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eBay - do you still use it? (1 Viewer)

Last time you used eBay

  • Within the last 0-6 months

    Votes: 85 50.0%
  • 6-12 months ago

    Votes: 17 10.0%
  • 1-3 years ago

    Votes: 23 13.5%
  • More than 3 years ago

    Votes: 45 26.5%

  • Total voters
    170
Yup--I still use ebay regularly as a buyer. I don't use it for high dollar items--but as a watch collector I will use it to source hard to find watch parts/donor watches for vintage timepieces.  I still find it to have a user friendly platform and I like the protections that paypal provides.   

 
Purchases on Amazon to eBay are probably 50:1, but still use eBay a few times a year. 

Just a month or so ago, needed a 130" deck belt for a John Deere lawnmower for up at the cabin.  Dealer prices were about $95-110.  Zero on Amazon and ended up buying it on eBay for $45 or so. 

It still serves it purpose if you're looking for parts for older type equipment or for used parts and the like. 

Often times I'll check out eBay and many are the same sellers as Amazon. 

 
eBay is a horrible company. They rip off sellers all the time.

I still occasionally buy from there but I'll pay 10% more to buy from Amazon because of the guaranteed shipping and the fact that they stand behind what they sell.

 
Rarely, we bought some sort of moon boots my kid wanted for Christmas last year or maybe 2 years ago

 
Joe Summer said:
eBay is a horrible company. They rip off sellers all the time.

I still occasionally buy from there but I'll pay 10% more to buy from Amazon because of the guaranteed shipping and the fact that they stand behind what they sell.
I'll echo this - I DO NOT sell on eBay as they will just take the money you got for an item if the buyer disputes the charge and basically offer you no recourse other than a VERY lengthy process that usually results in the seller being s### out of luck.  I got completely screwed out of a $1,000+ camera that I sold one time.  Sold it, shipped it once the cash showed up, then PayPal just reversed the transaction.  (Hence my "Paypal Terrified" avatar I rocked for a few years.)

I do buy from there regularly.  It's usually small stuff (parts to things I'm fixing, etc) or used items when I'm OK with used/refurbished.  Nothing big typically - although I did buy most of the speakers for my home theater off there as "unauthorized retailers" were abundant for the brand of speaker I got at prices roughly half of other places for new, sealed product.

 
Fishboy said:
Purchases on Amazon to eBay are probably 50:1, but still use eBay a few times a year. 

Just a month or so ago, needed a 130" deck belt for a John Deere lawnmower for up at the cabin.  Dealer prices were about $95-110.  Zero on Amazon and ended up buying it on eBay for $45 or so. 

It still serves it purpose if you're looking for parts for older type equipment or for used parts and the like. 

Often times I'll check out eBay and many are the same sellers as Amazon. 
This is me too. Specialty items are great on eBay. Bought a boat carb kit yesterday and also great for tractor parts and unique items. 

A better question might be how much you use eBay for auctions. I rarely do that. 

 
This is me too. Specialty items are great on eBay. Bought a boat carb kit yesterday and also great for tractor parts and unique items. 

A better question might be how much you use eBay for auctions. I rarely do that. 
agreed....it's been years that I've used eBay in auction format.  It's either buy it now or nothing. 

 
jvdesigns2002 said:
Yup--I still use ebay regularly as a buyer. I don't use it for high dollar items--but as a watch collector I will use it to source hard to find watch parts/donor watches for vintage timepieces.  I still find it to have a user friendly platform and I like the protections that paypal provides.   
For folks who collect something, I think eBay is a great resource. I do a little bit of coin collecting and eBay is hands down the best online channel for numismatics.

eBay's cut for folks who generate a lot of revenue is lower than Amazon's. Their advanced search is pretty good. eBay's currently running a 10% bucks promo (receive a 10% credit of spend for next quarter), which brings a lot of purchases under spot when the credit back is factored in.

 
agreed....it's been years that I've used eBay in auction format.  It's either buy it now or nothing. 
I had a market research company state that more than 90% of all sales on eBay are buy it now. Far cry from 2002.

 
I wore out the no interest or payments for 6 mos deal on purchases over $99 last year. They just ended the program, but I flipped a dozen items before payments were due. Most of them I needed temporarily. 

A $300 used tiller. (Pick up only) Did the entire property and sold it for $425. A dry wall hoist. $200. Got my money back. A floor grinder. $1100. Sold it to an equipment rental place for a 1200 after grinding and polishing over 3000 sqft of concrete. Sold the blades separately for $200. A towable gravel rake. Got my money back after landscaping with it. A contractor grade airless paint sprayer. $550. I have it free for another two months. Not worried about getting my money back. A tile saw, same.

I like repairing audio equipment, mostly speakers.

A vintage 60s stereo console. $200 (pick up only). I refinished the wood, had the amp repaired (an hour of diagnostics and a $5 capacitor) and stuck in some new very nice drivers ($200 total). Sold it for $1200 after using it to stage an entertainment room (in the house I sold) with a nice used 1080p projector and 120" screen $850. Sold for $900. Four pairs of speakers that were selling for parts only and a couple subwoofers. I'm up a few hundred after swapping in new parts and having fun listening.

I've sold everything locally through classifieds and would not sell on Ebay.

I'm glad they ended the program because I would never stop doing this. 

 
Pretty much the same here, only buy, never sell on ebay anymore. Usually used items, collectibles, discontinued stuff I can't find in stores anymore, cheap Chinese knock off's like a replacement tv remote for example.

On the Buy It Now stuff I rarely pay the ask, I use the "Make Offer" function and always negotiate a lower price thru email back and forth. Most sellers will work with you and knock off a little to a lot depending on what it is.

 
I'll use it to buy stuff for my son's video game (whatever game has the "portal of power") or Indians memorabilia.

 
I asked because someone (Finance guy) was trying to get me to invest.  He said eBay is positioned to make a play at some of Amazon's market share and I just started laughing like this is Krispy Kreme making a run at Dunkin Donuts - the ship has sailed dude!   

Now, full disclosure I have been blind sided by a ton of companies in the world like most of us; I would have laughed at Uber, Twitter, Netflix and many others 10 years ago. 

Even from the feedback here, it seems eBay has a niche but is it poised innovating anything. :shrug:

 
Bought some text books for my 7th grader to help him study and do homework because I can't stand reading the textbooks on his iPad. I need a book man!

Prior to that, it was a few years ago that I last used eBay. 

 
Joe Summer said:
eBay is a horrible company. They rip off sellers all the time.

I still occasionally buy from there but I'll pay 10% more to buy from Amazon because of the guaranteed shipping and the fact that they stand behind what they sell.
How is eBay ripping off sellers?

 
I am a pretty regular eBay buyer and occasional seller.  100% positive feedback for over 700+ reviewed transactions.  I imagine that I have bought/sold over 2,000+ items over the years.

If you don't mind buying something lightly used, you can easily save 50-90% off MSRP; yes it varies wildly.  I buy quite a bit of my items in like-new condition, slightly used, but in great, pre-owned condition.  The way I see it, once you cut off the tags and run it through a washing machine cycle, you end up with the exact same item at significant cost savings.  I prefer to re-purpose an item and I can usually re-sell it on eBay after using for awhile... usually for more than I paid. 

You do have to know the product that you are interested in purchasing.  ebay is flooded with a ton of Chinese knock-offs for various items.  If they are advertising something as new, and the price is too good to be true, its not worth the hassle of purchasing the item because inevitably you will end up with a crappy knock-off and will return any bootleg item.

I have bought and sold photography gear, hiking and camping gear, shoes, laptops, pretty much everything from eBay.

With all of the 15%/10%/$15off$75 off coupons/codes that eBay has been sending out in the last few quarters, I strongly believe they are not hitting their numbers. 

I would 110% not invest in eBay, AZRon.  Save your scratch for add'l shampoo bottles.

 
Mostly the fees- listing fee,PayPal fee, they also get a percentage of the sale.
While one could argue that eBay's fees might be a bit higher than desired--I'm not sure if I would label them as "ripping the sellers" off.  Look at any consignment or auction service---they all charge pretty high fees.  They are effectively providing the sellers with millions of potential customers--I think charging 10-15% for that is high, but far from outrageous. 

 
I'm buying a record crate, handmade, off of it. I think it matches my furniture and will be well worth it. 

Mahogany finish, nice looking. It's rare to find a record crate that looks like it and is stackable.  

 
I'll use it to get a cheap single to a game I want to go to at the last minute. Or if the product isn't available on Amazon. I'll pay more for the reliability, shipping and customer service from Amazon.

 
While one could argue that eBay's fees might be a bit higher than desired--I'm not sure if I would label them as "ripping the sellers" off.  Look at any consignment or auction service---they all charge pretty high fees.  They are effectively providing the sellers with millions of potential customers--I think charging 10-15% for that is high, but far from outrageous. 
As long as these fees are listed up front, they are definitely not ripping anyone off.  I really didn't think they were.

I''ve been using eBay regularly since 1997.  Some things are hard to find any other way.  Last month, I bought a quilt rack from a seller who custom makes them.  It's very nice.

The problems I've had are few and far between.

 
As long as these fees are listed up front, they are definitely not ripping anyone off.  I really didn't think they were.

I''ve been using eBay regularly since 1997.  Some things are hard to find any other way.  Last month, I bought a quilt rack from a seller who custom makes them.  It's very nice.

The problems I've had are few and far between.
I think the original poster you were replying too was mainly referring to their return policy. Ebay/PayPal will automatically reverse payment for any buyer with basically no questions asked. Fraud is fairly rampant with buyers saying something never showed up in the mail and requesting a refund and keeping the item.

But this has been the case for nearly at least 15 years now if not longer. If you are still selling on ebay these days you should be well aware of it and budget the occasional fraudster as a cost of doing business.

 
I asked because someone (Finance guy) was trying to get me to invest.  He said eBay is positioned to make a play at some of Amazon's market share and I just started laughing like this is Krispy Kreme making a run at Dunkin Donuts - the ship has sailed dude!   

Now, full disclosure I have been blind sided by a ton of companies in the world like most of us; I would have laughed at Uber, Twitter, Netflix and many others 10 years ago. 

Even from the feedback here, it seems eBay has a niche but is it poised innovating anything. :shrug:
Ship has definitely sailed on eBay years ago, I wouldn't look to invest in them either. I think they're always going to have a role and marketplace, but as you said, there is nothing innovative there anymore and you have to wonder what growth strategy they could possibly have at this point.

 
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I think the original poster you were replying too was mainly referring to their return policy. Ebay/PayPal will automatically reverse payment for any buyer with basically no questions asked. Fraud is fairly rampant with buyers saying something never showed up in the mail and requesting a refund and keeping the item.

But this has been the case for nearly at least 15 years now if not longer. If you are still selling on ebay these days you should be well aware of it and budget the occasional fraudster as a cost of doing business.
That's possible.  Perhaps he could clarify, which is why I asked in the first place.  But I'm not sure that is eBay ripping people off, rather than "customers".

 
I buy from eBay a few times a month. When I have stuff to sell I usually put it on Facebook marketplace. I quit Craigslist altogether a while back for buying and selling. Too shady.

 
Great for used tires for the college kids. I put Michelin on everything and eBay has them about half price for 90% of tread. 

 
It's a good place to purchase discontinued and/or lightly used photography equipment.

I'm still a big fan of the Samsung NX photo equipment and you really can't get that stuff anywhere else, although you have to have patience because a lot of stuff is overpriced on eBay. Right now is a good time to look for Nikon 1 gear since they just recently announced it's discontinued. A lot of folks are probably looking to dump that gear so you can probably find some pretty cheap stuff to play with in the coming months.

If all the rumors are true both Nikon and Canon will be releasing a full-frame mirrorless system to compete with the Sony's that have been eating away at their market share. It'll probably be a great time to purchase dSLR's and their lenses as there has been a big pent up demand by Nikon/Canon fans. Some pretty good dSLR lenses are no longer in production. Love the Canon 135mm/F2.8 that is much, much lighter and cheaper than the F2.0 version of that lens.

 
Just sold a Lee "Scratch" Perry record "The Original Super Ape" for seventeen bucks. I have no idea how much it's worth, but that particular one is listed for about that on Discogs, and popsike doesn't even bring it up, so I figure I'm doing okay.

Seems kinda rare.... :oldunsure:

 
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What do you use then? I'm interested in selling records to a big audience and wondering, besides Discogs, what I could use.
Amazon almost a 100% of the time. My wife uses a few other websites for craft stuff. 

I guess if I still bought sports memorabilia eBay would be where I go first. But I don’t anymore. 

 
I think the local social based marketplaces have really taken a bite out of eBay. I use to use it to sell stuff like old baby stuff we dont need, some old collectables, etc. But now that FB has their marketplace section and there are countless local FB buy and sell groups, I mainly use those. I've sole furniture, a car, and a bunch of old sports gear we dont need on there, plus bought bikes and other stuff I would not have been able to ship. 

I'll still use ebay if its something small and I don't mind used/open package type stuff. 

 
Amazon almost a 100% of the time. My wife uses a few other websites for craft stuff. 

I guess if I still bought sports memorabilia eBay would be where I go first. But I don’t anymore. 
Gotcha. Amazon's used records prices are the last place I look because people always overvalue their records or try and hook suckers to pay ridiculous sums of cash more than what the standard going rate is. It's a scam, really.

But point taken. 

 
I purchased something a few weeks ago, no issues. the buyer is fully protected

I use to be a power seller on there but when they changed their policies and jacked fees to jip the seller, I stopped.

 
Never. Feels like a company on borrowed time. 
Yeah.  Their stock is near all-time highs; definitely a sign the ship in sinking. 

To answer OP, I'm currently scouring ebay for used camera lenses.  I'll probably make at least 3 transactions over the next couple of weeks.  

 

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