Attn. ebay users

[PaulJ]

Those who use ebay may have noticed that the "Boating" category has recently disappeared and the boats and other items that were formally under this category are now mixed up with Go-karts, Lorries, Caravans etc under "Other Vehicles" and also under "Accessories", all under the main heading of "Automotive". I have written to ask why they have done this and their answer is that boating items will reach a wider audience under the Automotive heading..... That is as maybe but anybody looking for marine stuff simply won't find it!

"Boating" was a reasonably large category with between 300-400 items for sale most of the time so please would other users write to complain about this.... the more who write, the more likely we are to get all our stuff under one heading again.

 

[Johnjo]

Just being there for the last hour trying to find the boat bits,
pulling my hair out,
don't think I will bother again!

mike

 

[Strathglass]

Just posted a message to ebay saying that I do not have the time to trol through their site to find boating items. And they have just acknowledged receipt of my message.

Iain

 

[Guest]

Post deleted by danfoley

 

[tr7v8]

Umm, not sure which Muppet at E Bay thoughtthis is a good idea but he needs shooting!

I'll mail them and add some weight to the complaints! Talking of weight Byrons a regular user of E Bay I suspect (know) he'll have something to say.

Jim
-------------

 

[tilpah]

I suspect that the real reason will be that the cost of advertising a craft will be fixed in the same way that cars and motorcycles are. Accessories will be priced as normal. I haven't checked, but thats my guess.

 

[omega2]

This is the official reply and the name of the muppet.Subj: Re: Other Search questions #UK RD2 (KMM66813318V84334L0KM)
Date: 25/01/03 08:46:46 GMT Standard Time
From: ukwebform@ebay.com
To: johnhm9@aol.com
Sent from the Internet (Details)



Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to write to eBay.

The category has been moved as it is more appropriate to have all
motorised vehicles listed under the one category.

As more and more items of a varied cross section become posted on our
site, we have no choice but to reorganise the categories structure to
enable bidders to find their way around more easily.

This is especially true for bidders who browse the site frequently.

These measures are adapted, not to make life more difficult, but in
order to improve the visibility of your wares to a wider community and
thus make the site more successful for you.

Best wishes,

James Barber
eBay Customer Support
______________________________
eBay
Your Personal Trading Community (tm)

=============================================

Looking for some tips on how to use eBay? Beginning in January we will
be holding a series of workshops on the boards to answer any questions
that you may have. The subjects of the workshops will vary from "How to
complete the Sell Your Item Form" to "Shops - All you need to know!",
"Direct Debit" and "Seller Verification".

To find the Workshops Board, click "Community", then "Chat" in the top
Navigation Bar. The dates of the workshops will be published here, and
on the day itself, scroll down, and you'll find the link to the threaded
Workshop board on the left side of the page.

=============================================



Original Message Follows:
-------------------------

You are bound to get a lot of complaints from this ommision, have you no
idea
the number of transactions that this section generates?

Subj: Re: Other Search questions #UK RD2 (KMM66813318V84334L0KM)
Date: 25/01/03 08:46:46 GMT Standard Time
From: ukwebform@ebay.com
To: johnhm9@aol.com
Sent from the Internet (Details)



Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to write to eBay.

The category has been moved as it is more appropriate to have all
motorised vehicles listed under the one category.

As more and more items of a varied cross section become posted on our
site, we have no choice but to reorganise the categories structure to
enable bidders to find their way around more easily.

This is especially true for bidders who browse the site frequently.

These measures are adapted, not to make life more difficult, but in
order to improve the visibility of your wares to a wider community and
thus make the site more successful for you.

Best wishes,

James Barber
eBay Customer Support
______________________________
eBay
Your Personal Trading Community (tm)

=============================================

Looking for some tips on how to use eBay? Beginning in January we will
be holding a series of workshops on the boards to answer any questions
that you may have. The subjects of the workshops will vary from "How to
complete the Sell Your Item Form" to "Shops - All you need to know!",
"Direct Debit" and "Seller Verification".

To find the Workshops Board, click "Community", then "Chat" in the top
Navigation Bar. The dates of the workshops will be published here, and
on the day itself, scroll down, and you'll find the link to the threaded
Workshop board on the left side of the page.

=============================================



Original Message Follows:
-------------------------

You are bound to get a lot of complaints from this ommision, have you no
idea
the number of transactions that this section generates?



J HAMER

 

[HaraldS]

Re: Attn. ebay users -- What a difference

Really amazing! I have been using ebay in Germany on boating bits for a long time and it is a completely differnt world.

Nicely sorted Sports/Boating/ ... Equipment, Navigation etc. Such fine categorizing is particularly impoatant ,since their search machine is notoriously overloaded and just hangs.

Promted by this thread I just checked in at the UK site, also to offer some charts, electronic and paper, that might be of more interest to UK clientel, but hopeless, I wouldn't even know where to pace.

Found a section on aviation, but none on boating, and that in the UK?!

Shocked.

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.taniwani.de>http://www.taniwani.de</A>

 

[byron]

<font color=blue> Hmmm! I'm in a quandary now, I found the section easily and wasn't even aware there had been a change.
Naturally I was bookmarked for the page so I went in as a Newbie and just perforned a search from the main page with the word 'yacht' this found several appropriate items but didn't show a dedicated page. Seems to me that Ebay have made a booboo but I guess if someone is really dedicated the will eventually find the heading 'boats & watercraft' but will be hard tasked to do so.

http://www.alexander-advertising.co.uk

 

[dickh]

Yes, I noticed it had moved but as I had it as a fovourite it didn't matter - but do agree it would be difficult to find for a newbie.
Just as bad as our local Yellow Freads - boats now come under Holidays! - can't see the connection...

dickh
I'd rather be sailing... /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

 

[PaulJ]

'Word for word the same as I got! Thanks for your support chaps..... Keep writing as I said, the more who write the more chance we have that it will be changed back.... It wasn't broke so why did they fix it?

 

[tr7v8]

My response, just arrived....


Thank you for taking the time to write to eBay. I'd be happy to help you
with this concern.

The category has been moved as it is more appropriate to have all
motorised vehicles listed under the one category.
As more and more items of a varied cross section become posted on our
site, we have no choice but to reorganise the categories structure to
enable bidders to find their way around more easily. This is especially
true for bidders who browse the site frequently.
These measures are adapted, not to make life more difficult, but in
order to improve the visibility of your wares to a wider community and
thus make the site more successful for you.

Best wishes,

Lena Brown
eBay Customer Support


Don't look like they intend changing it!

Jim
------

 

[quaelgeist2]

Appears to be exclusively targeted at the UK users - other country versions remain in the usual structure and much more user-friendly !

Go there - most guys will send across Europe and the brands / parts will be there anyway...

funny people at e-bay UK - the response printed below is pathetic !

chris

 

[yachtbits]

If you do manage to find it, there is a very nice Raymarine RL70RC radar/chartplotter display on there at the moment. direct link is as follows,

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=15263&item=2705754631

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.yachtbits.co.uk>http://www.yachtbits.co.uk</A>
sales@yachtbits.co.uk
marine electrics & electronics

 

[rwh]

For eBay users in the USA this is an old hat. They changed this here already 6-8 months ago. Now we have to go to the automotive section and then look for boats or parts, which is kept under separate headings. Was a pain to get used to and a lot of people complained but mighty eBay ignored it all. If you should email them, as I did, you will receive a kindly worded "[ah em!] off" message and that is all. The real reason for this change is that they can extract higher fees for items in the automotive section. After it is all said and done, you get used to it and the volume of listings on eBay USA is back to where it was before the change. After all, people are always looking for bargains.

 

[HaraldS]

A few days ago I said it was a lot better at e-bay Germany, this week they changed. Boats are now automobiles too. And yes, the motivation seems clear.

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.taniwani.de>http://www.taniwani.de</A>