Open House Chat with Rathin Lahiri - Head of Marketing, eBay India

[rohit@ebay.com]

Dear Users,

We are pleased to announce the next session of our Open House Program, where users get an opportunity to chat with the eBay India Team.

Join Rathin Lahiri, Head of Marketing for an online discussion on buying and selling on eBay India.

Rathin will be available on this thread on Thursday, the 2nd of Februaury, 2006, from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM IST, for an interactive discussion with our community members.

You can submit your questions before or during the event by making a post on this thread. For help on using the discussion boards, please click here - http://forums.ebay.in/thread.jspa?threadID=300000542.

See you on the 2nd at 4:00 PM!

Thanks and Regards,
Rohit,
Community Development Team

[rathin@ebay.com]

Dear np2028,

I regret the unpleasant experience you had on the site. We have already asked the concerned team to investigate into this. We have a Purchase Protection Program to help users who have had similar experiences. You can find more information about this here - http://pages.ebay.in/help/tp/inr-snad-process.html
warm regards

Rathin

[rathin@ebay.com]

Dear nisha_online,

Let me assure you that we shall be considering all the feedback we receive from users, whether buyers or sellers. However, it might not always be possible to act on every feedback we receive, for the simple reason that we have to consider the impact on the entire community. And the community for us includes new buyers, new sellers, experiences users, as well as International users. It is for this reason that sometimes our users feel that we are slow in making changes. Having said that, we appreciate the feedback, and I hope you will see some positive changes about the speed of development going forward.

1. Buyer Verification - I have already answered this query in my reply to user cameras_n_such. Keep watching our Announcements for more information about this!

2. Nigerian Fraudsters - We just recently had an internal meeting to discuss this very issue, and how best we can tackle it. I wish to inform you, and our entire community, that we are closely monitoring this issue, and suspended many new users before they have a chance to do any activity on the site.
The new option within Buyer Requirements for SMS verification will be another big help in this.
We are also planning user education, especially to our new sellers, so that they are aware of this issue, and do not have a bad experience.
We shall continue to work on tackling this issue better. It is clearly a big concern for our community, and us.

3. Response from eBay - Firstly, I apologize for the delay in this. As I have mentioned earlier, we have already taken steps to improve the Customer Support experience of our users. But we clearly have a long way to go. I am sure you will see a definite improvement in this area going forward. I request you to please continue giving us your regular feedback about this, so that we know how we are progressing.

4. Finally, yes, we are committed to making ebay.in the best destination for online shopping. This is what all of us are working towards, and we will need all your support and co-operation as we take steps which will help us get there.
warm regards

Rathin

[rathin@ebay.com]

Dear kuriens123,

Thank you for your post. I have already asked the concerned team (PaisaPay) to look into this issue. But if you have already paid for the item using PaisaPay, or even otherwise, please do not transfer the money directly to the sellers account.
warm regards

Rathin

[rathin@ebay.com]

Dear rajchopra316,

I regret the unpleasant experience you are having with your very first transaction on eBay. From what you have mentioned, it seems that the particular seller has been suspended from the site, possibly due to his having violated our policies. If this is indeed the case, I would urge you to exercise caution, and not pay the seller directly. You can also ask for a reversal from your Credit Card company for this payment.

I would request you to please contact our Customer Support using the following link - http://pages.ebay.in/help/contact_us/_base/index.html. Our Customer Support team will be the best people to help you resolve this issue.

Here's a tip for new buyers - always check the 'Feedback' of the seller before making a purchase decision. Feedback reflects what past buyers of the seller have to say about their experiences with that particular seller. You can find out more about Feedback here - http://pages.ebay.in/help/feedback/questions/feedback.html
warm regards

Rathin

[indconcepts]

Dear Rathin Lahiri,

Hello,

Lot is being talked about levying a Listing fee on ebay.in

On the 19th Post you have said that "we are a nascent e-commerce market"

So, do you think putting up a listing fee would improve the site overall.
Don't you think that most of the new Sellers would shy away.
Don't you feel that the prices of the Items would rise and Buyer won't be able to get a better deal.

I myself feel that on most of the other Indian sites the prices are much more than that on ebay.

So, wouldn't it effect the marketing....as far as your department is concerned.

IndConcepts

[rathin@ebay.com]

i have finished answering the questions sent earlier , if you have any questions to ask pls do so by clicking on the post a reply link
warm regards

Rathin

[rathin@ebay.com]

Hello Indconcepts

This is a important topic of debate even within ebay , we are considering the pros and cons of charging listing fees. points like impact on sellers , new sellers , prices charged to customers , competition impact are some of the factors we will take into account before we take any decision on this
warm regards

Rathin

[snrama]

Hi,

As a seller, Though the marketing of eBay is good, I suggest eBay to encourage new sellers and verify Buyers so that there will be more genuine buyers at eBay and transaction will be even more smooth. ---------------
With Regards,
Navaneeth (snrama) 😉

[rathin@ebay.com]

Hello snrama,

Firstly, let me thank you for your efforts to educate our users on these forums. Thanks also for your appreciation of the marketing we do.

To your point, yes, we are focused on attracting more and more new sellers to the site. We have a dedicated Seller Marketing team who organize various events across the country where we talk to potential users about selling on eBay.

On Buyer Verification, as I have mentioned earlier as well, we will soon be launching a new feature within the 'Buyer Requirements' section. Keep watching our Announcements for more information on this!
warm regards

Rathin

[rathin@ebay.com]

Ok, as we have no more new questions...

Thank you all for participating in this Open House. It was a good learning experience for me, and I really enjoyed it. I look forward to more such opportunities to interact with you, our Community, going forward.
warm regards

Rathin