Following the news that eBay Australia is to go PayPal only from June 17th the Senior Vice President of eBay, in four locations across the country.
Visiting Melbourne, Brisbane and two locations in Sydney, he will explain in person why eBay is making PayPal the only available payment option. There will be a number of eBay and PayPal staff on hand to talk to buyers and sellers and answer any questions individuals may have.
I have to say I’m impressed with eBay this year, Stephanie Tilenius spoke at Catalyst US last week, Lorrie Norrington is to speak at the PeSA/ECMTA summit, and in the UK Mark Lewis will be taking part at Catalyst UK. Senior management are becoming much more available to talk to eBay users than ever before which can only benefit all.
If you’re in Australia and attend one of these sessions be sure to let us know how they go and what buyer and seller opinions are after hearing from Simon.
5 Responses
Simon Smith is completely useless. He’s all corporatespeak and so completely and utterly out of touch with his customers (that would be the sellers; eBay never has figured out who their actual customers are or that the world does not have an infinite supply of people who want to provide eBay with income) it’s beyond laughable. He’s a joke, he really is, but not a very funny one.
Hi Bonni,
Guess you don’t like him. ;O)
When I worked at eBay I had (more than) a few beverages with Simon over the years and I must say that I always greatly enjoyed his company and found him to be one of the more thoughtful and compassionate execs that eBay has. He really bangs the drum for eBay Australia, as a relatively small eBay nation.
You should meet some of the people they don’t let out to meet the customers. ;o)
dw
He might well be a pleasant bloke in person, but his handling of various eBay actions in the past have left a very bad taste in my mouth. His tactic seems to be to let them eat cake. If he has any compassion, he certainly hasn’t shown it anywhere that I’ve ever seen. His total failure to address customers perfectly valid questions (such as during the fee hike of 2006) and to answer only with corporatespeak and bland, empty statements that don’t really have any substance just leaves me cold.
I have to wonder why eBay Australia are always the bastard stepchild who gets singled out for eBay’s latest diabolical scheme. Want to introduce some horrible new change? Try it out on the Australians! They’re a small market, they won’t affect our bottom line, and to HELL with their bottom line…
Bonni,
Do you, frankly, hate eBay?
dw
Do I hate eBay? No. I don’t waste my emotional energy hating multi-national corporations. It’s totally pointless.
I do hate the way honest people end up being steamrollered by some multi-national corporations, but frankly, I haven’t sold on eBay since 2006 (when Simon Smith pretty much ignored any and all legitimate questions from users regarding fee changes).
I don’t hate Simon Smith. I think he’s just corporate, like the rest of the organisation. I don’t hate the corporation. I hate that actual, honest, everyday people end up being hurt, and that they have no redress (because reasoning with a multi-national corporation or its representatives is as effective as bashing one’s head into the wall).