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Author Topic: eBid.net A Genuine Alternative to eBay ??  (Read 5176 times)

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Offline arkanoidTopic starter

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eBid.net A Genuine Alternative to eBay ??
« on: July 29, 2008, 02:31:58 AM »
I (like many, I guess) am becoming more and more peed-off with the eBay/PayPal combo as time goes by. This grousome twosome are just WRONG on so many levels that it beggers belief! The word extortion is used far too often and unjustifiably if you ask me but I'm afraid to say it's a word that fits eBay/PayPal perfectly.

For those who mainly buy from eBay and never sell, the level of their depravity isn't really apparent. eBay are _very_ careful to give the illusion of a relatively comfy environment for buyers. The reason for this, of course, is because buyers dictate the success of any auction site and so are (in their eyes) more important to "keep sweet" than sellers. Basically, sellers will follow buyers to the pits of hell - whether they like it or not.

Anyway, today was the last straw for me when I discovered PayPal have added yet another fee to their arsenal of robbery! They now charge sellers 0.30p + 3.6% of the total transaction amount of any eBay purchase paid for using a credit card linked to a PayPal account. So, if a buyer *chooses* to pay you with a CC, the seller is forced to pay this tariff. However, the worse part about it is that it is an eBay/PayPal "offense" to reasonably expect a buyer to take responsibility for his _own_ choice of payment method. You are not "allowed" to state in your listing (or even HINT) that you expect the BUYER to pay for this charge as part of your purchase agreement. Considering most buyers pay with their credit cards, this is a nice tidy sum that eBay and its parent company PayPal are wheedling from the seller's pockets. Not allowing sellers to justifiably pass these costs onto buyers keeps buyers in blissful ignorance, which means they will never look for alternatives (very sneaky tactic by eBay). The combination of their multiple listing fees, insane "Final Value" fee and now this new credit card payment fee is complete robbery. eBay has basically cornered the auction market and they are now running what can only be described as an extortion racket.

So what are we to do? What are the alternatives? The real purpose of this post is to get any opinions from Amigans on this eBid.net site. It seems to have a growing following and I've read quit a few posts from people praising the it. If you read their forums, or search for opinions over the net, people seem to be very happy with the service. They seem to play fair, with free listings and only a small 3% "Final Value" fee. Also, unlike eBay, they have not banned sellers from accepting payment via GoogleCheckout. So I'm thinking that an eBid/GoogleCheckout combo could be a far cheaper and pleasant solution for Amiga sellers?

It's pretty late here, so I've only really quickly browsed the site but it looks neat and tidy and there seems to be quite a few Amiga items listed, so I'm sure a few of you around here must be using it. Can you say what it's like? Would you recommend it?

I may list a few of my remaining Amiga items, to test the water but I'd like some opinions first...
Peg2/G4/MorphOS
Amiga A1200/060
 

Offline arkanoidTopic starter

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Re: eBid.net A Genuine Alternative to eBay ??
« Reply #1 on: September 12, 2008, 06:44:10 PM »
My impression from looking at eBid when I started this thread was that the _system_ itself looks fine. I'm pretty sure you could have a nice buying and bidding experience using it - no probs.

Sad thing is, it is very sparse on Amiga items. If somehow it could take a hold in the Amiga community and we began using and directing people to our bids listed a eBid, instead of evilBay, then I can't see why it couldn't work for Amiga items. But it would have to be some kind of concerted effort amongst us all...so I can't really see that happening.

oh yes, and by the way, just to rub salt in the wound. eBay are hiking up thier listing and final value fee charges YET AGAIN on the 25th of this month (September). You have to admire their drip drip/stealth tactics tho, most people wont notice when they're at 40-50% combined PayPal/eBay fees.

So basically, sell you items while you still can on eBay.
Peg2/G4/MorphOS
Amiga A1200/060
 

Offline arkanoidTopic starter

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Re: eBid.net A Genuine Alternative to eBay ??
« Reply #2 on: September 12, 2008, 07:53:40 PM »
WotTheFook: AmiBay is a great site and a lot of things seems to sell there at "community spirit prices".

The trouble is, most of us didn't buy our items at those community spirit prices. I certainly have never purchased any of my recent collection at a "cheap" price. Most people today buy rare Amiga hardware from eBay and pay the going rate. Whether we like it or not, the final bid value of items on evilBay *IS* their real "market value". Those Amiga auction items arn't artificially high, they're the prices people want to pay for them. And they're often around or close to what the seller originally paid for them.

The only problem I have with selling on eBay is with what I consider extortionate fees. others will disagree but most ppl selling on eBay are getting are feeling ripped-off.
Peg2/G4/MorphOS
Amiga A1200/060
 

Offline arkanoidTopic starter

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Re: eBid.net A Genuine Alternative to eBay ??
« Reply #3 on: September 13, 2008, 04:07:11 PM »
orange: I've had countless 404's from eBay's site over the years. :)

fatboy: couldn't agree more. it's the small-guy (as usual) who gets screwed over more. yet it's the small guy selling his odds and ends that has built eBay and made it so sucessful. I've actually heard rumours that eBay has long-tyerm plans to actually squeeze small sellers out of selling, so that they can make eBay more attractive to commercial retail outlets.

nice
Peg2/G4/MorphOS
Amiga A1200/060