Today we’re going to give eBay a little free advertising since they just rolled out their new Advanced Transaction Defect Report. Sounds like some secret Pentagon initiative.
We just got access to this new report in our Seller Performance page. Very cool to see the defects on a grid with the associated item. It feels fresh and logical. This is really normal internet stuff, but it’s also a pretty big design/functionality leap for eBay. This feature is probably the coolest update we’ve seen since we started selling full-time in 2008. Makes eBay’s layout not feel like it’s stuck in 1998. So kudos where it’s due. Although it does kind of suck to have to look at your defects no matter what, might as well make them look nice and logical.
We’ve always been clear on two things. First, eBay works for us. It’s still the largest online flea market which has allowed us to earn a consistent living year after year. The site can feel clunky and outdated, but buyers have figured out how to navigate the site. eBay has always been fair with us as long as we’ve followed the rules.
On the other hand, eBay is also just a cold, calculating corporation. What matters are the earnings report each quarter and making money for stock holders. We have no illusion that eBay’s leadership could do some insane things at any moment that screws sellers just to make some quick short-term profit and save their jobs. Many sellers say that’s exactly what has been happening the past six or so years as eBay embraced the Chinese manufacturers who have made eBay feel more like the Dollar Store. There’s always a need for balance.
Corporations are also run by people and we hope that the new leadership continues to improve and update the site. This recent article
has the new CEO say he wants to take the site back to it’s roots as a
place for small sellers selling interesting items. Talk is cheap, so
we’ll continue to judge on action. We’ve dreamed of seeing a Traffic
Report on eBay that feels more like Google Analytics. Wouldn’t it be
great to have dynamically generated charts that showed what is selling,
who’s buying, and how they came to the item? If some eBay engineer is
reading this, contact us. We have lots of ideas!
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