I Hate Corporate EBAY

[Seekonk]

I've been on ebay a long time. Sold a lot of stuff (thousands), ebay says close to $13,000, and that is mostly rinky dink electronics items.  Always thought it was a poorly run place and succeeded in spite of itself.  I remember when they used to post notices that they had fixed some software problem. That almost always guaranteed it wouldn't work that day when you tried to use it.  There were days (and not that long ago) when I couldn't list or ship things for a whole day or more. It used to be about two weeks total each year that ebay was non functional due to software updates. It appeared they never tested the software before releasing it to the world.  And just when you figured out how to use everything they rearranged the site.  At least Californians were smart enough not to let Whitman be elected to government office.

Ebay charging fees for shipping and the Post Office $2 for an ounce package conspired together to make selling small parts uneconomical.  Been busy for a couple weeks and listing little crap is a pain so I let my listings expire.  Ebay sensed me slacking and offered me half price on selling fees for a week.  What the heck, I listed some stuff.  Today I looked at my account and it has all these listing fees.  Called up customer service and they can't figure out why I am being charged these fees.  Keep getting put on hold while they try and figure it out. After close to 15 minutes they say they will call me back. Ten minutes later they call me and tell me I was charged because I re listed the items. I
always check the two automatic re listing box and have never been charged before.  Turns out my special half price offer wasn't a deal at all.  Ebay giveth and taketh away.  How am I supposed to figure out what ebay can't?  I told her to figure out how to credit me, I pulled all my listings. I'll list again when I can make $100 on an item.

[Yansi]

I also have used ebay for a few years. Now switched to Aliexpress.  Way better buyer protection policy, then on ebay. My friend had ordered some mobile phone part not much cheap on ebay, but after two months nothing arrived. (usually 4 week it takes here) The only thing he can do is to write the seller a message. Guess what the seller replied?    it will arive soon, wait another week.  .   He probably never see the item, as the protection times out, nor does he get his money back, because there is no other option left, than write a message to the seller.   

[Flump]

with ebay cant you add the postage to the item price and offer free delivery ?
ive never sold anything on there

[rdl]

I've also been selling on ebay for years. Not much, a few hundred dollars a year maybe. As far as I can tell, ebay is a bunch of idiots, and has been for a long time. Like you said, it seems to work in spite of itself. They seem to have a much higher opinion of themselves than the rest of the world does.

[Corporate666]

I've been selling on eBay for several years now - we do about $200k a year on eBay and I can't stand them.

I gave up trying to maintain "Top Rated Seller" status, because you are allowed only two 1 or 2 star ratings in any category per *year*, out of a couple thousand transactions.  And leaving you 1 or 2 stars is totally anonymous and based solely on the opinion of the buyer.  So if you say shipping will be $8 and they think it should have been $6, they can leave you 1 star for unreasonable shipping fees, even if the actual cost was $20 and you took a $12 loss on sending it.

eBay buyers are by *far* the most picky, least patient, cheapest, least understanding and most demanding customers we find anywhere.  And we sell premium products that are made in the USA.  Amazon is a much better class of customer.  eBay is full of cheapskates who want something for nothing and will whine to high heaven if they don't get it.

And eBay management is no better.  They place such ridiculous demands on their sellers that I don't know a single one who likes eBay.  It is never good business to have half of your customer base despise you. 

Not to mention PayPal - essentially an unregulated bank who has their way with users and there is virtually no recourse.

[drakke]

... Amazon is a much better class of customer.  eBay is full of cheapskates who want something for nothing and will whine to high heaven if they don't get it.

How do you deal with the Amazons free shipping reimbursement?

I have heard that they don't really give you a full price so you have to mark up the product to make up for the difference.

Although I suppose this depends on the type and price of the products you sell.

[Corporate666]

... Amazon is a much better class of customer.  eBay is full of cheapskates who want something for nothing and will whine to high heaven if they don't get it.

How do you deal with the Amazons free shipping reimbursement?

I have heard that they don't really give you a full price so you have to mark up the product to make up for the difference.

Although I suppose this depends on the type and price of the products you sell.

Do you mean Amazon Prime?  Not sure what you are talking about with "free shipping reimbursement"?

I have several dozen of our products listed on Amazon, and we set the price to whatever we like.  As it happens, I say "free economy shipping" (which, in the USA, is US Postal First Class, about $2-3 for 1lb package). 

[DavidDLC]

I also hate corporate Ebay.

[Psi]

I use aliexpress for most things and occasionally ebay if i cant find what i need on aliexpress.


Total aliexpress orders to date is 33.
Only 2 of those had issues.

A) I ordered a large DSLR bag and was sent the medium version instead.

They gave me the choice of refunding the price difference or me ordering a second bad, 'medium size' and they would actually send large.
Since i didn't really think they should get an extra sale out of their mistake i chose the refund.
I reckon they should have sent me a large bag at 1/2 price but meh, as far as problems go it wasn't serious. The lowepro bag was $100 on aliexpress vs $250 in the local shops. So still a win.

B) Ordered some USB cables and they never arrived.
Seller sent a 2nd lot at their expense. A++

[acarpenter]

I used ebay as a buyer since 2004 but now using it more as a seller. There are some internal software issues i know however i mostly use the app rather than the desktop version. 

[smjcuk]

I sold about £6k of stuff on eBay last year. Nothing but hassle. Fortunately its only supplemental income but I really don't like it. I wouldn't want to bet my entire income on it. Amazon charges too much of a cut and Ali express is no good for second hand goods.

The killer is that the number of stupid and dishonest buyers is insane.

[bookaboo]

I'll add a +1 to the rant. 10% fees (plus 2.9 for paypal), shop subscription fees it all adds up. Also their interface is painful and inefficient to use, no structure and multiple repetitive clicks for even simple tasks.
The fees for a lot of sellers are actually above 10% when you consider you pay your 10% on any VAT or TAX added, 100% of which you have to give back to the taxman.
I really hope aliexpress are able to set up a competing model that EU sellers and buyers can use, eBay and Amaxon have an effective duopoly on this market and it sucks.

My main gripe at the moment is that whenever a buyer opens a return they count that as a "problem with transaction". Buyers open these returns even when they just change their mind, usually unaware that they are messing with your quality score.

[Corporate666]

I'll add a +1 to the rant. 10% fees (plus 2.9 for paypal), shop subscription fees it all adds up. Also their interface is painful and inefficient to use, no structure and multiple repetitive clicks for even simple tasks.
The fees for a lot of sellers are actually above 10% when you consider you pay your 10% on any VAT or TAX added, 100% of which you have to give back to the customer.

I wish the fees were 10% in our case.

We are paying approximately 20% of the "buy it now" price in fees when you consider PayPal fees, insertion fees, domestic free shipping and other fees that we do not pay in other venues.  Not to mention that the product will not sell unless it is the lowest price on eBay.  Literally, we change our price to 0.01% above the competition and sales drop to virtually zero.  Drop it to 0.01% below everyone else and sales flow like a river.    eBay offers zero ability for sellers to differentiate.  It's a giant flea market inhabited by cheapskates looking for something for nothing.

[Galenbo]

... Literally, we change our price to 0.01% above the competition and sales drop to virtually zero.  Drop it to 0.01% below everyone else and sales flow like a river.

I am aware of the problems you have at Ebay, and you are right, but on a marketplace, you can't have problems with this principle I think.

If the product is the same, I always choose for the cheapest seller, except when someone gives a technically far better description, link to a decent specsheet, link to a working example library, link to projects, provides videos, etcetera.