posted on November 2, 2005 12:04:22 PM
I have been paying attention to friends and family, finally checked it out myself. feeBay is really getting wonky. I did various random searches today and when I tried to look at specific items I got error pages about 25% of the time. But don't worry it didn't effect my bidding.
posted on November 3, 2005 07:01:31 AM
eBay Search Features have been "wonky" for some time, Parklane. I've been unable to search Title and Description for months, and I know a lot of items are not coming up in Search Results, as I've searched by the EXACT title of several listings and not gotten them in Results.
Hence, I'm one of the "Watchers" you folks wonder about. The only way I can get back to an interesting item is through my Watched Items list.
I agree that more quality advertising is necessary, and lower listing/expenses rates are vital to the survival of eBay.
As a buyer, I'm shocked by the increased shipping fees claimed by sellers for low-priced items. Recently I bid on six items from one sellers, all fabric items and small in size. The listing claimed 'save with combined shipping'. Ha! The final shipping fee for those small items was almost $20.00!
When I questioned the final S&H, the seller responded that her items were listed at rock-bottom prices and that she had to recoup her costs through S&H. True... They were listed with an opening bid at great prices. But with the S&H I could have just as easily purchased these items from a fine department store.
And, YES! I DID check her S&H fees before bidding. It was the 'combined shipping savings' that caught me off guard. I assumed an extra dollar or two per item after the initial fee. My error! (This particular seller has nice items and I would have been back for more. Not now.)
It seems, from this buyer's perspective, that eBay fees, PayPal fees, shipping costs and gas prices have forced the hand of honest sellers to be a 'little more deceptive' in their listings to maintain sales and be competitive. What a shame!
And sadly, to even find the particular items I'm seeking, through eBay Search, is becoming more hit- and-miss than ever before. Ebay has some serious problems that should be addressed---for both sellers AND BUYERS!
posted on November 3, 2005 09:42:31 AM
Pat I sure do agree that shipping is a problem as a buyer and seller. As a seller I hate the shipping being listed on the category pages along side the item price. It includes the ins. charge even if the ins is optional. So at close inspection I'm sure some buyers pass on items without even clicking on the auction and looking at the WHOLE story. As a buyer I just bought a pair of Birkenstocks this week for my husband and the seller charged me $12.50 to ship it from NYC to New Hampshire ... the actual charge was $4.40!!!! I wrote and asked for a refund... so far no answer.Before someone jumps in with "well you paid it!" I bid on the auction at the last min as I was on line and my husband called up to me to bid from his "watched auctions". I bid, paid with paypal and went back to work on my auctions. If I had taken 1/ONE min to read I would have not paid and asked for a realistic shipping charge. If they do not respond with a rebate or even an email with an explaination... I will make it clear to this new seller that they have lost my future business.... and I will probably neg them... Sad to be forced to make money on shipping... this really is a system wide problem. Wish ebay would ask me to be a part of one of their community chat secessions. I have issues for them!
Actually, I like the shipping fees posted on the search pages. For me, it is the "Not specified" listings that I will ignore, unless it is an item I'm particularly interested in. And only then it is because a gallery picture, which was included, that caught my attention and had me 'looking' at the listing.
A "Not specified" shipping fee usually (not always) means I will have to contact the seller to set the ship fees BEFORE I bid. Then wait and hope for an answer. By the time I hear back from the seller, I've generally found another like-item (S&H included) and have bid on it, which means I've just wasted both my time and the seller's.
High shipping fees, of course, I automatically pass on. I have a pretty good idea of the weight and measurements of the items I collect, how much packing material is necessary, and many of my favorite items can be shipped in the USPS $7.70 Flat Rate Priority box. The seller I mentioned (above) could easily have put all of the items in the Flat Rate box with room to spare.
When I questioned the high S&H and suggested she consider the Flat Rate box for shipping my items, her response was not pleasant. She also informed me she had been selling on eBay for four years, and knew what she was doing. Little does she realize I've been buying on eBay for more than twice as long as she's been selling. Obviously, she did not look up my buying ID to establish my knowledge of eBaying, before sending her rather demeaning response. Had she taken the moment to do a little research on me, she would have realized I'm a repeat buyer from quality sellers.
So...I lost over $10 on that transaction. She lost a repeat buyer. (She has been removed from my Favorite Sellers list in My eBay.
I share this info only because I know most of you folks on the AW board are sellers. Perhaps this will help answer a few questions for new sellers.....???
posted on November 3, 2005 06:55:18 PM
It was more whacked out than usual today. I went to check my auctions in My Ebay and they were all gone. I started getting paranoid thinking I was NARU's or something. They came back a few minutes later - I wasn't very happy to see them because all I could think was "More Crap I Have To Ship".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Caroline
Caroline