General Discussion

Emrys

(8,730 posts)

91. Many eBay sellers are full-time businesses. They have to register with eBay as such.

Sun Oct 5, 2025, 07:43 PM

Oct 5

I use eBay a lot for household and personal purchases because where I live is quite remote. Some of the best buying experiences I've had on eBay have been with sales from private individuals.

You just have to do your homework by checking out item descriptions and seller feedback etc.

eBay's search function is way more transparent and easy to use than Amazon's. If you check eBay search results properly, you can almost always find ones that include free delivery. With some practice and care, I can regularly undercut prices charged by sellers on Amazon for most items. Used items in particular can be great bargains from trusted sellers, with a bonus of environmental benefits. Funnily enough, I've bought a few books on eBay where the sale was actually processed through Amazon.

I've had a few issues with sellers over many years of buying there, but eBay and PayPal have robust protections in place that strongly favour buyers nowadays, and I've been able to resolve any fairly rare problems quite easily. I can't say the same about my few dealings with Amazon.

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bitofalright love_katz Ursus Rex

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Highlight:

Way past its prime: how did Amazon get so rubbish? (Guardian) [View all] mdbl Oct 5 OP

I think it was Joseph Conrad, who said this about capitalists Walleye Oct 5 #1

Adam Smith had a few things to say about that ... eppur_se_muova Oct 5 #5

Nice to trash it from on high but those of us in a real world appreciate not having to Srkdqltr Oct 5 #2

I agree. mdbl Oct 5 #4

Way back when amazon started i was suprised that Sears or Pennys didn't take over as Srkdqltr Oct 5 #6

A Pet Peeve ProfessorGAC Oct 5 #13

Yes . They messed up a long term gain for quick money. Srkdqltr Oct 5 #16

Sears made quality products also. ananda Oct 5 #55

The other problem was Amazon started it's first years purposely working at a loss mdbl Oct 5 #92

Yeah, And The Execs At Sears... ProfessorGAC Oct 5 #98

Yep, they had the opportunity misanthrope Friday #126

Sears blew it in the 1990s IbogaProject Oct 5 #36

I seem to remember Sears hiring a CEO who set executives and managers against each other in life-or-death competition, RVN VET71 Monday #107

That isn't the first time that approach has been attempted misanthrope Friday #127

So many CEO's are psychopaths RVN VET71 Saturday #131

Psychopathy and sociopathy have been correlated misanthrope Saturday #132

There are alternatives to Amazon... buzzycrumbhunger Oct 5 #48

Ebay is nowhere near the same. You are buying from other people's houses. No. Srkdqltr Oct 5 #62

Are they free without the Prime membership? mdbl Oct 5 #65

They deliver stuff i need , no added expense, next day. I read a lot so the prime service Srkdqltr Oct 5 #71

Many eBay sellers are full-time businesses. They have to register with eBay as such. Emrys Oct 5 #91

Most people don't want to "do their homework" every time they need TP. Maru Kitteh Monday #117

I don't buy toilet paper online Emrys Tuesday #119

The problem is lonely bird Oct 5 #75

We but online, Amazon mainly, and have for many years. OLDMDDEM Oct 5 #29

Of all the systems mentioned, Amazon is the least shitty Bluetus Oct 5 #37

I think the point of the article is that those people who do rely on Amazon have a right to expect a better service meadowlander Oct 5 #56

Bezos is shit mdbl Oct 5 #67

convenience Be Leave On Oct 5 #61

No, poor planning or plain greed causes someone to cross a picket line. mdbl Oct 5 #100

convenient Be Leave On Monday #106

GIVE ME CONVENIENCE OR GIVE ME DEATH! Coventina Tuesday #124

You do understand that therre are online markets that are NOT Amazon? DBoon Oct 5 #85

Exactly nt Raine Oct 5 #93

Well, a slightly contrarian point RandomNumbers Oct 5 #3

Regarding searching on Amazon, do you know why when I enter something like "women's blue jeans," CrispyQ Oct 5 #7

I can't say for sure, but what is probably happening is the first page you see is the actual items, unsorted. erronis Oct 5 #8

I hadn't noticed the featured box until this thread. CrispyQ Oct 5 #44

Wish I could help. RandomNumbers Oct 5 #9

It's not just blue jeans, it's anything. And almost every search. CrispyQ Oct 5 #42

Amazon UI has been horrible lately The Revolution Oct 5 #79

You have to click some to clean up those results IbogaProject Oct 5 #40

Thank you! I just noticed that little box in the upper right. -nt CrispyQ Oct 5 #43

It's easier and more satisfying to me to delete entities like Facebook and Amazon from my personal universe... hunter Oct 5 #10

Yeah but even with their games, Amazon provides services RandomNumbers Oct 5 #18

I may return to Amazon when they feel the pressure of government regulation and labor unions again. hunter Oct 5 #21

regarding #1 Orrex Oct 5 #22

Not sure RandomNumbers Oct 5 #25

If you have a way to get me out of the FB trap on photos, I would appreciate it Hekate Oct 5 #38

Yikes! RandomNumbers Oct 5 #41

Your point is well taken, but the enshittification of... Mr. Mustard 2023 Oct 5 #11

Some companies are so big, & their competitors too, that they just don't care if they piss their customers off. CrispyQ Oct 5 #20

Well, you're right about some of that, and wrong about other things. MineralMan Oct 5 #12

I'm curious as to why you said Amazon's selling of books is a "monopoly". llmart Oct 5 #26

Most people have not been in a bookstore MineralMan Oct 5 #74

Okay. I see what you were getting at. llmart Oct 5 #89

Bookstores that have stayed in business do seem to be busy. MineralMan Monday #108

I worked in libraries for 10 years. llmart Monday #112

I love libraries! MineralMan Monday #113

This is how I feel about it, too. ShazzieB Oct 5 #27

I am also not a fan but. . . . h2ebits Oct 5 #49

One big problem with Amazon is their Sku mixing IbogaProject Oct 5 #45

You do have to read the listings. MineralMan Oct 5 #73

You can share Prime accounts with your household The Revolution Oct 5 #81

I'm just curious Skittles Oct 5 #96

We both had them from before we met The Revolution Oct 5 #97

ahhhhh OK Skittles Oct 5 #99

"Enshittification" PatSeg Oct 5 #14

Definitely! calimary Oct 5 #58

I'm adding it to my personal dictionary! PatSeg Oct 5 #60

It's definitely "a thing" now! calimary Oct 5 #63

Google has been diluting results for a long time. Tetrachloride Oct 5 #15

Try DuckDuckGo. Pinback Oct 5 #24

I generally use DDG. However, I still sense dilution. Wikipedia is far and away my top general source. Tetrachloride Oct 5 #28

Agreed, Wikipedia is tops for info searches. Pinback Oct 5 #32

ty. that's news to me on the email Tetrachloride Oct 5 #33

Info here: Pinback Oct 5 #50

Invest in an ad blocker. they do work// Historic NY Oct 5 #17

the browser Brave is what I use for all general reading. Tetrachloride Oct 5 #34

I use Firefox as my browser. . . h2ebits Oct 5 #51

the enshitting of america oldinmtdem92 Oct 5 #19

"scroll past 10 screens of (slop) - just to get to one post" Grins Oct 5 #23

Become a star member and you're ad free. ms liberty Oct 5 #66

You assume this is the only site I visit. Grins Tuesday #122

You assume that is what I think; your assumption is incorrect. ms liberty Tuesday #123

We all understand that some people need to use online services. LisaM Oct 5 #30

Yep. meadowlander Oct 5 #59

I too had the Amazon addiction. Ease, free shipping, etc mdbl Oct 5 #68

Agreed. love_katz Oct 5 #77

Amazon has always been a problem, starting with the tax issue. LisaM Monday #111

The still existing brick and mortar stores all have ecommerce sites mdbl Oct 5 #94

The Great Enshittening has been upon us since the 80's. flvegan Oct 5 #31

"It uses its overview of merchants' sales, as well as its ability to observe the return addresses on direct shipments fr BlueWaveNeverEnd Oct 5 #35

So It's Not Just Me? RobinA Oct 5 #39

This all comes down to our Economic and Monetary systems IbogaProject Oct 5 #46

We've noticed that we always have to pay attention to the details. marble falls Oct 5 #47

I like Amazon way more than I like the Guardian. marybourg Oct 5 #52

Not me. There's nothing left in the USA to read that's not Foxified. mdbl Oct 5 #69

Well, the Guardian may not be foxified, but I do find it to be smugified, marybourg Oct 5 #70

The Guardian has five bureaus in the United States misanthrope Friday #128

I've been screwed so many times by 3rd party sellers on Amazon, in the last few years progree Oct 5 #53

I had the same problem when I was buying from Amazon 3rd party mdbl Monday #114

Yeah...don't ever,ever by electronics from Amazon. Open box,broken,used up it's all the same Bengus81 Saturday #129

Thanks, I'll put this on my "Amazon List" which is basically my shopping list for anything I can't get at the local progree Saturday #130

Etsy is the best example of this! EarthAbides Oct 5 #54

Because their business model is to... WestMichRad Oct 5 #57

Amazon got on my boycott list Richard_GB Oct 5 #64

What exactly is wrong with Amazon? mwb970 Oct 5 #72

Well, First For Me RobinA Oct 5 #76

I have never had this problem. mwb970 Oct 5 #78

Again, I am sorry you have had poor results. mwb970 Tuesday #121

Once I quit Amazon I discovered I don't need or want anything I can't get locally... hunter Monday #118

Fantastic! But my results and preferences are different from yours. mwb970 Tuesday #120

Please read the full article. love_katz Oct 5 #80

I did read the full article before I made this post. mdbl Oct 5 #90

My comment was for the rest of the readers on the thread. love_katz Oct 5 #102

Oh ok. Sorry, I misunderstood. mdbl Monday #115

Excellent article and discussion, by the way. love_katz Monday #116

This stood out to me The Revolution Oct 5 #82

search, social media, online shopping, app stores, video games, streaming -- all enshittified paulkienitz Oct 5 #83

Thank you for posting UpInArms Oct 5 #84

Good article. We just love to dance with the bringers of our own destruction. Scrivener7 Oct 5 #86

Unrecognizable OC375 Oct 5 #87

But Mackenzie Scott... TheJillMill Oct 5 #88

She's doing a lot of good in the world Pinback Oct 5 #101

Amazon has Paid Trump Millions & Now Hosts the Trump Official Store Battle Blue Oct 5 #95

The Yahoo model. I used to be active in a bunch of Yahoo groups. Then they weren't happy with ads on the sides and LT Barclay Oct 5 #103

Amazon searches are so bogus..... for example IcyPeas Monday #104

Add ShipT - Target's grocery delivery service - to the BEWARE LIST progree Monday #105

SHIPT - after a phone call, I got a refund progree Friday #125

This was the plan from Day 1 of the Internet dwayneb Monday #109

How to search for something on Amazon like the old days dwayneb Monday #110