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

How did a vibrant palace of bargains and trust turn into a standoff between buyers and sellers? Part one of our major feature.

It used to be that eBay was the darling of the dotcoms, banking on odd auctions and a great concept. eBay's unique feedback system, the opportunities to grab astounding bargains and the excitement of watching bids escalate made eBay different from all the other buying and selling going on. Of the big dotcoms, Amazon was offering goods for sale, but eBay offered the world’s sellers at your fingertips. eBay capitalised, acquiring PayPal and Skype, among other website purchases.

But ten years later, online shopping is slick and simple, and eBay is now looking a little ordinary. It looks more like the marketplace it wants to be. Buying from stores, rather than going through the bidding process, using "buy it now", gives a sinking feeling that there are no bargains left to be had. That feeling is heightened by the overall importance of shopping rather than bidding. There are more and more brand-name retailers and ordinary businesses using eBay as a shop front. Auctions are now 60% of eBay transactions, down from 80% just a couple of years ago.

Buying with PayPal now seems almost mandatory these days and even the ACCC recommends documenting each step of the purchase process to help avoid scams and counterfeits. Something is broken.

Recent changes mean that even the vital trust engendered by the feedback system now resembles an average shop: to the outside observer watching eBay, the customer is always right. Sellers are unhappy and buyers aren’t coming back as frequently as they used to, as our reader's letters illustrate. Does eBay have a plan to retain buyers and provide an experience to set it apart from online retailers or has it lost its way?

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.