Jeffrey Varnado

Former Ebay Sellers vs. Ebay, Inc.
2014-03-13 05:01:23 (UTC)

vital info

He took one of the most beloved brands in the world and destroyed it. Everywhere we go people bad-mouth eBay and their tactics. And reluctantly use their service.
36 mins · Unlike · 3

Stacey Graves I still buy on eBay; I don't harbor resentment or anger that they booted me from selling, but I do miss it. I miss it as it WAS, not as it is now. It's really so antagonistic the setup now, and these higher and ever higher hoops that they want sellers to jump through in order to just SELL your crap and make a few bucks is crazy!
James Lancer eBay employees have stated that the hoops are designed to be impossibe to reach.
23 mins · Unlike · 2

Rich Vernadeau Yes James, a small seller remains in "constant peril" because of the flawed DSR system, Guardrail and trending.
22 mins · Like · 1

Stacey Graves Wow, I never saw that anywhere that an employee actually admitted it was impossible.
22 mins · Like · 1

Stacey Graves "Guardrail and trending", oh lord where do they think up these things? And now the new phrase is "defect". If you have more than a 2% "Defect" rating you lose TRS. And it can only be 5% to be a "regular" seller. Where do they get these phrases?!

Rich Vernadeau Stacey, I've had a 2-hour long phone conversation (off the record) from a former ebay top-level employee (Ebay Insider) who revealed a lot of things.
20 mins · Like · 2

James Lancer Yes. We are hoping some join the group here and reveal more info. eBay expects to wear sellers out. They rely on a revolving door methodology.New sellers jump on, they steal fees from them, then wear them out with impossible policies. Then new sellers come on.
20 mins · Unlike · 1

Stacey Graves Well, I wish that employee or others would go have those conversations with people at the NYTimes!
20 mins · Unlike · 2

Rich Vernadeau Spot on Stacey!
19 mins · Like · 1

Rich Vernadeau Michael Moore, John Stossel, Morgan Spurlock...
19 mins · Like · 2

Stacey Graves I know James, but that makes no sense! Why have a revolving door of sellers instead of trying to keep (former) long-time sellers like myself happy, and want to stay?
19 mins · Like

Rich Vernadeau Stacey, eBay believes there's an "endless supply" of exploitable newbie sellers
18 mins · Like · 1

James Lancer I prefer to call Guardrail ( which sounds too "protective" and professional ) as "the eBay Virus" instead. Which is what it is. A computer virus. As "The eBay Bots" ( or Virus ) has continue to suspend sellers wrongly. Ones who have been reistated after their entire inventory's were delted. Months and years of labor lost. We should not permit eBay to use spin on this issue in my opinion as it is critical.
17 mins · Unlike · 1

Stacey Graves Well, and unfortunately Rich, they're right. Plus they lure them in with ads saying "Hey! Selling on ebay is as easy as taking a pic with your phone!"
17 mins · Unlike · 1

James Lancer Yes, an endless supply of new sellers ( instead of buyers ) due to eBay contributing to the damaging of our economy. They have wiped out entire categories of sales with their underhanded tactics.
16 mins · Unlike · 1

Stacey Graves Do you guys sell other places or have your own websites? Or are you still on eBay?
15 mins · Like

Rich Vernadeau Sell on other places (speaking for myself)
15 mins · Like

Stacey Graves I sell on Etsy for handmade stuff, and have set up shop on both Zibbet (for handmade and vintage) and Bonanza (for contemporary stuff).
15 mins · Like

James Lancer Stacey, because it was more profitable to asset strip eBay's sellers then nurture business relationships. You have to remember where Donahoe came from. Bain Capital. The don't build, they destroy companies. They strip them. Donahoe is applying this tac...See

Stacey Graves And James Lancer, you're right. It's the Bain mindset at work, I guess. Gee whiz!


James Lancer Same rat bastards that are asset-stripping the United States. They got away with it, received the bail-outs, and came back for more. This is a war on the middle class. And it is going to get worse unless people wake-up and shake off the apathy.
11 mins · Unlike · 2

Rich Vernadeau On the street, it's called a mugging or a "shake down". Mafia used to come by small stores and make them "pay protection" or get their plate-glass windows smashed or get broken into. Bain took it to a whole new level...
8 mins · Like · 1

Debra Gallant Yes pay and we will shake you down and then ruin your store
7 mins · Edited · Unlike · 2

James Lancer Correct. Feeding off of the work of others. eBay uses extortion to frighten and control sellers. Perfect analogy Rich. We are cooking here tonight !
6 mins · Unlike · 2

James Lancer Actually that Mob comparison is a very poignant anaolgy to use in our complaints to the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission. That eBay intimidates and "Shakes down" small to mid-size sellers similar to what they mafia used to do merchants back in the day. Very clear that this is being done.
4 mins · Unlike · 2

Debra Gallant I quit selling shortly after I started years ago but it left such a bad taste in my mouth, I have warned anybody I know who sells on ebay. I encourage others not to sell on ebay
4 mins · Unlike · 2

Stacey Graves It is, isn't it? Frightening. Revolting.

Debra Gallant Yes and the worst thing is the way they work people over who due to the economics depend on it to make ends meet.

Jan Olandese Right on, Debra

Debra Gallant I have heard recession for years the truth is it is a depression. Like before some were so wealthy they turned their noses up until they plummeted, out buildings at times
Stacey Graves
44 mins · New York, NY
Thanks for approving me to join the group. I was just reading a post on the Seller Central board and someone mentioned this group so wanted to come over here. I got banned from posting on the eBay chatboards years ago for some transgression or another, so now i just lurk and read.
The new Seller Spring update looks pretty hideous -- I feel for everyone selling there. eBay booted me last year from selling, too, after I'd been on the site for 12 years -- I wasn't selling enough to keep up my numbers, and then the "Trending Downward" and Guardrail things did me in.
I admit I loved selling on eBay, but the hassles -- OMG! were horrible and just keep getting worse for sellers. Really wonder what the heck they're doing over there!
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You and Jan Olandese like this.

James Lancer What complete madness. 12 YEARS selling and you were treated that way by eBay. Beyond ridiculous. Your business should have been valued and nurtured, not thrown away. eBay's behavior has no excuse. PERIOD.
27 mins · Like · 1

Stacey Graves James, I wish it had been. Thing is, the "Trending Downward" thing happened because I took a sudden, unexpected break from daily selling when my boyfriend became seriously ill and was in hospital for a long time. I literally didn't have the time to l...See More
8 mins · Like

Stacey Graves I called, wrote emails, protested, begged -- nothing worked. I wasn't a HUGE seller, but did sell regularly and got good ratings -- but when my consistent volume dropped all of a sudden, I guess it lit up a flag somewhere that said "hello! Bad Seller here! Must! Evict! Now!" ha ha
7 mins · Like

James Lancer Part of eBay's extortive tactic is they "Dehumanize" the seller. They make it impossible to have flaws, make mistakes or have issues in our lives. How many of the poor, handicapped or elderly who sold on eBay have been abused due to this inhuman treatment. You should not have been impacted as you were. If anything eBay should have been there for you when they were needed. TO PROVIDE A SERVICE.

"THE EMPORER OF EBAY HAS NO CLOTHES." John Donahoe the CEO of eBay was paid 29.7 MILLION dollars last year as a bonus. For what? How about for committing MASS FRAUD against eBay sellers. For charging fees to sellers for services NOT provided. For charging sellers to post their items up on eBay and then NOT posting them. And not informing sellers that their items are hidden from view. And we the sellers wonder why there are so few views on our listings and such a low % of sal...
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"THE EMPORER OF EBAY HAS NO CLOTHES." John Donahoe the CEO of eBay was paid 29.7 MILLION dollars last year as a bonus. For what? How about for committing MASS FRAUD against eBay sellers. For charging fees to sellers for services NOT provided. For charging sellers to post their items up on eBay and then NOT posting them. And not informing sellers that their items are hidden from view. And we the sellers wonder why there are so few views on our listings and such a low % of sales. This after eBay presents sellers with fake, unobtainable sales limits so we continue to post and incur more fees. Donahoe feels that this is his right. To steal from sellers. Donahoe believes that self-employed eBay sellers are his employees. That he can manage, extort, frighten and intimidate the sellers through the fraudulent DSR system, freezing the sellers sales revenue funds via Paypal, and secretly interfering with sellers relationships with their customers. It is the reverse. eBay is only a service provider. They have no inventory. They have no warehouse. They do not pack or ship items. They work for US. The sellers. WE ARE EBAYS CUSTOMERS. WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO SHUT DOWN EBAY by leaving them low DSR scores for their poor service. For stealing from us. John Donahoe is being outed for what he has done here. He is engaged in criminal fraud. He is a thief, a liar and a fake and needs to be investigated, prosecuted, and fired from eBay. eBay needs to return to basics under new leadership. They need to apologize to the sellers and make amends. Repair the damage to their once beloved brand. The Emporer Has No Clothes.
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James Lancer
11 hrs · Edited
"Am I nervous that the "Former eBay Sellers Group" on Facebook does not allow eBay employees and social media overseas operators to post spin, lies and disinformation here, which we use on other message boards to confuse and demoralize sellers? Yes, I am. Am I concerned that the sellers here may force eBay into remembering that all we are is a glorified service provider so that we finally reverse our destructive policies? Yes. That's very true. Do we have the legal right ...
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"Am I nervous that The Former eBay Sellers Group on Facebook does not allow eBay staff to post spin, lies and disinformation here, which only confuses sellers? Yes, I am. Am I concerned that the sellers here may force eBay into remembering that all it is is a glorified service provider? Yes. That we have no right to interfere or meddle with sellers business affairs? Of course. That's part of the reason why we just dropped part of the DSR system. Am I losing sleep the more this group educates and informs sellers as to what we are actually doing? Get's them focused? So that they may take action against us? What do you think? You bet ya."
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Rich Vernadeau I absolutely agree James.
2 hrs · Like · 1

James Lancer This guy is hiding something BIG. Seriously. There is a disturbance in the force.
2 hrs · Unlike · 2

Rich Vernadeau Icahn may have a "clue" as to what that "something BIG" is...

James Lancer
4 hrs · Edited
ATTENTION EBAY : You continue to use "Double-Speak." And you create strange terms designed to confuse sellers with wording such as "Defect Rate" etc. in your communications with sellers. Get this straight...we are FED UP with your lunacy. It is eBay that is DEFECTIVE. We do not work for you! We are not your employees! You do not manage us. We are SELF-EMPLOYED. You are only a glorified service provider and nothing more. If anything, you work for US, THE SELLERS. WE ARE YO...
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ATTENTION EBAY : You continue to use "Double-Speak" with terms such as "Defect Ratio" etc. in communications with sellers. Get this straight...we are FED UP with your lunacy. We do not work for you. You are a glorified service provider and nothing more. If anything, you work for US, the sellers. WE ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS. You continue to use terms like the one above in order to attempt to confuse sellers so that they can't not recognize that you are actively engaged in the "Tortius Interference" of business affairs with our customers. Well we continue to out you here eBay. Your endless spin, lies, deceit and smoke & mirrors will continue to be uncovered and analyzed. Paid eBay shills will also be outed here and blocked, unlike other message boards / groups and forums where they continue to derail, destract and demoralize selllers with faux posts and comments. That will not be tolerated here. The Double-speak must end!
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You and 2 others like this.

Jan Olandese I hate the expression "defect rate"....instead of saying someone has a 99% positive rating customers will see a defect rate? Yikes.
3 hrs · Unlike · 2

James Lancer A Mind-Trick. Designed to demoralize sellers. Written by some spoiled, trust baby brat who went to an Ivy League College and thinks they are smarter then us. That they can use strange wording to manipulate and continue to support eBay's fraud.. ENOUGH. Peel the veneer!! We have THEM confused now. As we can see through their madness, manipulation and faud.
3 hrs · Edited · Unlike · 2

James Lancer Know eBay's use of tech-talk, wierd jargon, buzz words and demoralizing terms for what it is. MANIPULATION. See through it. The truth will set you free

Epic Jowels
12 hrs
eBay is finally dropping Detailed Seller ratings!!!
This summer, seller performance standards are being updated to reward those sellers most responsible for keeping buyers on eBay.
Starting with the regularly scheduled monthly seller evaluation on August 20, a new measurement, your transaction defect rate, will replace the current four detailed seller rating requirements used to evaluate your seller performance....

James Lancer To be honest the original post above reads like an eBay shill. More disinformation spread to confuse sellers. Chandra is spot on. Hey Epic, what the heck gives bro? Why did you post this craziness? It reads like a damn eBay Mind Trick press release. And then you post a giant happy face about to eat? WTF? Why would you drink this eBay Koolaid and then spout it here on this board? Excuse me while I get my mop.
3 hrs · Edited · Like · 1

James Lancer eBay needs to return to basics. That entire message is complete madness. All they need to do is focus on how to market their selling platform and make searches work. Leave the rest to us. We know how to handle our customers and how to do business with them. eBay is a service provider. Nothing more. They need THIER performance judged by US. The sellers. Not the other way around

Shaike Ben-Ari
Yesterday at 7:33am
Do you really want to make a difference? Buy ebay stock so you can vote for Icahn's board members.
http://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/blog/blog.pl?/pl/2014/3/1394478812.html

Multiple Proxies Could Confuse eBay Shareholders
As they do each year, eBay shareholders will cast their votes on whether to reelect board members and on other matters ...
ECOMMERCEBYTES.COM|BY INA STEINER

James Lancer eBay would never expect this to occur in mass. The sellers would catch them off guard in my opinion.

Sam Goldman You vote your shares. If you have a small position, you have small power.

James Lancer The point is not to have massive power as an individual stock holder. The point is for sellers to speak their mind with a little more say. Even a tiny % of say. It is symbolic to be a share holder. Much more about sending a message Sam. We aren't that dumb here. This is a new kind of eBay Seller Advocacy Group.




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