Quoted from goingincirclez:People have been predicting the end of ebay for over 15 years, from when they first made paypal mandatory (yes, just like they are doing with their post-paypal system), to when started hiding feedback and usernames, to implementing seller standards, to forcing communication through its abysmal message system, to charging fees inclusive of shipping, to consolidating (or expanding) categories, to forcing more item details... never mind the annual fee increases!
It's an extremely hostile, abusive relationship. But sellers put up with it because ebay's vast reach makes it a functional monopoly: if you want the biggest possible market exposure for your niche goods you don't waste time elsewhere, you sell on ebay. If you don't want to deal with ebay's bullshit, you can try handling crazies on Craigslist, flakes on Facebook, or nobody on Letgo. Otherwise you're left with your much smaller circle of personal contacts, or maybe a yard sale, flea market or peddler's mall. If you happen to be an expert on particular goods and belong to their dedicated communities, to can try there.
But in the end, if you're ebaying so much stuff that it becomes a primary source of income, if you were running any other business or alternate venue of that revenue scale you'd have all sorts of other / different expense besides... so, ebay's got you. Because in the end there is a layer of BS, risk, and opportunity cost no matter which avenue your pursue. And with its 20+ year start, ebay's reach and scale is never going to be matched by anyone else: several have tried and all have failed.
Never mind that Ebay positions itself as an Amazon competitor and has made no secret of this. Small-time yardsalers, collectible traders, and hobby parters are only as valuable as the latest trends as entire categories have come, gone, expanded, and collapsed. So whenever you see an ebay commercial, realize that Ebay is competing with Amazon for consumer revenue but YOU are the unpaid contractor fulfillment providing those goods to consumers. Every time you see banner ads on ebay's homepage promoting the latest hot fad or crazy deal, remember ebay itself is not sourcing, providing or selling a damn thing! Ebay is only running a very profitable front-end and payment processor interface in the guise of a storefront... it has outsourced all inventory, warehousing, shipping, fulfillment, service, and risk to its sellers: it's basically the totem of the "sidegig" economy that's effing up other industries and its shareholders love it for that.
All that said, for stuff I want rid of without Ebay's shitstream, there's Craigslist and Goodwill. But for most of the things I decide to sell, ebay is still the only place where doing so makes any sense. And it SUCKS! But I don't think anything else will ever be any better because other platforms don't - and won't ever - have the same potential reach for maximum value - even after all the fees and headaches are figured. And some of those fees do have a basis in reality and won't ever go away entirely.
The most peaceful solution long term, is to not have so much shit to be rid of in the first place...
