Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums Online Auctions, eBay Craigslist Petroliana New FEEbay rules

Just got an email from Ebay. Starting in October, no more check or money order payments along with all kinds of other new "improvements" aimed at basically turning Ebay into a glorified cheap electronics and chinese tool store. Truely unreal. I think Paypal is fine for small items, but if I'm selling something for several thousand dollars, I'm sure as heck not flushing $100+ down the toilet to PayPal.

I usually defend the merits of ebay, this time not so much.
As a seller I will NOT accept Paypal, ever.
Most of the stuff posted on their blog is about the buyers, heck, I would be more concerned about the sellers if I were ebay.
Can't believe some other auction site hasn't knocked ebay off their perch yet.

wow every time i turn around ebay gets worse terrable

They are trying for a Captive audience, they don't want anyone leaving the SITE [& going to town to refill the Beer cooler] !
Plus as others have said, They don't make anything Extra when Buyers use Checks or M.O.
db

Hey Oldgas......Time to set up an auction site the way ebay used to be. Charge some fees either on the front end or back end or both and see how it goes. Ebay's screw up could be your opportunity knocking. If you do...I am in.

I too usually stay quiet when Ebay implements new changes..but this is truly surreal.

Paypal ONLY??

Thanks
but
no thanks...

Looks like I may have to start attending more shows for my goodies. Everything goes in cycles, so this my be the start of the shows doing better and better, who knows. I don't use Pay-Pal and will NOT.

Just my two cents,,,, I don't know how the banks work in the USA but I'm sure you guys are away ahead of us Canadians... I just sold a Red Indian sign on Ebay ( $1425.00 US),to a fellow Canadian and he sent me an "Interac Email Transfer of Funds" from his bank to mine. I get an email from INTERAC and click on the link . The seller and buyer have a secret question and answer between them and when that is answered correctly by the seller, BOOM ! the money is in my bank account. NO cost to the seller or buyer, NO FEES!!!! As fast as PayPal and NO charge..and no personal information exchanged between buyer and seller, like bank account, address, etc. All the buyer needs to send money to the seller is his or her email address, Nothing else... Pretty slick if you ask me..

Wes: did the two of you have to leave the ebay site to complete the transaction? If so, that's what ebay is trying to eliminate. And...if you read the fine print on ebay's site, starting in January of 09, only approved electronic fund transfer methods will be permitted and they will appear on the checkout screen at the conclusion of the auction.

I trust online transfer of funds pretty much, actually some studies say it's safer than the mail. My main beef is dispute resolution. When a credit card is being used the buyer has all the leverage, Paypal can and does withhold money, and they usually side with the buyer.

Also...another change when you read the fine print is ebay is going to limit the amount that can be charged by sellers for shipping.

[This message has been edited by Ohio Oil (edited 08-21-2008).]

I also love this one: For items where you'd expect to exchange money upon pickup (for something big like a 500 pound gas pump), you can specify "payment upon pickup" but you MUST also allow them to use PayPal. So if a guy buys a pump from me, but has a burr up his a** and insists on using paypal, I'm out $50-100 just because the guy is too lazy to go to the ATM or write a check. Unbelievable. I've heard through business channels that eBay is having serious issues internally, but this is beyond belief. I see this backfiring severely for them. What they forget is the small time sellers are also some of the biggest buyers on eBay, and they're running away from eBay in droves.

Hi I really have no problems taking pay pal- I would say 8 or 9 out of 10 sales pay with pay pal- i know My overseas buyers would go away if I didnt take pay pal- they dont always win but they do help push the bidding- US bidders have told me that they would not have bid or bid as high if they could not have it charged to their credit card-Just my opinion-
Also unless Im missing something I see no problem with with a regular buyer sending me a check or MO even though i will not show it as acceptable form of payment- ?? Thanks Don PS I have been with ebay over 10 years and have managed to adjust to the changes-sometimes reluctantly- It is still the best game in town-

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Wanted 5 quart cans

Hey Don,

Actually, eBay says that they will be policing sellers for accepting non-approved payment forms and reprimanding sellers. I assume they'll do this by tracking how many sales you have and then how many of them end up being paid for with PayPal. If there is a discrepency, the ebay police will put the hammer down I assume. I have no problems accepting paypal for most things, it's just easier, but for large ticket items, I believe I should have the right to not be forced to give an even bigger chunk of my sale to eBay. If I buy something for $1500 and hope to sell for $1900, a 25-30% of the profit goes to eBay/PayPal between auction fees and PayPal.

Their FAQs section on this is hilarious. One of the questions is "what happens if a buyer insists on using a check or money order?" Their answer? Tell him to go buy a prepaid visa/mastercard, set up a paypal account and pay through paypal. Great customer experience right there!

Whenever I hear things like this it makes me think of Revelations 13:17 "No one could buy or sell unless he had this mark, that is, the beast's name or the number that stands for his name." Funny thoughts that run through my pea brain.
Mike

This also might be a "squeeze" from the IRS and state tax folks because many sellers just cash out the money orders and only report the paypal.com payments because it has a paper trace.

Give it time, something else will "start" to knock them off the line and then they will be forced to change everything back to compete. This is what Wal-Mart does right?


Travis

Reply to Ohio Oil,,, no we did the Ebay check out thing, he just paid me that way. Ebay gets all their fees that was or is coming to them. There is no reason they should have a problem..they just didn't get any PayPal fees, no more than if he sent me a check or money order..

Well I agree with "It's the best game in town"... I just ended some auctions last weekend, I sold $3000 worth of stuff only one third was paid with payPal and actually that is a low number, it's usually the other way around. There isn't an auctioneer anywhere in this country that charges only 10% for selling items.. Plus access to the world for selling,,..come on guys,,.. The simple solution to the cost is, Ebays fees average approx. 6% of the total and PayPal is another 2.9%, be smart and add 9% to want you really want for the item and it's all covered. As far as shipping goes, what I have done now is figured in the shipping cost, ( if you have sold on Ebay for a while you know approx. what that usually is) and add it in the amount you want for the item and the customer is quite happy to know what he is paying in the end before he even bids.. then the customer has no reason to complain about shipping costs..and everyones is happy, ( including Ebay).

I am a usual buyer and occasional seller on eBay..

frankly, i expect at some point some legal eagle is going to force eBay to back down from this pointing out that since sellers are not eBay employees, it is not eBay's place to dictate terms of sale...

and if i buy anything from you guys off eBay i may or may not ask if you accept money orders...

i am considering ending my PayPal account over this....i have learned that PayPal isnt as safe as they want you to believe....while i am fortunate and not been compromised, i sure as hell been hit by the occasional phishing attacks...but i am worried enough now to take a hard look at it.

At MY age, i dont have the money or time to spend buckets of time and cash to straighten out a mess caused by PayPal's insufficient protections

After learning the recent eBay rule changes for acceptable payment methods that the seller must accept or be punished through eBay's police dept., I decided it was time to close my eBay store for good. Ebay continues to make changes that make it difficult for the seller to comply with. If I want to accept a check, money order or cashiers check from a buyer, I feel that is my choice. I will continue to sell on eBay until the new changes take effect in October. Otherwise, I will find other avenues to sell my products. Eventually, eBay will invest in Fedex so they can control and get paid on all your items listed and shipped. Local pick up will also be a thing of the past.

So what is the next Best selling avenue for the small sellers ?

I'm having great success selling & buying right here on OldGas.com.

Check this site out....

looks interesting... randy
www.icollect247.com

Hy-Flash 72's suggestion icollect247.com looks very promising. I have recently been informed by a couple of longtime eBay power sellers that www.ebid.net has worked well for them since they left eBay. It looks like ebid is having some trouble getting bidders? Voted best alternative to eBay.