eBay Was Not Built This Way – Buyer Experience and the eBay Forums

My recent article: eBay Discussion Forums - A Dangerous Place to Dwell has stirred up a groundswell of opinion both from within and outside the eBay forums. 

It seems that for a long time there have been two different kinds of eBay members, those who will be brave and venture into the forums for help or to socialize with other like minded eBay members and those who tried it before but will never go back.

I have experienced the good, no, very good people who dedicate themselves to helping others on the forums every day.  I must also say I have endured the asinine and demeaning people who game the system and torment members with sarcastic and negative behavior on the very same eBay forums.  For years I have attempted to ignore the latter and enjoy the former.

The eBay Discussion Forums - A Dangerous Place to Dwell article has brought many comments to this blog, both public and private. 

Most of the public comments have been in agreement with the premise that the eBay forums are broken. 

Some of the public comments have been less than appreciative, mostly due to my posting a video that they find offensive, a video which may name them as being part of the problem. 

I can not reveal the content of the private comments, but please do not worry for my safety, I am sure they are only words....

Admittedly I do not know which names on the video are part of the problem and I never endorsed the publishing of names within the video.  But these names are simply eBay member screen names which are basically anonymous and since so many members have multiple names, does it really matter if a name is included in a video on You Tube?  I am sure John Donahoe and Lorrie Norrington's names are plastered from here to Timbuktu in videos on You Tube with less than flattering or inaccurate statements attached.

This morning two constructive comments were submitted to the article by two knowlegable eBay members, one an eBay solutions provider, the other an advanced eBay education specialist.   I was answering these comments with a single reply and became so long winded in my response, I decided to make the entire interaction into a new blog post for today.  So without further adieu... Here are todays star comments - Thanks Steve and Jamie! Continue reading “eBay Was Not Built This Way – Buyer Experience and the eBay Forums” »

eBay Discussion Forums – A Dangerous Place to Dwell

eBay discussion gone awry...

Most everyone is aware eBay provides its users with a discussion forum found under the "community" tab on every eBay page.

As in most discussion forums, the goal is to provide user generated content in the form of help, advise and guidance for new and seasoned users alike. Community discussion, tips & tricks and overall general best practices discussions are available on these forums. 

The social aspect has always been strong on the eBay forums and this is why eBay is generally accepted as being the very first social network every introduced on the Internet.

Comradeship built among the eBay members within the forums increased the user loyalty for eBay, a loyalty many brands would dearly love to re-create. 

So What's the Problem? Continue reading “eBay Discussion Forums – A Dangerous Place to Dwell” »

eBay Estimator BACK – Best Match Survival – Optimize Your eBay Listing Title's BayEstimate

The eBay Estimator Title Tool is Back!

eBay Research has relaunched the eBay Estimator and given the tool a new Title:

Optimize Your eBay Listing Title's BayEstimate

BayEstimate? Guess the name is as good as any...

I have not had much of a chance to check out the newly revised version of the title tool. I felt it was important to tell my readers it has returned!

Some initial thoughts:

  • The tool is slightly more graphical
  • It seems to retain functionality without giving actual percentile ratings per keyword
  • Keywords Buyers Like/Dislike scale gives good suggestions for crafting titles
  • Category Suggestions provided - useful in my book

What do you think?

If you have any comments about the new tool, please leave them below - Quirks, usefulness, better, not as good?

Thanks to eBay and PeSA for working with eBay on the back channels so this tool could be returned to the sellers who need it as a survival device during the "Best Match"  era. 

I just hope it works...

 

eBay Estimator Title Tool Will Return – Will BEST MATCH Bug be Corrected?

eBay enlists the help of PeSA/ECMTA to calm the storm of debate regarding the eBay Best Match Title Tool eBay estimator removed last week due to a story in eBay Strategies by Scot Wingo.

We followed up with a story here and added our own opinion that the removal of the tool was not due to a problem with the tool itself, but due to the exposure it gained in Scot Wingo's eBay Strategies blog and the open reporting of a serious bug in the Best Match algorithm. Continue reading “eBay Estimator Title Tool Will Return – Will BEST MATCH Bug be Corrected?” »

eBay Estimator Tool Down – Coping with Best Match Just got Harder

eBay Labs has had a tool running which helps sellers determine the best title keywords to use when crafting a listing with Best Match search in mind.  eBay estimator

Recently Scot Wingo of Channel Advisor in his eBay Strategies blog published an article which indicated some sellers were hacking the best match system by using the eBay estimator tool. 

Scots Article apparently ruffles feathers at eBay and rather than fix the algorithm which allowed the system to be hacked, this morning they removed the tool utilized by thousands of honest sellers who were simply using it as it was intended.

The page is still up and on it the tool has been removed, the following statement is in its place: Continue reading “eBay Estimator Tool Down – Coping with Best Match Just got Harder” »