This is from a blog post I saw today: It is an open letter to eBay. I hope they read it. If you sell on eBay and you agree with this letter please click the "comments" link below and leave a respectful, courteous reply. We will not approve comments that get "hateful". A simple "I agree" will do or you can say more - it's up to you. I am just trying to communicate a simple message to those at eBay that need to hear us. There's power in great numbers...let's get their attention. Dear eBay, We love you. We really do. You represent opportunity for every level of entrepreneur from the stay home mom to the multi-million dollar corporation that wants to go global. You've changed the way business is done on the Internet. You've helped put household budgets in the black across the globe. BUT... But as the editor of one of the most read eBay newsletters on the planet with nearly 100,000 subscribers (I won't say which one because that's not the point) I have been noticing a very scary trend - and I have a proposed solution. This blog post is an open letter to eBay.com (Specifically addressed to Bill Cobb, Rob Chestnut, Meg Whitman, and any decision makers that care about eBay sellers): You are making it harder and harder for eBay sellers to sleep well at night. I just got yet another email today from an experienced eBay seller that was banned from ever using eBay again for what seems to be no justifiable reason. I get about one every week or so that sounds just like it. - I'm not talking about the JUSTIFIED suspension where someone intentionally broke the rules. - I'm not talking about the clueless new sellers on eBay that don't realize they are running a "real business". - I'm not talking about sellers that violate (even accidentally) copyright laws or your Vero program. - I'm not talking about the JUSTIFIED suspension that you see posted on the "hate eBay" sites. - I'm not even talking about those that just didn't take the time to read the policies (although there are a few gray areas we need to talk about) before they "experimented" with a new strategy that crossed the line. I'm ONLY talking about the cases where EXPERIENCED, HONEST, GOOD people with NOTHING CLOSE TO A POLICY VIOLATION are SHUT DOWN without recourse. I'm sure it's just a fraction of a percentage of sellers that get treated this way, but you have to understand...it's scary to see it happen when many of these people's livelihoods were dependent on having access to your site before they got word from "eBay Trust and Safety" of the judgment against them. I've talked with eBay sellers at all levels. One of the most recent conversations was with a seller that is in your top 10 in number of transactions monthly. They all say the same thing though. It usually goes something like this: "I wonder if eBay will randomly pull the plug some day..." "It's harder to figure out eBay than it is to figure out the IRS..." "I really need to be LESS eBay reliant - they could shut me down so easily it's scary..." These aren't words I put into their mouths. My proposed solution: We need an eBay seller "Tenure" program. In as simple terms as possible here's how it would work: Once you prove yourself to be an HONEST, RELIABLE, CARING member of the eBay seller community you are granted the honor of "tenure" and you will NEVER be blind sided by a "shut down". Set the bar high eBay. Give us something to work for. We don't mind. Don't let just anyone into the tenure program. But once we are "in" give us the courtesy of a phone call and a chance to explain our side of any situation that arises. Give us a chance to "fix" it. Give us a chance to change course if necessary. I recently attended an eBay "town hall" meeting by invitation. Rob Chestnut, Bill Cobb and a handful of other good people were there representing eBay. It was time well spent. The best question that night though (it drew an applause unlike any other I recall from the crowd) came from a sweet middle aged mom seated in the back of the room. Her question for the eBay executive panel was this: "I'm just so nervous about being shut down some day by eBay. I don't think I'm doing anything wrong but I've really become quite dependent on the income my eBay business is bringing my family. Is there anything I can do to SLEEP BETTER (her exact words) and be sure I won't be shut down for doing something wrong one day?" To be honest with you Bill Cobb, the answer you gave didn't do much to put anyone in the room at ease. You had great intentions, but the heart of the issue wasn't addressed. A better answer would have been... "Work towards getting your eBay tenure. We NEVER shut down a tenured eBay seller unless there is extreme and unresolvable issues in play. You'll get every chance to correct the situation and you'll have a live rep assigned to your case before we even think of passing a judgment against your account." Finally eBay executives, please don't play the "budget" card on this one. We aren't stupid. We know you can't possibly offer tenure to tens of thousands of eBay sellers and we aren't asking for that. We just want something to work towards. Like I said - set the bar high and let us aim for it. Hopefully the number of comments this blog gets as word spreads will be evidence for you of the need for such a program
Orignal From: Why Sellers Love eBay and Hate eBay - AND a Solution
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