talkingDigital

Piled on some of the flat surfaces of my desk, I have a Marie Osmond fashion doll, a Ronald Reagan mask, a visible man model, a box of vintage bow ties, some Ken Struck toys from the 50s, a Canon Rebel xti, an Asus Eee PC, and a cool Homer Simpson Rubic’s cube.

At my house, this is known as my eBay fodder pile.

I save up unique items for several months and then put them up on eBay when I want to buy an item that doesn’t fit on my wife’s list of budget approved suppiles.
This pile has been gathering dust for a long time now. Not because I don’t have anything on that unapproved list, but because I don’t have any outlet to sell these items.

Sadly, I know a woman who has cupboards full of vintage dolls and a guy who used to deal old west and cowboy stuff with spurs gathering dust as they hang from nails on his walls. Each of us used to enjoy the addiction of eBay. The thrill and anticipation of both buying and selling.

Now, we just let our collections gather dust as though eBay will come back someday.
We already wrote one article about eBay’s dying brand recently, but it is getting worse fast.

Amazon.com is already the best place to buy the brands you like at fixed prices. If you don’t like Amazon, try Overstock, MusiciansFriend, or countless other online malls. We don’t need another online mall.
The Internet needs an online flea market, an online auction.

eBay became eBay by being eBay, not by being Amazon.com. What are they thinking? Do they really look at all of the complaints from former sellers as just a bunch of whiners? Do they really think that this is the best direction to take their business?
Pierre Omidyar never intended for eBay to be an experiment in fixed pricing and over taxation.

What happened to the weekend experiment in capitalism where the market decides what an item is worth?
If we had the knowledge on how to do it, we would open an eBay auction alternative as fast as you can say Jeff Bezos is not Pierre Omidyar.

eBay, stop trying to be Amazon.com and just be eBay. It is what we want and it is what will make your stock holders the most money.

eBay could be as great as it once was if it would just bring back the eBay that made it legendary. Bring back auctions, charge small percentages, let the system police itself, let buyers and sellers help each other to improve.

eBay should not try to be Amazon and Craigslist is no substitute. The Internet needs eBay.