EBay - Buyer Beware!

Jack_

It's like they flicked a switch a month ago from "gently pursue" to "full on Nazi".

impmann

Jack_ said:

It's like they flicked a switch a month ago from "gently pursue" to "full on kill the business".

FTFY

Jack_

impmann said:

Jack_ said:

It's like they flicked a switch a month ago from "gently pursue" to "full on kill the business".

FTFY

I really hope so, but I can't see a company that size with all it's financiers and forecasters making decisions that will decrease revenue.

It can do as it does, because it has no competition. I hope Reverb starts to compete here in Blighty, but it takes many years to build up a market awareness the likes of eBay.

Bygone_Tones

Jack_ said:

It can do as it does, because it has no competition.

You really believe that? True maybe 10 years ago, but not now. A vast amount of people have definitely gone elsewhere.

People have set up their own websites or use facebook. Social media is the big game changer really. Then there are sites like etsy and other free classifieds. There are lots of alternatives, especially if you have a particular niche.

I think Ebay is in trouble big time.

clarkefan

Can't follow this, why is eBay banning sellers for letting people try something out before buying? What's in it for them?

stimpsonslostson

clarkefan said:

Can't follow this, why is eBay banning sellers for letting people try something out before buying? What's in it for them?

They are attempting to stop people doing deals in person & thus avoiding fees. 
They'd rather the entire transaction took place online where they can claim their 13%. 

I can kind of understand that they don't want people using eBay as a glorified classifieds resource & bypassing their fees, but the Draconian approach they're using seems counterproductive.

Perhaps increased upfront listing fees would work? 

Funkfingers

Over time, the balance of how the fees are made up has see-sawed between upfront and final selling price. 

Punters who have paid a listing fee on an item that fails to sell moan. If eBay shifts the emphasis to taking a percentage of the final selling price, vendors of high value items moan.

The system is geared up to serve on-line retail of "brand new in box" items. The business model does not suit those hoping to sell bulky or self-propelled items or, for that matter, any item that it would be unwise to buy without checking in person.

As soon as buyer, seller, goods and negotiable currency are gathered together, eBay/PayPal is out of the loop. 

UnclePsychosis

All this "eBay is gonna die" stuff doesn't take into account the fact that eBay have very deliberately moved away from the "random people selling their second hand gear" market. Fairly sure that they were openly saying that second hand stuff from private sellers was about 10% of their business and that was a few years back---it's probably less now. 

I'd be relatively certain that that would be a fairly sensible move on their part too---I'd imagine that problem sellers and items are far more likely to come from the "second hand, private seller" pile than from the "brand new, business seller" pile. 

ICBM

If they don't care about the private sellers, why do I keep getting "Let's help get you started selling on Ebay" emails?

I've never bothered replying with "I used to sell on Ebay, until you changed all the rules and made it a nightmare for small-volume, high-value-item private sellers", since I assume it wouldn't make any difference even if it got read...

Bygone_Tones

UnclePsychosis said:

All this "eBay is gonna die" stuff doesn't take into account the fact that eBay have very deliberately moved away from the "random people selling their second hand gear" market. Fairly sure that they were openly saying that second hand stuff from private sellers was about 10% of their business and that was a few years back---it's probably less now. 

I'd be relatively certain that that would be a fairly sensible move on their part too---I'd imagine that problem sellers and items are far more likely to come from the "second hand, private seller" pile than from the "brand new, business seller" pile. 

They treat business sellers equally as badly. This is the problem. It is too risky for businesses to rely on ebay as their main selling platform. They can ban you very unfairly at the drop of a hat. So any sensible business will explore other options anyway in case that ever happens.

You can get banned by association too. A few years ago I got my account suspended for several months just for being related to someone who got banned. I hadn't done anything wrong and had 100% feedback etc, squeeky clean selling account.

jeztone2

For musical gear. It's Reverb now. I think Ebay are over.

mikeyrob73

Just bought a Gibson case from Ebay local, done everything through ebay except we met and i paid cash. Told the seller to cancel the transaction when he got home and save himself the fees. Fuck Ebay 

Jack_

mikeyrob73 said:

Just bought a Gibson case from Ebay local, done everything through ebay except we met and i paid cash. Told the seller to cancel the transaction when he got home and save himself the fees. Fuck Ebay 

Now just await your ban, or his.

Jack_

jeztone2 said:

For musical gear. It's Reverb now. I think Ebay are over.

I wish that were true.

Thing with Reverb is it's like a marketplace for anoraks like us, so there's no bargains, they even give you a price guide when you list. I've not had any success with Reverb, just listings that go on for ages with the occasional watcher.

I think people are underestimating the user rate of eBay for musical instruments. I'd guess that only 1 out of 5 guitarists in this country have heard of Reverb, maybe less - you'd only become aware of it if you were already involved in the online music space, and plenty of people aren't.

mikeyrob73

Jack_ said:

mikeyrob73 said:

Just bought a Gibson case from Ebay local, done everything through ebay except we met and i paid cash. Told the seller to cancel the transaction when he got home and save himself the fees. Fuck Ebay 

Now just await your ban, or his.

Not sure how they can prove anything. He put in the reasons for canceling it wasnt what i was looking for. 
If they banned me i wouldnt be that bothered TBH. 

ICBM

mikeyrob73 said:

Not sure how they can prove anything.

When has that ever mattered to them before?

JezWynd

Once they've alienated enough eBay users, the next step has to be the introduction of fees on Gumtree.

I've pretty much stopped using eBay except to purchase small value items. I still scan the pedals regularly hoping to find that 14 pin OD-1 for a hundred quid but I'm not holding my breath. If you're interested in collecting old pedals though, where else is there? Reverb is uniformly overpriced and not much vintage pedal stuff passes through here.

Arktik83

Like Jack said, the desireable thing about eBay is that your gear does sell when it fails to move on anywhere else so it does have it's uses.  

Not excusing the way they're treating their patron's but for all the "fuck eBay, sell on reverb" diatribe you'll nearly always find a buyer on eBay and when selling on reverb can be a pain in the ass.

gavin_axecaster

mikeyrob73 said:

Jack_ said:

mikeyrob73 said:

Just bought a Gibson case from Ebay local, done everything through ebay except we met and i paid cash. Told the seller to cancel the transaction when he got home and save himself the fees. Fuck Ebay 

Now just await your ban, or his.

Not sure how they can prove anything. He put in the reasons for canceling it wasnt what i was looking for. 

Reading the ebay forums it seems if a sale is cancelled and not relisted within a short time the system flags it as an off ebay sale and penalises the seller.

mikeyrob73

i have text him advising to relist it for 24hrs at a stupid price that no one will pay ;-)