eBay The eBay Official eBay Thread eBay 33 33

[Number 6]

Well, I think this morning eBay May have finally pushed me over the edge. 

My computer has been down so I’ve been forced to use my phone to get things done. Since eBay is heck-bent on pushing people to their app, eBay through an internet browser on my phone is pretty much unusable. The app is simplified and lacks many of the features that I need on the full site. 

But I’ve been getting by with it fairly well until I went to relist some items today. 

I just happened to notice that on about every other item I relisted eBay tried to switch the duration to Good ‘Til Cancelled instead of 30 days (which is what the previous listing was). Had I not caught this, eBay would have kept my listing going and, if I was out of free listings, would have started charging me listing fees. 

That raised a red flag, so I double-checked listing that I had relisted within the last month, and sure enough, a bunch were Good ‘Til Canceleld. And you can’t edit those once they’re listed. The only option is to cancel, revise and relist. 

What’s more, I found that some of those listings had the Best Offer option enabled (which I don’t want).  But what’s more, they were set to auto-accept any offer over 50% of my listed price. 

Some of this is on me I guess. I clearly have to be much more diligent about checking the details when relisting. Thought I was doing a pretty good job of that but it’s bit harder on the app. 

But at the same time, should I really have to?  If I’m relisting, shouldn’t I reasonably expect that the listing would be the same as before? Should I really have to be constantly vigilant to make sure eBay isn’t trying to slip something in?

This coupled with their constant e-mails with “selling tips” - which all basically boil down to me drastically lowering my price and taking less - I feel like I’m just about done with eBay. 

I know it’s been lamented here before, but I really wish there was a better venue. 

[awakeintheashes]

On 10/2/2018 at 7:13 PM, DiamondCityComics said:

He got to keep the comic and got his money back from Ebay.

I'm late in responding to this, so sorry for bringing back bad memories about this transaction. 

I had something similar happen a few years ago, except the buyer sent back an empty envelope for a $200 item. They simply needed a tracking number to meet eBay/PayPal's requirements. There used to be the option to fight this by filing a police report or signing and notarizing an affidavit, which I did. Might be worth looking into or keeping in mind in case this happens again.

Edited October 22, 2018 by awakeintheashes

[RockMyAmadeus]

On 10/12/2018 at 4:32 PM, manetteska said:

Idea for eBay to start clearing out stale merchandise, and also help realize actual value for some of these crazy sellers:

All BIN listings are also Best Offer listings, set at 30 days.

If the item does not sell as a BIN, at the end of the 30 days the highest offer during that time period "wins" the item. If that person passes, it keeps going down the line. If there is no offer, item is moved to a 7 day auction with a $0.99 start.

That's a terrible idea. What if only one person made a silly lowball offer for the book?

[manetteska]

1 hour ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

That's a terrible idea. What if only one person made a silly lowball offer for the book?

Then if it was one silly lowball offer, people must not want it as bad as you think.

[RockMyAmadeus]

Just now, manetteska said:

1 hour ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

That's a terrible idea. What if only one person made a silly lowball offer for the book?

Then if it was one silly lowball offer, people must not want it as bad as you think.

Not relevant. 

If I, for example, think a book is worth $10,000, but the market thinks, through multiple established sales, that the book is really worth $1,000, but my only offer....for whatever reason....is $500...forcing me to sell it for $500 isn't going to fly with anyone.

[manetteska]

1 minute ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

3 minutes ago, manetteska said:

1 hour ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

That's a terrible idea. What if only one person made a silly lowball offer for the book?

Then if it was one silly lowball offer, people must not want it as bad as you think.

Not relevant. 

If I, for example, think a book is worth $10,000, but the market thinks, through multiple established sales, that the book is really worth $1,000, but my only offer....for whatever reason....is $500...forcing me to sell it for $500 isn't going to fly with anyone.

I think we're now getting into technicalities of "worth". If it's worth $1,000, someone should have hit the BIN for $1,000 (or sent a similar Best Offer).

If no one did, perhaps the worth is less than $1,000.

I don't implement eBay's rules; this is just a hypothetical attempt to get more books (items) sold and less clutter. Additionally, no one would be forcing the seller to use eBay. If you really want that $1,000, setup at a show or offer the books here, or Facebook, or Instagram for $1,000 and see if someone bites.

[thehumantorch]

On 10/12/2018 at 5:32 PM, manetteska said:

Idea for eBay to start clearing out stale merchandise, and also help realize actual value for some of these crazy sellers:

All BIN listings are also Best Offer listings, set at 30 days.

If the item does not sell as a BIN, at the end of the 30 days the highest offer during that time period "wins" the item. If that person passes, it keeps going down the line. If there is no offer, item is moved to a 7 day auction with a $0.99 start.

I'd be fine with that if it's an optional program but it should never be forced onto a seller.  A seller should always be able to decide what his item is worth.

[RockMyAmadeus]

1 hour ago, manetteska said:

1 hour ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

1 hour ago, manetteska said:

3 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

That's a terrible idea. What if only one person made a silly lowball offer for the book?

Then if it was one silly lowball offer, people must not want it as bad as you think.

Not relevant. 

If I, for example, think a book is worth $10,000, but the market thinks, through multiple established sales, that the book is really worth $1,000, but my only offer....for whatever reason....is $500...forcing me to sell it for $500 isn't going to fly with anyone.

I think we're now getting into technicalities of "worth". If it's worth $1,000, someone should have hit the BIN for $1,000 (or sent a similar Best Offer).

You can't "hit the BIN for $1,000" if it's priced at $10,000. As someone should have sent a best offer for $1,000, that's not necessarily the case at all. 

1 hour ago, manetteska said:

If no one did, perhaps the worth is less than $1,000.

As I mentioned above, "the market thinks, through multiple established sales, that the book is really worth $1,000"

1 hour ago, manetteska said:

I don't implement eBay's rules; this is just a hypothetical attempt to get more books (items) sold and less clutter. Additionally, no one would be forcing the seller to use eBay. If you really want that $1,000, setup at a show or offer the books here, or Facebook, or Instagram for $1,000 and see if someone bites.

eBay created that clutter by moving away from, and actively discouraging, their auction model, and trying to become "Amazon-lite" with their "Buy It Now" model. No one is forcing a seller to use eBay, but no one should  be forcing a seller to sell at a price he/she doesn't set, either, in a non-auction (and sometimes even in an auction) format.

Forcing sellers to take a price they don't want, to clear up "clutter", is a good way to drive eBay completely out of business for good.

So, maybe it's NOT such a bad idea after all....

[manetteska]

18 minutes ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

You can't "hit the BIN for $1,000" if it's priced at $10,000. As someone should have sent a best offer for $1,000, that's not necessarily the case at all. 

As I mentioned above, "the market thinks, through multiple established sales, that the book is really worth $1,000"

eBay created that clutter by moving away from, and actively discouraging, their auction model, and trying to become "Amazon-lite" with their "Buy It Now" model. No one is forcing a seller to use eBay, but no one should  be forcing a seller to sell at a price he/she doesn't set, either, in a non-auction (and sometimes even in an auction) format.

Forcing sellers to take a price they don't want, to clear up "clutter", is a good way to drive eBay completely out of business for good.

So, maybe it's NOT such a bad idea after all....

So if this $1,000 book is put up for auction and ends at $600 how much is it worth?

Edited October 23, 2018 by manetteska

[RockMyAmadeus]

3 minutes ago, manetteska said:

So if this hypothetical $1,000 book is put up for auction and ends at $600 how much is it worth?

That's a fair question. Here's my answer: An average of the last several sales, with the $600 ending being an outlier which drags down, but does not establish, the value of the item.

If there are 15 sales at $900-$1100, and one sale at $600, then the average established by that would be roughly $975...not $600.

[manetteska]

3 minutes ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

That's a fair question. Here's my answer: An average of the last several sales, with the $600 ending being an outlier which drags down, but does not establish, the value of the item.

If there are 15 sales at $900-$1100, and one sale at $600, then the average established by that would be roughly $975...not $600.

We can go round and round on this; if the item is worth $1,000 why did no one offer $1,000? Or $900? Or $800? 

Or why didn’t they need it so bad they would spend $1,200 for it?

Can make up any scenario we want. 

[manetteska]

Though this method may sound odd, it’s not much different from a Dutch auction. 

[RockMyAmadeus]

Just now, manetteska said:

We can go round and round on this; if the item is worth $1,000 why did no one offer $1,000? Or $900? Or $800? 

Or why didn’t they need it so bad they would spend $1,200 for it?

Can make up any scenario we want. 

As I said before, there are all sorts of reasons, unrelated to the item itself, why no one would offer $1,000. Not everyone looks at eBay 24 hours a day, for example. Just because you have 16 buyers at $1,000...pretty firmly establishing the market...doesn't mean that 17th, who would pay $1,000, too...is around. Or, the seller has bad feedback. Or, the listing is buried under mounds of keyword spamming, making it hard to find. 

Alternately, it could be a rare item that may not HAVE an established market value. 

Forcing sellers to sell for the highest offer, whatever it may be, would be the nail in the coffin. 

[RockMyAmadeus]

1 minute ago, manetteska said:

Though this method may sound odd, it’s not much different from a Dutch auction. 

Dutch auctions are much more controlled, with the seller nearly always choosing a specific time and specific place, where he or she knows there are buyers around, so he/she doesn't end up giving the item away...or, if they do, they don't have anything invested in it, like an estate auction.

[manetteska]

1. If it’s a rare item, how do you establish what it’s worth?

2. No one needs to look at eBay 24 hours a day. The listing would be up for 30 days — same time as a best offer now. 

3. Dutch auctions have been run here without issue. Perhaps if there was a specific category on eBay for Dutch auctions and comics, a person could go there and sort by “latest price drop” or similar. 

Edited October 23, 2018 by manetteska

[RockMyAmadeus]

9 minutes ago, manetteska said:

1. If it’s a rare item, how do you establish what it’s worth?

Good question. How does the seller establish it? How does the buyer establish it? If I have a...I dunno, a Maxx #3 black ashcan, with only one recorded sale...which I know is very rare, and which I know is in demand...and I price it at $2,000...there may be interest at $1,000. But, those with interest think "I won't even bother; the seller probably won't even consider it" (there are established psychological reasons...fear of rejection, for one thing..that support this.)

And we know the above happens, because sellers with Best Offers get "what will you take?" messages all the time.

So, the only offer you have is from some Gambino at $50. Is it worth more than $50? Without a doubt. How MUCH more? No way to know. But I would have to sell it for $50, because that was the highest offer I got...? I don't think so.

13 minutes ago, manetteska said:

2. No one needs to look at eBay 24 hours a day. The listing would be up for 30 days — same time as a best offer now. 

I haven't looked at eBay in a couple of months. In that time, I know there are listings which I have missed, and which I would have bought, at the prices they sold for. 30 days isn't that long in the grand scheme.

14 minutes ago, manetteska said:

3. Dutch auctions have been run here without issue. Perhaps if there was a specific category on eBay for Dutch auctions and comics, a person could go there and sort by “latest price drop” or similar. 

Sure, but there's a captive audience here, for the most part. eBay does do the "price has dropped!" spam e-mails, but a class of categories for such items isn't a bad idea.

[manetteska]

1 hour ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

Good question. How does the seller establish it? How does the buyer establish it? If I have a...I dunno, a Maxx #3 black ashcan, with only one recorded sale...which I know is very rare, and which I know is in demand...and I price it at $2,000...there may be interest at $1,000. But, those with interest think "I won't even bother; the seller probably won't even consider it" (there are established psychological reasons...fear of rejection, for one thing..that support this.)

And we know the above happens, because sellers with Best Offers get "what will you take?" messages all the time.

So, the only offer you have is from some Gambino at $50. Is it worth more than $50? Without a doubt. How MUCH more? No way to know. But I would have to sell it for $50, because that was the highest offer I got...? I don't think so.

I haven't looked at eBay in a couple of months. In that time, I know there are listings which I have missed, and which I would have bought, at the prices they sold for. 30 days isn't that long in the grand scheme.

Sure, but there's a captive audience here, for the most part. eBay does do the "price has dropped!" spam e-mails, but a class of categories for such items isn't a bad idea.

If buyers knew the best offer on an item wins it, would they be willing to offer $1000 on that $2000 ashcan? There is no fear of buyer rejection, just waiting that 30 days (worst case scenario) to see if you offered the highest amount. 

Because you haven’t checked eBay in a couple months that’s the end of it? Are you the only buyer on eBay? On the flip side there are buyers who look at eBay multiple times in a day. If not 30 days what is the appropriate amount of time?

Perhaps 30 days is too short for some items, but I’m of the opinion that if you put something on eBay (or CL or the boards sale section, etc) it’s to sell that item. There are multiple other venues to show off your goods. 

[RockMyAmadeus]

6 minutes ago, manetteska said:

Because you haven’t checked eBay in a couple months that’s the end of it? Are you the only buyer on eBay?

Come on, these aren't fair responses. No, I'm not the only buyer on eBay, but I'm also representative of at least a PORTION of people who buy on eBay. I am, just as you are, representative of "an" average group of people who use eBay.

7 minutes ago, manetteska said:

Perhaps 30 days is too short for some items, but I’m of the opinion that if you put something on eBay (or CL or the boards sale section, etc) it’s to sell that item. There are multiple other venues to show off your goods. 

I don't disagree with you. And yes, changing the parameters changes behaviors...for sure. No doubt about it.

But...forcing sellers to accept an offer that may not be the best they can get will drive sellers away in droves...and sellers...not buyers...are the ones paying the bills. And I say that as someone who sold a ton in 2016 and the first 2/3 of 2017, and hasn't sold anything since January, and as a buyer who used to buy nearly every day from eBay, and now only buys very occasionally.

[1Cool]

I think the solution to eliminate the clutter is for them to eliminate the free listings they give people and implement a higher fee for listing items and decrease final fees to entice people to sell books quickly. 

[manetteska]

11 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

11 hours ago, manetteska said:

Because you haven’t checked eBay in a couple months that’s the end of it? Are you the only buyer on eBay?

Come on, these aren't fair responses. No, I'm not the only buyer on eBay, but I'm also representative of at least a PORTION of people who buy on eBay. I am, just as you are, representative of "an" average group of people who use eBay.

Correct; but you can't take your situation (or my situation) and say that's the "average" person. It's a sample of 1. Without data from eBay, I don't think we can say how many times the "average" eBay buyer/seller/looker visits the site.

Back to the "worth" example...

If that $1,000 worth book sells for $600 at a recent auction, and the "average worth" is now $975, what do you price yours at -- if you want to sell it?