I don’t know if it matters at this point. But now I’m curious about Ebay and how it works – or doesn’t. My original posting of the six-key Hammy Hamilton flute that I offered on Ebay/US was deleted. Ebay said this was because I said the flute would come from Ireland- though my address still appeared as in the US.

So I offered the Hammy flute on Ebay/UK, where the War on Scam isn’t as active as in the US. But then when I did a search for the flute on Ebay/US the flute didn’t appear - even though I listed “Worldwide” as the parameter for the search.

Does anybody have an idea what is going on with Ebay? Does it not cover Ebay/UK when it does a worldwide search? Is the worldwide search really “worldwide,” does anybody know? Or just the U.S. and Canada? Is there a way you can make the search truly worldwide? Or do you have to go separately to each country to perform an international search?

Another board member recently sent me an article on Ebay. The main thrust of the article is that Ebay is broken. The article is here: http://consumerist.com/5007790/its-now-com...-laptop-on-ebay

Or here: EBay is Broken

I’ll continue with EBay because there isn’t really an alternative. It’s a bit like homeland security. In their efforts to make life safer for everybody they have made things worse for everybody. There are still terrorists and there are still scammers. And over-reacting bureaucrats who want to control everything.

And if you want to see the flute, it is still here: Hamilton Six-key Flute
Unless a Nigerian sees it first. Or EBay discovers that Ireland is no longer a part of England.

How long has eBay been around? - 5 years, if that.
Sure, people have been trading goods for centuries.
Maybe the old ways are best....... like many older instruments

David your listing say 'will send to UK' which is the reason it won't show up elsewhere. Change it to 'worldwide' and your flying again.

I always use the Advanced Search function to make worldwide searches, and as a consequence I've found and bought items from the USA, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Taiwan and various EU countries, so yes it is worldwide.

However, for a long time I've been aware that there are problems with the search function, and sometimes a direct search does not reveal an item that it should, though a less direct one sometimes will...


I've been using eBay since 2002 myself, but it started way back, in 1995...

I've recently become aware of specialistauctions.com no sign of any concertinas there, but the membership of this forum should be large enough to make it a useful concertina marketplace.

Its principle advantages at present seem to be that it has named moderators fro each category, and there are no fees unless the item sells.

Well, you know what I mean My daughter complains that her mobile (cell phone for the yanks) is broken/ out of credit and WHAT IS SHE GOING TO DO!
Bloody hell - we all grew up and managed perfectly well without those contraptions, useful as they are occasionally. Rant over..
I've sold a few instruments through national ads paper and I must say, I'd prefer it by miles, as at least you get to talk to the prospective buyer and usually they'll call and you can have a chat. It's nice to know where the instrument is going and who it ends up with. This ebay business seems to feed on greed and deception.

I'm not so sure about that Peter. My worldwide searches have thrown up plenty of "UK only", "USA only", "Australia only" etc. items, some of which I've finished up buying - though only after consulting with the sellers first, of course.

Whereas other items, that should have turned up, sometimes have not... It's a bit of a lottery!

I tried searching from ebay.uk for the Crabb that was recently listed on ebay.ie and I couldnt find it, until I searched on the specific item number. The item was listed for sale worldwide and I searched using "worldwide".

The sale closed with only one bid.

It does cast doubt on selling via ebay if the item could remain invisible to most of the potential buyers.

It doesn't turn up now if you search for "Crabb concertina", even with all the right boxes checked, though it did turn up in searches for "concertina". Mind you, the seller didn't do him/herself any favours in listing it simply as "concertina" in the heading.

Here's a link: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=200222710757&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=010. It appears to still be unsold, with no bids...

Interesting ... I have a standard search set up - for concertina (europe) in musical instruments, and just went back into advanced search and it certainly pulled up quite a few more !
Here's a nice duet listed under antiques in germany LINK
(Sorry if I'm giving the game away here - but it's not a cut price bargain anyway)

Here's ebay.co.uk on the subject of international visibility:-

A weak minded individual might suspect ebay of deliberately making international listings hard to find in order to justify adding a new way of extracting money from sellers. Me, I couldn't possibly comment.

Chris

I tried to put my concertina on ebay last night and I believe it actually go on there for a little while. I have received an email however saying that it has been removed as i indicated that I did not want to use PAYPAL. It seems that ebay have made it compulsory to use paypal on their Aust site. Something that seems against the trading laws here but there only seems lioke lots of talk and very little action at the moment.


Thing is that the fees would be huge by the time they take out their various fees and exchange rates. I could try to put it on ebay via the UK or another country of origin but hat alo seems to involve jumping through various hoops taking several days. I am well over the whole thing. There are several local auction sits but I guess they don't get the traffic of ebay. I am a bit annoyed at he moment and considering other options but nothing really jumps out as a good option.

Scott

The rumour I heard was that they are trying it out first in Oz with a view to making it universal. I think I would be seriously tempted not to use Ebay if it happens here. I wonder if you could put it on as if you take Paypal but say that any fees would be additional to the selling price?

Nobody would be very interested in additional fees. After all, you sell for a profit and I, as a buyer, am not very interested in providing such.
I use Paypal, even though it adds a little to the price. It's convenience and security worth it for me. I recently had to change my Credit Card number and already paid two fines to my telephone and electricity providers, because they tried to use my old card.
I have sold things on Ebay, but didn't notice any huge fees. What sums are you talking about?
In addition, can you register and agree to use Paypal, but in the add state that you don't? They don't monitor all adds, do they? In case they'll be after you, can't you just re-register with different name? If you are semi-pro seller, than don't you have to pay something to the provider of space for your business? Is it as expencive as renting your storage and hiring stuff?

With Paypal if the buyer wants to pay via a credit card, the seller has to upgrade his membership and then he has to pay a % fee to Paypal. The buyer has a fee built into the currency echnage rate and it's quite high.

I tried putting that I did not want to use paypal in the ad but they picked it up and then removed my listing. If the exchange fees, transaction fees and withdrawal fees are taken into account it becomes very expensive. They charge 2.5% for the conversion of currency and they also state that they have a 3.3% fee for international transactions. This on top of fees to withdraw your money and it is getting out of control. This is as I understand it anyway as I have never sold anything overseas using ebay.

When they told me that I have no option on using paypal if I want to use ebay, I saw it as a practice know as "Third line forcing" here in Aus (may the same elsewhere) and it is illegal. There are a few articles on it on the web when I did a search and the government powers that be are supposed to be looking into it.


Scott

Left your run too late, Scott, as did I with my Bb/F Jeffries I intended to list.

You will find that Paypal foreign exchange rates are, shall we say, less than competitive, so you will need to factor in that cost too if you sell to an overseas buyer.

You might find an Australian buyer by using OZtion.

However, despite eBay/Paypal fees, it is still probably cheaper than shipping your concertina for sale through a reputable UK or US auction house (Sothebys, Christies etc), where sellers' commission is, I believe, 15% (and the buyers' premium now a massive 25% if recent newspaper reports are to be believed).

Good luck,

MC

Is it worth asking Chris Algar what he'd give you for it? With ordinary antiques I've come round to the view that dealers offer better prices than you get at auctions, taking fees into account these days.

I can sympathise with a seller not wanting to use PayPal in view of the cut they take, on top of the eBay seller fees, and Ebay insisting that you use PayPal is downright wrong.

But on the other hand, accepting PayPal will almost certainly mean that your item will attract more bids, potentially pushing the price up by more than the PayPal fees.

I have been interested in a few items for sale overseas, with no PayPal option, and in every case I have decided not to bid. Getting funds around the world without PayPal puts the costs onto the buyer, and as a result, it could well be the seller who loses out.

As an old EBay hand - I started this thread - there are several tactics you can use to avoid Paypal. Misha shouldn't underestimate the hefty fees involved for using EBay plus Paypal. In this instance it could cost you $500.
You can offer Paypal and say in your copy that you prefer to use a bank transfer or bank draft. You can offer to ship it free if people pay using the other option. You have to be tricky. You can also try listing it directly on EBay.uk.co or even on EBay USA.
This is another auction site that shows some promise: specialistauctions.com. They have a newsletter that you can request from them: newsletter@specialistauctions.com. They seem legit and hopefully will cause EBay to be more concerned with customer satisfaction.
Finally, you can just explain to the buyer that you'd prefer not to accept Paypal because it's costing you too much. That you'll accept a personal check (your bank can determine if funds are available at the other end) or even a post office payment. You could perhaps run a credit card payment through a friendly merchant- though this could cost over two per-cent as well.
Keep in mind that Ebay and Paypal will still be cheaper than a major auction house, which will nail you for 15-20%.

I thought about the likes of Oztion but then you are never going to get the exposure of ebay. I don't mind paying the ebay fees, I just do not like the way they force you to use Paypal and then charge like a wounded bull for the privlidge. I am sure there has to be a better way.

I will see what sort of response I get and let you know how I go.

Scott

Scott

looks as if the Australian authorities ARE trying to stop the PayPal only move -

bbc news

Quite right. However, this does not effect the recent rule change (in Australia) that "Paypal must be offered". It is currently at the buyers' discretion as to whether to use it or not.

I can't think of any other situation where the buyer of goods can dictate to the seller the means of payment.

As an eBay seller with over 300 positive feedbacks, I have twice offered Paypal at the request of the buyer and on both occasions the sale has not been completed satisfactorily, because of Paypal incompetence on one occasion and an attempted fraud by the buyer on the other. Luckily, I have suffered no financial loss from these transactions, but that is no thanks to Paypal or eBay.

No, I won't sell on eBay while this rule is in force, and it seems unlikely they will change it, even if they fail to adopt the "Paypal only" rule.

MC

The thing is i recived an email form ebay this morning saying that they did not consider it to be third line forcing and they indicated that it was still a requirement. They calim it is for the benefit of the parties making the transactions. I may go back into my listing and see if I can remove the option now.

Scott

Ummm, so far we've been talking about eBay.com.au making the PayPal option mandatory, but has nobody else noticed that they've already done it in the UK?



On 10th June they posted a new Accepted Payments Policy that also affects those of us in Ireland, as it states Sellers listing on eBay.ie are currently exempt from this requirement, but must offer PayPal in their listings if they wish them to appear in search on eBay.co.uk.