I've been an eBay member since 1999 when I found it to be a fantastic place to procure and offer the unusual and one-of-a-kind items that have special meaning for me. I noticed the change in 2004 when eBay allowed itself to be promoted as a place where you could make a living as a full time reseller of exotic trash and junque. Now in 2008 we watch infomercials promoting "Make Money on EBay". Ha!
EBay went from the online garage sale to an online flea market to what it is today - crap. A feedback system that promotes bullying and blackmail, no obvious way to contact eBay to complain, and when you do find a way to register a issue, no response from eBay to address the issue.
I find it fascinating that eBay will routinely pull my listings because "someone" claims copyright infringement (such as the resale of a vinyl record album - how could I "pirate" a vinyl album?), but I'm still out the listing fees (perhaps a ploy by eBay to make more money?). And speaking of listing fees - I wouldn't make a penny on any I try to sell unless I set the price to at least $6.71 or more, for a very inexpensive item.
The ab"users" of eBay send me countless emails complaining of my shipping fees. I don't charge shipping fees of two or three times the cost of the item like many members. I treat the buyer as I want to be treated when it comes to shipping fees - actual shipping costs. But try to tell the buyer of a CD or cassette tape that the $2.35 parcel post fee, plus the $1.50 bubble wrap mailer and the $1.35 insurance is an actual cost of $5.20. Why insurance? Because of abuse by the buyers who claim the item never arrives (six buyers in a row ...). This doesn't even cover my time, expense, or gasoline to wrap it up, address it, and take it to the post office for delivery.
So, let's say I want a $2 profit for a CD. The typical listing fee, including one photo in the search list and a small designer wrapper on the sale page is typically 70 cents for an item $2 or more. The final sale fee is a percentage of the winning bid, and will be around 30 cents for a $2 winning bid. Finally, PayPal (don't even get me started on PayPal) charges around 50 cents to process your credit card payment for the item you won. So, it costs around $1.50 just to get the item listed and sold on eBay. Add to that the profit I want to receive and the shipping fees and its $8.70 for a final sale price. Hey, for that price I can get the album new at Wal-Mart, so why bother making a purchase on eBay and waiting (and waiting and waiting) for it to arrive?
I choose to vote with my wallet - I don't sell on eBay any more. I rarely look at eBay today for the collectables I desire as there is too much manure to wade through for the possible treasure nugget.
The worst thing, for me, is that there is no way to directly let eBay know that I am very highly unsatisfied with them. I can only let them know indirectly by not using them for buying or selling, and by leaving notes like this.
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