posted on September 25, 2000 12:52:50 AM newI have got to be honest;
I, like many of you, have taken numerous opportunites to bash Ebay on countless occasions.
"They're down again!"
"They're slow today!"
"I missed an item I reeeeally wanted!"
"I didn't get last minute snipers because the site was down!"
"They've jacked up the fee on this or that again!"
"They're using selective enforcement of this or that rule!"
"They screwed me again!"
"This feedback system is a joke!"
"Why aren't we protected!"
"Why aren't we treated more fairly!"
And the list goes on and on and on.
The fact is, I agree with many, many complaints about Ebay. However, I shudder when I hear anyone reveling in the prospect that something may so adversly impact Ebay that they go under.
God only knows what it would take for that to happen, but regardless, I can't believe anyone would find glory or happiness in that!
WHY? Because as much as they drive us crazy, they are still, without question, the biggest, baddest mother going. There is no close second...or third for that matter.
Yes, they do know it, which is why these complaint-fests are good. As out of touch as they may seem to be, they are likely trying to keep us happy while trying to do business in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Ebay is a remarkable resource, completely unparalelled by any other site. Simply surfing Ebay is an adventure.
Amazon, Yahoo, Golds, Boxlot, etc., etc.--- they're all a frusrating mess of disorganized chaos. Ebay is light years ahead AND has such an incredible member base--as evidenced by their millions of listings--that when you are dealing with Ebay, you really are on a world stage. The thought of having to deal with the other auction sites is downright frightening!
Ebay has built a truly unique and magnificent outlet, quenching the thirsts of so many curiosities.
I know that sounds corny, but Geeeez, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
posted on September 25, 2000 04:23:28 AM new
Well, the fact is they are a pain in the derrière - and I believe if they went under (which I don't expect) there would just be someone else to take their place.....they are out of touch, they do lie (constantly), and I have found a great deal of success at other sites - particularly Yahoo.
I do have to agree with you on the sites you mentioned - but not on Yahoo - once I got rid of my eBay attitude I have sold up a storm over at Yahoo.
Personally, I think one of the reasons eBay gets away with so much is folks like yourself who seem to believe it is the end all place, and it isn't - and if it disappeared tomorrow there would be another auction to takes its place.
I think you are suffering from the "captive syndrome." That mental problem which captives develop toward their kidnappers, believing them to actually be good and concerned about their welfare!
posted on September 25, 2000 05:47:47 AM new
I AGREE, the only reason ebay is still the better site is both buyers and sellers alike wont move around.if ebay went down the tubes YAHOO! would take up the slack in the twitch of an eye .but as long as people have this mind set that ebay is the only online site they wont go.out of all the bad going on at ebay theres less then a handfull of good to thank them about.between deadbeats and down times that they<b> LIE</b> about EVERYTIME its more then frustrating to say the least.YAHOO! has gotten better since we started last year but they to have that stupid watch feature that has killed the auction attidude like it has at ebay.not to mention the hundreds of other things ebay has implemented that has hurt the buying frenzy.just my 2 cents after 2 years of selling online.has anyone heard of (epier}
posted on September 25, 2000 07:17:42 AM new
paulstar-very well stated;
jwpc-why do facts threaten unsubstantiated beliefs; there is no replacement for eBay. Do you charge for your medical advice?
jumpup-eBay is the better site because the buyers are there and the sellers are aware of this. eBay unscheduled downtime is an effective deterrent to the watch feature, compelling serious bidders to place earlier bids.
posted on September 25, 2000 07:44:18 AM new
longfellow____ your right, its to bad people wont except other sites as i stated everyone has this mind set that ebay is the only site and ebay will protect them from bad sellers and bidders,that is so far from the truth..its to bad bidders will not wake up and bid. the down times havent effected bidding in the least other then we get less bids because of them,but what it has done is bidders now wait till the auctions end then say they missed it for 1 reason or another and will you take such an such.we get bidders ask us questions then say we'll WATCH THIS then not bid and ask us to take less after auction ends.oh well we are still at ebay but we are at other sites as well.putting all your eggs in one basket is no longer exceptable .as ebay has proven time an again.
posted on September 25, 2000 08:45:31 AM new
>>"its to bad people wont except other sites"<<
Why don't we get more bidders on Yahoo? Have you ever taken the time to browse the listings?
The search feature sucks! (IMO)
The deals aren't as good.
Fewer items listed. I search for a particular item on Yahoo and find 2 listings, but I find several pages of listings on Ebay.
Sellers are not going to list on Yahoo in mass, unless there are buyers. Buyers are not going to waist their time on Yahoo unless the sellers go there first.
I do list on Yahoo but the results have not been very promising.
posted on September 25, 2000 08:46:32 AM new
Although ebay may be the largest auction site, and still the best place to buy or sell, remember one very important thing. The proper name for this site is FEEbay. They have two prime directives. 1) Pay your fees and shut up. 2) Thou shalt sell nothing on the net without giving FEEbay a cut.
They may be good, but definately not perfect and not the only place to have real good sales.
posted on September 25, 2000 08:58:05 AM newFirst of all...
As I stated, ALL of the other sites blow. I'm not saying that because I'm so enthralled with Ebay. I'm actually more enthralled with Ebay BECAUSE those other sites blow so bad. ALL of the other sites either;
A) Have awful search abilities
B) Have too many greedy sellers who ask way too much for starting bids.
C) Have very unsecure feedback systems
D) Have zilch in the way of variety of any certain item.
Not all of these problems would be corrected by MORE buyers or sellers. Many of these other sites just aren't very user friendly. I have yet to see the site that operates with the ease and efficiemcy of Ebay.
That's just reality.
P.S. OF COURSE there are fees for this or that. Why should they do this for free? Do you work for free? And lying? They're a freakin' business concerned about PR and trying to keep all the whiners happy. You HAVE GOT to fudge a little here and there. Yeah, it sucks, but that's the real world.
posted on September 25, 2000 09:21:04 AM new
Firstly, the deals for the stuff I buy are MUCH better on Yahoo then on eBay - less competition from other buyers. However, the selection is also considerably less ... so far.
Secondly, I could care less about the search features - it is not difficult to find what I am looking for on either site.
Thirdly, no fees is a bonus.
Fourthly, I can sell my stuff on Yahoo without the fear of same eBay idiot thinking my stuff is not allowed to be sold.
I believe that "eventually", more and more of eBay's cautious members will get fed up with eBay and their double standards, and start looking somewhere else to buy and sell.
posted on September 25, 2000 10:04:36 AM new
Well, I don't think too much of ebays search feature right now! Just paid the new $19.99? for a featured in category and because it got a bid within the first 2 hours it never went INTO the search engine. It doesn't even show up if I search the exact title in the exact category it is supposedly featured in!
Not bashing ebay here .. this is a VALID complaint .. I'm not getting what I paid for!
The only site I've found that is as easy as ebay to use (easier actually) is Golds. Unfortunately, not many sellers list there so not many buyers shop there. Can't expect buyers to come to any empty store. Sellers need to arrive first! Have had good sales there overall. Am in a slump now though! A few glitches for 'some' users when they upgraded the site but I haven't had any problems. Certainly better than the frustration I experience at ebay!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have a memory like a steel trap .. unfortunately it's rusted shut!
posted on September 25, 2000 10:21:39 AM new
paulstar___(LIE=FUDGE?....NOW THATS RICH!)LOL ok lets put your fudgeing to the test.we have but one thing in life that we can depend on thats our integrity as an individual.lets say i list a TV on ebay and say that it works in my listing.and the TV does work but all that works is the verticel and horozontial (spell check lol)anyway you bid an get this TV.but it only works it doesnt show a picture but i ONLY FUDGED a little in my listings now was i lieing or fudgeing? i think a lie is a lie is a lie.GOOD PR is NOT TRYING TO DECIEVE ANYONE!JMO sorry to anyone that doesent agree
posted on September 25, 2000 10:27:43 AM new
I frankly love eBay but Yahoo has been very good. The problem with eBay is that because they are numero uno with a lion's share of the market, they think they can do whatever they like. They can of course! They can also get to where Yahoo and Amazon start eating their lunch.
If more people moved their stuff to alternatives, the bidders would follow.
posted on September 25, 2000 10:30:03 AM new
feistyone_____yes i have taken the time to search at yahoo and search works just fine for me not sure why you have problems there we buy and sell at yahoo it is slower but we have tried starting our auctions low but its still to slow so we just list stuff with a buy price.as far as sellers being greedy goes we are just trying to get fair market value for our stuff to bad most sites are all dealers that expect us to sell everything for nothing just as it is at ebay.
posted on September 25, 2000 10:39:20 AM new
mballai___i agree with you, before the BIG CRASH we never thought of selling anywhere but ebay.remember how ebay started? it was totally word of mouth ,and thats what will help a site or hurt a site.and time.ebay wasnt sucessful overnite neither will other sites be.but we all should remember that other sites are available to us that DO WORK.
GOOD LUCK EVERYONE
posted on September 25, 2000 10:46:38 AM newPaulstar, I think most people agree that eBay is "best," strictly from a sales perspective. I disagree that eBay is trying to keep us happy. I think they are trying to keep us satisfied or more accurately, pacified. Although my sales are good, I am not "happy" with eBay.
Yesterday Mr. Lister started acting up. I contacted Mr. Lister support and got a canned response telling me to remove Mr. Lister from my computer, download it again, and reinstall. That didn't work. I wrote support again and got the following: "We're sorry you're having this problem. Blah, blah, blah ... remove it and reinstall."
It was obvious they didn't even read my emails. They just skimmed the letter and then picked out a canned response from their list of pre-written support responses.
I'm having another problem with a bidder who is harassing me and sending nasty emails to my custmers. I wrote SafeHarbor about this six days ago and still have not heard back from them.
I figure, for the $1,000 I spend in fees each month ... $10,000 bucks a year or more ... they could at least read my complaints and respond to them. Anything but their stock-in-trade, "we're sorry you're having this problem" canned email responses. I just can't imagine worse customer support.
Just to add, eBay is not ALL bad. I like the new image hosting, and for now it's free.
posted on September 25, 2000 10:51:29 AM new
twinsoft ... from my side of the fence, the only people that eBay seem to trying to keep pacified these days are the large sellers like you. For the rest of us, they have lost interest. But, this is the way most service-oriented operations eventually go when the money starts rolling in - they forget all about the 'little guy' that got them started. Just look at any major bank for proof, or closer to home, have a look at what happened to Amazon auctions ...
posted on September 25, 2000 11:21:18 AM newDo you have any idea what these Ebay folks are up against?
To manage a site that large and deal with a customer base that is just as huge is quite a task. They definitely need to improve, but still, they do it best. The others are waaaay behind and are not even close to catching up anytime soon.
I personally do over $4,000 worth of Ebay business a month. Not big, not small, but I certainly do enough business to have a good feel for the way things operate. I have had minor problems along the way, but nothing earth-shattering.
As a buyer and seller, and with a feedback rating of just under 3,000 (only 3 negs) I can honestly say the users doing all the whining are an exception---clearly not the rule.
That's why Ebay continues to thrive, while the copies and wannabe's continue to struggle. And struggle they should. I keep hearing how great Yahoo is, no fees--woo-hoo!
All I can say is you get what you pay for.
By the way, I do agree; Golds is the next best as far as user friendliness---but that's only because they are the most acccurate copy of Ebay.
posted on September 25, 2000 11:25:20 AM new
This is a wonderful thread. But I have always taken the view that pointing out ebay's Arrogance to be that of discussing problems with the site and its operations and not bashing. While it might be true that ebay is by far the leader in the person to person medium. But consumers have the power to stop ebay's new attitude of We Say So.
The problem is both buyers and sellers refuse to venture and see whatelse is out there. And ebay takes steps to make sure you don't see what's out there. Take the site that has the universal search for all auction sites. ebay took them to court for Treaspass. Look at paypal's competition with billpoint. ebay then implemented the logo rule to slow sellers from advertising that they accept paypal. paypal has fees now and billpoint then lowers fees in such a way that the average ebay seller will actually pay more to use billpoint.
Will ebay fail? Sorry they won't fail because the mindset of the average ebayer, " is why venture elsewhere". They might kick us around but all the listings are on ebay. Personally, I would point out the flaws of any endeavor that has them and if you want to call it bashing well I call it constructive criticism with the objective of setting an environment for change. The difference is one is positive and the other is negative. Sorry but they need the bashing to realize that not everyone will accept the We Say So Attitude.
Moving along any one notice how Meg made it to the Forbes List of richest Americans.
networker67: I lost thousands of dollars in my foray into the other online auctions, which I consider to be substandard, less than mediocre, secondary sites.
I would not use such "guilt-inducing" statements to ever encourage anyone to put their financial livlihood at risk by relying upon the so-called """""competition""""" of eBay, which has proven itself to me to be absolutely unconcerned about establishing any person-2-person marketplace.
Nope!
They are GREEEEEEEEEEDY - they droooooooooL over eBay profit margins, and don't wanna do any of the work that eBay does to create that world class trading venue.
If anyone was serious about actually competing with eBay, they would spend the MONEY --- this ain't gonna happen, lol!!!!!!
posted on September 25, 2000 11:25:36 PM new
I sell tons on Yahoo & have been very satisfied with the site. The only point I REALLY agree with you on paulstar is that I don't want Ebay to go under either. I think healthy competition is good. Plus I need someplace to sell stuff on the rare occasion that Yahoo is down.
I do give credit where credit is due- the people at Ebay are the online auction pioneers & they did come up with a fantastic revolutionary concept. And they do what they do very well.
BUT- as far as "imitators" go, Yahoo has worked out really well for me. The category I mainly sell in moves VERY quickly on Yahoo. I have found that I can often list my items at my asking price and have a willing buyer close the auction with a winning bid within 24 hours. On Ebay I might get the same price give or take a few bucks, but I have to wait much longer for it. And when someone deadbeats on Ebay I have to jumpt hrough hoops to get my money back. And I have more deadbeats on Ebay than I do on Yahoo, for the record.
In my opinion the people who have trouble selling on Yahoo mainly have that trouble because they haven't adapted to the market on Yahoo, and it is a sustantially different one from Ebay's market. You can't just bop on over to Yahoo from Ebay & do everything from start to finish exactly as you would on Ebay & expect to be successful. I almost gave up after having done that very thing- luckily for me the AW'ers who frequent the Yahoo board came to my rescue. Admittedly there are categories that move slowly on Yahoo & it could be that those posting unfavorably about Yahoo sell only those categories. As for me, I LOVE Yahoo.
Oh yeah- and as for the search thing- Yahoo's search is pretty wacky right now- but I search both Ebay & Yahoo from AW's universal search engine so it doesn't bother me at all.
posted on September 26, 2000 01:22:09 AM new
Everyone here has a valid point or two. Some have many valid points.
Ebay will be around for the long haul, because the sellers know a good thing when it hits them in the face. Where else can you have millions and millions of people looking at your items for sale??
The only way Ebay will stumble is if they raise their listing fees. I think one day they probably will, especially when you have stockholders looking at their returns. That will turn off a lot of sellers.
Another way is if an auction company would actually pay you to list an auction on their site ($2.00 to $4.00 an auction). PayPal used this same principle and got the majority of us to join. Be it Amazon or Yahoo, Ebay sellers would flock to this site to make the money. If the site kept this up for 2 months or longer, Ebay would definitley feel the pinch. There would be more items up for sale and the buyers would eventually start to know this site as the place with millions of quality items up for sale. Throw in increased advertising revenue due to the increased traffic and both sides actually win.
Well enough of the Ebay Mutiny. I got to get back to my plans of overthrowing the dictator of some third world country
posted on September 26, 2000 07:15:00 AM new
The marketing ploy of offering $$ for listings has been tried before (was it Andale?). Yes, there were LOTS of listings, but many of them were for paper cups, toothpicks, chewing gum and the like.
More than a few sellers posted here that they had received checks for several thousand dollars.
posted on September 26, 2000 07:39:31 AM new
"More than a few sellers posted here that they had received checks for several thousand dollars."
Those would be the same people that tend to exagerate about how much money they make, the car they drive, how good their kids do in school, and how big their .... [never mind!].
posted on September 26, 2000 09:28:55 AM new
Isn't what you're asking for called "protectionism", where we protect a company despite it's faults? ....aka "made in USA" despite not made in USA?...aka ***Mart?
posted on September 26, 2000 09:36:19 AM new
I stick with the basic listing fees, no frills, and do quite well while finding their share is fair...
better than the Government tax collector
why take away our fun?