Dear Eve

[suelel1968]

It would be good to see everyone else's "Dear Eve" letters here. I can't post the email addresses, but just ask copilot. Feel free to copy mine, post the one you have already written. Even if you are just quitting the platform, don't tell us on the forum, tell her. It's high time we got some answers.

Dear Ms. Williams,

As a private seller on eBay UK, I’m reaching out with a simple request: please listen to the voices of individual private sellers.

One pressing concern is the rollout of Simple Delivery. Whilst we know it is here to stay the message is not being heard. Many private sellers feel it adds complexity and cost without improving the experience. 

May I draw your attention to one of my listings below. Currently listed at £4.25 with £1.55 Large Letter Royal Mail postage. If I try to list anything similar or relist this one it converts to SD at a minimum £2.70 postage. You can see from the listing photo, the item is 1 1/2" long and 1/4" wide and weights less than 20 grams. It won't sell with an extra £1.15 on postage.

Private sellers are a vital part of eBay’s identity. We bring character, variety, and uniqueness to the marketplace. I hope you’ll take time to hear our concerns.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

[kyanyama]

Dear Eve

Perhaps asking Sir Richard Branson to dinner will help you find a way to get customer service back on track for your members - whether sellers (you can't buy something if someone doesn't have it for sale!) or buyers (you can't make any money if you don't have someone to buy it).

But what do I know? I only have High School Matric (and been a member for > 20 years).

Although it's been a long time since I flew Virgin - despite the air ticket being a competitive price the service far exceeded my expectations.  Why?  Cos Virgin values their customers cos their customers keep the shareholders happy!  Something that seems to be lacking on this platform at the mo.  Just my penny's worth.

[vinylscot]

For many years, before the introduction of SD, you could purchase postage from eBay for your sales, if you wanted to, with a choice of a number of different couriers. (Business sellers still can)

Although it wasn't widely used, it seemed to work OK (if they had sorted out the rogue Packlink company's involvement).

Why didn't eBay simply make that compulsory? Still allow buyers and sellers to agree a suitable method of carriage, but taking control of the provision of that. eBay would still have been able to negotiate terrific rates (for them), with all the carriers, and would have made just as much profit as under SD.

They would probably have made more profits, as the changeover wouldn't have been nearly so troublesome. A grace period could have been give for those who wished to continue using stamps.

I've never understood WHY they had to go all-in with an entirely new system, when there was a decent one already in place, which would have given them just as much control, and probably greater profits. I'd like to ask Eve about that, but there would be no point.

[suelel1968]

@edwardian-dreams hi Ed you will get yourself a detention. Great work though, im going to try it. Actually, does anyone actually use the sub categories for searching? I never do. 

[edwardian-dreams]

I never search categories if I know what I want

i might do if I’m just window shopping

I just type what it is I want plus any specific bits 

And then filter  the results to get to specifics sometimes 

detention? 

there’s no eBay law  to say you can put a drill bit in that category  LOL

🧟‍♂️

[goodibags]

It wouldn't be Ebay if they didn't completely rebuild and repackage something that they already had. Something to do with eradicating all the best features and most useful functionality and replacing them with inferior 'enhancements'? Must be keeping someone busy.

I'm looking forward to next year and seeing the new online selling platform they're presently re-writing from scratch. Don't expect an opt-out.  😁

[edwardian-dreams]

There’s some business philosophies out there that say change is good 

Maybe eBay read the books and ran with it lol even if it wasn’t good 

CONSTANT  change is NOT  good 

it destabilises its self harming 

jog on I suppose 

[pegr-834437]

Reporting has got to be worse, all it does is say AI checked and no policy has been broken when a listing has clear policy breaks. Least with simple delivery 95% of sales go through without an issue, no way 95% of correct reports are completed.

This is just in the long line of eBay innovations where they have rushed them out instead of a slow test release to find out the bugs though.

No point emailing the email you get via google, it'll just go to the customer service team who work under Eve but rarely speak to her, her actual email wont be available online.

[suelel1968]

Hi Vinyl, @vinylscot. Come on Vinyl, i know that you are a warrior! I'm beginning to think that they rolled this out in the UK because they knew we would just put up with it. We will stand in a queue nicely and talk about the weather and the latest episode of the Sewing Bee and just get on with it. We need to find our inner lion and let them know that despite everything, £1.15 is still alot of money. Rule Brittania. 

[cwhite_5354]

This is a never ending  problem that never seems to go away ( ebay changes ) i have already emailed her. As i have a private and a business account the main reason for the business account opening was to avoid this nightmare. my private account has now turned into a more of a buying  platform and the business account for the selling.  we need private sellers on here as at least 80% of my purchases come from private sellers to add to my collections. we need you all on here don,t give up

[gjalp]

Indeed. As a business, I do sometimes buy a label on ebay. The times I do this is when I have a large combined order and send it by large letter tracked. Its easier to click the ‘get postage label’ on ebay and I even choose the RM collect service. The biggest bug bear for me when it comes to SD is the inability to combine purchases in one order and obtain an appropriate label (in size and cost) for the whole order ie one label

[suelel1968]

No point emailing the email you get via google, it'll just go to the customer service team who work under Eve but rarely speak to her, her actual email wont be available online.   - Copilot knows it. 

Hi @pegr-834437 , There is no point writing on the forum, but we do anyway..... Channel your inner Blue Whale (animal with big backbone) and give it a go! How do you know they rarely speak to her anyway?

The US company I worked for had a CEO who actually used to pick up emails and deal with problems personally. Only occasionally, but he did. I mean any CEO worth their salt would wouldn't they.

[suelel1968]

@cwhite_5354  Hi, Cwhite, Great stuff! Did you get a response yet. I know it won't be a falling on sword, mea culpa, but it would be interesting to read.

[cwhite_5354]

no not as of yet but will keep the chat updated if or when i do . I am hoping she will or her pa i presume 

[thepillenwerfer]

---

@goodibags wrote:

It wouldn't be Ebay if they didn't completely rebuild and repackage something that they already had. Something to do with eradicating all the best features and most useful functionality and replacing them with inferior 'enhancements'? Must be keeping someone busy.

---

Sadly that doesn't just apply to e-Bay.  How often is the "New Improved Recipe" claim justified?  It may be improved for the manufacturer in that it's cheaper to produce but that's all.  It's especially true with anything to do with computers as new versions of software tend to just add useless bloat and remove functions that are useful.  As I said above, in the past we'd just stick a normal stamp on anything under 60g however big it was.

"Progress doesn't necessarily mean that things get better."

[goodibags]

Don't you mean 'Things changing doesn't necessarily mean progress'?

Someone commented on change for change's sake elsewhere. When supermarkets move all their groceries about it's not just to get you to accidentally buy cat food instead of pasta. It's also to get you to interact with the staff, ask questions and chat to stock pickers, thus ensuring they don't hit their targets and other customers' deliveries are late.

There are many purposes to it, but the 'just keeping busy' seems to be the main driving force.

[kath3735_wxmjn]

not sure that i am one of the 'best warriors' but i have certainly 'run away'  Went to the other site first and then in desperation have gone on to V.  Do not like the postage system but as i have only sold one item so far (and i messed that postage up because it was not exactly clear to the uninitiated who was used to just going into the post office and paying!).  Anyway i think i know what i am doing now and certainly am getting more views than i was on this site!  I disagree with SD but just on principle i went to V rather than come back here, the way they have messed it up they do not deserve my custom.

[goodibags]

Hi Kath, I'm sure you were one of the best but there are a few still here down in the dungeon, I mean forum.

On the one hand, you make noises in various ways and protest in whatever way you can. On the other, if Ebay wants something SO bad they simply MUST have it, give or take a few 'concessions', then losing sellers and buyers is just collateral damage.

I'm staying on for now. It would help if items sold but there's no urgency for me. Apparently, there's not much urgency for Ebay either so in many ways we're an ideal match.

Just wonder what they'll start charging for next? An opt-out from SD as a 'special feature' maybe? 😉

[pegr-834437]

I know but I have spoken to her and other management, I have emailed the emails you found online which you get back the Hi its Eve, thank you for your email, I have read this and understand your issues, I have asked (insert name here) from my personal team to look into this for you. Then 2 days later you get an email from insert name here who says Hi, Eve passed on your email, I'm sorry you have faced this issue, we as a business are forever improving our site and take your worries seriously, this is why we have done x,y,z. I hope you know we value your views and do act upon them. Sadly x,y,z have nothing to do with the issues raised and 2 years later the issues are still around.

I know for a fact that management do have emails that they check themselves again as I have one of them and they checked their inbox on their phone to make sure the email I sent was received, it certainly wasn't the one I get if I google their name. Any CEO, owner, CFO email you find online is 99.99999% likely to be a customer service email, if you think Eve Williams is checking emails from private sellers over her morning coffee then I have a bridge for sale. A handful of CEO's might but lets be honest here theres much bigger issues on the site that get overlooked daily like laws being broke.

I'm all for fighting a fight but doing pointless acts is well just pointless, like I said that email is 100% not being read by Eve, if everyone sends the email we are all getting a copy and paste reply with a couple of words changed.

With regards to writing on the forum, there is a point, we get questions answered, we find out things, theres just no point emailing a generic CEO email when they dont read it. By the way some eBay staff (not community team) do read this board though, but no chance will they read 8000 replies to a post saying the same thing.

[suelel1968]

Hi Goodi @goodibags,

Posting on the forum charges! A fixed fee and increasing percentage per sentence! 

[suelel1968]

@pegr-834437 then Eve is not worth her salt is she? I don't expect her to read and respond herself, i expect to get a response from her team.  I don't think that is a reason not to do it. This is unsustainable for PS, it is not helping Business Sellers with lower engagement on the platform and ultimately we all want the same thing. Sales. Everyone needs sales. 

Be a warrior!  Not a defeatist.