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The last eBay thread?

Started by Bookery,

326 posts in this topic

the blob

the blob

Posted
Posted
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????

 

no, i didn't even get negative feedback, that's the killer, i got zeros for shipping speed and either positive feedback or no feedback from the buyer.

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Bookery

Bookery

Posted
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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.

 

django_1.jpg

 

Nope. I make no generalization at all. Just because you're an eBay seller doesn't mean you're exempt from the laws of time, space and physics. EBay listing takes time... a lot of time... I know, I've done it often over the years. If you sell a "lot" on eBay... you can only do it with the time to do it with. Really big eBay sellers will almost have to be retired, have no other job, or can hire help (which, as I also said above, makes it a "profession"). Or you can spend every waking hour you're not at another job working on it, meaning you likely don't have school-age children that have to be run to sports, auditions, band, doctors, etc.

 

It's not a put-down, if that's what you think I meant... If you sell a lot (I'm not talking casual sellers here), it means you are not spending that time in other pursuits. Moreover... if you sell a lot, you obviously aren't just selling off a one time personal collection... you have to be constantly rooting out, buying, and processing new material. Which means... again... like I said above... for you, eBay would be a profession, whether it's your primary or secondary one.

 

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RockMyAmadeus

RockMyAmadeus

Posted
Posted
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.

 

I don't disagree with much of any of that.

 

I am referring to the things that eBay has done in the past, for which they have not (yet) been called to account.

 

And I mean actual criminal activities, combined with a "we are only a venue (so don't even THINK of trying to complain about anything to us!)" and "let's sue anyone who we even suspect might be a legitimate competitor into the ground" attitudes and policies which have driven the company since the beginning.

 

Things that most users likely wouldn't be directly aware of.

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Aweandlorder

Aweandlorder

Posted
Posted

eBays system is rough with sellers because they want you to make them richer. I agree.

But until another platform comes that flips a comic book for 3 million dollars in a single transaction, they still hold the title as the comic book industry heavyweight champions

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Boba

Boba

Posted
Posted
You can make fun of it but it's a fact comic shops pay 20% or less for comics.

 

That's about as big a generalization as saying that all people named kav only speak in generalizations.

I notice all the comic shop owners are defending comic shops the people that have tried to sell them are excoriating them hm

 

Generalizing again. The kavs vs the kav nots.

 

Generally speaking, comic shops will rip you off

 

Generally speaking, you're generalizing.

 

I know plenty of comic shop owners who are above reproach and plenty who don't. Much like you can say about most of the human race.

There's nothing wrong with generalizing. Generally speaking, people have 2 legs. What's your point?

 

This is about where I stop having a discussion with you again. :foryou:

 

:o You really should limit your intake of red meat there guy . . .

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jsilverjanet

jsilverjanet

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Some of my best customers are dealers/comic shop owners here on the boards, I've never felt ripped off etc.

 

Like many have said, ebay is great for somethings and bad for others, same for the boards.

 

I'll be back Friday with Kate Upton

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deadleg

deadleg

Posted
Posted
Um, I love Ebay.

I'm purely a buyer, so maybe that's why?

 

I tell you this, if Ebay was gone tomorrow, I would not be a happy camper...

I buy 75% of my slabs off of there...

 

+1 probably 90% of my slabs have come from there. Mostly because I can't find books I want in slabs at cons.

 

 

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Sqeggs

Sqeggs

Posted
Posted
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.

 

(tsk)

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. :gossip:

 

Well, we certainly try. Sometimes, though, customers just won't fall for it. Fortunately, with 16,000 sq.ft. and 4 separate basements, we have plenty of room to hide the bodies of those who won't "play ball". We generally do this with elderly folks who've mentioned they have no relatives to leave their stuff to... when they vanish there are few to question what happened to them.

 

Besides... with the massive massive rip-off profits us shop owners make, it's very easy to pay off the local (and sometimes even federal) authorities.

 

Need a partner? hm

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kav

kav

Posted
Posted
Does anyone deny before ebay you got pennies on the dollar for your books at comic shops?

 

Did it get better after eBay though?

Well as some pointed out for key books LCS owners became willing to pay a more fair rate.

Before ebay walk in with ASM 129, get $8

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