eBay Actively Diverts Your Customers to Competitor's Listings!

[jeffweico]

This is just lousy! There is no low to which eBay will not sink. I, for one, put time and effort into my listings, trying to write a nice description, having nice photos and giving the buyer a reason to buy from me, or to at least put me on their watch list. An article in today's Ecommercebytes newsletter reveals that eBay looks at what people are watching and diverts them to preferred sellers listings by sending them an email offering the item at a slightly lower price.

You can read the article here:

eBay Diverts Shoppers to Competitor Listings

[swbluto]

Thank goodness my products are completely unique and in demand.

[jeffweico]

Well, I sell mostly books, so those are fairly safe. But I also sell imported stuff. It kills me that we have to pay insertion fees so that eBay can steer our customers to our competitors...

[yankee]

Its great for me because I am almost always the preferred seller.

[meriscope]

In this way, all my potential sales will go to my Chinese vendor's pocket, since they offer unbeatable price....

[empirestate]

eBay does this because they want more for their bottom line.

[yankee]

It is nothing new in any way at all.
They even suggest NON ebay websites.

[Haidukken]

I was just about to say that in all honesty... What do you expect? It's eBay that we are talking about and its online marketplace. All is fair.

I personally don't feel THAT bad about it, because I'm kinda "meh" about the whole situation. I'm sure some people get redirected to others, but some will be redirected to me. I want to believe that it evens itself out over time.

I can compete with my competitors prices as well and if people look at my quality, they almost always go for my product.

eBay should just add a premium option where you can literally purchase traffic to your shop and have it as monthly subscription the same way they have shops at the moment.
Some sort of tier system where by paying monthly fee, you are guaranteed X amount of traffic based on what people search for and your products. You wouldn't get random clicks, just people who have bought/searched for the products that you are selling. Or direct redirects, either way.

Now that would be solid way to make some serious money.

[jeffweico]

I just object to the fact that I have to pay for each listing and if a customer adds me to their watch list, eBay sends them emails trying to get them to buy from someone else. It isn't right.

[muzzie]

Well, they try to be helpful. From the buyer's side, it is a nice feature.

[imamurfe]

eBay is a business. Slimy and a monopoly, but still a business. They make money any way they can sometimes.

[orangescamper]

I have to agree with Jeff...it is garbage!

[swbluto]

Originally Posted by muzzie

Well, they try to be helpful. From the buyer's side, it is a nice feature.

Pretty much. They cater to the buyers, screw the sellers. Buyers want the lowest price, so they put that in front of them. Buyers don't want sellers that sell them counterfeit goods, so they kick them off. It's all about the buyers, screw the sellers.

[slapped]

That is APPALING

[jeffweico]

Originally Posted by swbluto

Pretty much. They cater to the buyers, screw the sellers. Buyers want the lowest price, so they put that in front of them. Buyers don't want sellers that sell them counterfeit goods, so they kick them off. It's all about the buyers, screw the sellers.

And what ends up being the outcome? The seller with the lowest price often is the seller who has the counterfeits or stolen merchandise. So eBay pulls the sale away from the honest seller, re-directing it to the seller of the counterfeits!

[yankee]

lowest price is often master distributor and manufacturer direct. Not everything is foofoo especially the really large sellers.

[desikanjar]

We should expect such tricks from eBay

[Haidukken]

Originally Posted by jeffweico

I just object to the fact that I have to pay for each listing and if a customer adds me to their watch list, eBay sends them emails trying to get them to buy from someone else. It isn't right.

I agree, but don't you think that you get customers from other people the same exact way?

[slapped]

This situation sort of reminds me of when Amazon used to ask for supplier contact information from its marketplace sellers, then the next thing that you knew, Amazon was competing directly with them, with of course, better pricing because they had the buying power and the ability to "steer" sales to their listings...

[jeffweico]

Originally Posted by Haidukken

I agree, but don't you think that you get customers from other people the same exact way?

Maybe. But that does not make it right. How would you feel if you opened an e-cig shop and paid rent for your store and also for newspaper advertisements to get people to visit your store and then I stood outside and offered them the same items 20% cheaper than you? I COULD do that because I didn't have to pay for all of the expenses. To me, it is the same thing.

[jeffweico]

Anyone remember a browser add-on called "Gator"? Whenever you were about to buy something, it would show you where to get it cheaper?

I somehow remember eBay and Amazon screaming the loudest about it....

[123]

Wow now thats just ridiculous, thanks for the heads up Jeff