SmallBizResource Blog -- Internet

EBay's Policy Changes Set for Monday

Posted by Gayle Kesten Friday, May 16, 2008, 11:59 AM ET

EBay's farkakta new policy regarding fees and feedback goes into effect Monday, May 19.

Quick recap: In addition to upping the percentage it collects off sales, changing its search algorithm to favor large-volume sellers, and giving PayPal the ability to freeze transactions based on factors beyond sellers' control, eBay is taking away sellers' ability to post feedback about buyers. (I blogged about this three months ago, when some customers banded together for a weeklong strike.)

"Sellers who drive repeat business should be rewarded when they receive repeat Feedback, the online auction house states on its Web site.

I think what Brian Burke, eBay's director of global feedback policy, told Fortune Small Business is really more telling: "What we discovered through research was that any negative feedback that the buyer gets reduces their purchasing or willingness to purchase within the marketplace."

EBay doesn't want to stop its buyers from buying. By definition, they'd no longer be buyers. They'd be browsers -- if they even show up at all. In some kind of ______ attempt to not play favorites (you choose the adjective), eBay says it will provide sellers with tools to help protect themselves against bad-mouthed buyers who give them negative ratings. Still, some vendors seem skeptical. "Over the years, I've reported fraud and negative behavior and never seen any action," an antiques dealer told FSB. "I don't have a lot of faith in eBay's responses."

InformationWeek editor/blogger Alexander Wolfe sums up the changes like this: "Sadly, the newfound big-seller friendliness comes at the apparent expense of the smaller sellers who made eBay a big success in the first place."

Thoughts? Reactions? Can you really fault eBay for wanting to give its buyers more power?

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