I managed to spend some time this afternoon with Danny Chang, Manager of Buyer Strategy for eBay Motors. We had actually connected via Twitter when I first set up the eBayInkBlog Twitter feed. Check out and “follow” the eBay Motors Twitter feed here: http://twitter.com/ebaymotors.

Danny wanted to talk about ways in which Motors could use social media to further “drive” awareness and get their stories out there. In addition to launching the Twitter feed, he is also the guy behind the eBay Motors Facebook application: Bling My Ride: http://apps.facebook.com/blingmyride/ (I haven’t had a chance to play with it fully yet but at first glance it seems a lot more immersive and “sticky” than a lot of the apps that get sent my way).

It was the reasons behind why Danny wants to embrace social media tools for eBay Motors that got me most interested. Like Alan Lewis’ goals with the Desktop App Usability Study he wants to find out exactly what buyers and sellers want out of eBay Motors. He indicated that the team has a list of feature upgrades that they prioritize internally but he would love to find out what the majority of buyers and sellers believe is the most important - and if that matches up with what they’re targeting internally.

I had suggested setting up a simple online survey tool (a la Survey Monkey) that could solicit input from users to ultimately drive actual feature enhancements from the people directly affected by said enhancements. Something that he was very excited about pursuing further.

So, that’s two meetings with managers tasked with enhancing specific arms of eBay’s business that are embracing social media tools in order to accomplish it. More importantly, they’re committed to using direct input from eBay consumers in order to make it happen.

As soon as Danny gets that survey up and running, I’ll do my part on promoting it here on Ink.

Cheers,
RBH

Two weeks ago, Gala, one of the most popular lifestyle magazines in Germany started a charity auction of unique photos, showing German musicians wearing Tiffany & Co jewelry… The auction kicked off with a big lifestyle event in Hamburg with a co-branded logo board of Gala, Tiffany & Co and eBay at the red carpet. If my timing is correct, it was right before the Tiffany vs. eBay verdict was communicated… I think the above photo is proof positive that when it comes to charity, all differences are left at the door.

The proceeds of the event went to Dunkelziffer e.V., a society committed to helping abused children.

-RBH

Please let me know in the comments if this one is posing problems for you or not. Really want to continue to give readers access to presentations I get my hands on but not at the expense of functionality or performance of the blog.

Cheers,
RBH

eBay Desktop
According to Alan, the majority of initial users of the Desktop application are those folks that are ahead of the technology curve, willing to try new things. He also pointed out that the interaction on Desktop vs. eBay.com is philosophically different with the former being more personal and the latter being more open and social. In a follow-up discussion, Alan indicated that the in-person usability study went quite well last week so I’d like to get more info on that too.

We both agreed that the seller functionality is needed on the Desktop application to propel it into more of a mainstream status and it appears that this functionality is written into the product timeline (no hints on dates here though I’m afraid). On the flip-side, one of my personal favorite features of eBay Desktop is “Search Feeds” or simply “Feeds”. This feature allows you to access your favorite searches or create new ones, and view them as “feeds” just as you would in an RSS reader. You can also see if an item is new and delete items you’re not interested in. As the Desktop application gains more traction this feature will need to be addressed on ebay.com too because users will come to expect it.

eBay iPhone Application
I had written about the eBay iPhone application back at the beginning of June and now that it’s live, I’d like to have a sit down with Ken Sun and Alan about the future plans of the app (including international plans). I did ask Alan what Steve Jobs thought of the application when Ken first demoed it to him in his office and his first impression was that he called it a real “meat and potatoes application” - something that actually brings value to the iPhone customer and not just a flashy feature. I guess when the app was first featured on the homepage it received 3 times the normal number of click-thrus and enjoyed the highest percentage of click-thrus for that slot.

On working at eBay
Alan has been with eBay for 4 and a half years now and we talked about the changes he has seen over the past few years and what his observations are overall. Sure, we talked about all the great things about working here at eBay and why we come to work every day but I wanted to talk about ways in which we could do better as a company.

He stressed that he feels communication has been flawed at times and that we need to do a better job communicating directly with all of our constituencies. Something we’ve talked a lot about here on Ink. He also talked about the shift in priorities. He contends that from 1999 to 2004, the company’s biggest priority was keeping up with the growth of the site and most decisions were made with scalability in mind. As a result, site usability ultimately suffered somewhat. Since that time, all new feature and product enhancements have been focused squarely on the user experience. Right now, we’re focusing on the buyer experience because this was a more neglected area during the time of great scalability… having said that, he also indicated that he didn’t feel like it is a buyer vs. seller approach (a lot of the time eBay users are both) but that every decision made is targeted at the overall user experience.

All in all, a very interesting discussion and one that I want to continue with him in the near future. Looping Ken Sun in too so we can chat more about the iPhone App.

Cheers,
RBH

“AE continuously strives to provide the best possible online shopping experience for its customers,” said Fred Grover, executive vice president, e-commerce and international, American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. “Offering PayPal as a safe and reliable option for payment gives all of our customers the flexibility they need when shopping on our Web site.”

Beginning July 31 through August 15, customers who make purchases on http://www.ae.com using PayPal will receive 20% cash back into their PayPal accounts.*

“Millions of PayPal account holders prefer to pay with PayPal because of the security and convenience our service provides,” said Mary Anne Gillespie, vice president of sales at PayPal. “Because American Eagle is one of the most popular fashion sites in the country, we are excited to add it to the growing list of places to shop with PayPal - just in time for back-to-school shopping.”

Today’s news comes on the heels of eBay’s Q2 earnings’ results in which PayPal continued to perform “like a gem”, as John Donahoe put it, with the Merchant Services business continuing to grow dramatically. Payments from e-commerce merchants now represent 49 percent—nearly half—of PayPal’s total payment volume. OfficeMax and American Eagle Outfitters join a large group of household brands (such as JetBlue, Delta Airlines, and Blockbuster Video).

Cheers,
RBH

* Visit ae.com for terms and conditions of the offer.

Effective in October, Rajiv Dutta, President, eBay Marketplaces, will retire from the company. Lorrie Norrington will be succeeding Rajiv as President of eBay Marketplaces. She will report directly to eBay President and CEO John Donahoe. John announced it on the eBay Q2FY08 earnings call this afternoon.

KEY QUOTES FROM THE OFFICIAL RELEASE:

“Rajiv has made tremendous contributions to eBay’s growth and success, and has been an extraordinary leader over the past decade,” John Donahoe said. “We wish Rajiv well, and know he will continue to be a strong supporter. He will always be part of the eBay Community.”

“I am deeply grateful to have been part of building eBay for the past decade.” Rajiv Dutta said. “With clear growth strategies and a very strong management team in place, the time is right for me to step away. I will remain a passionate champion of eBay and our powerful Community of buyers and sellers who make eBay the most unique and dynamic marketplace in the world.”

“It’s been a real privilege to work with Rajiv on re-accelerating growth in our Marketplace,” Lorrie Norrington said. “We have strong growth strategies in place and a team committed to changes that create a healthy, vibrant Marketplace for the eBay Community. We want eBay to be the most competitive marketplace online, offering great opportunities for sellers and terrific experiences for buyers.”

With Norrington’s promotion, Stephanie Tilenius, General Manager of eBay North America, will assume additional responsibilities for all of eBay North America operations, including some functions that previously reported to Norrington. Tilenius also continues to be responsible for global product management.

The full press release can be found here: eBay Executive Changes

Lorrie has been positioned quite front-and-center since I joined eBay back in January - she was the only executive to share the keynote stage with John Donahoe at eBay Live! last month - so her appointment comes as no surprise; a natural progression for her within the organization. And congratulations are in order - I’ll be interested to get some time with Lorrie in the near future to talk about the new challenges and opportunities she’ll be facing.

That being said, it will be sad to see Rajiv go. Although my interaction with him has been limited, I enjoyed what conversations we did have over the short period of time I’ve been here. For the co-workers and colleagues he leaves behind after 10 years of working together, I’m sure the move is much more bittersweet; happy for Rajiv to take advantage of spending more time with his family and reflect on all that has been accomplished since 1998, but most definitely sorry to see him go.

Cheers,
RBH

Read the full press release here: eBay Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2008 Results

To listen to the Q2 2008 Earnings call at 2pm PT this afternoon, please click here. If you’re unable to listen at 2pm but have access to a PC, I’ll be live-blogging via Twitter starting around 2pm: http://twitter.com/ebayinkblog.

Quarterly business highlights (from the press release)
• eBay Inc. repurchased approximately 19 million shares of its outstanding common stock at a cost of approximately $566 million. Since the inception of the share buyback program in the third quarter of 2006, the company has repurchased $4.7 billion of its common stock.
• eBay announced initiatives to enhance the safety and vibrancy of the marketplace including: new rewards and discounts for PowerSellers and expanded protections for customers using PayPal.
• eBay Motors completed agreements to feature certified pre-owned inventory from Chrysler, GM, Lexus and Ford on its showroom hub.
• The company’s global classifieds businesses averaged 81 million unique visitors per month during the quarter, representing and increase of 121% year-over-year.
• StubHub announced a deal making it the official online secondary ticket marketplace for Madonna’s 2008 North America Tour. The company reached a milestone with its 15 millionth ticket sold.
• PayPal Merchant Services signed deals with Delta Airlines, Blockbuster.com, Arcadia Group (U.K.) and William Hill (U.K).
• Skype launched 4.0 in Beta, the largest redesign of the Skype interface since the company’s inception.
• Skype named former Motorola veteran, Scott Durchslag, to the position of chief operating officer overseeing product strategy and marketing.

UPDATE:
Rajiv Dutta is retiring from eBay. Lorrie Norrington to succeed. Full post here

Cheers,
Richard.

Related Reads:
* eBay profits up 22 percent on listing gains
* Skype Annualized Revenues Now Top $500 Million
* Ebay reports 338 million Skype users
* Earnings: eBay Q2 Revs Up 20 Percent; Income Up 22 Percent; Skype Up 51 Percent
* eBay: Q2 Beats Street; Q3 Outlook a Bit Light

At 9:15am PT today word came down that eBay had indeed won the case over Tiffany. Details are still coming in but for now, I received the following statement from an eBay spokesperson…

“Today’s decision is a victory for consumers. The ruling confirms that eBay acted reasonably and has adequate procedures in place to effectively address counterfeiting. The ruling appropriately establishes that protecting brands and trademarks is the primary burden of rights owners. While today’s decision is a victory for consumer choice, it is a shame that so much effort has been wasted when Tiffany could have worked with eBay to more effectively fight counterfeits. eBay will continue to lead the industry with innovative solutions to stop the sale of counterfeits.”

This is an initial reaction to the ruling. At first glance though, this looks like a best-case scenario for eBay and eBay users. I managed to take a quick look at the 65-page ruling from the Honorable Richard J. Sullivan, District Judge of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Here are some tidbits:

“…It is clear that Tiffany and eBay alike have an interest in eliminating counterfeit Tiffany merchandise from eBay - Tiffany to protect its famous brand name, and eBay to preserve the reputation of its website as a safe place to do business…”

“… the court concludes that Tiffany has failed to carry its burden with respect to each claim alleged in the complaint. First, the Court finds that eBay’s use of Tiffany’s trademarks in its advertising… is a protected, nominative fairs use of the marks…”

“Second, the Court finds that eBay is not liable for contributory trademark infringement. In determining whether eBay is liable, the standard is not whether eBay could reasonably anticipate possible infringement, but rather whether eBay continued to supply its services to sellers when it knew or had reason to know of infringement by those sellers…”

“The result of the application of this legal standard is that Tiffany must ultimately bear the burden of protecting its trademark.”

UPDATE: The following public statement was made by eBay at 1:30pm PT

eBay Inc. Applauds Court’s Rejection of Tiffany Counterfeit Claims Court’s ruling reaffirms consumer choice for authentic merchandise San Jose, Calif. — Monday, July 14, 2008 — eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY; www.ebay.com) today praised a federal judge’s ruling in the Tiffany vs. eBay trademark case, affirming the company’s leading efforts to fight counterfeits and to support consumer choice to buy and sell authentic merchandise online. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York also declared that eBay takes appropriate steps to remove suspected counterfeit listings as part of the company’s additional efforts to provide a safe and trusted marketplace. Furthermore, the court also found that Tiffany was responsible for policing its own trademark on eBay. “We are extremely pleased that this ruling supports consumers by allowing them greater choice and value through the global marketplace that eBay provides,” said Rob Chesnut, senior vice president and legal counsel at eBay. “This decision validates that eBay has always been committed to fighting counterfeits in a way that goes beyond what the law requires. We see this as an important victory for our global community of buyers and sellers.” Counterfeit items are prohibited on eBay. eBay pioneered the fight against counterfeits on the Internet, and its groundbreaking initiative, the Verified Rights Owners program, allows eBay to collaborate with over 18,000 rights owners to help eBay identify and remove counterfeits from the site. “This ruling appropriately established that protecting trademarks is the primary burden of rights owners – not marketplaces like eBay,” Chesnut added. “The court ruled that eBay does in fact meet its responsibilities regarding counterfeits. We aggressively fight counterfeits not only to meet our limited responsibilities, but also because counterfeits hurt the eBay community—the millions of honest sellers building their businesses and buyers who come to eBay for great value and selection. That’s why we want to continue to work with rights owners to aggressively fight the sale of counterfeit items.” The court’s ruling is in line with well established legal precedent which holds that the obligation to enforce trademarks rests with the trademark holder. “The promise of the Internet and companies like eBay has been the ability for entrepreneurs and small businesses to compete with big businesses by having access to a global distribution channel for legal and authentic items,” Chesnut concluded. “We will continue to aggressively protect our marketplace and the innovation and competition it inspires.”

UPDATE: Rob Chesnut talks about the Tiffany ruling:

Cheers, RBH

Related Reads:
- eBay wins counterfeit-sales suit filed by Tiffany
- eBay Claims Victory in the Tiffany Lawsuit
- Judge: Burden of policing eBay for counterfeits is Tiffany’s
- Federal Judge: eBay Doesn’t Have To Ferret Out Trademark Infringers
- eBay v. Tiffany: 4 years later, eBay wins
- eBay Wins Tiffany Case Over Counterfeit Goods

Recalculating Feedback percentages without neutrals: Effective in late August, neutrals will no longer be counted as part of the Feedback percentage. This means we will be recalculating Feedback percentages retroactively for users worldwide. In the interim, no one will lose their PowerSeller status as a result of neutrals being included in their Feedback percentage.

Helping you resolve issues and satisfy buyers: By the end of October, we will roll out a new process to help you resolve issues with buyers, even after the buyer has left negative feedback. Everybody makes mistakes – buyers and sellers alike, and buyers should have a mechanism to change feedback if they make a mistake or if the seller rectifies an issue in a timely manner. Unlike with our previous Mutual Feedback Withdrawal system, our new process will enable buyers to change their feedback of the seller, not just withdraw the rating. We’ll provide more details of this new process in the fall.

The first change is pretty clear cut and great to see… neutrals are not negatives. (I got this wrong back in May… and was quickly corrected and rightfully so). This will be good news for folks in the same boat as Marcia and Harvey.

Additionally, it’s good to see that changes are going to be made to the current Mutual Feedback Withdrawal system, but it looks like the specifics to those changes are in more of a wait-and-see situation. Buyers will now be able to change their actual feedback rating rather than just withdraw feedback and it looks like we’ll have more info on this in the next couple of months.

Lorrie concludes her AB post with the following:
…since we debuted the new Feedback system in May, we have removed more than 60 percent of the negative/neutral feedback left by buyers in an unpaid item (UPI) process. Looking ahead, you will see us continue to take the steps needed to protect your reputation on eBay. In the meantime, you can also protect yourself by following some well-defined best practices in using Feedback. I encourage you to check them out.

Finally, we’re working to resolve other important issues that eBay sellers have raised over the past several months. I hope what I’ve shared with you today demonstrates our commitment to listening and responding quickly with solutions. We want to make eBay a great place for you to do business, but it’s going to take all of us — together — to get it right for the collective good. I want to thank you for your patience, your business and your continued commitment to eBay.

It’s very encouraging to see the company listening to its community and responding in a positive manner. Given Lorrie’s closing remarks, it’s clear that this definitely isn’t the end to changes and revisits to policies that have been rolled out over the past few months.

Based on input I’ve received in email and on Ink, I can think of a few other pain-points that it would be great to see us address: the current stringent rules to the Links Policy to name just one.

Finally, even though it’s good to hear that “we have removed more than 60 percent of the negative/neutral feedback left by buyers in an unpaid item (UPI) process”, I’d also like to find out why a buyer, who doesn’t pay for an item, is still able to leave feedback at all (positive, negative or otherwise).

UPDATE: I’ve received a few questions both in email and on the blog and, as I work on getting answers to a number of the questions, I do feel an immediate point of clarification is needed. Moving forward, neutral feedbacks will be neutral across the board. They will not count against people in their feedback percentage nor will they be counted against people in Seller Non-Performance (SNP) ratings.

Cheers,
RBH

In discussions with internal sources, I learned that the management of Points of Light Institute, a nonprofit organization, became aware of significant financial and operational irregularities in the way the independent contractor was fulfilling travel purchases made by customers on its eBay Store. Once the Points of Light Institute discovered the problem, they severed their relationship with the contractor and began working with law enforcement, legal and accounting representatives to get to the bottom of it all.

According to an interview between The NonProfit Times and Michelle Nunn, president and CEO of the Points of Light Institute, “Points of Light will fulfill travel through July 15 and work to accept the applications for refunds thereafter… The goal is to refund people within 30 days and begin refunds as soon as possible…”

The Points of Light Institute notified affected customers over the 4th of July weekend and posted a message to their website. They’ve also set up a Customer Care Center number at 800-886-6304. Buyers who already paid for travel which falls after the July 15, 2008 window, can apply for a refund at: http://www.pointsoflight.org/estore/refund.html

More updates to this as things develop but in the meantime, if you are affected, make sure to apply for your refund and visit Points of Light’s FAQ page for more details.

I knew that this could directly impact some of Ink’s readers so I wanted to help provide the latest information on this as best I could. I understand that Points of Light is trying to do right by all the buyers affected and here’s hoping they get this handled as swiftly and effectively as possible.

Cheers,
RBH