Parental Supervision at eBay

Pfreemanevans | May 21, 2008, 07:34 PM

This week eBay rolled out their new rules for the feedback and seller ranking systems. On the one had it is sad because the community is no longer able to police itself. Competition is growing, sellers are getting really savvy. And, some sellers are aggressively working to improve their rankings via bullying tactics like withholding feedback until a buyer gives them positive feedback. Tsk, tsk. This tactic along with other developments on both sides (buyer and seller) just show that eBay as a market place is maturing and needs new controls in order to keep it a fair and safe place to transact.

Some might say that these new rules will squeeze out little sellers. Sadly, small sellers get squeezed no matter what. But I don't think that eBay's small seller base is inherently being victimized here. A small seller does not build a business by providing feedback to buyers, they build business by meeting or exceeding buyer expectations and providing unique products. These rules don't hinder that ability. Further, getting exposure has always been a bit of a numbers game, with bigger sellers able to get more eyeballs. The changes do up the thresholds for power seller status, but that should not affect the smaller sellers either. The challenge is for small sellers to be visible in a more controlled environment. Again, they can do this by excelling in their product presentation, service and delivery execution. These actions will result in higher feedback scores and thus more visibility. It is tough, but when you want to compete with bigger sellers, you need to differentiate to stand out. And sadly, we can’t cry to our parents about the big kids getting too much attention when we are out of high-school.