posted on May 14, 2001 04:20:20 PM
I agree,seems like every time they limit you in some way as they confirmed today concerning link to web sites etc.Ebay goes down.
Sometimes I wonder if this is intentional if you think about it,where else can a seller or bidder really go.All you can do is put up with the bull and ebaY knows that.
So the site goes down why should ebaY care as I will be back listing as soon as it goes back up.
posted on May 14, 2001 05:40:01 PM
Does the Amazon Books site ever crash??
Do you think the large corporations will put up with Ebay crashing so often? Even if they get a wonderful deal on extensions, I still don't think they would accept this.
I have a great bunch of auctions that have had lots of hits and initial bids closing tonight and no one has been able to get at them today. If Ebay would extend auctions if their site has been down during an auction, then I wouldn't be so upset.
Ebay wasn't happy with their wonderful core business. How many companies have the name recognition that Ebay has achieved in such a short time.
I don't think new merchandise will be a continuing sustainable growth market. Maybe in the short term.
posted on May 14, 2001 05:59:01 PM
If you list on Amazon you may as well go and sleep.
I hate to say it but for me both Amazon and Yahoo are dead and have been for ages.
In the last 24 hours I have sold 6 items on the BIN.
One for 15.00 another for 550.00,145.00 another at 145.00,105.00 and lastly 85.00
I made money on all and some where only listed last night.
I have been listing items with a reserve stating the price and then putting the BIN 10 to 30 above the reserve.
They may go for more if I ran them for a full week,but I like to sell items fast that way I can replace with another.
So for all the problems and restrictions they put on us I am here to stay.
So I guess I cannot complain.
However the fact that they appear to be restricting free trade I can see someone stepping in and taking them to court like Microsoft.
Though I did not agree with them taking Microsoft to court.
Can I blame ebaY for trying to stem lost sales through web sites,that I am not sure as I wonder what I would do to stop the flow of lost revenue in a similar situation.
I just wish that they would not put banner links to Half.com etc.As I feel if a rule applies to us then it should apply to them also.
But again its not my business so I may feel differently if I was in there shoes.
I have a Bro who has a very sucesfull business back in the UK and he does all he can to protect his business.
He is at least 100 times larger than the nearest competition and he watches those like a hawk.
So if he and I where ebaY would we be any different than they are..probably not.
However I would be much more stable and extend auctions during outages.
posted on May 14, 2001 07:36:20 PM
How come eBay restricts the small seller to selling only on eBay, however, Disney and all the other big players do not have to follow the same rules......
posted on May 15, 2001 08:28:55 AM
There is a reason. It is Capitalism and I applaud Ebay for their decision. Lets look at some other examples. If you have a store in a Mall, you pay a fee to the Mall. You cannot expect to set up a storefront in a Mall, bring a bunch of customers in, then use some trick to shift the sales outside the Mall to avoid a fee. That is exactly what hundreds of sellers are doing today on ebay. Ebay charges a reasonable fee to sell, and it is all of our interest (Sellers) to create a strong community of buyers who stay at Ebay. If we all work to shift traffic out to our own sites (How often has that worked) then we undermine each other.
Now, I do agree that there are technical problems that take Ebay down far too often and those should be addressed. I'd also like to see Ebay get a lot tougher on non-paying bidders.
