Guest Post Dave White - eBay Often In A “No Win” Situation

Dave White is the host of eBay & Beyond Basics to Business and the owner of the Internet Auction News Network. He has become a great friend of mine and I appreciate & respect his opinions and his extraordinary background in this business.

Dave was a pioneer in eBay education working as an instructor, a software specialist and an everyday seller on eBay.  Now Dave White, along with Sparky (Ray Felix) are the heart and soul of the only Independent regularly scheduled live Internet radio show dedicated to eCommerce and eBay business subjects.  The show is broadcast live every Saturday from 10 AM to Noon EST on LIve 365 and later uploaded to iTunes.  I am now a regular contributor to the show.

Today, Dave posted the following article about eBay and the current circumstances it seems to have placed itself.  I asked Dave for permission to re-post it here and a Guest Post on the Trading Assistant Journal.  I hope my audience appreciates what Dave has to say, I think it is worth reading. 

 

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eBay Often In A “No Win” Situation

Before you all get riled up over this post, give it a minute to sink in.

During the past 11 years (with nearly 2 of those years as an instructor at eBay University) I have watched and read a very large number of articles and blogs regarding eBay. Certainly the overwhelming majority of them have been to complain about something eBay has changed.

I have reported for the past 16 months on these changes from the microphone of my radio program eBay & Beyond: Basics to Business. Many of these reports have included criticism of the changes. My blogs and articles often are critical. Even though I criticise, I have held one principal to be true. eBay has changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, changes for the better. Some time ago I wrote a blog that said I love eBay. I may not like them alot sometimes, but I have always loved the site.

A friend of mine reminded me of something today that I have recently forgotten. “It’s not personal”

eBay is doing what it’s leadership feels it needs to do to remain profitable and viable in today’s every changing eCommerce marketplace. John Donahoe, Lorrie Norrington and all of the executive team at eBay are doing what their research and analysis tells them they need to do.

No matter what eBay says or does, they will not please everyone. Large sellers want better visibility, lower fees etc, small sellers want the same things the big sellers get, and buyers want the product for free. Very simple.

No matter what eBay says (or doesn’t say) or does (or doesn’t do), some element of the food chain, from sellers to buyers, investors to the news media, will not be happy with something.

No matter, eBay is consistently in a No Win situation with the food chain, but one thing is evident, they are still one of if not the most visited sites on the Internet today, and that equates to profits for them and in many cases sellers who do it right.

I am not defending eBay, they can do that for themselves much better than I can. What I am saying is that eBay is doing what it needs to do to be profitable, just as you as a eCommerce seller should be doing.

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