This is going to be long and painful to read if you are uninterested in eBay history. Just a fair warning. Don't judge me, I'm doing this right before bed. I'm not THAT sad that I have nothing better to do...
The whole ebay+paypal thing infuriates me. I was one of those few million users that helped jumpstart eBay to become something more. I was there in '98, helping those turds become who they are today, both as a seller and buyer. It was great. Scams weren't really a problem. We used checks and money orders across the site for payment. Everybody worked overtime to maintain a perfect feedback score. It meant EVERYTHING to you while you built your eBay rep. Sellers were harsh on buyers with 0 feedback, admittedly. But rightfully so...kind of. There's always been the problem on non payers. It was a hassle for us back in 98, as much as it is now. For some reason people like to troll and not pay.
Eventually paypal came to be and changed things for the better. It made scams a waste of time as you had to pay online. The possibility of faked checks or MOs or checks bouncing or whatever were a thing of the past, and it was still a separate company at the time. You got your money instantly. Everything was grand except for the occasional issue someone had with them because of their status as a non banking service. They could withhold funds if they felt compelled to do it because of "suspicious activity" or whatever. Usually this happened to accounts with thousands of dollars that could be frozen.
Then everything went to hell when eBay decided they wanted to double dip by buying paypal. Which wasn't terrible...until they decided they were going to change how the eBay game was played, and force paypal onto all of it's users, and implement funds withholding while you "prove" yourself. If you don't maintain your selling, eventually your proven track history is erased(I might be wrong on that)This is where ebay+paypal infuriates me.
But alas..in time, it was taken over by big business. eBay was no longer the people's auction site. It was the one stop place for everything to buy. These days the "smart buyers" people very strictly use eBay and Amazon, like they use facebook or twitter for social media, and how they use youtube almost exclusively(there's another site that was for the people, but taken over by professional businesses...) Whichever is cheaper, they use that site to make their purchase. The little people are shoved aside as meaningless to eBay's success now. Buyers are given incredible power over the seller. Not an issue for Best Buy, but it's a massive issue for small timers. I don't even know if there's been a -1 feedback person on eBay since they were given asylum from sellers giving them negative feedback.
eBay abandoned who they were for $ signs. It shouldn't matter to us, we could just take our business elsewhere. The problem is, no buyers are following. They stick around eBay...and so sellers stick around when the alternatives just don't get traffic. eBid is the only practical alternative, and even with a few million users, it's no where near what eBay was when they only had a few million users as far as purchases goes, because most of those eBid users are sellers....
That's my little history of eBay and Paypal. Now on to why they infuriate me these days...
Last year I sold off 3 or 4 antique signs for 1500-2300 dollars each, after a many years of absence from the eBay scene. Occasional purchase, but I had no idea how badly things got for sellers. I ate the $150 dollar shipping costs on each sign as free shipping, even though I only accepted offers high enough to cover it. I was forced to sit and wait for weeks as eBay/Paypal withheld my funds in the event I was a nasty, evil scammer. Didn't matter that I was a member since '98, or that I had a seller history or 100% feedback rep. I was forced to accept putting the fate of my money into their hands, with no other way to accept payment besides Paypal. They have woven the site with paypal so well that these days I would not doubt if nearly 100% of the transactions that take place there are through Paypal. Once again that loathsome truth exists - everyone uses blank, and so do you as a result.
If I knew then what I know now, I probably wouldn't have sold them on eBay. I had no idea that all it took was for a buyer to decide he wanted a free sign worth thousands of dollars(I believe the people who bought my signs were resellers with more patience than I to try to sell them to niche buyers for 4k+, all signs went to business addresses...)and to claim he never received it. Paypal would then happily given them their money back because I was very clearly proven to be a evil scammer, even if I had provided clear evidence of shipment. And they have made it even easier to scam buyers with Paypal's newest policy that has been bumped up from 40 days to 6? months I think for a claim. 6 months.....seriously? I mean really, is this thing on?
So yeah. Boy oh boy I could go on with this. eBay sucks for the lowbie seller. I just love the whole ebay/paypal split thing they're doing, as if it's going to change anything. "We'll recommend to Paypal, instead of requesting, when to hold your funds"
GTFOOH eBay. Everytime eBay "recommends" Paypal to hold funds, Paypal is going to hold funds. It's like, we're splitting up guys. Isn't that right, Paypal? *wink* It sure is, eBay! *wink*
The only reason they are splitting is because they know they have their market cornered so hardcore that they can afford to split and make even more billions of dollars. Everyone will still use Paypal on eBay, and everyone will still use eBay. At best we gain more methods of payment, but most transactions will be via Paypal...
I guess that's all I wanted to say on the matter. It's depressing that ebay went down this path. It wouldn't be remotely as bad as it is if they didn't give us the finger so badly. I've seen sellers get scammed so badly there. Some sellers aren't innocent. They'll send used crap to you in place of new product and try to buy you off with a partial refund. Besides that happening occasionally, eBay has become a haven for buyer scams on small time sellers. I won't dare now try to sell anything of real value there. I have something I want to sell worth 1200 bucks and I really need the money, but I just can't risk it on eBay...electronics are the most hit spot for buyer scams, I believe.
It's safer to enjoy the collector's item for myself than to be SoL for 1200 dollars AND my item. I bought it for myself, so I am willing to enjoy it. But damn, that 1200 dollars would be great to put towards my new hobby here...
