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?

[chariot_badges]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

"Real men" - now that's cute.

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It was.

And real women loved it.

[chapeau-noir]

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@chariot_badges wrote:

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

"Real men" - now that's cute.

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It was.

And real women loved it.

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A shrieking tantrum - yeah, real manly.  😂

[chariot_badges]

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@bellelinens wrote:

Ah, the good ole days…waiting a week for auctions to end and then another week (or more) to get a check/money order in the mail.  Don’t miss that or the sloooow dial up connection that loved to kick me off when listing.

I agree that is was exciting watching the bids roll in the last few minutes of the auctions.

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Uploading a 6 meg file via FTP to Amazon.   Setting it to start at 7pm, because it's going to take three hours.  

Then checking at 10pm to see the error rate.

Hope it's low enough so you don't have to delete and reload ... did that three times once.

[mam98031]

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@bellelinens wrote:

Ah, the good ole days…waiting a week for auctions to end and then another week (or more) to get a check/money order in the mail.  Don’t miss that or the sloooow dial up connection that loved to kick me off when listing.

I agree that is was exciting watching the bids roll in the last few minutes of the auctions.

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You forgot the week for the check to clear the bank.  So the money is yours in about week 3-4.