eBay

prostock · ‎11-26-2022

Back in the late 90's I was in the first wave of e-Bay sellers, and it was key to keeping my business afloat . . . being as seasonal as it is. However, over the years e-Bay has been finding ways of controlling sales in a way that they will most benefit. (so they think) However this highly successful e-commerce business is being dragged down to the bottom by their greed. Even a fool like me can see they are nothing without sellers. But, the sellers to them are expendable and the bottom of the food chain. This is not surprising given this sinful world (country) we are living in. They can't see forward by watching their back.

bonjourami · ‎11-26-2022

Ebay would disagree with you, and say without buyers they are nothing.Sellers come and go..hopefully buyers will stay if they have a positive Ebay experience.

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“Never pick a fight with an ugly person. They don’t have anything to lose.” ~Robin Williams

Anonymous · ‎11-26-2022

That's a nice thought; however, everyone I talk to "in-person" about buying something on Ebay huffs and puffs and proudly says they shop on Amazon for everything they need. Why? No hassle and free shipping within a few days max.

bonjourami · ‎11-26-2022

Everyone...really?

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“Never pick a fight with an ugly person. They don’t have anything to lose.” ~Robin Williams

farmalljr · ‎11-26-2022

@Anonymous wrote:
That's a nice thought; however, everyone I talk to "in-person" about buying something on Ebay huffs and puffs and proudly says they shop on Amazon for everything they need. Why? No hassle and free shipping within a few days max.

Unless you are a PRIME member, shipping is not fast. Yes, free shipping if you buy enough, fast no. And PRIME is about to get slower. So they will be paying for Prime, to get the same service/speed non members get. lol

eBay does offer free returns. Nearly EVERY return a seller gets is INAD, because buyers know they don't have to pay then. Doesn't matter what the real reason is.

farmalljr · ‎11-26-2022

@prostock wrote:
Back in the late 90's I was in the first wave of e-Bay sellers, and it was key to keeping my business afloat . . . being as seasonal as it is. However, over the years e-Bay has been finding ways of controlling sales in a way that they will most benefit. (so they think) However this highly successful e-commerce business is being dragged down to the bottom by their greed. Even a fool like me can see they are nothing without sellers. But, the sellers to them are expendable and the bottom of the food chain. This is not surprising given this sinful world (country) we are living in. They can't see forward by watching their back.

There isn't really a shortage of sellers. There is way more stuff listed, then what sells. That translates to no shortage of sellers (unless maybe it's in a niche).

sextons-sweet-deals · ‎11-26-2022

I can see some of the O.P.'s points.

eBay does no promoting / advertising unless it is a category that is currently HOT! I still only hear adds on the radio for the automotive parts section. No TV adds!

eBay has been looked at as chasing Amazon. There is no need to! They are not the same selling platform in so many ways. If consumers are constantly bombarded with Amazon adds, where do you think they will go? Even if the members don't understand that to get that speedy service takes an annual fee of something like $129 to $149 now.

It takes both sellers and buyers to support eBay. Some have to admit that eBay bots are programmed to take buyer's side in cases and then force a seller to spend time trying to communicate with eBay through Facebook (WAJ) to fight it. I did find it interesting that eBay is paying real people to review sellers' videos before they can be viewed in their listings but won't pay a real person to review an open case.

laserpartshq2 · ‎11-26-2022

Totally agree................................for some reason, EBAY dislikes it's sellers.

sextons-sweet-deals · ‎11-26-2022

there really are no such thing as free returns! Shipping costs are going up and someone has to pay for it.

I see retailers are starting to add a % fee for returns.

The whole return process has gotten out of hand from abusive buyers / scammers and retailers and online selling sites know it and are adjusting.

pereirahawk · ‎11-26-2022

The truth is both buyers and sellers are needed, because without either, no transaction takes place.

What is not needed is an over controlling middle man. Think about it, Ebay is getting fat off of sellers backs. They have no product, none, and Iannone is trumpeting around talking about vertical strategy.

Reminds of the Christopher Walken line in King of New York, "You guys got fat while everybody starved"

For the time being, Ebay has a a few more moments in the Sun...in the mean time, for us sellers, diversification is the key.

anjie234 · ‎11-26-2022

"...They have no product, none..."

Isn't their product this glitchy system that we use?

That's their product. The fees we pay are for use of this system.
(Their product needs a bit of work. And a CS Dept to support their

product would be nice, too. As we are their customers.)

retro_entertainment_collectibles · ‎11-26-2022

@farmalljr wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
That's a nice thought; however, everyone I talk to "in-person" about buying something on Ebay huffs and puffs and proudly says they shop on Amazon for everything they need. Why? No hassle and free shipping within a few days max.
Unless you are a PRIME member, shipping is not fast. Yes, free shipping if you buy enough, fast no. And PRIME is about to get slower. So they will be paying for Prime, to get the same service/speed non members get. lol

eBay does offer free returns. Nearly EVERY return a seller gets is INAD, because buyers know they don't have to pay then. Doesn't matter what the real reason is.

Comparing the two is apples and oranges, Prime gifts much more than shipping.

With postal service realize who's doing what, that's part of price hikes. I was on the Postal Community Council here in NY for years. Postal Service moved most freighting they do regional. Everything else is using other couriers mainly FedEx and UPS. FedEx does most the fast freighting and UPS does slow boat via tractor trailer and rail.

ittybitnot · ‎11-26-2022

and proudly says they shop on Amazon for everything they need. Why? No hassle and free shipping within a few days max.

@Anonymous

Just posting to the thread in general, but your sentence above ^^^^^ started me thinking. I sold here for over 20+ years, but no longer do. I also happen to live in a rather rural location. Though the nearest town to me has a Wally world, Home Depot, three grocery stores and various 'dollar' stores, there is also a supply chain issue that necessitates shopping online for some of the most basic things. Over the past few months we cannot find such mundane items like unbleached flour, distilled water, hardware, and basic household items. A google search will often produce an "in stock" notification for such things as toilet bowl cleaner at the local B&M locations, only to find it is UNTRUE when you get there. Home depot advertised "in stock" for a particular circuit breaker I needed, only to be told once I got to the store that they have not had any Square D breakers delivered to that store in over a year, and no plans to get any in the near future.

So, I buy online and have it shipped, since the smaller mom&pop type hardware stores were put out of business years ago. Many still exist on the net, and I do seek them out for more specialized products.

Sometimes I buy from Amazon, but often the products I want are offered by their third party sellers, and I go directly to their website. For example, when I need aquarium supplies, my favorite vendor sells on eBay and Amazon. I choose to go directly to the vendor's site, get things for less, and get a coupon to redeem next time I need something.

Shopping on an independent website was always discouraged as being unsafe. I think now that that statement was probably NEVER true, and indeed not true today. If I need a part for my car, I go to established websites that sell the same where OEM and aftermarket products are clearly labeled. No chance my item is going to take three weeks to arrive from China, be the wrong item/cheap substitute, or shipped to the local library instead of to me.

For a seller, building your business totally dependent on any "marketplace" is like building on quicksand. Now days you need "protection" from the venue as well as the unsavory customer that these marketplaces embrace.