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

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

By: elise

elise — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:04:09 +0000

Very well put! The latest attempts have been these contests for sellers and their affiliates etc…but they definitely need a bigger sense of revival. Their acquisitions of craigslists, skype, stumbleupon have done little…and im sure the vast majority of people are unaware of their association. Go back to caring for their people that have been loyal to them over the years. It is sad to see them continually raise prices so margins are tighter than ever. Someone needs to solve the great eBay Solution

By: Easy On Me

Easy On Me — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:22:26 +0000

@Matthew, it is so easy to be a Monday morning quarterback, as I was in my original post. I imagine that with increased fraud attempts (and eBay takes punishing blows every second from determined bad guys) they have no choice but to tighten the restrictions on those of us who behave honorably. I think their problem is more fundamental, though, because they do appear to fear their own roots.

And sorry I took so dang long to reply.

Cheers,

Tom Campbell

By: Matthew

Matthew — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 23:41:10 +0000

Absolutely brilliant. Very well articulated view that many of us share and have been unable to give words. I plan on bookmarking this and referencing it in the near future. I think everyone who cares about ebay could stand to read it.

One aspect I have missed the most is how fun and simple it used to be… and still is. But, I can feel it changing. I like what you said about how its trying to be Amazon. It just feels less like a big open market and more and more like a big machine which needs you to be a little cog in it doing exactly what they tell you.

By: Easy On Me

Easy On Me — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 06:56:57 +0000

@vince, it’s self-destructive for eBay to decrease not increase the available information about their transactions for precisely the reasons you offer. Weird that they’re doing it, though it probably does reduce fraud somewhat.

By: Easy On Me

Easy On Me — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 06:54:34 +0000

@Vera, your point about eBay being a pioneering social network is novel and of course true. I never thought of it that way. V. perceptive. Obviously I too feel that selling at flea markets is an ancient and honorable tradition.

I am skeptical about a return to roots. I hope it happens.

By: Easy On Me

Easy On Me — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 06:51:41 +0000

@Katie:

It used to be fun.

Wow. You made the point better 5 words than I did with the entire post. Bang on!