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I imagine an auction-site like this is only as good as the number of people that are using it. What issues do you have with it? I find it's not perfect, but it

by barbs 6y ago

I imagine an auction-site like this is only as good as the number of people that are using it. What issues do you have with it? I find it's not perfect, but it generally works reasonably well.

TheKarateKid 6y ago
Their account interface is so out of date. Parts of it still require you to use an interface from the early 2000’s. It’s a nightmare to navigate. The fees are high, and they even take a cut of your shipping fee. And yet, they still have 3rd party ads all over. Their rules and policies are strange and one-sided, just like this one. Poor customer support.
jen729w 6y ago
Strong disagree. eBay has become a cesspool. I finally rage-closed my account after carefully listing a thing, monitoring the auction, being happy when it sold, and then having the buyer casually tell me that they didn’t need it after all. I remember when clicking the ‘make a bid’ button actually meant something. Wasn’t there even a warning along the lines of ‘you are entering in to a contractual obligation’?
- tdeck 6y ago
  I sold an Apple IIgs that had a monitor in one of the photos to show it worked, but clearly explained that the monitor wasn't included in the first paragraph of the listing. Someone bid and then emailed me asking me to cancel their bid because they didn't realize it didn't include the monitor, having taken a closer look. THEN the next highest bidder won, and after winning they must have bothered to read the listing because they emailed and canceled theirs as well. I'm not used to selling on eBay and was shocked that people are so careless. Apparently even for unusual vintage items they just glance at the photo and then bid.
  - michaelmrose 6y ago
    People don't read or skip half of what they read or misapprehend it this is a people problem not a platform problem. Next time edit the photo to include large red text over top of the monitor saying monitor not included or better leave it out. Plan ahead for stupid because it is here to stay.
    - tdeck 6y ago
      Yeah that's actually what I am planning on doing when I relist this. I was just amazed people would bid over $200 without reading anything. And I took great pains to write a clear description as well!
      - nullc 6y ago
        If it makes you feel better, ebay probably showed that listing to 10,000 people and the two people that just managed to fail to read because missed their coffee that morning were the first/highest bidders. Unlikely? Why? Of course they'd bid the most / the quickest: from their perspective you were offering a killer deal. :) There are platform specific stupidities, last I saw it their mobile interface almost hides the listing details... and on a lot of listings the details are worthless and not really worth looking at. But I think experiences like yours, which I've also had, are just the natural result of taking the most eager buyers out of a lot of candidates.
    - TheKarateKid 6y ago
      It’s not a people problem. eBay used to make bidding or even Buy It Now a contractual obligation. If you bid/bought, and didn’t want it anymore it was too bad for you. You would be charged for it anyway or lose your account.
- pishpash 6y ago
  Why would you rage-anything? List it again or offer it to the second highest bidder. (If you really wanted you can probably successfully collect on the winning buyer but it may not be worth it.)
  - jen729w 6y ago
    The rage-part might have been a slight exaggeration. But why would I use a platform that doesn’t work? The whole point of the damned place is to sell stuff, and recently – this wasn’t an isolated incident – I’ve found it to be markedly bad at doing that. Me personally I can’t stand to give people money for a shitty service. eBay has become, in my opinion, a shitty service.

by barbs 6y ago

I imagine an auction-site like this is only as good as the number of people that are using it. What issues do you have with it? I find it's not perfect, but it generally works reasonably well.

TheKarateKid 6y ago

Their account interface is so out of date. Parts of it still require you to use an interface from the early 2000’s. It’s a nightmare to navigate. The fees are high, and they even take a cut of your shipping fee. And yet, they still have 3rd party ads all over. Their rules and policies are strange and one-sided, just like this one. Poor customer support.

jen729w 6y ago

Strong disagree. eBay has become a cesspool. I finally rage-closed my account after carefully listing a thing, monitoring the auction, being happy when it sold, and then having the buyer casually tell me that they didn’t need it after all. I remember when clicking the ‘make a bid’ button actually meant something. Wasn’t there even a warning along the lines of ‘you are entering in to a contractual obligation’?

tdeck 6y ago
I sold an Apple IIgs that had a monitor in one of the photos to show it worked, but clearly explained that the monitor wasn't included in the first paragraph of the listing. Someone bid and then emailed me asking me to cancel their bid because they didn't realize it didn't include the monitor, having taken a closer look. THEN the next highest bidder won, and after winning they must have bothered to read the listing because they emailed and canceled theirs as well. I'm not used to selling on eBay and was shocked that people are so careless. Apparently even for unusual vintage items they just glance at the photo and then bid.
- michaelmrose 6y ago
  People don't read or skip half of what they read or misapprehend it this is a people problem not a platform problem. Next time edit the photo to include large red text over top of the monitor saying monitor not included or better leave it out. Plan ahead for stupid because it is here to stay.
  - tdeck 6y ago
    Yeah that's actually what I am planning on doing when I relist this. I was just amazed people would bid over $200 without reading anything. And I took great pains to write a clear description as well!
    - nullc 6y ago
      If it makes you feel better, ebay probably showed that listing to 10,000 people and the two people that just managed to fail to read because missed their coffee that morning were the first/highest bidders. Unlikely? Why? Of course they'd bid the most / the quickest: from their perspective you were offering a killer deal. :) There are platform specific stupidities, last I saw it their mobile interface almost hides the listing details... and on a lot of listings the details are worthless and not really worth looking at. But I think experiences like yours, which I've also had, are just the natural result of taking the most eager buyers out of a lot of candidates.
  - TheKarateKid 6y ago
    It’s not a people problem. eBay used to make bidding or even Buy It Now a contractual obligation. If you bid/bought, and didn’t want it anymore it was too bad for you. You would be charged for it anyway or lose your account.
pishpash 6y ago
Why would you rage-anything? List it again or offer it to the second highest bidder. (If you really wanted you can probably successfully collect on the winning buyer but it may not be worth it.)
- jen729w 6y ago
  The rage-part might have been a slight exaggeration. But why would I use a platform that doesn’t work? The whole point of the damned place is to sell stuff, and recently – this wasn’t an isolated incident – I’ve found it to be markedly bad at doing that. Me personally I can’t stand to give people money for a shitty service. eBay has become, in my opinion, a shitty service.