WHY DOES EBAY ALLOW THE MYSTERY BOXES AND ENVELOPES? Unfair to participants

[newdeals4sell]

Good evening to all.

Its great to have Ebay as a extra source of income, as sales people that we all are, but, recently I discovered a category named "everything else".
This is where all types of fishy offers seem to be going on, by the thousands, such as envelopes stuffed with thousands of dollars, etc....I feel these give Ebay a bit of a bad name and I feel they have to be banned. These fishy bids also seem to be posted on second categories and are floating almost everywhere.

Can anyone share their thoughts about this infamous subject?
I think it will benefit all of us, and make new buyers more confident about who sells from Ebay if they could only be banned.

Thanks.

[lovecoffee05]

Are you referring to the whole everything else category as a whole or just the mystery auction section?
Personally, I think they're fun. I agree, no one is going to stuff an envelope with hundreds or thousands of dollars. That's ludicrous. Nevertheless, they're fun.
The reason ebay doesn't ban the mystery auctions is because they make money from them.
Technically, one is only bidding on a plain box. Of course buyers expect something to be in the box.
There are alot of listings in the everything else category. Not just mystery auctions. There's also the weird category, some of that stuff really is weird but most of it is just lame.
The metaphysical category has alot of listings. When I first checked it out a couple of years ago I don't even think it had it's own category if I remember correctly but now it has lots of listings and lots of sellers.
There is one mystery auction that I found the other day that is hilarious. The seller, rather than purport it as the best says it's the worst mystery auction and another has a picture of an old clunker with no doors. The bidding is up over $1000. I couldn't believe it when I saw it. Who would bid $1000 for an auction with a picture of an old doorless clunker. Of course, if they had tried harder they could have a picture with an clunker that looked worse and was older. Of course that clunker was probably in their yard.
Bet you don't know what the auctions are about where the sellers say you get bills? They mean currency.
Overall though, mystery auctions are fun provided no one thinks they're going to get a million dollars.

[aaaabargaincentral]

I do a mystery/gift pak of gourmet goodies and it is a very popular item.
But I know what you mean about "some" mystery auctions - not good value for the money.

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IT

[ete46e]

The regulation of the business market,dont Unfair

[goddessthree]

Not to mention they are now just played out and boring.

[cajunjoe2004]

I saw a mystery box auction, it ended up being empty and the seller got bad feedback. Mystery auctions like that really suck and the seller gets what they deserve.

And anyway, why the mystery? It is too risky.

[7654max]

I took a look at those auctions last week out of curiosity. After looking at a few, I decided people a gullible or have money to burn. It was like going through a fun house at an amusement park and I was glad to get out of there. I'll probably go back eventually when I get bored and check it out again. I can't say I'll never bid on anything there, who knows, maybe one of these days I'll have money to burn. Donna

[midnight*raven]

I have seen some that do look like scams and agree, those shouldn't be allowed. Some sellers do them within reason though. I have seen one auction where a seller listed off a box with a clothing item in it, said they didn't know what it was, but was one of their normal stock items. This seller only sold good high end clothing.

I did a semi mystery auction probably 5 years ago. I have pleanty of clues though. I told that it was a decorative item, Halloween and what it's value was. I gave a ton of details and did sell it to an extremely excited guy lol. He got a very good deal btw and was happy with it.

[cher*my*closet]

All the ones I've looked at seemed "fishy" to me.
...too good to be true...
yaddayadda...

that said, I think there is tremendous potential for creativity with that category.

[saddlecrew7]

I think most look like scam but last year my grandmother gave me all her handmade porcelain dolls- at least 20. I kept my favorites and after looking at completed listings of dolls- seemed very little for a doll made by joe nobody- I did mystery auctions with them. I wrapped them in bubble wrap- you could kind of see the face but not clearly- and made sure the shipping/ handling was enough to cover itself and listed. I had one doll sell for $25 and the buyer bought another item from me also. Another one sold for only $5. I didn't lose any money and both people were very happy. I also did one for a big set of scrapbook supplies that were just not my colors. I haven't ever bid though. I did Ask seller a question on one that was a total scam and they sure didn't post my question for everyone to see.

[usandallthesekids]

I sell mystery envelopes and I pay out all of the money that comes in minus Ebay and Paypal fees which average about $.49 an envelope. In other words, I pay out a dollar on average for every envelope and am able to pay out even more when I sell multiples at once and therefor i give away free envelopes in those cases. I just do it for the fun. It gives me something to do, and people seem to enjoy it. I get many repeats and I really get a thrill out of the people who are surprised to get back more than they paid.

[shans1622]

I have done mystery auctions like midnight* raven said. I did holiday ones and gave clues of what was in the boxes. Everyone was pleased and suprised at what was in the boxes.

[helpfulmommy]

I read somewhere that some of the boxes that claim to be full of money are full of real shredded money that you can purchase from the mint or somewhere. So the buyers do get actual money its just not spendable. Its like the seller of the mystery box is getting paid to play a practicle joke. I myself don't want to pay to have a prank pulled on me. (my husband will do it for free)

[lowcostbedding]

I have been with Ebay for 11 years and each year they have gotten worse. Ebay is a scam and they do not want you to know it . They have made it where feedback does not matter anymore, the DSR ratings WHICH YOIU CANNOT SEE!!!! are the things that cause them to charger you higher rates. The DSR ratings set you up to fail on purpose. A buyer will always win. And by that I mean that a seller will suffer weather it is DSR, Negative Feedback or loss of money and product. The newest thing. I had ONE diplicate listing in Feb and ONE in March out of 1500 products, my account was RESTRICTED. I could do all the things that made THEM money, answer questions sell ship but could not list edit or add for 7 days. EBAY IS A FRAUD, IT IS DESIGNED FOR YOU TO FAIL IF YOU ARE A SMALL BUSINESS. Check the horror stories. Go to twitter and you can join the fight. Ebid dot net only charges 2% with no listing fees and final value fees. If you follow all the rules: free shipping, one day service, and returns, the only DSR option anyone has to leave is item as described, If they are mad what do you think is gonna happen? If they loose a case, you get negative feedback,. They will probably pull this but I will continue to add face accounts and re post as much as possible. PEOPLE GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN.  They penalize you for 1% bad DSR, that 1 out of 100 sales and item as described counts more than one. Message me and I can give you more information on how 

[3facesofjacki]

Ionly wish I could go to a Flea market & insist that everything I dont agree with   be removed....That sounds crazy when you say it like that.....Ebay is HUGE & offers SO MANY different Items...Not to mention a VERY strongfeedback section...I feel that if you dont understand or want an item...just dont buy it....But why try to get it removed? are they taking your sales or inhibiting you in ANY way?   I feel Ebay has everything in place to protect any buyer...I only wish Ebay would give sellers an oppurtunity to defend a product before it is removed due to "violations".  It upsets me to see people auction their virginity but Im not aloud to sell incense because some idiot smokes it....or my listing is removed due to violations because Tarot Reading is not a valid service.(that one really upsets me!!)  my point is....if you dont like it or agree with it...just dont buy or bid on it...