The price of "progress"?

[retromedia2]

There was once a simplistic auctioning platform - that favored no-one. It was called eBay! You listed  something......didn't matter WHAT it was.....all things were created equal back then.  "Then" being early 2000's thru maybe 2014/15. Views appeared literally within minutes of listing......sales eventuated (more often than not) within a week or so. Bids appeared very early in the listing cycle. The last few minutes of the auction would see four to five bidders desperately fighting it out....often more! - the seller was always the winner.  No-one had to "promote" anything!  There were "millions of buyers" by 2004 and all of them could see EVERY listing which is why stuff sold so easily. The other major plus - funds were deposited in your PayPal account immediately - no waiting 2-3 days to receive YOUR OWN MONEY, (which Ebay has created earnings for itself with, by leaving it in the money-market for a couple of days)  less eBay's massive chunk which they insist is 13% but ISN'T!

A small proportion of items were listed as "Buy it Now" but most sellers did not have (or want) that option. Auctions ruled! These today, are dead in the water - buyers look primarily to "Buy it Now" items. To be honest I cannot remember listing ANYTHING 15-20 years ago that recorded "no views" in the first few days....let alone after two to three weeks.

Experts advise now that sellers "prioritize customer services," "observe niche-appropriate price models," "optimize their listings,"  "Buy a professional top of the range Nikon camera with zillions of pixels, ultimate zoom etc....to ensure their images are of cinematic flawless merit," "guarantee delivery ....and if you really want to sell that Picasso....offer a return option and of course free shipping - doesn't matter that it's going to cost you $160 to get it there,"

WHY THE HELL should the seller be obliged to do all this? - simply to circumnavigate a situation that Ebay itself has created to increase its bottom line underpinned by the huge selling groups that dominate the scene these days.  

Truth is....the little people - you and I, simply don't matter any more to Ebay. If you have no views and no sales.....Corporate Ebay couldn't care less.  Hopefully you'll go away.  That's only going to matter to them when ENOUGH customers take that option.

Am I alone in this thinking?  Do I care?

[rckr43]

I miss the old days when it took 'keywords' to search for particular listings, and those keywords were relative only to the title of listings. It gave sellers that used the proper keywords an advantage over those that didn't. Now.... AI and algorithms give search results based on how they're programed. /rant

[dolcetreasures]

We used to stand on the same queue at amusement & theme parks. Someone at Six Flags got the idea that we can sell different tiers of passes to stand in a shorter queue therefore causing the previous line to experience lengthy wait times in leu of a new pricing tier to monetize shorter wait times.

Though it was Disney that created the “fast-pass” which was the first real “skip-the-line” feature that would eventually evolve into a pay per ride/daily fast pass(lightning lane).

Universal quickly added this pricing structure and began incorporating it in their parks and we got the “express pass”. Now in high season you can pay well over $650 for one person for one day to stand in a shorter line.

Disney converted their previously free fast-pass system into a few incarnations of a pay to skip line system(genie+, lightning lane, lightning lane multi pass, lightning lane premier pass).

Now this has become the new business model at nearly all theme parks and is being used in many other places as well.

Business models change with the times, like it or not. 

[stainlessenginecovers]

I miss the days when you could buy a $300 item and the seller could simply walk off with your $$ and not ship you anything and nobody (ebay, Paypal) would help you at all. 

[rckr43]

LOL @stainlessenginecovers 

I never had a problem. Before 'buyer protection' a buyer had to use their keen senses (when applicable) to determine if a seller was on the up and up.

I was probably just lucky?

[rckr43]

Who remembers when eBay had a toll-free number they didn't hide and you could call an actually with person? And, without jumping through 'hoops' to get there!

Back then I to call once, and I was impressed!

Now?.... Well, I think you all know.

[stainlessenginecovers]

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@rckr43 wrote:

LOL @stainlessenginecovers 

I never had a problem. Before 'buyer protection' a buyer had to use their keen senses (when applicable) to determine if a seller was on the up and up.

I was probably just lucky?

---

If your 'join date' is 2008 as shown, I'm talking mid/late 90's when everyone was new, nobody knew what 'feedback was' etc. so there was nothing to determine. 

[pastimpressions]

@retromedia2 wrote:

"Buy a professional top of the range Nikon camera with zillions of pixels, ultimate zoom etc....to ensure their images are of cinematic flawless merit,"

Don't forget now you have zero IP rights on this platform. Of any kind.

You are forbidden to watermark any creative/intellectual property & everyone under the Sun may use your costly/time-consuming images/text at their pleasure. You do the work and pay the price & eBay permits IP theft?

True, business models change. But where is IP protection?

And how many buyers buy from "lifted" listings that look & read pro quality only to be snookered? 

Sweet.

[rckr43]

Yes @stainlessenginecovers 

I was late to the party in 2008. Then it was feedback, item descriptions, number of sales, join date, etc.... that gave a clue about a sellers integrity.

I suppose it was a different story in the 90's, based on what you've said.

[bonjourami]

Too many sellers, too many listings, 1.8 billion,the good old days are long gone.

[cyberontix]

Yes, that's the new America. Our GDP is just war, weapons and "rentier capitalist" stuff where every little company tries to stick their hand in your wallet for  monthly fees in exchange for doing no work whatsoever. 

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@dolcetreasures wrote:

We used to stand on the same queue at amusement & theme parks. Someone at Six Flags got the idea that we can sell different tiers of passes to stand in a shorter queue therefore causing the previous line to experience lengthy wait times in leu of a new pricing tier to monetize shorter wait times.

Though it was Disney that created the “fast-pass” which was the first real “skip-the-line” feature that would eventually evolve into a pay per ride/daily fast pass(lightning lane).

Universal quickly added this pricing structure and began incorporating it in their parks and we got the “express pass”. Now in high season you can pay well over $650 for one person for one day to stand in a shorter line.

Disney converted their previously free fast-pass system into a few incarnations of a pay to skip line system(genie+, lightning lane, lightning lane multi pass, lightning lane premier pass).

Now this has become the new business model at nearly all theme parks and is being used in many other places as well.

Business models change with the times, like it or not. 

---

[chapeau-noir]

People complained as bitterly about eBay then as they do now. 🤣 That I DO remember.

[inhawaii]

Every aspect of life has changed dramatically over the last 20 years, some for better, some for worse.

[mommaknows]

@retromedia2  I  was hesitant to comment,  but here I am.

Change is inevitable and more times than not it wraps itself in the dollar. As the saying goes, "follow the money." Add that to a world that is becoming more and more automated......

I read here things that blow my mind. I'm doing my best to see the big picture... Sellers here to make money,  buyers here to find their treasures at a good price and Ebay here to facilitate. I only wish that I would of been bright enough to of thought of a selling platform like Ebay years ago.

Best to you moving forward. 

[tobaccocardyahoo]

That simplistic auctioning platform favored thieves, charlatans, and con men of all flavors.

Buyers paid in advance by cash, money order of personal checks. Honest sellers waited for the checks to clear before they shipped. Crooks waited for the payment to clear and then completed their rip offs.

Ebay invented FB so after enough people were ripped off other buyers were warned, but until then lots of buyers got nothing or garbage and never recovered their costs.

As other sites built reputations for trust, Ebay always struggled to get over their reputation earned when it was a simple auction platform. When it changed to a fixed price site with a few auctions it had to implement buyer protections and trust and safety procedures but it never succeeded in shedding the old reputation.

There are many Ebay sellers who sell merchandise not permitted on the larger marketplaces. and would not qualify to sell what is permitted on those sites. There are more sellers on Ebay than there are buyers to buy what they are selling.

Sellers are forced to do all sorts of things that require skills and money because unlike in those old days there are many other buying alternatives. There are many more products, and there are more trustworthy competitors who are dependant on my income sources than solely what Ebay sellers can find buyers for.

All of the world's people who are suffering financial challenges are being taught how to try to make some money selling on Ebay.com to American buyers, because it is easier to try to sell here without skills and with little money.

As for the advice sellers are given, my own included, it comes with no guarantees, cannot be proven to be true, and is applicable to only a portion of the items which are offered on this site. What is worse is that what is correct today might not be as things change - tomorrow or next week.

Nothing worse than owning merchandise you have no affinity for, no expertise in, bought solely because you think it will sell, and then doesn't. It always has, and always will make sellers look for anyone else to blame, especially Ebay, for the useless crap filling their living room, bedroom and garage. It is never fair, and never the seller's fault.