The last eBay thread?

[Awax]

Don't understand the hate for ebay. If I want something, I can find it. If I want to sell something, I can. Just bought $400 worth of hatchback shocks on ebay for $40. Do I want to sell comics to a comic store? No.

 

+1

 

I don't understand it, either. Over the past 17 years on Ebay, I've bought countless car parts and endless amount of vintage tchotchke krap that I love, as well as plenty of comics. Ebay will never go away - if anything, it might go back to it's old used krap/garage sale glory days where buying something brand new probably meant it was stolen.

 

I still have a football jersey I got on there for $20. Tags still attached. It was $100 retail. Pretty sure it fell out the back of a truck.

[the blob]

If comic shops are so great, how come comic shop owners don't sell their comics to other comic shops? I mean like, consistently.

 

Dealers buy from dealers all the time. It's usually in a convention setting where they can look at 40 different tables and buy a bunch of stuff. A big chunk of those convention dealers have stores too.

 

I think a dealer who has multiple outlets to sell their stuff is probably in a better position to pay a fair price as they're going to turn their inventory over more rapidly.

[Dr. Balls]

Don't understand the hate for ebay. If I want something, I can find it. If I want to sell something, I can. Just bought $400 worth of hatchback shocks on ebay for $40. Do I want to sell comics to a comic store? No.

 

Well, the hate for eBay on here is about a fraction of the hate that is generally expressed against comic shops. Not sure why, when you admit you can buy stuff on eBay for 10-cents on the dollar, that you would want to sell your stuff on there instead of a decent comic shop?

 

Comic shops rip you off.

 

As a former shop owner, I'd say that you're wrong on that aspect. Sure, some do - but most are honest business people who have to pay overhead costs like rent, utilities, insurance, bank fees, professional fees, workers comp, taxes, licensing and a litany of other costs that Average Joe doesn't have to incur on Ebay. It costs money to operate a business - something that many people aren't familiar with.

 

When it comes to buying, sure comic shop owners are usually great. When it comes to selling, fuhgettaboutit.

 

You can say I'm wrong all you want, but I've experienced exactly what I'm describing.

 

You're not really describing anything. You said "Comic shops rip you off" which isn't terribly descriptive about anything in particular.

 

How is that the shop owner's fault for charging too much on a comic? It's your choice to pay. Shop somewhere else that is cheaper and move on if you don't like the price. To say that a shop owner is ripping you off because they charge too much is stretching it a bit - and to use a Roy-ism: it's generalizing.

 

My comment wasn't descriptive, yet you interpreted it as me slamming comic shops for charging too much for their books? If that's how I came across, then I apologize.

 

My "Comic shops rip you off" comment had nothing to do with buying from shops (I buy from comic shops all the time and usually find some great deals) but rather selling to shops. I understand that comic shop owners need to make a buck, and need to cover other costs, but I stopped trying to sell to shops a long time ago, because of the ridiculous low ball offers I would receive. The internet has provided much better selling outlets as opposed to the LCS. Ebay just happens to be one of those outlets.

 

So to re-word my comment in a way that is more descriptive...

 

I feel that I will get an incredibly lowball offer If I try to sell my books to a comic shop.

 

(thumbs u

 

I wasn't trying to pick a fight, either. I was trying to chime in from the perspective of a shop owner having to offer lowball prices on books, because of other various costs that at-home sellers don't have to deal with.

 

I was buying and selling comics in 1996 on bulletin boards while I owned my brick-and-mortar shop - and could see that the internet was allowing people to buy and sell books at better rates than comic shops. I would scour the BBs with my want lists, buy books, mark them up and sell them to my customers - that was one way of making a profit in my business. Then, I would have to buy books from my local customers to sell online at less-than-LCS pricing - but I had buyers online I didn't have locally, so I had to pay less for those comics, because - in turn - my buyers online were paying less. Again - lots of factors go into buying and selling books, even back in the olden dial-up days.

 

The one tried-and-true method that protects buyers and sellers from paying too much or selling for too little is education. And that applies to everything, not just comics. Your revised statement holds true: you get lowball offers and have moved on to other venues - and I can stand behind that opinion at least. That works much better than saying comic shops rip you off, IMHO.

[Aweandlorder]

Most people who sell "lots" of stuff on eBay obviously have lots of time on their hands... either no other job, or limited family obligations. And for them, eBay is definitely a reasonable choice. For some, eBay is a profession. But for others... time is money is a very real consideration. Kav sold a book on eBay for $30 (he neglected to tell us what he paid for it). He will have to subtract eBay and PayPal fees from his sale. He had to scan and list and describe the item on eBay, and had to package it up and take it to the post office. What's that... 20, 30, 40 minutes of time? What is one's time worth? He had to pay for gas to get to the post office.

 

Just because one remains ignorant of all the time and costs that go into selling an item on eBay, doesn't mean you really made any more than if you sold to a dealer, however.

 

[Bookery]

 

Just to recap my original post...

 

(1) Major financial analysts are expressing concerns about eBay's viability, not me.

 

(2) The article said eBay would cease to exist "as we know it"... it didn't say whether it would go away altogether.

 

(3) EBay didn't "choose" to get rid of PayPal (as someone posted)... PayPal was the one unit that made money for them... corporate raider Carl Icahn forced them to get rid of it, leaving $7 billion in debt as their primary remaining asset.

 

(4) I don't know how I personally feel about it other than it's a big story for collectors. I don't sell vintage stuff on eBay anymore, but move a number of toys, variants, trades, etc. on there. So eBay is both my competitor and a retail option for me.

 

(5) The thread title means nothing other than an attention getter... we have a lot of eBay threads here of all sorts of types... but if eBay goes under, obviously, such threads would cease. The thread title is simply in the same grand tradition as The Last Picture Show, The Last Hunt, The Last Action Hero, The Last Angry Man, The Last of the Red Hot Lovers, The Last Tycoon, and Suddenly Last Summer.

 

(6) Kav makes a lot of knee-jerk ignorant posts. Sometimes he makes insightful posts. Many times he's annoying. Sometimes he's pretty funny. Most times he's just kinda weird. He's tough to generalize... just like comic shops.

 

[kav]

Some comic stores do rip you off like the guy who said he pays half price I sold him some X men for $3 each next day they were on his wall for $30-$40 each.

[Darkowl]

Don't understand the hate for ebay. If I want something, I can find it. If I want to sell something, I can. Just bought $400 worth of hatchback shocks on ebay for $40. Do I want to sell comics to a comic store? No.

 

Well, the hate for eBay on here is about a fraction of the hate that is generally expressed against comic shops. Not sure why, when you admit you can buy stuff on eBay for 10-cents on the dollar, that you would want to sell your stuff on there instead of a decent comic shop?

 

Comic shops rip you off.

 

As a former shop owner, I'd say that you're wrong on that aspect. Sure, some do - but most are honest business people who have to pay overhead costs like rent, utilities, insurance, bank fees, professional fees, workers comp, taxes, licensing and a litany of other costs that Average Joe doesn't have to incur on Ebay. It costs money to operate a business - something that many people aren't familiar with.

 

When it comes to buying, sure comic shop owners are usually great. When it comes to selling, fuhgettaboutit.

 

You can say I'm wrong all you want, but I've experienced exactly what I'm describing.

 

You're not really describing anything. You said "Comic shops rip you off" which isn't terribly descriptive about anything in particular.

 

How is that the shop owner's fault for charging too much on a comic? It's your choice to pay. Shop somewhere else that is cheaper and move on if you don't like the price. To say that a shop owner is ripping you off because they charge too much is stretching it a bit - and to use a Roy-ism: it's generalizing.

 

My comment wasn't descriptive, yet you interpreted it as me slamming comic shops for charging too much for their books? If that's how I came across, then I apologize.

 

My "Comic shops rip you off" comment had nothing to do with buying from shops (I buy from comic shops all the time and usually find some great deals) but rather selling to shops. I understand that comic shop owners need to make a buck, and need to cover other costs, but I stopped trying to sell to shops a long time ago, because of the ridiculous low ball offers I would receive. The internet has provided much better selling outlets as opposed to the LCS. Ebay just happens to be one of those outlets.

 

So to re-word my comment in a way that is more descriptive...

 

I feel that I will get an incredibly lowball offer If I try to sell my books to a comic shop.

 

(thumbs u

 

I wasn't trying to pick a fight, either. I was trying to chime in from the perspective of a shop owner having to offer lowball prices on books, because of other various costs that at-home sellers don't have to deal with.

 

I was buying and selling comics in 1996 on bulletin boards while I owned my brick-and-mortar shop - and could see that the internet was allowing people to buy and sell books at better rates than comic shops. I would scour the BBs with my want lists, buy books, mark them up and sell them to my customers - that was one way of making a profit in my business. Then, I would have to buy books from my local customers to sell online at less-than-LCS pricing - but I had buyers online I didn't have locally, so I had to pay less for those comics, because - in turn - my buyers online were paying less. Again - lots of factors go into buying and selling books, even back in the olden dial-up days.

 

The one tried-and-true method that protects buyers and sellers from paying too much or selling for too little is education. And that applies to everything, not just comics. Your revised statement holds true: you get lowball offers and have moved on to other venues - and I can stand behind that opinion at least. That works much better than saying comic shops rip you off, IMHO.

 

(thumbs u

[the blob]

i think ebay has done a lot of heavy handed krap over the years. i was tossed off ebay almost 2 years ago literally because 3 lots I shipped to one guy got there slow (but only one got there after the estimated delivery date and that was only a couple of days) and he gave me zeros for shipping time. threw off my whole ranking and i just wasn't in a position to sell enough stuff fast enough to get my average up. 13+ years, 1300 100% positive feedback, etc. banned forever. no complaint about theft, no complaint about false descriptions, etc., just packages not getting to one guy as fast as he wanted (and i even gave him a bunch of extra stuff because i was slow, but whatever) (yes, 1 had one other slow shipping zero ranking too, but that wasn't a problem). and i know kicking me off didn't cost them much, but i did have a store that generated $50-$75 a month in fees and what not.

 

do i wish them death? no, not when there isn't a good alternative yet.

[kav]

i think ebay has done a lot of heavy handed krap over the years. i was tossed off ebay almost 2 years ago literally because 3 lots I shipped to one guy got there slow (but only one got there after the estimated delivery date and that was only a couple of days) and he gave me zeros for shipping time. threw off my whole ranking and i just wasn't in a position to sell enough stuff fast enough to get my average up. 13+ years, 1300 100% positive feedback, etc. banned forever. no complaint about theft, no complaint about false descriptions, etc., just packages not getting to one guy as fast as he wanted (and i even gave him a bunch of extra stuff because i was slow, but whatever) (yes, 1 had one other slow shipping zero ranking too, but that wasn't a problem). and i know kicking me off didn't cost them much, but i did have a store that generated $50-$75 a month in fees and what not.

 

do i wish them death? no, not when there isn't a good alternative yet.

ebay kicks you off if you get 3 neg FB?

[Zevgoli]

For a buyer there is nothing like eBay in terms of convenience and variety for comics. The only trend that has bugged me over the past few years are sellers that have switched to buy it now vrs straight auctions. The best offer thing is a farce with few sellers willing to let books go that a buyer would consider a deal. More like your LCS books that hang on the wall. Rare you get a deal there.

 

Cheers, Howard

[Bookery]

Some comic stores do rip you off like the guy who said he pays half price I sold him some X men for $3 each next day they were on his wall for $30-$40 each.

 

If he lied to you... then yes, that is an actual rip-off. Of course, you don't know what he actually got for those X-Men. Maybe he priced them at $30, but accepted an offer of $6 for them...

 

[the blob]

Most people who sell "lots" of stuff on eBay obviously have lots of time on their hands... either no other job, or limited family obligations. And for them, eBay is definitely a reasonable choice. For some, eBay is a profession. But for others... time is money is a very real consideration. Kav sold a book on eBay for $30 (he neglected to tell us what he paid for it). He will have to subtract eBay and PayPal fees from his sale. He had to scan and list and describe the item on eBay, and had to package it up and take it to the post office. What's that... 20, 30, 40 minutes of time? What is one's time worth? He had to pay for gas to get to the post office.

 

Just because one remains ignorant of all the time and costs that go into selling an item on eBay, doesn't mean you really made any more than if you sold to a dealer, however.

 

 

flying donut has sold about 7 million items on ebay. as far as i know he has a full time job. i suspect he drinks a lot of coffee and is good at budgeting his time.

 

also, kav, remember, just because a store puts something up on the wall for $30 doesn't mean they sell it for that much. that's an opening number for negotiation in some places.

[Darkowl]

I'm just defending ebay-I can sell my $30 book for $30 on ebay-at a comic shop I'd get maybe $5. So if ebay goes away, I'm screwed.

 

You sold a book that lists for $30 for $30? And then the buyer had to pay, what, $4-$7 shipping on top of that. Extra if he wants it insured and tracked?

 

Or he could have walked into my shop and probably bought it for 20% off and no shipping fees.. ie, $24 instead of $37.

 

You, sir, are a rip-off artist!!!

When did I say buying from a comic store is a rip off? Don't straw man me.

 

You didn't. Nor did I. I said you are a rip-off seller. You sold some poor schmo a comic for 54% more than he likely could have gotten from a shop. And what's more... you have little overhead. You could have sold that book for $20 if you wanted to.

 

The point is... if comic shops are "rip-off" buyers, you, as a "rip-off" seller, are simply the pot slandering the kettle.

 

If a book sells for $30 in a shop, or on eBay, what's the difference really.

 

Are you going to give the seller a discount in the store for it?

 

eBay, $30 + shipping + (maybe import duties)

 

shop, $30 + travel costs (transit or gas)

 

So true!

[kav]

Some comic stores do rip you off like the guy who said he pays half price I sold him some X men for $3 each next day they were on his wall for $30-$40 each.

 

If he lied to you... then yes, that is an actual rip-off. Of course, you don't know what he actually got for those X-Men. Maybe he priced them at $30, but accepted an offer of $6 for them...

Pretty sure he got that-I didn't know the value and some research on ebay showed they were hot. This guy was a real toolbag and not representative of most LCS owners.

[RockMyAmadeus]

is being saddled with the debt what is really going to eBay? It isn't like PayPal is going to stop processing transactions or have a presence on eBays site.

 

When does this demise occur exactly? sounds like a bunch of BS that people who don't like eBay are just too pleased to shout to the world. I always get a laugh at the people who feel eBay is so terrible. So they bring customers to your junk/goods you want to sell on line-- and take a decent sized cut of that action-- so what?Cost of doing business. Don't like it-- find another avenue to sell your stuff and see if they don't rape you just as much. If anything, eBay didn't take enough of a cut if they are this far in debt. My gut tells me they are in this position from greedy shareholders and corporate VIPs sucking the company dry. Not that it matters to me-- I don't have any stock in them and as long as I am able to sell some stuff here and there, I don't care.

 

eBay created a litigious and hostile environment in the late 90's/early 00's, whereby any competitor was quickly beaten and harassed out of existence. There is nowhere else to go precisely because of eBay's army of lawyers and litigious policies.

 

They sued others left and right and were, themselves, successfully sued for trying to shield themselves from customer complaints, skirting (and outright breaking) consumer protection laws, banking and finance laws, and other legal shenanigans.

 

Are you aware, for example, that for all of the 90's, and well into the 00's, it was not possible to communicate directly with anyone at eBay? You could ONLY communicate via e-mail, and if eBay didn't feel like addressing your issue...it simply went into the trash?

 

So, no, eBay is hardly a stellar example of "the cost of doing business." It would be one thing if eBay conducted themselves honorably, and it was ONLY the "cut" they took...but sorry, that's not the case at all.

 

I HIGHLY recommend the book "The Paypal Wars" by Eric M. Jackson for further information.

[Bookery]

I'm just defending ebay-I can sell my $30 book for $30 on ebay-at a comic shop I'd get maybe $5. So if ebay goes away, I'm screwed.

 

You sold a book that lists for $30 for $30? And then the buyer had to pay, what, $4-$7 shipping on top of that. Extra if he wants it insured and tracked?

 

Or he could have walked into my shop and probably bought it for 20% off and no shipping fees.. ie, $24 instead of $37.

 

You, sir, are a rip-off artist!!!

When did I say buying from a comic store is a rip off? Don't straw man me.

 

You didn't. Nor did I. I said you are a rip-off seller. You sold some poor schmo a comic for 54% more than he likely could have gotten from a shop. And what's more... you have little overhead. You could have sold that book for $20 if you wanted to.

 

The point is... if comic shops are "rip-off" buyers, you, as a "rip-off" seller, are simply the pot slandering the kettle.

 

If a book sells for $30 in a shop, or on eBay, what's the difference really.

 

Are you going to give the seller a discount in the store for it?

 

eBay, $30 + shipping + (maybe import duties)

 

shop, $30 + travel costs (transit or gas)

 

So true!

 

 

Yes... isn't that exactly what I just said?

 

I certainly expect to get MORE on eBay than I would here in my shop... otherwise why put up with all of the hassle? It takes maybe 10 minues to scan and list something on eBay (if I'm fast) vs. 30-seconds to price it and put in on the rack in my shop. Plus a shop-buyer knows up front what he is buying and is happy with it... I not only have to mail out eBay books, but possibly hassle with returns, non-payers, etc., as well. So yes... If you buy something in my shop that's "worth" $30, you will probably get it for less from me than on eBay, as I'm saving beaucoup time + eBay fees.

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

is being saddled with the debt what is really going to eBay? It isn't like PayPal is going to stop processing transactions or have a presence on eBays site.

.

 

That said, that's the first thing you've posted here that I have disagreed with. The Honeymoon's over!

 

 

[the authority]

I would have trouble classifying this as "good" news. I think all the aspects of eBay that Icahn will "fix" are going to ruin what was once one of the coolest concepts in history. I suppose all things eventually run their course. GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

 

..... the beginning of the end with eBay was when they started "tweaking" the feedback system...... I , for one, will miss eBay.....it's a great research reference.

 

100% agree. One way feedback and doing away with years of hard earned feedback for being a great seller caused me to stop cold turkey. I rarely sell on ebay now. Here is your gold star.

[the authority]

The people who run eBay, past and present, are guilty of much, and have much to answer for.

 

I have been waiting for its imminent demise for many years. They are, in some respects, finally paying the price for their contempt, arrogance, and real greed.

 

The market will make sure there's a legitimate replacement. When eBay goes down in flames, I will be a happy man.

 

Let 'em crash and burn. They deserve it.

 

They alienated themselves from everything that made them profitable including sellers, products and, yeah, profits.

 

They raised fees through the snout, they cut off successful sellers to spite their faces, the leveraged people into using Paypal.

 

Good riddance.

 

 

+1

[Dale Roberts]

is being saddled with the debt what is really going to eBay? It isn't like PayPal is going to stop processing transactions or have a presence on eBays site.

 

When does this demise occur exactly? sounds like a bunch of BS that people who don't like eBay are just too pleased to shout to the world. I always get a laugh at the people who feel eBay is so terrible. So they bring customers to your junk/goods you want to sell on line-- and take a decent sized cut of that action-- so what?Cost of doing business. Don't like it-- find another avenue to sell your stuff and see if they don't rape you just as much. If anything, eBay didn't take enough of a cut if they are this far in debt. My gut tells me they are in this position from greedy shareholders and corporate VIPs sucking the company dry. Not that it matters to me-- I don't have any stock in them and as long as I am able to sell some stuff here and there, I don't care.

 

eBay created a litigious and hostile environment in the late 90's/early 00's, whereby any competitor was quickly beaten and harassed out of existence. There is nowhere else to go precisely because of eBay's army of lawyers and litigious policies.

 

They sued others left and right and were, themselves, successfully sued for trying to shield themselves from customer complaints, skirting (and outright breaking) consumer protection laws, banking and finance laws, and other legal shenanigans.

 

Are you aware, for example, that for all of the 90's, and well into the 00's, it was not possible to communicate directly with anyone at eBay? You could ONLY communicate via e-mail, and if eBay didn't feel like addressing your issue...it simply went into the trash?

 

So, no, eBay is hardly a stellar example of "the cost of doing business." It would be one thing if eBay conducted themselves honorably, and it was ONLY the "cut" they took...but sorry, that's not the case at all.

 

I HIGHLY recommend the book "The Paypal Wars" by Eric M. Jackson for further information.

 

I have experience many problems with ebay since I started selling there in 1998. However, I have also made a lot of money on ebay and sold product that I could not sell anywhere else. Yes, ebay was great from1998 up until about 2003. Since then it has become considerably more bureaucratic, almost to the point that is ridiculous. And the standards that ask for from sellers have gone to the extreme and those standards now seem to change every year or so. For a while it was DSRs, now that means almost nothing. To me, its just like everything else, the more red tape you encounter, the less effective it becomes for everyone involved.

 

Ebay is no better and no worse than any other selling venue. There are costs involved in practically anything you do. In my opinion, ebay is one of the most cost effective methods to sell product, but that is highly dependent upon the product you are offering.

 

In my experience, ebay is at best one of several tools to drive customers to your business.