Ebay Going Downhill - End of an Internet Era

[ritehook]

Exactly. A lot of buyers don't leave negative feedback because they get slapped right back. And then get a request from the seller to each remove the negative feedback.

A lot of fraud on Ebay. Never so many movie posters signed by the stars...

Great place to pick up brand names cheap, though.

The fraud on ebay (esp regarding electronic items) is mainly what soured a lot of buyers on the site.

Ebay really did next to nothing to stop the fraudsters, mostly operating out of China, Russia and Nigeria.

That, and the normal business cycle (recession), has slowed the sales and caused ebay's stock to plumment. (Hey ebay, join the club!) And they have over-reacted.

On feedback - buyers do not have to worry about feedback.

If I buy on ebay (did get a nice new genuine all-wool Pendleton shirt for only $14, including shipping) I do so only from sellers with 98% min feedback. Preferably over 99%

But when I sell I don't much give a sh-t what kind of fb a buyer has. Hey, the buyer is already king. If he has onlly 90% fb, why should I care? As long as I get my money, and he won't the get the item won until he pays.

So the matter of "retaliatory feedback" from a seller is not really an issue. Many sellers, in addition, buy on ebay, but with a different buying ID

[ritehook]

I have bought one thing on Ebay. Actually looking to sell some never opend DVDS, clothes, and other computer stuff, where is good place to seel that? I heard craigslist might be better but just curious for those that like to buy stuff online. Send me a PM if you would like..

You can still sell the stuff you mention on ebay; go to their Seller Central on the Discussion Board, you'll find many experienced sellers there who will be glad to help a newbie (tho right now most of them are fuming and fussing over the new ebay poliicies).

DVDs you can also sell on Half.com -which is owned by ebay.

You can also sell those items on Craig's List. CL is supposed to be all local, but I know that some people do OK by listiing on CL in ALL major metro areas, for small, popular items like DVDs. And taking ONLY USPS money orders as payment - these are like cash.

Amazon is also an outlet to sell DVDs

[picantel]

Everytime I buy something on ebay the sellers refuse to leave feedback until I do. WTF is that bullshit.

[goldengoat]

what a bunch of slimy sheisters those executives at ebay are

here is what they say:

"You asked, we listened. We're reducing Insertion Fees and adjusting Final Value Fees to lower your up-front cost to sell on eBay. You wanted free Gallery, now you've got it--plus more feature discounts"

notice the use of the word adjusting as opposed to RAISING (and substantially so) in regards to the final value fees

then when you click for more details on the new fees they have the lower insertion fees (saving you pennies) prominently at the top and the details on the higher final auction (which will take back all those pennies back times 10) buried at the bottom of the page

and then the c0cksuckers have the nerve to use verbage like: "You asked, we listened...." as if they are doing us a favor by taking more money away from sellers

[Mr KLC]

I'm a Power Seller on Ebay and find this as an oppurtunity for my sales to increase. A lot of the people bitching on Ebay's message board are the guys that have below 98% feedback and know that their listing might be pushed back. As long as I keep my ratings on quality and shipping time up, I'll be up for a 15% discount on my seller fees. That takes care of the 20% increase they are applying on seller fees and my items will go toward the front of the line. I see lots of oppurtunity.

[Mr KLC]

Everytime I buy something on ebay the sellers refuse to leave feedback until I do. WTF is that bullshit.

I agree with you on that. I leave positive feedback the same day they pay. They handled their part of the bargain. Why should I punish them?

[purecarnagge]

Ebays been downhill for about 2 years now... There is more fraud on that site than positive transactions.

[ritehook]

Everytime I buy something on ebay the sellers refuse to leave feedback until I do. WTF is that bullshit.

I do the same, ie don't leave fb until the buyer does.

Why? Two reasons: unlike a brick and mortal store, where you can see and handle the item, online you must rely on the seller's description.

So waiting until the buyer says, "OK, good item, no prob," or words to that effect, the sale really isn't complete.

Second, some buyers, esp in high-risk categories like electronics and vehicles, will use fb extortion to violate the terms of the auction

A friend of mine sold an item on ebay. He clearly stated the shipping cost. It was higher than I woulld have charged, but it was stated clearly in the auction.

The winner emailed him that he didn't cut the shipping fee in half she would give him a negative feedback (after he'd already given the buyer a positive when he recieved her payemnt).

Yes, feedback extortion is against ebay policies. But with the new policies in effect, de facto that the seller must take the loss, I doubt that ebay is going to come down on buyers who extort sellers with feedback threats or blackmail.

BTW, if you are stictly a buyer on ebay, you really don't have to worry about feedback. It's a million times more important to a seller than to a buyer.

I, and many other sellers, have gladly accepted bids from people who regisgtered on ebay yesterday and have zero feedback. However, many buyers will buy only from sellers with, like, 100 fbs, and all positives.

You can have a fb rating of 90 and still buy freely on ebay. Why worry about it. But a seller with under 97 is treading the kind of water that can drown him. If it's deserved, fine. But very unfair if dealing with an unscrupulous buyer.

Many ebay sellers are up in arms about the new fb rules (seller can no longe leave a neg for a buyer) as they feel it's going to result in more extortion attenps. And that competitors will buy small items from a seller in order to leave neg feedback so as to destroy the rep of the good seller

[ritehook]

I'm a Power Seller on Ebay and find this as an oppurtunity for my sales to increase. A lot of the people bitching on Ebay's message board are the guys that have below 98% feedback and know that their listing might be pushed back. As long as I keep my ratings on quality and shipping time up, I'll be up for a 15% discount on my seller fees. That takes care of the 20% increase they are applying on seller fees and my items will go toward the front of the line. I see lots of oppurtunity.

A lot of the fraud that's been perpetrated on ebay has been done by Power Sellers. Not by you, but PS have had their share. (I've sold thousands of items on eBay, but bought maybe only a dozen or so. And the only problem I've ever had was from a Power Seller, who did not have in stock the book he had advertised - I think he was dropshipping by buying bought items from smaller book sellers! - and who wanted to refund me only a part of what I'd paid. Of course I contacted eBay real fast and got that scam sh-t cancelled out. I now check the FB ratings of PS more closely than I will check those of non-PS)

Power sellers sell mainly in mass merchandise categories. Thus, you see a lot of them selling the same thing, usually the stuff from China.

It would be very difficult for, say, a vendor of rare stamps, antique furniture, or vintage toys to become a power seller. (Unless they are selling Chinese-made fakes, which is definitely happening on ebay)

So many of those categories will disappear. And with ebay becoming more specialized, it will no longer be the place where one can "shop victoriously" for everything under the sun.

Interesting to see how that will affect the Power Sellers. Ebay says that they made the shift because 80% of their profits come from 20% of their sellers.

That's probably so with flea markets too (ebay is like a giant flea market). But cut the casual, now-and then-sellers out of a typical flea market, and see how many people show up on a Sunday to stroll the aisles, now peopled only by the "power sellers" in that flea market. All selling the same sh-t from China.

[Mr KLC]

I sell used VHS movies, so if someone states that its broken or never arrived, I just send them a refund. $5 isn't worth it. A lot of the customers will come back just for that reason. I don't have any interest in selling higher priced items because of the exact headaches that you all have just described.

[ritehook]

I do the same but I don't get many complaints. Very few, due to the nature of the cats in which I list.

The scamming buyers tend to congregate at the same cats the scamming sellers do: electronics, gift certs, autos, stuff like that.

I think ebay has overreacted to what is a normal business cycle. My own sales have been flat the past half-year, and prices of sold items seem down also. Tho it's not always easy to compute that accurately with rarer collectibles.

I also think that over half the people in the ebay Discussion boards who claim they are leaving ebay ---- ain't.

At least,they'll hang around and see how the changes might affectt them.

[stump]

i've only been on EBAY once to browse. Seems like a site for people who always need to be buying shit.

[ritehook]

You can get good deals on ebay, you just have to be a smart shopper.

First thing I ever bought on ebay was a word processor, right after I bought my first pc. Year 1998, I think. MS Word was selling in the stores for over a hundred, but I got the Word Perfect 8 program for $15. Worked good, still does, and I've used it professionally. when i worked for a magazine

Stick to sellers with at least 98.5% feedback rating. (And read some of the feedback comments) Always check shipping charges - a fair number of ebay sellers grossly overcharge for shipping. It's ok to add a bit over the true rate, for packing material and time spent packing, but some of those guys (and gals) get ridiculous.

Ebay is like a flea market - you can get super deals,and you can get crap. Some things are no cheaper on ebay than they are at online stores, or even at brick and mortal places.

Digital cameras, for instance. I have never seen a deal on ebay for new one (and I won't buy used) that was better than one I could buy at Kmart, Walmart or even Target. Probably the same for computers, etc,when you factor in the shipping.

[ritehook]

i've only been on EBAY once to browse. Seems like a site for people who always need to be buying shit.

I sell mainly collectibles and some antiques (the latter is, I think, a "large collectible.")

Most of which I inherited - it's a parttime thing, tho sometimes takes me well over 20 hours a week.

People who "collect" have foind a bonanza in ebay. One guy I sold an old but in great shape cookie jar to (bid up to about $450) later emailed me and said he had been looking for that particular one for over 10 years. (Which means, had I only known, that I could have opened that auction at a start bid of maybe $1500 and he'd still have bought it. He told me he had over a thousand cookie jars in his house.)

I sold a 1975 NJ restaurant menu wtih a drawing of a tiki on it. For $193. Right, I didn't know what a tiki was before I sold that thing. But I sure as hell do now.

Last spring I sold an unused pair of WWII camoflage pants - ro a collector, for almost $300.

And a lot of little stuff for under $10.

So, many of the chronic users of ebay are collectors. They know that almost everything ever made in this world will one day show up on ebay, and they don't want to miss it.

Hey, everything spends their money on things others deem crazy. Wonder what many of the collectors that we'd call peculiar would refer to someone who spent good money on which side would win a sporting event?

[purecarnagge]

Let them state negative feedback, all you have to do is post shipping charge clearly defined in auction. Never leave feedback first ever... its not worth it, that was your friends first mistake.

[707782]

Exactly. A lot of buyers don't leave negative feedback because they get slapped right back. And then get a request from the seller to each remove the negative feedback.

A lot of fraud on Ebay. Never so many movie posters signed by the stars...

Great place to pick up brand names cheap, though.

Bill and you have a point, but you guys are definitely wrong on this one. In fact with this feedback policy change, not only it's going to affect the seller, but it will also affect the buyers too. Many many buyers are going to threaten the seller for refunds or whatever they fill like with the negative power they have, and in a return, many good sellers will leave and also many good sellers will also ruined by scammers and unfair buyers by taking advantage of this policy.

For example, a buyers got their items without reading the descriptions and decide they don't want it anymore after they ruined the item, and ask seller for a refund even the listing states no refund, the seller probably don't have much of a choice since buyer could threaten them with a negative.

[707782]

what a bunch of slimy sheisters those executives at ebay are

here is what they say:

"You asked, we listened. We're reducing Insertion Fees and adjusting Final Value Fees to lower your up-front cost to sell on eBay. You wanted free Gallery, now you've got it--plus more feature discounts"

notice the use of the word adjusting as opposed to RAISING (and substantially so) in regards to the final value fees

then when you click for more details on the new fees they have the lower insertion fees (saving you pennies) prominently at the top and the details on the higher final auction (which will take back all those pennies back times 10) buried at the bottom of the page

and then the c0cksuckers have the nerve to use verbage like: "You asked, we listened...." as if they are doing us a favor by taking more money away from sellers

You nailed it. The first sentence got me really excited until I clicked the details to find out those penny cut in listing price and those huge increase in FVF.