Ebay, 5,000 Free Insertions, But Not If You're British

[bagerap]

Every two weeks or so, ebay.uk has a weekend giveaway of 100 free insertions. And yes, I know that it guarantees that you'll see even more terrible old c**p for sale a week later but offers like this pale into insignificance in the face of the North American version.

http://announcements.ebay.com/2014/03/all-sellers-from-march-26-31-get-5000-more-free-listings-auction-style-or-fixed-price/?_trksid=p3984.m2301.l3955

[RLC35]

Every two weeks or so, ebay.uk has a weekend giveaway of 100 free insertions. And yes, I know that it guarantees that you'll see even more terrible old c**p for sale a week later but offers like this pale into insignificance in the face of the North American version.

http://announcements.ebay.com/2014/03/all-sellers-from-march-26-31-get-5000-more-free-listings-auction-style-or-fixed-price/?_trksid=p3984.m2301.l3955

They have been renewing that offer each month, for months now, trying to increase the usage of unhappy sellers (USA).

[Rob]

Sellers will presumably resort to free listings only. What ebay don't seem to realise is the mismatch between their demand for income and the relatively extortionate cost of a regular listing. Couple that with a system that encourages you to list crap because you don't get a decent price for quality and it is clear the wheels have partly come off the bus.

Sellers get fed up because the degree of competition for material is typically not very great with anything other than the exceptional either not selling, or going for opening bid. To avoid the masses and get more eyeballs you have to pay to list. That increases eBays take to about 25% which is a lot of dosh to spend on someone who won't back you up in the event of a dispute. Buyers also suffer from the poundshop mentality where everything has to be a quid, whether good or bad value.

Buyers get fed up because of the amount of dross listed. Virtually everyone I know who buys on ebay does a very limited search within what is already a fairly small subsection.

List on a free listing day and the number of things available leaps to gargantuan proportions. Nobody has time to view them let alone bid on more than the odd item so you have to list at the minimum price you are willing to accept. There is no point listing if you are only going to get 3 or 4 views, or a single digit purchase rate relative to listings.

Ebay is rapidly becoming passe. 10 years ago you could find quality within a relatively small number of listings. Today you find numerically fewer quality coins than ten years ago coupled with quite literally 10x the number of listings which are almost exclusively sh*te. Until eBay realises that less is more, it is best avoided.

Note to ebay: there is another parallel universe out there which doesn't have ebay at its centre.

Edited March 26, 2014 by Rob

[azda]

The fact that a seller cannot give their opinion (negative) when a buyer bids then cannot be arsed to pay was the start of the downward spiral, couple this with their astronomical fees i assume its driven many people away.

This is now i assume why they Started taking 10% from postage (which has absolutely nothing to so with ebay) because they have/are driving people away, and the more that leave, the more they're going to want from those that are left, and the vicious Circle will continue until eBay eventually bites its own arse

[RLC35]

The fact that a seller cannot give their opinion (negative) when a buyer bids then cannot be arsed to pay was the start of the downward spiral, couple this with their astronomical fees i assume its driven many people away.

This is now i assume why they Started taking 10% from postage (which has absolutely nothing to so with ebay) because they have/are driving people away, and the more that leave, the more they're going to want from those that are left, and the vicious Circle will continue until eBay eventually bites its own arse

Everyone complains about eBay and their practices, but the fact remains, they are best show in town...because they reach the largest audience. When, and if they get some meaningful competition, that will change. Does anyone know of a real competitor for eBay available out there? Let me know if there is, I would love to switch.

I don't have any problem with people selling junk on eBay, that is free enterprise, but I do have a problem with charging fees on shipping in an effort to promote free shipping in their auctions. Some of their take on these shipping commissions is .05-.10, and it doesn't make sense to tick the sellers off for such little return! But...where is the real competition...you are going to have to help me on that one.

[Rob]

It isn't the lack of competition that makes me stick with eBay, it is the occasional moments of having nothing to do. I can say without any doubt that I use it as a gap filler by now. I don't actively search for the coins I need because I have neither the time nor inclination to plough through the crap for what is a fairly esoteric list. Even a couple thousand in the hammered section takes hours to sift through. There is no point searching for names like Edward, Harold or Victoria because half the people listing call him Eddy, Harry, Vicky etc. Hammerd is a favourite too.

Anything sold or still for sale was on a list I gave to the wife a while back and will be recycled by her on free listing days using their bulk relist facility. When it runs out I will reconsider the position, but for now we are a passive user and have no desire to be more than that. If it sells it's a bonus, but nothing more.

[HistoricCoinage]

couple this with their astronomical fees i assume its driven many people away.

Let's assume that I hypothetically list a coin at 99p and it sells for £100, I also offer freepost. I'd pay 9p in listing fees and then £8.69 in final value fees, totalling £8.78. I'd then pay 20p + 3.4% PayPal fees bringing the total costs thus far to £12.38.

Now let's go to Spink where the absolute minimum for commission is £10 with other houses charging up to 15% or thereabouts. Whilst it's true you might get a slightly higher price you also have to factor in the buyer's commission, as they will typically bid less knowing they've got to fork out an extra 15%.

So I can understand the widespread and prolific eBay-bashing that takes place on this forum but I can also see why those looking for realistic, immediate release of capital or looking to pass off 'dross' will use it. Its fees are not astronomical when compared to generic coin auction houses, they have a huge captive audience for less-valuable pieces and it can be much, much quicker than selling elsewhere.

Edited March 26, 2014 by HistoricCoinage

[HistoricCoinage]

I can say without any doubt that I use it as a gap filler by now. I don't actively search for the coins I need because I have neither the time nor inclination to plough through the crap for what is a fairly esoteric list. Even a couple thousand in the hammered section takes hours to sift through. There is no point searching for names like Edward, Harold or Victoria because half the people listing call him Eddy, Harry, Vicky etc. Hammerd is a favourite too.

I wholly agree. Looking at the pieces I've purchased for my core collection over the past 6 years or so, so very few have come from eBay. I get the occasional rarity that's slipped under the radar, or another upgrade for my Henry III Longcross collection but it's not where I shop for quality Saxon and Norman - there are rare Saxon pieces on there but they're typically overpriced or very badly damaged. I also find the miscategorisation by sellers incredulously annoying! Seeing modern brass tat in the Saxon section is somewhat tiresome nowadays.

[Rob]

Yes, but you are fighting a beast whose loyalties are far from balanced. If you have the slightest problem then you will be out of pocket because of their policy of buyer good, seller bad. Even when selling crap you get problem buyers. The wife had one this weekend who didn't want to pay postage at cost and then left her a neutral because he wasn't happy with the coins (which had nothing wrong with them). That after she gave him the option to cancel when he moaned about having to pay postage in the first place. It's twats like that which make eBay a very unpleasant place to do business at times. Couple that with eBay's random account blocking and general dictatorial attitude and it makes Putin look like a nice guy. The customers are the people who pay a business's wages. These are called sellers on eBay, not buyers who do not contribute a single penny to their coffers. Now when you screw your customers (sellers) and give free handouts to buyers by refunding them and allowing them to keep the goods, the system is broken. As Dave said, not only the above but the inability to leave negative feedback or even communicate by email to other users means that everyone has a bad ebay day.

Maybe an option would be eBay 1 and eBay 2. The first you have to pay to list with minimal or no final value fees, the second gives free listing but with final value fees. That would eliminate the vast majority of the crap from no.1 and make viewing the quality section slightly more worthwhile.

Edited March 26, 2014 by Rob

[azda]

Ahhhh but here's the clincher Clive. I don't need to deal with f*****g idiots at Spink, but i do on eBay. I'd Rather pay the spink fee and be stress and hassle free, unlikei have been in the last 2 weeks, and now i have another non payer, this time from sweden and a complete tosser who has verbally abused me via email because i failed to say a 1997 Britannia set had a small amount of lustre on it which i never seen as it was My buddy who took the pics, i was told i was a cnut (rearrange the letters) and then he left a negative and a dispute, the reason i did'nt refund was due to the abuse. Now, for a tenner, i'll take Spink anytime

[HistoricCoinage]

Ahhhh but here's the clincher Clive. I don't need to deal with f*****g idiots at Spink, but i do on eBay.

Not disputing that at all, Dave, merely pointing out an issue with your statement of astronomical fees.

I've had bad buyers in the past but took action against them and have a lengthy blocked bidder list. I tend to sell modern sets, gold and bullion on eBay nowadays because I wouldn't risk any of my high value hammereds on that site - I'm much safer on my own website.

[azda]

Thats all i've been selling too Clive, but they still want bloody for a pittance. I'm near done with ebay now for a while.

[Rob]

Ahhhh but here's the clincher Clive. I don't need to deal with f*****g idiots at Spink, but i do on eBay. I'd Rather pay the spink fee and be stress and hassle free, unlikei have been in the last 2 weeks, and now i have another non payer, this time from sweden and a complete tosser who has verbally abused me via email because i failed to say a 1997 Britannia set had a small amount of lustre on it which i never seen as it was My buddy who took the pics, i was told i was a cnut (rearrange the letters) and then he left a negative and a dispute, the reason i did'nt refund was due to the abuse. Now, for a tenner, i'll take Spink anytime

Somebody complained because the coin had lustre? Too nice to list on eBay or what? That's nonsense.

[Paulus]

Ahhhh but here's the clincher Clive. I don't need to deal with f*****g idiots at Spink, but i do on eBay. I'd Rather pay the spink fee and be stress and hassle free, unlikei have been in the last 2 weeks, and now i have another non payer, this time from sweden and a complete tosser who has verbally abused me via email because i failed to say a 1997 Britannia set had a small amount of lustre on it which i never seen as it was My buddy who took the pics, i was told i was a cnut (rearrange the letters) and then he left a negative and a dispute, the reason i did'nt refund was due to the abuse. Now, for a tenner, i'll take Spink anytime

Somebody complained because the coin had lustre? Too nice to list on eBay or what? That's nonsense.

All sounds a bit bizarre to me, like sending a coin back because it was EF not VF as advertised!

[azda]

He said it was tarnish and was apparently absolutely worthless, his words not mine

[azda]

His initial email. Observe the end paragraph and the subtle blackmail of a negative

Hi there I received the 1997 4 coin collection today and I am not happy with them , 3 of the coins have yellow tarnishing on them , if I had known that from the advert I would not have bid on them , you did not state that they had tarnishing on them.

I would not be pleased if I was sent a bullion coin that was tarnished never mind a proof that should be perfect.

I would like to send the set back for a full refund .

If we can sort it out I promise not to leave any negative feedback.

Edited March 26, 2014 by azda

[azda]

This was his 2nd email after my short reply

Who do you think you are talking to some green horn.

I have been collecting for years and the value is more like £150 for perfect not £200 so £137 for crap does'nt cut it.

You make it out like I should be grateful for something you think is worth £200 and you can buy it back for £137 and do not want it back tells me all I need to know.

I was being nice and gave you a chance to sort it , now I will.

Never mistake being nice for being weak.

[azda]

The guy is an absolute Tool.in the dispute comsole he know thinks i'm female and tells me ishould go back and take My meds

This fella has some serious issues

[azda]

If anyone needs his name to block him or abuse hin, whichever you feel, its 1503tim.

Clive, if you're selling bullion silver you'll want to block this tard. I think he's one of these types who has a small penis and is trying to compensate for it

Edited March 26, 2014 by azda

[Peter]

Dave

Take the foot off the loud peddle and reduce the BP.

I have a springer on my feet and a feral cat who likes to sleep on the back of my chair(half on my head)

Both snore...and maybe I do too.

[azda]

Dave

Take the foot off the loud peddle and reduce the BP.

I have a springer on my feet and a feral cat who likes to sleep on the back of my chair(half on my head)

Both snore...and maybe I do too.

New iphone Peter, the 5s. Still the same spelling errors but this one now does'nt like the spacebar on the keyboard

[Bronze & Copper Collector]

His initial email. Observe the end paragraph and the subtle blackmail of a negative

Hi there I received the 1997 4 coin collection today and I am not happy with them , 3 of the coins have yellow tarnishing on them , if I had known that from the advert I would not have bid on them , you did not state that they had tarnishing on them.

I would not be pleased if I was sent a bullion coin that was tarnished never mind a proof that should be perfect.

I would like to send the set back for a full refund .

If we can sort it out I promise not to leave any negative feedback.

Subtle????? Nice sense of irony....

[azda]

If anyone is interested, i'm selling off everything on mine and my buddys ebay account, he's also had a belly full of the arseholes that frequent the site. Here's a link to one of he auctions, just browse the rest, there's some half decent stuff in there. I'm not done collecting, just with ebay.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131151706362?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_sacat%3D0%26_from%3DR40%26_nkw%3D131151706362%26_rdc%3D1

[scottishmoney]

I stopped selling on eBay back in 2008 and haven't looked back. I don't know why someone would bother with it. As a buyer I tend to look for sellers that will deal off eBay so I can shave off an automatic 12% off the price.