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Is eBay Worse Than Early Sears Catalogs?

Posted by timothy on from the very-worst-except-for-the-rest dept.

prostoalex writes "The New York Times claims eBay can learn a lot from the early Sears catalogs, which promised unconditional returns (postage paid by Sears) in case there is any dissatisfaction with the product even if the product behaves exactly as described. Apparently eBay is doing something right, but with no buyer protection, no seller authentication, and no desire to participate in seller-buyer conflicts, no return policy, can the business model be sustained?"

6 of 438 comments (clear)

  1. Re:After this long by sotonboy · · Score: 2, Funny

    Im surprised theyre still there not because of their business model, but because its not really that cheap. Often you see things selling on there for more than you would pay in a shop, with all the extra protection that gives you. Any shop stuff is definitely new.

  2. This is a really stupid question by brokeninside · · Score: 4, Funny
    Ebay has been in business for over ten years now. They have been profitable for most of that time.

    And the submitter is asking if the business model is sustainable?

  3. The deciding factor … by Compact+Dick · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... is the jerk-worthy quality of the lingerie section.

    --
    Use ISO 8601 dates [YYYY-MM-DD]
  4. Excelent article! by becauseiamgod · · Score: 2, Funny

    Excelent article! Will read again! A++++++++++++++++++++++

  5. Yup by Anne_Nonymous · · Score: 4, Funny

    >> Is eBay Worse Than Early Sears Catalogs?

    As a former out-house owner, I have to say, "Yup". You can't wipe your ass with eBay.

  6. How Cheap can they get? by PetoskeyGuy · · Score: 2, Funny

    I saw a table selling nothing but Childrens Games on CD's that had obviously been stolen from the outside of Cereal Boxes. The CD's even had printed on them not for retail sale or something like that. Only $10 each. I think I told about 15 people that he stole them from Cereal boxes. I don't know what happened after that, but the other people seemed like they would take care of it. :o)