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Project San Dimas: New eBay Beta Interface

April 24th, 2007 • Related • Filed Under

eBay are currently working on a new user interface which has been given the project name: Project San Dimas. The interface will hopefully make it easier for users to buy and sell items, as well as allowing hardcore eBay users to watch multple items at the same time, as well as numerous other improvements.

A few years ago I nearly joined Paypal as Head of Business Development in the UK, but the final job offer didn’t materialise mainly because the UK management team got removed while I was waiting for my offer. One of the areas I asked about was why the Paypal and eBay interfaces were so bad and clunky. Although the people I spoke to agreed with me, they said it was hard to make any drastic changes because although the interface was in need of improvement, it was nevertheless one that its users were used to.

Judging by the screenshots I’ve seen, Project San Dimas looks like it will be a major overhaul for eBay if it ever sees the light of day. If eBay do go ahead with Project San Dimas it will be a very bold and brave move.

What other services would you like to see overhauled? One that I can think of from the top of my head is E*Trade. I’m a loyal user as I helped setup the UK service back in 1998 when I worked in Corporate Finance, but the interface is so awful and dated now. For instance, if I don’t login to E*Trade via a certain page I can’t work out how to view my portfolio, and I have to log out and start again. Half of the links don’t work, and for some reason I seem to be navigating through 3 versions of the site at the same time.

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About the Author

Everton is based in London and has worked in the internet and mobile space for over ten years now, and before that worked in corporate strategy and consulting. He has a degree in Economics from Cambridge University, and currently runs the Portal and online operations for one of the largest ISPs in the UK. He also writes for Windows 7 News.

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There Are 4 Responses So Far. »

#1

Comment by moneymaker on 24 April 2007:

finally! finally! they have the ugliest interface although they have millions of members. good thing they finally decided to change the interface.
#2

Comment by Nathan on 24 April 2007:

I am confused? This article refers to eBay chaning their interface - they are not!

Project San Dimas is a Windows based project which runs using the new Adobe Appollo runtime, it will basically allow you to run eBay in an offline manor from your windows desktop - it will not be replacing eBay, neither will it be replacing eBay’s current design/interface.
#3

Comment by Everton on 24 April 2007:

grr that’s a shame Nathan as it needs some major TLC!
#4

Comment by Alan Lewis on 25 April 2007:

Hi,

I can clarify a few things about Project San Dimas.

1. This is not a project that has anything to do with the eBay website - there are multiple projects underway that we hope will improve the website usability, including the new site header that rolled out a few weeks ago (in the US). It does of course provide a different user interface from the website, on purpose. It is all about having more options than just the site.

2. It is a desktop application, and it will run on the Mac too, not just Windows. I’m both a Mac and Windows user myself, and we want to support as many users as possible with this project.

3. We just last week start beta signups for the projects: you can sign up today (its quite painless, promise) at http://www.projectsandimas.com

4. We plan to have international support including the UK site soon after the launch (English speaking sites are easier to support for obvious reasons). For now we just have one beta program for all sites — so even if you use eBay UK or another eBay site you should sign up for the current beta program.