Comments on: Philosophical question: why is eBay afraid of being America’s flea market?

By: Easy On Me

Easy On Me — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:34:47 +0000

In a short time? It’s all private, though, so who can tell.

By: Easy On Me

Easy On Me — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:33:21 +0000

Smart!

By: Heart Bracelet :

Heart Bracelet : — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 02:48:35 +0000

i admire Craig Newark of craiglists because he became a milionaire in such a short time .

By: JRaymond

JRaymond — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 20:01:18 +0000

I agree with one comment above that essentially states that the corporate world does not like the “little” seller, and to some extent views them as a threat. The world is not made up of active conspiracies where people verbally try collude to make something happen. However, the world in totally awash in unspoken conspiracies, a lazy code of silence where large groups of people sort of just allow things to happen. I think ebay is a case in point. But isn’t there a solution to this? Why isn’t there a search engine on the internet dedicated to one and only one thing: searching internet auction sites. Instead of everyone going to one auction site, why can’t everyone go to one auction search engine? This would relegate ebay to being just another site like any other. Any comments??

By: Donold

Donold — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:21:35 +0000

Maybe I spoke too soon, since you too, have stopped taking my check! What has this country come to? Is Paypal the official currency now?

By: Donold

Donold — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 03:49:48 +0000

I really enjoy reading both your blog and the comments from readers. The one angle missing on this article is the one from the exclusive buyer. From day one, since Ebay was paid by the sellers, they were catered to and protected more than us buyers were. The few unscrupulous sellers that cheated buyers were seldom dealt with (suspension of one shill account, but allowance to continue other accounts from the same web address, items not guaranteed as described, and then finally, method of payment chosen by E-bay or seller), and very little recourse for those of us buying. Taking a check and waiting for it to clear makes sense, but then, E-bay doesn’t get a per-centage of that! I come from a time where the buyer is always right, his/her chosen method of payment is the way it will be paid, and if the item turns out to be other than described, the law (E-bay) would have protected us.
Although I feel for the sellers who have been cheated (and it seems that there are many), BOTH parties should have been appreciated and protected from the beginning, and E-bay should never have forgotten that without the buyers, their per-centage would have been paltry, and if only one person were to bid, the sale would have gone for much less to the seller (and to them).
They also have overlooked one other thing: I seem to recall under the U.S. Commercial Code, when a deal is made, the person who places the money in the hands of the other, executing the business dealing, they are the one who chooses the method of shipment (unless a contract is signed by BOTH parties, stating otherwise). The reason for this is that once the money exchanges hands, the item now belongs to the buyer, and it is up to the seller to make certain that the Buyer’s item is transferred safely to them, at the buyer’s option (especially if the shipping was paid in advance, along with the cost of the item). For a seller to state that one can ONLY buy his/her goods IF PURCHASED AT HIS/HER CHOOSING OF PAYMENT, it gives terrible unfair advantage to one party, and over time, revenue loss will occur. Especially, when the organizer (E-bay) INSISTS on it happening that way (Pay-pal -their vested interest-). Over the years, I have complained to E-bay about this, but it was ignored, as were most of the buyers’ complaints. The result is obvious in their loss of revenue (not that they aren’t still making a mint).
E-Snipe, from day one, let me pay the way I felt comfortable, and I appreciate that about you. Thanks for the option and the good work. I must admitthat I buy a lot less than before, so that will account for your revenue loss, but feel good in knowing that whatever your losses that I had something to do with, E-Bay’s was much, much greater!
Keep up the good work!

By: Rosie

Rosie — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:06:42 +0000

I agree with you completely! eBay used to be fun, but those days are long gone. The policy of hiding who is bidding, who is buying, and who has bought makes it impossible to use one’s buyer’s skills for ferreting out who is likely to be a competitor. Of course, eSnipe made it that much more exciting, because one never knew when the snipe was going to come in!

eBay’s insistence on our using their very own PayPal for paying is infuriating, too. They skim from the seller twice and the buyer once. I really hate that they charge sellers for PayPal and that there doesn’t seem to be a way around using it…..

By: Easy On Me

Easy On Me — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:51:59 +0000

@Jurgen, you’re right about “The PayPal Wars”. I read the book with utmost fascination but I omitted mention of it because the events happened so long ago. I could have rattled off another half-dozen pieces of evidence from that era but decided to stick to the here and now. The more I think about it the more historical context probably would have helped. Thank you.

By: Jurgen Fritz

Jurgen Fritz — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:46:01 +0000

If you read the appendix to _The Paypal Wars_, you’ll find some verification of what you’re saying. eBay’s management tends to consist of a cultural elite from big name universities. Consequently, they tend to look down at others, including their very sellers who replace what they have of book smarts with street smarts.

By: Easy On Me

Easy On Me — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:08:25 +0000

@elise, lots of people agree with you. I love the phrase “bigger sense of revival”. I wonder if we can ever go back to the giddy early days of eBay. Maybe. Certainly a lot of people have felt some of the same jolt with Twitter, Facebook, and their ilk.

Cheers,

Tom Campbell