Seeing Red On Ebay

[the 'stache]

I feel your pain, my friend. I listed a black leather sofa and Sony tube TV together to sell on Ebay a few days ago. It was the very first time I'd ever listed something for sale. Well, I took it down before the offers started coming in. It turns out I hadn't done a few things I needed to do, so I'm going to re-list it. But the number of hoops a seller has to jump through is simply crazy. Then, for your troubles, they take a pint of blood before letting the body go, so to speak.

Somewhere in the world, there's an enterprising young man or woman developing an alternative to Ebay. A place where an honest person can sell their items and not feel like they've just gone seven rounds with Rocky Marciano. Someplace where buyers and sellers are held equally accountable, and there's no tolerance for things like schilling.

Thankfully, for pre-war and vintage cards/memorabilia, we have that kind of a place already. Our members operate on an honor system, and look out for one another. And the members of Net 54 are truly passionate about our hobby; they're not just looking to squeeze every last cent out of somebody's pocket.

I know I am naive about how some things work in this world, but Net 54 has spoiled me. Once you've seen what the mountain top is like, you don't want to settle for less. And Net 54 is the Mr. Everest of card, memorabilia and ephemera collecting sites.

Originally Posted by Eric72

I also miss the old days of eBay. Not just from the buying side...it was also a nice place for me to sell a few things every now and then. These days, I hardly ever bother. It seems (to me, at least...personal opinion) that the odds are stacked pretty heavily against a little guy having much success. I am all for buyer protection systems...but eBay seems to have tilted the table a bit too far, allowing abusive buyers to roam free. It would be nice to have the option to leave negative feedback as a seller. This would probably level things out.

But what do I know? I'm just a small fish in the great wide ocean who wishes he could still make a few bucks here and there selling off unwanted stuff.

By the way, I typically listed items at 99 cents, no reserve, 7 day auction. Watching the number of bids add up was part of the appeal to me.

Ah, the good old days. OK...rant over.

Best regards,

Eric