Good old days of Ebay.... long gone!!

soolin

Mintstrel wrote: »

Bluffer seems to know the problems too...thankyou. eBay was supposed to be an 'online boot sale' but seems to have gone beyond that. Bring back Yahoo Auctions which eBay bought and closed down because they couldn't handle the competition.

If Yahoo had been any good then they wouldn't have folded in the face of the ebay competition.

Also, not sure that ebay was ever meant to be an online boot sale, I've certainly used it in a professional manner since 1999.

Mintstrel

soolin wrote: »

If you are getting a lot of SNAD claims then maybe you might want to check just how accurately you are describing your goods.

99p DVD with free p&p...what else can I do?

soolin

Mintstrel wrote: »

99p DVD with free p&p...what else can I do?

Cost is immaterial and if you seriously are selling proper DVDs (ie not just discs) for 99p then you're making a loss.

You indicated that you are a private seller, if so surely it would be easier to get rid of your private DVDs on Music magpie as at least you get 30p for them.

Mintstrel

soolin wrote: »

If Yahoo had been any good then they wouldn't have folded in the face of the ebay competition.

Unless the financial option was too good to refuse.

Also, not sure that ebay was ever meant to be an online boot sale, I've certainly used it in a professional manner since 1999.

That's fine, but do you think buyers have become too fussy or bought into the scamming process?

RFW

Mintstrel wrote: »

Bluffer seems to know the problems too...thankyou. eBay was supposed to be an 'online boot sale' but seems to have gone beyond that. Bring back Yahoo Auctions which eBay bought and closed down because they couldn't handle the competition.

As Soolin says that wasn't quite the case, but most businesses would be quite happy to have no competition, buying out the competition is in fact 'handling it' quite well. They're also fairly happy to have Ebid hanging around picking up scraps.

As for changes in customers it isn't anything to do with feedback, it is an increasing awareness in what customers expect and what they are entitled to. Previously buyers would buy something and if it was not what they wanted they would leave it and forget about it or sell it themselves, as they became aware (often through sites like this!) that they could, under distance selling regulations, return the item then they began to do just that.

I can only recall ever leaving two negs for buyers (from thousands of transactions) and had few returns/problems, returns run at a much higher rate now and I actually sell better quality items. Online expectations, on Ebay and on many other sites are far higher than they were a few years ago, if you think that has anything to do with feedback you're very much mistaken.

Pont

But the 'nice' bit of Ebay has disappeared into the ether.

I have bought and sold loads in the past (clearing out attic, looking for something a little bit unusual etc). It's gone all 'business' and 'hard' and 'scammy' rather than the original ethos behind it.

I don't bother using it anymore.

soolin

Mintstrel wrote: »

That's fine, but do you think buyers have become too fussy or bought into the scamming process?

I wonder if the recession is partly to blame. I'm sure that whilst money is tight for so many people they are less accepting of things they don't feel are exactly right.

Seriously though, selling DVDs at a loss might actually mean that people think there is some sort of con going on- after all why would anyone sell and be out of pocket? That might well be attracting a few extra moans as they feel something isn't right and can't quite work out what..

Mintstrel

soolin wrote: »

Cost is immaterial and if you seriously are selling proper DVDs (ie not just discs) for 99p then you're making a loss.

I don't make a loss except when I get a scammer.

You indicated that you are a private seller, if so surely it would be easier to get rid of your private DVDs on Music magpie as at least you get 30p for them.

Maybe Music Magpie is the way forward. Which proves my point that eBay has maybe had its day.

Mintstrel

I appreciate everyones opinions, thankyou. But idiot buyers are getting away with eBay/Paypal siding with them and using it to full advantage. If every seller is happy with that scenario then fine...just saying it never used to happen a few years ago.

geri1965_2

As a seller I have never had any problems at all - one of my items went missing once, I refunded the buyer, that was that. It could have been a scam but I had no reason to disbelieve her.

As a buyer though, my experiences have been shocking. A few good items and a lot of garbage which is only fit for the bin.