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Disappointing to see the way eBay has been turned on its head from what the original formulation used to be. I have been a member from the early days when it was actually an enjoyable pastime to see what was on offer when the majority of listings were from private sellers. I used to frequently sell off items as well that I no longer had a use for or when upgrading. Part of it was the extra cash but it was also the notion that someone else was going to be making use of an idle item. Now I hardly bother buying unless it is an item that I can't source locally. You can waste a lot of time scrolling down when the same seller lists the same item fifty times and is located in China, followed by another fifty identical items with only the seller's name having changed. As for selling, the fees take too much of a bite out of the deal. I totally agree with others regarding the seller's listed location having no relevance as to where the item is actually dispatched from and eBay takes no action if you make repeated complaints over this deception.
eBay's only interest lies in the establishment of business stores where ongoing income is assured. They have no interest at all in private individuals scouring their garage for items to sell. These days the mention of eBay leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The first major sign of eBay diving into the gutter was the joke about suddenly not being able to leave negative feedback for dishonest buyers. Why? The icing on the cake was their decision to include postage and handling costs in the seller's final value fee calculation when they were already making their cut from PayPal payments and the fact that PayPal had to be listed as a mandatory option for payment once they had purchased the company.
In this world, good ideas always seem to become tainted when someone realises the potential to make an extra buck.
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