how would you improve ebay?

[cimabue]

Originally Posted by imhotep

yeah i don't think you understand the huge benefit that ebay has having it's own payment system, where they can charge you whatever the hell they want and operate in as poor a way as they want. notice how paypal is the only method of payment allowed now? mention that you accept MO's in your auction, and it will be pulled. workout the amount of money that ebay is making per sale, including what they get from listing fees + final value fees + paypal fees. their cut is enormous, in part because they own the payment system.
Wow, you guys are thick. PAYPAL IS A SEPARATE BUSINESS ENTITY OWNED BY EBAY. PAYPAL IS NOT PROFITABLE. PAYPAL IS A PAIN **********, TO EBAY. TRUSTS ARE ILLEGAL. Ergo, PayPal, can go away and it doesn't affect Ebay's core business or its profitability. It helps them. And you, the loyal customer, can go back to using checks, money orders, credit cards, bags of sea shells, whatever it is that you, YOU like. End of rant.

 

[RSS]

I continue to use it. While I haven't the fondness for it I once did -- everything grows old -- I find no great faults with it.

 

[imageWIS]

Originally Posted by apropos

Mandatory death penalty for seller/buyers who scam.

And not the American 'death penalty' dragged out over multiple appeals and many decades mind you. When I say 'death penalty' I mean Chinese death penalty, which is served, oh, maybe 30 mins after conviction via a single bullet to the back of the head. Which is then billed to the perp's family.

+ A trillion.

 

[intent]

Why don't they require buyers to have payment information submitted when they bid? That way a winning bid pays right away. I hate waiting up to a week for buyers to pay. Deadbeats.

 

[w.kevin]

Originally Posted by cimabue

Wow, you guys are thick. PAYPAL IS A SEPARATE BUSINESS ENTITY OWNED BY EBAY. PAYPAL IS NOT PROFITABLE. PAYPAL IS A PAIN **********, TO EBAY. TRUSTS ARE ILLEGAL. Ergo, PayPal, can go away and it doesn't affect Ebay's core business or its profitability. It helps them. And you, the loyal customer, can go back to using checks, money orders, credit cards, bags of sea shells, whatever it is that you, YOU like. End of rant.
Care to show where you found Paypal's financial data? I hate Paypal's fees as much as the next guy, but the service they provide is still nice. eBay still needs the third party between buyer and seller, why would they get rid of Paypal when it works so well in terms of usability and security? It would be nice if they opened up payment options to GC/etc, or integrated Paypal more efficiently so they would only have to charge the seller once.

 

[zalb916]

Originally Posted by cimabue

Wow, you guys are thick. PAYPAL IS A SEPARATE BUSINESS ENTITY OWNED BY EBAY. PAYPAL IS NOT PROFITABLE. PAYPAL IS A PAIN **********, TO EBAY. TRUSTS ARE ILLEGAL. Ergo, PayPal, can go away and it doesn't affect Ebay's core business or its profitability. It helps them. And you, the loyal customer, can go back to using checks, money orders, credit cards, bags of sea shells, whatever it is that you, YOU like. End of rant.
For someone so adamant and who insists on calling people "thick," you should probably be a little more accurate in your statements. Here's an article from last year in Business Week titled, "Ebay's Profitable Pal." It's about how PayPal is a) profitable and b) a boon to ebay. Here's an article from last month, which discusses how PayPal's performance has significantly helped ebay's revenues. Seems to be that PayPal is NOT a pain ********** to ebay. It's actually quite an important asset. I like this recent article, titled "EBay revenue growth fueled by PayPal, Skype." This AP syndicated story is pretty good too. "Most people know eBay Inc. for its online marketplace, where deals abound on everything from gadgets to antique furniture. But soon, eBay's biggest business will likely be PayPal, the online payment service that has been growing steadily even as the economy has stumbled." Ebay's CEO actually thinks that PayPal could likely surpass ebay's marketplace (i.e. the auction site) as the most profitable company entity in the next few years. This WSJ piece is from yesterday, so it may be a little outdated. It describes how ebay's auction business is stagnant, but PayPal continues to grow. "PayPal’s revenue rose to $688 million in the third quarter, up from $597 million in the same period a year ago. Ebay’s auction business is no longer growing." Interesting. Spend a little time looking into ebay's financials. PayPal's revenues have been very beneficial to ebay, providing between one-quarter to one-third of ebay's total revenues. That's not a pain **********. That's a necessary entity. Do you actually have any information that says PayPal is not profitable or financially harms ebay?

Originally Posted by w.kevin

Care to show where you found Paypal's financial data? I hate Paypal's fees as much as the next guy, but the service they provide is still nice. eBay still needs the third party between buyer and seller, why would they get rid of Paypal when it works so well in terms of usability and security? It would be nice if they opened up payment options to GC/etc, or integrated Paypal more efficiently so they would only have to charge the seller once.
I agree. PayPal seems to provide a necessary tool for for both merchants and customers. I like the ease and convenience of PayPal. Do I wish the fees were smaller? Certainly. However, I don't really mind them. I'm paying for a service.

 

[cimabue]

Originally Posted by zbromer

For someone so adamant and who insists on calling people "thick," you should probably be a little more accurate in your statements. Here's an article from last year in Business Week titled, "Ebay's Profitable Pal." It's about how PayPal is a) profitable and b) a boon to ebay.

Here's an article from last month, which discusses how PayPal's performance has significantly helped ebay's revenues. Seems to be that PayPal is NOT a pain ********** to ebay. It's actually quite an important asset.

I like this recent article, titled "EBay revenue growth fueled by PayPal, Skype."

This AP syndicated story is pretty good too. "Most people know eBay Inc. for its online marketplace, where deals abound on everything from gadgets to antique furniture. But soon, eBay's biggest business will likely be PayPal, the online payment service that has been growing steadily even as the economy has stumbled." Ebay's CEO actually thinks that PayPal could likely surpass ebay's marketplace (i.e. the auction site) as the most profitable company entity in the next few years.

This WSJ piece is from yesterday, so it may be a little outdated. It describes how ebay's auction business is stagnant, but PayPal continues to grow. "PayPal's revenue rose to $688 million in the third quarter, up from $597 million in the same period a year ago. Ebay's auction business is no longer growing." Interesting.

Spend a little time looking into ebay's financials. PayPal's revenues have been very beneficial to ebay, providing between one-quarter to one-third of ebay's total revenues. That's not a pain **********. That's a necessary entity. Do you actually have any information that says PayPal is not profitable or financially harms ebay?



I agree. PayPal seems to provide a necessary tool for for both merchants and customers. I like the ease and convenience of PayPal. Do I wish the fees were smaller? Certainly. However, I don't really mind them. I'm paying for a service.

I'm sure I don't have to draw pictures for you. If PayPal has started turning a buck for Ebay, it's because Ebay, as of about a year ago, pretty much only allows PayPal transactions for its auctions, which is the reason for the increase. But don't be fooled by this sleight of hand, because factoring out the PayPal ponzi, Ebay is sliding. Blame in large part the unpopularity of the trust. And, yes, there is dissatisfaction inside with PayPal.

 

[HEWSINATOR]

Really, after that post, you could not just eat your humble pie?

 

[Zenny]

Allow sellers to leave negative feedback for buyers.

 

[w.kevin]

Originally Posted by cimabue

I'm sure I don't have to draw pictures for you. If PayPal has started turning a buck for Ebay, it's because Ebay, as of about a year ago, pretty much only allows PayPal transactions for its auctions, which is the reason for the increase. But don't be fooled by this sleight of hand, because factoring out the PayPal ponzi, Ebay is sliding. Blame in large part the unpopularity of the trust. And, yes, there is dissatisfaction inside with PayPal.
It's not drawing out pictures for us. You made an unsubstantiated claim that Paypal was unprofitable without giving any evidence to back it up, and now you're trying to get out of it. If that's not the case, please let us know by providing your evidence. Do you have Paypal's financial information or are you trying to pass off your opinion as fact? Have you ever even sold anything off eBay before? Some of us appreciate a secure payment service such as Paypal, Google Checkout, etc. The only beef I have is eBay's double-charging (once when you make and sell the listing, once again when you get paid via Paypal).

 

[intent]

Dude sounds like a 1L. No sense arguing with him if he's not going to concede.

 

[cimabue]

Originally Posted by w.kevin

It's not drawing out pictures for us. You made an unsubstantiated claim that Paypal was unprofitable without giving any evidence to back it up, and now you're trying to get out of it. If that's not the case, please let us know by providing your evidence. Do you have Paypal's financial information or are you trying to pass off your opinion as fact?

Have you ever even sold anything off eBay before? Some of us appreciate a secure payment service such as Paypal, Google Checkout, etc. The only beef I have is eBay's double-charging (once when you make and sell the listing, once again when you get paid via Paypal).

From PayPal's User Agreement:

"When you receive a payment, you are liable to PayPal for the full amount of the payment plus any Fees if the payment is later invalidated for any reason."

"This means that you will be responsible for the amount of the payment, plus the applicable Fees listed in section 8 of this Agreement if you lose a Claim or a Charge back, or if there is a Reversal of the payment. You agree to allow PayPal to recover any amounts due to PayPal by debiting your Balance."

"You are responsible for all Reversals, Charge backs, Claims, fees, fines, penalties and other liability incurred by PayPal, a PayPal User, or a third party..."

"The Seller Protection Policy does not cover Claims for Significantly Not as Described or for non-receipt of merchandise, or sales of intangible goods, services, or licenses for digital content."

Still feel protected?

 

[cimabue]

Originally Posted by intent

Dude sounds like a 1L. No sense arguing with him if he's not going to concede.
If the rising earnings of a monopolistic arrangement (trust) reflect profitability, if you want to ignore “cooked” numbers, and if skepticism bothers you, then you’re right and I’m wrong. And bankers are our friends. And Bernie Maddoff was a good guy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competition_law

 

[zalb916]

Originally Posted by cimabue

I'm sure I don't have to draw pictures for you. If PayPal has started turning a buck for Ebay, it's because Ebay, as of about a year ago, pretty much only allows PayPal transactions for its auctions, which is the reason for the increase. But don't be fooled by this sleight of hand, because factoring out the PayPal ponzi, Ebay is sliding. Blame in large part the unpopularity of the trust. And, yes, there is dissatisfaction inside with PayPal.
First, you argued, without a scintilla of evidence, that ebay needed to "scrape [PayPal] off their shoes," because "PAYPAL IS NOT PROFITABLE" and "PAYPAL IS A PAIN **********, TO EBAY." (Emphasis and random comma are not mine.) Now, you are admitting that PayPal actually is "turning a buck for Ebay." Moreover, you are also now claiming that the only reason ebay is not "sliding" is because of PayPal. I don't get it. You've now managed to backtrack on your two big claims that PayPal doesn't make money and hurts ebay. Instead of admitting you were dead wrong when presented with actual evidence, you manage to dig yourself into an even deeper hole of misinformation, trying to save face. First, you declare PayPal to be a Ponzi scheme, which is a concept you clearly don't understand. Even if you think the partnership between PayPal and ebay is illegitimate, it's certainly not a Ponzi scheme. Second, you declare that there is "dissatisfaction inside with PayPal." What are you talking about? PayPal has been ebay's star performer. Ebay CEO John Donahoe has been talking recently about how great PayPal is and how he expects PayPal to produce more revenue than ebay in the near future. Don't believe me? You can hear him tell you himself (after the 6 minute mark). It's literally the exact opposite of dissatisfaction inside ebay with PayPal. Read a business article or two. Finally, after admitting that PayPal actually is profitable, you declared that it only is because of ebay's policy requiring buyers to use PayPal. Again, simply not true. The percent of transactions on ebay that used PayPal was extraordinarily high prior to any policy shift. Any change in policy did not have a dramatic effect on PayPal's revenue. If you did a little research, you would see that PayPal has actually greatly increased its presence outside of ebay. In fact, PayPal transactions outside of ebay have steadily increased. Three years ago, 70% of PayPal transactions were through ebay purchases. Now, it's dropped to 50%. So, PayPal's revenue has increased tremendously in the past three years, while it's percentage of transactions that take place on ebay have steadily declined. What does that tell you? It says that PayPal's growth has been fueled by non-ebay transactions, unlike your uninformed assertion. We get it. You don't like PayPal. You think there's some antitrust thing going on. That's fine. Just get your facts straight and don't call people "thick" when you are the one who's been entirely wrong.

 

[apropos]

Looks like someone got...

http://www.fairfaxunderground.com/fo...ned-funny2.jpg

http://cdn0.knowyourmeme.com/i/7346/...jpg?1249244553