The Dish network where I live has been showing the show "The West Wing" from
the very first episode, so I began taping it and watching it (I like
watching entire dramatic series from the first one).
I was struck by a story line at the end of the first season, where the
President (Bartlett) has been making weak decisions, trying to steer a
course that will make everyone happy, and in the process pleasing
next-to-no-one, and getting little worthwhile done, and at the end of that
arc, the President's top aide gives him a note that says, "Let Bartlett be
Bartlett", meaning quit making decisions you think everyone else wants, and
start making decisions you personally believe it, and in essence, go back to
the roots of what got him to the Presidency in the first place.
Whether you like this show or hate it is irrelevant. It struck me that there
is a very strong parallel between that TV idea, and eBay's problems.
I say, "Let eBay be eBay". Forget all the changes and new-fangled notions
that have brought eBay down, and return to the roots of what made eBay what
it was.
Get rid of DSR's, and the micro-managing of sellers. Let people charge what
they want for shipping, and above all let search work like it used to.
Charge a reasonable listing fee, and allows hidden reserves, but charge a
high listing fee for reserve auctions, and then rebate 90% of the listing
fee if the item sells, to greatly discourage people listing reserve items
that don't sell.
About the only change from the eBay of 2001 I would suggest would be what I
first saw as a painfully obvious necessary change when I started selling in
large quantity that year.
Qualify all the users (with good ID) and each person gets ONE ID, and if you
screw up bad (with set rules defining what screwing up bad is) then THAT
PERSON is banned, not just their ID.
Let the millions of good buyers and sellers deal with each other just as
they did in 2001, and given today's difficult economy, I think millions of
old users and millions of new ones would flock to the site.
Let eBay be the eBay that was. It worked perfectly well until the leaders of
eBay fixed it until it is now broken (maybe beyond repair).
Bruce
Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com
___________________________________________________________________
How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List
Send a message addressed to: [email protected]
In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L
The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
