The “death” of Ebay as we know it

Pierre Omidyar launched Ebay on September 4, 1995 as a “place” where ordinary folks like you and me could sell our merchandise on a level playing field with other sellers of all types and sizes. Over the years literally millions of small businesses have sprung up selling their wares on Ebay – many of them exclusively on Ebay.
 
But then the inevitable happened: Ebay became a public corporation, and all of a sudden the friendly “community” that once made everyone feel at home became a restrictive place with lots of one way streets and confusing rules, not to mention an ever-increasing hunger for more and more revenue.
 
Over time, the powers-that-be at Ebay weeded out many of the less profitable (for Ebay) small mom-and-pop sellers, making it clear that they had little room for those who earned little cash for the shareholders. That much was to be expected since we see similar changes any time a company goes public. But lately something quite strange has taken hold at the offices of the online auction giant: Now they’re taking the inexplicable step of driving off their largest sellers too.
 
Guised as an attempt to make Ebay more “friendly” to buyers, the company has raised the fees sellers must pay for every completed transaction and stripped them of the ability to leave feedback for sellers, the longtime cornerstone of the community’s foundation of trust between buyer and seller. Somehow I doubt if this strategy will work.
 
As a former “Ebay seller” and occasional buyer, I feel something of an emotional attachment to the company. That’s why it’s so sad to have to sit back and watch it lose its luster and become a mere shell of its former self. But such is progress I suppose. Like “Main Street America”, the Ebay community is changing into something that bears little resemblance to the one I “grew up in”.