eBay's Valeri Yee Rumored To Take On Seller Advocacy & Community Engagement Role

Liz Morton
Liz Morton


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The scuttlebutt amongst sellers is eBay may have a new Senior Manager of Seller Advocacy and Community Engagement, with Valeri Yee rumored to be moving into the role left by Brian Burke earlier this year.

A Value Added Resource reader reached out with the tip after seeing the information shared by a reliable source in an online eBay seller group.

While her LinkedIn profile has not yet been updated to indicate a promotion or title change, it does show her 20 year history at eBay with extensive experience that would absolutely be an asset in this position.

Previous Seller Advocacy and Community Engagement leader, Brian Burke, announcement his retirement earlier this year after almost 25 years at eBay at a time when many longtime community members feel seller engagement from the company has increasingly gone downhill.

eBay Seller Experience, Community Manager Brian Burke Departs After 25 Years
Longtime eBay seller experience and community engagement manager Brian Burke is leaving after almost 25 years at the company.

Since Burke's departure, that perception has only grown with regular community chats with staff discontinued and replaced by occasional "Ask Me About" topics that are anything but "engaging."

eBay Community Hosts “Ask Me About eBay Ads” Discussion
The eBay Community team is hosting next installment of “Ask Me About” discussion series, taking seller questions about new eBay Ads Experience.

And more recently, the eBay for Business Podcast, which used to be co-hosted by Burke and Jim "Griff" Griffith was also abruptly discontinued with Griff saying he isn't retiring (yet) but that eBay's seller engagement efforts were "evolving."

eBay For Business Podcast Abruptly Discontinued - Is Host Jim “Griff” Griffith Retiring?
The eBay for Business Podcast has been discontinued, with host Jim “Griff” Griffith making the announcement on this week’s Fall Q&A roundup.

Valeri Yee had appeared on an episode of the podcast back in August 2023 to give insights into how eBay handles new feature rollouts and glitches - but glossed over a Memorial Day Weekend technical meltdown that had caused major disruptions for both buyers and sellers.

How Does eBay Handle New Feature Rollouts & Glitches?
eBay’s Valeri Yee gives insight into how glitches are handled on the site, but glosses over major Memorial Weekend Meltdown.

If Yee is tapped to fill this crucial Seller Advocacy role, I hope she takes to heart the many lessons that can be learned from longtime eBay community forum members - starting with having an actual, real time, open topic chat session and establishing new ways to transparently and authentically engage with a wide range of sellers on the platform.

eBay has not responded to requests for comment to confirm Yee's promotion, but I'll be keeping an eye out for any announcements in the community forum or at the upcoming Winter Seller Check-In event on November 14 - stay tuned for updates!

What questions and suggestions would you have for eBay's next Senior Manager of Seller Advocacy and Community Engagement? Let us know in the comments below!

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Liz Morton is a 17 year ecommerce pro turned indie investigative journalist providing ad-free deep dives on eBay, Amazon, Etsy & more, championing sellers & advocating for corporate accountability.


Recent Comments
Avatar Placeholderfoxxresell1 hour ago
An update to this situation - Today I will return to Above Average but this last month cost me a 91.8% reduction in impressions, 53.8% drop in listing page views, and 78% drop in revenue as well as paying an additional 6% final value fee on the sales I made. I was fortunate I had some higher value items sell this last week or my revenue numbers would have been well into the 80%.

eBay has responded to my BBB complaint twice. The first time they told me that I deserved below standard because my shipping scans were below the threshold. However, I had to quote their own website to them saying that shipping numbers cannot lead to downgrade to Below Standard.

The second response they just said I would be restored on May 20th completely ignoring the issue at hand, admitting an issue existed, or offering any type of solution.

If this concerns you, this happened to you, or worried it may happen, please take action. In fact, take action anytime eBay is doing somethning wrong. They will change nothing if you don't say anything. If enough people speak up, they do make changes.
Avatar Placeholderfoxxresell1 hour ago
The entire process needs to be overhauled. The numbers that make up their threshold seem to be arbitrary and it does not take a lot to get downgraded. I sell hundreds of items a month but only 3 defects will cause a downgrade. Then, it takes up to a week to get a defect removed from the time you submit an appeal, sometimes have to argue your case, them granting it, and then another two days for the system to catch up. It is beyond ridiculous.

Promoted Listings has changed the game and removing the ability for someone to promote not only cost eBay the revenue, it makes a persons listings invisible. Today is my last day Below Standard and I will finish with 91.8% reduction in impressions, 53.8% drop in listing page views, and 78% drop in revenue.

Your fortunate to get the negative feedback removed. I just had to escalate to the customer service team getting a couple removed where the customer did not read the listing and one complained a part was not included that wasn't being sold and the other didn't read that the vacuum had an issue requiring repair. My appeals were denied without explanation. I have not had them remove feedback since they changed the process over a year ago. I have to escalate to social media and they fight me on it every time.

Most importantly - please take action. Submit feedback on their website, contact the social media team on Facebook, or however you prefer. These issues will remain if we just stay quiet. I let this go before, not this time. Today I will return to Above Average but I am fighting this until something changes.
AvatarLiz Morton6 hours ago
@ConcernedExEbayer I haven't heard of anyone being banned for disabling AI data collection, but definitely interested if you have more details!

https://www.valueaddedresource.net/contact/