Ebay removing insurance option

This is a good thing if it means they quit fucking sellers all the time. Their broken system is skewed way too far to the buyer.

 

Does anyone remember when eBay was actually good? Say around 2000.

Although this begs the question of whether or not eBay has ever been good.

That said, its way broken now and the only way to fix it is to kill it with fire and start a new...

 

I always insure things that are over $50, and work that into the "shipping and handling" price. I just don't even tell them.

Then again, I don't list very many things for over $100 on Ebay. One time I tried to sell a camera, and the same Nigerian scammer person won the auction three times in a row. So high priced items for me go to craigslist first.

 

Personally I'm all for the rules spelling out that it is the seller's issue to deal with. After all, if I buy something it's not mine until it shows up at my door. It's sad that it had to be codified in the rules, but it'll help when some idiot seller tries to pull a "well it was in good condition when I left it at the post!"

Even then, idiot sellers will always try and abuse the system. The latest one that I've seen are European sellers that flag their auctions as Free Shipping to get them to show up as featured under the free shipping search, but then claim that there is a shipping fee in the text of the ad. That's straight up bull, and I really hope that anyone who wins one of those auctions refuses to pay said fee.

-hl718

 

Buyer protection is good to have but theve taken it a bit to far

 

Once PayPal created a claims process every Seller turned into a self-insurer. It just took eBay/PayPal this long to be honest about it.

 

Quoted for truth.
I don't know about other countries, but on ebay.de you have to send items in all the media (incl. video games, books, music) categories for FREE (new rule that is to be launched in October). 1,50 Euro for a DVD case and 2,20 Euro for Mega Drive / DS / Digipak ect - just imagine what a sum that is after having sold 30 items or so.

You can offer insured shipping with an extra free, but free shipping HAS to be the first option. Imagine you had to pay 1,50 Euro of shipping for the buyer while your game just sold for 1,50. Fuck ebay I say.

 

Yeah, ebay gets worse and worse, but honestly, as long as there are bargains to be had, I will still surf for stuff :redface:
-ud

 

So? You just set the starting price at a realistic level.

All stuff like this does is ensure that the buyer doesn't have to deal with hidden charges.

It also prevents sellers from scamming with crazy high "packing" fees for basic items.

If you know that your shipping costs and eBay fees are going to total 3 euro and you want at least 2 euro for your item, just start the bidding at 5 euro instead of 2 euro.

Simple.

As long as there are buyers there will be sellers. eBay knows this. Keep the buyers happy and the sellers will come. If eBay doesn't support the buyers then it runs the risk of being labeled a scammer site.

If the buyers abandon it then it doesn't matter how seller friendly the site is.

-hl718

 

Uh... no. You pay for the shipping option you want. If you want to send it cheap shipping. Fine. It goes missing or the postal service plays kick the package with it, it's your problem, not the sellers. This is how internet sales have worked since day one, and continue to outside of Ebay (unless you're dealing w/ a big company that would rather not fuck with some peon's $20 game).

 

As buyers and sellers, no one wants to take responsibility for something until it shows up.

Every seller I know waits until payment is in hand before shipping. No seller (aside from close trusted groups) will send an item when payment is sent. They wait until payment arrives. It's the same with a buyer.

The buyer is responsible for making sure the money gets to the seller. If the payment disappears along the way, it's the buyer's problem, not the seller's problem. If I buy an item from you and send a check, but the check doesn't arrive are you still going to send the item?

This is just the flipside. After the seller gets the money, the seller is responsible for getting the item to the buyer.

Like it or not, even postal insurance reflects this dynamic. If something is damaged or lost, it is the sender/seller who has to file the claim and the sender/seller is the one who gets the payout.

-hl718

 

That's actually not how most internet sales work. Perhaps on message boards like this one, but every retailer I have ever dealt with on the Internet is responsible for getting the item to the buyer undamaged. If they don't, they replace it at their cost. Ebay is just bringing the auction world in line with the rest of the on-line commerce world.

 

Obviously -- they are the one holding the claim ticket. Amazing how that works.

Not if the buyer wants to save money on shipping. Sorry man, I've been shipping shit from internet sales before the WWW was around. If the buyer wants to be a cheapskate, he's the one that has to roll the dice. I've got an EMS only policy for my YJ auction proxy. For trusted buyers, I let them use airmail, SAL, or boat, but they are fully aware that if it goes missing, it's no skin off my cock.

Under your theory, I should be paying for any duties their country imposes as well. Afterall, it's a cost incurred before it gets to them.

 

Still beats Swoopo.

 

Well this is the problem I have with that:

If the buyer does not want to invest in insurance, then said item is lost or destroyed, then suddenly it's my (the seller) problem. How it's worked up until now is if you don't want to invest in insurance, then you take on the risk. If you do want to spend the extra few dollars to get insurance, then you're covered.

What they're doing now is saying me, the seller, has to cover this regardless of whether the buyer wants it or not. So I can either -

a) Eat the cost

or

b) tack it onto the listing price, and risk not selling my item.

The buyer gets a cheaper price. Then when the mail man decides to walk off with the item I get my dick chopped off.

They've already put unrealistic limits on shipping charges for things like single games and small items (which is usually the only things I sell.) They even made it so you HAVE to use paypal, no more checks or money orders. They pull your auctions now if you use a money order, so now they make money when you list, AND from paypal fees for the same transaction. What kind of shit is that?

It's bullshit, one of these days someone is going to have to file a federal anti-trust suit against them. If I could find a viable alternative I would, but so far every other online auciton house is substandard.

I do a lot less shopping from Ebay though, I'll tell you that.

 

And I don't list on them at all now. I bailed out when the fees were in the 7%. I don't have tons of time to cock around any more anyway. And, I'm big enough of an asshole that I'll cut off my nose to spite my face. I know I'm nothing in the face of Ebay, but that doesn't say much about me as a person if I play their shitty game.

 

Wouldn't the shipping price just get redirected into the item price?
Though, with insurance... that means it would have to be EMS all the time?