Ebay "auction" site

[doctor-bond]

I haven’t had too many shillbidder issues of the years tbh. But I’d say the eBay fees are causing a problem - far too steep, so people hike the prices and try to monkey around. I do this: put it on eBay to generate visibility with an inflated price that covers the fees, then on Gumtree or here with a realistic price. (Sometimes though folk like the convenience of paying via eBay and can use credit).

Auctions work where you’ve got something obviously sought after: but who has time to monitor an auction for 20 quids worth of old bike part? Chances are if you auction a cheap not rare thing, it will go for less than you want; if you set a high start price, might as well BIN …

You can search sold prices on eBay. Click the little button on the left side towards the bottom of the filter list.

 

[kingoffootball]

You can search sold prices on eBay. Click the little button on the left side towards the bottom of the filter list.

I think the intended point was not being able to see the price when a best offer has been accepted.

 

[BongoInTheCongo]

Yes, thats a good point. Hiding the actual accepted offer keeps the pot on the boil and the sold price artificially high. Great for ebay revenue, not so much for everyone else

 

[BongoInTheCongo]

I remember the early days of Ebay when fees were around 5%. What is it now 12%, or more? I rarely use it now as its just too much grief, as a buyer and a seller. I'm amazed that no one has come up with a dedicated cycling auction/best offer site. Reverb.com have done really well for musical instruments, and their fees are low.

Surely someone has the nouse to put together a reliable selling site it even an app. There's good money in it for the first to market.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Ebay is ok. The old adage applies "Caveat emptor". Care and consideration for both buyer and seller would help also.

 

[BongoInTheCongo]

I think upthread got it right, the fees for sellers are getting out of hand and the only way to mitigate that is to ask more for the item and the postage. Its only ebay who wins in this scenario.

 

[mk one]

I think upthread got it right, the fees for sellers are getting out of hand and the only way to mitigate that is to ask more for the item and the postage. Its only ebay who wins in this scenario.

The fees are good compared to other sites that also offer protection and customer service, also cheaper than they used to be. You can of course sell on sites with no buyer or seller protection and with a much smaller audience but obviously with more risk and headaches if you are scammed.

 

[earth-worm]

Not the worst but the fees+shipping for Canadians are a bit ridiculous sometimes

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

You can select the places you won't post to in your account settings. They can't bid then.

 

[kingoffootball]

I've notied for the first time that they have changed reporting listings. It now takes a little longer because you have to add some free text to explain the report, which seems like a good idea.

However, it claims that they are now reviewed by a customer service agent. The one who looked at this listing, which comes up for hundreds of unrelated searches, deeemd that they had not used excessive keywords that did not relate to the listing:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256583231994
If they are going to allow keyword spamming that should help save me money, as it means the parts/bikes I'm looking for in saved searches get drowned out by lots of unreated items.

[edit] Feel free to report and see whether you get the same response.