Author Topic: Is there a viable alternative to ebay? (Read 7676 times)

Scotty477 · « **on:** May 15, 2008, 08:11:15 PM »

I'm kinda ticked off with ebay, due to the changes which started to kick in today.

I have a few bits of gear (guitars, amp, Tonelab LE etc) and a ton of US comics to sell, so I'm looking for recommendations of viable online auction alternatives to ebay - in the UK.

Anyone?

Transcend · « **Reply #1 on:** May 15, 2008, 08:32:05 PM »

amazon used to do auctions, unsure whether they continued with it

Philly Q · « **Reply #2 on:** May 15, 2008, 09:25:43 PM »

Quote from: Transcend

amazon used to do auctions, unsure whether they continued with it

Not sure about auctions, but there's certainly Amazon Marketplace. It's fixed price and again they take a cut (if the item sells), but it's very easy to list things because they do most of the work.

Scotty477 · « **Reply #3 on:** May 15, 2008, 09:30:52 PM »

I'll take a look at Amazon, cheers.

Strangely enough my feedback rating has returned to 100%. I've been 99.8% for years after a crazy Canadian buyer negged me after a buy it now auction (which he had no intention of paying).

Philly Q · « **Reply #4 on:** May 15, 2008, 09:34:13 PM »

Quote from: Machinehead

Strangely enough my feedback rating has returned to 100%. I've been 99.8% for years after a crazy Canadian buyer negged me after a buy it now auction (which he had no intention of paying).

I think that's one of the new changes that kicked in today - the % rating is now based on your feedback for the last 12 months, because it's more relevant than a bit of -ve feedback you may have had 3 or 4 years ago.

I must admit that's not a bad idea.

maverickf1jockey · « **Reply #5 on:** May 15, 2008, 09:40:18 PM »

At least you didn't get bad feedback from someone bidding on the wrong item. That has been known to happen from time to time...

Scotty477 · « **Reply #6 on:** May 15, 2008, 09:40:40 PM »

That would appear to be the only sensible thing to come out of ebay of late.

TwilightOdyssey · « **Reply #7 on:** May 15, 2008, 09:59:36 PM »

Do you have Craigslist in the UK?

Scotty477 · « **Reply #8 on:** May 15, 2008, 10:06:52 PM »

I don't think so. We do have a similar thing, called Gumtree though.

Philly Q · « **Reply #9 on:** May 15, 2008, 10:11:51 PM »

Quote from: TwilightOdyssey

Do you have Craigslist in the UK?

It seems we do, but it looks very basic:

http://geo.craigslist.org/iso/gb

How does it work? Does it have feedback and direct payment methods etc, or is it more like an electronic version of the classified ads in the local paper?

badgermark · « **Reply #10 on:** May 15, 2008, 10:31:59 PM »

I've sold a few things on my local gumtree, somethings go quickly, others take longer to shift. i've seen the same listing up for weeks at a time but sold some gear within two days.

Scotty477 · « **Reply #11 on:** May 15, 2008, 11:10:07 PM »

I'll give it a go. I'm really unhappy with the way ebay is turning out.

I'll put em in the seconds out section here first though.

Transcend · « **Reply #12 on:** May 15, 2008, 11:34:53 PM »

Ive just gone to leave feedback for a buyer and found that sellers are no longer allowed to leave negative or neutral feedback anymore.

Scotty477 · « **Reply #13 on:** May 16, 2008, 12:17:58 AM »

Yeah but buyers can leave feedback for sellers still. The whole thing has went arse over tit IMHO.

It's one of the reasons I'm looking for alternatives. There are horror stories already where buyers are acting like tossers - knowing they can't be given any adverse feedback.

Oh and neutrals now count as a negative .... and it's retrospective as well :o

Lazy_McDoesnothing · « **Reply #14 on:** May 16, 2008, 06:50:45 AM »

Quote from: Philly Q

Quote from: TwilightOdyssey
Do you have Craigslist in the UK?

It seems we do, but it looks very basic:

http://geo.craigslist.org/iso/gb

How does it work? Does it have feedback and direct payment methods etc, or is it more like an electronic version of the classified ads in the local paper?

Craigslist in the states is basic like that too. You're right about it being an electronic version of the classified ads. You have to be wary when buying from people far away but the plus side is you can find items close to you to try out or look before buying.