Posted 02/21/2005 11:27 am
If the need for "private" info is too keep the prices up, how is this good? If a seller is receiving high prices for a particular item, and the someone comes along offering at a substantial discount, I would worry about that discounted item. Is it real? Did it fall off the truck?
It still seems to me that ebay and the other online auction houses cater to the "bargain" hunter. Someone looking for something for nothing. I guess that I just don't get why sellers bother to participate. I hear the same old stories over and over. Sellers claim to get better prices. Buyers claim to get better prices.
Some sellers claim to have an equal playing field with traditional dealers. Yet over and over again, it seems that the majority of people utilizing the service are here today and gone tomorrow mentality. They sell bad products, charge outrageous prices, plain rip-off people, and yet millions still flock to the sites.
The parent companies use the term "providing a site" to protect themselves against having to stand up and do what is right. Instead of choosing to leave such sites, most simply try to avoid the bad sellers. They throw terms around like "Buyer beware". Now if this sign hung at the door of Walmart, how many customers would still enter and shop? Are we at the point that we must put up with the bad to get a deal? In an earlier thread, it was asked what is a deal? Too often it is equated with the price paid. This is exactly how online services take advantage of people. They are offering "good" deals regardless of whom suffers. There are a handful of books on how to take advantage of ebay and their ranking system, yet people still rely on the ranking. They look and see a 98% positive feedback and think this must be a good person. Even when they realize that they are taken advantage of, these same people will not stand up. They do not wish the retaliation of a power seller.
Now do not get me wrong. I have met several good and honest sellers on ebay, and will even recommend them to others if they choose to participate on this service. However, the advice that I give to people when asked is, DO NOT SHOP ebay. They are just short of TV in my opinion. Your odds of getting ripped off are better than not.
It still seems to me that ebay and the other online auction houses cater to the "bargain" hunter. Someone looking for something for nothing. I guess that I just don't get why sellers bother to participate. I hear the same old stories over and over. Sellers claim to get better prices. Buyers claim to get better prices.
Some sellers claim to have an equal playing field with traditional dealers. Yet over and over again, it seems that the majority of people utilizing the service are here today and gone tomorrow mentality. They sell bad products, charge outrageous prices, plain rip-off people, and yet millions still flock to the sites.
The parent companies use the term "providing a site" to protect themselves against having to stand up and do what is right. Instead of choosing to leave such sites, most simply try to avoid the bad sellers. They throw terms around like "Buyer beware". Now if this sign hung at the door of Walmart, how many customers would still enter and shop? Are we at the point that we must put up with the bad to get a deal? In an earlier thread, it was asked what is a deal? Too often it is equated with the price paid. This is exactly how online services take advantage of people. They are offering "good" deals regardless of whom suffers. There are a handful of books on how to take advantage of ebay and their ranking system, yet people still rely on the ranking. They look and see a 98% positive feedback and think this must be a good person. Even when they realize that they are taken advantage of, these same people will not stand up. They do not wish the retaliation of a power seller.
Now do not get me wrong. I have met several good and honest sellers on ebay, and will even recommend them to others if they choose to participate on this service. However, the advice that I give to people when asked is, DO NOT SHOP ebay. They are just short of TV in my opinion. Your odds of getting ripped off are better than not.
