eBay CEO Forced to Shift Tactics Due to Shopper Resistance

by: gramophone-georg

He actually acts as if buyers don't have a CHOICE. I remember him being all tough guy, saying that buyers would have to adapt to changes, and that they weren't going to get their hands held getting used to things, either.

Even an idiot like me could see that plan had disaster written all over it, sorry.

by: aim04744

Oh for the love of......

It took them 10 YEARS to FINALLY figure out that when they shat on thier established seller base, the same sellers who were buyers, their business failed?

If I want to shop like I am shopping on Amazon,  I will go to Amazon!  

by: TomH

I am one of the customers he would like to drop down a wormhole and never hear of again. Since the beginning, for me (98). I have never purchased or sold a commodity item on eBay. Never will. So, I have no doubt I'm one of those types on the short list of those he would love to get rid of......  

by: Beanie

Hey, Devil Wingnut, my money SPENDS good ANYWHERE. Buyers DO NOT have to buy anything from Ebay. You might be able to strongarm some sellers with all your punishments and policies, but buyers, it is NOT going to happen. As for sellers, they have WAY more options and places to sell now days and will not put up with your crap either. Now go wallow in the mess you've made, you idiot.

by: Shackles4Devin

''eBay experienced stagnant growth in the third quarter, and its CEO Devin Wenig said he will shift tactics after finding that existing shoppers don't like some of the changes made to the marketplace.''
EXCHANGE THE WORD ''SHOPPERS'' for ''SELLERS''.

''Given that we have a large, stable, and successful business...….''
DSM IV AXIS V  Score 21 - 30.   Delusional Idiot!! Pathological Liar!!

by: Chicago48

I'm sending EB a suggestion for a revised website with open screen configurations.  They don't like when I write the OOTP Wenig, they want me to submit this shat to messages.  But I always get a reply when I send a letter....Look, the first thing they need to do is redesign that worn out tired web site.  It's too much.  When I think how easy it is to upload and list stuff on Poshmark and some other sites (even AMZ) and then I look at all the controls and options in EB, it drives me nutsy.  The same with Etsy, which has a confusing dashboard.  Takes me damn near 1/2 hr to list one item because of all the controls and options.
BTW, I just happened over to overstock.com and boy have they changed! They are highlighting furniture and decor (like Wayfair) vs. clothing and appliances.  
Anywho, back to subject.  EB has an identity problem.  It probably needs to bring in some Indian experts - like Microsoft did -- to guide it.  Get rid of the Americans who are ruining the site.

by: BohicaBay

*ring ring* CLUE PHONE, it's for Devin. Be eBay. Just be eBay. FFS.

by: Bill

Ding Dong just shot himself in the foot again.
He is now saying that what he has been doing is basically wrong and that the "habituated" buyers do not like what is going on and that they need to take care of those people.
Well guess what IDIOT, many of those buyers are gone and will never return again because you and the megalomaniacs that are running the show have driven them away and they have gone to other places to buy what they need or want.
Carl Icahn was right in his interpretation of eBay management in a state of chaos. They do not know at all whether they are coming or going.
I see why they had to postpone the earnings call until today so Ding Dong could put together a story and tell the share holders that it will probably take until 2020 or later to get everything in order.
It is the same old spiel that him and Donuthole have been has been spewing out for a number of years now with NO results at all.
Unbelievable.

eBay = Dead Man Walking

by: Cargo11

I laughed so much...I am crying....hahahaha

... its CEO Devin Wenig said he will shift tactics after finding that existing shoppers don't like some of the changes made to the marketplace.
(i.e.   They changed Search - I can't find anything)

''We're very conscious that we don't want to screw up the existing ecosystem,'' (It's pretty much been bulldozed out of the area, not much else you can screw up - but it is Weasel Talk for..........''EXPECT MORE CHANGES SOON...Unannounced'')

Speaking from an analyst position - The numbers game does NOT always reflect a great picture.  I know from one year - The total amount of our number base had increased  (example...from 100 to 120), but revenue DROPPED.  Reason......The ''big fellows'' - the ones we were charging 5x as much LEFT, and we picked up 30 tiny ones.  So 25% of our revenue was out the door (never to return), BUT BUT the numbers show WE INCREASED OUR NUMBERS
:) 20%!!  Yep, all those multiple accounts to get the freebie listings will show nicely for wallstreet, while the tiny hole in the dam continues to expand, flowing out the big sellers (and big spenders)......Whoa Capt. Titanic - I think we better turn, ah soon - the iceberg is not moving.

by: Cargo11

**P.S.   In other words - Ebay speak for - we picked up another 2,000 chinese accounts (all selling the same spinner widget) for .35/Free Shipping - But we lost Toys R Us, and another minor couple of BIG BIG Sellers.....BUT the numbers will still LOOK GOOD - we increased 1,950 accounts!

by: ebayout

Did Wenig just say ebay is dying from poor management without using the word dying?
Where's the boast that "we're headed in the right direction"?
His stock price belies that supercilious observation.
The stock was up and down after hours...hopefully tomorrow's numbers will seal his fate, and if not, maybe the 2nd quarter's balance sheet investigation will.

by: The End

"We're very conscious that we don't want to screw up the existing ecosystem,"
Too Late.

by: comments

Its like a repeat of the same reworded "growth is coming" speeches that has been repeated in every earnings report since 2008.

Stale growth can only be fixed by fresh thinking, innovation, maintaining the site, and treating sellers as partners. On the other end they need to appeal to buyers and offer sellers who own an inventory and not shop for them on walmart/sams/amazon for a premium middle man fee. Most of those sellers are also breaking the law by charging the sales tax they are remitting to the site and NOT the local government.

That enormous growth on the way in 2020 with be severely stunted by internet sales tax and ebay's failure to fight it with anything stronger then petitions and email campaigns. If petitions worked then DW would already be out....

by: sasikat9

The snake fork speak will probably pacify Wallstreet as they only hear what they want.

by: Rexford

"We're very conscious that we don't want to screw up the existing ecosystem"

CEO dude, that ship sailed years ago.  How many posts have I written here mentioning that eBay has destroyed what was once a perfect ecosystem of buyers and sellers.  Sellers made money, sellers spent money on eBay.  All of a sudden a five watt light bulb has lit up over his head.

What we have learned from the esteemed CEO is to watch what he does, not what he says.

by: Rexford

"Wenig said he expected that would result in slower growth for a period of time..."

Covering himself.  Stated for Wall Street. Setting expectations of "slow or no" growth.

by: maxmad

this is really getting old, Sounds the same as last time, ,,,,,almost like he's reading it from a scripted page

- make up lame excuse for problems at ebay

- say you know what the problem is and how to fix it

- Then Completely fail at it , losing money , losing buyers , sellers and more market share

-Create policies to get more money from sellers /
-Raise fees for sellers,

-Take home my millions in pay

- Rinse and Repeat

by: HappyOne

Just curious my calculator only has 8 digits. How much would the 56¢ per share earnings be if Ebay had not bought 1 Billion dollars worth of stock? Many more questions but where did the 1 Billion dollars come from?.  

by: Sierra

It's about time eBay woke up! There is an item I was going to buy a couple days ago, but that seller did not accept PayPal so they must be in the test for the new payments. I went somewhere else to make my purchase.

by: iheartjacksparrow

"[Wenig's] CFO said eBay was still committed to its brand campaign but would reduce marketing as a percentage of revenue."

They barely have any marketing as it is, and now they are going to reduce it? How are they planning to attract new buyers without advertising? And I assume the "stronger growth in 2020" will be when all sellers are sucked into eBay Payments and the fees go up.