Ebay-Shocking news Leaked MEMO

[anti-cheap]

There will be those who will not believe me and I sympathize. I wish the facts were fiction but to deny what I know would be to live in a fairyland of make-believe. I understand that the bulk of this “manifesto” reveals a plot so against the spirit of eBay that it will be dismissed as lie. So be it. I cannot force the world to accept it. All I can do is state the truth as I know it and leave it to you and to your common sense and experience to judge.


The powers that be want to transform eBay into an overstock warehouse venue. A kind of outlet store for the internet much like a cheaper and streamlined version of Amazon. From a strictly business point of view, given the size of eBay and the growing costs of doing business, it makes a certain kind of sense to shift gears. Think about it: when eBay started, sellers were about rare and unique items but here and now the majority of items are common, used counterparts of what can be found new online at retail sites. Truly rare and unique items are sold at real auctions; the “stuff in your attic” isn’t glamorous enough and won’t keep eBay afloat any longer.

The trend away from the rare and unique to the big box retailer is not new. Several years ago the powers that be noticed that the big “powersellers” were simply listing items that existed in their retail stores or inventories. Thus the concept of “buy it now”, “best offer”, and “eBay stores” were created. It was the nascent stage of the plan yet to be. Little by little, without the population noticing, the mechanisms required to replicate the average retail storefront were already in place - and with its rise came the slow, steady downfall of the auction format.

Yet outright pursuit of a retail venue would have led to a major problem that at the time could not have been surmounted. The vast majority of people, on and off line, know eBay as precisely the place for auctions of rare and unique items. The sellers and buyers held onto that perception too but in truth their opinion even involvement in new and improved version of eBay is irrelevant by a certain Machiavellian calculation made by the powers that be. As part of the plan, eBay calculated thus: even if they lost the sellers as part of the change, the buyers will be coming back to buy regardless of who or what operated within the retail-outlet venue.

No, it was the stock holders who the powers that be feared.

Only the stockholders had the power to change the direction set forth by the CEO and the board. So it became imperative to change the equation. Part of the plan is to devalue the stock gradually so that investors merely dumped the stock as opposed to wanting managerial change ala Yahoo. Then to buy back the stock at lower cost and to such a volume that no rebellion against the powers that be were possible.

By the end of July that phase of the plan will be successful and there est of the plan will be revealed without fear of backlash from those who otherwise would have had the power to pull eBay back from the brink.

Indeed, if you believe the current changes are obvious signals that small sellers are not wanted - be prepared - you have seen nothing yet.

So far what have they done? All they have managed to do is silence a seller’s ability to warn others about buyers (half of the purpose behind the original idea of feedback), burden you with higher and higher fees, dangle “treats” like discounts while setting the bar of eligibility so high that the rewards cannot be reached. and, by the way PayPal deals with “complaints” leave you vulnerable to fraud. What if worse was yet to come?

They know if you do not feel safe that you will not use eBay. The changes that have been enacted only eliminates the small sellers. Meanwhile they want to eradicate the mid-sized seller too. And they want to ensure that both do not return.

For the mid-sized seller the DSR became the tool of choice. The powers that be raised the level of what is a good seller artificially high. No manipulation is required; they know exactly the effect of the policy. This is why buyers are told that 4 is a good score and sellers are told that 4.9 yields discounts and higher listing placements. As long as that fractured point of view exists, eBay does not need to interfere with the DSR as has been suggested, the buyers will be killing the sellers naturally.

By August there will be no pretense and the intentions of the new and improved eBay will be clear. The following is only a partial list of the rules that will be imposed. It comes from a memo that circulated within my corner of the managerial department the week before Chicago. I cannot be too specific about certain items and I cannot reveal details of the latest additions without endangering my anonymity.

1. Neutrals will be converted to negatives complete with red icons and reduced feedback scores. Afterward neutrals will not be offered as a choice of feedback.

2. The entire process of feedback will be automated. Buyers and sellers will chose standard feedback from a list. For sellers this operation will be performed automatically upon the buyer winning. For buyers there will be an extra free line with which to add a few comments about the seller without restriction to content. Replies will not be allowed.

3. The implementation of a stricter rules regarding shipping. From the boxes, packing, labels and tapes to where you can buy postage. Orders have been placed for prototypes of “eBay” boxes. UPS and FedEx will be instructed not to accept “eBay” merchandise if it’s not inside “eBay” boxing. They will know, of course, because when sellers buy the “eBay” postage from the “eBay” source, a detailed list of contents with item numbers will be available to the shippers upon scanning a bar code. As for those who continue to use USPS, another level of quality control will be implemented - buyers will be asked, upon confirmation of delivery, if the seller used “eBay” standard shipping items. Naturally, no verification of the buyer’s truthfulness will be attempted, and continued ‘infractions’ will result in suspension. eBay will have other ways to check if a seller is not using the “eBay” equipment - as they will be required to buy at cost the supplies immediately after items are listed. (This is such a large scale operation behind the scenes that I feel comfortable sharing as much of it as I know.)

4. Sales taxes will be included automatically; shipping cost and sales taxes will be used to determined FVF.

5. Item descriptions will be “standardized” with templates which include the posting of a new, universal return policy. Only yearly subscribers to the retail-outlet venue can opt out of these universal return policies but even they cannot alter the template structures being devised.

6. Strikes against buyers will be eliminated as the whole concept of a buyer and bidding will be altered. FVF will be calculated when payment is submitted.

7. Time to Close will be eliminated entirely. Best Match will be the non-alterable default. Best Match is a system that caters to the needs of shoppers not bidders.

8. Placement within Best Match will be determined by several factors, the most important of which will be the extra display features added onto the listing.

9. DSRs can be removed by retailers and powersellers who pay a certain yearly fee.

10. The end play itself which consists of four phases: a) the main focus shifts to retail sellers whose fees are on a per listing basis b) stores will be replaced by a classified section, fees will be based on yearly subscriptions and FVFs c) occasional auctions will be conducted for unique items (celebrity auctions, items that have been featured on the news, etc.) d) total elimination of auctions for regular sellers.

From the point of view of eBay’s agenda to change gears these alteration make sense. The powers that be want to turn eBay into a retail venue format. Therefore the “buyer” must be changed - bidding and commitments to buy are part of the past. In a retail venue, the item is either in your cart or not and you only commit to buy when you pay at checkout. The seller is also redefined in the way they will be required to do business. They will be forced to copy the methods of retail stores.

The goal is to become Amazon Lite. Unlike Amazon the merchandise will be stocked by the retailers in their warehouses, eBay will be just an electronic centralized venue for outlet sale - a “trusted” name with a wide customer base and popular name recognition.

That is the future and as I write this I know that it cannot be stopped. There are no investors with enough clout and will to challenge the CEO. Stock holders will simply walk away. eBay will not sink, however, it will be exactly in the position its rulers intend it to be at.

Sellers, my advice is simple. You are not wanted. Leave. If you stay, you will be crushed. Leave. Go away. You cannot win.

[larryguitar]

Provide links to 'memo' that supports your suppositions, please.

[Rock_and_roll]

tl;dr :o

[Perfessor]

Nobody decides to devalue stock.

Fail.

[BlueStrat]

Man, that's a lot of boring words and stuff.

Can you break it down into one paragraph?

[offramp]

Man, that's a lot of boring words and stuff.

Can you break it down into one paragraph?

Let's not risk a paragraph making it even more difficult. How about one sentence?

eBay is phasing out the 'little guy'--sellers such as you and I, with the occasional odd or valuable things to sell--in favor of commercial or upper-mid-size retailers.

[fmw]

They've needed to do this for a long time. Ebay has way, way too many sellers and that results in prices that are too low for sellers to make a profit. Ebay will always do better with profitable sellers than unprofitable ones. Sounds pretty good to me.

[NewWorldMan]

Sounds like a load of bullshit to me. Here's my favorite line:

"UPS and FedEx will be instructed not to accept “eBay” merchandise if it’s not inside “eBay” boxing."

So you think E-Bay has the authority to tell other companies how to run their businesses and who they can and can't have as customers? That would be like Honda telling all repair shops "you can't work on our cars unless you buy the parts directly from us..."

Look out UPS, the almighty E-Bay has spoken! :lol:

[fmw]

Sounds like a load of bullshit to me. Here's my favorite line:

"UPS and FedEx will be instructed not to accept “eBay” merchandise if it’s not inside “eBay” boxing."

So you think E-Bay has the authority to tell other companies how to run their businesses and who they can and can't have as customers? That would be like Honda telling all repair shops "you can't work on our cars unless you buy the parts directly from us..."

Look out UPS, the almighty E-Bay has spoken! :lol:

I wonder how a UPS driver would know that a package had ebay merchandise?

[larryguitar]

I wonder how a UPS driver would know that a package had ebay merchandise?

He shakes it-HARD.

:D

[offramp]

They've needed to do this for a long time. Ebay has way, way too many sellers and that results in prices that are too low for sellers to make a profit. Ebay will always do better with profitable sellers than unprofitable ones. Sounds pretty good to me.


Sounds pretty shitty to me. I've got some things I'd like to sell; sure wouldn't mind a multi-state/international market; sure wouldn't mind having the best opportunity to make a little money from clearing out my life.
Greed basically takes away another option for the little guy.

[Jon Hiller]

I don't believe it's any sort of big plan on the part of eBay, but it's a look at the direction they're seemingly heading. I stopped selling there when they enacted the new feedback rules. I still buy there, but only like shopping at walmart, it's a last resort. If they don't want me as a seller any more than to make stupid changes that hurt me, then they don't want me as a customer any more either. Truth is, I think they have lost a LOT more sellers than they let on, and they won't have to "devalue" their stock, it will do it on it's own over the next year or so. I am surprised at the smaller number of sellers. I have an old van that I use for my shop and I used to be able to find nearly any part I wanted for it on the bay 6 months ago, but now, there are very few because a huge number of sellers have stopped selling there.

[fmw]

Sounds pretty shitty to me. I've got some things I'd like to sell; sure wouldn't mind a multi-state/international market; sure wouldn't mind having the best opportunity to make a little money from clearing out my life.
Greed basically takes away another option for the little guy.

I don't think so. If a market for it exists, someone will steip and and fill the void - perhaps someone with a better ability to learn from past mistakes.

[7 Strings of Ha]

so basically ebay is going to suck more than it does??? shocker. they've been going down the "fuck the little seller" road for years. nothing new

[offramp]

I don't think so. If a market for it exists, someone will steip and and fill the void - perhaps someone with a better ability to learn from past mistakes.

Well, it needs to happen now. Otherwise, whole markets of people and items are going to fall away by the wayside.

[doppelbanger]

They've needed to do this for a long time. Ebay has way, way too many sellers and that results in prices that are too low for sellers to make a profit. Ebay will always do better with profitable sellers than unprofitable ones. Sounds pretty good to me.

wrong...profitable sellers make most people, like me, choose craigslist to buy stuff. i'm going to go wherever the prices are dirt cheap and whether thats ebay, craigslist or something else will determine where i buy stuff (gear). if ebay changes to this type of site they will out of business in no time and most of us will be smiling ear to ear.

[7sickstrings]

Dear GOD! Soylent Green is PEOPLE!

Seriously though, one has to wonder why the OP would choose this arguably random place to "out" the evil corporate types bent on retail domination. Me, I'm not buying it.

[Anderton]

Dear GOD! Soylent Green is PEOPLE!

Seriously though, one has to wonder why the OP would choose this arguably random place to "out" the evil corporate types bent on retail domination

Yeah...especially with one post, and no comments to any of the comments here. I really expected to see a sig for www.freeporn24/7.com or something.

[Brokepick]

Yeah...especially with one post, and no comments to any of the comments here. I really expected to see a sig for xxx or something.

Uh, that was a live porn link you posted. :facepalm:

[Samilyn]

Let's not risk a paragraph making it even more difficult. How about one sentence?

eBay is phasing out the 'little guy'--sellers such as you and I, with the occasional odd or valuable things to sell--in favor of commercial or upper-mid-size retailers.

I'm under that impression too.

[customtele]

As far as Evil bay dictating to shipping companys; Walmart has been telling wholesalers what price they will charge for years. If Ebay trys this they might get away with it as United Package Smashers & FEDUP won't want to lose a big chunk of business.

[methusalem]

Uh, that was a live porn link you posted. :facepalm:

So you were the first one to click on it? :facepalm:

[guitarbilly74]

I just canceled a sale today because of their hold policy. I told the buyer I would not ship without getting my money, gave him a full refund and closed my account. I am sick of eBullshit

[Anderton]

Uh, that was a live porn link you posted. :facepalm:

I made it up, but just to be sure, I tried it and I got an error message from my cable company. Are you sure it exists?!?

[Brokepick]

I made it up, but just to be sure, I tried it and I got an error message from my cable company. Are you sure it exists?!?

Sorry. My mistake. :facepalm:

[daddymack]

Yeah...especially with one post, and no comments to any of the comments here. I really expected to see a sig for www.freeporn24/7.com or something. Warning issued for posting porn links...
:cop:

:wave: hi, boss...;)

[7sickstrings]

So you were the first one to click on it? :facepalm:

Nope, that would have been me. No porn.

[AxxMurder]

hahaha agrrreeeeed

[nwtsnma]

i need a leaked memo to tell me this?

[luckj]

Get a life man.

[notrfk]

Whether or not the "memo" is real doesn't really change the fact that eBay has been raising prices, and overall making it more difficult for average-Joe sellers to do business. It's the power sellers and online businesses that are given the best considerations, and these are the people who don't really care that they can't leave feedback for buyers anymore.

I'm telling you, if someone else could start a new auction site based on the original eBay model, they could make a killing. Call it freebay.com or something and either charge flat fees or make it totally free for sellers. Get revenue from advertising. It would fly away.

[dwitt]

I found this..... as i am done as a seller on FEebay.

http://www.mystore.com

[coyote-1]

eBay is so 2002.

Haven't shopped there for awhile now, it became irrelevant to my life years ago. Besides, is there any 'shock' left in the world?? People have always sought to maximize themselves, regardless of the expense of others... the only thing that changes over time is the emergence of new technologies & methods of doing so.

[loneleaf]

I bought an out-of-date bike on ebay a couple of weeks ago and received nothing except for a bitter disappointment. The bike is beyond repaired and it costs me 40 pounds at deal. The buyer made me feel outta my head and I was totally pissed off. Ebay is nothing when comparing wit Amazon tho the goods sold on Ebay is much cheaper than the ones on Amazon. However, cheapest is dearest. Cant say whether that Ebayer deceived me into doing that purchase or not... But believe me, I wont make any bids or deals on Ebay anymore. No more...

[Collie Ransom]

Ebay has been phasing out the hobbist seller bit by bit fir a long time. They want the public to think that buying a used item at an auction is exactly the same as walking into a retail store. This has always been bullshit.

[DJ in FL]

Ever see the BOURNE series of movies? Conspiracy galore...:confused:
This sounds a whole lot more complicated!

[I-like2play]

wrong...profitable sellers make most people, like me, choose craigslist to buy stuff. i'm going to go wherever the prices are dirt cheap and whether thats ebay, craigslist or something else will determine where i buy stuff (gear). if ebay changes to this type of site they will out of business in no time and most of us will be smiling ear to ear.

If you read the company bio on Craigslist they outright say that Ebay owns a portion of their stock. They claim that the company has no intentions of transforming into a fee based site but I wonder how long it'l be til Ebay finds away to screw up CL as well.

[drummerdarko]

Dear GOD! Soylent Green is PEOPLE!

Seriously though, one has to wonder why the OP would choose this arguably random place to "out" the evil corporate types bent on retail domination. Me, I'm not buying it.

yeah... exactly what is supposed to compel me to believe a one-post-punk like anti-cheap? You gotta have some credibility before you throw down like that....

[fuzzball]

I knew I should have gotten my boots before reading this.

[hogberto]

so let's just say it's a big bad conspiracy.

then it's a big bad conspiracy run by, er, an internet auction website.

to achieve a particular business model.

somehow i think the free world will survive this dastardly plot. :p

[greggybhoy]

The new hold policy is atrocious. I need to wait another 2 weeks for the money for an amp I sold 2 weeks ago. This is because City Link
(UK) damaged the amp in transit, and the buyer wasn't happy, so didn't want to leave feedback.

eBay is changing, and certainly, the original ethos is long lost but hopefully something else will come along...

[satannica]

Well, true story!

Many years ago I sold a fairly innocuous fx pedal on ebay. The buyer paid and I sent it. The seller then said he wasn't happy because the instruction manual was slightly creased and he wanted £10 for the damage. I refused.

Then from outta nowhere some goblin dude with an ebay shirt in walks straight in my house like he owned the damn place. He tied us all up, fucked the cat up the pooper, sodomised the rabbit and took a shit in the fridge right on top of a rather nice cheesecake I was saving. Little fucker.

Then they charge ME for pleasure and they said if I don't pay, they'll send a smaller goblin around to run up my leg and start biting the inside of my ass!!!!

I learned man - I learned!

[Surrealistic]

Would those who are taking this seriously be interested in helping me dispose of the several millions of dollars in my Nigerian bank?

[came2play]

I didn't read every reply in this thread, but I'm just about done with Ebay anyway. Another forumite coined the more appropriate term "FeeBay". Between the ebay fees and paypal fees, I'm about done with it.
I've had better luck selling items through actual forums, like HC or others.

Yes, I'll turn to the 'bay if I can't move a certain item and really need the cash, but that's about it.

If the above change takes place, well....I won't be heartbroken.

[came2play]

The new hold policy is atrocious. I need to wait another 2 weeks for the money for an amp I sold 2 weeks ago. This is because City Link
(UK) damaged the amp in transit, and the buyer wasn't happy, so didn't want to leave feedback.

eBay is changing, and certainly, the original ethos is long lost but hopefully something else will come along...


I just found out about the hold policy, too, when I recently sold an amp. Fortunately the buyer was happy & left good feedback, plus I entered my tracking info into PayPal. Proof of delivery and positive feedback from the buyer will get the funds released sooner, but I had to call PayPal to have a rep remove the hold, even though the requirements were met.

[paintbox]

Wouldn't a simple solution be to break ebay into two parts- ebay Commerical and ebay, um, Residential. In other words one ebay for legit businesses and one for the average joe cleaning out his closet or whatever-

[lespaul1964]

OP has one post, hmmmm.

Nonetheless, Ebay was a great company and is an example of what to do to ruin a great company. They need, and probably will get, competition real soon. They have screwed up the better mousetrap. Still useful, nothing better yet that I know of, but man I hope not for long.

[boxorox]

We liked it, it was fun. They changed it, now it's a pain. That's why we have Craigslist. As long as there's interest, someone will be filling the niche. On line sales between non-professional consumers isn't going away.

[drewl]

Even if this is entirely true, some other entity like Craigslist would come along to fill the void.

[silverring233]

I'm telling you, if someone else could start a new auction site based on the original eBay model, they could make a killing. Call it freebay.com or something and either charge flat fees or make it totally free for sellers. Get revenue from advertising. It would fly away.


someone did:
http://www.mustsellittoday.com/

[tsmilliner]

I just jumped to the end of this thread, so excuse me if it has already been said. Ebay is not even close to what it once was. it used to be a great place to find a deal, or a rare thing you couldn't find elsewhere. Now they have gotten greedy and everything is slanted towards the super seller.
I refuse to sell anything else on there and you should too. Between the listing fees and the end value fee, and then the paypal fees you lose at least 10% of what you are selling. The final straw was when they arbitrarily decided to hold funds on what they considered a risky sale. This is what i get for having 50 solid 100% feedbacks, and a several year old account?
I will stick to the forums, we can save the money and give each other better deals. I think we should all focus on improving these user forums, especially the classifieds areas. Let Ebay go the way of all the other dot com companies that started as a pure idea and got greedy.

[New Trail]

Hmm, corporate greed, eh? You never see that! :poke: Anyway, I haven't used eBay since they started the Paypal only rule. What I liked about eBay is what it sounds like they are and will completely eliminate (1) the offering of unusual hard to find rare items (2) a sense of security in your transaction. A lot of that is already gone as I see more and more "buy it now" items and listings of multiple identical items.

[davydusade]

I a=hate ebay but I do use it constantly

[Zeromus-X]

I always like to tell my eBay story, so why not tell it here.

We used to sell quite a bit on eBay at work. We're a computer store. We sell a lot of broken laptops. That is, if a customer doesn't want their laptop repaired for whatever reason, we'll sell it on eBay, clearly marked that it's bad and what's bad about it (usually a motherboard problem). We have in our auctions that we will ship internationally, but we do not insure any international shipments due to the added costs and complexity, and so it is 100% the buyer's problem if there is an issue with an international sale. We've done dozens of them with no problems.

A few months ago, we ship one out to another country. I can't remember where off the top of my head. Romania? I dunno. Anyway, auction has in large red letters that we are not responsible, blah, blah. Buyer decides to take his chance. The laptop ends at about $150 bucks. All are happy. We pack it and ship it out.

About two weeks later, we get an email that a box with a power cord showed up, no laptop, box is torn open. Sounds like someone in Customs got a new laptop. Or it fell out somewhere. Who knows. Either way, we tell the guy, hey, that sucks, but it's a risk you knew you were taking. So he files a report with PayPal, since their site has a buyer guarantee. PayPal immediately freezes the $150 from our account. They ask the buyer what happens, and he states in his written account that he does not feel that we are responsible, that he feels the laptop was in the box when it was shipped. We provide paperwork from FedEx with the weight of the box, the ship date, etc. We also include a screenshot from the auction of our disclaimer that we don't insure international shipments.

Fast forward a few days and PayPal removes $150 from our account and gives it to the buyer. Their reason? It is our responsibility to make sure the item gets to the buyer, and if it doesn't, they get a refund. Period. The fact that it wasn't insured is our problem, not the buyer's problem. They refuse to re-open or re-examine the case. So, even with all our proof, AND even with the buyer stating that he didn't believe it was our fault... we are out $150, the shipping cost, and the laptop itself.

So, for anyone who buys on eBay... don't ever pay extra for insurance, because if something happens, PayPal will side with you anyway.

I also ran into a problem with them selling some speakers... I sold about $1,200 worth of speakers and the money was put on hold for 30 days before I could take it out. Problem was, I couldn't even afford to ship the things because I didn't have that money to ship with. The buyer was understanding and gave me a positive feedback immediately, which allowed me to call PayPal to release the funds. Completely ridiculous.

eBay also prevented me from listing those same speakers with a $70 shipping fee, because they said other items with a similar listing were being shipped for significantly less, and to lower my shipping fee. It said if I needed a higher shipping rate, to make up for it with the cost of the item. I was selling Meyer speakers, and apparently it was viewing all the K&M mic stands which were shipped for a few bucks each. There was no overriding it, either. Of course they want you to increase the cost of the item and not the shipping -- they don't make a commission off your shipping price, only your selling price!

/rant

[fuzzball]

eBay also prevented me from listing those same speakers with a $70 shipping fee, because they said other items with a similar listing were being shipped for significantly less, and to lower my shipping fee. It said if I needed a higher shipping rate, to make up for it with the cost of the item. I was selling Meyer speakers, and apparently it was viewing all the K&M mic stands which were shipped for a few bucks each. There was no overriding it, either. Of course they want you to increase the cost of the item and not the shipping -- they don't make a commission off your shipping price, only your selling price!

/rant

I feel you here, I used to sell books, then they put a limit on the shipping. I sold big books and the shipping would cost much more. With the cost to ship cutting the profits down I would be selling at a loss. I no longer sell them on ebay.

[jerrydyer]

Thats o k .. something better will just take its place. Thats how things are done right. Smart people educate themselves and then mve on when soemthing becomes crappy.

[WakeTheDead]

E-slay sucks!

I won't sell anything through e-slay again. Their fees are outrageous and they treat their sellers like toilet scum.

I still buy certain things through e-bay but I am hoping that will soon cease also.

There will be online auction sites picking up the slack and taking over where e-slay left us high and dry in the desert without water, food, phone or wheels.

SCREW EM!

[axolotls]

i got ripped 3x in a row last month after being there for 10 years.

FVF and PP fees are ridiculous now. The PP protection works well though.

[mondaymonkey]

Well I don't believe the world is falling either chicken little OP...

A large cap company almost invariably NEVER intentionally destroyes its stock price. Without large stock prices, the company can't raise as much capital by selling off new shares. (Among a host of other things)

Thats what keyd off the BS alert

That being said, I wish there was a alternative to Ebay with the auction style selling.

[jimb12345]

i am not sure what to think about this.

[scottfletcher]

Actually the post is very believable ! It just business wether you like it or not. I can tell you this is no surprise . As a little seller I could see the deteriation and conformity along time ago. It is one thing to make necessary changes to a business as it grows, but it is another to self destruct. Ebay was on the right path and then went off the deep end. I have not bothered to sell much of anything lately at all. Soon if not now I will be eliminating ebay all together.I will leave them hanging with fees unpaid !! Where they really went wrong was too raise fees when they did. Bad timing !! It kind of reminds me of gas and oil prices and how that gouging became acceptable until it imploded on them. Mark my words the curve on the graph for ebay as it is today will not last more than 5 to 10 years anyway. We are social creatures and I see a swing back to old school retailing more and more. People will go back to it because they will really start missing the human contact that we once had. Face to face business will make a comeback. That is where I am headed myself. I will build it for years and be stronger for it. Ebay basically does not leave much room for profit. It has became a retail garage sale of left over junk i can buy anywhere. The good thing that came out of the ebay craze, is it leveled the playing field for buyers and sellers , because there were local retailers that were getting away with too high of prices. That all ended with ebay and online selling. The best thing people can do is continue to use the internet as an online business card. But build your own websites and optimize them, put some effort into it and you don't need ebay for much if anything at all !!! Ebay will die a slow death, coming from a business minded person, I guarantee it !! But they will already have made their billions ( literally ) so what will they care.

[valdiorn]

I must say most of these changes actually sound good to me :S
One thing I doubt is that eBay-packaging-only thing. Maybe they can force it on the big sellers (which you seem to oppose, so good for you!...?), but a small-time seller selling a single guitar amp, he can use whatever method of shipment to get the product to the buyer, unless the buyer is some kind of rat and reports the seller for using a different kind of box for shipping (who the fuck would do that, or even mind what shipping method you use, fedex or USPS, as long as he gets the product the seller has done his part)

As long as small-timers can in fact auction off unique items, even if there are fees to pay, eBay is doing its job... maybe I'm not getting some major issue here... can't we still use the service???

And the big retailers: I LOVE THEM! I live in Europe and the Hong Kong companies are MUCH MUCH more willing to ship internationally than you some of you damn americans (you are NOT alone in the universe! get that through your thick skull), and more often than not, I find small items I want offered with free intl. shipping from these stores, big plus for me!

So, as long as I get what I want, and people can buy and sell products, I'm satisfied. If they start barring small sellers with unique items from selling on eBay then another "niche" website for them will pop up, simple as that.

[hobotek]

I can't understand why in a free market there hasn't been 2 or 3 major competitors to ebay.... they need competition bad, maybe that would change their tune.

[fuzzball]

Hard to compete when a market is already dominated.

[Mr.Grumpy]

Hmmm. Looks like the OP is correct...

... Now John Donahoe, eBay's CEO, says he'd like the site to become a kind of online Costco—a place where "the inventory is somewhat fluid, but everything they've got is a great deal."* He wants more sellers to ditch weeklong auctions in favor of fixed-price listings, and he's aiming to get people to sell commodity items like computers and electronics for deep discounts. ... :facepalm: :arg: :facepalm:

From:
http://www.slate.com/id/2219255/

[Zeromus-X]

Everyone involved in that company should take their money and run, and let someone start a new auction site. They want to become "like an online Costco". Guess what? There's already an online Costco. It's Costco.

[any1have1]

That is why I prefer Craigslist. There's not as much to choose from but since it's locally listed it's typically more legit.

[Consume]

He shakes it-HARD.

:D

And slams it on the porch.

:cop:

[TREASUREBOX]

Well this is why I left Ebay, but I did Find a better selling venue, and it is rocking, growing extremely fast so check it out to sign up, and to see what we sell there.
http://www.bonanzle.com/booths
also you can go directly here and dont have to sign up to buy anything, just buy....http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/MY2009TREASUREBOX_4U

[TREASUREBOX]

Thats o k .. something better will just take its place. Thats how things are done right. Smart people educate themselves and then mve on when soemthing becomes crappy.

it already has check this out...http://www.bonanzle.com/booths;)

[mikelpanky]

I'll be fine with buying your used gear from this forum, assuming I can get verification from a previous buyer.

That's really the only issue I have with buying through forums. I just need to know that I can trust this total stranger I'm about to send several hundred dollars to. Is there any way to sue the pants off of someone if they rip me off on the KSS?? Can we get a thread with a list of every transaction that goes on in the forums, including a short comment telling about your experiences with the seller or buyer?

[mikelpanky]

Oh hey wow. Just found that part :rolleyes:

:facepalm:

So I'm sorta new around here....:thu:

[fuzzball]

Is there any way to sue the pants off of someone if they rip me off on the KSS??

No

[brian817]

the sky is falling!

[Treborklow]

Nobody decides to devalue stock.

Fail.

Not true. This happens everyday in the stock market as investors manipulate it.

[twostone]

Craigslist=free :p

[gtrjake]

As a newbie here I think I probably have a pretty objective viewpoint. I have bought many guitars on ebay, but have noticed that, more and more, ebay is making it very expensive to sell there. I like browsing the "for sale" items here, but find it a little frustrating. The practice of "bumping" that sellers understandably practice to keep their items at the head of the list, means that every day I keep seeing the same things over and over. Craigslist has it's similar problems too, since the listings are free many people just post the same ad over and over each day. I get tired of clicking on ads only to discover I've looked at them 10 times before. Personally, I think this site would be much easier to browse if bumping were somehow eliminated. Call me crazy, that's my opinion!

[jonsonmiy]

eBay is phasing out the 'little guy'--sellers such as you and I, with the occasional odd or valuable things to sell--in favor of commercial or upper-mid-size retailers.

thanks & regards

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[jet66]

He shakes it-HARD.

:D

This made me laugh- HARD.

:lol:

[MacAxe]

Ebay sucks as does Paypal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BETTSLPtone]

I can't understand why in a free market there hasn't been 2 or 3 major competitors to ebay.... they need competition bad, maybe that would change their tune.

BINGO. They can do whatever they want because......they can. Same with Pay Pal.

[Chordptrn]

This thread is way too long.....start a new Hate EBAY thread...

[fuzzball]

This thread is way too long.....start a new Hate EBAY thread...

I don't mind the length......



Neither does my wife.

[Richard G]

UPS AND FED-EX HAVE JOINED FORCES AGAINST EBAY AND WILL BE CALLING THEYRE SERVICES TO EBAY "FED-UP"

[curandero]

And the big retailers: I LOVE THEM! I live in Europe and the Hong Kong companies are MUCH MUCH more willing to ship internationally than you some of you damn americans (you are NOT alone in the universe! get that through your thick skull), and more often than not, I find small items I want offered with free intl. shipping from these stores, big plus for me!

So, as long as I get what I want, and people can buy and sell products, I'm satisfied. If they start barring small sellers with unique items from selling on eBay then another "niche" website for them will pop up, simple as that.

:facepalm: I see this a lot. I suppose the poster I am quoting won't see this, but just to clear things up, most damn Americans would love to have more potential buyers. You think we just want to ensure all the goodies are kept in the country?

The problem is Paypal does not offer enough protection when selling out of the country. It's bad enough for small sellers as it is. Unfortunately, the risks of dealing internationally and using Paypal just aren't worth it. Offer cash and you'll probably find a lot more willing sellers:p

[solidhadriel]

To add to Curandero's comments:

Valdiorn, you are highly uneducated in the prospects of economics. It's true a lot of 'smaller' sellers don't ship international, is it their choice? They don't have much of a choice with the amount of liabilities associated with international dealings. Something important to take note of, while your bashing us "Americans" - is that we operate on a global economy. Our revenues and economy as a whole requires the movements of imports and exports to stay saturated. If we just decided to be "selfish" and only deal locally, our economy, and the world's economy as a whole, would begin to seriously fail.

[Tony Burns]

i think we have an opportunity to open up a new auction site -lets call it "Fleabay" -think thats ebays nickname anyway -