Just went thru the firt of your 2 videos. I am not sure if I agree 100% with your comments but here is my take on it.
Feedback scores. Till the time when the changes went into effect, my non-payer buyers was running around 2 to 4%. As soon as the NEW changes went into effect, it jumped to 12 to 15%. Why? because the buyers are in control and they do not give a hoot about the sellers comments. When a buyer does not send in their payment, I review theri feedback score and all I see is postive feedback and that’s it. SO HOW DO I ESTABLISH THE CREDIBILITY OF THAT BUYER?
Fees discount. Many comments have been made on this subject and I have to agree that the rules that have been set up to reach the plateau, is somewhat unfair to the sellers.

Having said that, as a seller, I will need to stay tuned to Derek’s expertise and my own creativity to see how can I continue to build the business and make it profitable by finding ways and means to reduce the costs and drive MORE traffic.

All the best for Xmas holidays and 2009

Bob
http://stores.ebay.ca/mycoolstuff2000
(your fcuk apparel one stop shop)

As far as the feedback system, I’ll still think eBay should find a way to at least allow sellers to leave negative feedback for buyers that don’t pay, even if it means they can get a wait period of 14 or 21 days. I can certainly understand the discussion about how feedback became meaningless because of retaliations, but I’ve always stated in my listings that buyers should receive their positive feedback between the time of payment and the time the item ships. It’s not exactly a bribe, but it does gain trust from your buyers. Most listings that I see (hundreds a day) state that the buyer will receive feedback after the seller does. To sum it up…THE NEW SYSTEM DOES BENEFIT SELLERS!!! The new rules being implemented are helping the buyers trust you more as a seller. The only option sellers have now is to not leave feedback at all if they don’t leave it when they should. A confident seller has no reason not to leave positive feedback for someone who has paid them. The buyers only responsibility is to pay you in the amount of time you asked them to…and so what if they were a little late. One of the biggest reasons for buyer’s leaving neutrals or negatives is because of broken promises, ie “will ship next day”, etc. If you can’t do it 100% of the time, don’t expect 100% feedback. What may not seem like a big deal to the seller is a big deal to the buyer…it’s THEIR money!!!

As far as the new ratings system, I think it’s great, but it will have it’s flaws, too. I received a 4 out of 5 for shipping and handling, but the item shipped FREE and arrived at its destination in 3 days. Please keep in mind, once you have alot of ratings, a “4.9″ is a “5″. You will never see anyone with over 100 ratings with 5’s.

Having a history in customer service, I always take into account that there will be a difficult customer from time to time no matter how much you cater to their needs, and sometimes a buyer will try to get something for nothing. If you are a seller who does alot of business, look at it this way, at least you’ll buy another positive by giving in. It’s not worth risking a thousand potential sales just because you refuse to accomodate one or two bad apples. Just like the up-front feedback, it is key to offer returns on your product. Again, if you are a good seller, how often do you think someone will actually return an item for a refund. If you have experienced several returns, then maybe you need to rethink your listing strategies.

The key to succes on eBay?! Stand by your product, sell confidently and honestly, don’t gouge on shipping, and treat your fellow eBayer’s as walk-in customers. All you need at that point is a smart business strategy and you won’t have to worry about fees.

This was the first step in their greed, and it’s insured I never buy there anymore. The person who commented on the unethical practice they have of letting employees sell was right on the money. I spent three days trying to find out why my listing wasn’t posted, with the customer service all the time insisting it was (though they never could direct me to it).

I demanded a refund, which I only got after threatening to report to the BBB. I’m willing to look at these vids, but I doubt it’ll make any difference, since I’m pretty alienated as both a buyer AND a seller at this point.

Finally thanks for the first video, it whetted my appitite for the next ones. Look forward to being able to really getting my ebay trading off the ground, which i have struggled with thus far. cheers Ali