Misconceptions surrounding eBay

[coincollectingenterprises]

This is a well thought post. I would like to examine some of what you have posted.



This would be an awesome thing, but unfortunately eBay is not the only online thing PayPal is used for. It is mostly used for eBay, but I use it everyday for my own website. Like wise PayPal is not the only means to collect funds from buyers. Granted it is the most used. The fact that they bill you rather than charge you on the spot allows you to collect your money before paying for their service.



EBay is an auction site. You cannot leave contact info on your items at a live auction, so why should eBay be any different? Trying to prohibit transactions from circumventing them out of the equation is smart business on their part. Here they have provided you with the means to sell something, and now you want it all for FREE? How can a company survive with that business model? If you do not want to pay their fees you do not have too. You just don't get to use their service. Google is the world's leader in search engines. They make their money on advertising. What if the advertisers tried to find a way to get thier ads on there without paying? Answer: we would not have Google.

As for all the talk about lawsuits, any good lawyer can tear right through any "scare tactic" used. That is all that is. It is a scare tactic to ward off any unknowledgable person from suing them.

Bottomline to me is, they are a company, and have every right to make as much money as they want. If I do not want to contribute to it, I will go somewhere else.

Thank you and thank you for the great responses. I am a bit perplexed though with the first response regarding deducting Ebay fees from your sale or via billing. Either way the collection of the fee is post-sale and post-receipt of funds. The only logical reason to bill rather than deduct is to ensure the Paypal aspect is charging the original sale price rather than the post Ebay fee sale price. Given that you have to actually enable alternative payment methods when posting an auction (and it isn't easy to notice this), it's very clear they want you to use Paypal. In fact, Paypal and Ebay are even more interlinked as of a couple months ago as can be seen when printing labels for mailing sales.

I think I did not properly explain the aspect of the phone number and providing customer service and support. It isn't that I'm stating they should not protect their system to have things stay onsite so one does not circumvent fees. However, Ebay has made the "20% discount for top sellers" and other aspects much more strict to receive. Meaning, forced return policy and 1 business day shipping. In addition, I keep getting emails from their seller newsletters on how I'm supposed to be providing more and more customer service and support for variation questions. This may be fine when selling a brick. Or a lego set or video game for the wii or xbox. However, coins can easily require more detailed conversation and explanation. Providing the educational experience to buyers is something that should occur rather than just leaving them in the dark to figure it out. But to explain in an email versus a conversation is limiting. So on the one hand, Ebay is telling me that I must provide services, while limiting the method of doing so. Their algorithms in messages discussed to prevent things like giving phone numbers makes providing simple math equations sometimes disappearing.

So you are 100% correct. They are their own company and entitled to whatever they see fit. The perspective and opinion I'm providing (which really is just that), is that they want me to do more while reducing my available tools to do what they want. It's an intriguing set up. I mean I have people message me asking me to list xyz product in zyx category to ensure they get their ebay bucks or what-have-you.

PS: I have no qualms paying Ebay fees as like any business, the cost is simply added into the product pricing to ensure profitability. What I do have qualms with is not being able to provide excellent customer service. If someone is going to buy something on Ebay from me for over $8,000, they should be able to call me. But you are right, that could lead to fee circumventing which saves the buyer money and that'd be bad for Ebay. Then again, I believe it'd lead to a percentage drop in total quantity auctions sold on Ebay with a huge increase in quantity offsetting it by allowing more people to have more freedom via their services.

[seal006]

Very good discussion here folks. I hope others are benefiting out of it. I understand and agree with you last post. I just chalk it up to this is the way they want to run their business. Which must be a good way considering how many things are listed and sold daily. I do not mind having the eBay logo on the shipping label. I am just grateful I can ship first class with delivery confirmation from home, rather than having to go to the post office. You cannot ship first class from the usps.com website. So to me this is a huge plus. The invoices that I print straight from eBay have my logo, which includes my allgoodcoins.com web address. So see, I can still advertise my off eBay business, while using eBay services.

[Maineman750]

My take on eBay : "You can't argue with success"

[seal006]

Plus one Roger

[coincollectingenterprises]

It's actually REALLY interesting you brought up shipping. The shipping method through Ebay and Paypal is a blessing and a curse.

I agree it's great that you can ship right through Paypal (or Ebay) and get delivery confirmation/etc. However, there is no method that I'm aware of to ship multiple boxes for one auction sale. AKA, if a sale requires five medium flat rate boxes, I have to print a label 5 times, I cannot print all five at once. I've tried paypal multiship and even called to no avail. There's just no support for it. I find that incredibly frustrating. You'd think it'd be an easy service to add. But perhaps I'm wrong. Unless you know of a way to do this multi-printing label thing. You'd be a life saver haha.

Oh, and yes I can always hit "print another" but that's a bit annoying when we're talking 10 or 50 boxes.

[jallengomez]

I love Ebay. The fees are moderate. I love Paypal. ANY system that processes payments for you is going to charge a fee.

My gripe, and I think it's a legitimate one from a sellers perspective, is that before any customer can leave a negative feedback, or low star ratings, they should first have to go through some type of mediation so that Ebay can determine if the reason is legit.

[seal006]

I love Ebay. The fees are moderate. I love Paypal. ANY system that processes payments for you is going to charge a fee.

My gripe, and I think it's a legitimate one from a sellers perspective, is that before any customer can leave a negative feedback, or low star ratings, they should first have to go through some type of mediation so that Ebay can determine if the reason is legit.

Jody, I think you have a valid point. My thought on this is that you should have the right to fight a negative feedback. As it stands the only thing I do not like is that you cannot get a negative off of your rating. I feel that if a negative is left, then you should be able to defend yourself. Some folks on other forums gripe because you cannot leave a negative for a buyer. I happen to agree with eBay in that as long as the buyer has paid they have lived up to their end. Therefore no negative for the buyer is warranted.

[coincollectingenterprises]

I've been thinking a lot about this thread over the past two weeks and have come to three conclusions:

(1) Ebay's success is buyer protection and buyer protection only.

(2) People would rather pay more for convenience than do 5 seconds of research themselves.

(3) It must be nice to be able to afford ridiculous sums of money on advertising.


I truly don't think SEO has much of anything to do with Ebay. Take copper pennies for example. Type into google, buy copper pennies or just copper pennies. I would bet I come up before Ebay (at least in a non-biased google search).

People like the buyer protection because Ebay preaches that sellers can't be trusted. Think about it the entire concept of buyer protection. The idea has basically given buyer's almost a bullet-proof defense for if they aren't happy with almost anything pertaining to what they bought. "The customer is always right" mentality is a bit silly when generalized across the board for everything, especially when it comes to coins.

People have gotten so used to this buyer protection that they use Ebay as a search engine catch all rather than an actual search engine. Many people do the same with Amazon. But I'll tell you what, Ebay is not the catch all on a regular search engine. I believe this ties directly into the buyer protection feeling of "safety" and people therefore refuse to do any research whatsoever to find better pricing and competitors.

Finally, Ebay is everywhere when it comes to advertising like in Google adsense. It's almost overbearing at times. The psychological impact of seeing the ads makes one recall the first two reasons why they like to buy on Ebay and do it.

In regards to feedback - I find it fascinating there is no disclaimer for buyers to remember there is a huge difference between buying something via a photographic illusion of a product versus the ability to physically pick up an item. We are human. We have senses (touch, sight, smell, etc). By buying online, we limit our available senses to see if we like something (Okay, maybe we don't all go around smelling coins in person but you get the idea).

Anyway, I believe there should be a disclaimer to buyers to realize that life is not perfect and to expect perfection in what they buy is a bit silly without having held and examined an item in person. Photographs can only do so much. I'm speaking from the point of a view as a seller where I sell a product that differs for every buyer and is not equal (think copper pennies bullion but each penny is different from the other). No matter how many disclaimers I put in an auction, I'd bet at least 25% of buyers don't even read the auction, just the title, and click buy.

It's quite frustrating.

[seal006]

Interesting post. My take on some of your comments, as an eBay advocate.

I truly don't think SEO has much of anything to do with Ebay. Take copper pennies for example. Type into google, buy copper pennies or just copper pennies. I would bet I come up before Ebay (at least in a non-biased google search).

Not so. Here is a screenshot from Bing, one of Google's biggest rivals, when I typed in "copper pennies". eBay landed at #2, you were at #5, which is still awesome for you.

People like the buyer protection because Ebay preaches that sellers can't be trusted. Think about it the entire concept of buyer protection. The idea has basically given buyer's almost a bullet-proof defense for if they aren't happy with almost anything pertaining to what they bought. "The customer is always right" mentality is a bit silly when generalized across the board for everything, especially when it comes to coins.

Again, not so. I have had several times that eBay has sided with me, stating it was just a case of "buyer's remorse." Also, they do not preach buyer's can't be trusted. I have earned "Top Rated Seller" status. This tells potential buyers I have done a great job in representing what I sell, and handle shipping in a timely and affordable manner.

People have gotten so used to this buyer protection that they use Ebay as a search engine catch all rather than an actual search engine. Many people do the same with Amazon. But I'll tell you what, Ebay is not the catch all on a regular search engine. I believe this ties directly into the buyer protection feeling of "safety" and people therefore refuse to do any research whatsoever to find better pricing and competitors.

This is the buyer's fault, not eBay.

Finally, Ebay is everywhere when it comes to advertising like in Google adsense. It's almost overbearing at times. The psychological impact of seeing the ads makes one recall the first two reasons why they like to buy on Ebay and do it.

Now your knocking on them because they are successful? Think about when you want a carbonated beverage. You want a Coke, not a soda pop, not a soft drink. You want a "coke" even if it is a Pepsi you are reaching for. Or if you are making a copy at a copy machine, you are making a "Xerox". This is branding, and a very important element in big business.

In regards to feedback - I find it fascinating there is no disclaimer for buyers to remember there is a huge difference between buying something via a photographic illusion of a product versus the ability to physically pick up an item. We are human. We have senses (touch, sight, smell, etc). By buying online, we limit our available senses to see if we like something (Okay, maybe we don't all go around smelling coins in person but you get the idea).

Anyway, I believe there should be a disclaimer to buyers to realize that life is not perfect and to expect perfection in what they buy is a bit silly without having held and examined an item in person. Photographs can only do so much. I'm speaking from the point of a view as a seller where I sell a product that differs for every buyer and is not equal (think copper pennies bullion but each penny is different from the other). No matter how many disclaimers I put in an auction, I'd bet at least 25% of buyers don't even read the auction, just the title, and click buy.

LOL, why would they?? My local Mexican food joint makes the best chille rellenos, but no where on the menu does it state that it can, and most often does, causes indigestion.

It's quite frustrating.

Indeed, having the ability to sell absolutely anything to an audience larger than any other place, is frustrating. I digress.

[coincollectingenterprises]

We can agree to disagree

[seal006]

We can agree to disagree

Your comments are based on feelings. My comments are based on facts. HUGE difference.

[coincollectingenterprises]

Does Bing's search engine have a function similar to Google in which eliminates the discriminatory personalized search factors? Not familiar with their methods as much.

Not sure if I'd agree my statements were based entirely on feelings. Throwing money at advertising is not a feeling, it's a fact, no? The cause is a fact, I should state, the result and affect I'm stating is a feeling on what the impact is.

[seal006]

"throwing" is a feeling. As Ted Turner always said' "Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell, and advertise"

[coincollectingenterprises]

Advertising is not a catch-all solution though. If I were to advertise, I'd have to drastically raise my pricing which would be contradictory to my goal to offer lower pricing. It's the problem with advertising when selling pennies compared to say gold bricks.

EDIT: Well, I suppose I could drastically lower my income, but then I'd be making so little money, I'd have to shut down. Pennies aren't cheap to come by in bulk.

[Antiquity]

I admit I like buyer protection, I was screwed by a seller before they implemented it and I was pissed off for weeks afterwords. The thought of actually driving to the persons house and kicking his *** was entertained.

I sold for a year on a regular basis after buyer protection was installed enough to earn a top rated seller badge and never really had any problems. I stopped as it started to feel like work instead of the hobby, although I still sell random items now and again.

Just my thoughts.