What's happened to eBay?

[jeffinsgf]

Hey guys. Been a long time since I posted on here. I've taken a new job and my tractor days are sadly limited. A few years ago when I was using my tractor on a nearly daily basis, you could buy and sell used tractors and implements routinely on eBay and feel you were getting a fair deal as either buyer or seller. I've had a John Deere MX-5 brush cutter on eBay for 3 weeks with barely a nibble and so few "looks" that I am thinking no one even goes there for equipment any more. Did I miss something while I was asleep?

 

[marchanna]

Yeah, eBay has turned into a junk site. I used to buy of there on a regular basis but it’s a pretty rare occurrence now. The sellers are hard to trust and they often put outrageous shipping fees on things to compensate for the cheap sale price. A lot of direct from China sales with fake North America item locations. The worst is the roadblock ads; ten pages of the same thing so that it makes it difficult to search for what you really want.

 

[smstonypoint]

My guess is competition from other sites. My online shopping is limited, so I don't have a clue as to what those sites may be.

Steve

 

[shaeff]

Yeah, eBay has turned into a junk site. I used to buy of there on a regular basis but it痴 a pretty rare occurrence now. The sellers are hard to trust and they often put outrageous shipping fees on things to compensate for the cheap sale price. A lot of direct from China sales with fake North America item locations. The worst is the roadblock ads; ten pages of the same thing so that it makes it difficult to search for what you really want.

Craigslist is the same way. I see the same ad 20+ times in a row. If I'm feeling froggy I'll report all except one. I thought there used to be limits on how often ads could be posted on CL.

 

[newbury]

Craigslist is the same way. I see the same ad 20+ times in a row. If I'm feeling froggy I'll report all except one. I thought there used to be limits on how often ads could be posted on CL.

At least on CL you can limit duplicates. Although some spammers tend to add in a list of random character at the end of the description.
So you get:
"Tractor - $10,000 vgrede"
and
"Tractor - $10,000 xdwert"
as 2 different, but otherwise identical ads.

 

[RNeumann]

Sorry to say, politics played a roll- they limited sales of items they deem bad. Then PayPal provides the worst service of any banking institution. Between those two things I’ve done everything I can to avoid them.

 

[kthompson]

And I thought it was me. Makes me feel better. But where is items being sold on internet if there are other sites?

 

[fried1765]

And I thought it was me. Makes me feel better. But where is items being sold on internet if there are other sites?

I have been using E-Bay for years.
Mostly all good.
Recently bought an HP laptop, that the seller listed as NEW, at what seemed to be a great price.
The seller had less than 5 feedback, so I was concerned.
Seller shipped me a REFURBISHED HP laptop.
I complained to E-Bay, and they very promptly refunded my $323.
I did not pay for shipping either way.
Overall,.... a disappointment,.... but not a catastrophe.
Bought a NEW computer from Best Buy instead.

 

[Dadnatron]

Honestly... I used to use eBay quite a lot. Now... I never even think about it unless someone specifically points out something.

I agree with all the above... My frustration is that I cannot find a 'used' something because of all the spam crap straight from China.

 

[TractorGuy]

I too have mostly good luck with ebay but I have only purchased one piece of equipment from there.

The guy I bought my backhoe from was a lying SOB. He had a decent feedback rating when I bought but went to zero within a year after.

On some smaller stuff you occasionally run into dishonest sellers but those are easy to deal with. When you wire thousands of dollars to someone and get something that wasn't as advertised two months later it ain't so easy.

 

[Industrial Toys]

It's still my number one goto site for so many things. Especially electronics from China. FREE shipping, no brokerage charges or TAX! Foam guns, back scratchers, leds, computer cables, relays, cat toys, I could go on and on.

 

[jeffinsgf]

I think Industrial Toys treasure is my trash. When I started using eBay, there was virtually nothing new on it. It was a place to sell good used stuff from one private individual to another. That's all there was. Then companies started using it and that was the first step down the slippery slope.

 

[marchanna]

I use it now mainly for rare hard to find stuff. It’s still a good source for used car parts, but even then I find the shipping costs a little high.

I did just buy an oven element for a vintage range. The price was good and I couldn’t find it anywhere else.

 

[frugalangler]

I find the cost to sell on eBay is outrageous now, I've had very good luck selling stuff I don't need on FaceBook Marketplace, I never even think about CraigsList but do shop eBay for a lot of stuff, like others no brokerage for import or duties and typically free ship, just sometimes slow.

 

[fried1765]

I think Industrial Toys treasure is my trash. When I started using eBay, there was virtually nothing new on it. It was a place to sell good used stuff from one private individual to another. That's all there was. Then companies started using it and that was the first step down the slippery slope.

I am on the side of "Industrial Toys", about E-Bay
E-Bay is OFTEN less expensive than Amazon, and Amazon now charges tax.
I buy lots of stuff on E-Bay.( I compare Amazon and E-Bay for pricing ).
Recent E-Bay examples: Hobart MIG welder, MIG wire, wire rope, electrical cable, dog food, dog vitamins, people vitamins, extra 20v & 40V batteries, chain, tractor parts, etc. etc. (chain was less on E-Bay than HF with 20% off)

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I think Industrial Toys treasure is my trash. When I started using eBay, there was virtually nothing new on it. It was a place to sell good used stuff from one private individual to another. That's all there was. Then companies started using it and that was the first step down the slippery slope.

Yep, when it started was more like craigslist.

 

[Dftodd]

We bought a second hand cell phone from eBay just recently. Was supposed to be refurbished. But ended up just being used. Wasn't even factory defaulted. We realized too late or we would have reported them. Took a bit to get the phone activated.

Our issue with the phone was the charging port. Port has a pin that's hinky, so when the phone is hooked to a charger, it tends to charge for a second, then disconnect, then connect again. Almost like a bad cord. But the cord is brand new and works great for our other devices.

We have to shut the phone off when charging, or it constantly beeps. So, this weekend, I'll run it by a cellular repair place and see if we can get it fixed.

I agree with others. The direct from China and 20 something adds for the same thing are very aggravating. I rarely browse on there any more.

 

[DrRod]

I check it and compare to Amazon. As mentioned above, got to watch the shipping. There at $1 TVs out there with $200 shipping. Lots of other examples in the lower ranges like I bought a min/max thermometer for $4 and then noticed $12 shipping.

 

[EddieWalker]

I rarely go to Ebay for anything, but in another thread, somebody suggested getting filters on ebay and I have found a few good deals there. I think of Ebay as a small scale version of Amazon, but without the reviews. If you know what you want, you might save a buck going there.

For awhile Craigslist was decent for selling things, but I think Facebook has replaced them. Especially Facebook groups where you can post just farm equipment in your local area.

And of course, nothing has a better history of success then putting it out on the road with a for sale sign on it!!!!

 

[bunyip]

I find commissions are the killer for us, just over 10% for ebay then another 10% for Paypal and they include the postage in the total figure, this makes selling something of a challenge for little or no input on their part.
We have alternate sites too like the free gumtree.com.au which is owned by Ebay, we have now taken to waiting to sell at garage sales a couple of times a year, no scammers, no spammers and no commission (yet).