posted on February 26, 2002 07:20:14 PM new
I was so perturbed today about the whole featured auctions crap (I currently have 4 featured auction up that don't end for 6 days) and I emailed ebay to request a refund. Here is the response I got.
[b]Thank you very much for writing to us today regarding the recent changes
to the category featured option. I can certainly understand your
unhappiness with the changes as are many of our other sellers.
Your request for category featured fee credits has been approved. The
credits for the three auctions should be posted to your account within 7
to 10 business days.
Management made this decision in an effort to match the way that
auctions are displayed in Search results. However, I would also
encourage you to keep an eye on our announcement board for additional
upcoming changes to the category featured option. There should be new
information available shortly due to the overwhelming feedback we have
received surrounding this issue.
Thanks again for writing to us today XXXX. We certainly appreciate
all that you do to make the site what it is today. Have a wonderful
eBay day![/b]
Is that me or does it sound like the sellers might have made a big enough fuss and maybe (cross your fingers) they are going to listen.
But have they shot themselves in the foot with too many sellers this time?
posted on February 26, 2002 07:37:24 PM new
I requested one refund and received 5 for all my featured listings. The only reason eBay "listened" this time is because it hit them where they notice- the purse.
posted on February 26, 2002 07:46:07 PM new
Why are "seller victories" never any more than getting eBay to reverse part or all of what they never should have done to begin with?
posted on February 26, 2002 10:56:39 PM new
This change can only result in fewer Featured Category listings. What was eBay thinking? I wouldn't be surprised at all if eBay nixes this new idea.
posted on February 27, 2002 04:17:46 AM new
I don't know if eBay will change the Features back to the way they were after reading their anouncment as of 17:24 PT yesterday. Sounds like they feel it was an improvement. Here is their 17:24 notice:
We have received a number of comments from members regarding the recent changes to the way Category Featured items are displayed in Listings. One complaint was the lack of advance notice. We apologize that we did not appropriately communicate these changes to you and will re-double our efforts to ensure that proper notification is given whenever we make changes to our site.
The change to the way Featured Items are displayed in the Category Listings was designed to allow buyers to easily sort the Listings by time listed or by price, as they do in search results. Sorting Listings was previously not possible for buyers and we view this change as a major enhancement to Listings. In fact, we believe it is one of the reasons Search is used by buyers twice as frequently as Listings to find items.
We believe that allowing buyers to sort Listings, combined with the new treatment of Featured Items, provides more relevance for the buyer and should increase the quality of the exposure of Featured Items. For example, when browsing in the Appliances category and sorting by lowest priced first, the Featured Plus items on that page are now shown twice on the page, just like in Search. When that buyer sorts by Ending First, a different set of Featured Plus items show up twice on the page, once at the top and once in the main body of the listings.
We are going to evaluate these changes carefully to determine if any steps are necessary to improve the experience for buyers and to preserve or enhance the value of the Featured Plus listing to sellers. If the buyers' or sellers' activity is adversely impacted by these changes, we will take immediate action.
posted on February 27, 2002 02:26:28 PM new
eBay has also just announced new TOS taking effect in the next couple of months.
First, they will allow your personal info to be open to more people.
"As it is written, eBay's new privacy policy would allow the company to disclose customers' personal information to just about anyone, said Jason Catlett, president of Junkbusters. "It was a bad privacy policy before, and it's an even worse policy now."
"Meanwhile, eBay's new user agreement could allow the company to change its rules immediately by posting a note anywhere on the site--even on scrolling chat boards where the messages disappear after a certain time, said Rosalinda Baldwin, editor of The Auction Guild, an online newsletter. "They've now given themselves again the license to do anything at any time they want."
Second, they can end auctions and suspend sellers for the "potential" of financial loss to eBay or an eBay member. This means they can end auctions and suspend for anything off the top of their head.
"One of the changes to eBay's user agreement involves the circumstances under which the company may suspend a member or remove a seller's listings. Currently, the company warns customers that, among other reasons, they can be suspended if their actions will cause a legal liability to the company, other customers or themselves. Under the new user agreement, the company can also suspend customers if eBay believes their actions may cause a financial loss to the company, other customers or themselves."
posted on February 27, 2002 03:14:17 PM new
drbrownauctions here is the sight to leave a complaint:
http://pages.ebay.com/community/suggestion/
I still can't believe this whole deal. I requested credit for 3 auctions and they said it was approved but that was yesterday and I still haven't gotten it.
