New Year's Reflections & Gratitude From Value Added Resource

As 2021 comes to a close - a little New Year's reflection and gratitude.

I launched Value Added Resource in late March 2021 with the goal to create a site dedicated to providing news, insights and a place for sellers to help other sellers and discuss the eBay selling experience.

It all started with an email and an invitation from a friend:

Scrutineering 101: How To Win Friends & Influence Corporations

Reflections & observations on the power of sellers to effect positive change in the eBay marketplace.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

Since then, there's been an explosion in growth reaching over 10,000 unique visitors in December.

Authenticity Guaranteed and the Top Star buyer loyalty program were the most popular topics of the year.

Problems With eBay Authenticity Guaranteed

eBay’s authentication program experiences pricing manipulation, delays, & mistakes causing frustration for buyers & sellers.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

eBay Top Star Buyer Loyalty Program

It appears eBay has launched an exclusive invite only buyer loyalty program in stealth mode.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

eBay disabling the search by image feature and seller concerns about chargebacks and payment disputes closely followed.

eBay Disables Search By Image In Mobile App

eBay has temporarily disabled the search by image function in both the Android and iOS versions of the mobile app.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

eBay’s Growing Chargeback Problem

Chargebacks are a hot button topic for sellers in Managed Payments. What can eBay do about this growing problem?

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

In terms of impact and engagement, my open letter to CEO Jamie Iannone about eBay's seller trust problem generated the most traffic from eBay registered IP addresses and even more importantly, the most responses from readers.

eBay’s Seller Trust Problem

An open letter to eBay CEO Jamie Iannone on transparency, integrity, feedback and gaining seller trust.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

Thank you to everyone who took the time to reach out and let me know your thoughts about that open letter - your words of encouragement and the stories you shared with me about your own selling experiences are what make all of this worthwhile.

While I'm saying thanks - special shout outs to guest columnist Jackie Miller , Dorm Room Games and Less Than Three Records and Zamo-Zuan for contributing your insights and perspectives on the selling experience.

A few more from Twitter:

Looking Forward to 2022

I started this journey because I was looking for a place where I could express myself and talk about my selling experiences outside the "walled garden" of the eBay community forums (as my friend FidoMaster called it). My goal for this site has always been to empower other sellers to do the same.

My plans for 2022 and beyond include doubling down to provide even more deep dive investigations and explanations, seller tool and feature reviews, and breaking eBay news coverage.

Beyond that, I want to expand the reach and engagement with sellers like you,  possibly to YouTube or a dedicated forum where sellers can share their experiences and discuss critical issues impacting their businesses - leave suggestions in the comments below!

From day one, I've chosen to make this site a completely independent, ad-free experience and I'm committed to continuing down that path.

Value Added Resource is built on the core values of trust, transparency, respect, and reciprocity. I view my readers and subscribers as valuable resources, not data to be tracked and sold to the highest bidder.

You won't find distracting or privacy invading display ads, sponsored content, or affiliate links on this site for one simple reason - I believe serving readers instead of corporate ad interests is the best way to pursue the kind of independent, investigative and impactful reporting that lies at the heart of why I started this whole crazy thing in the first place.

It's my job to bring value to all of you and hopefully if I've done that job well, you'll want to be part of this journey in some way too. I'll have more on this in the coming week, but for now here's how you can help Value Added Resource kick off 2022.

Like, share, follow, subscribe - If you enjoy the content found here at Value Added Resource, please pass it on!

Follow on Twitter and Facebook. Subscribe to receive weekly newsletter updates.

Reach out with questions, concerns, ideas & feedback - I love hearing from readers! If you have story ideas, feedback about this site, want to submit a letter to the editor or guest post pitch, or just stop by to say hi, my messages on Twitter and Facebook are always open and so is my email.

Financial support - as the site continues to grow and expand, so does the cost to keep it running.

Jamie talks a lot about the high value users who "wake up in the morning, grab a cup of coffee, and jump on eBay." I'm not sure I'm exactly what he had in mind with that statement, but never the less - you'll find me most mornings doing exactly that to bring you unique perspectives and content you won't find anywhere else. 😉

If you'd like to buy me a cup of coffee for those early mornings or help keep the wheels turning and gears grinding here at Value Added Resource, contributions are always much appreciated.

Wishing everyone a safe and wonderful New Year!

~ Liz Morton - Value Added Resource

Liz Morton is the founder and editor of Value Added Resource. She is an ecommerce veteran with over 15 years of hands on selling experience and a passion for assertive advocacy and effecting positive change in the eBay marketplace.