Why I'm just about through with eBay

[tbob]

I put some items on eBay, mostly to clear out some space in the attic, things like DVDs, books, comics, etc. and have done pretty well selling them at decent prices. I've never had any problems with card collectors and my feedback is over 7600 with 100%. Today I receive notice that someone who bought a Murphy Brown DVD for $4.99 opened up a case on eBay because they hadn't received their item yet. Never mind the item sold on 12-10 and I mailed it on 12-11, never mind that I immediately left positive feedback for them. Never mind that the shipping was free. Never mind that it's been a whole week and they haven't received the item yet. Never mind that it's the holidays and mail is always slow. They opened up a frigging case on eBay and whined about it. Ebay sends the usual threat that they might just refund the sale. Ebay has become so buyer-friendly and antagonistic toward sellers (from taking away the seller's ability to leave negative feedback for non-complying buyers to creating a presumption that sellers are worthless POS who are in it only to defraud buyers) that it makes me sick. I've about had it with eBay as I know many here have.
I'm sorry for the rant, but if you can't post your sentiments among friends, to whom can you post. And yes, there is tracking on the package and it shows it is in transit. I'm just bummed at the idiocy of some people in this culture of instant gratification and me-first mentality. Bah-humbug.
To the rest of you, Happy Holidays!

[deucetwins]

Murphy Brown? Really? Buyer must have a thing for Candice Bergen.

[kmac32]

Originally Posted by tbob

I put some items on eBay, mostly to clear out some space in the attic, things like DVDs, books, comics, etc. and have done pretty well selling them at decent prices. I've never had any problems with card collectors and my feedback is over 7600 with 100%. Today I receive notice that someone who bought a Murphy Brown DVD for $4.99 opened up a case on eBay because they hadn't received their item yet. Never mind the item sold on 12-10 and I mailed it on 12-11, never mind that I immediately left positive feedback for them. Never mind that the shipping was free. Never mind that it's been a whole week and they haven't received the item yet. Never mind that it's the holidays and mail is always slow. They opened up a frigging case on eBay and whined about it. Ebay sends the usual threat that they might just refund the sale. Ebay has become so buyer-friendly and antagonistic toward sellers (from taking away the seller's ability to leave negative feedback for non-complying buyers to creating a presumption that sellers are worthless POS who are in it only to defraud buyers) that it makes me sick. I've about had it with eBay as I know many here have.
I'm sorry for the rant, but if you can't post your sentiments among friends, to whom can you post. And yes, there is tracking on the package and it shows it is in transit. I'm just bummed at the idiocy of some people in this culture of instant gratification and me-first mentality. Bah-humbug.
To the rest of you, Happy Holidays!

Couldn't agree more. We had an idiot leave negative feedback after they bid on an item when they were told not to bid as we do not ship internationally and no money exchanged hands. Ebay had all the emails and they still allowed the negative even with all the evidence of us telling this person not to bid as we do not ship outside of the United States. EBay clearly sides with buyers and they do not care who they piss off. As a consequence of this transaction, i no longer leave positive feedback unless feedback is left for me or i delay leaving feedback for at least 2 weeks.

[slidekellyslide]

Ebay automatically opens up a case now, the buyer may have just been inquiring as to where the package was, but I feel your pain Bob...yesterday I had a customer ask me where his tracking number was only hours after he paid for his item. Ebay's insistence that sellers get items out in one day or same day is causing buyers to have very little patience. Just wait until Amazon deploys their little flying droids...customers will expect to have their items in hand same day.

[CW]

Originally Posted by tbob

I'm just bummed at the idiocy of some people in this culture of instant gratification and me-first mentality. Bah-humbug.
To the rest of you, Happy Holidays!

And the sad thing is it's only going to get worse.

I feel your pain, man.

Happy Holidays to you as well!

[h2oya311]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

Ebay automatically opens up a case now, the buyer may have just been inquiring as to where the package was, but I feel your pain Bob...yesterday I had a customer ask me where his tracking number was only hours after he paid for his item. Ebay's insistence that sellers get items out in one day or same day is causing buyers to have very little patience. Just wait until Amazon deploys their little flying droids...customers will expect to have their items in hand same day.

+1

I once accidentally opened a case when trying to simply ask the seller for a refund on a <$50 card. I felt bad but didn't even know that eBay had opened a case. I simply clicked the "contact seller" button (or "ask seller a question" button) and once sent, eBay stated that a case had been opened. It all worked out in the end for both of us.

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by h2oya311

+1

I once accidentally opened a case when trying to simply ask the seller for a refund on a <$50 card. I felt bad but didn't even know that eBay had opened a case. I simply clicked the "contact seller" button (or "ask seller a question" button) and once sent, eBay stated that a case had been opened. It all worked out in the end for both of us.

Yep...buyers are completely unaware that a case is going to be opened by simply asking a question.

[jdeptula]

Really? Asking a question opens a case with the seller? I'll have to be careful to not do that again.

Is it safe to assume that e-bay only does that for closed auctions? ie) if I ask a seller for a picture of the back before bidding, for instance, would that open up a case as well. I doesn't make sense to me that it would, but, then agin, this whole thinkg doesn't make sense to me.

Thanks,
Joe

[tonyo]

Originally Posted by h2oya311

+1

I once accidentally opened a case when trying to simply ask the seller for a refund on a <$50 card. I felt bad but didn't even know that eBay had opened a case. I simply clicked the "contact seller" button (or "ask seller a question" button) and once sent, eBay stated that a case had been opened. It all worked out in the end for both of us.

I had this happen to me a couple of times (accidentally open a case). I usually wait a week after the expected delivery date, then ask the seller to check his records. I think both times I hit "I haven't received my item yet" after hitting "contact seller"

I feel like if you hit "other" instead of "I haven't received my item yet" it doesn't automatically open a case.

[Clydewally]

I have accidentally opened a case by asking where an item was. I have not been able to figure out a way to ask about it without opening a case.
The good news is that the matters seems to have been resolved (in one case an item never reached me and ebay refunded my money without charging the buyer as he had done everything right and this was a UPS problem) and, as I understand it, the opening of a case that is resolved does not cause any lasting stain on buyer or seller's feedback.
Is that true? I have only been a buyer on ebay.

[Bocabirdman]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

Yep...buyers are completely unaware that a case is going to be opened by simply asking a question.

If you click the "other" radio button on the Contact the Seller page, you can communicate without a case being opened.

[rjackson44]

fee bay net 54 rocks

[steve B]

I had the same thing happen. Bought an item and after a bit over a week there was a tracking number but no tracking info. And the expected delivery kept changing. (Great way to have 99.9% on tome delivery, just change the expected delivery -Both UPS and USPS do it.)

So I asked if it had actually shipped. I figured it had, but I've had stuff get under something on the desk and get delayed, so I figured I'd ask.

And Ebay didn't tell me it was opening a case until after I sent the message.
I apologized for the case in a follow up message, and the seller was very good about the whole thing anyway.

But Ebay really has to stop assuming what I want. AND stop catering to the terminally impatient.

What would really help would be a simple way of telling a part time seller from a full time seller, and adjusting expectations accordingly. I'd expect a large company - some of them are selling on Ebay- to be able to ship very quickly and have a great return policy. I'm not sure just how places like LL Bean afford to pay shipping on both ends of a return, but if they can make enough to cover it good for them. I wouldn't expect the same from someone selling collectibles that are simply stuff they don't want or need.

Steve B

[packs]

I understand the frustration but I think eBay needs to be on the buyer's side. As a buyer I want to know that I'm getting what I've paid for. Most sellers are great people and I think the same goes for buyers. But I do think as a buyer I should have more control over the transaction than the seller.

[vintagetoppsguy]

For every idiotic buyer, there is an idiotic seller. I placed a bid on a card last night and less than an hour later I received an email from eBay saying that my bid was cancelled because the seller had ended the item early. No explanation from the seller. Nothing. He/she could have at least sent me an email explaining what happened, but instead I am just left wondering.

eBay seller: joez4u

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

For every idiotic buyer, there is an idiotic seller. I placed a bid on a card last night and less than an hour later I received an email from eBay saying that my bid was cancelled because the seller had ended the item early. No explanation from the seller. Nothing. He/she could have at least sent me an email explaining what happened, but instead I am just left wondering.

eBay seller: joez4u

The seller probably ended the item early to sell to someone else...this happens all the time...I usually don't know about it though because I use a sniper program for all of my bids, unless it's a BIN auction. There have been times when I go to gavelsnipe and see that the item was ended early.

[glchen]

As others have said, ebay now automatically opens cases just when you ask questions to sellers. Buyers often aren't even aware that they're opening cases. I had this happen before also when I just wanted to see if the seller had a tracking # for me, and ebay automatically opened a case.

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by packs

I understand the frustration but I think eBay needs to be on the buyer's side. As a buyer I want to know that I'm getting what I've paid for. Most sellers are great people and I think the same goes for buyers. But I do think as a buyer I should have more control over the transaction than the seller.

Ebay needs to be on the side of sanity...there are complete wackos on both the selling and buying sides...having absolute rules with no leeway for sanity is ridiculous...and as I understand it ebay is starting to sway in that direction by giving their customer service reps the ability to do away with unwarranted negatives. If someone leaves you a negative for slow service and the tracking shows the item mailed within the stated time frame they now have the ability to remove the negative. A few years back I got a negative from an Italian buyer who stated "Slow shipping" when the tracking clearly showed the item was mailed the same day he paid, ebay would not remove this negative..not even after I asked for a supervisor...they just told me their hands were tied. I got 5 negatives from some idiot in Miami last month for items he stated were never delivered even though the tracking showed that they had been...I called ebay and they removed all 5 negatives in minutes...no arguing, no yelling, no raised blood pressure. Also unbelievably they refunded his money, but not from my paypal account, they refunded him from their own account...I'm not sure how he managed that, but he did.

[packs]

I agree. I'm just saying I think the buyer needs to have the leverage when dealing with anonymous strangers. There are far more things that can go wrong from the buyer's side than the sellers. At least in my opinion.

[Jayworld]

Originally Posted by packs

I agree. I'm just saying I think the buyer needs to have the leverage when dealing with anonymous strangers. There are far more things that can go wrong from the buyer's side than the sellers. At least in my opinion.

And visa versa. I yearn for the "old" ebay pre-2007 or so…. When sellers could leave positive/negative/neutral as well, and eBay's cut was 3% per item and dropped as the auction price increased. Also, the seller could take other forms of payment besides Paypal (which is owned by eBay). Now, eBay gets 9% (including the shipping fee, too) and 3%.

I rarely sell on eBay anymore. EBay has gone from an online "Garage Sale" auction site to the current BIN Store site….

[bnorth]

Just be glad you are not selling new cards. New card "buyers" are way worse. I have seen people buy prospect cards(insanely overpriced) just before the season starts and when the player tanks(99% of the time) at the beginning of the season they use eBays 45 day return policy because there $400 card is now $10. Even better are the guys that buy your card list it on eBay for 3X what they paid for it and when it does not sell return for a refund. My favorite though are the scum that buy your card and then want a partial refund for some made up excuse, please never give a partial refund it only keeps this scam going.

I am a member of the blowout forum(mainly new stuff) like some others on here and the scam stories over there are funny as heck to read.

[Cerberus]

Ebay should automatically be siding with tbob on this one, simply because the buyer is purchasing a Murphy Brown dvd. A "red flag," if ever I saw one.

[smtjoy]

Originally Posted by Jayworld

I yearn for the "old" ebay pre-2007 or so…. When sellers could leave positive/negative/neutral as well

I know where you are coming from as a seller but I could not disagree more. I like the current feedback vs the days of revenge negs, being held hostage by bad sellers. My only 2 negs were as a buyer, 1st one I didnt receive a card and left a neg only to be neg'd in reply, great I paid on time and somehow its my fault (I did get it reversed but took over 2 weeks and way to much time). Second was I won a NM advertised card that had about 3 creases and in my mind was VG at best. I asked for a return and was declined, with the seller stating that all sales were final even thou the scan didnt even show the creases and no way the card was NM. So I was forced to keep the card and I neg'd him only to get neg'd back and told by ebay his neg was fair. I do think ebay needs some way to evaluate the buyers as some are abusing the current systems.

Now on the 3% fee going to 12% I totally agree, thats been a real stick it to me experience

[midwaylandscaping]

I'll stick with trusted sellers I know, or the occasional board purchase here or on another board. eBay's just too much trouble at this stage, or I should say more trouble than I would want to deal with either as a buyer or seller. I can simply make myself happy by staying off there or make myself miserable by being on there. Easy choice.

[jcmtiger]

Originally Posted by tbob

I put some items on eBay, mostly to clear out some space in the attic, things like DVDs, books, comics, etc. and have done pretty well selling them at decent prices. I've never had any problems with card collectors and my feedback is over 7600 with 100%. Today I receive notice that someone who bought a Murphy Brown DVD for $4.99 opened up a case on eBay because they hadn't received their item yet. Never mind the item sold on 12-10 and I mailed it on 12-11, never mind that I immediately left positive feedback for them. Never mind that the shipping was free. Never mind that it's been a whole week and they haven't received the item yet. Never mind that it's the holidays and mail is always slow. They opened up a frigging case on eBay and whined about it. Ebay sends the usual threat that they might just refund the sale. Ebay has become so buyer-friendly and antagonistic toward sellers (from taking away the seller's ability to leave negative feedback for non-complying buyers to creating a presumption that sellers are worthless POS who are in it only to defraud buyers) that it makes me sick. I've about had it with eBay as I know many here have.
I'm sorry for the rant, but if you can't post your sentiments among friends, to whom can you post. And yes, there is tracking on the package and it shows it is in transit. I'm just bummed at the idiocy of some people in this culture of instant gratification and me-first mentality. Bah-humbug.
To the rest of you, Happy Holidays!

Don't blame ebay, blame the buyer.

Joe

[bnorth]

Wife won an item on eBay today and now they want to cancel the transaction saying there was an error in the listing.LOL The truth is the item went super cheap and they do not want to sell it for the ending price.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by bnorth

Wife won an item on eBay today and now they want to cancel the transaction saying there was an error in the listing.LOL The truth is the item went super cheap and they do not want to sell it for the ending price.

Try reporting them as a non-performing seller. It worked for me when a seller cancelled a sale claiming the cards were sold Friday and they "didn't have time" to cancel the auction until after it ended late Monday. The person I emailed at ebay said it helped that they put that in an email through Ebays system. They got some sort of ban, but an odd one where all their current stuff was allowed to finish before they were shut down.

They're probably back under some other name, but at least there was some inconvenience to them.

Steve B

[Jayworld]

Originally Posted by smtjoy

I know where you are coming from as a seller but I could not disagree more. I like the current feedback vs the days of revenge negs, being held hostage by bad sellers. My only 2 negs were as a buyer, 1st one I didnt receive a card and left a neg only to be neg'd in reply, great I paid on time and somehow its my fault (I did get it reversed but took over 2 weeks and way to much time). Second was I won a NM advertised card that had about 3 creases and in my mind was VG at best. I asked for a return and was declined, with the seller stating that all sales were final even thou the scan didnt even show the creases and no way the card was NM. So I was forced to keep the card and I neg'd him only to get neg'd back and told by ebay his neg was fair. I do think ebay needs some way to evaluate the buyers as some are abusing the current systems.

Now on the 3% fee going to 12% I totally agree, thats been a real stick it to me experience

Scott, I understand your point, but as of now, the seller has no recourse really. In the 15 years on eBay, as a seller I only left 2 negatives (both for non-payment, both around Christmas time) and never got any type of retaliatory feedback back. Of course, this was back in 1999 or so, back when eBay was a much more enjoyable situation overall for "garage sale" sellers like me. I have only sold about 4-5 items in the past 2 years or so, really scaled back....

[smtjoy]

I do hear what tbob was saying and I get frustrated too when a someone buys something and then opens up a case in 3 days (without even sending me a message), the ones who ask from the second day on where there card is, or who ask for a tracking number right after paying like im next to the pc for every sale and ready to ship, haha.

I hear ya Jay, maybe im just lucky as I am only a small time seller of about 500+ cards a year, I have been offering a 14 day no questions asked return for a long while well before ebay forced that to happen for most and yet in 4 years have only had 5 returns. Now I just stick to cards but have sold some modern and still no real problems. For the most part I just try real hard to treat every customer of mine the same as I would like to be treated as a fellow card collector and that has worked out real well.

[flash300]

Originally Posted by packs

I understand the frustration but I think eBay needs to be on the buyer's side. As a buyer I want to know that I'm getting what I've paid for. Most sellers are great people and I think the same goes for buyers. But I do think as a buyer I should have more control over the transaction than the seller.

I would just like to get paid for the items that I sell. 142 non paying bidders
this year. Ebay should give a negative for each case that goes unpaid

[jp1216]

I've been on eBay for 15 years and was dinged by a buyer last week (first time). Card sells and the guy took two weeks to pay. I sent the standard invoice the day after the sale and another about 5 days later. No messages included and no replies received. After 12 days, I politely message the buyer. In that message, I say that if he doesn't contact me within 48 hours, I'd be forced to open a 'non-payer' claim with eBay. Again, no reply.
I even emailed Leon (hi Leon) and asked if he was a Net54 member since it was a prewar card sale. Not a member.
At the 2 week mark, I submit the claim. The buyer immediately contacts me in rage. Asking why I was 'threatening' him and that he 'always pays'. I simply and (again) politely replied that I hadn't heard from him and was covering my rear. Guy pays right away and I shipped the card out. Card arrives and he dings my feedback saying I was 'rude' and 'threatening'. Crazy.

[npa589]

So frustrating........You would think that it would be common sense for eBay to remove any neutral/negative feedback provided by someone who takes 2 weeks to pay and only pays after a UPI is opened. I believe they have forfeited their right to leave feedback at that juncture...

Originally Posted by jp1216

I've been on eBay for 15 years and was dinged by a buyer last week (first time). Card sells and the guy took two weeks to pay. I sent the standard invoice the day after the sale and another about 5 days later. No messages included and no replies received. After 12 days, I politely message the buyer. In that message, I say that if he doesn't contact me within 48 hours, I'd be forced to open a 'non-payer' claim with eBay. Again, no reply.
I even emailed Leon (hi Leon) and asked if he was a Net54 member since it was a prewar card sale. Not a member.
At the 2 week mark, I submit the claim. The buyer immediately contacts me in rage. Asking why I was 'threatening' him and that he 'always pays'. I simply and (again) politely replied that I hadn't heard from him and was covering my rear. Guy pays right away and I shipped the card out. Card arrives and he dings my feedback saying I was 'rude' and 'threatening'. Crazy.

[baseball tourist]

How about this situation (dealing with it now for 3 weeks).

Now when I list an item on Ebay or when an item sells or closes without bid, or when a customer or potential customer mesaages me wih a question I don't get an email message. Have done my due dilligence and Ebay reports that it is a known issue (known since Sept; affecting some accounts) and they are working on a fix. To add to the frustration of having to log in to Ebay to communicate and see what has happened, 50% of my recent buyers can not use the Ebay generated invoices to complete their sales with me (another glitch). To top it off, if I send a manual invoice I can't get a copy (have to assume it went through) and the buyer can't process the transaction using this invoice either!

Have spoken to Ebay customer service 4 times and they tell me that they are working on fixes in each case but as it going on 3 weeks now, I have little faith. They have even directed me to invoice the buyers through PayPal directly which raises my cuatomer's eyebrows, especially new Ebayers (have had two with less than 2 feedbacks) who are worried that I am a scammer. This is slowing down or preventing sales from closing and I am risking my 14 year, 100% positive feedback rating. Really frustrating!

[deadballera]

eBay has limited the amount of listings to 4 sales per month because a few people gave me low feedback for shipping prices. I was charging $3.00 for a single card. When enough people rate as a 4 instead of a 5..the average goes down the toilet.

I tried to appeal the limits but they did not care.

[glchen]

Originally Posted by deadballera

eBay has limited the amount of listings to 4 sales per month because a few people gave me low feedback for shipping prices. I was charging $3.00 for a single card. When enough people rate as a 4 instead of a 5..the average goes down the toilet.

I tried to appeal the limits but they did not care.

For shipping, I charge $2 for raw cards, $3 for single regular sized graded cards, and $3.50 for graded postcard sized cards or larger. If the cost of the card is $250 or more, I charge a bit extra since I need to add Signature Confirmation. For combined shipping, I add 50 cents for an additional item shipped in the same package. This formula seems to work as for roughly 550 feedback in the last year, my shipping DSR average is 4.98.

[Mike (18colt)]

Originally Posted by baseball tourist

How about this situation (dealing with it now for 3 weeks).

Now when I list an item on Ebay or when an item sells or closes without bid, or when a customer or potential customer mesaages me wih a question I don't get an email message. Have done my due dilligence and Ebay reports that it is a known issue (known since Sept; affecting some accounts) and they are working on a fix. To add to the frustration of having to log in to Ebay to communicate and see what has happened, 50% of my recent buyers can not use the Ebay generated invoices to complete their sales with me (another glitch). To top it off, if I send a manual invoice I can't get a copy (have to assume it went through) and the buyer can't process the transaction using this invoice either!

Have spoken to Ebay customer service 4 times and they tell me that they are working on fixes in each case but as it going on 3 weeks now, I have little faith. They have even directed me to invoice the buyers through PayPal directly which raises my cuatomer's eyebrows, especially new Ebayers (have had two with less than 2 feedbacks) who are worried that I am a scammer. This is slowing down or preventing sales from closing and I am risking my 14 year, 100% positive feedback rating. Really frustrating!

I've had the invoice issue as a buyer, but only when I win multiple lots from the same seller. I cannot pay for all at once with the invoice, so I've had to pay for one item at a time and get reimbursed for the extra shipping costs by the seller. Hopefully eBay fixes this soon. Luckily I've had two outstanding sellers to work with on this issue, so aside from the inconvenience, I've had no problems.

[GoldenAge50s]

Just last night I won 3 separate auctions from a Seller & was able to pay for all 3 combined right from My EBay--they all popped up together.

Don't know if Free Shipping on all 3 had anything to do w/ it or not.

[EvilKing00]

Originally Posted by tbob

I put some items on eBay, mostly to clear out some space in the attic, things like DVDs, books, comics, etc. and have done pretty well selling them at decent prices. I've never had any problems with card collectors and my feedback is over 7600 with 100%. Today I receive notice that someone who bought a Murphy Brown DVD for $4.99 opened up a case on eBay because they hadn't received their item yet. Never mind the item sold on 12-10 and I mailed it on 12-11, never mind that I immediately left positive feedback for them. Never mind that the shipping was free. Never mind that it's been a whole week and they haven't received the item yet. Never mind that it's the holidays and mail is always slow. They opened up a frigging case on eBay and whined about it. Ebay sends the usual threat that they might just refund the sale. Ebay has become so buyer-friendly and antagonistic toward sellers (from taking away the seller's ability to leave negative feedback for non-complying buyers to creating a presumption that sellers are worthless POS who are in it only to defraud buyers) that it makes me sick. I've about had it with eBay as I know many here have.
I'm sorry for the rant, but if you can't post your sentiments among friends, to whom can you post. And yes, there is tracking on the package and it shows it is in transit. I'm just bummed at the idiocy of some people in this culture of instant gratification and me-first mentality. Bah-humbug.
To the rest of you, Happy Holidays!

Agree selling on ebay is a crap shoot

[tbob]

Originally Posted by glchen

As others have said, ebay now automatically opens cases just when you ask questions to sellers. Buyers often aren't even aware that they're opening cases. I had this happen before also when I just wanted to see if the seller had a tracking # for me, and ebay automatically opened a case.

It turns out that exactly what happened. An impatient buyer wanted to know if the package had been shipped yet and by clicking the button to "contact seller", she accidentally and unknowingly opened a case. Today she closed it and apologized to me.
I still long for the old days on eBay before the current regime took over with all their new programs and ideas

[ibuysportsephemera]

I have been selling on eBay since 1997, have 2 stores (one opened in the last 6 months) and perfect feedback in both. eBay's constant changes drive me crazy but if I am being objective, about 70% of their changes make sense from a business point of view.

I am not a defender of eBay and I am not posting this to be argumentative BUT....please tell me where else you can reach millions of people who are looking for the type of items that most of us sell? Also, since eBay has gone more to a pay when you sell model, 10 to 15% including paypal fees doesn't feel that expensive. If you had a B&M store, you would be paying a lot more than 10 to 15% operational overhead. AND every business has a handful of customers who are a PITA. Why would you expect that handful of customers on eBay to be different?

Jeff

[Leon]

Originally Posted by ibuysportsephemera

I have been selling on eBay since 1997, have 2 stores (one opened in the last 6 months) and perfect feedback in both. eBay's constant changes drive me crazy but if I am being objective, about 70% of their changes make sense from a business point of view.

I am not a defender of eBay and I am not posting this to be argumentative BUT....please tell me where else you can reach millions of people who are looking for the type of items that most of us sell? Also, since eBay has gone more to a pay when you sell model, 10 to 15% including paypal fees doesn't feel that expensive. If you had a B&M store, you would be paying a lot more than 10 to 15% operational overhead. AND every business has a handful of customers who are a PITA. Why would you expect that handful of customers on eBay to be different?

Jeff

+1 Spot on. No place else has the amount of eyes on an auction than ebay. And anyone that has owned any kind of brick and mortar business understands the expenses involved, and there are many. Unfortunately ebay makes changes that stifle business in the name of trying to be more profitable.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by bnorth

Wife won an item on eBay today and now they want to cancel the transaction saying there was an error in the listing.LOL The truth is the item went super cheap and they do not want to sell it for the ending price.

I had the same experience about 5 years ago. I won a '65 Mantle for $380. This card in the same grade had sold for $525 the week before. After the auction the seller claimed that the card "had been listed in error" and was no longer available.
I left negative feedback for the seller (Kruk Cards), but since they sell hundreds of cards per week, I didn't bother complaining to eBay. I just settled for never buying from them again.

[Runscott]

Yep. The system is set up for sellers who are willing to go one of two routes:

• high-volume fixed-price auctions
• high-volume straight auctions with shill accounts and/or customers who shill their own auctions.

[savedfrommyspokes]

Originally Posted by Runscott

Yep. The system is set up for sellers who are willing to go one of two routes:

• high-volume fixed-price auctions
• high-volume straight auctions with shill accounts and/or customers who shill their own auctions.

Currently, this route works only if the seller is a high volume seller because he is able to turn his inventory at an aggressive rate and offers items at higher price points. Otherwise the fees associated with maintaining a high volume/low inventory turn ebay store (5 cents per listings/month) will make it a less than profitable venture.

As mentioned in other posts, ebay is constantly changing its MO to improve it's own profitability. The announcements for these policy changes typically occur early each year....each year I wait for the announcement so I can begin the decision making process on how to adjust my ebay store's offerings to best influence my own profitability.

I have tried another on-line e-commerce venue(Volusion) for selling. The cost associated with this other e-commerce site is significantly lower than ebay(the cost for Volusion was 10% of what I typically pay ebay monthly), however, the traffic to this site was non existent compared to ebay. Of course, if I were to have reinvested the money saved from ebay into marketing my Volusion site, my traffic would have likely have been better.

IMO, with the large number of these other on-line e-commerce venues now available at significantly lower costs than ebay, ebay will be forced to react to these competitors lower rates by lowering their costs associated with maintaining an inventory. For some sellers, ebay has already reacted by offering 25k free fixed priced listings/month for Sept-Dec of this year. It will be interesting to see if eBay's 2014's changes will reflect this year's trend to be more competitive with the other e-commerce site's rates.