Growing Reports of eBay's Folly

I do believe that 2009 is the year of reckoning for eBay when it will face the consequences of its bad decisions. It is worth revisiting an article that I mentioned in this blog during the fall; but first, read this blog post by someone who used to work at eBay:

http://alanlewis.typepad.com/

In the above post, Alan Lewis explains that he was one of the managers of the "eBay 3.0" team that is mentioned in the Forbes article. Here is the Forbes article:

The Real Reason eBay Is Stuck

I have also found an article from the past few days which mentions eBay's rapid decline:

EBay Sales: Going, going...

At the bottom of the article, there is a link to view all of the comments that readers have posted:

Reader's Comments

Nancy Drew collector and Sleuth Fred Pike has posted a comment about how eBay's poor management has caused series book prices to crash and how eBay is no longer a good place to sell series books. Many people are also posting links to their favorite alternative sites, such as Bonanzle.

Consider this: I am not selling my series books on eBay, and neither is Fred. There must be other people who are also no longer selling their series books on eBay. This is why the selection of series books offered on eBay is deteriorating.

After eBay announced its radical changes in August, I knew that it was going to go downhill. I want to revisit some of my own comments.

On August 31, I wrote, "Earlier this year, I still had optimism that eBay would remain viable, while others thought that it was the beginning of the end. I now feel that eBay is indeed self-destructing and that it may be unrecognizable in less than one year."

As of today, I feel that eBay is already beginning to be unrecognizable.

On September 9, I stated, "I am not going to let eBay destroy me, but I will bail out fast if another venue opens up."

In a private email message to someone on December 11, I made these comments:

"I really think there are more sellers buying books on eBay than actual buyers. I have been annoyed at how many times I have been driven up by people that I have known are sellers when all I want is a book for my collection.

I will try to sell on eBay again around December 20-22. I have done well on eBay in the past when auctions close right after Christmas. Depending upon the results and whether my DSRs are okay after that time, I will assess whether to continue on eBay. I have been checking out Bonanzle.com among others, and they may be viable should I ever decide to list there. I'd have to mention it in my blog if I do."

On January 2, I made these comments in this blog:

"Normally I do extremely well the week after Christmas with a sell-through rate of around 60-75% and some bidding wars. My sell-through rate so far this week has been around 26%. This week has been the worst post-holiday week for me of the nearly 12 years I have been on eBay."

So that is what caused me to register on Bonanzle at the beginning of this month. I am now bailing out. I have always been highly successful in the week after Christmas. People get new computers and gift cards, and they go online and buy stuff. It didn't happen this year, at least not on eBay.

Too bad, so sad; we need to find another venue. I have chosen Bonanzle, and I know a few others have already followed me there. I am also open to other possibilities, so if anyone finds series books listed elsewhere, let me know.