10 years on eBay.

[awe4one]

12 years and 7 months --- man how time flies -- or is it attracts flies

 

Probably attracts flies owing to how badly the site has declined since you first joined...

 

eBay used to be a great venue for buying comics...just great. But after it became the mass market behemoth it is now, and that's declining, it's become more of a dumping ground for . While it still has some utility for selling comics, it doesn't have the desirability of looking for great comics it once had due to the shilling, sniping, and general "eBay bump" mentality it had in the early days...

 

Jim

[14 of spades]

10 years next summer. It's incredible how fast the time has gone. I grew up without the internet - it's hard to imagine it's been here this long already.

 

What are some of the changes we've seen? I wasn't active when I first joined.

 

Apparently feedback could be given at random to anyone?? When did that stop?

[VintageComics]

So anybody have any good stories to tell about eBay?

 

I hear it was the wild west back then.

 

What's different to day compared to ten years ago?

[g-man]

10 years...joined march 99.

[awe4one]

So anybody have any good stories to tell about eBay?

 

I hear it was the wild west back then.

 

What's different to day compared to ten years ago?

 

I think you need to go no further than the Pacific Coast Pedigree to know how great it was...

 

You could get access to wonderful comics straight from collectors and have the same chance for gems, Bettywalls comes to mind, before dealers and the increased knowledge of the market made it almost impossible to find the same quality...

 

Jim

[kidcolt]

Joined 9 years ago. Back then there wasn't a lot of items listed and stuff actually sold and made a profit. Now everyone and their dog are selling on there and the fees are just silly.

[FlyingDonut]

 

 

[Point Five]

Today is my 10th anniversary on eBay!

 

 

 

Of course, eBay has changed a lot in 10 years (and not for the better). But it's still where I buy and sell most of my comic books.

 

Anybody else have a 10 year eBay anniversary this year?

Yes, last week! How about that. 10 years, 6 days for me. I didn't even notice until your post.

[TheWatcher]

May 15 99 (thumbs u

[Mutant Manatee]

The big changes off the top of my head:

 

1. You could leave feedback to anyone for any reason, even if you didn't have a transaction with them.

 

2. Method of payment was decided by buyer and seller and was always done through snail mail. Checks, money orders, and cash were all valid options. Due to this, there was a lot more correspondence between buyers and sellers.

 

3. EBay didn't have a photo hosting service, you had to include photos in your auctions through an independent host.

 

4. All listings were auctions, there were no "Buy It Now" listings or eBay stores.

 

5. You could use your e-mail address as your eBay ID, and many people did.

 

6. All bidding activity was visible in every auction, and bidder's IDs were not masked. You could even search by specific user names to see what they were bidding on.

 

7. The comic book chat board on eBay was vibrant and full of useful information. In fact, back in the early days it was much like the CGC boards are now. It was used to expose fraudulent sellers and auctions, and to discuss every aspect of the hobby.

[14 of spades]

So anybody have any good stories to tell about eBay?

 

Well - the board has been involved in a few.

 

rustysstarwars (this wasn't so good)

 

jgreen

 

daddyslittlegirl

[awe4one]

6. All bidding activity was visible in every auction, and bidder's IDs were not masked. You could even search by specific user names to see what they were bidding on.

 

7. The comic book chat board on eBay was vibrant and full of useful information. In fact, back in the early days it was much like the CGC boards are now. It was used to expose fraudulent sellers and auctions, and to discuss every aspect of the hobby.

 

These are probably some of the greatest benefits of the early days. I never had a bad transaction on eBay until 2001 when the scammers had learned the system and exploited it.

 

Jim

[Norrin_Radd]

I remember when comics didn't have they're own collectibles category. They were a sub-category of pop culture items. And all comics from 1980 on were lumped under Modern.

[comix4fun]

 

Anybody else have a 10 year eBay anniversary this year?

 

 

 

I am a couple of months short of my 13th anniversary with Ebay.

 

I agree it's changed a ton and almost none of it for the better.

[Norrin_Radd]

Bettywalls comes to mind, before dealers and the increased knowledge of the market made it almost impossible to find the same quality...

 

Jim

I bought several BA keys from bettyswalls215. zillaf4 (langessports) was also a good source.

[g-man]

many a deal was made using the contact feature....you could email the underbidders and say "hey i have this item at this price, etc etc" and make a deal or two off the bay. plus a great way to make a contact list for future auctions or deals. not anymore though.....

[DrWatson]

Thanks to GPA and eBay, I was recently able to pick up a book I otherwise would have missed.

[Mike Bray]

 

5. You could use your e-mail address as your eBay ID, and many people did.

 

i was " ebaywarrior@home.com " untill they forced me to change it -- was a sad day

[pink181]

Today is my 10th anniversary on eBay!

 

 

 

Of course, eBay has changed a lot in 10 years (and not for the better). But it's still where I buy and sell most of my comic books.

 

Anybody else have a 10 year eBay anniversary this year?

 

This actually my 11th year on Ebay

[Transplant]

It will be 12 years for me in February.

 

I amassed a huge DVD collection by joining Columbia House DVD club, flipping most DVDs and keeping some. For a while there was a real market for OOP Disney videos also. I actually made my first online purchase by mailing a check to a guy I met on Compuserve for an OOP copy of Jungle Book.

 

It was so much easier to sell one or two things on Ebay back then. I only have 185 feedback over those 12 years.