Ebay sucks
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If you think about Ebay's calculus...it is no different than other corporations....vol. X margin = profit. It like a big poker game.
When ebay enacts rules that alienate membership, they have to extoll more margin to derive the same profit.
Perception here on the 41 seems to be...the pendulum has swung too far in favor of the buyer. Perhaps with Paypal fee's, the buyer is who ebay tries to protect...versus sellers....or ebay believes if buyer's flee from the market..worse than losing more sellers because of uneven playing field.
When anybody here takes exception to ebay's practices...look no further than the bottom line for ebay. We just don't see it...but the guys at the controls sure do and what steers their decisions.
When ebay enacts rules that alienate membership, they have to extoll more margin to derive the same profit.
Perception here on the 41 seems to be...the pendulum has swung too far in favor of the buyer. Perhaps with Paypal fee's, the buyer is who ebay tries to protect...versus sellers....or ebay believes if buyer's flee from the market..worse than losing more sellers because of uneven playing field.
When anybody here takes exception to ebay's practices...look no further than the bottom line for ebay. We just don't see it...but the guys at the controls sure do and what steers their decisions.
Despite Ebay's take of high revenue, they aren't actually making much profit off of that revenue. The main thing keeping Ebay afloat, is the profits from Ebay-owned PayPal. I would say that if it weren't for PayPal, Ebay would be bankrupt already.
One thing which says more than any balance statement: At the Post Office in the little town closest to where I live, prior to '08, there was always a line of people at the counter- all Ebay sellers, shipping packages. 6 months after Donahoe took over.....those lines were gone. I've never had to wait on a line at that PO again- not once in the last 5 years.
I used to do most of my online purchases on Ebay. Now, about all I buy there are occasional DVDs and a few little <$5 items. In the past, I not only sold on Ebay, but also managed the accounts of two other people. In total, we generated on average about $36K a year in Ebay/PP fees. They don't get a dime from us now.
There has been a mass exodus of small sellers over the last few years. Even former Ebay cheerleaders are now jumping ship...and it is not only expensive for Ebay to recruit new sellers to replace the departed...but those new sellers don't last long- either getting booted because they can't keep up with Ebay's insane and tyrannical policies...or quitting in disgust; they're not like the people whom they replaced, who were there for the long-haul- often having 10 years of experience on Ebay. And now, as mentioned previously, even the big corporate sellers are jumping ship one by one.
They can cater to unreasonable buyers and scammers all they want, but if you go to Ebay and can't find what you're looking for [for me, it was always the vintage and used one-of-a-kind items!] or can find it cheaper elsewhere.....that will reflect in Ebay's bottom line- even if they can hide it through creative accounting, and fool the stockholders for a while.
#102
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A seller can accept MO's/checks...but is not allowed to advertise that fact, nor solicit such payments- and he is obliged to accept PayPal. Sad thing is, Ebay will penalize you if more than a certain percentage of your transactions are done outside of PayPal- even though you didn't solicit such payments, and it was through the buyer's preference. Such is the insanity of Ebay these days.
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Here's something funny re: scamming on ebay. I just bought a bike part but never received it. PO says it was delivered. It was tracked but not insured or signature confirmed. When the seller blew me off, I gave them negative feedback. I believe if there is no insurance, the seller has to make good on lost merchandise. In the face of bad feedback, the seller capitulated and refunded my money. SO, I acted like a scammer, but was completely on the up and up. The areas people are identifying as problems do really help the honest buyer. How can you squelch the scammers and still protect the honest buyers?
Robert
Robert
#104
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I asked him for a bit more info about this earlier and he didn't respond. As a seller, I too would be reluctant to provide a refund for something I know was properly shipped and tracked. This maybe a time I would have to to take a hit on my feedback score if I did what I was supposed to do.
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One might think so- but consider things, like: In one quarter, Amazon's sales were up something like 27%....while Ebay's were up....1.7%. Consider that Ebay is alienating so many customers, both sellers [for reasons already mentioned] and buyers [not being able to find what they want due to their favorite sellers leaving and a dysfunctional search engine which "figures out *what they really want*" by using Al-Gore-rhythms, instead of just displaying what they search for- among other factors], that they must rely on tactics like acquiring new customers to replace the departing (which is much more expensive than keeping existing customers) which may keep them afloat a little longer, but which ultimately is not a valid way to cultivate long-term business.
Despite Ebay's take of high revenue, they aren't actually making much profit off of that revenue. The main thing keeping Ebay afloat, is the profits from Ebay-owned PayPal. I would say that if it weren't for PayPal, Ebay would be bankrupt already.
One thing which says more than any balance statement: At the Post Office in the little town closest to where I live, prior to '08, there was always a line of people at the counter- all Ebay sellers, shipping packages. 6 months after Donahoe took over.....those lines were gone. I've never had to wait on a line at that PO again- not once in the last 5 years.
I used to do most of my online purchases on Ebay. Now, about all I buy there are occasional DVDs and a few little <$5 items. In the past, I not only sold on Ebay, but also managed the accounts of two other people. In total, we generated on average about $36K a year in Ebay/PP fees. They don't get a dime from us now.
There has been a mass exodus of small sellers over the last few years. Even former Ebay cheerleaders are now jumping ship...and it is not only expensive for Ebay to recruit new sellers to replace the departed...but those new sellers don't last long- either getting booted because they can't keep up with Ebay's insane and tyrannical policies...or quitting in disgust; they're not like the people whom they replaced, who were there for the long-haul- often having 10 years of experience on Ebay. And now, as mentioned previously, even the big corporate sellers are jumping ship one by one.
They can cater to unreasonable buyers and scammers all they want, but if you go to Ebay and can't find what you're looking for [for me, it was always the vintage and used one-of-a-kind items!] or can find it cheaper elsewhere.....that will reflect in Ebay's bottom line- even if they can hide it through creative accounting, and fool the stockholders for a while.
Despite Ebay's take of high revenue, they aren't actually making much profit off of that revenue. The main thing keeping Ebay afloat, is the profits from Ebay-owned PayPal. I would say that if it weren't for PayPal, Ebay would be bankrupt already.
One thing which says more than any balance statement: At the Post Office in the little town closest to where I live, prior to '08, there was always a line of people at the counter- all Ebay sellers, shipping packages. 6 months after Donahoe took over.....those lines were gone. I've never had to wait on a line at that PO again- not once in the last 5 years.
I used to do most of my online purchases on Ebay. Now, about all I buy there are occasional DVDs and a few little <$5 items. In the past, I not only sold on Ebay, but also managed the accounts of two other people. In total, we generated on average about $36K a year in Ebay/PP fees. They don't get a dime from us now.
There has been a mass exodus of small sellers over the last few years. Even former Ebay cheerleaders are now jumping ship...and it is not only expensive for Ebay to recruit new sellers to replace the departed...but those new sellers don't last long- either getting booted because they can't keep up with Ebay's insane and tyrannical policies...or quitting in disgust; they're not like the people whom they replaced, who were there for the long-haul- often having 10 years of experience on Ebay. And now, as mentioned previously, even the big corporate sellers are jumping ship one by one.
They can cater to unreasonable buyers and scammers all they want, but if you go to Ebay and can't find what you're looking for [for me, it was always the vintage and used one-of-a-kind items!] or can find it cheaper elsewhere.....that will reflect in Ebay's bottom line- even if they can hide it through creative accounting, and fool the stockholders for a while.
#106
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I do, but then I've only ever used my balance to buy other things (rarely sell and never through ebay). I've always been too afraid to let them have access to my bank account. But then I'm also the sort that never uses my debit card for anything (and try to get the wife to do the same) and pay for everything with credit card/cash, so that it's easier to keep my checkbook balanced and always know how much I have where. When you're poor (by my standards anyway), it's important to know how much you have and where.
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#107
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I asked him for a bit more info about this earlier and he didn't respond. As a seller, I too would be reluctant to provide a refund for something I know was properly shipped and tracked. This maybe a time I would have to to take a hit on my feedback score if I did what I was supposed to do.
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#108
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I do, but then I've only ever used my balance to buy other things (rarely sell and never through ebay). I've always been too afraid to let them have access to my bank account. But then I'm also the sort that never uses my debit card for anything (and try to get the wife to do the same) and pay for everything with credit card/cash, so that it's easier to keep my checkbook balanced and always know how much I have where. When you're poor (by my standards anyway), it's important to know how much you have and where.
So you have only a credit card linked to your Paypal account?
Thanks
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In answer to the basic question about making your cc default, no even without a PP balance, your checki g accoun will always be the default. It has become much easier to change it withe the new connectivity between ebay and PP. Also. Easier on the smart phone apps.
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I have occasionally thought about slowly putting a little bit every month into my paypal account to make a slush fund to buy larger things later, but that apparently would require linking it to my bank account so I just save up in the bank account and keep track there instead and keep the interest rather than letting paypal have it. Sure I could make a separate bank account as a "saving for big things like bikes" account but it's not that much work to keep track that I've saved xdollars for other purchases.
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I do, but then I've only ever used my balance to buy other things (rarely sell and never through ebay). I've always been too afraid to let them have access to my bank account. But then I'm also the sort that never uses my debit card for anything (and try to get the wife to do the same) and pay for everything with credit card/cash, so that it's easier to keep my checkbook balanced and always know how much I have where. When you're poor (by my standards anyway), it's important to know how much you have and where.
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All my accounts are low, but not deliberately!
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#113
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I asked him for a bit more info about this earlier and he didn't respond. As a seller, I too would be reluctant to provide a refund for something I know was properly shipped and tracked. This maybe a time I would have to to take a hit on my feedback score if I did what I was supposed to do.
I grew up in the retail business and I know this: you can strut around saying how you would behave, you wouldn't stand for this or that, but it all comes down to one thing. Never more true than in today's mail order marketplace: the customer is always right. If you ever forget that, your business is doomed. So say what your want about taking a hit on feedback because you did the right thing, but it is all for naught. Until the customer is happy, your job is not done. You have to keep on doing the right thing until the customer says it is right. Business 101!
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I remember no response asking for more info, but I am happy to respond, and I make no apologies. Mail order sales carry with them certain guarantees such as the goods will be delivered to the buyer. If the buyer doesn't get the goods, it is by definition the seller's responsibility to make the deal good. Seller can try to find the missing package, send another, or just refund the price. That is the code that the top mail order sellers use, folks like Amazon, Jos. A. Bank Clotiers, etc. In order for the buying public to participate, they have to know without question they will get their order. It has to be a no questions asked deal. The seller has to make good on it or risk losing business. In order for a buyer to make money, he has to sefl-insure his transactions, that is reserve enough cash flow to cover the inevitable glitches. He can pay for signature confirmation or shipping insurance if that is a better approach, but the transaction has to be insured somehow. If you don't like that, I certainly understand. It is not ideal, but it is reality. Like they say, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."
I grew up in the retail business and I know this: you can strut around saying how you would behave, you wouldn't stand for this or that, but it all comes down to one thing. Never more true than in today's mail order marketplace: the customer is always right. If you ever forget that, your business is doomed. So say what your want about taking a hit on feedback because you did the right thing, but it is all for naught. Until the customer is happy, your job is not done. You have to keep on doing the right thing until the customer says it is right. Business 101!
I grew up in the retail business and I know this: you can strut around saying how you would behave, you wouldn't stand for this or that, but it all comes down to one thing. Never more true than in today's mail order marketplace: the customer is always right. If you ever forget that, your business is doomed. So say what your want about taking a hit on feedback because you did the right thing, but it is all for naught. Until the customer is happy, your job is not done. You have to keep on doing the right thing until the customer says it is right. Business 101!
I don't buy into the buyer is always right BS.
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#116
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What really annoyed me was that the seller blew me off, told me to contact Pay Pal (not correct, it should have been ebay) and they would take care of me. Actually they have the same policy you advocate: if tracking says it was delivered, then that is the end of it. So I got the ebay runaround. Seller should have been involved in making me happy.
You likely think I am advocating for the buyer, but in reality I am trying to help the seller. Once the rules of doing this kind of business are understood, everyone will be happier.
BTW, despite the several voices speaking on this thread to the contrary, my idea of how mail order should be done is quite widespread. The biggest and best merchants essentially universally operate this way. Why would they do that?
Robert
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Tracking & signature do you absolutely no good if the buyer simply says that the item is not as described and sends back a brick, or his old, broken item. Buyer gets the money back automatically from ebay/pp, you get stiffed and probably negative feedback.
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Sorry, I found your request for more information. No, I am not saying it wasn't shipped. I haven't the slightest idea what happened to it. The PO does make mistakes. This was just 1st Class mail, not priority or other advanced service. Who knows? What I am saying is just as in my other reply, until I am satisfied, it is still the seller's responsibility. Period.
But what I hear from you is...whether there was tracking or not...if the package doesn't end up in your hands, if it doesn't, it is the seller's fault.
Where we vary is...if there is tracking and proof of delivery, I believe the buyer has some responsibility for going to the mailbox in a timely manner.
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Robert
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The typical scam that's been tried on me is a buyer with a confirmed location in Europe says that he will be visiting the U.S. and would like to save on shipping by picking up the item there. They win the auction, give a U.S. address and ask to have it shipped there. Usually they just give the address, not the explanation and hope you'll just ship it there. When you discover the changed address they give you the story. The finale is you ship the goods, they receive them, the receipt is signed for & confirmed and then they get their money back because they say they never received it, you didn't ship to the confirmed address, someone else must have received the goods, claw back the cash. I've never fallen for it.
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Sorry, I found your request for more information. No, I am not saying it wasn't shipped. And yes, it was tracked. I haven't the slightest idea what happened to it. The PO does make mistakes. This was just 1st Class mail, not priority or other advanced service. Who knows? What I am saying is just as in my other reply, until I am satisfied, it is still the seller's responsibility. Period.
What really annoyed me was that the seller blew me off, told me to contact Pay Pal (not correct, it should have been ebay) and they would take care of me. Actually they have the same policy you advocate: if tracking says it was delivered, then that is the end of it. So I got the ebay runaround. Seller should have been involved in making me happy.
You likely think I am advocating for the buyer, but in reality I am trying to help the seller. Once the rules of doing this kind of business are understood, everyone will be happier.
BTW, despite the several voices speaking on this thread to the contrary, my idea of how mail order should be done is quite widespread. The biggest and best merchants essentially universally operate this way. Why would they do that?
Robert
What really annoyed me was that the seller blew me off, told me to contact Pay Pal (not correct, it should have been ebay) and they would take care of me. Actually they have the same policy you advocate: if tracking says it was delivered, then that is the end of it. So I got the ebay runaround. Seller should have been involved in making me happy.
You likely think I am advocating for the buyer, but in reality I am trying to help the seller. Once the rules of doing this kind of business are understood, everyone will be happier.
BTW, despite the several voices speaking on this thread to the contrary, my idea of how mail order should be done is quite widespread. The biggest and best merchants essentially universally operate this way. Why would they do that?
Robert
I believe what you are stating is...this is the cost of doing business and should be rolled into the bottom line. You maybe right but still a sad commentary.