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Ebay: Yes, Speedy Shipping Really Is a Thing With Us (cnet.com)

Fast shipping is -- finally -- no longer all about Amazon. From a report on CNET: On Monday, eBay announced it will offer a new guaranteed-delivery program in the US starting this summer, pledging deliveries in three or fewer days for more than 20 million products. For the first time, Ebay's shoppers will be able to filter searches to see only items guaranteed to arrive in one, two or three days. "We know we need to continue to up our game on shipping," Hal Lawton, eBay's senior vice president of North America, said in an interview. [...] It's worth noting, though, that this Ebay announcement doesn't actually speed up deliveries on the site. Many professional sellers on Ebay have already been providing these faster deliveries, in some cases for years. Ebay, which says 63 percent of packages sold through its site arrive in three days or less, has been offering customers more conservative delivery estimates because it doesn't ship directly.

63 comments

  1. Hopefully better than amazon. by Lumpy · · Score: 2

    Amazon's same day and even 2 day shipping is rarely on time. Heck even the amazon NOW service here at work is rarely within the 2 hours promised.

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    1. Re:Hopefully better than amazon. by WaffleMonster · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Amazon's same day and even 2 day shipping is rarely on time. Heck even the amazon NOW service here at work is rarely within the 2 hours promised.

      This is going to be a problem given the number of eBay sellers with no inventory using Amazon as a drop shipping service.

    2. Re:Hopefully better than amazon. by sims+2 · · Score: 1

      Complain iirc there's a free month of prime for every time they miss a guaranteed delivery.

      With that said most of the time mine are on time or early but I have had things arrive late and once never arrive at all.

      On the 2 hour thing is much available or is that just a few select things? It's not available here.

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    3. Re:Hopefully better than amazon. by beanpoppa · · Score: 2

      Must be a regional issue. Here in NJ, my Prime orders consistently come in 2 days, even when day 2 falls on Sunday. The only exception I've had in the past several months was last week when we had a major snow storm, and a couple of items were pushed back a day.

    4. Re:Hopefully better than amazon. by kangsterizer · · Score: 2

      ebay fast and free is always faster for me than amazon prime 2 days. yet on ebay its not 99USD/year... and the products are usually cheaper on ebay.
      The things i miss on ebay are ease of search and decent quality user reviews, and last but definitely not least, good customer support.

      If a vendor messes stuff up on ebay changes are that you're going to have to call your bank. Amazon is the sharp opposite.

    5. Re:Hopefully better than amazon. by PoopJuggler · · Score: 1

      Never had a problem with Amazon Prime. Might depend on how close you live to a hub, though.

    6. Re:Hopefully better than amazon. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Amazon's same day and even 2 day shipping is rarely on time. Heck even the amazon NOW service here at work is rarely within the 2 hours promised.

      Could be where you live. My deliveries are always early (and no I don't live in our near a city).

    7. Re:Hopefully better than amazon. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Amazon's same day and even 2 day shipping is rarely on time. Heck even the amazon NOW service here at work is rarely within the 2 hours promised.

      I find the opposite true.

    8. Re:Hopefully better than amazon. by known_coward_69 · · Score: 1

      Amazon has a huge warehouse around Edison and at least one more in Pennsylvania with UPS and Fedex stopping by nightly for pickups

    9. Re:Hopefully better than amazon. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Amazon is turning into every other retailer. It still is 2 day shipping, its just that they don't ship it out for 2 days and then takes 2 days to get to you! See, 2 day shipping! Now if they said 2 day shipping & handling...

    10. Re:Hopefully better than amazon. by pscottdv · · Score: 2

      No way. My eBay orders have been shipping within hours while Amazon has been taking 2 or 3 days. Ebay seller's prices are usually lower, too.

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    11. Re:Hopefully better than amazon. by imidan · · Score: 1

      I counter your anecdote with my own. My 2-day orders are almost always on-time, with very few exceptions over the last few years. In fact, I ordered an item with 5-day delivery that was supposed to arrive day after tomorrow but came today.

    12. Re:Hopefully better than amazon. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      maybe where you live. in MA and SC it usually arrived early.

    13. Re:Hopefully better than amazon. by Scarletdown · · Score: 1

      ebay fast and free is always faster for me than amazon prime 2 days. yet on ebay its not 99USD/year... and the products are usually cheaper on ebay.
      The things i miss on ebay are ease of search and decent quality user reviews, and last but definitely not least, good customer support.

      If a vendor messes stuff up on ebay changes are that you're going to have to call your bank. Amazon is the sharp opposite.

      eBay's "Fast and Free" is not any sort of program that can be compared to Amazon Prime, and is really something eBay has no control over. That is just a little icon that gets put on listings that meet the requirements for Fast and Free. And if I remember right, that requirement is one day or same day handling and "free" shipping (which is simply the sellers rolling worst case scenario domestic shipping into their asking price, and calling it "free" shipping.) It is still up to the seller to get the item in the mail within their handling time, and they are still at the mercy of the carriers, whether it is USPS, UPS, FedEx, or any other.

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    14. Re:Hopefully better than amazon. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This this this. About to sever ties with Amazon completely due to the """free""" (with $100/year membership) 2-day shipping takes 5-7 days every single time. I could order at like 5 AM Monday, and no matter what my package isn't getting delivered until the next Monday. Amazon has gone to complete shit, I'd say it's gotten to almost Ebay tier garbage.

  2. Why is this news? by rebelwarlock · · Score: 2

    This just seems like an advertising of their new shipping services. I don't see anything that constitutes news.

    1. Re:Why is this news? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Except eBay doesn't really have any shipping services; the sellers are responsible for shipping, which usually means shipments are in the hands of the USPS, which doesn't guarantee delivery times (and often misses its estimates). So what this really means is that eBay is creating a new program for a select group of large sellers who are willing to pay out refunds every time the USPS takes too long in exchange for premium access to customers. eBay has been raising requirements for its Top Rated Seller designation for years now, to the point where only corporate sellers qualify and individuals can pound sand. Meanwhile, as postage rates and eBay/PayPal fees keep going up, it will cease to be profitable to sell anything on eBay that isn't also available at Amazon, Walmart, and anywhere else, removing any reason to shop on eBay. Their endgame seems to be a second-rate Amazon clone that doesn't do anything except facilitate transactions. ... Profit!

    2. Re:Why is this news? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're a bit full of it. I was easily able to get Top Seller by getting rid of junk from local auctions. I was surprised at how easy it was to get it.

    3. Re: Why is this news? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dave Hester you are not a small guu

    4. Re:Why is this news? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Meanwhile, as postage rates and eBay/PayPal fees keep going up, it will cease to be profitable to sell anything on eBay

      I tried selling stuff in the early 2000's and the fees were too high to make a profit, I've looked at it again recently and they seem much more reasonable than they were then. I guess it's a matter of perspective.

      Why is this news?

      Slashdot changed their motto to "news for prosumers, stuff that never mattered" a long time ago.

    5. Re:Why is this news? by Scarletdown · · Score: 1

      You're a bit full of it. I was easily able to get Top Seller by getting rid of junk from local auctions. I was surprised at how easy it was to get it.

      TRS requirements for eBay sellers...

      Top Rated Seller requirements

      To become a Top Rated Seller your eBay account must have been active for at least 90 days. You must also meet sales and tracking requirements and performance standards.

      Sales requirements:

              You have at least 100 transactions with US buyers over the most recent 12-month period.

              You have at least $1,000 in sales with US buyers over the most recent 12-month period.

      Tracking requirements:

      You've uploaded valid shipment tracking to My eBay within your promised handling time for at least 90% of transactions with US buyers in the last 3 months.

      And there is a 2% or lower transaction "defect" rate during your most recent evaluation period.

      So yeah, it is pretty easy to get TRS if you sell regularly. I have several different selling accounts for various purposes and types of products, and most of them (except for the two non-store accounts) have received and lost TRS status several times over the years. The reason mine ever lose it is due to eBay suddenly "not showing" my listings for whatever reason even in searches where they should definitely be shown, causing me to miss the sales count requirement.

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    6. Re:Why is this news? by Scarletdown · · Score: 1

      Meanwhile, as postage rates and eBay/PayPal fees keep going up, it will cease to be profitable to sell anything on eBay

      I tried selling stuff in the early 2000's and the fees were too high to make a profit, I've looked at it again recently and they seem much more reasonable than they were then. I guess it's a matter of perspective.

      Why is this news?

      Slashdot changed their motto to "news for prosumers, stuff that never mattered" a long time ago.

      eBay's final value fees for non-store accounts have been a flat 10% throughout most of this century, and store FvFs range from 4% to 9% depending on the category. Of course, they also charge the same rate on the shipping that you charge the buyer as well. At least if an otem goes outside the U.S. though, they only charge based on the lowest domestic rate shown in your listing. So if you were to ship a 10 pound parcel off to Australia, and your listing showed domestic "free" shipping, then you would not be charged anything at all on the postage the buyer paid.

      And then PayPal fees on top of that are either 2.9% plus 10 cents or 5% plus 5 cents (if you have a micro payments account to use with items under $12). The standard rate seems to be on par with Etsy's Direct Checkout and the former Google Checkout (though initially GC was actually lower than PayPal...which would explain back then eBay's lies about GC not being an approved online payment due to "safety" concerns.

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  3. I'd really like to see competition for Amazon... by QuietLagoon · · Score: 2

    ... but I have a difficult time trusting many of the vendors on EBay. There have been far too many scams on EBay in the past, and I'm not convinced EBay has grown past that phase of their life. Additionally, the emphasis on PayPal with the EBay vendors is not good in my eyes.

  4. Re:I'd really like to see competition for Amazon.. by sims+2 · · Score: 1

    It's not really the vendor's fault that they require paypal it's just that they aren't allowed to accept many other payment methods as per ebay policy.

    Imho support for things like amazon payments and google wallet is very long overdue but especially since they "split" from paypal but yet paypal is still deeply integrated and used for verification and such.

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  5. Prime shipping very reliable by sjbe · · Score: 2

    Amazon's same day and even 2 day shipping is rarely on time.

    I place about 150 orders per year through Amazon Prime and the number that have arrived late I can count on my fingers. Maybe it's different where you live but Amazon is extremely reliable about shipping times to where I live in Michigan. The only times I've had trouble have been when UPS or USPS have dropped the ball.

    1. Re:Prime shipping very reliable by pscottdv · · Score: 1

      I don't have Prime and Amazon have become terrible about shipping quickly. I think they are trying to punish me into buying prime. Instead I have started purchasing from eBay.

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  6. I'd like Amazon to quit becoming Ebay by swb · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    I'd like Amazon to quit being Ebay. Filter off the crap, stop merging SKUs with third party sellers who often sell old revs, fake items or other problematic inventory. Be more aggressive about knock-off products.

    If I want to buy a shitty Chinese clone that's probably been already opened, I'll go to Ebay, thanks, or better yet, skip Ebay and go to Craigslist.

    1. Re: I'd like Amazon to quit becoming Ebay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LOL, here on the eBay side, we wish they'd stop trying to be Amazon.

    2. Re:I'd like Amazon to quit becoming Ebay by sims+2 · · Score: 1

      The thing I like most about ebay is that there are still a large number of sellers that take pictures of their actual items for the listings while amazon is almost entirely stock photos.

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  7. eBay problems - buyers and sellers by sjbe · · Score: 2

    ... but I have a difficult time trusting many of the vendors on EBay.

    If you pay PayPal and follow eBay's rules and it's largely a non-issue. (yes I know how people feel about PayPal) It's not always convenient but you can almost always get your money back if the deal goes south. I buy stuff like surplus tooling with some regularity on eBay and I rarely have a problem. By and large if you look at things with a skeptical eye and read all the fine print you should have too much trouble.

    I used to make my living selling stuff on eBay and I assure you that there are WAY more problem buyers than sellers. I've had people send me countless fake money orders, refuse to pay, complain about every aspect of the auction despite it being clearly stated (they couldn't be bothered to read), and try every scam in the book. I've even had people buy something and "return" it when in fact what they put in the box were literally rocks.

    1. Re:eBay problems - buyers and sellers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can always get your money back, period. And if the seller doesn't offer returns, you can get shipping refunded too. eBay puts all of the risk on the seller and will always trust the buyer even if they admit to pulling a scam in eBay's own messaging system.

    2. Re:eBay problems - buyers and sellers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I quit selling on eBay for this very reason... burning by asswipe buyers.

    3. Re:eBay problems - buyers and sellers by QuietLagoon · · Score: 1

      If you pay PayPal and follow eBay's rules and it's largely a non-issue.

      I disagree. I sold something. The recipient said there was nothing in the box when he received it. Payment is taken back and I no longer have the item.

      .
      How is that handled?

    4. Re:eBay problems - buyers and sellers by kobaz · · Score: 1

      The problem with the 'buyer is always 200% correct' mentality at ebay can screw small sellers. Or if you only sell something once or twice a year. You're better off using craigslist.

      I sold a generator head to a guy on ebay, packed the item perfectly, it got delivered without damage and the guy couldn't figure out how to get it working so I got stuck with having paid the shipping out to the other coast AND the seller fee. I had to issue a chargeback to ebay and fight for two weeks to get the seller fee off my account. Just sell larger ticket items ($100+) locally... not worth the hassle. What nerve does ebay have to charge you a fee for an item that's now un-sold and expects you to pay to sell it again. No thank you.

      There are loopholes to the 'buyer is always 200% correct' policy as well. I bought some rare LPs on ebay for a friend and one arrived warped and unplayable, they were supposed to be Near Mint A+. So at $125, I damn well wanted my money back. So I had to escalate the issue through three different levels because the buyer refused to provide a refund and return shipping. So ebay's 100% money back guarantee is bullshit, because when ebay forced the refund back to me and I mailed the item back. Ebay does not count shipping and delivery within the time window for returns, so now the seller has my item and ebay deducted the refund back off my account. I immediately unlinked my bank account and blocked all further transactions from ebay. Luckily I had recently sold an expensive item and had $100 in seller fees due on my account. So I refused to pay because ebay still owes me the $125. They suspended my account because of the seller fees and every 'supervisor' I talked to could not credit my account the difference I had lost. So I cut my losses and just refuse to do business with them.

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  8. They already lost me as a customer by houghi · · Score: 1

    I am not buying anything from them anymore due to the spam they (or their resellers) are sending me.

    I have my own domain and have a different mail address per website. e.g. ebay.com@example.net That way I can see if the email is really coming from that company or if the email was given to somebody else.
    In the years I use this system, the ONLY company that I have caught is Ebay.

    So I killed the account and won't buy from them anymore.

    Yes, I know I have probably not deselection a non-opt-in denial of not sending the emails or whatever they wrote. They knew what they where doing. When I deselected it, the resellers already had by email and I started to receive emails from others as well.
    If they are unable to keep my Email private, I am not sure how they can do so with the rest, so I voted with my wallet.

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  9. Better than Canada by Frederic54 · · Score: 1

    Where we buy everything from China and it takes 3-4 months to arrive...

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    "Science will win because it works." - Stephen Hawking
    1. Re:Better than Canada by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Really only a couple of weeks to get stuff shipped directly from China. That's a lot better than getting stuff from US where fake "import" charges are added to the bill *FOR NO REASON AT ALL*. I never purchase from ebay vendors that use that scam.

    2. Re:Better than Canada by MeanE · · Score: 1

      This year my cheapo ebay packages from China have been taking 2 months instead of the usual 1. I hear it's because they have stepped up scanning for fentanyl coming in Chinese packages.

  10. Yes, speedy, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I bought a piece of test equipment that was simply placed in a cardboard box and sent on its way. No padding, no protection for the front panel.
    Of course it arrived dented. It was a 8$ test pattern generator, but still, if you want good word of mouth, getting things to arrive as shown, not only on time, would help a lot. Especially when planning future purchases.

  11. does anybody else... by 0110011001110101 · · Score: 1

    ...miss ebay from the late 90s? When real people sold real crap from their house.. and it was a deal. Ughhh.. get off my grass.

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  12. Re:GNAA Announcement - BLACKS ARE DUMB. Gay nigger by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But wait... how do we tell if they're black?

  13. Nice advert by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nice advert for both Amazon and eBay. However, as far as I am aware, next-day delivery has been the norm since the dawn of online shopping pretty much everywhere in Europe. I can't imagine North America being much different in that regard.

  14. Chinese shipping depends on how much you pay by MindPrison · · Score: 3, Informative

    I've been doing eBay shopping since 1998.

    And if there is ONE thing I've learned, is that the lower you bid, the slower it ships. Doesn't matter if the two promises the same shipping times.
    Also, the cheaper you go - the lower quality you'll get at the exact same product range. Because a lot of them will ship the lowest bidders the shittiest quality of the batch (kind of logical, don't ya think?).

    And a above 90% seller success rate sounds nice, right? Wrong! You'd be amazed how many problems you'll have with sellers under 96% even at 97% good feedback. The trick is to look at their negative feedback, or / and their neutral feedback and see what happens for each individual product. The product is important here, because the same seller could earn a 100% feedback reputation on selling socks, but sell shoddy factory rejected production Arduinos with a feedback of 20% and less - and still earn a pretty penny. Many of the Chinese sellers just sells these by the thousands because it sells - they have NO clue what they're actually selling besides fake shoe brands etc.

    The thing you need to watch out for - is the sellers that will tell you "please wait 40+ days because of your customs" etc... You know as well as I do that your customs don't give a hoot about your 2 dollar arduino, so if it takes 40+ days, and the seller says, please be patient, it's because the nickel-and-dime croock only wants to hoist good feedback while your complaint expires. Never accept this. Complain immediately. Down the bad sellers now, do not delay!

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    1. Re:Chinese shipping depends on how much you pay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Down the bad sellers, and they will leave negative feedback. Meaning that in the future, people will pay less for your items when you sell them as they don't trust you.

      Sadly, doing the right thing for "the community" is not the right thing for you in this instance.

    2. Re:Chinese shipping depends on how much you pay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sheesh! It's been many years since the last time you went on ebay. Sellers can't left negative / neutral feedback to buyers anymore since at least 5 years.

  15. Shipping cannot be faster than parcel shippers by aglider · · Score: 1

    I mean, if a delivery service can sell same day shipping or 1-day shipping (and it actually does it), then you too can. But if the delivery services are just a 2-day shipping, then there is little you can effectively do.

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  16. Yet Global Shipping Program still a rip off by caseih · · Score: 1

    This is all great for American customers, but everywhere else they've been foisting the Global Shipping Program scam on us. Rather than let the seller use something economical like USPS to ship to, say, Canada, they pressure sellers to use the Global Shipping Program which gouges the buyers, sometimes by doubling the shipping costs. But, they say, we handle all the import fees and duties. Except that for many products that we typically buy in Canada, there are no duties. USPS packages come right to my door with no additional charges. Because of this problem, I hardly use Ebay anymore. Sometimes I can contact the seller and get them to switch shipping methods, but only if there are no bids from anyone on the item. Also the GSP claims they will package multiple items from the same vendor into one package, saving money. But that's apparently untrue.

    1. Re:Yet Global Shipping Program still a rip off by RubberDogBone · · Score: 1

      Thanks for explaining that. Sold on ebay for ~20 years but never heard of GSP. Sounds ghastly.

      I used to do international all the time in my previous job and we always used Fedex or LTL freight, never the mail. All the customs stuff was integrated and easy to do as long as it wasn't being mailed. Fedex made it a snap. Never had one issue with paperwork or customs or duties.

      Our Canada office always used UPS to ship to US offices. Everybody was careful to avoid US Mail or Canada Post.

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    2. Re:Yet Global Shipping Program still a rip off by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Any items over $20 are always subject to HST (or GST). Always. Additional duties are sometimes levied.

      The USPS shipments that you weren't billed for were probably declared at or below $20.

      The entire purpose of the GSP is to avoid UPS (and others) screwing you over with massive brokerage fees on top of the HST/GST/duty.

    3. Re:Yet Global Shipping Program still a rip off by caseih · · Score: 1

      For shipping to Canada, I've always found UPS to be a rip-off as well. They gouge on customs charges also. Half the time they'll charge the recipient even more money upon delivery, after the fee already paid by the shipper. I once one a free jacket in a drawing, and the company shipped it to me from their head office in ND by UPS, and UPS charged me $45 to receive the thing. And as near as I could tell, that was just to pay for the customs form UPS had to fill out and file with the Canadian government (no duties were actually charged me). I'll avoid UPS at all costs. If I really need something and they can't avoid UPS, I'll ship it to a location at the US border and drive down and pick it up myself.

  17. Better be fast by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Given that most vendors charge $47.50 to ship a $5.00 object, the shipping better be fast!

    1. Re:Better be fast by RubberDogBone · · Score: 1

      The cost is dictated by size and weight. I've shipped many five-six pound items that were bulky and cost $50 to ship. No matter if using USPS, Fedex, UPS, whatever, the cost was expensive. Thankfully I take this cost into account for my auctions. And I eat the cost of the box I have to supply (these are anywhere from $2 to $8 each!) and packing materials (bubble wrap is fucking expensive).

      So I not only don't make money on shipping, I lose money. And then some doofus demands a refund because the USPS is late with delivery. The only way the eBay process could be more abusive to sellers is if they outright just took the merchandise and stole it. Oh wait, they fucking do that too when a buyer says they didn't get the item or it was a fake or some other BS. They take back what the person paid and let them keep the merchandise. So the seller is out the merchandise, the postage, the money to pay for those things and still has to pay eBay for the sale fees.

      It's a fucking scam at this point.

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    2. Re:Better be fast by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      People think that the cost of shipping something is in some way based on the cost of the item, rather than the weight and the distance. They also assume that the shipping cost per pound will be less for small packages than for big ones. Some people say, "Why can't you ship around the world for free?" People are funny.

    3. Re:Better be fast by Scarletdown · · Score: 1

      People think that the cost of shipping something is in some way based on the cost of the item, rather than the weight and the distance. They also assume that the shipping cost per pound will be less for small packages than for big ones. Some people say, "Why can't you ship around the world for free?" People are funny.

      An even bigger problem with shipping cost complaints is due to the way the USPS, eBay, and the Chinese government worked out the e-packet deal, so that shipping from China to the U.S. can be done for far far less than shipping a small package across town domestically. They think that since the Chinese can ship for "free" (not realizing that they roll their government subsidized shipping cost into their price), then domestic sellers must be ripping them off.

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  18. That won't fix what's wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Rampant shill bidding cannot be fixed with free shipping. Ebay is a sick joke.

  19. Re:I'd really like to see competition for Amazon.. by QuietLagoon · · Score: 1

    It's not really the vendor's fault that they require paypal

    I didn't say it was. Indeed, the rest of your message confirms what I see about EBay's apparent emphasis of PayPal.

  20. Fuck you and your pay pal. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You suck big donkey dicks Amazon rules.

  21. HOW SWEET by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That would be a nice ..umm...thought IF they actually shipped anything.

    Some plug because something changed at eBay i guess, move along.

  22. Returns by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Last year I ordered over 450 items from Amazon and about 5 from eBay. I can't see that trend changing anytime soon.

    Why? Amazon's return policy.
      No-one makesit any easier than Amazon. If I get a fault HDD from eBay or another retailer , it could be days of back and fourth with diagnostics, more days to return it, and weeks for tests and processing before a replacement is on the way. With Amazon, I just looked a few buttons, a day or two later a new HDD arrives and I have a while month you return the faulty one.

    I'd guarantee that if anyone could beat Amazon at their returns policy and customer service, they'd be billionaires within weeks.

  23. Problem buyers != problem sellers by sjbe · · Score: 1

    I disagree. I sold something. The recipient said there was nothing in the box when he received it. Payment is taken back and I no longer have the item.

    That happens sometimes but I'm talking about how buyers protect themselves, not sellers. You are basically backing up what I'm saying that there are more buyers who are crooks than sellers.

    Best advice I can give for a seller is to document, document, document. Take pictures of the product going into the box and have witnesses. Make sure you have evidence of the weight of the package and the item. Only ship via traceable services. Use an escrow service if you are really worried or if the item is especially valuable (eBay offers one). Don't sell anything on eBay you cannot afford to lose. There is no way to perfectly keep all crooks from trying to scam you but I've sold probably 15000 items on eBay over the years and over 99% of the buyers are perfectly fine. We had trouble with about 1% of buyers (mostly hard to please people) and about 0.1% were people actually trying to rip us off.

  24. Selling on eBay by sjbe · · Score: 1

    The problem with the 'buyer is always 200% correct' mentality at ebay can screw small sellers. Or if you only sell something once or twice a year. You're better off using craigslist.

    Speaking from personal experience I would agree. Selling on eBay can be a risky pain in the butt. Never sell anything you can't afford to lose. You might have to take it back even if you do nothing wrong and the item is perfect so take that into account too.

    I was a pretty big seller at one point and I can assure you that eBay isn't friendly with big sellers either. But being a small seller is definitely risky. One or two bad bits of feedback can really screw you hard.

  25. But don't think you get any tangible warranty by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Used ebay to buu product. Product gets delivered but doesn't power on. Contacted vendor, no reply, contacted ebay after minimal waiting period, get reply that says product is delivered as described in the ad. Case closed and money lost.