Nothing lasts forever and today it’s the turn of eBay Radio to announce it’s farewell to the world after thousands of twice weekly broadcasts stretching back over a decade and a half. The last broadcast will be live from eBay Open in Las Vegas on the 26th of July as eBay Radio closes it’s show for the final time.
After 15 years, the duo of Griff and Lee will be no more, Lee is retiring in 2018 as she has planned for some time and will be able to spend time with her husband John, who has been the engineer on the biweekly show.
Griff is one of eBay‘s longest serving employees and was their first customer support agent as well as serving as the Dean of eBay Education for over a decade. Griff has been the host of eBay Radio ever since its debut in 2003 and is an active seller himself on the site.
eBay Radio won’t disappear entirely, there will be a new downloadable pre-recorded podcast format with a new community page, a chat area and the ever popular call in section will continue with more details to be revealed over the coming weeks. In the short term, the podcast will be called eBay Radio, although the name may change in the future.
I’d like to give a personal thanks to Griff and Lee, they’ve invited me to speak on eBay Radio many times over the years and their dedication and commitment is second to none. eBay has a long and rich corporate and buyer an seller history and eBay Radio is one of the last remaining threads that has longevity of memory. Often when viewing eBay from the outside, you see bright young people absolutely dedicated to the marketplace but if eBay has a fault it’s lack of memory of the past. That’s right and proper in many circumstances, eBay has to move forward to serve a new generation of buyers and sellers but it’s rich tapestry of history shouldn’t be forgotten. eBay Radio is the bastion of memory and, for many, the link to the past and let’s not forget there are sellers on eBay who have been selling for over two decades and buyers who have been buying for over 20 years.
Others in the team include Betsie (eBetsy), the long serving script writer who has been with eBay Radio for as long as I can remember, Melissa the producer, Donna who managed the business side, and CJ, Frank and Burt as well as thousands of guests over the years.
If you’re going to eBay Open this coming July, make sure you find Griff, the Host of eBay Radio for a final chat before he hangs up his microphone at the end of the final broadcast. Griff is not only massively knowledgeable about eBay but he’s also the biggest seller advocate with the ear of the eBay Seller Experience team.
eBay Radio has been fantastic, it will be missed.
3 Responses
Good show but I gave up listening years ago. It was so USA focussed and rarely had much to offer UK sellers. I am sure eBay will be happy to lose it as they themselves gave up listening to me (and sellers in general) years ago as well
Yes in a nut shell there’s NO UK or USA Community Left.. Any Company that grows in the end looses the very reason they started in 1st place,, It’s a great shame really.
I joined KIPLING’S CAKES here in the UK at the very start of the business (owned by Rank Hovis).. Anyway it was exciting, we were growing fast and the Company wanted us the outbased sellers to grow with them There was a Genuine Buzz in the beginning but as the years went by the initially excitement slowly waned…
Anyway I branched myself along the same lines in 85 and I have been self employed ever since.. Sold the busines 9 years ago and moved into semi retirement (so I thought)…
To cut a long story short I went back to my roots and started to build a business on Ebay selling Classic Cameras etc. and to my surprise over the last 9 years I have a 6 figure stash in my bank account which hopefully will keep us in comfort until I start digging up the daisy’s..
Would I give Ebay the time of day now as a start up??…. The short answer is I DON’T KNOW… Maybe that’s because after many years I have reached the dreaded Comfort Level………………………………
I for one will be sad to see it go, I’ve been listening to eBay radio since I can remember, I’ve been on eBay for 16 years this year and tuned in to Griff and Lee regularly. I’ve also found some life long eBay friends via this show, eBetsy (me duck) is one of them. Griff has personally helped me with the odd eBay problem also.
As Dave says above there isn’t much of a community left. I’ve always been an advocate for the eBay Universities and was sad to see them go as the UK needs this type of event and the eBay community coming together in this way, you went if you wanted to and they were all around the country. The only eBay events now are by invitation only, just too selective. I don’t think anyone left in eBay UK HQ were around when these events were taking place.
All the best to Griff and Lee and the team and thanks for the information and laughs over the years.