Ebay doesn't need to be an Amazon. It should stick to its roots and focus on being an online auction house. I don't go to ebay to buy products directly from the manufacturer/reseller.
Yep. eBay has almost completely lost what it started out as. I used to be able to find almost anything on eBay. Now it just isn't worth selling the small stuff there. No good for sellers. No good for buyers
Even more annoying when the manufacturers are forcing it on customers. I know Funko has teamed up with eBay to be a sales platform and as a buyer, I'm just confused; why would I shop there for a new product? eBay is for USED goods! That's what they are known for, and no, that ain't gonna change anytime soon!
The main problem with eBay is that they don't really look out for buyers or sellers. They also don't fit the current expectation for customers anymore. For example, people are now used to 24/7 customer service, refunding for about anything, etc. Which eBay cannot compensate due to the sellers being in control. As a large seller, I was constantly dealing with people panicking if you don't respond within a few hours, opening cases, etc. Very entitled, expecting refunds over anything. Then, these cases lead to defects on your seller profile. It becomes a not-so-fun numbers game, dealing with being abused by buyers over anything, people lying for gain, dealing with time consuming disputes, and having to eat large cost out of pocket. Amazon on the other-hand protects their sellers and reimburses them for instances like this. eBay also allows trash products to be sold on their platform without recourse. Yes, Amazon certainly allows this too, and is worse at times (que Louis Rossman). The big difference is that with bad products on Amazon, they'll end up with a 2-3 star rating and stop being sold. You got pictures, individual experiences, etc. A listing itself grows in popularity and is a huge weighing factor for the product. On the other-hand, eBay allows you to spam thousands of duplicate listings, and actually encourages it with their algorithm, filling their platform with non-sense replicated products. Its technically against their TOS, but they don't care. Opposite to Amazon, eBay listings don't have traditional reviews, just reviews for the seller, so therefore you really don't know if what they're selling is any good. You're just taking a gamble, and it makes the experience feel allot less personal and risky. Yes Amazon has its issues here too, but its much better. A great place to look at the issues with this is gaming PC's, look at Gaming PC's on Amazon VS eBay. eBay thrives on trash, Amazon, even with their shortcomings, is miles ahead in accountability.
The problem is eBay was perfect at what it was designed for. Almost like an online swap meet or online garage sale where people could list and sell some things they want to get rid of to others. In that niche, Amazon is not much of competition. The problem is eBay tried to become Amazon and actually be more like a store. I remember getting emails from eBay with coupon codes to save 15 or 20% or whatever off of any purchase and I wondered how the heck they could offer that if their listings were basically other people selling their stuff
Ebay is fine for what it is designed for. Ebay lost a whole bunch of sales due to themselves being more and more greedy. They started charging the sellers more for final value fees, so that sellers had to put that on top of the prices, so that items sold on Ebay were more and more expensive, at which point, buyers started preferring other sites than Ebay, therefore sellers started to leave Ebay. Simples.
You are totally correct. These things don't just happen overnight....it's a ripple effect that many executives do not understand until its too late. There were negative choices made as long as a decade ago, and many other policies made which set the wheels turning to what is happening today.
Ebay seller here. I have to sell my products at prices that even I feel is too high AND I can't lower them because my margin is tiny to the point where ebay collects more fees than what ends up in my pocket. Also, former ebay buyer here. I was scammed on ebay and even though I had a paper trail a mile long, photos and testimony from US postal workers, they still denied my appeal multiple times. Thankfully my bank came through for me and refunded my money. "eBay Money Back Guarantee" literally means nothing.
Yeah, the money back guarantee is not worthless for buyers. I've had it used against me as a seller (unjustly), and I've used it to my benefit as a buyer. In my experience it works well enough. Everything else about eBay sucks though
Because eBay charges a percentage of around 15% for final sale price + buyer shipping costs + sales tax buyer pays. So, depending on where the seller lives, you may lose even more money.
100% The seller fees force you into a situation of low profit or high asking price. Trying to communicate in person with the person on the other side of the sale is impossible. Arranging a viewing before purchase is also impossible.
Extremely high shipping fees (especially those within my own country) made Ebay a non option for me over 8 years ago, and the fees have only gone up (way up) since...
@@idrathernot_2 Yes i blame USPS for this because they stopped shipping via ships (instead of only air freight). And gone were the days where cheap 2nd hand buys were possible from people overseas. When living in Thailand i bought lots of stuff from the US. China instead they do bulk shipping and order combination and then repackage it in the USA. Still not $1 (they lose on each order) but with statistics in their favor.
China heavily subsidizes their international postal delivery services. We here in the US talk about privatizing the postal service to make it a profit center. This would basically put most small businesses out of business. Support the USPS!🇺🇲📬💌
The post office where I live is full of idiots, at least 2 or 3 times a week I get my neighbors mail or somebody else's mail from across town, then I have to sort through it and deliver etc.... , Not to mention my mail gets miss delivered all the time or sometimes the post person is just to lazy to get out of his vehicle and leave the package on the doorstep, sometimes I wonder why I'm not on the post office payroll as I'm doing a lot of work for them.
@@markpfeifer1402 insult to injury America subsidizes Chinese shipping thanks to a very old postal treaty and China claiming to still be a developing economy.
The biggest problem is that they charge a final value fee on the shipping price, too. I know that this was to avoid items selling for .99 cents with $10 shipping, but they should offer a final value fee credit for the actual shipping when you use their shipping labels. Once they are scanned at the post office, the label is considered "sold", and that's when you'd get the credit on your account.
This is what inevitably happens when sellers engage in widespread fraud on shipping fees. Why yes, a 1/2 pound PCI card costs $97 to ship to the next state. @@mchenrynick
I use to have good margins then ebay got greedy and charged fees on shipping too. Paypal also changed for refunds and ebay offered free returns and paypal offered 180+ day disputes and fraud increased.
You're right. There's no justifying the fees we pay to eBay. They literally don't do anything. We source the item, ship the item and deal with all the customers. Now they're pushing promoted listings. 🙄🤮
And here I thought that the fees that you pay to Amazon are not justified. I am a full time Ebay seller, I took all my items off of Amazon because I was tired of the high fees for nothing. Its a race to a penny on the price and then they want 50% of that penny, for what? For taking more of my items offline because of new restrictions on what I can and cant sell? No thanks. I did $110k in sales on Ebay in 2023 and expect to do $125k this year at the very least. My costs, with shipping average around 20%, which is far less than what I would see on Amazon. Plus, I just dont like Amazons business practices at all and that was another driving factor in leaving the selling side of things and not using them to purchase items from.
@@Boatright How can any individual seller create and maintain a website like ebay? To be able to move from country to country, buy from a single account, have delivered to different countries directly ... it's not perfect yet it is a pretty incredible service.
I've been using eBay a lot recently for purchasing older video games. I find it has a number of advantages over Amazon in that you can usually see pictures of the actual item you're buying, whereas with Amazon they only provide stock photos, which may not be representative for what you're getting. You may not get games from the correct region as shown in the picture, and for their used games you just get a stock description of the condition with no photos to show what you'd actually be getting. Also, while it's quite often possible to get new copies on Amazon cheaper than what sellers on eBay are charging (often MUCH cheaper), the reverse is also true. I've bought new games from eBay sellers that are 2x or 3x less than what the sellers are charging on Amazon. So I use both, but ultimately I do think eBay has its place in the market, at least for what I've been shopping for.
I'm biased but if you like collecting games search for "Gameroom Lincoln, NE". They have a pretty good selection and sell online. I believe even some pretty good sized video game channels recommend them as well.
Two key points. You wrote off Ebay as being a place to sell "one off" things. That is what it is best at and why it exists. I go to Ebay to sell and buy things that I'm looking for in my collections or a discontinued item. I'm not going there to buy retail items. Secondly Ebay was so successful that it killed itself. I joined Ebay the same month it became Ebay and back then you could see almost anything for a good profit. But it didn't take long for people to realize those uncommon things in their garage could now be sold on line but also making the item less rare. So for simplistic sake, if there were 200 rare widgets with 2 in each state then anyone searching for that item had to travel around and hopefully stumble upon that item being sold in a thrift or antique store. The first few people who sold that item on line had a national audience to bit on that item. But then the seller starting seeing more and more of these items come online. Clearly they did not need to pay top dollar but just wait for the prices to drop which they did in many cases.
No doubt the one off thing is what it’s best at, the issue is that’s not a profitable model, especially when you factor in enhanced efforts to protect from scams
@@computersales Exactly. It’s harder to be “faceless” on eBay as a seller…and there’s no game of them trying to pretend they’re “official sellers” because it’s all based on actual feedback.
Idk wtf ya’ll yapping about. As a seller and buyer for ebay, they’re definitely a scam. ebay does a piss poor job of resolving anything. Stick to your ebay and gl!!!!
Ebay is still pretty good for buying business-class workstations from. A lot of referb shops still do good work through that channel. Amazon is hard to gauge due to the fake reviews/buying reviews
True! I bought a ton of server equipment at great prices. This video has some pretty big oversights. Scams and low quality products are so prevalent on Amazon that they must seem invisible to him.
Yes I think a lot of such resale companies will just log on eBay for the market share even if they sell on other places too, I know there's some rights idiots on Facebook mkt place lol
@@Demopans5990 Yes. I received an item bought on Amazon and it came with a card that basically offered a refund (Amazon credit worth more than the sale price) if I showed them proof of me leaving a positive review. I posted a review with my honest opinion of the product (3 or 4 stars IIRC) but I included a pic of the card and stated that the seller is bribing customers for good reviews... Amazon rejected my review because I "talked about the packaging, not the product".
eBay is still an amazing place to see what has been sold recently and for how much. Amazing to gauge for niche topics. The thing is, everyone has a niche topics. Comics; cards, stuff animals. Everyone has a niche, and as long as eBay can cator to those people, it will be around. It’s not my go too site for buying new, but since high prices on everything, the secondhand market is amazing and eBay has been there. Buying open box laptops for 40% off retail is a recent find for me.
I agree. Back in the 1990s I sold a dedicated chess hardware computer, which only plays chess (chess is my bag) on eBay that you cannot find anywhere on Amazon since it was discontinued. So yeah as a one-off niche sale eBay is still relevant, but that's like 1% of most people's annual shopping.
I've been buying and selling on eBay since 2007. Over the past five years, I've slowly moved away from it and the main factor for me is the fees. They now charge a 13% fee. But the thing is, it's not like you can bake that fee into your selling price. You have to sell at a competitive market value or people won't buy, so really, by selling on eBay, you're accepting a 13% loss. Now I mainly sell on Facebook Marketplace, and while people still do haggle and deals are made, I sell things much closer to their market value without the 13% loss. Plus no need to ship, and that's another thing with eBay, you'll sell much faster if you offer free shipping, which also cuts into losses.
@honor9lite1337 Yeah, cause on Amazon you are not allowed to sell a lot of different things. New sellers are 🔐 locked out of certain brands & categories, and you are required to provide manufacturers invoices upon demand from Amazon. Most small sellers don't buy directly from the manufacturer. We buy clearance from retailers. So you're constantly worried that Amazon is going to freeze your account and demand those invoices. Also Amazon studies what sells best and if they see something that consistently sells well they will come out with their own version and put that item in the buy box. Bidding on the buy box is another whole hairy deal on its own. You end up with a very small profit per item and are supposed to make that up by selling a tremendous amount of items very quickly then reinvesting in the next item. One wrong purchase and you may end up stuck with useless inventory and if it doesn't sell quickly enough Amazon charges storage fees or a. 50 fee per item to return it to you. A small seller who isn't wise can quickly end up in debt or with their account frozen.
I'm one of the few that prefer to buy on eBay over Amazon. I've had many problems with trying to place orders on Amazon, that went without a hitch on eBay. Keep in mind too, that many of the big companies SELL ON EBAY. This includes Amazon, Walmart, and even Best Buy.
Pretty much Amazon fucks the seller I tried to sell on Amazon but after reading and making reaserch. Amazon fucks the sellers even more than Ebay does. That amazon return guarantee someone has to take the hit. Also Amazon is a place where people go and dump big inventory supplies and are known to dump the market lets say for example of collectibles.
Depends. eBay is vastly more reliable than Amazon for buying physical copies of video games and physical media. I just got sent a region 2 version of a game that was listed on Amazon as region 1. For some dumb ass reason, the search results for games on Amazon is spammed with region 2 pegi versions.
Depends on what you are buying on eBay. I would never buy new stuff on eBay. I would never buy no name brands on eBay or Amazon. Getting scammed on eBay on used stuff is less common unless you are bad at buying on eBay.
I have been a caual Ebay buyer and seller for many years. I mostly look for used car parts and tools I need. The good prices are hard to come by. Many times I find seller are asking more than full retail prices and inflated shipping charges. I still browse almost daily but it is very hard find items at a good price. Once in awhile I hit a jackpot but it's not often these days.
More than 80% of Amazon's revenue is coming from AWS web services. The retail profit has remained consistently flat. In fact, they launched AWS primarily as a means to save the company.
Even without AWS, Amazon was still the leading online retailer. They pioneered the affiliate program, created the category tabs interface, made popular free shipping, kindle eBooks, and so on.
And as an IT'ler all the crazy shit is happening at AWS. Serverless programming means the more servers you add the more serverless you become. And each one takes money and more money.
eBay is good at reselling used items, like many of the comments mentioned, online garage sale or auction. I thinl they should convert to Craiglist model. Enough profit for the employees and become a private company. That way, it will thrive better than what it is right now.
I love eBay! I will always check eBay anytime I am looking at buying something on Amazon. I've never had an issue with scams, prices are usually better than other sites like Amazon, and I feel like I'm supporting small businesses more than I am on Amazon. The only thing I don't like is the reviews, they are usually non existent, given the fragmentation of sellers on eBay. Amazon is a clear winner there.
I can quickly find what I need on eBay, and get it in reasonable time. I rarely had a problem, and when I do eBay has taken care of it. So, I'm genuinely surprised about this.
No negative feedback for buyers, arbitrary best match search, buyer rip off scams, huge delays before getting your money, and anonymous bidders. Should have had separate buyer and seller feedback profiles, kept search defaults to relevent items, and invesigated suspicious issues
Crazy shipping costs have always been the issue for me with a lot of sellers on eBay. Not to mention uninformed sellers who don't know the actual worth of the items they sell and put stupid prices on items that they obviously don't want to sell because of said pricing.
Great analysis as always Hari, thank you! So true that taking the same cut as Amazon (I think Walmart, Best Buy, and others have started providing Amazon-like stores too) but not providing any of the services or protections to either sellers or buyers is a big weakness in 2024! Hope they can figure out how to preserve their brand and change their business model, there is something nice about a world with the eBay flea market in it.
Yep, Best Buy and Walmart are def trying to compete with Amazon nowadays with their push for fast delivery. But yeah, it is disappointing that they have yet to offer the full package.
Without the extortionate fees ebay charges sellers, they'd be dead in the water. 12% fee to promote PLUS the same again in seller fees as well. They also charge a percentage of postage costs. WTF? If I sell an item for $50 and promote it to make it sell, after fees and postage there's $28 remaining. THAT'S why eBay is dying.
😂well, we used to sell items for a buck and 40-50 dollars postage. Needless to say, eBay got tired of that and started charging fees on postage as well.
My biggest problem with ebay is that shipping is way too expensive. I collect Hot Wheels, and there has been many listing that were posted at a very reasonable price and I would’ve bought them, but the shipping would’ve cost me $20-$30 sometimes even more for what is basically a 1”x2.5”x1” product that’s bubble wrapped and put in an almost equally small box or envelope. It’s just ridiculous
A few months ago I sold an item for 600$ and they were asking me to pay more than 160$ in fees + shipping ... After a lot of struggle I canceled it and even then they insisted me to pay the fees which after a few calls and a couple hours later i resolved. Since then I erased all I was selling from eBay
Ebay is essentially an online garage sale and needs to stick to that model, I go there to buy used hard drives, dented network switchs and I sell random motherboards, RAM and all sorts of junk for low and sometimes high prices. In 15yrs of using eBay I've never had any issues with scams aside from buying Chinese parts that were underrated or juat never came. Had a guy buy a 20yr old ATM motherboard from me fot $200 since he literally couldn't find it anywhere else on the internet. Thats eBays niche it should stick too, I really hate seeing how much new crap and chinese junk has been appearing on the platform lately.
I had a 20 year old account on eBay and they removed my selling priveleges because some competitors didnt like the product I was selling even though I was selling it years before them. All it takes is one complaint and they take action against your account. eBay is dying because of this. The are too heavy handed with bans etc.
@@LogicallyAnswered thanks dude. They forced me onto other platforms which ended up boosting my overall revenue. My gain and their loss. They have too many idiots working for them and never investigate properly. They just enforce a punitive action because it's a button click away and the easiest thing to do
That’s interesting because you hear a lot of stories about sellers getting wrongly banned or downgraded on Amazon, I didn’t know it was happening on eBay too.
As a seller its clear your presenting your view on what amazons backend is like. As as a seller myself on amazon i can verify its not at all like what you described. Amazon throws all the responsibility on the seller not themselves if you sell FBM. They also do not REMOVE the feedback of a seller if a bad review is made it is left there and stuck thru regardless if your FBA or FBM.
I feel like some of the items I sell can only be sold through eBay, but because they are electronic parts, I get scammed left and right and used as a parts library. Whether what I sell is working or not, buyers frequently return them as not working so they do not have to pay any cost. It only works for large businesses. Single parents like me cannot afford to lose $30 at the time to ship 2-3 pounds of electronic parts across the country for free. O' and then they charge the seller an extra 5% fee to sell because they cannot stop shady people from abusing the system.
Truthfully, I trust the stuff on eBay more than Amazon. Most of the time, stuff is shipped quickly, and you're more likely to know what you're getting into with them.
I was an eBay user. 23 year member. Over 720 items sold. 100% feedback rating. I will never use eBay again. I got screwed by a buyer claiming they didn’t receive their full order. I shipped the full order! eBay sided with the buyer. I got bent over. I didn’t even get a chance to retaliate. No help over the phone. No help online. Nada! Don’t use eBay.
Spot on! You hit all the major pitfalls. They do really need to somehow seperate the big corporations from the small sellers(and as you say lower the fees for a the small sellers). I just recently found there is a cheaper shipping rate than media mail. As low as $1.19. Now it makes sense to me why a big seller can charge $3.99/free shipping for a book(the company has to apply for a special business permit). I can't compete with that. Of course from what alot of smaller sellers speculate, Ebay wants the small seller to leave because they want the site to be more like Amazon.
Early Ebay users were both buyers and sellers. It was a community. Ebay gave us the middle finger as they preferred commercial large volume sellers. The site became seller friendly and buyer not friendly. It is just not the same. It was fun and now it is not.
I don’t even really think of eBay anymore when I want to buy something I go to Amazon or direct to a company website. I will only look at eBay if I want something second hand/ old tech that’s not made anymore
I used to buy and sell a lot on ebay and had a perfect feedback. I moved and started a new job, so i didnt use the site for about a year and a half. When I came back my rating was set to zero. Ebay told me 'sorry, but thats our new policy'. I tried to buy a few things but people wouldn't sell to me with no feedback. Ebay suggested I buy a few crappy items 'from big sellers to get me restarted'. Lost me permanently as a seller and buyer, but added both to their competition. Oh well.
I love eBay!!! Been boycotting Amazon since forever. PS: Never have had any problem w eBay sellers. And YES as someone else commented, they should go back to their roots; I love the auctions.
ebay plus paypal fees cost me about 35% total, both being quite hostile to honest sellers. as you said the competition is also a big issue, so what is even the point when I can spend all those moneys much better developing my standalone shop.
I've made thousands of purchases from Ebay and have never been scammed. The claim that loads of people are being scammed on Ebay sounds to me like a lie. If not then why would I be a special case?
Ebay doesn't actually have a ton of scams it is just their reputation. Amazon has alot of the same issues but people "believe" Amazon is more reliable because of their marketing and public image.
@@la6136 Actually the last order i placed with Amazon, after I ordered it and was told it was on its way, Amazon withdrew the sale and refunded my money. I don't know why, but it looked like a dodgy seller who failed to post the goods. Generally speaking though, the two main reasons I don't use Amazon is that is it more expensive and I don't like their marketing schemes like Amazon Prime and other gimmicks. In a way, these marketing tactics are scams in themselves and do nothing to help the buyer find the best deal.
Amazon's margins are so small because they've pissed away hundreds of billions of dollars on bad and wasteful business decisions, not because their prices are so cheap. They used to be cheap but I can find almost anything on Amazon, cheaper somewhere else now
@@la6136 Yes, but the sold and shipped by Amazon items are frequently overpriced as well. There is rarely a good reason to buy from a third party seller who is arbing Costco merch or the like.
Not to mention that the adding of tax on used items kinda aggravated the random sellers. I already paid sales tax on the item, therefore it is mine. So, the end result is the greedy states trying to up their revenue and possibly take bigger salaries by charging tax more than once for the items. I assume at some point they will start a task force to come down on the random garage sales you see in your neighborhoods. Just my opinion though.
I understand what you are referring to. However, Ebay has called it sales tax. I sold an item on there and I was charged the tax and so was the buyer. They seem to be dipping 2x on each purchase/sale. Not to mention I had to pay listing fee, % of the total sale, and Paypal transaction fee on top of that (like it always has been). So with all the fees/taxes, my total for the sale was a little less than half the total final winning bid. @@johnl2727
Lots of cities now have either banned putting up garage sale signs, or they make you pay a fee to the city to do so. For some cities it's pure greed, for others it's virtue signaling about how they are "cleaning up the city." All bullshit either way.
I sell on Ebay since 2016 and I must say. Ebay had gone straight to the bath of self-destruction.. Fees , Platform, traffic, The Bugs, the never ending update/ changing/ restrictions. Etc ... Its a mess .. Konzept is perfect...
Without even watching the video I already know that eBay is a has been company with poor prospects for the future for one reason, no one ever talks about them anymore. They used to constantly be talked about a decade or two ago, both on the news and in day to day conversations. But discussion of eBay is pretty much non-existent anymore because they're just not relevant anymore. I can't remember the last time anyone in my social circle even mentioned buying anything off of Ebay. Amazon by contrast gets way more discussion (both by those who love and hate them), because they're more and more relevant than ever.
Ebay is needed for the niche annoying item I can't find anywhere else an example is a particularly old replacement part for a car, a piston, or something else similar for a water heater boiler etc.
The fact they havent addressed.the numerous and abundant scams on the platform should say a lot about the ethics of those involved, and the loss of trust is unsustainable at this point and ebay is doomed to fail
I think you missed their main strength. Where else do you go to sell the shit in your garage or buy a penny of a certain year for your collection? Not Craigslist. That's for stuff local to buyer and seller. Etsy is for grandma's handcrafts. There is no other real platform.
Ebay is overall better to shop than amazon. Most of the time I can find products at a lower price on ebay. Ebay is the first place I go to look for a product. And the fees for sellers are less than what Amazon charges their sellers.
I'm an ebay seller for 12 years, and I sell vintage 1950's-1980's automotive parts. Most of this stuff is no longer made. Most car guts know that Ebay is THE BEST place to get stuff like this. I hate when eBay tries to position itself as a discount seller of new goods. Let Amazon and Walmart do that. Find your niche and do what you do best.
Okay I need to clarify something. Ebay makes a lot of cash flow and used it to buy back own stock and reduced number of shares by two thirds. That means you own more and more of the company without buying more shares by yourself. If you look to per share basis than their revenue 7x since 2008. Ebay also spin off Paypal so if you hold Ebay since 2008 than you will own also shares of Paypal for free. So you cant just look at share price of Ebay... Share price looks flat but it isnt. Shares grew by 8% per year since 2015 and doubled since than. 2000 was internet bubble and Ebay stock was very overvalued and thats why stayed flat in the first half. Entire market was flat after year 2000 for 13 years. Ebay stock is 10x since 2009. Not bad. This stock will not make you rich overnight but makes around 10% annual returns which is not that bad and is very cheap. And have very little debt. Ebay should be auction of used products, collectibles, rare items etc. Its not exactly comparable with Amazon.
That makes sense. I used to use ebay a decent amount until the pandemic hit and I got scammed twice for ~$200 total for defective items when returning them and not receiving a refund as promised I only ever use it as a last resort and maybe for very small value purchases that are like 3x more expensive on Amazon or something
I started selling on eBay, I sold 4 things and got scammed on 2 of them. Both buyers said the items never arrived (they did) and they opened claims against me and eBay just refunded them their money from my account and told me to claim from the postage company (who proved the items were delivered so wouldn’t pay out to me). One of the people was then selling the item I had sent them on her selling page! When I tried to flag this to eBay they just ignored me and said I couldn’t prove it was my item (I could) Utterly pointless! All the power is with the buyer and no power to the seller
@@ManMountainMetals both buyers claimed they never signed for and received the item. They were only cheap items so it wasn’t worth my time and effort to keep fighting it. EBay just gave them back their money and as I said above I was incensed as one of them posted the item they said they didn’t receive from me up for sale. When I messaged the seller about the item she then claimed I was not to contact her as she had cancer??? It was a depressing and pointless experience, no wonder they’re dying on their arse.
@urbanyeti5233 As an eBay seller since 1999, I have had my share of problem customers, and I am familiar with the process. Ebay would have refunded both you and the customer had you simply presented the tracking number. I don't understand why you would pay for signature required shipping on a cheap item because it costs an extra 5 to 6 dollars. It is literally one click to submit the tracking number, and if the package shows delivered, you would have been covered. It's really just that simple. I am sorry that you got problem customers right from the start like that, and I sympathize with your frustration. As for eBay dying, well despite Marketplace, Esty and numerous others entering the fray eBay has held steady and not lost a significant amount of market share. I would not give a lot of credibility to the views represented in this video made by someone who doesn't make a living selling on eBay.
I gave up on eBay after I got burned by their customer service. It was the worst customer service experience I have ever had. I have worked in customer service and it was inexcusable how bad it was.
What happened to eBay? 1) poor customer service, 2) they got greedy with listing fee commissions, 3) no protections for sellers, 4) no quality assurance on what is sold on eBay - the level of junk items being sold has increased tenfold , 5) the bidding auction model is no longer popular in today's climate
Ok, I’m going to hit play and start watching the video but I’m going to guarantee that he’s going to say the word “lucrative”. I will edit this comment on the result after I watched the video edit: well, I was wrong. This is a 100% lucrative free video. Well played sir, well played! But I’ll be watching you. I’ll definitely catch you next time!
For certain categories Ebay can be substantially cheaper than Amazon and can often offer free shipping without the need to have Amazon Prime or minimum order value. It is becoming less of an auction site and more straight forward ecommerce. It's auctioning facilities have always favoured the buyer, with a timer determining the winning bid rather than it be the highest bidder. From a buyer's prospection it would be better if there was a five minute clock run down started from the highest bid. Where Ebay and many other lose out to Amazon is that Amazon's delivery and their return processes which are difficult to beat. Ebay do need to evolve otherwise they may find that they will lose out to Temu which is perhaps more of a threat to them than Amazon. Ebay is fundamentally a good business which still has potential to grow, but whether it has the right management in place to make that happen is debatable.
Refunds have never been an issue with eBay. For back up though ...PayPal has always stepped up in the rare instance when eBay hasn't due to elapsed time, 100% my fault, or another issue. That said, if the price is close all in, I'll use Amazon Prime every time ...free return shipping is foolish to pass on.
Wow, I was here really early, just 12 minutes upon release of the video! Thanks for your videos; they have always been so mind-blowing and eye-opening.
They must have to many employees sitting around doing nothing. I run a side hustle and Ebay keeps probably 10-20% of what we sell on the platform. We did over $100K worth of sales on there in 2023. With all the stuff that sells on there it seems crazy that they aren't making big money.
Ebay has made it horrible for sellers to operate and the scams Ebay buyers have to deal with make being a buyer miserable. Of my last 4 purchases on eBay, one worked out, ebay refunded two and the forth purchase was just a lost. I gave up selling about 3 yrs ago and quit buying about 6 months ago. The ability to pay third parts to remove negative feedback has not helped. Ebay did it to themselves.
Well i don't know if im the weird one or here in Italy we're all using ebay the wrong way but me and my friends buy a lot from ebay but none of us has ever bought anything made after 2000, we buy used stuff from random people, and most of the stuff i buy is used and made before 2000. So the comparison with amazon sounds super weird to me, like comparing apple to ikea. Also I don't think Craigslist works worldwide, never heard anyone outside the US using it. So yeah ebay is the Craigslist for the rest of the world.
What the video doesn't take into account is that eBay has 5x the market cap of other used good resellers (Depop, whatnot, StockX, PWCC,etc.) eBay's competitors are too small to be criticized.
The few times I have gone to eBay, I’ve found that products usually cost more there. That’s basically the only reason I don’t return. And I’m not usually a person who bids so I haven’t explored that side of it.
When I sold something on eBay for the first time last year, I was told after the sale that eBay does not support paying out to my bank or paying out to paypal and that I needed to open up another card to get my money. Boy was I pissed.
I always chime in to Logically Answered videos regarding ecom, as its my fulltime job. BUT I sell 250+ private label skus online. Ebay does 0.5% of my Amazon sales. Will probably quit Ebay as its not even worth it for me to check/ship stuff out.
Yes ebay is a flea market. I only use ebay for buying used/broken goods. Amazon is not a venue for such items. There is no substitue for ebay in this category.
Ebay is still my go to for determining how much people will actually pay for a product and how big the supply is vs the demand.
Fair enough
How do you check for supply vs demand how do you figure that out using eBay?
@@Edgedable "Completed listings" and "sold listings" and average active listing prices.
@@Ralphfili yep, I’m fully aware of the sold/completed feature but how do you use that to calculate the supply “and” the demand🤔🤔
100%! Completed listings advanced search baby
Ebay doesn't need to be an Amazon. It should stick to its roots and focus on being an online auction house. I don't go to ebay to buy products directly from the manufacturer/reseller.
Exactly this. If i want something from a chinese Manufacturor i can go to Aliexpress etc...
Yep. eBay has almost completely lost what it started out as. I used to be able to find almost anything on eBay. Now it just isn't worth selling the small stuff there. No good for sellers. No good for buyers
Even more annoying when the manufacturers are forcing it on customers. I know Funko has teamed up with eBay to be a sales platform and as a buyer, I'm just confused; why would I shop there for a new product? eBay is for USED goods! That's what they are known for, and no, that ain't gonna change anytime soon!
The main problem with eBay is that they don't really look out for buyers or sellers.
They also don't fit the current expectation for customers anymore.
For example, people are now used to 24/7 customer service, refunding for about anything, etc.
Which eBay cannot compensate due to the sellers being in control.
As a large seller, I was constantly dealing with people panicking if you don't respond within a few hours, opening cases, etc.
Very entitled, expecting refunds over anything.
Then, these cases lead to defects on your seller profile.
It becomes a not-so-fun numbers game, dealing with being abused by buyers over anything, people lying for gain, dealing with time consuming disputes, and having to eat large cost out of pocket.
Amazon on the other-hand protects their sellers and reimburses them for instances like this.
eBay also allows trash products to be sold on their platform without recourse.
Yes, Amazon certainly allows this too, and is worse at times (que Louis Rossman).
The big difference is that with bad products on Amazon, they'll end up with a 2-3 star rating and stop being sold.
You got pictures, individual experiences, etc.
A listing itself grows in popularity and is a huge weighing factor for the product.
On the other-hand, eBay allows you to spam thousands of duplicate listings, and actually encourages it with their algorithm, filling their platform with non-sense replicated products.
Its technically against their TOS, but they don't care.
Opposite to Amazon, eBay listings don't have traditional reviews, just reviews for the seller, so therefore you really don't know if what they're selling is any good.
You're just taking a gamble, and it makes the experience feel allot less personal and risky.
Yes Amazon has its issues here too, but its much better.
A great place to look at the issues with this is gaming PC's, look at Gaming PC's on Amazon VS eBay.
eBay thrives on trash, Amazon, even with their shortcomings, is miles ahead in accountability.
Exactly!
The problem is eBay was perfect at what it was designed for. Almost like an online swap meet or online garage sale where people could list and sell some things they want to get rid of to others. In that niche, Amazon is not much of competition.
The problem is eBay tried to become Amazon and actually be more like a store.
I remember getting emails from eBay with coupon codes to save 15 or 20% or whatever off of any purchase and I wondered how the heck they could offer that if their listings were basically other people selling their stuff
Ebay is fine for what it is designed for. Ebay lost a whole bunch of sales due to themselves being more and more greedy. They started charging the sellers more for final value fees, so that sellers had to put that on top of the prices, so that items sold on Ebay were more and more expensive, at which point, buyers started preferring other sites than Ebay, therefore sellers started to leave Ebay. Simples.
You are totally correct. These things don't just happen overnight....it's a ripple effect that many executives do not understand until its too late. There were negative choices made as long as a decade ago, and many other policies made which set the wheels turning to what is happening today.
Ebay seller here. I have to sell my products at prices that even I feel is too high AND I can't lower them because my margin is tiny to the point where ebay collects more fees than what ends up in my pocket.
Also, former ebay buyer here. I was scammed on ebay and even though I had a paper trail a mile long, photos and testimony from US postal workers, they still denied my appeal multiple times. Thankfully my bank came through for me and refunded my money. "eBay Money Back Guarantee" literally means nothing.
They need to stop banning sellers for no reason 😒
Truly amazing they can piss off both sellers and users in equal amounts of rage.
Yeah, the money back guarantee is not worthless for buyers. I've had it used against me as a seller (unjustly), and I've used it to my benefit as a buyer. In my experience it works well enough. Everything else about eBay sucks though
Because eBay charges a percentage of around 15% for final sale price + buyer shipping costs + sales tax buyer pays. So, depending on where the seller lives, you may lose even more money.
100%
The seller fees force you into a situation of low profit or high asking price.
Trying to communicate in person with the person on the other side of the sale is impossible. Arranging a viewing before purchase is also impossible.
I still go to eBay when I want to find used, out-of-stock, or discontinued items.
Extremely high shipping fees (especially those within my own country) made Ebay a non option for me over 8 years ago, and the fees have only gone up (way up) since...
Thanks US government for letting Chinese dealers ship for $1 from across the planet but I can't send the same box one state over for less than 10-20
@@idrathernot_2 Yes i blame USPS for this because they stopped shipping via ships (instead of only air freight). And gone were the days where cheap 2nd hand buys were possible from people overseas. When living in Thailand i bought lots of stuff from the US. China instead they do bulk shipping and order combination and then repackage it in the USA. Still not $1 (they lose on each order) but with statistics in their favor.
China heavily subsidizes their international postal delivery services. We here in the US talk about privatizing the postal service to make it a profit center. This would basically put most small businesses out of business. Support the USPS!🇺🇲📬💌
The post office where I live is full of idiots, at least 2 or 3 times a week I get my neighbors mail or somebody else's mail from across town, then I have to sort through it and deliver etc.... , Not to mention my mail gets miss delivered all the time or sometimes the post person is just to lazy to get out of his vehicle and leave the package on the doorstep, sometimes I wonder why I'm not on the post office payroll as I'm doing a lot of work for them.
@@markpfeifer1402 insult to injury America subsidizes Chinese shipping thanks to a very old postal treaty and China claiming to still be a developing economy.
Their fees are ridiculous for sellers
The biggest problem is that they charge a final value fee on the shipping price, too. I know that this was to avoid items selling for .99 cents with $10 shipping, but they should offer a final value fee credit for the actual shipping when you use their shipping labels. Once they are scanned at the post office, the label is considered "sold", and that's when you'd get the credit on your account.
This is what inevitably happens when sellers engage in widespread fraud on shipping fees. Why yes, a 1/2 pound PCI card costs $97 to ship to the next state. @@mchenrynick
Amazon charges me 50% FBA fees for a $13 item that weighs 3 ounces.
outrageous @@granjmy
I use to have good margins then ebay got greedy and charged fees on shipping too. Paypal also changed for refunds and ebay offered free returns and paypal offered 180+ day disputes and fraud increased.
You're right. There's no justifying the fees we pay to eBay. They literally don't do anything. We source the item, ship the item and deal with all the customers. Now they're pushing promoted listings. 🙄🤮
I sell on ebay my self and i left the similiar comment. Wish you luck
@@wonderingAroundtoNoWhere in my opinion it's getting a little out of control. Hope they pick up for as well 🙏
Oh yes promoted listing - Stopped using them, I sold next to nothing in a 6 months, started using it again - Sales are up....
And here I thought that the fees that you pay to Amazon are not justified. I am a full time Ebay seller, I took all my items off of Amazon because I was tired of the high fees for nothing. Its a race to a penny on the price and then they want 50% of that penny, for what? For taking more of my items offline because of new restrictions on what I can and cant sell? No thanks. I did $110k in sales on Ebay in 2023 and expect to do $125k this year at the very least. My costs, with shipping average around 20%, which is far less than what I would see on Amazon. Plus, I just dont like Amazons business practices at all and that was another driving factor in leaving the selling side of things and not using them to purchase items from.
@@Boatright How can any individual seller create and maintain a website like ebay? To be able to move from country to country, buy from a single account, have delivered to different countries directly ... it's not perfect yet it is a pretty incredible service.
I've been using eBay a lot recently for purchasing older video games. I find it has a number of advantages over Amazon in that you can usually see pictures of the actual item you're buying, whereas with Amazon they only provide stock photos, which may not be representative for what you're getting. You may not get games from the correct region as shown in the picture, and for their used games you just get a stock description of the condition with no photos to show what you'd actually be getting. Also, while it's quite often possible to get new copies on Amazon cheaper than what sellers on eBay are charging (often MUCH cheaper), the reverse is also true. I've bought new games from eBay sellers that are 2x or 3x less than what the sellers are charging on Amazon. So I use both, but ultimately I do think eBay has its place in the market, at least for what I've been shopping for.
eBay is for specific things, the buyer has to know what they are looking for in advance to get the best out of ebay.
I'm biased but if you like collecting games search for "Gameroom Lincoln, NE". They have a pretty good selection and sell online. I believe even some pretty good sized video game channels recommend them as well.
That's what i like Ebay. You get what you see.
Thing is, I'm not opposed to buying off Amazon... It's just the price new is almost always cheaper on Ebay
Two key points. You wrote off Ebay as being a place to sell "one off" things. That is what it is best at and why it exists. I go to Ebay to sell and buy things that I'm looking for in my collections or a discontinued item. I'm not going there to buy retail items. Secondly Ebay was so successful that it killed itself. I joined Ebay the same month it became Ebay and back then you could see almost anything for a good profit. But it didn't take long for people to realize those uncommon things in their garage could now be sold on line but also making the item less rare. So for simplistic sake, if there were 200 rare widgets with 2 in each state then anyone searching for that item had to travel around and hopefully stumble upon that item being sold in a thrift or antique store. The first few people who sold that item on line had a national audience to bit on that item. But then the seller starting seeing more and more of these items come online. Clearly they did not need to pay top dollar but just wait for the prices to drop which they did in many cases.
No doubt the one off thing is what it’s best at, the issue is that’s not a profitable model, especially when you factor in enhanced efforts to protect from scams
There are a lot of weird items that you can only find on eBay such as laser components, old books, etc.
I’ve been screwed over by third-party sellers on Amazon far more than on eBay!
Yeah, me too. But mostly the stuff Amazon sells is some switcheroo or DOA or they don't give me credit for a fucking return!
Nice thing with eBay is it is pretty obvious when the seller is a scammer unlike scamazon.
@@computersales Exactly. It’s harder to be “faceless” on eBay as a seller…and there’s no game of them trying to pretend they’re “official sellers” because it’s all based on actual feedback.
Idk wtf ya’ll yapping about. As a seller and buyer for ebay, they’re definitely a scam. ebay does a piss poor job of resolving anything. Stick to your ebay and gl!!!!
Not every company needs to make more and more money. It just needs to be profitable and sustainable that it.
Ebay is still pretty good for buying business-class workstations from. A lot of referb shops still do good work through that channel. Amazon is hard to gauge due to the fake reviews/buying reviews
True! I bought a ton of server equipment at great prices. This video has some pretty big oversights. Scams and low quality products are so prevalent on Amazon that they must seem invisible to him.
@avsync-live
Especially as the Amazon model implicitly encourages them
@@nuvotion-live The difference is if you go to a major seller fulfilled by Amazon you're extremely unlikely to get scammed.
Yes I think a lot of such resale companies will just log on eBay for the market share even if they sell on other places too, I know there's some rights idiots on Facebook mkt place lol
@@Demopans5990 Yes. I received an item bought on Amazon and it came with a card that basically offered a refund (Amazon credit worth more than the sale price) if I showed them proof of me leaving a positive review. I posted a review with my honest opinion of the product (3 or 4 stars IIRC) but I included a pic of the card and stated that the seller is bribing customers for good reviews...
Amazon rejected my review because I "talked about the packaging, not the product".
Ironically the best place to buy used book. Always cheaper than amazon
eBay is still an amazing place to see what has been sold recently and for how much. Amazing to gauge for niche topics. The thing is, everyone has a niche topics. Comics; cards, stuff animals. Everyone has a niche, and as long as eBay can cator to those people, it will be around. It’s not my go too site for buying new, but since high prices on everything, the secondhand market is amazing and eBay has been there. Buying open box laptops for 40% off retail is a recent find for me.
I agree. Back in the 1990s I sold a dedicated chess hardware computer, which only plays chess (chess is my bag) on eBay that you cannot find anywhere on Amazon since it was discontinued. So yeah as a one-off niche sale eBay is still relevant, but that's like 1% of most people's annual shopping.
Ebay is still a great place when looking for deals and their customer service is fantastic.
I've been buying and selling on eBay since 2007. Over the past five years, I've slowly moved away from it and the main factor for me is the fees. They now charge a 13% fee. But the thing is, it's not like you can bake that fee into your selling price. You have to sell at a competitive market value or people won't buy, so really, by selling on eBay, you're accepting a 13% loss. Now I mainly sell on Facebook Marketplace, and while people still do haggle and deals are made, I sell things much closer to their market value without the 13% loss. Plus no need to ship, and that's another thing with eBay, you'll sell much faster if you offer free shipping, which also cuts into losses.
much easier to sell on eBay than Amazon.
Really? 😮
@honor9lite1337 Yeah, cause on Amazon you are not allowed to sell a lot of different things. New sellers are 🔐 locked out of certain brands & categories, and you are required to provide manufacturers invoices upon demand from Amazon. Most small sellers don't buy directly from the manufacturer. We buy clearance from retailers. So you're constantly worried that Amazon is going to freeze your account and demand those invoices. Also Amazon studies what sells best and if they see something that consistently sells well they will come out with their own version and put that item in the buy box. Bidding on the buy box is another whole hairy deal on its own. You end up with a very small profit per item and are supposed to make that up by selling a tremendous amount of items very quickly then reinvesting in the next item. One wrong purchase and you may end up stuck with useless inventory and if it doesn't sell quickly enough Amazon charges storage fees or a. 50 fee per item to return it to you. A small seller who isn't wise can quickly end up in debt or with their account frozen.
@@honor9lite1337 Yes. You have to apply to Amazon to sell. They reject a lot of people. With Ebay, anyone with a credit card can sell.
I'm one of the few that prefer to buy on eBay over Amazon. I've had many problems with trying to place orders on Amazon, that went without a hitch on eBay. Keep in mind too, that many of the big companies SELL ON EBAY. This includes Amazon, Walmart, and even Best Buy.
Me too I buy and sell only on Ebay I dont like Amazon.
I like to sell stuff on eBay when I don't want to be bothered with local classifieds.
Fair enough
This video hit the nail on the head: buying on eBay is riskier than, for example, Amazon.
I’m honestly not sure I agree with that. I’ve had more issues with products from Amazon than eBay over the years
Pretty much Amazon fucks the seller I tried to sell on Amazon but after reading and making reaserch. Amazon fucks the sellers even more than Ebay does. That amazon return guarantee someone has to take the hit. Also Amazon is a place where people go and dump big inventory supplies and are known to dump the market lets say for example of collectibles.
Depends. eBay is vastly more reliable than Amazon for buying physical copies of video games and physical media. I just got sent a region 2 version of a game that was listed on Amazon as region 1. For some dumb ass reason, the search results for games on Amazon is spammed with region 2 pegi versions.
Amazon has become pretty well known for counterfeit merchandise.@@TheCompyshop
Depends on what you are buying on eBay. I would never buy new stuff on eBay. I would never buy no name brands on eBay or Amazon. Getting scammed on eBay on used stuff is less common unless you are bad at buying on eBay.
I have been a caual Ebay buyer and seller for many years.
I mostly look for used car parts and tools I need. The good prices are hard to come by. Many times I find seller are asking more than full retail prices and inflated shipping charges. I still browse almost daily but it is very hard find items at a good price. Once in awhile I hit a jackpot but it's not often these days.
More than 80% of Amazon's revenue is coming from AWS web services. The retail profit has remained consistently flat. In fact, they launched AWS primarily as a means to save the company.
Hmm.. Interesting 😮
Even without AWS, Amazon was still the leading online retailer. They pioneered the affiliate program, created the category tabs interface, made popular free shipping, kindle eBooks, and so on.
80% of their profit, not their revenue
And as an IT'ler all the crazy shit is happening at AWS. Serverless programming means the more servers you add the more serverless you become. And each one takes money and more money.
I use eBay as a card collector or niche items but for regular purchases of course it makes sense to use other services.
That's true for most vintage and collectable items.
eBay is good at reselling used items, like many of the comments mentioned, online garage sale or auction. I thinl they should convert to Craiglist model. Enough profit for the employees and become a private company. That way, it will thrive better than what it is right now.
I love eBay! I will always check eBay anytime I am looking at buying something on Amazon. I've never had an issue with scams, prices are usually better than other sites like Amazon, and I feel like I'm supporting small businesses more than I am on Amazon. The only thing I don't like is the reviews, they are usually non existent, given the fragmentation of sellers on eBay. Amazon is a clear winner there.
I can quickly find what I need on eBay, and get it in reasonable time. I rarely had a problem, and when I do eBay has taken care of it. So, I'm genuinely surprised about this.
9:00
Yep.
Ebay is closer to a flea market, than other retailers.
No negative feedback for buyers, arbitrary best match search, buyer rip off scams, huge delays before getting your money, and anonymous bidders. Should have had separate buyer and seller feedback profiles, kept search defaults to relevent items, and invesigated suspicious issues
Crazy shipping costs have always been the issue for me with a lot of sellers on eBay. Not to mention uninformed sellers who don't know the actual worth of the items they sell and put stupid prices on items that they obviously don't want to sell because of said pricing.
Great analysis as always Hari, thank you! So true that taking the same cut as Amazon (I think Walmart, Best Buy, and others have started providing Amazon-like stores too) but not providing any of the services or protections to either sellers or buyers is a big weakness in 2024! Hope they can figure out how to preserve their brand and change their business model, there is something nice about a world with the eBay flea market in it.
Yep, Best Buy and Walmart are def trying to compete with Amazon nowadays with their push for fast delivery. But yeah, it is disappointing that they have yet to offer the full package.
Excellent reporting! Thank you!
Maybe it’s an American thing, but in the Uk eBay is still booming as far as I can see
Not to mention that Craigslist just isn't a thing here
Agree, I buy sculpting supplies which are like 60% more expensive on Amazon than eBay.
He's talking about the stock price, not eBay's utility.
When it comes to being an online flea market, eBay is still king in America as well.
Without the extortionate fees ebay charges sellers, they'd be dead in the water. 12% fee to promote PLUS the same again in seller fees as well. They also charge a percentage of postage costs. WTF?
If I sell an item for $50 and promote it to make it sell, after fees and postage there's $28 remaining. THAT'S why eBay is dying.
That's why I stopped selling. I can sell stuff locally for a lot less and pocket the same.
😂well, we used to sell items for a buck and 40-50 dollars postage. Needless to say, eBay got tired of that and started charging fees on postage as well.
My biggest problem with ebay is that shipping is way too expensive. I collect Hot Wheels, and there has been many listing that were posted at a very reasonable price and I would’ve bought them, but the shipping would’ve cost me $20-$30 sometimes even more for what is basically a 1”x2.5”x1” product that’s bubble wrapped and put in an almost equally small box or envelope. It’s just ridiculous
A few months ago I sold an item for 600$ and they were asking me to pay more than 160$ in fees + shipping ... After a lot of struggle I canceled it and even then they insisted me to pay the fees which after a few calls and a couple hours later i resolved. Since then I erased all I was selling from eBay
The fee rate and cancellation policy is easy to find, but everyone gets a shock the first time you sell something. I'm surprised you got a refund.
But why a fee so big for basically no service, when everyone else gives a good service and most of them dont ask for a fee to the seller?@@smhanov
Ebay is essentially an online garage sale and needs to stick to that model, I go there to buy used hard drives, dented network switchs and I sell random motherboards, RAM and all sorts of junk for low and sometimes high prices. In 15yrs of using eBay I've never had any issues with scams aside from buying Chinese parts that were underrated or juat never came. Had a guy buy a 20yr old ATM motherboard from me fot $200 since he literally couldn't find it anywhere else on the internet. Thats eBays niche it should stick too, I really hate seeing how much new crap and chinese junk has been appearing on the platform lately.
I had a 20 year old account on eBay and they removed my selling priveleges because some competitors didnt like the product I was selling even though I was selling it years before them. All it takes is one complaint and they take action against your account.
eBay is dying because of this. The are too heavy handed with bans etc.
Sorry to hear that man
@@LogicallyAnswered thanks dude. They forced me onto other platforms which ended up boosting my overall revenue. My gain and their loss.
They have too many idiots working for them and never investigate properly. They just enforce a punitive action because it's a button click away and the easiest thing to do
That’s interesting because you hear a lot of stories about sellers getting wrongly banned or downgraded on Amazon, I didn’t know it was happening on eBay too.
I've found eBay invaluable for finding extremely niche hard to find products like specialized but obsolete microscope parts.
As a seller its clear your presenting your view on what amazons backend is like. As as a seller myself on amazon i can verify its not at all like what you described. Amazon throws all the responsibility on the seller not themselves if you sell FBM. They also do not REMOVE the feedback of a seller if a bad review is made it is left there and stuck thru regardless if your FBA or FBM.
I feel like some of the items I sell can only be sold through eBay, but because they are electronic parts, I get scammed left and right and used as a parts library. Whether what I sell is working or not, buyers frequently return them as not working so they do not have to pay any cost. It only works for large businesses. Single parents like me cannot afford to lose $30 at the time to ship 2-3 pounds of electronic parts across the country for free. O' and then they charge the seller an extra 5% fee to sell because they cannot stop shady people from abusing the system.
What happened is they started getting greedy instead of focusing on creating a better product.
Where does the product itself lack?
Truthfully, I trust the stuff on eBay more than Amazon. Most of the time, stuff is shipped quickly, and you're more likely to know what you're getting into with them.
I was an eBay user. 23 year member. Over 720 items sold. 100% feedback rating. I will never use eBay again.
I got screwed by a buyer claiming they didn’t receive their full order. I shipped the full order! eBay sided with the buyer. I got bent over.
I didn’t even get a chance to retaliate. No help over the phone. No help online. Nada!
Don’t use eBay.
Glad to see your editing got better.
Cheeky
Ebay is not great for sellers but it's still the best online platform for procuring obscure and rare, out-of-production items.
It's also just about the only place for sellers of these odd items to move them.
Spot on! You hit all the major pitfalls. They do really need to somehow seperate the big corporations from the small sellers(and as you say lower the fees for a the small sellers). I just recently found there is a cheaper shipping rate than media mail. As low as $1.19. Now it makes sense to me why a big seller can charge $3.99/free shipping for a book(the company has to apply for a special business permit). I can't compete with that. Of course from what alot of smaller sellers speculate, Ebay wants the small seller to leave because they want the site to be more like Amazon.
Early Ebay users were both buyers and sellers. It was a community. Ebay gave us the middle finger as they preferred commercial large volume sellers. The site became seller friendly and buyer not friendly. It is just not the same. It was fun and now it is not.
eBay’s competition isn’t Amazon it’s Mercari and Poshmark
Yes. Especially Poshmark. Poshmark is starting to dominate the high end reseller market.
I don’t even really think of eBay anymore when I want to buy something I go to Amazon or direct to a company website. I will only look at eBay if I want something second hand/ old tech that’s not made anymore
I used to buy and sell a lot on ebay and had a perfect feedback. I moved and started a new job, so i didnt use the site for about a year and a half. When I came back my rating was set to zero. Ebay told me 'sorry, but thats our new policy'. I tried to buy a few things but people wouldn't sell to me with no feedback. Ebay suggested I buy a few crappy items 'from big sellers to get me restarted'. Lost me permanently as a seller and buyer, but added both to their competition. Oh well.
I love eBay!!! Been boycotting Amazon since forever. PS: Never have had any problem w eBay sellers. And YES as someone else commented, they should go back to their roots; I love the auctions.
ebay plus paypal fees cost me about 35% total, both being quite hostile to honest sellers. as you said the competition is also a big issue, so what is even the point when I can spend all those moneys much better developing my standalone shop.
I sell on ebay my self in UK. it is true fees are about 35% plus postage. and recently it was not enough so ebay increased them
I've made thousands of purchases from Ebay and have never been scammed. The claim that loads of people are being scammed on Ebay sounds to me like a lie. If not then why would I be a special case?
Ebay doesn't actually have a ton of scams it is just their reputation. Amazon has alot of the same issues but people "believe" Amazon is more reliable because of their marketing and public image.
@@la6136 Actually the last order i placed with Amazon, after I ordered it and was told it was on its way, Amazon withdrew the sale and refunded my money. I don't know why, but it looked like a dodgy seller who failed to post the goods.
Generally speaking though, the two main reasons I don't use Amazon is that is it more expensive and I don't like their marketing schemes like Amazon Prime and other gimmicks. In a way, these marketing tactics are scams in themselves and do nothing to help the buyer find the best deal.
So true, as a former eBay employee I can tell you, the "we'l del with it later" attitude is the corporate culture.
Amazon's margins are so small because they've pissed away hundreds of billions of dollars on bad and wasteful business decisions, not because their prices are so cheap. They used to be cheap but I can find almost anything on Amazon, cheaper somewhere else now
Think you need to edit your comment ✌🏻you meant eBay not Amazon.
I agree Amazon prices are always more expensive because a lot of sellers on there are doing retail arbitrage
@@la6136 Yes, but the sold and shipped by Amazon items are frequently overpriced as well. There is rarely a good reason to buy from a third party seller who is arbing Costco merch or the like.
Not to mention that the adding of tax on used items kinda aggravated the random sellers. I already paid sales tax on the item, therefore it is mine. So, the end result is the greedy states trying to up their revenue and possibly take bigger salaries by charging tax more than once for the items. I assume at some point they will start a task force to come down on the random garage sales you see in your neighborhoods.
Just my opinion though.
Ah, didn’t realize that
You pay sales tax for a used car. Officially, it is not a sales tax but a transaction tax.
I understand what you are referring to. However, Ebay has called it sales tax. I sold an item on there and I was charged the tax and so was the buyer. They seem to be dipping 2x on each purchase/sale. Not to mention I had to pay listing fee, % of the total sale, and Paypal transaction fee on top of that (like it always has been). So with all the fees/taxes, my total for the sale was a little less than half the total final winning bid.
@@johnl2727
Lots of cities now have either banned putting up garage sale signs, or they make you pay a fee to the city to do so. For some cities it's pure greed, for others it's virtue signaling about how they are "cleaning up the city." All bullshit either way.
I sell on Ebay since 2016 and I must say. Ebay had gone straight to the bath of self-destruction..
Fees , Platform, traffic, The Bugs, the never ending update/ changing/ restrictions. Etc ... Its a mess .. Konzept is perfect...
Without even watching the video I already know that eBay is a has been company with poor prospects for the future for one reason, no one ever talks about them anymore. They used to constantly be talked about a decade or two ago, both on the news and in day to day conversations. But discussion of eBay is pretty much non-existent anymore because they're just not relevant anymore. I can't remember the last time anyone in my social circle even mentioned buying anything off of Ebay. Amazon by contrast gets way more discussion (both by those who love and hate them), because they're more and more relevant than ever.
I’ve had a couple friends get seriously ripped off on eBay. So, I never consider even shopping on eBay.
Ebay is needed for the niche annoying item I can't find anywhere else an example is a particularly old replacement part for a car, a piston, or something else similar for a water heater boiler etc.
Meg Whitman ran that company into the ground.
The fact they havent addressed.the numerous and abundant scams on the platform should say a lot about the ethics of those involved, and the loss of trust is unsustainable at this point and ebay is doomed to fail
I still prefer ebay because I buy antiques, collectables & unique items. Amazon just seems to sell brand new mass produced junk.
eBay is still my go to place for things that are kind of hard to find. If it is not listed on eBay you're out of luck.
I think you missed their main strength. Where else do you go to sell the shit in your garage or buy a penny of a certain year for your collection? Not Craigslist. That's for stuff local to buyer and seller. Etsy is for grandma's handcrafts. There is no other real platform.
Ebay is overall better to shop than amazon. Most of the time I can find products at a lower price on ebay. Ebay is the first place I go to look for a product. And the fees for sellers are less than what Amazon charges their sellers.
I'm an ebay seller for 12 years, and I sell vintage 1950's-1980's automotive parts. Most of this stuff is no longer made. Most car guts know that Ebay is THE BEST place to get stuff like this. I hate when eBay tries to position itself as a discount seller of new goods. Let Amazon and Walmart do that. Find your niche and do what you do best.
Okay I need to clarify something. Ebay makes a lot of cash flow and used it to buy back own stock and reduced number of shares by two thirds. That means you own more and more of the company without buying more shares by yourself.
If you look to per share basis than their revenue 7x since 2008. Ebay also spin off Paypal so if you hold Ebay since 2008 than you will own also shares of Paypal for free. So you cant just look at share price of Ebay...
Share price looks flat but it isnt. Shares grew by 8% per year since 2015 and doubled since than. 2000 was internet bubble and Ebay stock was very overvalued and thats why stayed flat in the first half. Entire market was flat after year 2000 for 13 years.
Ebay stock is 10x since 2009. Not bad. This stock will not make you rich overnight but makes around 10% annual returns which is not that bad and is very cheap. And have very little debt.
Ebay should be auction of used products, collectibles, rare items etc. Its not exactly comparable with Amazon.
That makes sense. I used to use ebay a decent amount until the pandemic hit and I got scammed twice for ~$200 total for defective items when returning them and not receiving a refund as promised
I only ever use it as a last resort and maybe for very small value purchases that are like 3x more expensive on Amazon or something
Ebay once had 100%+ profit margins and they didn't provide any services.
Selling Paypal was the worst move
I have never even thought of eBay for buying something new. That’s not what they are for.
I do the same, eBay doesnt have true competitors for buying used stuff from other people.
All collectors and people with tight money have to use ebay. Amazon used books are crazy priced.
I started selling on eBay, I sold 4 things and got scammed on 2 of them. Both buyers said the items never arrived (they did) and they opened claims against me and eBay just refunded them their money from my account and told me to claim from the postage company (who proved the items were delivered so wouldn’t pay out to me). One of the people was then selling the item I had sent them on her selling page! When I tried to flag this to eBay they just ignored me and said I couldn’t prove it was my item (I could)
Utterly pointless! All the power is with the buyer and no power to the seller
If the item shows delivered eBay automatically backs the seller. I have been selling on eBay since 1999.
@@ManMountainMetals both buyers claimed they never signed for and received the item. They were only cheap items so it wasn’t worth my time and effort to keep fighting it. EBay just gave them back their money and as I said above I was incensed as one of them posted the item they said they didn’t receive from me up for sale. When I messaged the seller about the item she then claimed I was not to contact her as she had cancer??? It was a depressing and pointless experience, no wonder they’re dying on their arse.
@urbanyeti5233 As an eBay seller since 1999, I have had my share of problem customers, and I am familiar with the process. Ebay would have refunded both you and the customer had you simply presented the tracking number. I don't understand why you would pay for signature required shipping on a cheap item because it costs an extra 5 to 6 dollars. It is literally one click to submit the tracking number, and if the package shows delivered, you would have been covered. It's really just that simple. I am sorry that you got problem customers right from the start like that, and I sympathize with your frustration. As for eBay dying, well despite Marketplace, Esty and numerous others entering the fray eBay has held steady and not lost a significant amount of market share. I would not give a lot of credibility to the views represented in this video made by someone who doesn't make a living selling on eBay.
Ebay has things that Amazon doesn't have like parts for old electromechanical devices. I got a $700 camera open box for $400.
I gave up on eBay after I got burned by their customer service. It was the worst customer service experience I have ever had. I have worked in customer service and it was inexcusable how bad it was.
What happened to eBay? 1) poor customer service, 2) they got greedy with listing fee commissions, 3) no protections for sellers, 4) no quality assurance on what is sold on eBay - the level of junk items being sold has increased tenfold , 5) the bidding auction model is no longer popular in today's climate
The high fees are a major factor for sellers.
I haven’t used eBay in forever I prefer ordering ordering off of Amazon
Same
I did real well selling on EBay back in 1999-2001, then I quit, why? cause E Bay treats the sellers like crap,,
Ok, I’m going to hit play and start watching the video but I’m going to guarantee that he’s going to say the word “lucrative”. I will edit this comment on the result after I watched the video
edit: well, I was wrong. This is a 100% lucrative free video. Well played sir, well played! But I’ll be watching you. I’ll definitely catch you next time!
For certain categories Ebay can be substantially cheaper than Amazon and can often offer free shipping without the need to have Amazon Prime or minimum order value.
It is becoming less of an auction site and more straight forward ecommerce.
It's auctioning facilities have always favoured the buyer, with a timer determining the winning bid rather than it be the highest bidder. From a buyer's prospection it would be better if there was a five minute clock run down started from the highest bid.
Where Ebay and many other lose out to Amazon is that Amazon's delivery and their return processes which are difficult to beat.
Ebay do need to evolve otherwise they may find that they will lose out to Temu which is perhaps more of a threat to them than Amazon.
Ebay is fundamentally a good business which still has potential to grow, but whether it has the right management in place to make that happen is debatable.
Refunds have never been an issue with eBay.
For back up though
...PayPal has always stepped up in the rare instance when eBay hasn't due to elapsed time, 100% my fault,
or another issue.
That said, if the price is close all in, I'll use Amazon Prime every time
...free return shipping is foolish to pass on.
Great video as always
Thank you as always Balpreet!
Wow, I was here really early, just 12 minutes upon release of the video! Thanks for your videos; they have always been so mind-blowing and eye-opening.
Thanks for being early Jaybee!
@@LogicallyAnswered Oh wow! You actually reply to comments!!! Thanks!
They must have to many employees sitting around doing nothing. I run a side hustle and Ebay keeps probably 10-20% of what we sell on the platform. We did over $100K worth of sales on there in 2023. With all the stuff that sells on there it seems crazy that they aren't making big money.
0:10 don't look at the other results 👀
Ebay has made it horrible for sellers to operate and the scams Ebay buyers have to deal with make being a buyer miserable.
Of my last 4 purchases on eBay, one worked out, ebay refunded two and the forth purchase was just a lost.
I gave up selling about 3 yrs ago and quit buying about 6 months ago.
The ability to pay third parts to remove negative feedback has not helped.
Ebay did it to themselves.
Well i don't know if im the weird one or here in Italy we're all using ebay the wrong way but me and my friends buy a lot from ebay but none of us has ever bought anything made after 2000, we buy used stuff from random people, and most of the stuff i buy is used and made before 2000. So the comparison with amazon sounds super weird to me, like comparing apple to ikea. Also I don't think Craigslist works worldwide, never heard anyone outside the US using it. So yeah ebay is the Craigslist for the rest of the world.
Spot on, same in UK.
What the video doesn't take into account is that eBay has 5x the market cap of other used good resellers (Depop, whatnot, StockX, PWCC,etc.) eBay's competitors are too small to be criticized.
both maazon and ebay need dark mode rn
Great analysis of the dinasaur.
The few times I have gone to eBay, I’ve found that products usually cost more there. That’s basically the only reason I don’t return. And I’m not usually a person who bids so I haven’t explored that side of it.
I quit selling eBay after they forced us to switch to managed payments.
Managed payments aren't that bad. I like that the money goes directly into my bank account.
When I sold something on eBay for the first time last year, I was told after the sale that eBay does not support paying out to my bank or paying out to paypal and that I needed to open up another card to get my money. Boy was I pissed.
Once they forced paypal,
I lost interest.
I always chime in to Logically Answered videos regarding ecom, as its my fulltime job. BUT I sell 250+ private label skus online. Ebay does 0.5% of my Amazon sales. Will probably quit Ebay as its not even worth it for me to check/ship stuff out.
Yes ebay is a flea market. I only use ebay for buying used/broken goods. Amazon is not a venue for such items. There is no substitue for ebay in this category.