This morning I started my day as usual, checking my overnight comments and stats from stories in several of our blogs.... Coffee brewing, emails humming... etc.
Certainly I am pleased that our Trading Assistant Journal has had a great deal of helpful comments and interest expressed in my recent article about Cornerstone Commercial Supply.
Find the Article Here: Live Help - Communication at eBay 
The last comment in that thread was posted by a regular and valued contributor to our comments, Henrietta of the Red Ink Diary.
Henrietta is adding to the conversation here at the Trading Assistant Journal with helpful suggestions regarding reasons why Cornerstone may have been blocked from listing any new items on eBay. I appreciate Henrietta's suggestions as well as John's (who suggested a link to a free video editing software suite seen in a you Tube video displayed on the item pages could be the problem - great suggestion, but why? and how will we know if eBay does not tell us?)
Is there any possibility that this is related to the telephone number and email address on each listing and his About Me page? Soon to be prohibited.
I know we do not have an actual implementation date beyond the ‘July’ mentioned in the May 19th announcement. Typical of the eBay way, however, you will recall TnS started removing digital delivery sales 8 days before the stated cut-off date of March 31st.
It will be July in 4 days.
I started to reply to the comment, with a new comment under the same article, but as is often in my case, a quick reply morphed into a long article of its own...
@ Henrietta & @ John
Both of you have offered good observations and we have had the same ideas...
Yet without hearing from eBay Trust & Safety to know exactly what the problem is, it is difficult to go changing things within live listings and not know what it is we should be altering to get the listing block lifted. Any changes we make will be in the dark, and we are unable to test individual changes because all listings have been blocked. Yet eBay told us it was not a serious violation of policy... Now over 72 hours later we feel they are incorrect in their classification of this incident.
I would also like to address the point of removing telephone numbers from eBay listings and eBay stores.
Let me please go on record with the view that this ban on telephone numbers and address information is ridiculous protectionism.
If this policy actually goes into effect, I think it will irrevocably harm eBays standing with brick and mortar business sellers.
Think about the customer of a business like Cornerstone Supply...
Most carpet and Janitorial service owners are not extremely Internet savvy. They all would rather speak with a human voice when they have a question concern or just simply want to know which product to purchase for a certain application.
There is no possible way to cover all the frequently asked questions for the line of carpet cleaning agents, chemicals, parts, pressure hoses, machines, engines, blowers, wands, extractors and other items a business like Cornerstone Commercial Supply sells.
Sometimes the merchant just must speak to the customer on the phone!
These types of brick and mortar merchants are very good on the phone. Customers build confidence in these types of companies when they call and speak with a staff member like they have at Cornerstone.
The Internet is a wonderful and amazing way to shop and sell, but person to person communications can not be replaced with a short text message.
Why on earth would eBay consider a telephone number meant for CUSTOMER SERVICE a violation of linking policy?
Why is it, an established business with a retail location would be prevented from telling the world that they are a real entity with a business location by displaying an address? Has eBay ever heard of Google maps? Pretty popular with the public, one reason people shop online today in convenience. Restricting information as basic as an address or telephone number just increases distrust among the buying public.
What is eBay afraid of?
eBay is a place to advertise goods and services.
eBay has always been, in their own words, a "Venue".
If the venue restricts the capability of a business to advertise its location and customer service telephone number, what good is the advertising expenditure on that venue?
And another point - How are the buyers going to differentiate between real brick and mortar businesses with dozens of years of history and experience... from drop shippers and fly by night scammers with no experience at all? Especially if they offer the same goods and there is no way to contact the seller, look up an address or to ask a question of a live person?
ebay's message service is protecting eBay and no one else.
Sure, buyers do not want to be spammed with email if the ask a question, but buyers also want to receive full answers to their questions.
Currently the eBay "My Messages" service only allows one reply to a question and both parties must be familiar with the limitations of the eBay "My Messages" console. Limitations as to length of message, limitation on content of message and what if the customer wants an image sent to them of a very valuable item? What if the customer needs to see a contract or service agreement? How is the merchant going to send this information via the "My Messages" console?
I have personally had inbound messages sent to my company through the eBay "My Messages" service delayed for as long as a week... Suddenly appearing in our inbox on My eBay with a follow up question from the same customer, asking us why we do not reply?
COMMUNICATION should be open - Not restricted!
eBay - if your reading this - please do not make these mistakes by limiting the ability of established businesses to communicate with THEIR customers.
Protecting the buyer is all well and good, but that can be accomplished by processing and following up on the actual claims of abuse of the email policies submitted by buyers rather than restricting each and every merchant paying for your "services".
When these services become so restricted and controlled as to prevent commerce from actually occurring, eBay will no longer be a relevant "venue" for merchants.
Open your eyes and ears, and listen to your sellers (customers) eBay - Please...
Just as all merchants need to listen to their (buyer) customers...
Are we not on the same page about communications - at all?
- Live Help - Communication at eBay - Cornerstone of the Buyer Experience (0.560)
- Bonanzle Action Club Controversy - Evil Empire or Just Grass Roots Social Marketing (0.396)
- eBay Trust & Safety & Live Help Fails Miserably - Cornerstone Commercial Supply Update (0.164)
- NARU'd eBay Seller Learns - Neutrals are Not Positives / Neutral = 100% Negative (RANDOM - 0.006)
This policy is all about eBay’s attempt to protect themselves from sellers doing business outside eBay. Period. The rest of the online world is opening up while eBay is circling the wagons.
When will they realize that they are chasing good sellers away with policies like this? Most sellers want to do business through eBay because of various protections. The cost of doing business is with eBay is usually worth that protection.
If they would do a better job of screening people before they become buyers or sellers, eBay would be a great community. I feel like a child that is continually being told that things are being done “for my own good”!
Unfortunately it goes beyond restricting communication it amputates. eBay does not have a communication system, it is a dysfunctional program, frustrating for buyers and frightening for sellers who’s continued existence, listing exposure and sales depend on subjective opinions from those same frustrated buyers.
You now have a first hand example of how eBay communicates with non PowerSellers. It is not a pretty picture. Hard to believe unless you have experienced it. I have no evidence that replies are prioritized by perceived standing of the sender, but it does not seem to be a first come first served system.
San Jose, we have a problem! If there is a greater than four day lag in Trust & Safety what does the ‘to do’ pile look like everywhere else?
Wow, Scott, great post! The timing of this freaked me out a little because I just made a post on my lowly-trafficked somewhat inactive blog last night that in part addressed eBay and communication. Since no one will likely see that, I wanted to repost that section of an otherwise long more generalized post here (the very end specifically addresses e-mail communication):
“…eBay should not pretend to be my partner if they are not allowing me to promote myself off of eBay. If you’re an eBay affiliate you’re aware that they’re affiliate program shifted to an in-house program called eBay Partner Network (EPN). When I place a link to eBay on my site, then yes, I am eBay’s partner. When eBay disallows me from placing a link on their site, well, that is just the opposite. I don’t work for eBay, or at eBay, or even with eBay, but my new stripped-down listings confirm that eBay is just a tool for me to use to sell. I use eBay. As nothing more than a user I can say that the old eBay spirit of community is dead. Not to be a jerk, but I’m okay with that, I’m there to sell, I was never really a community guy. I don’t do eBay Guides or My World or Blogs (aside: without outside links, what the hell are on the blogs but people spamming their own listings?), I save original content for my site. I embrace community on my site. I’ll reply to the rare comment found here and encourage people to sign-up for my newsletter so I can chat to them. I do my best to go above and beyond with my emails…of eBay. After all, I only have so many characters that I can place in an eBay reply and none of them can be a link to further information, so I save my good emails for those who write me off eBay.”
“Why on earth would eBay consider a telephone number meant for CUSTOMER SERVICE a violation of linking policy?”
Does this mean that they will be retiring Skype as well?
Robert
Looking at the video a bit closer, it shows an outside link to http://www.flip4mac.com/.
Possibly that could be the issue, with regards to Cornerstone?
Robert
oooops – that was already mentioned by John. -
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Scott,
This also makes me wonder about my Ebay Drop Off Store business. We are an ebay drop off store offering ebay consignment services for those that can not or will not attempt to do ebay themselves. In order for me to get more items to list on ebay, which will make ebay more money, I list where items can be dropped off. Ebay is the best place to advertise this when I list something, No?
You wrote in the past that ebay was surprised to hear sellers thought of trust and safety as the enemy. By the way you wrote about the reaction to that statement, it seemed ebay was going to step up and make some important changes. I guess not. They seem to like the power to shut people down at will and ruin the business of many small businesses trying to grow. Its almost a shame where ebay is going with this!
Keep up the good work, Michael @ CharmLinda
“In order for me to get more items to list on ebay, which will make ebay more money, I list where items can be dropped off. Ebay is the best place to advertise this when I list something, No?”
Hi Michael,
Thanks for your comments! As to your question:
Actually, for generating new drop store business, on the Internet, I would concentrate my efforts outside of eBay itself. Start with a good blog attached to your present website, write articles about the best items to bring in, what is selling on eBay, How the process works, the simplified version of your fee policy and the super succesful listings you have sold for other clients. Include your location/area in each post/article and watch the keywords for specific combinations which generate local customers. Concentrate on those keywords in future articles.
A blog can help your business place very highly in the search engines for your specific name and the keyword(s) you target. And you can import your live listings into a WordPress blog to show what your selling to new viewers. These live listings can also include an affiliate code from eBay.
eBay is not the answer when it comes to finding specific prospects for your consignment business.
Heck, if potential customers for your business had enough know how to even find the eBay Trading Assistant Directory, they probably have more than enough skill to do their own listings.
Another idea… if you have not already done this – list your business on Linda Miller’s ConsignmentPal.com and see if your found more often by leads searching the Internet search engines for a consignment service.
Call or contact me if you need any further information about blogging for your business.
Ah, now we see why Meg was so hot to trot to get ahold of Skype– so buyers could talk on the phone with sellers, without ever getting ahold of their real-life phone number.
One has to wonder if voice recognition software could assign scores to the varius phone calls, to determine if the calls are used to make Off-Ebay sales arrangements?
If I were a betting man, I’d lay money on it.