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It's the classic problem of regulatory capture applied to a privatized industry: the entities that are most engaged with the regulator (the regulator, in this c
by exelius 10y ago
It's the classic problem of regulatory capture applied to a privatized industry: the entities that are most engaged with the regulator (the regulator, in this case, being a site like eBay or Airbnb) are most likely professionals. Because their voices are louder and more coordinated, they are more likely to be listened to than a relatively low volume of one-off complaints from end users.
In general, look and see who is making the money off of a service. They are the ones who will be listened to -- not because of any evil on the part of the company, but simply because they have a greater incentive to scream louder and coordinate.
- ghaff 10y agoI'm not sure it's so much better coordination on the part of the professional customers or even screaming louder. It's more that these VC-backed marketplaces all have a business model that can be simplistically described as taking a cut of every transaction. So they naturally gravitate toward transaction types which create the greatest volume. Which tend toward the repeatable, industrialized, consistent, etc. In other words, the opposite of selling handmade goods, renting a spare bedroom by an owner who is only around between 3pm-4pm, or doing a one-off attic decluttering.
- exelius 10y agoThere's some truth to that as well, but I often feel that the large, organized sellers/renters are better able to articulate what they want in a way that individuals cannot. They know the market better, they know what people want to buy, and can leverage economies of scale to craft their marketing message to co-opt the successful one-off sellers.