Is It Too Late To Make Money On eBay?

by Brett Smith

The reasoning in use by Brian Burke of eBay simply boggles the mind. To quote Mr. Burke, “Digital goods are often reproduced at little to no cost to the seller. On eBay, this creates the potential for Feedback Manipulation (both real and perceived)”. We’ll get back to the question of feedback manipulation in a moment.

As far as the reproduction costs go, I would like to hear his response to the fact that the drug companies reproduce their products for practically nothing after PAYING A FORTUNE FOR R&D!

The question may also be asked: just what does the cost of producing a product have to do with a product or service being able to survive in the free market? Just like any other product out there, the development process is not free. Why should a digital product be treated differently? Just because the form is electronic, that makes it no less valuable or worthless in and of itself. I’ve paid very little for digital products which I felt were worth far more than what I paid. To Mr. Burke, the expense and time involved in the creation of a digital product is worth nothing at all.

eBay makes the claim that I have somehow been victimized by being able to buy a good product at a reasonable price. If anyone can decipher this line of logic, I beg of you, explain it to me. Wasn’t it eBay who have made digital delivery a possibility in its site’s listings? And were eBay users completely unaware of this development?

And as for feedback manipulation. The opportunity for bad feedback is still there even if you sell something for 1 cent. I gave a scathing review of a book I only paid $.99 for. I didn’t think it was worth the $.99. Do you think the seller enjoyed that feedback? I’ve purchased digital products for much, much more money and in a few cases they weren’t worth the money. It can happen no matter what you pay.

eBay’s listing aren’t free. The seller still has to pay to list his products.

It would be nice to know the real motivation why eBay seems to want to destroy an entire industry when there are many ways to remedy their supposed problem. eBay provides the service. They tout it as a method of advertising products and services at a reasonable cost. Now all of a sudden eBay decides that entrepreneurs who craft products that fill this niche are scamming the system.

A easily implemented solution to the issue eBay cites is to simply discount, or to ignore altogether, feedback relating to items whose sale price falls below a certain threshold.

It is hoped that eBay will soon revise this policy which is doing such damage to many of their users. There have certainly been adverse effects to businesses utilizing eBay as a venue for their wares from negative feedback - however, as stated above, there is in fact an easy solution to this. The digital segment of the eBay marketplace is growing quickly, and as with any other market segment, opinions may vary as to the products themselves.

All eBay users need to work together to convince the company to take a more realistic, humane approach towards their users and to use good business sense and straighten this whole mess out.

Just my 2 cents worth.

About the Author:

Brett Smith has been full time successful online entrepreneur since 1995.. Discover how to increase your sales, get more cashflow and increase your customer base with targeted effective search engine advertising Pay Per Click You are welcome to reprint this article - but get your own unique content version here.