Hostage to the fans (and the bureaucracy)

Ramit Sethi points me to: New eBay Stores Logo.

This is astonishing big company doubletalk. First, that they'd change the logo at all, second that they'd study it so much, third that they'd bother telling anyone about it, and last that they'd write this much.

Talk about being afraid (of criticism). Here's the riff:

eBay Stores is getting a whole new look! We will soon be replacing the existing eBay Stores logo with a new eBay Stores logo. The change will take effect on the U.S. eBay site in June and on all international eBay sites in July.

The new logo is made up of the eBay logo and the word "stores" in a new, professional-looking, easy-to-read typeface. It is followed by a graphic of an open door, layered on top of multiple doors.

 

The decision to redesign the eBay Stores logo was based on Community feedback and extensive buyer and seller research that was done during the past year, where we found that that existing red tag logo inaccurately reflected what an eBay Store is today. With this in mind, we decided it was time to replace the "red tag" logo with a new brand identity that better reflects what Store sellers and buyers tell us is a key part of their Stores experience: opportunity, trust and convenience.

We understand that this new symbol for eBay Stores can be interpreted in many ways. Our interpretation is that the logo communicates openness and trust, inviting shoppers to come inside and take a look. For sellers, it means opportunity to build and grow your business on eBay and for buyers the convenient opportunity to find the items that you've been looking for. Finally, the multiple doors represent the many businesses that make up the eBay Stores community. We hope that this will resonate well with existing eBay buyers and sellers as well as visitors who first come to eBay.

We recognize that the upcoming change may cause disruption to your business as you start to incorporate the new logo into your eBay listings and Store. Please be assured that we received and incorporated input from many eBay community members before making the decision to change the logo. To ease the transition for existing eBay Stores sellers, we are providing the new logos for you to download so that you can begin updating any printed materials, listings or other collateral pieces well in advance of the change.