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Is eBay Worse Than Early Sears Catalogs?
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?"
Whoever wrote the article is basically blind in one eye and can't see out the other. The author is saying ebay, a box-jelly fish, should behave like Sears, which is an elephant.
Sears, Roebuck & Company is a retailer. They sell products to consumers. Because Sears is the seller, it is up to Sears to provide compelling terms for buyers to stand out from the rest of the mail order, door to door and local store hucksters.
Ebay is an auction. They allow one person to sell something to another. It isn't up to Ebay to provide protections. It's up to the buyer and seller to agree on them.
-- $G
This is a classic apples and oranges debate. Ebay is a marketplace, a global yard sale if you will. Ebay does not sell anything. You pay them to populate their database. Does your local newspaper offer return services if you don't like the "lightly used weight bench" from the classified advertisement section? No. So then why should Ebay? Ebay is self policing. The feedback system (for the most part) ensures that the buyer will actually buy, and the seller will actually ship their product as described. I realise the feedback system can be tricked, but it takes a lot of time and effort and money to drive up your feedback just to rip off someone. And that an account can be stolen. These are known problems with the system, there are similar problems in the real world. The internet is not a magic bullet that will solve everything. It solves some problems, and adds new ones to the mix. "Caveat emptor" remains in place. Use your real-world sense of intuition. "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is". At the very worst, Ebay is evolving from a garage sale to a flea market.
I hate sigs.
Tinfoil taken off. Have you heard about scams where some people have registered many times to eBay and have given good feedback to theirselves using these other accounts? Well, I have BUT I couldn't find an article in the net anymore. I guess you understand anyway how easy it basically is.
You're absolutely right -- eBay has too many customers and there isn't enough competition. There should be more auction sites that have excellent customer service policies and better fraud protection. Only then will the consumers be served properly.
-Jem