posted on November 2, 2004 06:06:29 PM new
Vendio -
PLEASE think about this when you add an enhancement like the just-announced Shipping Enhancements coming tomorrow:
PLEASE don't keep making me find a new setting and change it just to keep things the way they were.
PLEASE give us what we ask for - access to existing Ebay features - rather than a way for you to add more advertising to my ads or expense to my listing.
Yes, your service is great and even worth paying for. But lately you're killing us with all these changes that add up to confusion and more work for us. Not many of us have the time to be continually vigilant and on the lookout for new, unwanted "enhancements" that have been turned on for us.
PLEASE don't just assume that we all want every new option you invent. At the very least, give us a global "op-out" preference so new things don't get turned on automagically.
posted on November 2, 2004 07:48:32 PM new
Hi gaugagaug,
The release tomorrow should have very little impact on sellers unless they want to take advantage of the additional fields and calculated shipping options. If you use fixed rate shipping, for example, then there will be no impact. If you use calculated shipping, but don't want the calculator in your listings, you'll have one preference to change. I'm happy to do that for you, in fact, if you ask here. Generally, a shipping calculator included in listings for buyers is the most requested feature by the community. We needed to choose between making everyone who wants it go turn it on or have the minority who don't want this buyer aid turn it off. We sided with the majority here, but we'll keep this request in mind as we continue to develop requested enhancements.
I'd love to promise to keep changes to a minimum or give folks the ability to "keep it like it is" instead of change. Unfortunately, many of the changes are mandatory since marketplaces make changes (such as eBay's latest shipping changes). We spend an incredible amount of time trying to keep disruption to a minimum, but it's often impossible.
We have also determined that sellers would be unwilling to bear the support cost a theoretically infinite number of "versions" would require if sellers could essentially "freeze" the Vendio service at any point in time. Enhancements are always requested by members of the community, and we like to meet them as fast as possible. Some folks may decide that a fully custom application is worth the expense to avoid any disruption, but unfortunately, that's not our approach.
If there is another eBay feature we don't support, please let me know, and I'll see what I can do to prioritize it higher.
posted on November 3, 2004 05:12:38 AM new
Meffle -
Thanks for your reply. I appreciate the time you took to address my concerns.
However, you have misunderstood several points. Please listen carefully, as they have been rasied by me and by others in many prior messages.
1. Most of us don't want "a shipping calculator", we want Ebay's shipping calculator. Not something similar, not something equivalent, but the very one that Ebay offers. That's an Ebay feature that's been requested for a long time and by many.
2. I'm not asking or expecting to have a way to "freeze" Vendio. I AM asking that each time you make a change that results in a new setting (such as the shipping calculator one), or a change in value to an existing one (such as turning on watermarking), that you do not make us DO SOMETHING to retain the setting that would give us the previous behavior. And that you consider adding a global "no automatic changes in behavior please" setting so you don't have to guess whether I want a change or not.
These aren't versions, they are settings. You have them, you add new ones, you pick what the default value is and when to change them on behalf of a member. I'm asking for a way to have more long-lasting control over behavior changes without requiring that I can constantly monitor these message boards.
posted on November 3, 2004 12:30:39 PM new
gaugagaug,
Thanks for the clarification. We appreciate the need to support eBay's calculator, and it's in the next project. We debated holding this release for the full support (both UPS and eBay calc), but we decided many would appreciate what we had already developed, and it doesn't do folks any good sitting our our servers.
I'll give some thought to a way to enable users to globally opt-out of optional changes. I'm not sure how we can make it work exactly, but I'll chat with some folks here. There will always be, however, mandatory changes that will change for all (like if we move something in the create listing form, we'll likely move it for everyone, but only after determining it's best long term)--just like eBay changes their view item page for everyone rather than let some buyers keep the old view.
cashinyourcloset,
Glad to offer the additional fields. On "PLEASE don't sit back and think you've addressed the shipping issues."
Absolutely. We have a bigger effort coming. The user interface is being tested and the specification is nearly complete on more shipping and checkout enhancements. We have signed our agreement with UPS to be a certified provider and are in the process of adding that to the calculated shipping work, too. For the teams that are working on it, it's their top priority.
posted on November 3, 2004 04:16:33 PM new
Is it so difficult to add at least one International option within the drop down menu? Specifically, FedEx International. The "free-text" shipping options, (when selected upon checkout), can only be exported via .CSV. That is not compatible with FedEx Ship Manager. Please add another selection within the drop down menu for shipping methods: "FedEx International". That is all.
. Thanks for the suggestion.