Banner Sponsors

jenny Sep 22, 2008

I just had a look at eBay Pulse..which for those who don't know USED to show the most watched bears and dolls on ebay. You could click on the category and select through the category ...arriving at  'artist bears' and it would show a list of thumbnails of the most watched items. So I just looked as I have a bear currently listed...and it's all changed....I was HORRIFIED to see BEARS and DOLLS not listed under collectibles  but under KIDS. Now this is something that I am really worried about because I do understand that not all bears and dolls are collectible but to get new collectors to look we need to be visible in the right places so categorising bears that are design for adults to collect under a kids heading is totally wrong.
Also ...you can't get to see the most popular bears on the section anyway now as it only brings up the top hits from the whole of eBay..and you can't choose a category...or define what you wish to look at.
Am I being stupid here or has anyone else found a way to look at the top listings? I know you can choose 'highest priced' or 'PayPal' etc  in the search results on the listing pages and they show up first but it's nice to see which are the most popular bears/dolls etc in the whole category...and we can't now do that.
I think it's good to be 'market savvy' and know what is happening out there  so it's no use to us not to be able to take a wide view of what's going down well in our business.

I am not sure if Bears and Dolls has always been listed under KIDS...but it shouldn't be....

I am guessing this is a ploy to get us to list under two sections...and also that they will soon come up with some chargeable 'add-on' to enable us to view the category stats.

I am just a wee bit disgruntled this morning....can you tell       !!!

doodlebears Celebration AmbassadorSep 22, 2008

Poor you Jenny, I have just had a look at the offending pages on ebay.com and see just what you are saying. It's wrong that the list comes up under KIDS, I wonder if ebay.com should have this pointed out to them!
Anyhoo Jenny, did you have a nice holiday? Missed seeing you at Hugglets and boy you missed a good show. Catch you next time, unless I bump into you in Coventry one day.

Hugs, Jane.   

jenny Sep 22, 2008

Had a great holiday Jane, thanks and am now getting down to making some bears. I am going to write eBay this afternoon to see what they say...this is a big problem since the bears we make are wholely unsuitable for 'KIDS'!!

jenny Sep 22, 2008

I have written to them and now await their response...how much do you want to bet they simply tell me to do a separate listing under 'collectables' !!!

bearbottombears Sep 22, 2008

Hi Jenny.  I've learned something new today.  I didn't even know that eBay had "Pulse". I looked at it and you are so right. What the heck were they thinking to put collector dolls and bears under "Kids"?  Could you imagine a child playing with a $5000.00 Ma'sal creation?  :crackup:  Glad you are proactive and wrote to them. Hope that makes them take notice.
Gail G

BearBottoms Sep 22, 2008

Jenny, I noticed this a few weeks ago, but never mentioned it here.  I got on Live Chat with eBay and got the run around.  All of the responses I received about it were those genereal automated sounding responses like, "Oh! I see!  I understand, let me look into that for you..." I got so frustrated with the 'guy' who was taking forever to respond with, like I said, these automated responses, that I blew up and wrote a long message to him saying that 'eBay has me more ond more frustrated by the day... first eBay holds my funds which I worked so hard for, then they change the site around, which I never complained about, and now they've 'gotten rid of' our artist bears catergory in eBay pulse and all I get are slow, automated sounding responses via "LIVE CHAT".'  He disconnected fromt he chat without another word. By then I was FUMING.  Another person joined and I asked if she was a manager, since I was HOPING they'd left to get a manager, and she was like, "Huh? no"  and I told her what happened and she said that eBay had had many complaints about the eBay Pulse set up and she didn't know what they were doing about it.  Nice.  By then I was so tired, irritated, annoyed... spent that I was like, "Nevermind.... I'll be back at a later time...." 

Sooo... there was MY eBay Pulse experience...

By the way, eBay sent me a survey, which I was mooore than happy to fill out.

jenny Sep 22, 2008

Oh yes, Kimberly...I too filled in that survey...LOL :crackup: ...how much do you bet they just delete all our answers?

eBay pulse is a useful tool for sellers...but if we can't select our own category how do we utilise it...? It's gone from a useful tool to being just a load of stats which don't apply to anyone in particular.

I am also waiting with interest to see what they say about including items specifically NOT designed  for children..in a KIDS section.

FenBeary Folk Sep 22, 2008

He He!!! I too have just filled a survey out  :twisted:

They were totally mad to have sent me it, I complained, I too have just had a with-hold of funds and wanted to know WHY

Totally cwap answer and told them so

Lucky for me the buyer is an excellent ebayer and has left me feedback immediately, for which I am truely grateful 

Hope they don't black mark us  :crackup:  we will be all known as trouble makers 

S.Reetz Bears Sep 23, 2008

Hi everyone!Jenny,I was hoping someone would post about the "new ebay pulse page"About a year ago when I joined tt,I came in to tell all of the bear artists about the dreaded news I read on ebay on how they wanted to put the dolls and bears (including artist!)into the toys and hobbies catagory.At first I thought maybe they changed their mind about doing this,as almost a year had passed,but with all the changes they are making now,I truely believe they are going to do it.I know they want mega powersellers to take over the site and having artist dolls and bears looks like it wont fit into that plan.I do believe that they will do away with the stores in favor of the buy it now good for 30 days or until cancelled.Another thing that is changing is the auction page itself(the new listing page) where the photos only show on the top left of the page,and descriptions on the bottom only.If you use html templates,your auction will still look nice.On this new listing page,I don't think anyone will be able to see our me pages either.I always read the community boards on ebay as many of the sellers in seller central and the stores discussion boards are very knowlageable people.I have also heard it said that ebay will not be recognizeable by 2009~~~~maybe their right!I do know that I am so sick of  so many new changes,rules,dsrs.paypal only ect ect...I am focusing more on my etsy shop each day!We have a new etsy  bear artists team and are working on a new category for our bears besides toys.You can visit the link on my blog if you are interested..... hugs...xxx...sharie

thumperantiques Sep 23, 2008

Sharie,
     I've heard similar things on my "boycott Ebay" group.  I haven't posted on Ebay in 6 months.  I'm concentrating on my blog, I have a retail shop now and I'm going to start doing more jewelry and Christmas ornaments for my Etsy shop.  I really hate to say it, but I don't think they want us on Ebay at all.

                                                                                                        hugs,

                                                                                                        Brenda

russellbears Sep 23, 2008

This is all really scary stuff to read as I was considering starting to dabble in Ebay with my bears
If Ebay are not going to recognise our art as true collectables, what's the point   I think I might give it a miss altogether and support Nancy's Bid4Bears site 100%

jenny Sep 23, 2008

See, I don't get why eBay would not want us to sell our goods on their site. Maybe the volume is not high enough...maybe they do want BUY IT NOW folks on there instead of auctions...but if I could understand the motivation for WHY it would be easier to accept...perhaps I would stop using eBay altogether I think. I am not getting why they would not want us to be a success on eBay...why they want to wrongly categorise something which is now clearly wrongly positioned in their market place. The type of dolls and teddies we make are specifically designed for adults and don't tell me they don't know that...so why would anyone in their right minds categorise them under a KIDS banner?

I don't post many items on ebay...because not all customers like the bidding thing however it offered good exposure and in the main I get good prices for my bears...but I dunno...this seems underhand...and you know what else I hate...that the people at eBay aren't up front...I can't ring them up...I can't know who I am talking to ...or get any real feedback from them.

jenny Sep 23, 2008

See how they pass the buck.....!!!!

Hello Jenny,

Thank you for contacting us. I understand you are concern regarding the eBay pulse for the "Dolls and Bears" category on eBay.com. I know the importance of this matter and I appreciate the chance to assist you.

Jenny, upon checking your database, I can see that you are currently selling an item. Regarding your concern, I suggest that you contact eBay.com. They can give you a more precise resolution on this matter.
You can contact them in the link I have provided:

http://www.ebay.com/

I realise that this is not the answer you hoped for. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Kind regards,

Jasmine March
eBay Customer Support

So I wrote back:

Hi Jasmine....I thought I did contact eBay.com ..and according to your email address which says that you are UK Customer service web-help @ ebay.com I can't see what I  could have done differently. I can't find any other way to contact anyone other than to go through the help pages on eBay.com..which I did already.
How do you suggest I go about dealing with this further , given the fact I gave already tried the route you suggest?

Regards,

Jenny

Let's see how they wriggle out if it.......I am awaiting their response with bated breath!!!!!

PS....er, has anyone ever used this website (below) to report anything....is it worth a try?

http://www.econsumer.gov/english/index.html

I am just thinking it may be illegal to advertise items potentially dangerous to children on a KIDS website...don't know where I am going with this but it's really got up my nose this morning...the snotty way they write to you and completely walk away from the problem,,,because they CAN...the SWINE!!

All Bear Sep 23, 2008

Jenny, I'm not really au fait with the ins and outs of Ebay, but I think you're making a very valid point about having our work listed in the KIDS section.  It seems to me that Ebay must reconsider their categorisation if they are advertising adult collectibles which are legally classed as inappropriate for children - we can't legally sell our work as suitable for children and are unable to use CE labelling, so it's ridiculous to have to list in a section for children!

jenny Sep 23, 2008

Paula, I have again written to them ..I am sure they have a legal obligation to both us as THEIR customer and to those looking for toys suitable for children to ensure that all pieces that are UNsuitable for children are categorised appropriately.

I have asked what we should do..and wait to hear what they say....or to see who they pass the buck to this time. I can't used eBay if my bears are listed under a section that leads buyers to think my bears are child friendly...'coz they're not.

thumperantiques Sep 23, 2008

Jenny,
     Have you tried "live chat"?  Once you start a chat with customer support, I believe they can't cut you off, unless you agree you are finished or are satisfied with their response.  I threatened to keep one live chat person on the line all night, because I couldn't get a satisfactory answer as to why it was taking so long for my listing to show up, and why it kept disappearing.  They kept telling me it would show up momentarily, and I said "okay, then you can keep me company and chat with me until it comes up, because I'm not getting off this live chat until my item shows up!"  They got if fixed pretty quick! :crackup:  The button is at the top right side of the home page, next to "site map".  Just click it, wait for a connection and you will be in line for the next support person available.  I've never waited more than 10 minutes.  It's worth a try.  I also think I have a live telephone number for Ebay in my files at home - I got it off of the "boycott ebay" group.  I'll have to look for it.  I'm babysitting today at our daughters.

                                                                                             hugs,

                                                                                             Brenda

S.Reetz Bears Sep 23, 2008

Hi again everyone!  I just posted a thread on my blog taken from the  ebay community boards that was posted a few months ago.It could help explain what is happening with ebay and how it will be in the future.I don't regard it as gospel,but it really seems some of the changes are already happening.It's long,but a great read! HugsxxxxSharie

jenny Sep 23, 2008

Thanks Sharie..I'll have look later...

Amanda Sep 23, 2008

Hope they listen.....

Anyway, try this link, its a useful one but only features bears with bids on

http://www.esellerstreet.com/search.php … D=0&site=0

desertmountainbear Sep 23, 2008

Sharie, as a regular ebay seller, your post has scared me
Joanne

S.Reetz Bears Sep 23, 2008

Hi Joanne,I'm sorry if my post sounded threatning in any way!I don't think we should be scared,just informed on whats going on so we have a backup plan for the future....should we need it!Even if ebay will do the major changes that we hear might occur,I think we still have plenty of time to find a good venue other than ebay.As long as we stick together and have a common goal,we will do just fine xxxxSharie

BearBottoms Sep 24, 2008

Hi Brenda, read my post in here further up.... they can and WILL disconnect... it happened to me, if they don't want to deal with an issue....

thumperantiques Sep 24, 2008

Sharie,
     I read your blog and it's pretty much what I'm hearing from our Boycott Ebay group, but with a little more detail.  It's obvious they are changing things without any regard for sellers or buyers.   I think it's a downward slide from here and that's why I opted to find other venues when they changed the feedback system in May.  I think Etsy is great, even though I haven't had as much time to concentrate on my store there.   

                                              hugs,

                                              Brenda

eteddys Sep 24, 2008

Ladies,
I am feeling a bit dumb.  What is this eBay pulse and how on earth do you get to it?  I just went to eBay and clickety clicked directly to the artist bear category.  Jenny, if you want to sort your search by price, time listed, etc. it's still there, just looks a bit different.  It says sort by: best match then it has a little arrow.  The arrow takes you to a drop down menu where you can choose how you want to sort.  I have to say that I rarely read my eBay notices anymore.  It's always bad news and I haven't been listing there as much.  So maybe I missed info on this pulse thing.  I'd love to be in the loop on this.

Thanks,
Alison

jenny Sep 24, 2008

Alison it a way of finding out what bears / dolls are popular on eBay...if you go to SITE MAP at the top right corner you will see it listed down the left hand side. It's always been a useful tool to monitor auctions etc..as a regular seller it's essential to be able to gauge popularity and now eBay have made it impossible to do this by altering the format and the information held there. I am pretty familar with eBay and it's machinations but this was a bit of a surprise.
They have categorised ALL bears and dolls in the KIDS section in this area of eBay ..and I believe , after reading various posts on the subject, that in future we will be lumped in with TOYS, period. This is a wholely unsatisfactory move..and will not do us any favours since our creations are not toys designed for children to play with.

I did write to eBay again and here is the stupid  vague reply I got:

Dear Jennifer,

Thank you for writing eBay in regard to your suggestion.

I appreciate the chance to read and understand your suggestion.

Thank you for your message.

We do like hearing from you, but please understand that any comments or materials you submit to us -- questions, ideas, technical or creative suggestions, and so forth -- are considered non-confidential and non-proprietary. That means they don't belong to anyone and we have no obligation of any kind regarding them.

If you still want to submit your suggestion, please reply to this message and I'll be glad to forward it to the appropriate team.

We are committed to your online trading safety and success.

Have a great day!

Sincerely,
Danny T.

I have replied back to 'DANNY' with the following...expecting no response but have decided not to waste my time further as it just serves to wind me up and it's a waste of my precious time, eBay is a law unto itself and we can do nothing because they don't listen.

Hi Danny, this is the second email I have sent on this subject and both times I have had a reply it is non-committal and vague, not dealing with the issue and avoiding what is a serious problem.
I would appreciate it if you would attempt to deal with this issue and try to explain why artist made dolls and bears are in the category designated for KIDS, given the specifically child UNfriendly nature of the items listed in this section of eBay, and also tell me what eBay will do to ensure that we as customers are reaching our target audience and how you can reassure us that you have sellers, YOUR customers interests at heart.

By the way, I am not, as you say,  making a 'suggestion' I am merely pointing out a major problem that has occurred because eBay has made changes which are clearly not in the interests of regular sellers.

I know it won't make one iota of difference if I don't bring my business to your door ever again because there is obviously an agenda for change within eBay that we are not privy to.

You have a great day, too...

Jenny Johnson