eBay Boycott and Alternatives

[DC Dawg]

According to this post in the forums, someone is trying to organize an eBay sellers and buyers boycott February 19-25. No selling, no listing, not buying... just no business with eBay during that time as a protest to the new fees and feedback system. I will participate.

 

I also have been looking around at alternatives. Here are a few I found:

• Overstock.com is a full auction site with quite a few coin listings.
• ubid.com also has a number of coin and currency listings. It seems more "solid" than Overstock.
• eCrater.com is a storefront system where you list fixed price items. For the most part, it is free with a few paid add ons. Interestingly, they've partnered with Google so that you can use Google Checkout and have your items found using Froogle. It looks interesting and I have seen a number of nice write-ups about it.
• Bidville.com is associated with ubid.com as a partner storefront service. Ubid.com bought these folks about two years ago and I cannot find the "integration" between the bidding and the storefronts.
  

I found a few others, but I am not sure. For example, at tazbar.com, I found this "Authentic 1804 silver doller old US coin RARE!" listed from Shanghai, China to be a bit troublesome. But there is a "Report This Item" button.

 

Then there is epier.com, which looks like a cross between Google and Craig's List. When I went to the front page, I was greeted with three listings for Afghanistan notes. According to it's Announcements page, they've been making a lot of improvements. To me, it does not have a "mature" feel.

 

Is anyone considering moving from eBay? If so, where?

 

Scott

[Revenant]

Could someone give me a link to this "new feedback policy?" I haven't heard anything about this until today. But I haven't been shopping on the Bay in over a month...

[Oldtrader3]

Every coin that this guy from Shanghai lists is counterfeit. A 1948 Morgan dollar, get real! I reported him on several coins let's see if it has any effect.

[Just Bob]

Could someone give me a link to this "new feedback policy?" I haven't heard anything about this until today. But I haven't been shopping on the Bay in over a month...

 

 

Greg has what I assume is a quote from ebay in the first post of this thread.

[CHABSENTIA]

I started going to Teletrade a long time ago. I don't do much on E Bay or Teletrade any more. I have a few coins to complete fro a Morgan set and havent been able to find them on either. I have seen several other issues on APMEX that have better price then E Bay and Teletrade.

 

I am not a Seller but I don't think a Boycott on Ebay would mean anything. I have listed several times on this Forum the different times and/or excuses as well as misleading ads and attitude by the different Sellers.

 

Although they may be in the Minority I am just finding them in the Morgan area for now as this is where I am at and imagine that in other areas they exist also.

 

According to Meg there are 132 Million Sellers on Ebay. If just 1% of them are unscrupolous then you are talking about 1.32 million and that is just 1%.

 

I have looked at other sites and most have very few offerings. In the case of some like Heritage the Auction can last anywhere from 7 days to three weeks

 

 

How many of these 132 million Sellers would Boycott? I know that some are in Europe etc but it seems to me that it would be difficult.How do you organize enough people to make a difference?

 

Would a Boycott be Legal. If Legal then how many Sellers would not participate as they might think E BAy would retaliate? Would they retaliate?

 

Ebay hasn'tg listened to Buyers and Sellers up to now. Why would anhting be different?

 

As I mentioned earler I saw a Program on CNBC where an Expert in Risk Management said that E Bay was lacking in many areas and Automation was the most severe.

 

I think EBAy has chosen not to spend the Money on any such Improvements in the face of Decreasing Sales and has instead decided to make up the difference by raising fees etc in the guise of improving things.

 

They expect to try and make the increasing Sales by expanding into China etc. If they are this narrow minded and obstinate then I doubt if the threat of a Boycott for a few days will have much Impact but who knows?

 

 

I would be interested in knowing if Meg was forced to retire and about her Golden Parachute as I am sure one exists.According to the Show on CNBC and what is happening on EBAy I don't see where her position included much more then flying around in a Plane to "feel good" rallies.

 

 

 

[carson city]

Ebay isn't for everyone----Meg Whitman soon to be John Donahoe

[cpm9ball]

I've gotten to the point where I don't use eBay for anything except my French medals, and I only deal with a select list of sellers.

 

Chris

[BULLY]

 

I also have been looking around at alternatives.

Is anyone considering moving from eBay? If so, where?

 

Scott

 

 

Someone else posted info about an auction site, selling U.S. coins anyway, and it appears INTERESTING, with some more intense oversight by actual coin collectors, committees, and so forth.

 

Clearly, it is more limited in exposure, but, any start-ups will be. There is a blog there though and I saw some positive feedback from new users.

 

Has anyone else heard of it? The site is:

 

http://787900.web001.whp.server-hosting.com/home.aspx

 

ilikecoins.com

 

They are advertising new users register for free and pay NO SELLER FEES until March 1, 2008.

 

You can read more on their web site, but their fee structure seems pretty straightforward as follows:

The only fee paid to ilikecoins will be a flat percentage of the hammer price.

 

ilikecoins will ask for 4.5% for coins with a hammer price up to (and including) $1,000, 3.25% for coins with a hammer price between $1,000.01 and $4,999 and 2.0% for coins with a hammer price equal to or above $5,000. This fee is the sole responsibility of the seller.

 

So here's the question:

 

With all the dissatisfied sellers (at least if you believe the postings on eBay and even on these message boards), and the desire to go elsewhere, and the apparent lack of places to go, WHAT IF this turns out to be a viable place to go?

 

What if MORE OF US going there MAKES IT a more viable place to go?

 

For the record, I have no stake in this site, I've not used it before even. I just read about it from another posting on the message boards, then visited the site, explored it, and didn't hate it. Which got me to thinking: What would make a start up viable? If RELIABLE buyers and sellers used it!

[James_OldeTowne]

More and more, the quality of what I'm willing to list on eBay has declined, to the point where I now use it as a dumping ground for stuff I can't stand to keep around anymore. They have really made it too difficult to be taken as a serious selling venue for me.

 

I would almost characterize eBay has having become downright "creepy". Their policies make no sense at all anymore.

[CHABSENTIA]

For some reason NGC did not publish my quotes in a Financial paper about E Bay. Meg because of EBAY is worth 1.4 Billion Dollars. The Policy reagrding the change of the latest Sellers fees had been made several weeks ago but was announced to co-incide with the announcement of her departure as it was decided that it would go over better with a different CEO

[Zoins]

For some reason NGC did not publish my quotes in a Financial paper about E Bay. Meg because of EBAY is worth 1.4 Billion Dollars. The Policy reagrding the change of the latest Sellers fees had been made several weeks ago but was announced to co-incide with the announcement of her departure as it was decided that it would go over better with a different CEO

Did Meg agree with the change? Did she leave because of the change?

[pendragon1998]

I won't boycott eBay, but I'll be using it less and less. My guess is that they'll have to moderate these changes in order to address the apparently overwhelmingly negative reception they've gotten from sellers (where their income comes from). If the changes cause eBay to hemorrhage sellers, it will affect their bottom line and they'll have to change to something more middle-ground.

[CHABSENTIA]

Meg claims that she suggested the departure as she feels that no CEO should spend more than 10 years in the position. Some things are Public record and some are what the reporter/s are told and there is no way of being certain. The fact is that up until 2 years ago EBay has triple digit income gains and last year it was 30%.

 

 

Donahue and Meg have both been quoted as saying the change in Sellers fees were decided weeks ago and that its announcement was deliberatley rimed to coincide with her departure because they felt it would be received better under a new CEO

 

Donahue claims 100% responsibilty for it and says that it is a Benefit for Sellers in that the biggest fees will be charged only at the successful completion of a Sale and it is good for Buyers because less Money charged for Gallery pictures will mean more pictures and scans for the Buyers to see which in turn will result in more Sales for Sellers because of the added descriptions and photos.

[DC Dawg]

Donahue claims 100% responsibilty for it and says that it is a Benefit for Sellers in that the biggest fees will be charged only at the successful completion of a Sale and it is good for Buyers because less Money charged for Gallery pictures will mean more pictures and scans for the Buyers to see which in turn will result in more Sales for Sellers because of the added descriptions and photos.

The more you make, the more you pay! Sounds like eBay learned a lot from reviewing our tax codes!

 

Scott

[BULLY]

Ilikecoins.com seems to be a site for chinese exploitation with many of their counterfeit coins posted. They are going to have to do a lot better than that to get my business!

 

Well, that's a letdown, but thanks for the tip!

 

Did you see RAW or SLABBED counterfeit coins?

 

 

[CHABSENTIA]

When Eisner left Disney Meg was on the short list but changed her mind when she felt that the Disney Board was in favor of Iger. , Donahue skipped over two more Senior E Bay executives and reported directly to Meg.

 

Meg is now worth 1.4 Billion. Somebody had to pay for it.

[MBA101]

You know, guys, you can list and buy coins at Coinzip for free (for the first year anyway).

 

Not that much traffic yet, but it is new and growing.

 

http://seemyauction.com/

[Hepcat]

But why precisely should a buyer care about these changes and join a boycott?

 

 

 

 

[BULLY]

But why precisely should a buyer care about these changes and join a boycott?

 

 

Well, I'm a long time buyer on eBay (7 years) who was just about to start selling on eBay. I had spent months figuring out how do it, taking their tutorials, and actually UNDERSTANDING their fee-schedule. Then, right before I am about to start selling, BAMMO, the deal changes. A big let down.

 

That's not the real point though.

 

What happens, in general, when fees increase for merchants?

 

If rent increases in malls?

 

If gas prices increase for people who have to transport things a lot?

 

If postage increases for people who have to ship things a lot?

 

If produce costs increase for people who cook a lot?

 

They pass those cost increases to their consumers! Basic economics.

[Oldtrader3]

The stuff that's listed on there now looks ok.

[hoard]

found one today called coinbug.com

 

I have not checked it out so I am unable to comment.

[jackson64]

raising the seller fees will probably mean we'll now see $7 "shipping" costs for the buyers to get a dime mailed to them in an envelope...

 

seriously though, I feel bad for young album collectors...$2-3 hole fillers are gonna disappear..

[pendragon1998]

Either disappear or - more likely - get lumped into larger lots. Nobody is complaining about the lack of $0.10 hole fillers.

[CHABSENTIA]

Exactly. Cost will get passed on.

[DC Dawg]

Has anyone tried auctionblip.com?

 

Scott

 

[Zoins]

Are there any real alternatives? ... aside from the large auction houses that is.

[jackson64]

I registered at coinbug.com that was referenced here...still checking the site out but the prices are not overblown and a low, flat monthly listing fee seems like a good idea....more will be revealed..

[coinman1794]

I've been selling exclusively on ebay for over 8 years, and I've watched their pricing tactics devolve over time. I saw the writing on the wall recently and started my own website. I hope to at least eventually decrease my ebay transactions. It will take time though.

 

DM RARE COINS Website

 

[CoinZip]

I'm already Boycotting them.....and its not only because of the fees, its also because of the feedback changes.

 

 

I started coinzip to help people find coin clubs, coin dealers, & coin shows.

 

With the recent ebay changes, I figured I would have to find another place to market my numismatic goods. Since the core site was getting decent traffic I figured an online auction service could enhance the site.

 

My main concern is to provide a cost friendly market place for sellers. Sellers are the key, they provide the main attraction, the goods being sold.

 

CoinZip is offering the online auction service FREE for 1 year. After the 1 year trial the only fee will be $3.99 a month for sellers, no matter how many items you have listed.

 

 

Alan Stullenbarger

[DC Dawg]

I've been selling exclusively on ebay for over 8 years, and I've watched their pricing tactics devolve over time. I saw the writing on the wall recently and started my own website. I hope to at least eventually decrease my ebay transactions. It will take time though.

 

DM RARE COINS Website

Hey coinman... I am not being obnoxious, but isn't ProStores an eBay company? If so, then what's the point of not being on eBay when you are using one of their companies?

 

Scott