Meg Whitman handed her title as eBay's President and CEO over to John Donahoe on March 31, 2008. "I will say at one point in the first quarter I got an e-mail from my mother that said, "John, eBay sellers may not love you, but your mother does.'"-Quote from John Donahoe, eBay CEO.

If an individual needed something in particular, eBay was the place to search. For people that collected those hard to find items or wanted a book that was out of print, eBay was the place to go. For inexpensive prices on clothing for the kids or video games, eBay was the place to shop.

However, over the last few years buyers and sellers have been finding the site less user friendly and users of the site get little to no support from the company when problems arise. Sellers complain of rising fees while buyers complain that finding a deal on eBay is becoming a thing of the past.

Disgruntled eBay sellers have been able to organize two boycotts, one of which is still ongoing. Some eBay sellers are saying good riddance to the boycotters; it's more sales for them. A majority of eBay buyers are thrilled with the new feedback policy because they will never receive bad feedback. A majority of eBay sellers are up in arms because they have no recourse when dealing with fraudulent activity or non-paying buyers.

Since 1999, I have been an eBay seller and buyer. I have steadily watched eBay's reputation decline like many other businesses that care only for the bottom line. In order for a large corporation to succeed, it must keep the stockholders happy. Sometimes that means stepping on some toes and the small time sellers on eBay have the bruises to prove it.

The new feedback policies are not the only changes that were implemented this year. EBay reduced some of the initial fees to place an item on their site and in turn raised the fee they collect if that item is purchased. When the final math is done, sellers will actually be paying more in fees if that item is sold. Sellers have no choice but to pass these increases onto the buyers.

Being a full time seller on eBay is the same as owning your own business. You must be able to roll with the good, the bad and the ugly. The difference with eBay and owning your own business is eBay is in charge and you must run your business their way. With the new "Best Match" being implemented, eBay decides how your item is placed for buyers to view it.

EBay has good guidelines in place for items that can or cannot be sold on their site. The problem is getting eBay to take action against sellers of fraudulent and counterfeit items being sold on their site. When the U.S. site was opened up to China there was a flood of luxury counterfeit merchandise. On any given day a counterfeit Gucci can be purchased on the site. Animal activist groups are also concerned with eBay allowing the sale of live animals on the eBay-China site.

What this comes down to is eBay has major problems with implementing rules, removing bad sellers and dealing with buyers who defraud good sellers. Insightful advice has been given by the selling community yet eBay has shown time and time again what their priorities are. I believe one thing sellers can agree on is that they are not eBay's priority.

Learn more about this author, Angela Pollock.
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