EBay Sidebar App = Fail

So I learned two things today. Traditional eBay = Win. New EBay App = Fail. I partially feel it might my computer error not the Apps. But either way it did fail and here is the story which brought me to this conclusion. I always enjoy the merging of two ideas together. Since we previously discussed both usability and applications actually adjudicating one seemed like an awesome hands on approach to the situation. I enjoyed actually sighing up for the eBay account. I had used my parent’s account before but had not personally signed up for one. I enjoyed how easy it was to use and the act that it had little sayings along the way. “ We promise this is the last step”, was one of the more memorable ones. I had used the traditional interface in the past and had been happy with its usability. One of my favorite features was the recognition of the recently viewed items. Sadly I was completely denied when I tried to experience the sidebar application. After following the link and the super quick download my computer would not open the app. Fro other writing I can assume that the App is very user friendly and opens eBay up to a wider usage along side other web interfaces. But personally when it comes to usability it fails. If I can’t open it the first time why even try again. If people get are unable to use something due to error they will just move on. Or in my case, back to they original website. This is how I feel about eBay’s side app. EBay you just may want to add a side of epic to that fail.

Photo used with a creative commons license: http://www.flickr.com/photos/techshownetwork/2960932349/