eBay: Friend or Foe - Part 1

by Nick Ross , Alex Kidman , Zara Baxter , Stuart Turton , Drew Turney on Mar 26, 2008

Tags: eBay | auction

9 Comments

In a recent article in Fast Company magazine, eBay CEO Meg Whitman claimed that the site's biggest problem was that it was too big, with too much on sale and that it was too difficult to find what you wanted – a victim of its own brilliance.

This conflicted almost entirely with what we've been hearing from our readers over the years and so we teamed up with Today Tonight to find out what their viewers and our readers thought. We sifted through viewers' and readers' experiences with eBay, both positive and negative to identify what you think the problems are. As with most other companies, continued good experiences keep people coming back, but many people only need one bad experience to sour their views of eBay for good.

Here are just a few of the many responses, we’ve received, selected to illustrate the experiences we’ve heard again and again.

Bad feedback
Marc Carter bought a ‘buy it now’ scooter from an eBay store for his daughter’s birthday, after he was unable to find it in retailers. Despite assurances from the store, his daughter’s birthday came and went with no scooter. The company didn’t respond to emails until a couple of weeks later; Marc was finally given a full refund.

But it didn’t end there; Marc got an invoice saying he hadn’t paid for the scooter, then increasingly irate emails chasing payment, and finally, a complaint from eBay saying that he hadn’t paid for the goods. “I filled out the forms saying what had happened, and eBay said it was resolved. Then – the icing on the cake – I got negative feedback and a complaint as a non-payer,” says Marc, “As it was done as a complaint I had no right to reply and leave feedback myself!” The ongoing problems meant that Marc's bids were cancelled by sellers when he tried to buy Christmas presents on eBay.

Marc says he could register a new account but can’t be bothered: "eBay has had its day and is now so full of scams and bad sellers that it will drown in its own mess, and good riddance."

This article appeared in the April, 2008 issue of PC Authority.

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Comments: 9

Jammit Apr 17, 2008 11:32 PM	This whole site - every word and every part of every site in every link, is my submission to the ACCC's probe on Ebay and Paypal policies and practices - and their forcing people to use paypal exclusively. I hate ebay. http://www.blognow.com.au/fuckebay/85826/Ebay_now_forces_all_sellers_to_ONLY_use_paypal.html http://www.blognow.com.au/fuckebay/83494/Jason_goes_Gunning_for_PayPal.html http://www.blognow.com.au/fuckebay/85837/He_hates_Ebay_and_Pay_Pal_too_-_wwwscrew-paypalcom_-_Aussie039s_fight_back.html http://www.blognow.com.au/fuckebay/24012/Fuck_Ebay_-_here_are_some_75_alternatives_to_Ebay.html Cheers Shane Comment made about the PC Authority article: eBay: Friend or Foe - Part 1? How did a vibrant palace of bargains and trust turn into a standoff between buyers and sellers? Part one of our major feature. What do you think? Join the discussion.
DeathBySlinky Apr 24, 2008 10:19 PM	Jammit, Yes, E-Bay is not the most reliable of auction sites out there, but it IS trusted by many people in this country, myself included... There are some dishonest people out there, as there always will be. I, myself, only buy from Paypal users, as I use paypal myself for the buyer protection that is offered up to a certain amount. Don't Diss What You Can't Control, mate. Peace Out, DeathBySlinky
3sun Jun 16, 2008 2:07 PM	Hello all I would like to know what is phone is best O2? what is good and What is bad? I would like to buy one.
3sun Jun 16, 2008 2:10 PM	Anybody could tell me something ? I heard there are new phone coming out I thin MWG anybody have any ideas about it, Please anybody outthere give me some tips. Thanks Sam
willwhite Jul 22, 2008 1:09 PM	I have used eBay a lot over the years. And have ever been scammed up until recently! :-( I still make the odd purchase but use this service before making bids http://www.auctionerrol.com
Jim.Dude Jul 22, 2008 6:16 PM	I actually used to sell graphics cards on eBay back in the day of the Radeon 9200SE...woot. I think it's important to remember that eBay isn't evil, people are evil. If shoddy people weren't ripping off naive nooblets then the problems would cease to exist.
Slatts Jul 22, 2008 7:25 PM	Jim.Dude wrote: I actually used to sell graphics cards on eBay back in the day of the Radeon 9200SE...woot. I think it's important to remember that eBay isn't evil, people are evil. If shoddy people weren't ripping off naive nooblets then the problems would cease to exist. Or to paraphrase: "Ebay doesn't rip off people.[-x People rip off people.:evil: "
gramma1111 Jul 31, 2008 6:06 PM	I have to beg to disagree with those of you, like Jim Dude and Slatts, who say that "eBay is not evil, people are evil",or that "eBay doesn't rip off people,people rip off people". Puhlease! I operated a small store on (pardon me) Greedbay, I finally shut it down, because the "upper eschelon" got so greedy that their fees were blowing off the roof. Sure, there are evil people, and when I encountered a couple in particular, did Greedbay step in to help? Why of course not, why should they, all they have to do is sit back in their easy chairs and rake in the dough. I have opened another small store, not on GreedBay, but on eBid.net, where the upper eschelon actually still interacts with their sellers and buyers. If I have a problem, the top dog comes to find out why! Now that is the kind of place that GreedBay should strive to be.
Jim.Dude Jul 31, 2008 7:03 PM	gramma1111 wrote: I have to beg to disagree with those of you, like Jim Dude and Slatts, who say that "eBay is not evil, people are evil",or that "eBay doesn't rip off people,people rip off people". Puhlease! I operated a small store on (pardon me) Greedbay, I finally shut it down, because the "upper eschelon" got so greedy that their fees were blowing off the roof. Sure, there are evil people, and when I encountered a couple in particular, did Greedbay step in to help? Why of course not, why should they, all they have to do is sit back in their easy chairs and rake in the dough. I have opened another small store, not on GreedBay, but on eBid.net, where the upper eschelon actually still interacts with their sellers and buyers. If I have a problem, the top dog comes to find out why! Now that is the kind of place that GreedBay should strive to be. Well, I was talking from the buyers perspective (although I can't speak on Slatts behalf). But! I do completely agree with you about the fees, I used to sell FX cards on there in the old days. Ebay charges ALOT of fees, most of which aren't required and they take ALOT of money for doing very little. Having said that, that occurs because MANY buyers simply don't pay their fees, instead choosing to register new names over and over again, thus robbing ebay blind. So it's a two way street.