Evil Bay

Thats because EBAY owns PAY PAL! Just another way to get more of your money.
JOHN

quote:

Thats because EBAY owns PAY PAL! Just another way to get more of your money.

You got that right.

Yes, the 3-4% Paypal takes is a pain, but all it takes is one phony money order and you'd switch to only accepting Paypal on your own.

Still, all-in-all, there is no other way to put your items in front of more potential buyers than eBay.

And likewise,the range of what you can buy on eBay continues to astound me.

I have been buying genuine printer ink cartridges for years, at about 1/2 the cost of local stores.

I bought Pay-as-you-go phone recharge PINS for pennies on the dollar a couple of years ago when ATT cards were expiring. I don't know WHY sellers had $1000's of dollars of these things,but I filled up (to $500, the max) my kids phones for about $35 each.

I am constantly buying books for pennies on the dollar for my wife to use in her classroom.

And would you believe I just bought genuine Gilette shaving blades, a year's worth, for about 1/3 of what they cost in the stores?

Label machine tapes, Dremel pieces, hardware for my GRP 4 tail light business, 3M plastic polish at about 1/2 the cost locally.

I have easily saved ten times what Paypal has taken in fees.

Larry

I encountered this when I listed some tires a few days ago as it said my listing would be removed if I offered to accept MO's or checks. They said I had the option to accept Propay, but when I went to their site its for merchants only. Of course they'll try to say its because MO's/checks are unsafe... WTF you wait until they clear befor mailing. In reality it's a pure greed issue, so no option but Paypal.

I gotta think (hope) at some point there's gonna be a lawsuit like Microsoft with Internet Explorer. You start reading some of the chat on Paypal and it's pretty scary, freezing your bank account etc. I refuse to have a bank account associated with my Paypal account now.

I use Ebay and as Larry says there's no greater medium to get your items out there or find that elusive part. When selling you just have to price accordingly to cover the 10% it's gonna cost to sell. The part I hate is the smoke and mirrors stuff where there is zero transparency or accountability from either Ebay or Paypal.

Despite what they might say Paypal offers zero real protection as I have recently found out.

The rumor is that Ebay will also move toward insisting on inclusive shipping (i.e. free shipping) that way they can collect more fees, as you don't currently pay fees on shipping. This is why you see items listed at 99 cents with $20 shipping!

Julian

In the last few hours, I have done a bit of research on this new policy.

It has been suggested that requiring only Paypal payment for an auction is illegal as it is a restriction on trade, both intrastate and interstate.

I think that argument probably is valid.

In the real world, probably 9 out of ten, or more, of my selling auctions have been paid with Paypal. So for most this really isn't causing buyers a problem.

But, and a big but, if a good law firm wants to take on Ebay/Paypal on this issue, I bet they would win. The cost versus return may mean this will never happen.

And as Julian says, the trick of cheap item, BIG shipping charges IS a method of cheating eBay. Wouldn't doubt for a minute they find a way to stop that game.

But for them to require 'free shipping' would really open a can of worms. I once shipped a Pantera space saver tire to Norway. Now how in heaven's name could you create an auction to honestly include a 'free' shipping when you do not know what country you will wind up selling it to??!!

And Julian is also right about there being no real protection. You must rely on YOUR skills, checking feedback, using common sense to cover your ass. And even then, getting screwed once and awhile should just be considered a normal cost of doing business.

Larry

Tell me if I'm wrong... you can post your car for sale at no list fee? 1362 was bought sight unseen..execpt for pics It's not what they tell.... It's what they don't I buy stuff (parts) all the time .... works for me...