[Ludi]

I wish I'd gotten around to selling my junk....oh well....

[Baldwin]

Ebay is certainly not as vibrant as aforetimes. I am looking to sell my great-grandmother's fur coats. (old, but useable). Fur items on ebay aren't exactly a vision of frenzied bidding.

[emersonbiggins]

craigslist might be siphoning off former ebayers; I know that I'll craigslist anything large before considering ebay to sell it.

[Lore]

I think the eBay online experience is just getting a little long in the tooth is all. As explained in the following interview with Chief Meg Whitman on Bloomberg, eBay had lost a little footing in the last few years by allowing itself to be overrun with commodity-oriented products.

Video LINK

[smallpoxgirl]

Maybe I'm just missing it, but it seems to me that Ebay should be the last to be affected by a crash. EBay, IMHO, is the world's largest yard sale. It would seem to me that as more folks run short on cash, they would be abandoning the overpriced retail shops and turning to EBay for more economical solutions. I personally have probably bought more stuff off of EBay in the past year than in the previous 5 combined, dollars wise at least.

[east2west]

Ebay has never really impressed me all that much. I do know some people who have success selling there, and I know others who are ebay junkies. I personally never bought or sold anything there. I've visited the site doing research on numerous occasions and I felt that it wasn’t right for me.

[TheDude]

eBay.

Will Increased Postal Rates Hurt eBay?

Been thinking that for years. They'll have the Bell Curve Blues big time when fuel costs go up just a titch more.

EBay Launches Craigslist Rival

Ha! CL is waaayyy ahead of them, and is infinitely faster and handier to use to boot. One thing eBay should do is offer levels of graphics, from full on to stripped down like CL. Even with my fiber optic connection pages still really plod when loading.

eBay is great if you're looking for something rare and smallish, and it can fulfill some of CL's niches with the localized searches. I've bought a lot of small musical instruments and records on there, but I've got about all I want in that department. I can see why people are slowly losing interest. I'd never buy a wood stove from some local halfway across the country on there.

[eastbay]

An acquaintance of a friend just got busted selling stolen Target merchandise on Ebay. Her horrible mug shot was plastered across the local press and she had allegedly sold tens of thousands of dollars worth of clothing there... apparently much of it sold to Target security staff.

Ebay and Craigslist is where the large stores look for their stolen goods. Maybe thieves get a false sense of anonymity when they try to unload hot goods there, but cops know this too.

[smallpoxgirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('east2west', 'E')bay has never really impressed me all that much.

[Pretorian]

Ebay owns a sweet chunk of craigslist too by the way.

[denverdave]

Ebay could be very valuable in the future as more people start to keep their old cars, computers, and other equipment running longer because new stuff and spare parts are hard or impossible to come by. Ebay is great for this because it makes selling irregular used items on an individual basis practical and profitable. Ebay and craigslist could help a lot with connecting all resources tied up in unteneble suburban mcmansions with people who can creatively reuse them. Just think of all the solar heating systems that could be built from all the sprawl around phoenix and Las Vegas!

[I_Like_Plants]

I RAN an business on Ebay for 10 years.

It's better to just keep your eyes open for stuff locally, or on your local Craig's List, at garage sales, etc., than get it on ebay - too much hassle and an insane amount of drama and cost.

I am moving into a good friend's truck camper in their backyard in a few weeks. Am turning in the car (voluntary repo) as soon as I am all moved and no longer schlepping stuff to the post office, am just trying to get the last Ebay buyers to send in their $$ so I can get the last orders out.

I stopped listing over a week ago.

Deadbeats, bidders who win but never pay, are more common than ever.

I can give you some hints, but if I told you more I'd have to kill you: Snoop around the Ebay forums. Find one called the "Discuss New Features Board". It will not be easy to find and I can't tell you more. There you will find the truth.

[TommyJefferson]

Interesting vid Lore. Thanks.


$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', 'I')t would seem to me that as more folks run short on cash, they would be abandoning the overpriced retail shops and turning to EBay for more economical solutions.

[TheDude]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('eastbay', 'A')n acquaintance of a friend just got busted selling stolen Target merchandise on Ebay. Her horrible mug shot was plastered across the local press and she had allegedly sold tens of thousands of dollars worth of clothing there... apparently much of it sold to Target security staff.

[I_Like_Plants]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TheDude', '
')I heard about that on the news. She was taking stickers from plastic coffee cups and slapping 'em on high dollar items. Oregon sure can crank out the embarrassing types, like that woman in Beaverton who called up 911 wanting to know the name of the hunky cop who responded to her first call...someday we'll have our own category on Fark, like Florida does.

[eastbay]

http://www.clackamasreview.com/news/sto ... 4567157200

Here it is. Plus a discussion of the case.

http://www.katu.com/news/8147767.html

... and her mug shot.

This interesting case has many, many google hits.

[gg3]

Ebay is useful for buying obscure stuff you can't find anywhere else much less locally. Also useful for selling obscure stuff that probably doesn't have a local market.

The thing I don't like about CL is the apparent necessity of inviting strangers to your home to do transactions. Strikes me as a possible feeding-source for home invasion robbers and similar scum. OTOH in places that aren't so thick with predators, it probably works out fine.

---

Swapping tags on stuff at Target. Sheesh!, another new way to steal. I guess that's just a variation on the old scam of swapping regular price tags. OTOH it takes either guts or lack of brains to think you can pass off a TV as a plastic coffee cup. And what the hell were the checkstand workers smoking before they came to work...? "Nice TV ma'am... that'll be $1.98."

[Eli]

Yeah I agree with that gg3

That is what I hate too about classified adds also the just taking the phone calls is a pain the ass. Talking to someone who is trying to get an item for nothing that you have already taken a huge loss on is just a PITA, even worse then the person is supposed to come to your house.


Ebay has lost a lot of luster too because of all the scammers. You have to be extra vigilant when buying or selling on their. My wife and I will never sell to anyone in Canada ever again,( lying thieving canucks). There are plenty of people on ebay who will exploit any weakness they find. For certain things it is great like a cell phone battery that you can't find locally.