EBAY is ruined

BuddyBonthenet

soolin wrote:

Why would they need to use BIN? Just start the auction at the minimum price you will accept. Reserves were never really that useful anyway.

That may be your opinion - check out the Business Seller's board on eBay and I'll think you'll find most would disagree. Sorry, but even eBay agrees you're more likely to get bidders (and therefore a sale) with a low starting price. Buyers do love auctions starting at 99p!

soolin wrote:

On the left hand side of the Ebay search pages you can set your searches to listed in the UK/ listed in the European community or listed worldwide.

Soo

Thanks, but I do know how to search on eBay. The point I was making is the change to the default search is reason why there are now pages and pages of items located in the Far East, as opposed just in the UK. Buyers used to be able to choose to look at items available to the UK from overseas.

BTW the UK is the only major eBay market where the default search still includes items from another country. When change was made in other countries such as the USA, Germany and Australia there was so much uproar the decision was reversed. This has not happened in the UK and the main reason for this is thought to be that Ebay is trying to break into China and therefore it is a sensitive subject.

soolin

BuddyBonthenet wrote:

That may be your opinion - check out the Business Seller's board on eBay and I'll think you'll find most would disagree. Sorry, but even eBay agrees you're more likely to get bidders (and therefore a sale) with a low starting price. Buyers do love auctions starting at 99p!.

Your post suggested that sellers could not set a low start price as you particularly said "It started going down hill when it brought in a £50 minimum reserve amount because people then had to start using But It Now to make sure they got a decent amount for what they were selling" which appeared to overlook the fact that sellers do not have to use a BIN to safeguard their start price. It is a matter of choice whether to start at 99p or at the lowest price a seller will accept, and my choice of using a minimim start price is as valid as those who prefer a 99p start.

BuddyBonthenet wrote:

BTW the UK is the only major eBay market where the default search still includes items from another country. When change was made in other countries such as the USA, Germany and Australia there was so much uproar the decision was reversed. This has not happened in the UK and the main reason for this is thought to be that Ebay is trying to break into China and therefore it is a sensitive subject.

Is there a suggestion therefore that the UK market is somehow more important to China than the rest of Europe? I wasn't aware that there were any economic ties between us other than the history around our 'lease' of Hong Kong for 99 years. However, it may be that you are referring to the UK as being economically more open to trade than the rest of Europe which I accept.

Soo

tomstickland

Starting at a low price and setting a reserve produces better results than starting an auction at what would have been the reserve price.
Mathematically it might guarantee the same minimum sale price, but physchologically it doesn't work as well.

BuddyBonthenet

soolin wrote:

Your post suggested that sellers could not set a low start price as you particularly said "It started going down hill when it brought in a £50 minimum reserve amount because people then had to start using But It Now to make sure they got a decent amount for what they were selling" which appeared to overlook the fact that sellers do not have to use a BIN to safeguard their start price. It is a matter of choice whether to start at 99p or at the lowest price a seller will accept, and my choice of using a minimim start price is as valid as those who prefer a 99p start.Soo

Thank you to #24 for articulating better my point about low starting prices and BIN prices. If there was no restriction on the reserve price the seller could then set it at lowest price that he will accept and still start the auction at a low price - the seller doesn't lose money and the buyer who likes the thought of bidding for a bargain is happy too - even if they don't win the auction. I would add I don't have a problem with BINs - just a restriction on the reserve price.

soolin wrote:

Is there a suggestion therefore that the UK market is somehow more important to China than the rest of Europe? I wasn't aware that there were any economic ties between us other than the history around our 'lease' of Hong Kong for 99 years. However, it may be that you are referring to the UK as being economically more open to trade than the rest of Europe which I accept.

Soo

No, I am not suggesting that the UK market is somehow more important to China than the rest of Europe and neither am I referring to the UK as being economically more open to trade than the rest of Europe.

I am saying that the UK Ebay site is currently flooded with items from the Far East primarily because of the change to the default search facility from 'located in the UK' to 'available to the UK'.

It is not surprising that many non-UK sellers have taken advantage of this change given that this does not happen on the other major eBay sites. I don't think this is fair and the search rules should be the same on all eBay sites.

The other issue is that many of these sellers are simply not playing on a level playing field with other sellers (UK and non-UK) as they list items (often fakes) with low starting prices and excessive postage charges. This is against eBay rules and blatant fee avoidance. eBay UK have admitted they currently do not have the resources to deal with this problem and it would appear that most of these sellers are in China. Buyers as well as sellers have complained about this problem and it has tarnished the eBay UK site's reputation. There is wide spread spectulation on the Community Message Boards and on other sites on the internet that the main reason that this problem has not been tackled before now is that eBay as a company is trying to break into the Chinese auction market and didn't want to upset Chinese sellers. eBay have recently announced that they plan to focus on this area, although it will take time to put the necessary resources in place. The general concensus is that eBay couldn't continue to ignore the problem any longer because of the legal implications of not acting when the problem is so well known.

There is a very interesting thread on the Business Sellers Board today started by a Chinese seller ('Let's establish "Honest" or Honest List') where both UK and non-UK sellers discuss the issues around the selling of fake goods on eBay. If you can fight your way through the rubbish you will see how big the difference in opinions of the rights and wrongs seems to be.

pesky2

Used to be great when i started with Ebay in 2001 but now rather spoilt too many know about it and too many conmen out there but still a fair few honest sellers and buyers.

whatamess_2

I have sold and bought from ebay but have started to use it a lot less now for buying as its a total pain trying to find the real bargains.

I agree that the minium reserve being £50 is a pain. I start my sales at 99p and was selling something that I didnt want to go for less than £40 had to set the reserve at £50 then when the auction ended at the expected price £41 had to do a second chance offer.

Sold for the price I wanted but such a rigmarole to get there, reserves can also be off putting to a potential buyer when they know its at least £50.

Poppy9

I was searching for a Hair Fascinator and specified UK only but the Chinese listings came up like this as they enter the address as WILL POST FROM HONG KONG, United Kingdom. So blooming annoying.

I am also fed up with shop sellers contacting me to say when you get the item leave me positive feedback and then I will leave you some, else I won't. Well hey I'm the customer so you don't tell me what to do.:p I never leave them feedback.

Re excessive postage I bought two car chargers for my mobiles from the same company and even though he posted together in one package I paid £3.50 postage for a 46p stamp and a cheap jiffy bag. He got neutral feedback.

tomstickland

Well, I'm still buying and selling on Ebay. I buy CD's for £1-£2 max, never buy from shops, though sometimes use Amazon if they're cheap enough.
Selling seems to have become more difficult, though I am shifting things via ridiculously low prices because I want to be rid of them. Plenty of honest buyers and sellers.

highguyuk

Poppy9 wrote:

Re excessive postage I bought two car chargers for my mobiles from the same company and even though he posted together in one package I paid £3.50 postage for a 46p stamp and a cheap jiffy bag. He got neutral feedback.

This could competely take this off another subject, but if you did not like the postage why did you buy?

That was completely harsh and unfair and if I had received a neutral for this, I would have given you a negative in return.

You knew about it before you bid, so there should be no problem.

Poppy9

highguyuk wrote:

This could competely take this off another subject, but if you did not like the postage why did you buy?

That was completely harsh and unfair and if I had received a neutral for this, I would have given you a negative in return.

You knew about it before you bid, so there should be no problem.

I bought because the postage for one item was £1.99 which was the least postage of any of the same items and it said discount postage on additional items. I asked seller what the discount would be and he said £1.50. He actually discounted by 50p. He has ignored all emails since. If I hadn't been happy with the quality of the goods he would have got a neg. Quite honestly I wouldn't care if he negged me back as most people look at neg feedback and decide for themselves if it's reasonable or not.