eBay's customers are the ones eBay gets its money from.
eBay doesn't sell the items you buy using the eBay service. It is the sellers from whom you are buying, and it is the sellers who pay eBay the listing fees and commissions.
Clearly, without the buyers, the sellers would be nowhere and eBay would be nowhere.
I would categorize a "serious seller" as someone who consistently lists at least 5 items per week on eBay.
Next time you bid on an item on eBay, click on "View sellers other auctions". You will see that in the majority of cases, this person has many other items up for bid.
Except for low feedback sellers, I rarely see somebody listing just one or two items.
Many of these sellers produce hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars per month for eBay in fees and commissions.
Wouldn't you expect eBay to have the courtesy to respond to these people's e-mails?
If you were leasing a booth in an antique mall, wouldn't you expect the owner of the space to answer your questions?
How would you react if the owner forced you to tell everyone who is ready to buy one of your antiques that it "may not be authentic" when you know it is authentic?
I love buying items listed on eBay, and have had hundreds of successful transactions as a buyer and as a seller. But, as a buyer, the seller is NEVER eBay, and as a seller, my customer is NEVER eBay.
eBay never touches the merchandise.
Your pleasurable experience has been with sellers, most of whom work hard to make that experience pleasurable.
I will agree that some serious sellers are difficult, setting reserves that are too high. I have learned over time exactly who these people are (at least with regard to Roseville pottery), and I avoid bidding on their auctions at all. I have noticed over time that their auctions receive fewer and lower bids than those who set No Reserve.
I dealt with one of these sellers a few weeks ago. I was the high bidder on his auction at $307. He offered to sell me the item at twice that amount. He stated that he would not sell it unless he made X percentage profit on it. Guess what? He will probably never sell that item on eBay. And he won't get any more bids from me.
eBay has a GREAT system, and I am a HUGE fan of eBay. You will find that most of the people who post criticisms of eBay service on this thread are also huge fans of the company, and are trying to get the company to improve its service.
We want eBay to be excellent in EVERY way, and when we see a weak element, we want to make sure it is being addressed.
And right now, eBay customer service is very poor.
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