This time Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I'm getting a ridiculous number of emails from them these days - one pretty much every day and often two in the same day. Looking back through my email history, six months ago I was getting 2-3 emails from them a week and now I'm getting more like ten a week. This must be a sign of desperation since this number of emails is as likely to piss customers off as have them buy something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCountOfNowhere Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 They can always sell their business...on ebay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eek Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I'm getting a ridiculous number of emails from them these days - one pretty much every day and often two in the same day. Looking back through my email history, six months ago I was getting 2-3 emails from them a week and now I'm getting more like ten a week. This must be a sign of desperation since this number of emails is as likely to piss customers off as have them buy something. Ebay no longer owns paypal so the only income they receive is the commission they get from goods sold on ebay... I also don't think people are buying stuff as often as they used to be. I've noticed a few bargains recently where auction prices are a lot lower than I would expect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 eBay messed up when they tried to become more of a general eCommerce site vs an auction service. I used to go to eBay all the time as you had a lot of people selling really diverse stuff and there was always a chance of a bargain - but more and more their retail model has shifted to being a storefront. I notice that a lot of emails they send these days are aimed at trying to incentivise people to post stuff for sale, I would guess that they have figured out that they destroyed their USP and are trying to get it back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
999house Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Personally i find the whole auction think slow and annoying. Can go on amazon and the price is the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spunko2010 Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I'd say eBay went to pot when they stopped allowing sellers to leave negative feedback for dodgy buyers. Not sold anything on it since, too many scammers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travisher Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 They got greedy... only the scammers make money now. Youtube is going the same way with trolls and pirates being the only people profiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePiltdownMan Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Chances are there will be another recession, and they will be preparing people for selling the junk they accumulated since the last one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wherebee Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I have bought a flurry of stuff from small sellers in the past 5 months, but what really put me off selling stuff (I have fair bit to sell, same specialised area of interest) is as posted above that buyers can be 100% dishonest and you'll never win as a seller. I don't need the hassle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmic Apple Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I'm a low volume seller on ebay (s/h car parts & wheels) and my gut feeling is that people viewing my items (which are similar to the ones I was selling last year as I concentrate on one model) and watching them has fallen somewhat. No data to back it up but things seem slower. I have a bit of a backlog at the moment as I've bought a little too much stock. Maybe a recession will see volumes up again as people chose to repair rather than replace? If you're selling on ebay the fees can be high, but there are often 'offers' on, like 75% of final value fees and free listing periods (get 20 of them a month anyway). Not had much trouble with buyers, but I don't sell anything in bad condition. But Paypal/ebay deal with complaints like robots, if you don't feed them the information they want and exactly that they will find in favor of the buyer, as I found to my benefit last year to the tune of £300. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StainlessSteelCat Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I'm getting a ridiculous number of emails from them these days - one pretty much every day and often two in the same day. Looking back through my email history, six months ago I was getting 2-3 emails from them a week and now I'm getting more like ten a week. This must be a sign of desperation since this number of emails is as likely to piss customers off as have them buy something. Same - I feel like I'm being saturation bombed. And they have really shitty subject headings as well which come across as scams. It doesn't help that I have two eBay accounts. The plus side is that I've had some quite good offers recently, 10% off, 20% off, £15 off anything over £30. eBay is still a scammers paradise. It took half a dozen attempts to buy a secondhand iPhone. The last failed attempt the scammer sent a barely literate hand scrawled guarantee on a piece of paper by recorded delivery so could claim delivery (the phone would follow separately) - and ******* eBay bot found in favour of him and said there was no chance of appeal. Thankfully talking to a human there got it sorted - but it took six weeks from purchase to refund (and that's really far too long). Apparently what I should have said was goods faulty, not missing. I did a really good deal on an iPhone (a 64gb 6 plus for under £300 and 8 months left on the AppleCare) in the end, but I think I earned it through wasted time. Never again. They are still useful for some things. It's a good place to pick up refurbs from Argos or Tesco. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timak Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 We sell bits and pieces on ebay and I'm always surprised at how much people will spend on old junk. A toy we picked up for £1 at car boot sale, that has subsequently been played with for 2 years, fetched £18 this week. 2 old blankets sold for a combined £25. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 eBay used to be good just before and after the financial crash..... brilliant bargains, low fees....now use free cycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
200p Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I tried the selling on the ebay melarky, just wound me up when people don't pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nnails Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I dont mind buying on ebay for cheap junk. But selling is now way to expensive. It got to stage now that it has to free listing, easy to post , worth £30 or more. or i chuck it in the bin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
200p Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 The posting bit is also annoying. You put a "fair" postage on an item like £7. But you take it to the post office and it's £12+ odd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
200p Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Also most people act like children. Let's say you are selling a 10 ton safe. You put on the listing buyer collects only, don't bid if you can't - someone wins the auction and asks can you post it AFTER they win. Arghh! Also so many people ask to end a listing early, or ask how much do you want for it when somebody has already bid on it already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacedin Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 They're having to contend with the popularity of shpock at the moment. What I'm surprised by is how long Paypal has been able to maintain its dominance. It would be a great thing if the demise of Ebay allowed an upstart to displace Paypal in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nnails Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 The posting bit is also annoying. You put a "fair" postage on an item like £7. But you take it to the post office and it's £12+ odd. that is so true. I listed some dvds on ebay, and ebay would not let me change the postage to match the royal mail cost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpig Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 It's a combination of a few things IMO. 1) They started charging to relist items that hadn't sold (Tight fisted gits) 2) They started to charge a final valuation fee (Who do they think they are? Christie's?) 3) They shunned the car boot sale market through their fees and preference for new items 4) It's easy to get scammed from a buyer and you can suffer a charge-back It's a mess IMO, it should go back to it's original business model. Like others have said I have loads of things to sell, but I can't be bothered with the grief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scunnered Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I've noticed a few bargains recently where auction prices are a lot lower than I would expect. I've noticed that happening during the summer before. I assumed it was because many people are away on holiday, so bidding's less competitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhifoe Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Facebook selling groups are the way to go for offloading tat. Someone will come round the same day and give you cash, much better than ebay for flogging kids stuff, furniture etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpig Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 You don't get a good price though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARIMA Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I buy a fair amount of lowish value new stuff off ebay (batteries, car parts, cheap tool etc) and sell all of my unwanted stuff that has a value (phones, watches, furniture, baby stuff etc). I've been pretty happy with both. FFS I sold a used breast pump the other day for a fiver or something - what's not to like! I also have sold a fair amount of stuff for collection and bought stuff on collection. I sold a buggy, bought a double buggy for £100, sold it after a couple of years of use for £80. Ebay still working fine for me.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spunko2010 Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I did hear that many of these top sellers on ebay don't pay their fees after a while and just do a runner. A lot seem to be in China. Then reappear later under a new name and repeat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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