What would you want eBay to do differently?

[ciorac]

One thing I do like about eBay, often when I offer something in the Forum Marketplace and it doesn't sell, I list it on eBay and it sells for way more than I was asking for it here.

 

Sure, but EBay also offers a much higher "whacko rate" whereby you'll be subjected to such benefits as Paypal chargebacks, feedback extortion and non-received returns (i.e. never sent).

 

If you ever run into one of those piece of works who know the Paypal ins and outs, it can totally wipe out any profit you made.

 

Perhaps, but it hasn't happened so far.

[joe_collector]

Perhaps, but it hasn't happened so far.

 

It will, just give it some time.

 

Granted, about 95% of EBay buyers are legit and overall good people, but that 5% has been let out of their cages with the EBay changes, and they WILL royally screw you over.

 

But most rip-off buyers stick to high-ticket items, so if you're not selling things worth their while, then you can skate under their radar for the most part.

[trmoore54]

Hey everyone...I'm a very long time comic book collector first and foremost, and an eBay employee second.

 

Here's the thing - we'd love to make some changes to the category, especially within sub-categories like Comic Books...I'd love to get all of the comic book enthusiasts involved, so I'd love to use this new post to throw out some (hopefully great) ideas to get your input.

 

Couple things off the bat:

 

1. Who are the primary comic book sites that are getting a big chunk of your $$$?

Comiclink?Pedigree Comics?

eBay?

Others?

 

2. Why are the above sites the main ones you visit and spend your money on?

 

3. In general, How interested would you be if eBay brought back Bidder Id's so you can track who's bidding on comics (or other Collectibles) across the site?

 

4. How interested would you be in searching for comics on eBay (or anything within Collectibles) by # of bids, rather than or in addition to Best Match, Time Ending Soonest, etc.?

 

Those are good enough for now. Lots more questions and thoughts that I'd love to throw out to the community...but after we work on the above

 

Thx!!

Jeffles

 

Here on the boards! 100% trust with many, many participants, GREAT books and NO FEES!

 

Oh yeah...and I agree with Manatee, Flaming Telepath and just about everything posted here so far!

[mister_not_so_nice]

- Have a moderator(for lack of a better term) for each (sub)category monitor the listings and either:

a)move items to the correct category, while sending an email to the sellers lettng them know

b) cancel the auction for repeat offenders

 

 

I will apply for the position in the OA category

 

 

"prints" ARE NOT ORIGINAL ART

[ciorac]

Perhaps, but it hasn't happened so far.

 

It will, just give it some time.

 

Granted, about 95% of EBay buyers are legit and overall good people, but that 5% has been let out of their cages with the EBay changes, and they WILL royally screw you over.

 

But most rip-off buyers stick to high-ticket items, so if you're not selling things worth their while, then you can skate under their radar for the most part.

 

13 years on the bay this November. But, I don't sell really big ticket items on there anymore. I did a few years ago. These days it is mostly sub $1000 items.

 

One thing I don't like very much, is that sellers can no longer neg bidders. That is lame

[Kenglo1]

I have found that some sellers have been non forth coming on their item description--so the item is a re-issue, there are pages missing etc... Dont answer messages. Well a Negative sure gets their response and action in a hurry!

 

Most eBay sellers are good but I have been noticing lately there is a lot more undisclosed information about the items for sale.

[joe_collector]

Well a Negative sure gets their response and action in a hurry!

 

This "Just Hammer Them With a NEG To Get Their Attention" is the new EBay and you wonder why all the good sellers left.

[Poe]

Shill bidding on ebay has reached a level that boggles the mind. To make it worse, clear cut cases of shilling are reported to ebay daily and nothing, and I do mean nothing, is done about it.

 

Between the sellers fraudulently driving their prices higher, rip off artists and shipping profiteers ebay has developed a reputation that has driven buyers to other venues. Get tough with the enforcement and buyer confidence will return. Weed out the crooks and the honest sellers will start to see more traffic at the site and higher realized prices. Don't let a little thing like it's the right thing to do stand in your way.

 

On the sell side - the fees are too high for low priced items. Between ebay and paypal the 12%+ that is extracted is a big disincentive to list low priced goods, like comics.

 

Not nearly the problem for higher priced goods since the final value fee for selling a $2000 item isn't any more than it is for selling a $600 item due to the $50 cap.

 

Want to try something radical? How about no final value fee at all for items selling for $5 or less. You'd get an explosion in listings and I believe increased traffic from buyers who now have an expanded universe of low priced goods to buy. Buyers that will ultimately end up buying more than just the no fee/low priced items. Paypal revenues would certainly shoot up on all the additional sales. Sales I believe ebay isn't capturing right now.

 

As much as you want to be, you will never be Amazon. Give it up. Doesn't mean ebay can't be special in its own way.

 

 

[skypinkblu]

Hey everyone...I'm a very long time comic book collector first and foremost, and an eBay employee second.

 

Here's the thing - we'd love to make some changes to the category, especially within sub-categories like Comic Books...I'd love to get all of the comic book enthusiasts involved, so I'd love to use this new post to throw out some (hopefully great) ideas to get your input.

 

Couple things off the bat:

 

1. Who are the primary comic book sites that are getting a big chunk of your $$$?

Comiclink?

Pedigree Comics?

eBay?

Others?

 

2. Why are the above sites the main ones you visit and spend your money on?

 

3. In general, How interested would you be if eBay brought back Bidder Id's so you can track who's bidding on comics (or other Collectibles) across the site?

 

4. How interested would you be in searching for comics on eBay (or anything within Collectibles) by # of bids, rather than or in addition to Best Match, Time Ending Soonest, etc.?

 

Those are good enough for now. Lots more questions and thoughts that I'd love to throw out to the community...but after we work on the above

 

Thx!!

Jeffles

 

Welcome to the boards.

 

I used to spend quite a bit on eBay, and sell quite a bit. I made a lot of friends there, which kept me coming back to the site. I still like eBay, but I've been more than turned off by the masking of Bidder IDs.so much so, that I rarely bid anymore and I find I put off listing as long as possible, I list most things here first.

 

eBay used to be a wonderful place to enjoy collecting with other members, in an effort to stop spam mail, you've taken all the fun out of it.

 

I buy more here now, because I know who I am buying from, who I am bidding against and there is no chance of shill bidding.

 

Knowing who the other collectors are that you are bidding against would help eBay, there would be more of a sense of competition and you'd generate more interest.

 

I have no interest in searching by number of bids,

 

I don't like best match AT ALL...it's totally not relevant for my purposes.

 

I agree with the others, I've sent several LONG notes describing some actions that are obviously shill bidding, instances where dealers are selling copies of books, not the books they have pictured or described, and either no action is taken, or it takes several notes and too much time.

 

You have a report button. In many cases the choices are totally not related to what needs to be reported, makes it very difficult for community members to help you.

[RockMyAmadeus]

Allowing sellers to leave negative feedback, In fact, maybe a more thorough buyer feedback system in general. A point scale like seller feedback has. Maybe they EVENTUALLY paid up after three or four weeks of hassle? I can grade my sellers speed shipping an item, but not my buyers speed paying for an item.

 

Better protection from freaky buyers that threaten to neg when you ask them politely to pay up after weeks of waiting.

 

When sellers were allowed to leave negative feedback, there was no way for you as a buyer to leave a negative (or a neutral) and not get one in return. Didn't matter if the seller sent you an empty box filled with dog and you negged him for it - you'd get an automatic retalitory neg right back. I'm not saying the new system is perfect - but as a buyer it's much better than it was before.

 

I'd still love to see it changed so if a buyer hasn't paid they can't leave feedback at all, though - it makes zero sense to me that that's possible right now.

 

Wow. Dog isn't spooned...

[musicmeta]

I agree with all the folks posting on this thread have stated about Ebay.

 

I really dislike Sellers not being able to leave Negative feedback for buyers.

Shortly after this rule came into effect, I quit selling on Ebay(though I may start back anyway and just take my chances). I have a 100% feedback rating and want to keep that way, but if I start selling again, the lunatic buyers will eventually come out and neg me for some silly reason for sure, knowing that there is not a dang thing I can do about it.

Hiding bidder's ID makes no sense to me either.

 

I doubt if anything changes. Buying and Selling comic books on Ebay is probably such a tiny amount, there would probably be no incentive for Ebay to change. The only way Ebay will think about changing is if it's affecting the bottom line....simple as that. Has it?

 

 

[fastballspecial]

Hey everyone...I'm a very long time comic book collector first and foremost, and an eBay employee second.

 

Here's the thing - we'd love to make some changes to the category, especially within sub-categories like Comic Books...I'd love to get all of the comic book enthusiasts involved, so I'd love to use this new post to throw out some (hopefully great) ideas to get your input.

 

Couple things off the bat:

 

1. Who are the primary comic book sites that are getting a big chunk of your $$$?

Comiclink?

Pedigree Comics?

eBay?

Others?

 

2. Why are the above sites the main ones you visit and spend your money on?

 

3. In general, How interested would you be if eBay brought back Bidder Id's so you can track who's bidding on comics (or other Collectibles) across the site?

 

4. How interested would you be in searching for comics on eBay (or anything within Collectibles) by # of bids, rather than or in addition to Best Match, Time Ending Soonest, etc.?

 

Those are good enough for now. Lots more questions and thoughts that I'd love to throw out to the community...but after we work on the above

 

Thx!!

Jeffles

 

Thank you for coming here and asking our opinions. WTTBs.

 

Secondly I speak as both a buyer and seller on ebay for over 10 years.

 

1. This question is a little difficult to answer because it sometimes depends on if you are buying raw or CGC books. My buys are on Ebay, Atomic Comics, and Comic Collector Live and several local shops in my area and others as I travel.

 

2. I am able to contact the seller ahead of time and get an idea of whether A they can grade comics and B whether they will pack my comics to get here safely.

 

3. This is a BIG concern for many on this sites. By blanking out IDs you have made ebay a Haven for scammers in certain areas. It used to be much easier to point out and bring to Ebay's attention. You have lost alot of buyers and sellers over this issue. Shilling is a nightmare to deal with and they have done a very poor job of identifying shillers.

 

4. Best Match is junk always has been and is tilted to large sellers in my opinion. I liked Newest Listed and Ending Soonest were the only ones I have ever used. Why mess with a good thing just plain list them as they come on the server.

 

Other Issues

Even the Feedback problem out again. Personally I have never had too many issues, but I have read horror stories on here.

 

Packing should be included in DSRs as a 5th one I think.

 

Lower your Monthly Store Fees. Many sellers I know are just on the cusp of leaving due to lower sales and increased fees from your basic 3 choices on stores now.

 

Limit every ebay user to one dang account. It eliminates many issues that have been listed as well.

 

Another one that irks sellers. If they dont pay for an item they cant NEG the seller.

How simple is that one to do?

 

[jerome34]

1) E-bay has some of the worst software on the internet. Time, after time, I see

clear examples of coding errors. There is no way that I can report the problems

to get them fixed.

 

Example:

If I search for Catwoman 9, I will get a hit for

"Batman 5xx featuring Catwoman $9.99" or

"Batman 5xx featuring Catwoman CGC 9.8"

 

10 lines of code in your search algorithm will cut out 5-10 % of search hits and

eliminate thousands of useless e-mails every day.

 

 

2) I am searching for many very specific items. I have a limit of 100 searches and,

at all times, keep at least 99 active. I would like to have the ability to have 200

searches.

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

Hey everyone...I'm a very long time comic book collector first and foremost, and an eBay employee second.

 

Here's the thing - we'd love to make some changes to the category, especially within sub-categories like Comic Books...I'd love to get all of the comic book enthusiasts involved, so I'd love to use this new post to throw out some (hopefully great) ideas to get your input.

 

Couple things off the bat:

 

1. Who are the primary comic book sites that are getting a big chunk of your $$$?

Comiclink?

Pedigree Comics?

eBay?

Others?

 

2. Why are the above sites the main ones you visit and spend your money on?

 

3. In general, How interested would you be if eBay brought back Bidder Id's so you can track who's bidding on comics (or other Collectibles) across the site?

 

4. How interested would you be in searching for comics on eBay (or anything within Collectibles) by # of bids, rather than or in addition to Best Match, Time Ending Soonest, etc.?

 

Those are good enough for now. Lots more questions and thoughts that I'd love to throw out to the community...but after we work on the above

 

Thx!!

Jeffles

 

Everything.

 

Bring back eBay that was in 1998.

 

Oh wait, nevermind. That's impossible.

 

The only good thing eBay has managed to figure out in the last 12 years is to NOT allow sellers to leave negative feedback for buyers. Feedback is far, far, far more honest now, and crummy sellers aren't as likely to get away with being crummy (though there are lots of ways around this.)

 

Leaving feedback for buyers was the most ridiculous invention on the internet since the hamster dance.

 

eBay is an awful, awful, predatory, greedy, scumsucking, litigious, felonious, vicious, soulcrushing entity who is out for eBay and eBay alone, despite their endless platitudes to the contrary. Unless you're in a position to actually effect change, I would quit before they destroy you, too. eBay makes good people bad, and bad people worse.

 

eBay mucks with things ENDLESSLY, and makes ENDLESS changes that people don't want...the latest in an endless list being this "lists" nonsense, and the near-total cutting off of the ability for buyers and sellers to communicate with each other, because eBay is so incredibly paranoid that they might lose that $2.67 Final Value Fee when someone conducts a sale off eBay.

 

On top of that, the STAGGERING 42% increase in listing fees for Fixed Price Auctions that took place in May,. "But it's only 15 cents more per listing" whines eBay PR...times 100, times 1,000, and it comes back to hurt REALLY REALLY bad.

 

On top of that, the MASSIVE 12% fee eBay steals for anything below $50, and it's simply not worth selling anything anymore.

 

You know what I liked? The "free listing at any price" auction format. You know why? Because then I can list lots of items, and I'll HAPPILY pay you a higher percentage IF I DON'T HAVE TO PAY UPFRONT. When I have to pay UPFRONT, I might as well not sell at all. If I'm being charged $100 in listings fees to list 200 items, and THREE of them sell (because, of course, eBay has destroyed the auction format) then why bother? But if I can list 200 itmes FOR FREE, and then pay your a higher BACK DOOR percentage if they sell, GREAT! I'm all for it. Because you know what? YOU make more money that way because *I* make more money that way.

 

See how that works?

 

The only reason anyone uses eBay is because eBay has been so viciously successful in their campaign to crush all competition, there is quite literally nowhere else to go, unless you have items worth $1,000 or more.

[RockMyAmadeus]

Oh, I'm just getting started....

[RockMyAmadeus]

1) E-bay has some of the worst software on the internet. Time, after time, I see

clear examples of coding errors. There is no way that I can report the problems

to get them fixed.

 

Example:

If I search for Catwoman 9, I will get a hit for

"Batman 5xx featuring Catwoman $9.99" or

"Batman 5xx featuring Catwoman CGC 9.8"

 

10 lines of code in your search algorithm will cut out 5-10 % of search hits and

eliminate thousands of useless e-mails every day.

 

 

2) I am searching for many very specific items. I have a limit of 100 searches and,

at all times, keep at least 99 active. I would like to have the ability to have 200

searches.

 

I have to have several accounts to keep my searches up, because I search for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of items, ALL THE TIME. Very specific items.

 

Why is there a limit, eBay employee? I would like to have UNLIMITED saved search ability.

 

You know what? If I had unlimited notification ability, I'd bid on a LOT more stuff...and even if I didn't win, I'd still drive the price up, which drives the FVFs up.

 

Why didn't eBay think of this?

[lizards2]

 

Wow. Dog isn't spooned...

 

I use a fork :shrug:

[RockMyAmadeus]

STOP ALLOWING "CGC/PGX" AND 'CGC READY' AND 'LIKE CGC' AND 'NOT CGC' AND WHATEVER ELSE "CGC" PEOPLE WANT TO THROW IN TO GET PEOPLE TO LOOK AT THEIR GARBAGE THAT IS ****NOT***** CGC'D.

 

I have reported this hundreds, IF NOT THOUSANDS, of times to eBay, and no one does anything. It's like talking to a brick wall.

 

STOP allowing it. END auctions and listings that do it when they are reported.

 

 

[skypinkblu]

As a seller, I absolutely hate the DSRs. They are very misleading. Many buyers don't understand the huge difference between the #4 and #5.

 

I happen to have a good record, but they make ME nervous...and I'm not the person you want to make nervous. I see bad seller after bad seller getting low DSRs and just starting another ID. There is one I have reported MULTIPLE times, he's been Naru'd 2 times under different IDs, yet he is still selling the same books, with the same misspellings and the same language calculated to avoid the rules.

 

The DSRs work only if you can stop people from resigning up under other IDs...and you can't do that. If you are going to use them, make them clearer.

 

As a buyer, I really prefer not having sellers being able to do retaliatory negs, but as a seller, I would like to be able to neg the person who just does not pay. I found since there are no negs, my unpaid percentage has tripled from practically nothing, to way too often.

[skypinkblu]

stop yelling, ...you are hurting my ears;)