Ebay

[Kryten]

It's not cheap, it never has been. And it's about to get event more expensive.
First report from TheRegister:

eBay: 'We will lower listing fees' | The Register

And from the horses mouth:

eBay.co.uk - Business Centre - Changes to Pricing

They're trying to make it sound like it's a good thing for us - by lowering the foremost listing prices. All good, you think. But they're raising the prices at the other end, Final Sale Value which is a percentage of your sale price + something else on top.
So if you're item doesn't sell, it's less of a hit. No problem.
But if, like me, you generally sell a lot of stuff that will certainly sell - i.e. stuff for low prices, buy nows and no reserve prices that is called for - we'll get stung both ways.

Yeah there's discounts for power sellers with decent DSR ratings (detailed seller ratings) of up to 40% on those fees, but the "normal" users, i.e. most of us are going to get stung.

Sick of it, personally. They're making a fucking fortune through those fees and even more through PayPal. A look around google for "paypal" shows many disgruntled people, and none more so than PayPalSucks.com which sort of speaks for itself. Thousands of people getting irate because PayPal are just confiscating money for literally silly reasons.

Of course notice through all these issues and changes that Ebay and it's subsidaries always try to justify the changes by saying it's for the better, when in fact it's outright ripping us off.

There's alternatives to PayPal, but you're forced to use it as a seller now.
There's alternatives to eBay, but if you want to actually stand a decent change of selling something - you won't be using them either.

 

[Dukat]

I guess the root of the problem is - as you said - that the alternatives to ebay arent any good at all.

I personally have never sold anything online so I really dont know the truth of the matter, but from your description it looks to me like ebay has a monopoly on the market and can do mroe or less what they like - as long as they keep it within reason they will maintain thier large userbase and so the alternatives will remain useless for the sellers.

Hard to know what to say except 'viva la revolution'

Is amazon no good then? (just a question, as I say I dont know much more than the principle & theory of selling online)

 

[Kryten]

I suppose it depends what you're looking for.

I repair and scrap a LOAD of laptops and various systems at home (as well as at work) and as a result end up with loads of spares that I just stick on Ebay. All proceeds go into my savings account for forthcoming baby.

That sort of hardware (i.e. single sticks of ram, plastics, screens etc for laptops) isn't often sold on Amazon and the alternatives like QXL speak for themselves in quality.
Type "D820" (as in my laptop) in ebay's search and you get over 1100 results. in QXL - none.

It's ruddy annoying, any alternatives are soon bought by ebay and soaked up or ran into the ground and just doesn't work. It is indeed a result of monopolisation.
Thinking about it, Intel and Microsoft have both had wrists slapped numerous times for monopolistic behaviours (anti-trust etc etc) - surely the same could apply to Ebay by now :/

 

[Dukat]

Thinking about it, Intel and Microsoft have both had wrists slapped numerous times for monopolistic behaviours (anti-trust etc etc) - surely the same could apply to Ebay by now :/

I was thinking along the same lines... Quick Robin! to the e-petition mobile!?!!


oh wait its shit nevermind!

 

[Kryten]

Oh,
And top of all this, as from May, Sellers are no longer able to leave Neutral or Negative feedback for buyers.

WTF.

 

[ZoNeHeaD®]

My missus uses Ebay saying you gotta be careful. Rip off britian etc. Nice to know im not the only one selling pc odds and ends on it.
You can get some good deals compared to the high street which is why its so popular. moneys tight now and people in the uk are feeling the pinch. bargain hunting specially for luxury goods is 2nd nature to most young familys now.

Z®

 

[Fweddy]

Oh,
And top of all this, as from May, Sellers are no longer able to leave Neutral or Negative feedback for buyers.

WTF.

Wha? How the hell are eBay justifying that?

 

[Kryten]

Exactly.

eBay Forums: Community Question and Answer Board

Look at the Q&A forums for the feedback and fee changes. Noone is amused, apart from perhaps buyers.

Feedback MUST contain the FULL picture, from when "buy now" or a winning bid is entered, to the time the item is delivered, all communication inbetween, prices, delivery speed, and if the item isn't as expected, how the seller handles it aftwards and how quickly, and of course how the buyer handles it.

So, you get a shit buyer. He decides that even though you've made a mistake and rectified it very quickly, to get arsey with you and acts like a child (and probably is a child). You can't warn others off him - you have to give positive feedback (?!) or none at all. Well, I know if it needs to happen I'll be leaving pos feedback with the full truth in the description.

 

[Mey]

One thing that really annoys me about Ebay is the whole culture of only leaving feedback after the buyer has. That isn't the way it should work, if i've bought something and paid for it on time then as far as I am concerned my part (and thus what is to be fedback) is over.

So I'm glad sellers can't leave negative feedback. Becasue for the most part it's just retaliation for a buyer leaving negative feedback.

 

[Frizz]

One thing that really annoys me about Ebay is the whole culture of only leaving feedback after the buyer has. That isn't the way it should work, if i've bought something and paid for it on time then as far as I am concerned my part (and thus what is to be fedback) is over.

So I'm glad sellers can't leave negative feedback. Becasue for the most part it's just retaliation for a buyer leaving negative feedback.

To be honest, I partly agree with what you're saying. The culture always left me wandering "why".

As for being glad about not being able to leave negative feedback, I'm not so sure. I think the feedback system is now wide open for abuse, and it won't now matter to buyers whether to leave positive or negative feedback.

 

[Tom]

Feedback trading only happens because there are idiots out there who buy something sold as "used - has scratches on it" and then get arsey when they find scratches on it.

When I sell stuff, I don't leave feedback until I know they're happy. If they don't leave feedback, I just forget about them.

 

[Kryten]

That's an argument I can never understand. A lot of people seem to want it, (Mey's opinion) so I can only sort of accept it.

I just can't understand why feedback should be left after receiving payment.
Feedback should show a honest picture of the entire transaction, and payment isn't the end of transaction.

After payment has been received, the item needs to be packed and shipped.
The buyer needs to receive it.
The buyer needs to ensure it's what he expected from the description.
If happy, buyer leaves positive feedback and an accurate and honest DSR.
If not happy, buyer contacts seller to resolve issues.
There's another part of the same transaction there, that leaving feedback after payment would miss. What if the buyer is screaming and shouting and acting like a complete retard? What if he does it to everyone he buys from because he can't read a listing? How does the seller warn others?
Of course same applies the other end : what if the buyer has a point and the goods were not as expected. The buyer's feedback should include how the seller reacts to any issues like this.

Notice I use the word "Should" a lot. Much of it is based on trust and honesty on both sides and many people do unfortunatley abuse that. Those people should be banned permanently.

This is why I fail to understand why receipt of payment concludes a transaction for a seller.

 

[Mey]

On the reverse say I am well within my right to leave negative feedback, the seller has been a prick, not answered my emails/pm's sent me a substandard piece of crap, If I leave negative feedback telling people about this, what is the seller going to do. O look negative feedback for no reason other than I left him some.

Tbh they should probably just get shot of feedback and sort some other system out. Maybe something like, you cant view the feedback that someone has given you, untill you post yours. Or something?

Though I do see your argument matey, sellers should have the same rights as the buyer and vice a versa [and i often leave full marks on DSR for sellers who have been particularly helpful and speedy - and rightful so - doesn't really have any revelance to the conversation, but figured i'd say it anyway lol]. But due to the popularity of ebay there is always going to be the minority of people who spoil it for everyone else and thus action like this has to be taken.

 

[Nate]

There should be a new system for the feedback to not allow anyone(seller, buyer, browser, etc.) to see what feedback has been left(on that specific transaction) until both parties have given there feedback or until a certain date after the items been bought/sold. It would sort out the usual "Oh he left me negative, well fuck him I'm going to give him negative too!".

Ofcourse seeing previous feedbacks is fine, its just the current one that both parties are involved with specifically at that time I'm talking about.

 

[Kryten]

Exactly Mey - it's all entirely reliant on entire honesty from all parties. Retalliatory (sp?) feedback is not at all acceptable, certainly when it's deserved. There's awful people on both sides, and people need to be warned of them.

Perhaps expanding on the DSR's a bit - so people don't have the chance to leave nasty comments, but not anonymously. Still open to abuse, but I don't think there's much else you can do. It's the minority of the moronic users that are basically ruining it for those of us that do an honest trade. Sure everyone makes a mistake now and then, we're only human, but leaving bad feedback just because you've been left it deservedly is out of order.

 

[ECA]

Ebay like it or not is a monopoly.
This means they can do whatever the fuck they want and the users take it in the shitter.

Oh and yes the no feedback from sellers>buyers is retarded.

It means the people who only sell stuff on ebay cant give an accurate opinion of buyers making it an ever bigger haven for scammers and scum.

 

[Yaka]

was gonna bob this on the news page but seeing as this is here
BBC NEWS | Business | EBay to ban negative seller views

ebay was great 5/6 years back now its just a shit hole. this xmas was worse half my shit got bidded on and none of the winning bidders paid for owt,

worse is unlike anything else on the intarweb there is no good alternative
specaily for selling on your games and pc parts

 

[Nate]

So is my idea not viable? Seems a good way to sort out this issue imo. Although I don't use ebay myself, so correct me if I got something wrong

 

[soze]

One thing that really annoys me about Ebay is the whole culture of only leaving feedback after the buyer has. That isn't the way it should work, if i've bought something and paid for it on time then as far as I am concerned my part (and thus what is to be fedback) is over.

So I'm glad sellers can't leave negative feedback. Becasue for the most part it's just retaliation for a buyer leaving negative feedback.

I agree with you but i have been hit by leaving the feedback first. I got an email from the buyer saying give him £10 back or he would leve Negative feedback. I passed the message right to eBay but i can see why some sellers with good reps might protect themselves but saving feedback for situations like that.

 

[Arnie 2Tone]

Paypal is seriously annoying when it comes to reversing payments you've recieved for no good reason. Not long ago I had two payments from the same girl held for "routine investigation". I had to answer a few questions regarding the sales, but I figured it was no problem, they just investigate the occasional transaction in an effort to keep people honest. I knew they were both legitimate transactions because the paypal email address the girl had used was linked to a myspace account which had photos of the girl wearing the items in question and she agreed that I could use the photos in my own myspace customer gallery. I told Paypal as much in the questionnaire they sent me regarding the sales. In their infinite wisdom they held my money for 30 days and then reversed both transactions. If that wasn't bad enough, the girl then used the returned money to buy more stuff from my store!!

After 30 minutes on hold, listening to a 30 second loop of an Enya song (a blatent attempt to get me to hang up if ever I heard one) I finally got to speak to someone in India. They refused to tell me why the transactions had been reversed on the grounds of data protection and told me it was my fault for not sending everything recorded delivery. After I told them I knew full well it was illegal to reverse transactions without giving an explanation and said I was going to contact the financial services ombudsman they sent me my money back in the form of "courtesy credit" but still refused to admit they were in the wrong.

Bunch of bloody crooks.