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All News Analyses by this Author

Buy.com deal reinforces that eBay will get what it measures. That’s good and bad.

May 12, 2008

Analysis of:eBay Partners with Buy.com for New-In-Season Merchandise | rksmythe.blogspot.com

eBay’s deal with Buy.com represents a tectonic shift in a marketplace known for its “level playing field.”   Will the shift help? As Rany Smythe says in his blog, “If you ever wanted a preview of the "New eBay," I've got a treat for you, it will look a lot like Buy.com's eBay store.”   Since 2002, Buy.com’s eBay division has shown exemplary performance in the one specific metric eBay has chosen for measuring all sellers.   It’s fantastic that eBay is providing incentives for outstanding seller performance. That will have short and long term benefits for the marketplace.   The problem is that eBay is choosing to measure the wrong thing.

Seller's Perspective on Wall Street Journal Report: Meg Whitman to Retire from eBay

January 23, 2008

Analysis of:EBay Chief Whitman, Web Pioneer, Plans to Retire | online.wsj.com

Meg Whitman may be about to conclude one of the great leadership tenures in the Internet's whirlwind history, according to today’s Wall Street Journal report. Her successor must continue and improve on Meg's recent efforts to bolster safety, adjust fees, improve the shopping experience, and (perhaps most of all) focus on eBay's unique competetive advantages as an e-commerce destination.  

Fine Line for eBay: Special Vs. Safe

December 11, 2007

Analysis of:Top Seller Bargainland Leaves eBay to Launch New Auction Site | www.auctionbytes.com

Is eBay taking the right steps to improve buyer safety (and retention)? Is eBay sufficiently guarding the elements that differentiate its marketplace from the rest of ecommerce?

What to Watch from eBay's Annual Events, Part 2

June 18, 2007

Analysis of:Boston Welcomes eBay Community for 6th Annual eBay Live! Conference | news.ebay.com

6.    what is next for Skype? 7.    how will eBay continue to focus on its core differentiators in the wider ecommerce marketplace (auctions, community, charity listings, long-tail selection, low barriers to entry for individuals/small biz, etc.)? 8.    how will eBay work to align its seller incentives with buyer demands?

What to Watch from eBay's Annual Events

June 11, 2007

Analysis of:Boston Welcomes eBay Community for 6th Annual eBay Live! Conference | news.ebay.com

1. what (if any) are the new plans for eBay Express? 2. what are the results (listings, ASP, CR) of eBay’s 2006-2007 anti-fraud measures, and what are the next steps in this ongoing fight? 3. what is the mood of eBay’s largest PowerSellers, and what are their plans for 2007-2008? 4. what (if any) are the next steps for eBay’s Yahoo partnership? 5. what are the implications of the StumbleUpon acquisition, and how will eBay (and eBayers) discuss its potential integration? 6. what is next for Skype? 7. how will eBay continue to focus on its core differentiators in the wider ecommerce marketplace? 8. how will eBay work to align its seller incentives with buyer demands? I’ll try to cover 1-5 here, and 6-8 soon.

Sellers Just Concerned About IRS Fairness

March 5, 2007

Analysis of:Sell and Tell (the I.R.S.) -- NY Times | www.nytimes.com

There are proposals to require that online auction sites turn over sales information to the IRS in the attempt to enforce tax compliance among professional sellers.

There are two different issues at hand, and the media is getting it right -- some of the time.

1) should auction site sellers pay their taxes? (easy answer: yes!)

2) should online auction sites have reporting burdens that are not shared by other ecommerce sites, or by brick and mortar venues? That's the question I'll address here.

From a marketplace perspective, no stakeholder (buyers, sellers, investors, etc.) in online auction sites -- or in any other type of business -- wants to see his or her arena burdened (while other arenas remain burden-free).

eBay vs. Google, Yahoo (and even Amazon) as a Marketing Site

December 19, 2006

Analysis of:The Challenge for eBay Sellers | www.auctionbytes.com

Sellers seem to use different metrics when comparing the profitability of eBay vs. other top web destination sites on which they do business, including Google, Yahoo, Amazon and others.

eBay "2.0" fees may soon be seen more like advertising or marketing fees, rather than a direct cost of sales. In other words, businesses may continue to sell on eBay even if eBay sales are no longer profitable.

Reflections on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the Season to Date: eBay, Amazon, etc.

December 6, 2006

Analysis of:Black Friday weekend: Strong start; Surveys show shoppers came out in full force, despite initial concern. Plus: Gearing up for 'Cyber Monday.' | money.cnn.com

According to the article, "The most popular e-commerce site, with 7.5 million unique visitors on Black Friday, was eBay."

Among all online channels, eBay does generate the most traffic for most of the multi-channel sellers we know.

My comments will review how the holiday is lining up for most of the multi-channel sellers I've checked with. Most of all, I'll review how these marketplaces rank on the criteria that matter most to sellers.

eBay Takes on the Counterfeits: Sellers' Persepectives on +/-

December 4, 2006

Analysis of:eBay Rolls out Major Initiative to Fight Counterfeits | auctionbytes.com

From an eBay seller's perspective, a few years ago, a major anti-counterfeit initiative may have been seen as a two-edged sword.

On the one side, it is good for the marketplace to get rid of counterfeits. But on the other, do we want to plant the thought in buyers' minds that the great bargains they're finding could be fakes?

Now fast forward to Q4 2006: sellers know that buyers know there are counterfeits on eBay. Lots of them.

While risking some very short term GMV and good-guy seller operational hassle, this initiative will prove to be a great boon for the marketplace.

Key to eBay Success: Incent Positive Seller Behavior

September 28, 2006

Analysis of:eBay: Down But Not Out | www.ecommerce-guide.com

I just returned from a large gathering of top professional sellers on eBay (a few hundred small businesses averaging over $1 million/year on the platform). Investors are rightly concerned with all the buzz that Amazon, Google and Yahoo are creating among this group.

My conversations with other sellers, with service providers to the eBay marketplace and with eBay management focused on what eBay can do to return to the core magic.

There are of course man opinions, but the most common denominator is to convince eBay to incent seller behavior that is good for the overall marketplace.

As eBay Shifts to "Magic" of Core, Keep an Eye on Giving Works

July 31, 2006

Analysis of:EBay sets out to regain magic touch | www.siliconvalley.com

No one has heard of the eBay Giving Works program.

Yet Bill Cobb touted it at every plenary event at eBay Live (June 06).

The largest channel management software provider to eBay just announced support for it.

And some of eBay's most successful, legendary PowerSellers are just about to begin using it.

I think it will change eBay.

Will Google Checkout Diminish Lifetime Customer Value for Merchants?

July 28, 2006

Analysis of:Google gives PayPal a run for your money | www.csmonitor.com

Google Checkout may or may not be a direct competitor with PayPal.

Some have even suggested that we may see PayPal become one of GC's accepted payment methods (since GC has no balance-carrying option).

But the most interesting questions for small or medium sized ecommerce merchants such as my company pertain to "who owns the customer?"

Professional eBay Sellers to Begin 2nd Migration?

July 20, 2006

Analysis of:eBay Raises Store Fees, Announces 20-Cent Listing Day Promo | auctionbytes.com

After eBay's fee hike at the beginning of 2006, I heard very few professional sellers complaining. Perhaps this was due to:

-its modest size

-the recent value realized from eBay's successful Q4 IT ad campaign

-the promise of eBay Express (a concept I've lobbied for).

But the fee increase just announced has caused a reaction remeniscent of the fee increase of about 18 months ago, which casued a dramatic shift of top sellers' growth capital from eBay to other markets.

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