eBay and Online Marketplace News
Sellers Mark May Day for eBay Boycott
According to this YouTube video, another eBay boycott is slated for May 1. While the video itself has about 7,000 views, only slightly more than 100 people have commented on the clip thus far, but most of the responses are in favor of the new "May Day Strike."
As with the most recent boycott, which took place the week of Feb. 18 (see eBay Sellers Protest, Threaten Strike), sellers are primarily protesting over the following issues: changes to the feedback system prohibiting sellers from leaving negative comments about sellers, how detailed seller ratings (DSR) change your search results placement and the new PayPal policy that allows the transaction firm to hold payment for a purchased item in some cases until specific criteria has been met.
During the last boycott, different industry tracking companies reported that eBay listings dropped anywhere from three to 13 percent. Some took issue with eBay's listing discounts offered during the strike, saying it is one of the many reasons why it is extremely difficult to accurately gage the impact these boycotts have, if any.
Will this one be successful? It's unlikely that this second effort will gain as much media attention as the first, and it would appear that those who are going to break up with eBay have moved on, and those who are going to stay aren't going to suddenly start joining the protesters. Still, rebelling sellers are turning to blogs, YouTube and other social networking sites to spread the word. However, in my opinion, until a true majority of online sellers actually close their eBay accounts and move from eBay to an alternate online marketplace, I don't expect eBay to suddenly have a change of heart in regard to the controversial policy changes, or to be significantly hurt by the May Day movement.
Corporate eBay Blog Launching in April
According to a recent Fortune story, eBay next month is introducing a blog aimed at improving its relationship with sellers. The story says eBay wants to dispel the notion that it ignores its merchants "with the launch of 'eBay Ink,' a no-holds-barred corporate blog helmed by a new company recruit, social media veteran Richard Brewer-Hay."
Brewer-Hay says, "I really want it to be a conversation between eBay and the outside world — an open conversation. So, I'm going to invite people to e-mail me questions that I can pose to certain people in the company." Given the sometimes strained relationship between some of the fiercely opinionated and vocal sellers and management, Brewer-Hay will certainly be a busy blogger.
Review: Vzaar Offers New eBay Video Service
London-based Vzaar (pronounced viz-ZAR) just opened up its free video service for eBay listings to the United States. The Vzaar video service was rolled out in the U.K. last September and is now available to eBay sellers listing on many of the international sites, including Australia, Canada, France and the United States.
Using video has obvious advantages as customers get a more detailed look at the merchandise and can see the item in use. While sellers can currently embed videos from other sources, such as YouTube, Vzaar is focused on e-commerce so at the end of every clip it clearly features important eBay information, such as the seller's feedback and the bidding time left.
(Continue to Page 2 for more Vzaar details and a preview of eBay alternative SilkFair.)
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