the downfall of ebay?

stevejobs · Jun 25, 2008

Recent changes by ebay in their DSR, pricing and feedback structure seem to have brought out complaints from powersellers that make ebay worse off experience and lead some to question its relevance today. What do you think of ebay now as a buyer or seller?

Coho · Jun 25, 2008

These changes have led prices on everything to skyrocket as well. Importantly, it's no longer convenient, and in some cases rather annoying, to buy on ebay since sellers would list an item at the BIN price as starting bid to avoid the BIN extra fee. On the opposite side, the small sellers have no real incentives to sell on ebay anymore since the fee is so high for getting rid of small ticket items. Every hobby oriented forum now has a sale corner so I can reach my target demographics without going through ebay...and paypal by dealing locally. Ebay is a service-oriented company and they have a terrible reputation hitherto so they will unlikely survive in the near future.

Originally Posted by stevejobs

Recent changes by ebay in their DSR, pricing and feedback structure seem to have brought out complaints from powersellers that make ebay worse off experience and lead some to question its relevance today. What do you think of ebay now as a buyer or seller?

Crane's · Jun 25, 2008

Ebay will be around for a long long time.

We are a powerseller on Ebay and yes it's expensive to sell there. We use Ebay mainly for exposure though it does come in handy when we need to get rid of old stock quickly. It's also good for selling unusual items that have collectors value. We tend to get a much better price than we would if we just sold it in the store or online.

Being a powerseller does have it's advantages. We get 15 percent of our FVF because of our DSR and there is a link program that saves us 75 percent of the FVF for a click through.

knittieguy · Jun 25, 2008

Originally Posted by Coho

Ebay is a service-oriented company and they have a terrible reputation hitherto so they will unlikely survive in the near future.

Reminds me of that quote that 640K of memory should be enough for anybody

Texasmade · Jun 25, 2008

As a buyer, I've noticed eBay having less stuff for auction. More things are "Buy it Now" which makes it convenient that I won't have to wait for an auction to end. I've also noticed that sellers are less likely to leave feedback unless they are a powerseller. I've never bought anything expensive, so the 2 times I got screwed it was less then $10 total.

I've never sold anything on eBay so I can't comment as a seller.

kali77 · Jun 25, 2008

I jsut recently got screwed on a pair of AE Park Avenue's. The guy had 500+ feedback at 100% and now he as three negatives all for AE PA's stating no communication, no refund, no shipment. Not sure how relevant this is other than maybe showing a downward trend for Ebay.

On a side note, what is my best recourse to get my money back? I paid with CC through paypal.

sehandgo · Jun 25, 2008

As far as designer clothing goes, I find that most of what is on ebay is fake. This is what will be ebay's ultimate demise. I now as a matter of policy refuse to bid on anything from a seller in Asia or Turkey. It's just fake garbage.

Bradford · Jun 25, 2008

I don't know that Ebay will go away, but it does seem like it's increasingly dominated by the professional sellers.

Nothing against the Powersellers, but it seems more like a discount strip mall now then the yard sale feel it had originally.

That being said, I don't really see any alternative for those who want to sell something and get the broadest possible exposure. Hobby forums are fine, but I'm getting ready to sell a bunch of printer ink cartridges, videos and CD's and Ebay still seems to be a better option than anything else.

Bradford · Jun 25, 2008

Originally Posted by kali77

I jsut recently got screwed on a pair of AE Park Avenue's. The guy had 500+ feedback at 100% and now he as three negatives all for AE PA's stating no communication, no refund, no shipment. Not sure how relevant this is other than maybe showing a downward trend for Ebay.

On a side note, what is my best recourse to get my money back? I paid with CC through paypal.

Oh - on this, I'd probably contact Paypal first. If you don't get satisfaction through them, go to your credit card company and dispute the charge.

Epaulet · Jun 25, 2008

I'm not a fan of their recent developments (price increases, feedback changes), but Ebay is still unmatched as a place to get a global audience for your products. It's definitely become harder for small sellers, but there's still a staggering amount of good things on there. It can be a pain **********, but the rewards can greatly exceed the costs if you're dedicated to putting good merchandise up.

teddieriley · Jun 25, 2008

Ebay is more trouble than it's worth to save a few bucks. But on the sell side, it's a huge pain **********. I rather give stuff away than subject myself to selling on ebay.

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the downfall of ebay?

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