Patricia013

eBay: Where Did All the Fun Go?

@Philip - I explained myself numerous times. I'm not going to continue to beat a dead horse. If shill bidding was what Ebay wanted to cover up they would have come out with hidden bidder ID's YEARS ago. No, they came out with it only after they realized buyers were up in arms at getting ripped off by second chance scammers. Nuff said. You have your opinion and I have mine.

eBay: Where Did All the Fun Go?

I'm afraid we'll have to agree to disagree. I know that hidden bidder ID's were instituted in order for Ebay to keep on with the second chance offers. Before that people were getting ripped off left and right. Sellers even began putting in their listings that there will be no second chance offers connected to this listing and if you are contacted it is a scam. There is NO doubt in my mind that hidden bidder ID's were instituted for that purpose alone. Frankly, Ebay never much cared about shill bidding. Once in awhile they'd catch one if the shillers were blatant enough - but they never put their heart into it. Afterall shill bidders weren't costing them one extra dime. As to the UK site - that's not my bag - someone informed on their side of the planet will have to talk for them...it won't be me.

You keep bringing up auctionbytes. I have the greatest respect for Ina and David Steiner - doesn't mean I always agree with them. Shill bidding ALWAYS was rampant on Ebay and probably almost to the extent it is now. Whereas second chance offers were relatively new and hidden bidder ID's came out only after people began getting ripped off in large amounts by scammers and the second chance offers. Nuff said on the subject. You can agree or disagree but you won't change my stance on it one inch ;-)

eBay: Where Did All the Fun Go?

Ebay's management team had their pays frozen to 2008 levels earlier this year when the disasterous 4th quarter of last year came out...and another disasterous quarter this year. I can't wait to see the next quarter result. One more disasterous quarter and Donahoe will have run out of excuses and a wait and see attitude.

Philip - you and I are in agreement - except for the hidden bidder ID's and whether it was done to stop scammers from capitalizing on second chance offers (which it was) or whether it is allowing rampant shill bidding - is really a moot point. Either way we both know that hidden bidder ID's is NOT good and is there simply to benefit Ebay and for no other reason. Every time they do something for the "safety" of their users - you have to figure out what's in it for them this time....such as using Paypal and getting rid of paper payments like moneyorders and checks or the 21 to 180 day holds on funds to sellers! They don't even try to cover up the greed anymore.

I believe Donahoe is desperate long about now. One more bad quarter and the board is seriously going to think about letting him float away on his golden parachute - perhaps thats why he's now sitting on Intel's board....a foot in the door so to speak. Time will tell. I just hope it happens before its far too late for ebay. Ebay has helped me thru the years and now to see it floundering this way is way too sad! :-(

eBay: Where Did All the Fun Go?

@Philip - LOL I got several of those scammer second chance offers right thru Ebay's email! Some were even on items where no second chance was possible since they were one of a kind items.

The real question is when will Donahoe admit he's on the wrong track and a train is coming straight at him! As a seller, I've lost 90 percent of my business due to Donahoe's bungling. I sell one of a kind items - but he has chased so much traffic away with his outrageous policies and huge final value fees. Without traffic almost everyone's sales are down. Hence the bleeding of sellers (who are also buyers). These are the real reasons Ebay is dying. Sniping and shilling and scamming have been going on since day one! Now its an excuse? Sorry, that just doesn't float.

Here's an example. I wanted to list a painting last night - something a bit special. Starting bid only 39.95 - regular listing fee 1.00 - if I featured it (meaning it would be on the top of the page it normally appears on) that would cost me 14.95 besides the final value fee. Ebay would take almost half if it sold. With the type of traffic these days it probably won't even sell. Ebay is greedily charging for traffic it no longer has! Should I list it elsewhere....you bet! Has about the same chance of selling as on the other venues for far less money. These are the things that are killing Ebay! These are the things veteran sellers have been complaining about this past year - on top of that put the stranglehold policies ebay has placed on sellers like 21 day holds of their money - disputes that end in the seller losing his item and his money and suspensions due to the whim of a buyer and those are FAR MORE IMPORTANT than anything I've read in articles lately - those are some of the true causes as to why Ebay is dying!

eBay: Where Did All the Fun Go?

@Philip - don't feel bad thinking snipers and shills are killing ebay. The other day I read an article that said sites like facebook, myspace, youtube were killing ebay. What social sites have to do with a selling site is beyond my logic for sure. Everybody takes a poke at what is killing Ebay...simply look up...to the offices of John Donahoe and his team and you've got the reason right there! Ebay needed some refurb - some excitment generated - some really good advertising - like the Jack in the Box CEO with his giant ball head did for that company. Ebay did not need "disruptive innovation" that should have been saved for a company on its last leg - not for a multi-billion dollar company that held a unique business model - a tight monopoly on the internet. Ebay's board of directors are definitely either stupid or asleep at the wheel. I hope they wake up before its too late.

eBay: Where Did All the Fun Go?

"Fraudulent SCOs were effectively stopped when eBay blocked access to users’ direct email addresses"

Sorry, that's not true. Scammers were contacting losing bidders right thru Ebay's own email....which made it seem even more legitimate. Even now - I can contact ANY Ebay user right thru the same emails. Now, if I had a spare ID and was scamming bidders in this manner - who is there to stop me? More than one got scammed by these second chance offers - to the point where people were asking Ebay to do away with them - they made the sellers look bad when these bidders never got their item. Ebay...never ready to let go of a single dollar then came out with hidden bidder ID's and that put a stop to scamming second chance offers. If it improved shill bidding...so what? Ebay got their end of the second chance money and that's what they really cared about.

eBay: Where Did All the Fun Go?

@philip cohen - don't have to read it - I've been well aware of shill bidding for the past 10 plus years. Hidden ID's have allowed shill bidding to run rampant - much worse then what it was - nobody is afraid of getting "caught" anymore. Why did Ebay hide ID's? Simply to save its second chance offers - which were being scammed unmercifully. Ebay goes for the money - not for what is right or what is safe! Incidentally - I was once on one of their community groups - we went thru the listings spotting shills and frauds and reported them weekly in a phone meeting with our group leader - an Ebay employee. Do you know how many times I reported the same people? Over and over again - with them getting an occasional tiny slap on the wrist once in awhile. After awhile most of us left - refusing waste our time to play Ebay's futile little games! Yes, I know about shills, fraud and Ebay. I know a LOT about it!

eBay: Where Did All the Fun Go?

You do understand that shill bidding and proxy bidding are two entirely different things? One really has little to do with the other.

eBay: Where Did All the Fun Go?

Do you really think sellers losing money to buyers who want to get an item as cheaply as possible is fun? Fun for who? As for shill bidding that's been going on since day one. Nothing new there - the hidden ID's only makes it easier. No, the fun has been squeezed out this past year by very bad management! Less sellers, less buyers, less traffic less fun.

eBay: Where Did All the Fun Go?

Oh - the poppycock statement was meant for the article and not for posters here.

eBay: Where Did All the Fun Go?

"As to what killed the fun in eBay auctions, one thing was the development of computerized sniping programs--you are battling a competitor you've fought a number of times before--and someone comes in 5 seconds before the end of the auction with a computerized snipe taking it away from both of you--with no time for you to react (and of course now you don't even know who you is competing against you--it's all anonymous) "

LOL - have you never heard of Ebay proxy? You put in the amount you're willing to spend on an item and Ebay will keep your bid up until you win or run out of money. If the bid goes over your proxy - well then, you bid the most you were willing to spend on it. Your argument does not hold water because a sniper also has to put in the amount they're willing to spend on that item.

What is killing Ebay is all the draconian policies and treating sellers like crooks - both good and bad sellers. Empowering buyers - even scammer buyers to destroy sellers' reputations on a whim! Sellers can now lose their item AND their money and that's just plain wrong! Sellers are, and have been, leaving for the past year - either going to other venues, opening their own websites or just plain giving up on online selling. Buyers can no longer find the items that lured them to Ebay - the vintage and rare collectibles and items they could find NOWHERE ELSE! Understand that please...Ebay destroyed this niche, this monopoly and gave other venues the opportunity to get their foot in the door. Ebay is no longer fun because Ebay is killing Ebay! Who wants yet another boring catalog store online?...well, that's what John Donahoe is doing to Ebay! Put your blame on him for stamping out every vestige of fun Ebay had!

10 plus year constant Ebay seller

eBay: Where Did All the Fun Go?

Pure poppycock!