FAIR SHAKE

I have thought long and hard about this and I see it this way. What eBay has done has hit many of us so personally that it is often hard to step back and take an impersonal look at this whole situation, but that is just what we need to do.

I think it's fair to say that our past relationship has been seeing eBay as a friend, albeit sometimes a friend with problems. We helped make eBay what it is. Now our "friend" has become selfish and turned their back on us. So we have this personal reaction - let's get away from eBay at all costs - let's get even. It's human nature.

And for those who were occasional sellers, maybe that's fine. But for those who are running a business, depending on this business to feed their families, or even as a second income to cover the extra bills, vacations, home remodeling, etc. - it's not going to work.

So, although you may hate the ideas in this thread, you owe it to yourself to at least consider them.

These ideas are all going to revolve around - continuing to sell on eBay while researching and pursuing other alternatives. Let's lay out the arguments pro and con this idea. I know there's going to be a knee-jerk emotional response - so when you're typing in your response, give it a good readover before you post it and think - is my response pure emotion, or based on good business sense - for my individual business.

The reason I ask this is because a deep sense of comaraderie has evolved out of the entire boycott which leads people to believe that they're being disloyal somehow if they go against what they perceive as the flow. But that's emotional and maybe not the right decision for you as an individual. The right decision is going to be whatever is going to make you and your business successful while still allowing you to help other sellers, build your off-eBay business, and no longer put all your faith and trust in a venue that has proven itself unreliable - or any venue for that matter. Because this is going to be a bit of a long post - consider this the introduction. My next post will explain what I've decided to do with my business, based on watching other successful sellers, and trying to mimic their selling behavior.