Wednesday 6 June 2012

A Change Is As Good As a Holiday ...

A change is as good as a holiday.   <snort>


This is one of those trite sayings that people say to you at times when you have stood in the Great Cowpat of Life.
Along with my other two favourite cringers of 'When one door closes, another door opens.'


And


'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.'




So Ebay Australia - that great dinosaur of the Ebay family finally had half the overhaul it had announced for May. Two things were put off until later - I will be discussing them later (take notice: there will be an essay and multiple choice test later).


Were these changes wonderful and amazing, did it make me shiver with joy, did I feel a tingling in my nether regions, did my cheeks glow like a child who has been given a big fat lolly?   You can see where I'm going here, surely.


Bottom line - they got rid of the lowliest store tier - Basic Store - at $19.95/month.  This is what my store was.
They got rid of the 'I Can't Believe You're Willing To Pay This Much' Store - at $49.95.     A new Basic Store Level emerges and the price rises to $24.95/month for my store.


For this I get:


~ No change in fees for the major stock in my store (videos/books/etc) - still at 5 cents a pop for BIN listings.


~ Other items have decreased from 40 cents to 20 cents for BIN listing.  This constitutes less than 10% of my store items.


~ Number of free photos allowed in each listing rises to 13.   (Yawn: I subscribe to Auctiva and get 24 photos per listing).


So all in all - the end result for me - given that the decrease in fees is cancelled out by the rise in store cost = no change.


Oh, oh, I forgot to mention the most exciting benefit listed for the change:


      ***  GREATER VISIBILITY OF LISTING FEES ***


"Look, it's the Transit of Venus - it won't happen again until 2117".


"Sod that - LOOK at those Ebay Fees - they are Visible for the first time in 1000s of years, and may not be seen again until 2300!"   *Runs off to grab camera.*


Big Fat Yawn.   Sorry, can't get excited over those changes.   No benefit to my business.




And now to the two items that were put on hold.


My favourite change of all - which I really think is the Ebay Monkeys playing a trick on us - is the No Communication = Great Service = Instant 5 stars on your Communication DSR.


So you get 5 Stars for Communication, by not having any Communication other than those impersonal ones sent by Ebay.   I am all agog.  Am I the only one in thinks this is a farce?


This must be wonderful for all those huge stores run by Cybermen who just want your money and don't give a crap about customer service.


Even though I am an anti-social bint - this ebay shop is my job.  It's the only way I get to interact with my customers.  I want them to know that I am one real human being sitting behind this business and I want them to be happy with their service.   I send all my customers a personal message after I've posted their items.  ALWAYS!   I get a tiny amount of warmth in my big toe when somebody sends me a thank you email, saying it's rare to get a real message from a seller.  Or somebody saying that they are so grateful to find the game from their childhood that they can't wait to play it.   Or somebody saying thanks for the books for my granddad/nan who can't find them anywhere and will be ever so happy.


With this new process in place, does it mean that we begin to feel resentment for a customer when they dare to send a message to you - the Seller?


I fart in eBay's general direction over this one.  I'm sticking with sending my personal messages.  I'll leave impersonal ebay messages to the Cybermen.
The next update I know my US Ebug friends are having challenges with - sending your parcel within 1 day to get an automatic 5 stars for Postage Time.


I can't help but get the image of a cowboy with his gun out  ....
Whoops.  *Ahem*  


The image of the cowboy baddie shooting bullets at the good guy's feet to "make him dance to his tune."


Are we all now dancing to eBay's tune like little puppets?


I can be blase about this, because on eBay Australia there are NO BENEFITS to being a Top Rated Seller.   I got my rating back again last week, and really didn't care.   After how upset I was about losing it that first time, I don't give a patootie.


The other eBay Sites get a 20% Final Value Fee Discount.    That's worth jumping through hoops for, I'm sure.   At the moment I have no compulsion to dance to eBay's tune any more than I currently do.


My DSRs have been dinged by customers who are either uneducated or just malicious.     I can do the eBay Cha-Cha-Cha and get automatic 5 stars on a couple of items - but those other two are still out there vulnerable to attack.


Now I have the song "I want to play with my ding-a-ling" in my head.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D2PwYVLiR8&feature=related


As a child I never once thought this was about a boy playing with his cocktail frankfurt.   No, not at all.
End of rant.   I promise my next blog will be more interesting and have sales and other items of interest rather than whining.  In the next couple of days, hopefully.




Just when you least expect it - OWLS!!!











1 comment:

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