Devin Wenig stepped down as CEO of eBay where he had been the CEO since 2015.
This is what Mr. Wenig had to say about his departure:
While most eBay employees seemed genuinely sad about the news, eBay sellers had very different responses. In looking at the responses to the news, it was clear that eBay sellers have major issues with eBay’s recent leadership.
Here are eBay seller concerns that future eBay CEOs should tackle in revitalizing eBay:
“GreedBay”
eBay’s greed is always a common complaint. New fees and fee increases are never popular. Especially if they are coupled with declining sales.
eBay Managed Payments System
Most people do not like change, and nobody likes forced change. eBay says to expect most customers being on the Managed Payments system by 2021.
That is a nice way of saying that sellers will be forced to use eBay managed payments.
Some eBay sellers are concerned about having to ship items before receiving payment. Currently PayPal payments come immediately after a purchase — managed payments could mean no income up to five days after a sale.
Lack of eBay Innovation
Online sellers are not hostile people. They understand business and that businesses must make a profit. Many eBay sellers would embrace new eBay fees if they produced a quicker listing process or increased sales volume.
But few feel this is how things are now with eBay:
Sellers Cannot Provide Feedback on Cheating Buyers
Believe it or not, there are buyers who lie, cheat, steal, or worse. This kind of thing goes both ways, but eBay sellers feel eBay only cares about buyers in abusive situations.
Forgetting what eBay is & Trying to be Amazon 2.0
eBay’s brand to most means a unique scrappiness and maybe even a quirkiness. Collectors, rabid fans, small sellers, vintage sellers, garage cleaners, dumpster divers, the unique and weird are what made eBay special.
These are the very same types of sellers that eBay is pushing away.
More and more of what you see on eBay is the same stuff you see everywhere else. I don’t see how that is good for their future.
eBay lately feels like a company with a terrible identity crisis.
Forcing Sellers to Adopt Strict Return Policies
Returns are a huge pain for sellers. Not only do online sellers lose revenue, they may receive returns not in the same condition — and now have an item they have to sell again (or cannot sell at all).
eBay’s Lack of Empathy for Sellers
I have struggled getting help from eBay myself and I manage a product that has literally brought eBay BILLIONS of dollars in revenue!
I am not saying someone at eBay should take me out for a lobster dinner; but getting ghosted by eBay employees after asking important questions makes me wonder about eBay’s leadership and culture.
I cannot imagine the struggles some full-time eBay sellers have gone through in recent times.
At JoeLister we wish Mr. Wenig luck with future ventures but hope we see a new eBay CEO willing to focus more on the needs of sellers.
Without sellers what is eBay anyhow?
Without better treatment of sellers eBay could become just another washed up dot com relic of yesteryear.
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