eBay must be suffering?

[asiamiles]

Just got this message from them:

FREE to list Auction-style, any start price, September 28-January 7

A result of poor sales due to the economy or have their terms driven sellers away? Or have they simply found out they make that much more money from final value sales when listings are free?

 

[unclegrumpy]

I think eBay is suffering from their business model of the last 10+ years or so that went after big Companies selling off their old inventory and last years models. The economy is down, and yesterdays goods are not selling well right now. Most of their current policies are not friendly to the little guy, who at one time was their core business.

They are trying to draw people (sellers) back, but I don't think that will work unless they allow sellers to leave negative feedback again to help weed out crooked buyers. Ebay needs to make the Paypal rules fairer as well. Paypal is now far too slanted to the buyer.

Overall too much (all?) of the of the risk and costs in a transaction are on the back of the sellers. EBay/Paypal fees have gotten a lot higher too. Just lowering the listing fee will not be enough, they need a bigger overhaul if they really want to get people interested again.

 

[handworn]

I would think that when the economy's down, used stuff is more popular. Still, the regular, real-life estate auctions that I attend sometimes are hurting too. It's staggering how much gets lumped into large table lots and auctioned off at an average of perhaps twenty cents per item, because no one wants it but it has to be gotten rid of. (Staggering, too, how much the buyers then leave behind, which then simply gets pitched.)

 

[MikeyB-17]

I hope they are suffering. I've pretty much given up selling on Ebay now-they've geared everything in favour of the buyer, and the latest Paypal nonsense is the final straw for me. I wish somebody would start up a new internet auction site and really give them a run for their money.

 

[SuinBruin]

I think eBay has realized that sellers will follow buyers rather than vice versa, and so have weighted their policies accordingly. The combined eBay and PayPal fees are steep, and the ludicrously pro-buyer PayPal policy is an invitation to fraud by purchasers. (I got dinged by an "item not received" claim for the first time this year, and based on the buyer's track record I am pretty certain it was fraudulent.) But if you have something of reasonable value that you want to get some cash for, what are your other reasonable options? Craigslist?

I've sold lots of stuff on eBay (fly fishing gear, trading cards, military insignia) and I can't see a viable alternative. It s###s, but what else can you do?

 

[unclegrumpy]

Actually, I think eBay is trying to be more like Amazon or Walmart rather than an auction. Most of the top Auction Houses have lowered the premiums on the sellers side....many to zero. They charge buyers premiums that range from 10% to 20%.

I think if an online auction came along and charged the sellers nothing and let the buyers pay the freight, it would do really well because it would draw the best stuff to the market. The buyers would pay if the good stuff was there to buy.