15 Comments to “eBay, Not So Competitive Anymore?”

1. 
   Jonathan Hernandez Says:
   September 22nd, 2006 at 7:43 am

   I think it depends on what you’re looking for – I haven’t bought anything on ebay in over a year and a half, but just bid on a tennis racquet that was cheaper there than anywhere else. I barely lost the auction (by a measly 2 bucks), but will go back later to find a similar one.

2. 
   Kira Says:
   September 22nd, 2006 at 7:46 am

   I think part of eBay’s downfall has been the “professional” sellers, who seem to make their money mostly by ripping people off (as with the exorbitant shipping fees.) Back in the day it used to be a great place to get things cheap, because it was just individual people selling stuff and you could get pretty decent things cheaply. Now it’s just another store, except you have to deal with individuals instead of a company, which have no accountability.

   Even the stuff listed by individuals is going down in quality because it used to be that the people on there were pretty computer savvy and knew how to use a digital camera and what not. Now everybody thinks they can list their stuff on eBay and make a million dollars, and they don’t know how to describe things or write good titles. Sorry, but “Cute black shirt size large” is NOT helpful. eBay’s gone so far in trying to promote itself as being easy to use that now everybody thinks they know how to use it. My boyfriend’s 75 year old great uncle was complaining about the 30% commission cut at one of those stores that sells stuff for you on eBay, and wanted to do it himself and save the money – but he doesn’t even have INTERNET at home, and gave me a blank stare when I asked him if he knew how to use a search engine.

3. 
   Brandon Says:
   September 22nd, 2006 at 8:05 am

   Although all of these points are true, eBay is simply a business that is in the business to make money, period. If everyone is selling on there, they are making fees. I agree that you used to be able to get some steals on there and also sell some of your stuff for more then you thought you would get for it, but it has changed and the shareholders for eBay, I am sure, are happy for it.

4. 
   Todd Says:
   September 22nd, 2006 at 8:29 am

   I still buy and sell on eBay. It’s a great way to find things that just aren’t available near me. Junkyards here charge more for used/damaged parts than I can get them for new on eBay. In selling, it lets me get rid of stuff I don’t want/need and make a few bucks.
   It’s all about comparison shopping – don’t assume ebay is the least expensive place to buy something, do your research. (and add in those shipping/handling fees…)

   …and use auction sniping tools if you’re biding. Don’t bother with a bid until there’s 8-10 seconds left ;)

5. 
   scram Says:
   September 22nd, 2006 at 9:47 am

   There is an awful lot of crap on ebay – and an awful lot of less-than-savvy shoppers buying it up – a match made in shareholder heaven as one poster pointed out.
   One thing you will almost never get a good deal on are things that are essentially commodities – memory cards, mp3 players, digital cameras, computer components. If they are new, the price (including overblown shipping charges) is typically higher than the online merchant (that usually offers free shiping). If it’s used, it’s probably broken.
   Niche products that are not widely retailed are an exception – e.g. Macintosh computers that essentially have their price fixed by Apple at the store can sometimes be found for less.

6. 
   Mike Says:
   September 22nd, 2006 at 6:34 pm

   Ebay is still a good source on many items that I buy, mostly textbook and ink cartridges. It is still cheaper then any store around me. If you are looking for cameras/phones/computers I would stay clear of eBay. There are still deals to be found on eBay, but know what you are buying first.

7. 
   Chelee Says:
   September 24th, 2006 at 5:33 pm

   I agree, ebay is a great place to unload stuff on and make a little bit of your $ back but not such a great place to buy things.

   It only took once for me to get burned on a super high s&h charge to realize there were ways to work the ebay game to the seller’s advantage. (I personally don’t charge anything but actual cost)

8. 
   NaturalNovice Says:
   September 25th, 2006 at 5:52 am

   I started going back to school a year ago, and I’ve had great success purchasing nearly all my textbooks on Ebay. I think I’ve bought all of them for less than half of what Amazon or the university bookstore charge. Granted, most of the textbooks are the “international editions” — paperback cover with a different style, but the text is identical. But I did find a hardback copy of a textbook for $15, shipping included, that’s selling elsewhere for no less than $35.

9. 
   rachel Says:
   September 25th, 2006 at 5:57 am

   i use ebay all the time. i have a habit of falling in love with things that are discontinued…and usually if i wait a few months i can find that item on ebay.
   my good friend also has a successful screen printing business that he started selling first on ebay.
   (i also buy old nintendo games on ebay).

10. 
    Cap Says:
    September 25th, 2006 at 6:02 am

    I suppose there’s no problem for the shareholder as long as eBay can keep providing the buyers for the sellers, or at least keep up the impression that there’s still a market for whatever sellers are selling.

    Obviously lots of people still use eBay, and when I run out of my 5 year supply of ink cartridge for my dinosaur printer, I’ll most likely check on eBay for my needs too. But I can’t imagine eBay to keep working well unless they make some changes.

    I tend to buy my books on half.com and amazon’s marketplace, though lately I’m adopting the buy-textbook-as-last-resort strategy. It’s saving oodles of money.

11. 
    makingourway Says:
    September 26th, 2006 at 10:40 am

    I find e-bay useful for buying collectibles or rare / unusual items – especially out of print or off market.

    unbearable s&h fees are very annoying and i avoid sellers who charge such high fees.

    more often, i buy from abebooks.com or other sites.

    for mainstream items, electronics and appliances, I’d rather buy from Costco or costco.com for their return policy – even if it costs more.

    regards,
    makingourway

12. 
    Uncle Foobar Says:
    September 26th, 2006 at 5:21 pm

    You know,

    The “cost” for ebay is the time it takes to search through and sort listings, understand the market in an item, and waiting for an opportunity to come along.

    i’ve found that certain “big ticket” bathroom items — Razor blades and toothbrushes — can be gotten for quite a discount on ebay.

    And no, they’re not “used” blades; Mach 3 blades for $1.25/blade (100 for $1/blade if you’re hairy).

    Crest toothbrushes, which are hard to find near me, went for $10 for 12.

    This is all with shipping prices; the blades shipped for free and the toothbrushes were a reasonable fee. I donnot support buyitnow’s or auctions with ridiculous shipping prices, unless they are justified by weight of item/insurance needed.

    Foob

    p.s. i even did this: Arm and hammer toothpaste was on sale last week at Shaws for 2/$4. I decided to get a year’s supply.

    I went up on Ebay and checked prices; i stumbled upon a coupon-clipping service that sold me four “$3 off 2 tubes” coupons for $1 total AND mailed them to me quick enough so i could make the sale.

13. 
    jack Says:
    September 29th, 2006 at 9:01 am

    I think the #1 problem with ebay is the zero feedback scams. Look at just about any active bid history and you’ll see this. Most of these bids are from scammers using the old pay too much, you refund the difference ploy. The rest are probably kids or sellers generating interest in their items. Ebay is so interested about growth and ease of use that they don’t appear to care anything about user verification, except on the paypal side where they get another $ cut. What a waste of time for buyers and legit sellers.

    There needs to be a mechanism for verification of bidders. These are financial transactions after all…..

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