eBay isn't a good place to buy anymore

I

Imamacuser

Veteran
We've all known for a long time that eBay's excessive fees and dispute resolution policy slanted toward the buyer, makes eBay a less than ideal place to sell stuff, particularly when there are free alternatives like Craig's List, FaceBook Market, and this forum's marketplace, but I'm finding that eBay is no longer a good place buy stuff either, as the last four sellers I bought from turned out to be crooks.

I'm really surprised that sellers are willing to risk getting negative feedback or being kicked off eBay over pretty low ticket items. Here's the list:
  • Spring arm and vest for a steadycam - the seller sent me a bogus tracking number corresponding to a fraudulent Chinese site that said my package was discarded because the address was undeliverable. I had is sent to my work address, which is a business address that's been around for 20 years, so I found that claim particularly absurd. To be fair, this seller had zero feedback, and I knew it was a risky purchase, and suspected that the seller was a crook, but I made the purchase on the off chance that he was an honest first time seller. I filed a dispute and got a refund. I'm really not bummed out over this purchase, I consider it the norm when dealing with overseas sellers, it's the purchases below that I find troubling.
The other sellers were located in the USA, and had good feedback, and the items ranged from $15 - $40.
  • Optical HDMI cable - the seller advertised the cable as "new," but sent a used cable that had scratched connectors and adhesive residue from a cable run. I think he miss measured and wanted to recoup the cost of the cable by pawning it off on me as a new one.
  • IR Extender - the seller advertised it as "new," but sent a scratched-up used unit, and didn't include the power supply or IR emitters, so I couldn't even test whether it worked or not. He gave me a refund after I called him out on the scam.
  • Laptop battery - the seller advertised the battery as "new open box," but sent a used battery with broken off screw mounts. I think he replaced his laptop battery and wanted to offset the cost by pawning off his old battery one me. He gave me a refund after I called him out on the scam.
It seem like sellers are advertising everything as new, and it has to be broken to smithereens before they consider something used, which begs the question, what does it take for them to consider something as broken?
 
I've had a number of bad experiences over the past few years. They’re knockoffs, undisclosed issues or used items described as new, shipping delays, etc

Unless you can’t find the item elsewhere it’s better to avoid the hassle by buying from a legitimate store like B&H. I have friend who buys games without issue so maybe it's just the nature of audio video equipment.
 
Last edited:
Other than not really finding any great deals the way I used to, I haven't had any recent bad experiences as a buyer. But as a seller, eBay pockets so much of the transaction that it's really not worth it to sell on there anymore. That plus shipping costs and the time it takes to deal with all of it suggests that it's really not worth it to sell anything for less than about $100. I think that these days it's better to buy/sell locally, which can be a challenge in smaller markets.
 
I sold a waterproof radio 4 months ago. It has seals on the battery compartment. I’ve just had a refund forced on me because there was no warming to not open and check compartment is closed on the radio. Therefore because he paid with a credit card, after four months he is legally entitled to a full refund. And £14 fee from ebay for me disputing it!
 
I've done ok. I've not had any of these nightmare scenarios. I don't mind the fees. For an auction format, their fees are probably less than any other auction house and with nationwide visitbility, you can't beat it. The auction format is very effective in eliciting the best price. People get stupid with auctions and I have taken advantage of that to easily cover the fees and get a very satisfactory price over selling with a fixed price. I know of no other way to market many items I have sold as effectively as ebay.

I've even had it work as an advertising outlet, having posted an expensive, little demand item on there only to sell it outside ebay when an international customer wanted it. I told the guy I would not sell it internationally through ebay; the only way I would sell it is cash up front. He was willing to do that. It went ok.

But now that ebay has dropped Paypal and requires that you provide a bank account, I am hesitating. I've read some bad stories, and I don't yet know if this is the odd problem or a real issue. The wife and I are clearing out a lot of items. Ebay is still the best way to get a lot of customers and a good price for many items. I use Craigslist when appropriate, but there are too many items that won't do well anywhere else than ebay and I live in a top 10 market.

So I think I am going to open a separate account at my bank just for ebay selling. I have to read up a bit more about this new way ebay is handling transactions. It's put a bad taste in my mouth, but not for the reasons being cited here.
 
I've never sold on eBay and have only been stung as a buyer about twice in probably 18 years, the last was a counterfeit pair of Sony 7509 headphones. But I have gotten some really good deals and found stuff I couldn't find anywhere else, because it was out of production. I'm also trying to remember the last time that I actually bid or got involved in a true auction on there. Almost everything that I've been interested in and bought in the last, roughly eight years, has been "Buy it Now" and still at a great price. A lot of that probably has to do with all of the kids that only want "cine" gear, so the great broadcast oriented stuff goes for ~30 cents on the dollar. Two years ago I picked up a great Vinten head/pedestal package that still goes brand new today for at least $15K for $3K. And a few months ago, I bought a Sony VF for my F55 that was at least $3-$4K new for $1K. Looked almost brand new. Serial number 100. It probably sat on someones shelf for the last 7-8 years or lived in a studio.
 
eBay has morphed into more of a marketplace for retail sellers/resellers than for average Joes to declutter via digital yardsale. Most searches turn up new merchandise or a wide variety of mostly unrelated tacky merchandise from various unreachable Chicom-owned entities. It's really no different than Amazon now, except they don't make their own dreck programming content.

Not unexpected, all part of the technocracy programming... drive the pretend 'need' for new gear via repetitious, endless product reviews, further soak the consumer by taking a fat chunk when they sell their old gear, and keep the already bloated consumer culture eternally wanting more of whatever short-lifespan digital soylent product your slave laborers can be forced to produce.

Oh, hey, a whole collection of pogs!
 
as a seller the fees are really unattractive & I always try to sell on CL 1st. As a buyer, I have had remarkably good luck and don't ever overpay. I never buy from anyone with a sketchy looking profile for anything expensive. There's still a few things I prefer it for, my wife & I love oaxaca folk art. I could buy from some of the dealers directly but would rather be able to demand a refund just in case there's undescribed damage etc. & know there will be no hassle
 
mcbob said:
drive the pretend 'need' for new gear via repetitious, endless product reviews, further soak the consumer by taking a fat chunk when they sell their old gear, and keep the already bloated consumer culture eternally wanting more of whatever short-lifespan digital soylent product your slave laborers can be forced to produce.

Oh, hey, a whole collection of pogs!
Click to expand...

Ah, freedom
 
mcbob said:
eBay has morphed into more of a marketplace for retail sellers/resellers than for average Joes to declutter via digital yardsale. It's really no different than Amazon now, except they don't make their own dreck programming content.
Click to expand...
I agree with that part. It's not all bad. I do prefer store like quality of buy it now over auctions because when purchasing for a business/job related need auctions don't work well. If you truly need something doesn't make sense to go through the long process of an auction with price and winning is in doubt until the last second.

Yes most of the sellers today are business that also have a store front on Amazon so there are few bargains to be had. The analogy would be the difference between a tag sale and pawn shop. A tag sale or moving sale is looking to sell off everything where as pawn shop is only interested in selling items they can make the most profit from.

Ebay seller policy used to be different. Meaning the seller would have to pay a listing fee and it would cost more to list it for longer periods of time. This motivated sellers to sell items. But ebay now has changed the rules so that they take most of their money from sales and want to encourage listing items much like a store. Ebay also provides sellers algorithms that tell the seller what is the market value of the item, making it rare to find an undervalued item.
 
Last edited:
I dunno. I’m still using ebay as a buyer regularly after 15 years. I noticed that in general prices went up to unrealistic levels for 85% of the stuff listed but that bargains can still be found on the remaining 15%. I noticed that many listings changed from auction style listings to buy-it-now & best offer, which I prefer. I recently snagged a Red One camera and a HVX200 for very small $, so genuine bargains are to be had. New gear tends to be priced more competitively though. Most sellers are honest in my experience and scammers can usually be avoided by reading the description critically, checking feedback and location etc. I message the seller too before buying to see what kind of response I get, which helps me gauge if they are on the level or not. In a nutshell, ebay still works for me as a buyer. I rarely sell on there anymore though, preferring to list gear on local websites.
 
Last edited:
Not so good for selling either. Since they have stopped using PayPal and will only pay into your bank account I was hoping eBay's fees would be a little better. No such luck! Their fees are up from 10% to 12-14% plus no almost instant PayPal payment into your account. Some people claiming up to 4-5 days to get their sale proceeds paid into their bank accounts. Imagine the interest eBay must be making sitting off millions of sellers $$$s for a few days before paying them out. Sorry lost me for selling items.

Chris Young
 
I just got demoted from top seller because I rejected ebays ‘suggestion’ to offer 30 days returns. When I make sometimes less than ten pounds on an item, with the wasted 8 pounds postage, it infuriates me when people just shovel the items back in the box and I have to sell as not new, and lose money. They charge me sometimes more than I make. 60% of my sales are via ebay so I am stuffed. I also got penalised for not following ebays suggestion of refunding on two month old products. I stuck to my grounds, followed the rules and this triggers a bad mark from ebay. Stinks.
 
I just sold a Blackmagic Intensity Pro card. I only got one bid for the auction minimum 1/2 the price of the last sold item. Oh well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top