User 494048

eBay's Death by a Thousand Cuts

It seems to me that the solution to all of this is to have an internet search engine that is dedicated to one and only one thing: Auction sites. This way ebay would just be another site like any other. The search engine would search ALL auction sites for an item that a person is looking for. Doesn't something like this exist yet? The beauty of ebay is that it is a central site where everyone can go to shop and sell. A single search engine that looks through all sites would then become that central location. Any comments?? There is one other thing that I would like to point out. One thing nice about buying something at a brick and morter store, yard sale, or from some guy down the road, is that the transaction takes place with the buyer and seller facing each other eye to eye. The buyer can REALLY look at and inspect the item and ask questions. The seller can accept any form of payment that they feel comforfable with, and of course cash is king. Internet sales can never be that way. Ebay of course has done a lot to try and rectify the problem with feedback etc. I think that this problem of trust between buyer and seller is why ebay has decided to go the way that it has by puting more and more pressure on the seller. But when all is said and done I do not think that ebay has done the right thing. They have created a market that is not as free as it once was. Increasing fees, forcing everyone to use paypal.....not good for a free market. Sellers should have the freedom to sell as they wish. Buyers can choose to buy as they wish. Maybe buying and selling on the internet incurs more risk, but that should be a buyer and seller's free choice. All economists alive or dead will always fully agree that maintaining open and free markets is good for EVERYONE. Brick and morter business people may feel that the internet has cut into their business, but such views are always proven to be short sited in the long run.