AuctionCut

The ones that give up just make more room for those with dedication (or the stubborn).

Not at all!

There are always bargains to be made

Buying has been good for me, but selling has not. It has been hard to find niche items!

momokins wrote:Do you know anyone whose given up on Ebay due to bad experience?

I don't really hang around with dealers, though I used to sell old things before eBay. I have one young friend who stopped selling on eBay because she wasn't making enough money and became busy with school and work.

I asked her about non paying sellers, that seems to be the main reason dealers hate buyers, and she said it only happened a few times and didn't understand the grief. She re-listed the items and ended up making more money.

But I have talked to many people who have bought on eBay. Many of them were screwed by a seller and quit buying. They might have been upset at the time, but most of them chalked it up to experience and decided to move on. Here's the thing: they moved on from eBay, not from that one seller.

It's like after you go to the bakery and get home to find out all of the donuts you bought are day old, most people would shrug their shoulders but never go back. Some would complain and expect a refund or help from the management. Well, if you are an eBay buyer, you know that there isn't really any help. I've had many buyers ask me what they should do after they are ripped off by a seller. I usually shrug my shoulders.

Myself? They only reason I have stuck with eBay is because I am buying in a very specific antique category and eBay gives me access to hundreds of items I may have a hard time finding otherwise. I average my loses over the deals I have won and it evens out enough. But even for a Power Buyer like me, I have cut down my buying by about 85% in the last couple years. At one time I would buy new items and lots of books on line. I'm finding more and more stuff at Amazon and I haven't been cheated there yet.

I'm giving up on selling and have listed the last round of junk a few days ago. High eBay FVF, PayPal as required option (even on pickup only auction that obviously offers no tracking # and easy scam!!), and lack of IQ test to separate good buyers from moron (how much is shipping? on one auction I listed as over 500 pounds with pickup ONLY stated 3 times and in shipping box too!)

I'll keep just one account active for buying hard to find stuff. But I am not feeding FleeceBay or Pay-through-your-nose-Pal any more money. No more Paypal balance either, I will empty it once I pay off eBay seller fees and stick to just credit card for payments.

I liked eBay a lot 8 years ago when it was much easier to find what I wanted, not blindsided by 10,000 junk $0.01 auction selling eBooks or moldy old "As Seen on TV" gadgets or by buyers who can't read description. Heck, scams were rare back then. And back when PayPal was new. they didn't require credit card for confirming, only by sending via snail mail a code to confirm address and they didn't milk fees at all.

momokins wrote:Do you know anyone whose given up on Ebay due to bad experience?

I almost did - but it wasn't eBay's fault. I signed up with a scamming company called Bright Builders
(Bright Builders
800-342-1990
801-356-3321
="mailto:experts@brightbuilders.com">experts@brightbuilders.com

Mailing/Street Address:
1207 N Research Way
Orem, UT 84097 )
who sold me a "guaranteed" set of goods which didn't do anything except put me $6,000 in debt.

I wrote it all up on various online forums (as well as here) and also put it in a blog post: "BrightBuilder.com : A Scam, A Rip-Off, or a savvy Internet auction sites training company?"

That blog post also lays out a way of getting started (or keeping going) with free tools like Auctiva and Terapeak.

As a seller, yes I've totally given up, but sometimes I do find myself going back as buyers for little things here and there.

However, I strive to look at the smaller alternative sites to support the ebay refugees

Found that ebay was for buyers. Successful (highly profitable) sellers have to either 1) Be a Big Box operation, 2) become a Big Box operation, or 3) Continue to sell one-off collectibles. This is due to eBay's recent policy changes. The 4th use for ebay is to sell incredibly cheap items as a means of generating leads, which you can then sell through your own online and email activities.

It is not today the way it was just a few years ago, according to I've read about.

Totally agree. Small sellers can't really make a living on the bay anymore. You have to be the powersellers to actually make profit, unless you're just on it as a hobby or for fun.

If that's what you're doing, why not try some other sites to help those grow instead of continuing to support this mean giant?

I signed up to ebay about a month ago, and was subject to and experienced the Ebay/Paypal Monopoly first hand. I did not want to use Paypal to accept payments as I already have my own merchant account with First Data and they are half the price of Paypal. When listing my first item, I scrolled to the part where it asked how I would like to be paid. I un-checked Paypal, and checked credit card. On the next screen it said that in order to accept credit cards I had to fax a copy of my merchant account invoice to them to prove to them that I can support this method of payment. I faxed them the necessary documents, and the games began. 2 days went by and no message from them about what was going on. Then I called them and was asked why I did not want to use paypal, and that it is the preferred payment of ebay. I explained to them my situation, and they said they would look into the situation, and they would get back to my via email. I waited another 2 days, and nothing. I called them again, and they brought me to the listing page, and they walked me through and told me to click Paypal for payments accepted, and I told them I did not want to accept Paypal, and they were dumbfounded and did not know what to do. They knew nothing about how to integrate my merchant account. They told me I have to wait for T&S to contact me. The next morning I called them again, and was once again told to just use Paypal and recieved a pitch on how they were safe and secure. I asked to speak to a manager, and they told me the manager was not available. I then called again and they finally got to the bottom of things. I listed a couple of items, and after the first one ended, the buyer told me there was no way for him to pay. I called ebay again and they told me there was a "Pay Now" button in the email that was automatically sent to them after the auction ended. The buyer told me there was nothing there. I got this same response from every winning bidder that day. I called ebay and they once again told me that I should accept Paypal for payments until they get the situation fixed. I told them I would not pay for the listing fees so far and they told me I have to pay them, and that it is like listing an ad in the paper and the listing fees are non-refundable. The next day they told me that they fixed the problem, and then I listed a couple items, and everything seemed to be good, until the first auction was down to the last minute. The account was blocked by Paypal, and I was informed that they needed more information on my Paypal account in order for the account suspension to be lifted. I called ebay and they told me the block was from Paypal. I called Paypal and they asked for my SS# and receipts for the items I was selling. I told them I never opened a Paypal account, and they told me regardless, they would still need the information in order to lift the suspension, and until then, the account would remain blocked. I called Ebay and they told me there was in fact a Paypal account linked to my ebay account and that there was nothing they could do. Now, I NEVER opened a Paypal account nor did I link it to my ebay account. To me, this is yet another shady desperate attempt by Ebay to force new members that do not know any better to use Paypal to accept Paypal so they can make money from every angle. When I call them and tell them this whole scenario, they ask me if there is anything they can help me with, otherwise the phone call will be disconnected. They no longer respond to my email regarding this and they told me that if I keep contacting them through ebay live chat that they would bring up charges for Harassment. What a way to run a company. I also notice that when you post ANY negative comments about ebay that are valid in the ebay forums, the comments are removed and you are banned from posting in their forums. They are trying to cover up anything negative about their company, but truth be told...,check out Ebay and Paypal on the Better Business Bureau and see all the complaints they have since January. There are well over 10,000 of them. Ebay soon will be a thing of the past and they will continue to lose thousands of members a week to Amazon, just like me.

Fact: When eBay acquired PayPal the acquisition was destined to be banned because the federal government did not want them holding a monopoly on payments and eBay promised that they would offer other payment methods besides PayPal for their auction listings.

As you can see, eBay has no intention what so ever of allowing anyone to sell merchandise unless it is sold through PayPal. That is it. Cut and Dry! Is it illegal? Yes. Can they get away with it? Yes, because THEY are eBay. eBay is God as far as Congress is concerned and can do no wrong.

Here's the thing, eBay pretends to follow the law. But because eBay is above the law, they can do what ever they damn well please, when ever they damn well please and to whom ever they damn well please. If you actually believed that eBay was an honest, up-standing and fair company- I have something else you need to know: there ain't no Santa Claus neither.

I myself have never given up Ebay. And I also don't know anyone like that.