Amazon just as Coke wanted to be more like Pepsi.
eBay is letting loyal, emotionally attached customers slip away. eBay was fun, certainly more fun than Amazon, but decision makers at eBay are dispensing with fun. Malcolm Gladwell points out in his book Blink, "Coke's problem is that the guys in the white coats took over." eBay's problem is that the MBAs took over. They don't understand people, and they're losing to Amazon.
Coke is once again the number one soft drink. What would have happened if they had not listened to their customers? Well, it's a pretty good bet you wouldn't be reading this.
PS - Just to make the point - TASTE is not what drives listings like the ones below, it's all emotion for a brand. How are the eBay collectibles doing?
Popularity: 29% [?]
July 17th, 2008 — Amazon Selling, eBay News and Talk
eBay had the Q2 2008 earnings call yesterday. The first one with John Donahoe at the wheel. There were decreases. They were blamed on things such as removal of fakes (what?), the economy (shouldn't eBay do better when people are hunting for bargains?), and added supply, which lowers conversion rates (Buy.com?).
Do you suppose the fact that people are leaving for Amazon in droves may play a part? My eBook which teaches eBay sellers the basics of getting started on Amazon.com is called, "Selling on the River" and it's having great success. That tells me something.
Anyway, I got to thinking of all the talk of "taking the wheel," "roadmaps", and all that travel talk and imagined all the eBay executives on a road trip to Pittsburgh. I thought it'd be interesting to be a fly on the windshield (the inside) and listen to their conversations. It's all just below this cool graphic I made up just to help you imagine it too:
John Donahoe: See ya Meg! Thanks for everything!
(door slams - everyone giggles) "ROAD TRIP!" they all shout.
The car takes off with John, Lorrie, Rajiv, and Stephanie.
Lorrie Norrington: Pittsburgh here we come! John, you have the roadmap right?
John: Yep. Right here. Rajiv, you'll navigate okay?
Rajiv: I sure will. I have a new navigation system that will get us exactly where we want to go. It's called Best Match Navigation - I type in the city and it picks the right one every time! P-I-T-T-S...Hey! Got it already! Lets lock it in.
John: I'm pulling over for a minute, I should check under the hood.
Stephanie Tilenius: It seems like it's running fine. Are you a mechanic John?
John: No, but I've ridden in cars my whole life. - I'll be right back.
He lifts the hood, and comes back holding a couple of dirty, well-used parts between his index finger and thumb (as if they stink). He seems disgusted.
John: I don't know who left this stuff under the hood, look how dirty! Yuk. Lets toss them out.
Lorrie: Don't we need them? It seemed like the car was running fine.
John: Nawwww! Listen. The car is running, lets go. You know? I think I'm going to make some more changes to this old girl. It might slow us down a little for awhile, but just wait - you'll see. It's gonna be a LOT better once I'm done.
As they go further, they notice the car slowing down. A lot of noise starts coming from the engine. To make matters worse, they don't seem to be getting closer to Pittsburgh.
John: Well just like I said, we're slowing down. But it's going to speed up any time. Why are people waving and yelling at us? They seem mad...is that smoke? Lorrie do you smell anything?
Lorrie: Let's stop for a sec. Stephanie and I are going to look under the hood too. Rajiv, could you double-check the Best Match nav system? Something doesn't look right. Be right Back!
More noises and clunking under the hood. Lorrie comes back with more parts from the engine. Stephanie has masking tape, paint, and a fender.
Stephanie: That did some good. You won't recognize this car by the time we get to Pittsburgh. It's looking great!
Rajiv (annoyed, from the back seat): Didn't I type in Pittsburgh? Because we're heading to PittsFIELD! Crap. Let me try again... P-I-T-T-S...
Lorrie: John, look at all those people - they're waving and yelling at us. They're upset, oh we've driven over their lawns, ooops, I think we hit someone's store too. Well, we don't have time to stop and talk, they'll figure out what happened when they try to open for business tomorrow.
John: Yeah, it's just a lot of noise. Let's keep going. This car is really slowing down. Look at that boat right there on the River - it's passing us!
Rajiv: Grrr! I can't believe this thing! This nav system is not working right at all, we're gonna have to turn up here John, that sign says Pittsville not Pittsburgh. Gheez, this is frustrating! I'll try again...P-I-T-T-S...
John: Whew! It's getting hot in here - and what is that NOISE? Rajiv, where did you get that stupid navigation system? eBay? Hahaha!
(Everyone laughs - except Rajiv.)
Rajiv: No I bought it from you John, remember? You tried selling it on eBay and the buyer never paid. Don't you remember? They left you negative feedback.
(Now no one is laughing...)
John: Well, it seems like the noise is dying down. In fact - a bunch of those people are getting on that boat. Goooood riddance!! Troublemakers. What River is that by the way?...
(Cell phone rings)
Stephanie: Hey John, there is some kind of analyst on the phone - he wants to know why you're going so slow.
John: Tell him, uhhh, tell him we're going slow because of the weather. Things will be picking up very soon though, what we've been doing is working. Tell him that.
(She tells him.)
Stephanie: Ok, he said he thought this car was designed to do good in this weather.
John: Uhhmmmm, tell him we took some of the fake parts off the car, and now it's going a lot slower, it's going to get better. We'll just keep doing what we're doing.
(She tells him.)
Stephanie: He said it seems like the car would do better after removing the fakes. He wants to know if...
Suddenly, John grabs the phone from Stephanie and throws it out the window.
John: There. Too much noise. Lets just hold the course. This thing will pick up. Hey, if we tried getting on the River, maybe we could move a little faster. We need to be more like that boat. Can you even see that boat anymore?
Rajiv: (exasperated) You know what? This is ridiculous! This Best Match doesn't work. This isn't Pittsburgh, it's just the PITTS! I'm getting out. John, stop the car. Nevermind we weren't moving...
I'll see you guys, I'm walking.
As Rajiv walks into the sunset, and traffic increases on the River...John, Lorrie, and Stephanie can be seen asking a passing trucker for a lift. The big truck he's driving says Buy.com on the side...hmmmmm.
Find out more about "the River" - Learn to sell on Amazon.com at www.SellingOnTheRiver.com
Popularity: 39% [?]
July 10th, 2008 — eBay News and Talk
eBay announced today they are reversing their decision to count negative feedback comments as negatives. This was a very hot topic at eBay Live! in Chicago last month and likely be welcomed warmly by the eBay community. Effective in late August, neutrals will no longer be counted as part of the Feedback percentage. eBay will be recalculating Feedback percentages retroactively for users worldwide. In the interim, no one will lose their PowerSeller status as a result of neutrals being included in their Feedback percentage. Sweeet!!
The Neutral as Negative policy caused many eBay Powersellers, Trading Assistants, and Education Specialists to lose their status as such. To qualify for those titles, sellers must have at least a 98% positive feedback rating, and counting neutrals against sellers often brought them below that standard.
People were so upset about it because it just wasn't fair. Neutral does not mean negative. But eBay tried to make the case that since neutral was 'less than positive' it should count as a negative. Fine, if eBay wants to rate customer satisfaction like that inside eBay - go ahead. But as for my public feedback score, lets not reinterpret the buyer's intentions. Good for eBay - they got something right!
Click here to read the entire announcement by Lorrie Norrington.
Popularity: 24% [?]
June 27th, 2008 — eBay News and Talk
I regularly read a very good blog called 37Signals. They have a post that, in my opinion, perfectly describes what has happened to eBay. The MBAs have taken over the place. They do not sell on eBay (as a general rule), and while they may know business by the book, they don't understand the people who make the business tick.
Here's a quote from 37Signals from a post called The MBA Myth:
There’s a popular book on entrepreneurship called The E-Myth which claims that bakers shouldn’t run bakeries, plumbers shouldn’t run plumbing companies, and everyone else should think about how they could turn their small business into a franchise. On the face of it, there’s a lot of good advice about how you can’t just be a good baker if you don’t have a business bone in your body and expect commercial success.
Problem is that the reverse is also often true. If you just put MBAs in place — or other professional managers without deep subject matter expertise — you’re equally likely to end up with an uninspiring business that fails to be passionate about the right things. To stay on the ball you need to know what’s a good pass and the best way to do that is to be able to make one yourself.
eBay's "bakers" and "plumbers" are the small sellers in the trenches. They have valuable information to impart. But listening to the sessions at eBay Live! made it obvious that information isn't welcomed.
As an example, take a look at the way eBay Education focuses on "growing your eBay business". Most moms and pops I find in my classes are not the least bit interested in starting and growing a business. They just want to sell their stuff. It used to be that eBay was a great alternative to a garage sale, the hassles were less, and the prices were better. I still find my items bring good prices overall, but the hassles are mounting.
I don't believe eBay really wants to run small sellers away. The loss of small sellers is "collateral damage" as a result of eBay's bigger plans. Kind of like the bustling small towns and businesses that are bypassed and suffer when a new highway is built. Too bad - but that's progress. We're told it's for the good of the majority.
Humility?
Unfortunately for small eBay sellers, admitting a wrong course takes humility. Humility, it seems, is not widely taught within business schools. After all, what would it say about their expensive diplomas if a simple common-sense solution by a "commoner" proved to be the best one?
When a small seller in a midwestern town with nothing but a high school education challenges the decisions of top business school graduates - and that has been happening A LOT lately - what do you think will happen?
I think we're seeing it in action. (I hear crickets...)
Popularity: 37% [?]
June 22nd, 2008 — eBay News and Talk
eBay has unveiled the design for their new item page. They intend it to be totally phased in by late 2008 or early 2009. One of the main complaints sellers have had for many years is that eBay rolls out changes during the critical holiday selling season. If eBay is in the midst of phasing in the new page, users - er... I mean "customers" will not be happy.
The sample eBay displays shows a seller with 96.2% Positive Feedback, but does not show the red warning message warning of a seller's low DSR's that was displayed on a previous version of the page.
One feature of the new page that I am certain will also make sellers quite angry is "Safer description area via new "active content" blocking."
The sample page is very plain and neat looking. I don't think the old red, white, and blue, listings with custom templates are long for this world.
Click here to see the new design up close...
Popularity: 29% [?]
June 22nd, 2008 — eBay News and Talk
Well, it's over. The last eBay Live! till 2010 (so they say). I think the best part of the whole thing was enjoyed by only about 150 people - and that was the Chris Isaak concert. That guy is great, it was a wonderful show. It's sad so many people missed it.
In my opinion, the mood was gloomy for a large number of attendees. I spoke with many sellers that told me they were leaving eBay after this event. They hoped they would find a hearing ear with eBay execs, but the overwhelming message I got from concerned sellers is they feel eBay did not really hear them, and that the company has no intention of deviating from it's current course.
I thought it was very interesting, given the mood of many of the senior attendees, that eBay chose a singer with a reputation for singing break up songs...
Here are two of Chris Isaak songs and lyrics are below, quite interesting when considering the relationship between eBay and many of its sellers:
Wicked Game Lyrics
The world was on fire and no one could save me but you.
It's strange what desire will make foolish people do.
I never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you.
And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you.
No, I don't want to fall in love (This world is only gonna break your heart)
No, I don't want to fall in love (This world is only gonna break your heart)
With you (This world is only gonna break your heart)
What a wicked game to play, to make me feel this way.
What a wicked thing to do, to let me dream of you.
What a wicked thing to say, you never felt this way.
What a wicked thing to do, to make me dream of you and,
I want to fall in love (This world is only gonna break your heart)
No, I want to fall in love (This world is only gonna break your heart)
With you.
The world was on fire and no one could save me but you.
It's strange what desire will make foolish people do.
I never dreamed that I'd love somebody like you.
And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you,
No, I want to fall in love (This world is only gonna break your heart)
No, I want to fall in love (This world is only gonna break your heart)
With you (This world is only gonna break your heart)
No, I... (This world is only gonna break your heart)
(This world is only gonna break your heart)
Nobody loves no one.
Life Will Go On Lyrics
Broken skies, heartaches that flowers won’t mend
Say goodbye knowing that this is the end
Tender dreams, shadows fall
Love too sweet, to recall
Dry your eyes, face the dawn
Life will go on
All day long thought that we still had a chance
Letting go, this is the end of romance
Broken hearts find your way
Make it through just this day
Face the world on your own
Life will go on, life will go on
There’ll be blue skies, every true love
Someday I’ll hold you again
They’ll be blue skies in a better world, darlin’
Tender dreams, shadows fall
Love too sweet, to recall
Dry your eyes, face the dawn
Life will go on, life will go on
Broken heart find your way
Make it through just this day
Face the world on your own
Life will go on
Popularity: 27% [?]
June 21st, 2008 — eBay News and Talk
There's a lot written already on what is happening at eBay Live! this year. The best source I've seen is of course, AuctionBytes. Ina and David Steiner have great coverage of the details, along with their reporters Julia Wilkinson and Greg Holden.
As I listened to the keynote address yesterday morning I listened for what wasn't said, and noticed the overall mood of the room. It was a huge room, the same room that the closing gala will be held, and it seemed pretty packed.
When John Donahoe came out, a small group of people rose to their feet and I was a bit surprised - until I noticed they were nearly all wearing staff shirts...a standing 'O' from the paid staff doesn't count, sorry.
Mr. Donahoe's speech seemed like a make-up speech to me. There were his parents in the front row, and pictures of him as a kid, very humanizing stuff. He talked of growing up in Chicago, all the while sticking close to the teleprompter.
He said "change is hard, but essential," and that eBay's values have not changed, but the world around us has changed a lot. He really emphasized that changes have been made, and will be made in the weeks and months ahead - for the collective good of all 84 million active users. He said their decisions were made based on what is good for all of us.
Lorrie Norrington also took the humanizing approach. Talking about the little dog paintings she buys on eBay. She and Mr. Donahoe talked about their feedback (146 and 172 respectively) and how she uses the site just like everyone else.
I noticed an interesting bit of body language with both Lorrie Norrington and John Donahoe. Maybe I'm being petty, but they both "steepled" their fingers as they spoke to us. If you've ever read about body language, you know this means they feel a sense of superiority over those to whom they're speaking. Some people say this gesture indicates a "know it all" attitude. I'm just sayin'...
Lorrie talked all about trust and doing the "right thing". She got booed when she mentioned feedback, and in an awkward, and seemingly scripted moment welcomed the criticism as "part of what makes this a great community." ("Okay, so if they boo you, just say, 'that is what makes this community great...'")
With the announcement that all PayPal addresses will be considered confirmed in countries where PayPal does business, people clapped. Otherwise, it seemed very subdued and sad to me. The trust between seller and buyer may be improved, but the trust between eBay and sellers is definitely at an all-time low. Lorrie had to keep saying, "C'mon!! That's a great thing! Let's hear it! Isn't that great?!" (insert sound of crickets).
PayPal Seller Protection and PayPal Buyer Protection sounds like it's getting closer to Amazon's A-to-z Guarantee. Amazon manages that process well though, where eBay has a habit of being heavy-handed and throwing the baby out with the bathwater, overdoing things, in other words. I haven't heard sellers ask what the cost will be to them for this buyer protection. I foresee lots of angry sellers, with money held in PayPal accounts, due to PayPal Buyer Protection claims. I predict it will not be pretty.
The response was definitely not that of other pep-rally style eBay Live! events. This is an injured crowd, and they are not getting the healing they want. I'm heading over for Saturday, where I'm presenting my blogging seminar again. I presented yesterday to a very large, mostly full room. Many, many people say they want to use blogs to promote their off-eBay businesses. Very interesting trends here...
Popularity: 29% [?]
June 19th, 2008 — eBay News and Talk
eBay Live! Registration 11 AM Thursday
This was the scene at the registration booths on the first day of eBay Live! Chicago at 11 AM. ...no waiting in case you're planning on attending.
Hmmmm...
Popularity: 41% [?]
June 17th, 2008 — eBay Announcements
It appears one of my 5 predictions may be coming true already. As Randy Smythe mentions, it could be that eBay is already moving toward a single listing page with multiple sellers on that page, similar to Half.com and similar (once again) to Amazon.
eBay's recent announcement may pave the way for this. If it happens, it will get harder and harder to list an item without a bar code or some identifier that allows eBay to categorize it. Could it be that, in the end, the only category left for unique items is the Collectibles category? Could the Collectibles category become "eBay Classic"?
Read the full announcement from eBay on the changes here.
Popularity: 19% [?]
