Devin Wenig is celebrating his 3-year anniversary as CEO of eBay by cutting costs and laying off workers (a “low single digit percentage of employees”). A spokesperson told EcommerceBytes eBay was sharpening its focus on priority initiatives and aligning its workforce accordingly.
eBay Chief Product Officer RJ Pittman departed this past week, and Wenig has no plans to replace him – a spokesperson told us Pittman’s team would become part of eBay’s Buyer Experience group led by Mohan Patt.
eBay is also replacing its twice-weekly Internet radio program, which had been produced by an outside company, with podcasts.
But Wenig is proceeding with eBay’s brand marketing, tweeting that followers should “expect the next wave of our brand and marketing campaign to launch.”
eBay has been plagued by technical issues to such a degree that an executive was prompted to post an apology with a promise to review its “testing and implementation practices” and institute “an enhanced oversight process for all technical changes that may impact sellers.” Some sellers believe eBay should go further, believing they’re entitled to compensation for the problems that have negatively impacted their sales.
Meanwhile Amazon is gearing up for Prime Day, which takes place on July 17th. Like last year, 24 hours isn’t enough to contain the shopping event – Prime “Day” will kick off at 3 pm Eastern on July 16. All of its Whole Foods Market grocery stores will also be participating in Prime Day deals.
If you missed it, here’s how the Supreme Court ruled in the online sales tax case that has major implications for online retailers.
Also, be sure to check out a new Pay Per Click ad program eBay is testing – Highline Search Ads – and let us know what you think! Sellers already struggling for visibility may not be enthusiastic at having to compete with more ads.
In today’s issue, we take a look at eBay’s new policies around returns. We review essential information for online sellers on how to reach customers through email marketing. Collectors Corner dives into vintage swimwear. And as always, we wrap up with letters to the editor.
Thanks for reading.
Bottom line is Fleecebag is a sinking ship with no hope of a new shipment of bubble gum to fill the holes. Wing Nut will probably jump ship before this happens, taking his millions with him.
What is so disturbing is the sadness and hopelessness that so many sellers have. There is nothing they can do to save their businesses because Wenig is determined to destroy them.
He is a failure who never should have been hired by Ebay in the first place, and he is bringing down a company with his incompetence and greed.
But he will walk away with millions after millions and not think for a second about the lives he ruined.
The board of directors has failed Ebay and many, many people.