Comments on: eBay: No Matter How Hard You Try, You’re Still No Amazon

By: Web Design

Web Design — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:58:41 +0000

I had a personal shipping experience from both sites. With Amazon my stuff reached but a bit late from scheduled time. Now eBay, there was nothing on my disposal unless I emailed the customer support twice to track down my stuff.

By: Web Design

Web Design — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 10:58:41 +0000

By: My First Time Using Craigslist | Bob Caswell

My First Time Using Craigslist | Bob Caswell — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 05:11:04 +0000

[...] the fact that I haven’t used even eBay for a while. (I used to be on eBay quite a bit but gave it up a few years ago when Amazon proved to be a worthy replacement with much less hassle.) But we recently moved and found ourselves with a couple of items needing a [...]

By: tom vermeersch

tom vermeersch — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:26:09 +0000

quote tatiana v
[...]They do not send certain items outside of the US! [...]
false
I can order from amazon, and it will be shipped to me from germany or the UK cheap.

[...]And than the paypal payment and being covered, yes you are covered when a seller cheats on you and doesnt send you what you apid for. BUT, the problem is that the cheaters never keep cash in their paypal, nor do they give access to their bankl accounts, so even though Paypal gave me a satisfactory answer, they were not able to get back my money.[...]
Talk about a false sense of security then.
Paypal as a system is devised to serve as “bank” between users, similar to visa – with the difference that when you prove to visa money is missing, they go and harass the culprit, not simply ignore the victim.

By: Paul Ellis

Paul Ellis — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:34:22 +0000

The point is, most eBay users aren’t buying specialty stuff. Just look at how many cameras (~29,000), iPods (~12,000), game players (~3,200 PS3/360/Wii/PSP/DS) are being sold on eBay right now. That is a lot of auctions for stuff you could buy at Amazon (or somewhere else).

By: Bob Caswell

Bob Caswell — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 04:18:10 +0000

Yeah, Arse, but again, that’s kind of the point:

If eBay only works for “specialty, oddball, collector stuff” and is for “smart and careful” people only… Well then, that means eBay is screwing a lot of people by default due to its sheer size and the majority of what it offers.

I like retailers were the default position isn’t getting screwed. And Amazon fits that description better than any other online retailer I know.

By: Arse

Arse — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 04:00:05 +0000

Hello. Anybody home?

Ebay and Amazon are different. Only a fool would by anything on ebay that could be bought on amazon. But if you’re looking for specialty, oddball, collector stuff ebay is a source, amazon is not. You have to be smart and careful, but there are deals, great deals, to be had on ebay. It’s just not a place to buy your next camera or ipod or game player.

By: George

George — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 02:31:02 +0000

The main reason I use eBay is because I live outside of the US (Canada). eBay sellers obviously have much more freedom when it comes to selling products across borders. Amazon on the other hand must respect regulations set forth buy the suppliers. For example, it’s quite common for electronics equipment to not be permitted for cross border sales.

For example, I recently tried to purchase a Canon TX1 from amazon.com (it isn’t sold on amazon.ca and was about $200 at local retail stores). During the checkout process I recieved a message telling me that the supplier doesn’t allow buyers from outside the US to purchase the product. So my option was to get it from Best Buy for $649 or get it from eBay for ~$360.

By: Tyler Reber

Tyler Reber — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:58:36 +0000

Yeah, I don’t know, there’s just something about Amazon that feels safer. That’s why I didn’t mind buying and selling my books on it.

By: Paul Ellis

Paul Ellis — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:20:43 +0000

You can buy a fair number of things used on Amazon.com these days actually. Sure, it would be hard to find an authentic one of Napoleon’s hats on Amazon.com, but probably 90-95% of the stuff on eBay is on Amazon too. And while 2 out of 700 doesn’t sound too bad, I have never been screwed by Amazon, and I never have to “check before [I] buy, talk with the seller and see if [I] get a nasty gut feeling.” That is the hassle Bob is talking about avoiding.