Meg Whitman stepping down!

[cola262]

http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/01/24/ebay-meg-whitman-tech-enter-cz_eb_0124whitman.html
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/...an-to-save-ebay-better-search/?ref=technology

Hopefully after she steps down in March 31, ebay will be much improved. Maybe lower fees and better fighting against counterfeiters.

EBay plans to cut sellers fees on auction site

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The world's largest online auction site, eBay Inc (EBAY.O: Quote, Profile, Research), plans to cut the fees it charges sellers on its auction site, according to a presentation of the company's quarterly results on Wednesday.

Responding to complaints by its key network of auction sellers, eBay will reduce the upfront fees sellers must pay to insert new listings on its auction sites along with reductions in the final transaction fees they pay on successful sales.

"We are going to make breaks from the past," John Donahoe, the newly named chief executive to be, told investors on a conference call to discuss eBay's 2007 year-end results.

Over the next week, eBay will announce changes in pricing of its services and improvements in the way buyers can rate sellers, Donahoe said.

"We are going to get very aggressive about making eBay easier to use," said Donahoe, who will formally take the reins from long-serving CEO Meg Whitman at the end of March. (Reporting by Eric Auchard, with additional reporting by Michele Gershberg in New York; Editing by Braden Reddall)

 

[merrydish]

Here's hoping the changes are positive for both sellers and buyers. As I understand it, they have to do something to attract more people to Ebay as I read recently they lost about 10% of their customers.

 

[Veelyn]

Yay!

 

[mmmpurses!]

Yes. I hope this works out. The new CEO will have a lot of issues to deal with, lets hope he can handle them.

 

[littlerock]

Unfortunately the more they fight counterfit items the higher the fees will probably be as it will cost them money not only to fight the fight but they will also be loosing money if they are loosing completed auctions. They probably know that people will end up paying the higher fees to shop on ebay if it is a safer place to buy & sell. We'll see!

 

[northerndancer]

I wouldn't mind paying higher fees if they do a better job of weeding out the deadbeats.

 

[Luv2BuyBags]

I think they need to get rid of the counterfeiters first, then the deadbeats, then reduce fees. Everytime I have reported a fake item nothing was ever done. And they should make it harder to get an account, cause after scammers get shut down they just open up a new account. And yeah they are just plain greedy with how much that steal from us, especially paypal!!!

This company needs so much help, I am glad they are getting rid of the dead weight. Maybe I will want to buy and sell again there.

 

[twiggers]

YAY!!!! It's about time there were some type of changes done!!!!! The fees are ridiculous!

I'm wondering if they might lower Paypal's fees to compete with GoogleCheckout too!!!

 

[print*model]

Wonder what he means by, ".....improvements in the way buyers can rate sellers"? There is feedback and that one-sided nonsense they call a star rating sytem. What more can they come up with?! I say make improvements on the way non-paying bidders are handled, set up a system where non-paying bidders can't leave feedback AT ALL and give sellers the ability to further rate their buyers.

 

[chloehandbags]

About time.

Hope these improvements will be applied globally?

 

[azia]

I'm going to keep a positive view on things and hope that eBay becomes better!!! I've turned my back on eBay as I know many others have and gone to forums instead where it is MUCH safer (since it's based around a community) and MUCH cheaper (no fees!!). But I will fully support a service that is worth it's price and if this new improved eBay is, I will definitely be spreading the word.

 

[tomato4]

yay! down with meg whitman!

 

[chloehandbags]

I think they need to get rid of the counterfeiters first, then the deadbeats, then reduce fees.

ITA that they should get rid of the counterfeiters and the deadbeats, but I don't see why they would have to get rid of them first and only then, reduce fees?

Why can't they do both, simultaneously?

After all, when compared with bricks and mortar auction houses, eBay and Paypal, currently, have very low overheads and do very, very, little for their money and eBay takes virtually no direct responsibility for the items sold, or the type of sellers that frequent their site and yet, between eBay and Paypal, they charge at least half as much as the 'real' auction houses do.

They should be making a fortune with their current fee structures, but they aren't making anywhere near as much as they should, because the fees are prohibitively high and so, are putting potential decent sellers (i.e. non-scamming sellers who don't lie about authenticity and/or condition) off.

I'm sure they could charge half what they do now and still make a handsome profit. In fact, if they did, they would probably make more profit than they do now, as so many more people would start selling.

 

[BagAngel]

^^^^^ ITA Chloe!

About time, the fees are ridiculous!

& they need to allow UK auctions to show up worldwide again!

Sadly I think it is too late for the handbag trade, people have lost all faith in ebay with the fakes on there.

 

[lovelygarments]

So glad she is gone. Ebay, under Meg Whitman, acted like an ostrich when confronted with counterfeiters and other scam artists who began to see Ebay as their virtual playground. They were not proactive - they did not do anything until the big corporations (e.g., LMVH, Tiffany, etc.) stepped in with their big guns and filed law suits. Great way to shape your business. Being reactive instead of proactive. They let innocent consumers be scammed and taken advantage of, and they held up their hands and said, sorry, can't help you so many times. I know at times they did help innocent consumers, but I think the majority of the time, Mr. or Ms. Average Consumer were on their own. It's interesting to see the businesses that have sprung up as a result of their wholesale slashing of their trustworthy customer base. Reputable handbag sites such as Real Deal Collections, Ann's Fabulous Finds, etc., - those businesses and others like them were more established and accepted as a result of Ebay's mercenary treatment of honest sellers. Ebay does something when it affects their bottom line - great way to react - so moral.