Ebay: When will it end?

I am one not to complain about ebay, but this new policy takes the cake. Paypal has a long way to go to regain my trust and now they are basically making it manditory.

http://pages.ebay.com/sell/August2008Update/Payments/

This is really going to seriously cut down on my listings on ebay. Hopefully the goverment will step in or a good alternative is found.

Lee

bowlingshoeguy wrote: Hopefully the goverment will step in...

I think the specter of the government stepping in is a big reason why people are so opposed to this move.

you are right steve. soon anyone with 200 paypal transactions or 20k in a year will have their name on the list! list , that sound serious.
primetime for a new buisness at maybe the card shows that ebay killed.

Wow! No other options for payment?

I really hope this spells T-H-E E-N-D for ebay.

The changes they've made over the last 8 months have been absolutely ridiculous.

I find myself selling there only as a last resort these days.

Oh, and I hope that card shows start to make a comeback.

crazylocomerk wrote:Oh, and I hope that card shows start to make a comeback.

I think Buy/Sell/Trade areas will become more populer in the near future were personal websites can be promoted....This will give sellers the freedom from Ebay constantly change there policies.

The one thing I look for in a sellers website is presantaion, easy navigation, large variety with excellent scans, alternet payment options, great customer service and shipping.

The Government had a lot to do with the new Ebay payment requirement. Now they can track all CC/paypal payments.


Mark

What happens to all those people that swore off PAYPAL (and there are a lot of them)?

If i heard correctly, Paypal will hold most of money that sellers get until buyers say they received product safe and sound.

I would not want to own Ebay stock right now.


Mark

Fortunately I don't have many more cards to sell. The bulk of them are leaving my hands in a deal outside of eBay so that means I'm keeping close to an extra 10% as the price sold is as good or better than what I would get on eBay. Plus, part of the deal is in trade. No way you could make a transaction like that on eBay.

eBay's focus has shifted from being a venue for collectors and dealers to find each other to being a regular eCommerce venue with most the good for sale stuff you can find at Target, etc. The govt knows that collectibles is a tough area to track and tax, but the durable good and such are much easier business to track and tax. As someone pointed out, this most likely something that govt strongly suggested eBay do if they didn't want them stepping in.

This will kill ebay's collectibles market, but at this point, I don't think it's that big a portion of their revenue so it's easier for them to lose that market share than risk having the govt step in and ruin everything.

Jay

ebay is messing me up with the "best match" search results. just show me the ending soonest cards . there's probably a way to change the default but i'm too lazy to look it up and it's more fun to complain anyways

Quan is talking about the Beta version of Ebay....i actually am still on the old version. I tried the Beta but then found a button that said "Opt out" and click it very, very fast.



Mark

Quan -
Mark is correct. There should be a little icon top right somewhere to click that reads, "OPT OUT"...
This will bring the old search version back.

You guys are silly. Why are you rooting ebay to go down? Do you think if ebay goes down there will be a replacement as broadly used for sports cards any time soon? It may happen, but it won't be overnight.

I love ebay as a buyer, I get a ton of stuff that I wouldn't be able to find elsewhere from ebay. I hope it stays that way.

Mark

what happens to your $$ in paypal when your buyer never leaves feedback- will they still hold your $$

that's the question

Mark

I just recently sold some cards on Ebay and PayPal did not hold my money even though the buyers hadn't left feedback. About 2 months ago I sold some other items (non-cards) and had no problem getting the money from PayPal. I don't think they are enforcing it.

Concerning the death of Ebay, I don't think it will happen that quickly. I agree that cards (or collectables) probably aren't their highest revenue producer.

I'll always use it to find stuff I want and I refuse to overpay. I often use the Best Offer feature and have acquired some very good deals. If the seller says "no," I just move on or will try again a few days, weeks, or a month later. No skill on my nose - especially since I can track it in My Ebay.

Plus buyer protection from Ebay/PayPal is nice. I had to use it once and found it simple and a great piece of insurance.

Sites like this will be where the serious collectors will wind up buying/trading/selling. Personally, I think this is good for the market. It will make cards "scarcer" for the novice collector and drive up values. One can always find a good deal, just have to look and be patient.

I stay away from the auction houses, 17% buyers premium versus 7% or so for Ebay/PayPal transaction is just stupid financially.

ebay is not going anywhere. maybe some dealers will take their cards offline, and ebay will give 2 $%@# about it. hey i like that better, now maybe i won't have to compete with dealers looking for cards to mark up for their ebay stores...


also: yes i changed the search default back, i wasn't using ebay's beta version or whatever.

The problem to me with Ebay is not as a buyer, it is as a seller that that can drop the hammer on you whether it's your ebay account or Paypal account. They tend to side with the buyer even if you have done everything than ask from the seller.

The whole thing of basically requiring the use of Paypal is a big problem. Paypal has a poor history and the reason you see a fair number of sellers not use it. If you do have a Paypal account I highly recommend not keeping more than $100 in your account, the money may get pull without out notice and then you have to fight to get it back.

I personally plan on seriously minimizing my Ebay use if this policy goes into affect.

Lee

and make sure your paypal account IS NOT tied to your credit card. If you read the TOS, they can access your card to get funds if you don't have enough in your paypal account. This means they can overdraft your card causing your rate to be increased.

The best thing to do is have an extra savings account or free checking account that doesn't need a minimum balance. Keep the bank account empty and as Lee pointed out, keep an absolute minimal amount of money in the paypal account.

Jay

Not all Ebay transactions will require electronic payment. I read through the Ebay forums. The Ebay reps stated (paraphrasing) "If the buyer requests payment made could be made with a check or money order, that is acceptable."

Only the buyer can ask. Ebay said they will be monitoring auctions and sellers can not post they acceot paper in the item or communication that they accept paper - or else the item will be delisted.

So, what is to stop someone from requesting the email address of the buyer and emailing them outside of Ebay that they'll accept paper? Is that against the TOS, but a good buyer will not care.

Concerning keeping money in my PalPal account, I always take it out immediately.

I have my PayPal account linked to my credit card. I only buy cards
that I can afford plus I get the rewards points off of the card. So I
get a card I want, plus rewards points. I think it will depend on how
individuals manage their finances - I only buy what I can afford and I
pay my credit card off (in full) every week (online). So I have no
problems.

Even if you only buy cards you are still vulnerable. I got double billed for a $600 card I bought. Thankfully, they tried to pull money from an account that had nothing in it and I got a nasty gram paypal saying I needed to pay up. I somehow actually managed to get a human on the phone that spoke proper English. When I pointed that funds had already been taken from paypall account that they then removed my remaining money and tried to get money from back up account, he was very apologetic and admitted that it is a known flaw in the system.

Nice, and I wonder how much extra money they have made from that double dipping on small amounts that no one would notice on their credit card or bank statement. I just wish I had gotten that in an email or had recorded the phone call. I might have won the lottery then

Jay