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?

[deltilogical]

"That must be hard for you, as everything in life changes."

The change is artificial, planned by faceless teams.  it is inflicted.  It is forced obsolescence.  They forced me to buy a new computer and to accept less functionality.    Life doesn't change, the weather changes within known parameters, the stars rotate in planable sequence.   Capitalism and the State force destructive change on the population to meet their efficiencized wealth extraction methods.  

there is nothing natural or normal about the constant "change". 

[chapeau-noir]

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@meme6253 wrote:

You do move the furniture & dust periodically don't you?

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What is this 'dusting' you speak of?

[jerseyboymusic]

The OP likes to come on the boards every so often to vent (looks like going back to 2019). Always complains about Ebay, I wonder why he still bothers with this platform.

[pikabo-icu]

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@meme6253 wrote:

You do move the furniture & dust periodically don't you?

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           I laughed so hard when I read that. 😂

[chariot_badges]

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@retromedia2 wrote:

There was once a simplistic auctioning platform - that favored no-one. It was called eBay! 

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.   .......  go away                                                    That's only going to matter to them when ENOUGH customers take that option

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Life has ALWAYS been that way.

I am 75 years old.   When I was 25 I worked in a large car dealership in the SF Bay Area.   I was the Fleet Manager, sold vehicles by the dozen.   

I was privy to the Gen'l Sales Mgr delivering an ass-chewing to a salesperson.   

"What you need to do is go home and hold your head over the toilet and try to flush all that **** out from between your ears.  Take a brain enema.  If you can get it all cleared out come back here and SELL SOME ******* CARS.   You are taking up space, breathing my air conditioning and wasting my time.  I need someone to sell cars.   If you can't get your head straight leave the keys to your demo on my desk.  Now get out of here."

And, that was delivered at some volume.  That was 50 years ago.   

Life is raw.   

And it always has been. 

[chapeau-noir]

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@chariot_badges wrote:

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@retromedia2 wrote:

There was once a simplistic auctioning platform - that favored no-one. It was called eBay! 

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.   .......  go away                                                    That's only going to matter to them when ENOUGH customers take that option

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Life has ALWAYS been that way.

I am 75 years old.   When I was 25 I worked in a large car dealership in the SF Bay Area.   I was the Fleet Manager, sold vehicles by the dozen.   

I was privy to the Gen'l Sales Mgr delivering an ass-chewing to a salesperson.   

"What you need to do is go home and hold your head over the toilet and try to flush all that **** out from between your ears.  Take a brain enema.  If you can get it all cleared out come back here and SELL SOME ******* CARS.   You are taking up space, breathing my air conditioning and wasting my time.  I need someone to sell cars.   If you can't get your head straight leave the keys to your demo on my desk.  Now get out of here."

And, that was delivered at some volume.  That was 50 years ago.   

Life is raw.   

And it always has been. 

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Must have been the guy who when he was hired was like losing two good men.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

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@reallynicestamps wrote:

The best move eBay made was developing BillPoint * which allowed oversight of payments.

Developed by Ebay and Wells Fargo, Billpoint was implemented to operate just like a credit card merchant account. Many of us who had experience with credit card merchant accounts loved Billpoint.

*and later buying Paypal, then moving on to Managed Payments.

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PayPal was the amateur Ebay seller's favorite. With its promises of Seller Protection, it won the loyalty of amateur sellers, and made buyers feel more secure because Ebay is not have their credit card info. The acquisition of PayPal was a mixed result event, eventually leading to Ebay Payments which is not all that different from Billpoint but costs Ebay more than Billpoint did.

[luckythewinner]

Views appeared literally within minutes of listing

A while back, eBay admitted those were visits by eBay's automated processes and stopped counting them. 

[chapeau-noir]

I always assumed those views were from indexing.

[ed8108]

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@chariot_badges wrote:

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@retromedia2 wrote:

There was once a simplistic auctioning platform - that favored no-one. It was called eBay! 

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.   .......  go away                                                    That's only going to matter to them when ENOUGH customers take that option

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"What you need to do is go home and hold your head over the toilet and try to flush all that **** out from between your ears.  Take a brain enema.  If you can get it all cleared out come back here and SELL SOME ******* CARS.   You are taking up space, breathing my air conditioning and wasting my time.  I need someone to sell cars.   If you can't get your head straight leave the keys to your demo on my desk.  Now get out of here."

And, that was delivered at some volume. 

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 The general sales manager of 50 years ago was in my opinion in need of communication counseling.

[chariot_badges]

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@ed8108 wrote:

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@chariot_badges wrote:

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@retromedia2 wrote:

There was once a simplistic auctioning platform - that favored no-one. It was called eBay! 

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.   .......  go away                                                    That's only going to matter to them when ENOUGH customers take that option

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"What you need to do is go home and hold your head over the toilet and try to flush all that **** out from between your ears.  Take a brain enema.  If you can get it all cleared out come back here and SELL SOME ******* CARS.   You are taking up space, breathing my air conditioning and wasting my time.  I need someone to sell cars.   If you can't get your head straight leave the keys to your demo on my desk.  Now get out of here."

And, that was delivered at some volume. 

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 The general sales manager of 50 years ago was in my opinion in need of communication counseling.

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LoL @ communication counseling.

50 years ago.   LoL.

LMAO.

Fifty years ago there existed real men.

Communication counseling.    Ahhh, thanks, I needed that laugh.

.

[oldwestgold]

Well, I understand your frustrations as I have been here 25 years. In ANY business or LIFE, you have to accept change. There is no fighting change - you will lose every time. I am speaking from experience. Once you understand the rules have changed or continue to change, you have to make a choice - Stop, change or continue with what you are doing. It's okay to do either.

I didn't need a trip down memory lane with eBay. I am reminded of it almost daily. As my attorney told me once in a family legal disagreement, "It is what it is." In other words, there is nothing you can do in most cases to change it. In the eBay case, there is no way to change anything that they do. You as a seller MUST do the changing, period. You either change, don't change, and deal with the negative effects, or leave. Don't overthink it because it isn't going to matter what you think. Good luck.

[chapeau-noir]

"Real men" - now that's cute.

[oldwestgold]

Could you imagine eBay today without tracking? No way............ Good point.

[chapeau-noir]

This seems to be a rant on why eBay sellers shouldn't be required to be professional, and why isn't it 2000 anymore.

25 years in etailing land, particularly since this was in its infancy, is like 200 years anywhere else.

I mean, I pine for my youth. The 90s were great - I loved the music, my hips were more functional and I could run an 8 minute mile instead of the 12 minutes I plod along at. The Fed was not insane and I could get coffee at the local indie for $2.00. I'd be crazy to think it should always remain that way, even if I wish it would.