Will Chinese sellers ever be shown the door on eBay?

[walkingupwards]

There is something truly bizarre with eBay, that is, Chinese sellers who come by, but prices by 80% or more and practically shut down all local sellers.


Weirdly enough, the goofs at eBay seem to be happy with this as long as they get a cut of the sale.


Yesterday I was at a college party and I asked some people about their online shopping preferences. Almost all of them said the same thing about eBay, people think eBay is a junkyard. Few of them said they stay away from eBay because the design of the website gives a feeling that stuff bought there are of a low-quality. I know that's a goofy argument, but web-design play a huge factor for a lot of people.


If you look for iPhone cases on Amazon (UK, US or DE...etc), you will notice that prices are not low and they have a range of 7-30 $ and people are buying stuff off Amazon like crazy. If you go to eBay.com and look for the same items, you will be bombarded by listings from Chinese sellers and prices are 1-2 $!!!


eBay is introducing the Catalog system, which I think will cut a ton of sellers even further.


I can't help myself, but think that eBay is trying to shoot itself in the foot.


WTF is wrong with this company? Is it too hard to clean house and up their game a little bit or what? People are not happy with Chinese sellers at all and feedback scores are a living evidence.



What are your thoughts on this?

[ebaystealth1974]

Originally Posted by walkingupwards

People are not happy with Chinese sellers at all and feedback scores are a living evidence.



What are your thoughts on this?

I think those are just dumbass buyers who don't read to know where the item is coming from.

If you buy from china, yet are displeased with the shipping time and leave negative feedback... you are a moron.

[WhyamIbanned]

As long as they earn enough from the "Chinese", they wont do anything... why should they? lel

[rsot]

They will always survive and flourish - or try to.

[walkingupwards]

Originally Posted by WhyamIbanned

As long as they earn enough from the "Chinese", they wont do anything... why should they? lel

Because eBay is nowadays stuck with a reputation of being a Chinese-Junkyard. This is a big reason why people buy from Amazon and not eBay.

[walkingupwards]

Originally Posted by rsot

They will always survive and flourish - or try to.

The first 200 search results are almost exclusively from Chinese vendors. No local UK or US seller could ever compete with that.

[walkingupwards]

Originally Posted by ebaystealth1974

I think those are just dumbass buyers who don't read to know where the item is coming from.

If you buy from china, yet are displeased with the shipping time and leave negative feedback... you are a moron.

Most complaints are about item not as described or low-quality. Very few are about shipping times.

[SaiJin]

YOu mean their prices on eBay are 80% lower than most sellers?
Yea, it's been a trend for many years.

It's 2 different marketplace so one is a yardsale and the other has more trust.

[newjerseymax]

I know my kids look for those $1 - $2 phone cases. They dont care if it takes few weeks.

[ebaystealth1974]

Originally Posted by walkingupwards

The first 200 search results are almost exclusively from Chinese vendors. No local UK or US seller could ever compete with that.

For what query? Back when I sold cheap chinese sh1t, I dominated over the chinese... people don't like waiting 2 weeks to get something.

[walkingupwards]

Originally Posted by ebaystealth1974

For what query? Back when I sold cheap chinese sh1t, I dominated over the chinese... people don't like waiting 2 weeks to get something.

Go to eBay.com and just search for iPhone case, hit ctrl+f and type "China".


How do these sellers even make a profit for god sake if they sell the damn thing for 2$?

[walkingupwards]

The same active Chinese vendors on eBay would definitely love to transfer the same eBay experience to Amazon, but a quick search on Amazon makes it clear that Amazon didn't allow that horse**** to take place on their platform.

I wish there was a way to deliver this message of frustration to the people making decisions at eBay though!!

[ebaystealth1974]

Originally Posted by walkingupwards

Go to eBay.com and just search for iPhone case, hit ctrl+f and type "China".

You must have yours sorted by lowest price or something lol... there's not a single $2 case from china on my first page of 200 results. Most of them are $6-$10 and from the US.

All the results near the top are either "promoted" or fast and free... which are obviously NOT from China.

[walkingupwards]

Originally Posted by ebaystealth1974

You must have yours sorted by lowest price or something lol... there's not a single $2 case from china on my first page of 200 results. Most of them are $6-$10 and from the US.

All the results near the top are either "promoted" or fast and free... which are obviously NOT from China.

You're absolutely right about eBay.com!! I've just changed my IP address to an American one and searched, search results are similar to the one you're talking about. I guess the search engine gave me offers that originated exclusively from China because I was browsing the site from a German IP.


However, I connected to eBay.co.uk from a British IP address and the results were the same as before... Cases with a price-range of 2-3 GBP


I read an article a while back about huge import tax evasion schemes on UK ports. Maybe that's the real reason behind low prices on eBay.co.uk. Otherwise, how on earth could an UK-based seller sell a case for 2 GBP and still make a profit after paying PayPal, eBay and shipping fees. The math just doesn't add up.


Maybe someone from Britain could search for phone cases and report back the results they get.

[ebaystealth1974]

I'll be damn...

[walkingupwards]

Originally Posted by ebaystealth1974

I'll be damn...

For what exactly?

[ebaystealth1974]

The first part. How it's different for the UK and US...

[@NasterXchange]

Originally Posted by WhyamIbanned

As long as they earn enough from the "Chinese", they wont do anything... why should they? lel

eBay does not care about it! It's all about the money they can do NOW!

[nickopedia]

If you think eBay is a junkyard and haven for bottomfeeders, try Craigslist.

Buyers on Craigslist are 10x worse to deal with in my experience. They are the true bottom feeders of the world, and the site is full of flakes.

Out of half a dozen inquires on an item, maybe one person will even bother calling you back, or responding. It's flake central. The price always too high, even if they are already getting a good deal, they want it for next to nothing.

Marketplaces can't shake a particular reputation, and no amount of advertising or marketing budget will change the public's perception of a company.

If eBay continues on the path they are on, they are going to end up being like another Aliexpress/Aliababa like site.

[rsot]

Originally Posted by nickopedia

If you think eBay is a junkyard and haven for bottomfeeders, try Craigslist.

Buyers on Craigslist are 10x worse to deal with in my experience. They are the true bottom feeders of the world, and the site is full of flakes.

Out of half a dozen inquires on an item, maybe one person will even bother calling you back, or responding. It's flake central. The price always too high, even if they are already getting a good deal, they want it for next to nothing.

Marketplaces can't shake a particular reputation, and no amount of advertising or marketing budget will change the public's perception of a company.

If eBay continues on the path they are on, they are going to end up being like another Aliexpress/Aliababa like site.

And then meeting the buyer in person....

[walkingupwards]

Originally Posted by nickopedia

If you think eBay is a junkyard and haven for bottomfeeders, try Craigslist.

Buyers on Craigslist are 10x worse to deal with in my experience. They are the true bottom feeders of the world, and the site is full of flakes.

Out of half a dozen inquires on an item, maybe one person will even bother calling you back, or responding. It's flake central. The price always too high, even if they are already getting a good deal, they want it for next to nothing.

Marketplaces can't shake a particular reputation, and no amount of advertising or marketing budget will change the public's perception of a company.

If eBay continues on the path they are on, they are going to end up being like another Aliexpress/Aliababa like site.

The internet is full of articles talking about the public perception of eBay as the place to go for cheap Chinese items!! This is not entirely true though, there is a ton of good sellers on eBay who really bring value to the market.


The reason behind my rant is the people running eBay. I can't understand why do these people get paid if they are not able to change the current status of a great marketplace such as eBay and bring the good old days back. It is not easy to compete with Amazon, but if there is a single marketplace that has a real chance of doing that it is eBay.


Take for example the phone accessories category, if you search for phone cases, there are more than 13 million listings. 99% of these are dormant and don't bring any sales at all. their only task is to clog the searching process and forbid new sellers or good listings from rising up. I see dormant listings in literally every category. The design of the market is ****ty compared to Amazon.

There are a lot of sellers who could provide same day dispatch and yet they find it difficult sometimes to be placed first.


Anyway, I think talking about transforming eBay is beating a dead horse as the "right" people will never give a **** about what I or any other person thinks.


If I was the CEO of PayPal, I would put all my effort into establishing a new marketplace. PayPal has all the data is needs to launch a gigantic market. A totally new venue that customers and sellers would be more than eager to try.

[nickopedia]

The bottom line is: Most people want the lowest price, and that's where Chinese sellers can be competitive.

Craigslist is a step below that; think flea market, rummage/yard sale, etc. People expect to pay next to nothing, or get it free.

If eBay were a retail store, they would be like Walmart, Dollar General, or Smart & Final.
If Amazon were a store, they would be more like Costco, Best Buy, or Nordstrom.

The typical Amazon shopper (esp. Prime member) is likely to not mind paying a little more, but EXPECT better quality & service.

Chinese sellers have their place in retail, but I don't expect top-notch quality. That said, some Chinese goods are made surprisingly well. Don't expect an easy refund tho if you want to return.