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but I was wrong.
In a few weeks, we plan to introduce item condition (e.g., Circulated and Un-circulated) to eBay Coins category.
Item condition is an important piece of information for buyers, and we’ve found that listings with specified conditions are more likely to sell.
While buyers won’t be able to immediately filter using item condition, the item condition selected by the seller will appear on the item page just above the description.
So, to summarize... eBay will be reducing a 70 point, multi-adjective grading scale to one of two Item Specific choices. And buyers can't search using it.
Just in case you're wondering how monumentally stupid this is, here is a range of values for one specific item I picked out of a pricing guide after an exhaustive 30 second search:
Jefferson 5 Cents: 1954-D
VG8 - 0.07
F12 - 0.07
VF 20 - 0.08
XF40 - 0.10
AU50 - 0.15
MS60 - 0.19
MS63 - 0.35
MS64 - 5.00
MS65 - 12.00
MS66FS - 2,250.00
BTW- for the benefit of the non-collectors here, MS60 through MS66FS are all uncirculated. I'm sure examples with even more ridiculous price spreads exist.
Good work, eBay!
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It really does appear to be a bunch of folks who've never worked in the real world, never bothered to learn about any area of collectibles, but have to justify their existence by changing stuff regularly. Regardless of what sense it makes or who it harms. Maryanne
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Collectible Pottery/glass sellers went thru the item specifics junk a couple years ago. We raised such a huge stink about it because our buyers tend to browse or do a very loose search, they finally rolled it back.
Good luck.
Jo
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About the only response that makes sense to this change would be a mass exodus of sellers and buyers of coins to another online site, with fanfare similar to Waggledump.
Unfortunately, there is a good chance that fleeing eBay successfully might result in eBay buying any new coin sales online site.
Perhaps a better strategy would be to organize the coin sellers into a large group and approach an established site such as iOffer, Bidville, eBid.us, Overstock, etc. and see if whatever needs your group has can be met by them in a speedy manner. Get them started by getting them free advertising for a couple months in the major coin magazines, newsletters, etc.
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Originally Posted by mrpotatoheadd
will be reducing a 70 point, multi-adjective grading scale to one of two Item Specific choices. And buyers can't search using it.
Never underestimate the power of stupidity (if it ain't broke don't fix it).
Fortunately in this case you can opt out of the optional listing requirement (if it's same as on the rest of eBay). Continue to list with all the standard grading data which will still be searchable in the usual manner.
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So, to summarize... eBay will be reducing a 70 point, multi-adjective grading scale to one of two Item Specific choices. And buyers can't search using it.
The fact that buyers can't search using it is GOOD. It is as pointless as the New/Used that was added to the entire Australian site a couple of years ago. For those selling vintage/collectible items it is meaningless, and any buyer who has the slightest clue knows it is meaningless as well.
Don't fill it in, and describe the condition of your items properly. Any idiots who rely on the box for description/"grading" of condition will only lose genuine buyers who want to know what they are really buying. It is typical Ebay management ineptitude, but it is actually one that should have no effect on the genuine market.
Cheers, Kevin
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Originally Posted by Kevin_T
It is typical Ebay management ineptitude, but it is actually one that should have no effect on the genuine market.
It's true enough that this particular "feature" will have no practical effect, and can be easily ignored or avoided.
What bothers me, though, is that the same fools who thought this was a good idea will eventually think something else (which screws things up big-time) is a good idea, too. And that something will turn out to be something that can't be ignored or avoided.
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I know what you mean MPH. It's not so much the action itself, it's the fact that eBay is capable and likely to do stupid things that affect sellers in a negative way, because of their ignorance.
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It takes many high price man hours to manage to wring out yet another way to increase ebay profits and steal from sellers. Probably 90% of their costs goes to this effort.
We are to be happy with our $1.00 profit because after all, they are out every penny they have to dream up new fees and ways to increase old ones. And they probably have the most talented thieves in the business.
Expecting smooth operations is straining ebay business practices to the breaking point.