Now, I can't imagine why this would get you so upset. Clearly, you are a responsible seller who is experiencing some of the same unfair crap that I do. My original post was about the deadbeat sellers, not about the ones who work hard and get beaten down by unscrupuous buyers. I certainly know that happens and it doesn't seem to get any better
Badmike wrote:Not to worry, though, RPGs were sold for years on AOL marketplace and other locales, as well as venues like Gencon....the collector community will survive.
mbassoc2003 wrote:eBay, for the most part, levels the playing field for all buyer and sellers who want to trade in any given market. Without it, and a return to dealing in disparate private and/or public sales, where only the minority are able to congregte or reach the purchase, the collectables market will suffer immesurably. New collectors will find it hard to learn and diversify their collections, will not see the passage of unusual items or the interest they bring, and not have as much opportunity to buy. Therefor, new money will find it a lot harder to enter the market outside of the bog standard TSR mainstream product. There are very few collectors with the drive and passion of say, Mars, who will chase down and source the rarities, and this polarization of the market will drive prices up, as there is no longer the guaranteed marketplace, or down, as there is no longer the demand.The death of eBay will destroy the stability of collector's investments, and reduce the number of outlets and sources for secondhand product immesurably. I for one, hope that does not happen.
Badmike wrote:Ebay is a failed business model dictated by both their current state (quickly dropping) and by EBay itself, which has made the choice to change to a more fixed price marketplace and less as "America's Garage Sale" or the flea market atmosphere.
Invincible Overlord wrote:Believe it or not, I am interested in selling some of my extra D&D items on EBay.What is prohibitive to a (new) Ebay seller, that wasn't before?And what advice would you give to a new Ebay seller (other than... don't do it...)?
bbarsh wrote:5. Going international: This has become extremely dangerous. Mail is taking forever and international buyers start getting a bit nervous after a couple weeks. They place a paypal hold and you are hosed. There is basically no way to obtain delivery confirmation via the usps for international mail.
bbarsh wrote:6. More international: Sending anything in a box to any foreign country can incur customs taxes unless it is a "gift." All international buyers will ask - demand - that you mark the item as a "gift" on the appropriate postal form. That makes you a criminal. End of story. Now, I am sure there are those that say it is no big deal. Tell that to the postal inspectors when they call your house and see how well that goes for you.
Pipswich wrote:bbarsh:I have noticed several sellers, who have had excellent ratings for years, get nickeled and dimed with negs over the last year. I have bought from many, if not all, and have never experienced anything but honest professionalism. Yet all of the sudden they are getting nailed with one, two or three negs a month.I can't possibly be responsible for these others feedbacks or explain it. (1)All I can say is that for several years I didn't leave people DESERVING negatives feedback and now I can happily do so. Shipping me Smoke Damaged books, misrepresented items, refusing to send things that sell for less than expected, AND then NOT ANSWERING emails or allowing returns postage paid back to the seller will always upset me as a buyer. And all of the above mentioned things happen routinely and now get sellers negatives and/or very low DSR's in the right column.bbarsh:Why on earth would you bid on an item with a 500% mark up on shipping?(2)Because I want it and am willling (and do) pay the shipping. That does not mean that I agree with there method of defrauding ebay and I will leave positive feedback with a low dsr in s/h. Clearly, many buyers are exercising this strategy. If sellers want more money for their product they should use a buy it now and set the price they want. Not conspire to use me in an attempt to defraud ebay. Presumably, since I am paying the bill and my total bill might be lower as a result of the deception... I do something that I suspect only a few people on the planet do. (3) Each year, I set up a dozen auctions, cancel them, pay the listing fees and then relist them normally. If Ebay had an option to pay/donate for providing referrals, I would use that option instead. It should be clear by now, that I don't intend to take advantage of anyone and I don't intend to be party to doing so. I am very grateful for what ebay has done for collecting and do not want them to go anywhere. Not that the projection of their demise holds much weight. Stock prices have little to do with a companies long-term stability. Ebay is a low cost, high demand service with limited necessary overhead and a monopoly. Just because investors overvalued the stock for years (and most other stocks for that matter) does not mean it will go away during a recession/depression. It's a business still in it's infancy, with less governmental control than it needs, but which provides an extraordinary service. Balancing the needs of buyers and sellers in a semi-professional environment can't be easy. Thank goodness they try though.
gyg wrote:(2) If you are willing to pay then why complain - seemingly you went in with your eyes open.
Mars wrote:I think that even if you are willing to pay a high handling cost for an item, you should still rate their DSRs accurately. Sometimes the handling fee is not transparent until you get the parcel. Most sellers don't state that handling is going to be $10+ but you find out what it really is when you get the parcel.
Pipswich wrote:Or ship minis in an envelope so they arrive smashed flat. I haven't even brought that issue up and it's common.
serleran wrote:I think, if I have more stuff to sell, I'll use rpgmarketplace or just list on various forums. I'm only interested in dealing with people I can reliably trust, and not the general asshatery that is eBay. Though, I'll still use it for selling off board games... which reminds me to get my nuts in a sack and let the squirrels nibble.
Pipswich wrote: Not conspire to use me in an attempt to defraud ebay.
Pipswich wrote:Ebay is a low cost, high demand service with limited necessary overhead
Pipswich wrote: and a monopoly.
Pipswich wrote: It's a business still in it's infancy,
Pipswich wrote: but which provides an extraordinary service.
Pipswich wrote: Balancing the needs of buyers and sellers in a semi-professional environment can't be easy.
Pipswich wrote: Thank goodness they try though.
