Ebay Live (1 Viewer)

[Dickbuttons]

I received an email today from a company called Invaluable. They state that Ebay is discontinuing Ebay Live as of the end of the year (Dec. 31, 2008), and they are offering a free one year subscription to their service. They claim that they are doing this to fill the void the end of Ebay Live will create. Is this true? Is Ebay Live ending? Has anyone else heard this?

Dick

 

[theBaron]

I received an email today from a company called Invaluable. They state that Ebay is discontinuing Ebay Live as of the end of the year (Dec. 31, 2008), and they are offering a free one year subscription to their service. They claim that they are doing this to fill the void the end of Ebay Live will create. Is this true? Is Ebay Live ending? Has anyone else heard this?

Dick

I would try going to eBay's main page and navigating to their Announcements page. Any time they have added or removed services or features, I'm pretty sure there have been announcements about it.

Prost!
Brad

 

[Dickbuttons]

For your information, I just got this message from Ebay:

As of December 31, 2008, eBay will no longer offer eBay Live Auctions. As we work to improve the buying and selling experiences which you've heard our leaders talk about – including significant investments in Trust & Safety and customer support – we need to make sure our resources are aligned with our priorities. In the case of Live Auctions, maintaining and improving this platform falls outside our immediate focus, and will, therefore, be retired at the end of the year.

 

[tdubel]

Great, another true dumba** move made by ebay. I actually own a good deal of stock in this crappy company. One of the worst performers in the last 3 years on Wall Street both in stock price and disappointment among analysts. And you wonder why all the time, well, it is mostly due to their idiotic management decisions of the last 2 years. Horrid, yet we are all slaves to it.

Tom

 

[Dickbuttons]

If they do away with Ebay Live-- then auction houses like Vectis will have to search for another means to make their auctions available worldwide. Ebay dropped the ball on this one.

Dick

 

[jazzeum]

I think that's pretty stupid. That is just corporate speak for we want to keep the profits for ourselves, and not share them with anyone else. Bunch of idiots.

 

[Gideon]

I never used livebid - I found it pretty tedious and confusing overall.

Besides that, yeah, the decisions eBay has been making these past few years has been dismal.

I think, overall, that eBay is probably the most successful of the dot coms but it winds up suffering what most other brick and mortar companys suffer from after having gone public - how to expand and continue to raise profits. Everything has a cieling of some sort and I think eBay is reaching it if they haven't already.

Best thing they could probably do is go private again.

 

[APACHEJOL]

Great, another true dumba** move made by ebay. I actually own a good deal of stock in this crappy company. One of the worst performers in the last 3 years on Wall Street both in stock price and disappointment among analysts. And you wonder why all the time, well, it is mostly due to their idiotic management decisions of the last 2 years. Horrid, yet we are all slaves to it.

Tom

I just had to stop so much nonsense I could not handle the policys and then when you have a problem they dont even follow their own rules. Quit cold turkey no paypal account no ebay account. Enough great sellers out there that I dont need them anymore. Dont look and you wont feel a need to buy at least thats my theory for now.

 

[Cardigan600]

Yo Troopers, dont really think this is a big deal anyway, and dont think the Auction Houses will lose any sleep over it. Take Vectis for instance I dont need ebay to bid on their auctions, I just have to go to their site and put a bid in simple as that. If you sign up for live auctions they send you a list of every auction house thats on their list anyway, all you have to do is sign up with them. As far as ebay and Toy Soldiers go, I was only thinking the other day ebay has gone really flat as far as the serious collectors go, most of the stuff being listed is second class, if it isnt damaged its mismatched or listed wrong, we need the likes of Old Toy Soldiers & Vectis Auctions to see the real class stuff, so I sure Norman and Co will come up with something in the near future. As mention you have to pay a premium on the items again no big deal. I can sit here at home in Ireland cup of tea and a ***, and bid, if I had to travel to an auction as in pre internet days it cost me more than paying a premium, and you guys who still have to work would not be able to make the auctions, so life is good Troopers, lets not worry to much about ebay, had their own way to long, like all the great Empires of the past they all fall one day.
Bernard.

 

[theBaron]

I say, big deal. If eBay were to shut down tomorrow, I would just go back to scouring flea markets and toy soldier shows for figures, and going to live auctions. And for what most of you collect, such as the newermakers like K&C, you can live without eBay. Most of you probably have specific dealers you deal with anyway. Upshot is, while eBay means that I can add an item to my collection at 3AM, is that really a better world? Probably not. Instant gratification is not really a good thing, in the long run.

Prost!
Brad

 

[APACHEJOL]

I say, big deal. If eBay were to shut down tomorrow, I would just go back to scouring flea markets and toy soldier shows for figures, and going to live auctions. And for what most of you collect, such as the newermakers like K&C, you can live without eBay. Most of you probably have specific dealers you deal with anyway. Upshot is, while eBay means that I can add an item to my collection at 3AM, is that really a better world? Probably not. Instant gratification is not really a good thing, in the long run.

Prost!
Brad

Excellent Post!

 

[Njja]

Ebay opens up the world to you. While I used to hunt for items, at shows, flea markets, and such to do so now (with gas soon to hit $5) would no longer be productive. You can find anything on Ebay sooner or later, if you make the effort.

If you have items to pass on to other collectors, you can do business all over the world. A little bit of practice, and receiving payment, and shipping your items is a snap.

Its unfortunate that Ebay has employed the wrong people, like Meg W who really didn't have a clue who her customer base was.

Njja

 

[jazzeum]

I agree with John. Whether you like them or not, they bring together sellers and buyers who but for ebay wouldn't have been able to do business. How would I be able to purchase some rare K & C item from a seller in Italy but for ebay. Flea markets are nice but a little quaint and outdated in today's electronic environment.

 

[VIRIATO]

Till now, E-bay has been a positive experience for me. I like the hunting and the possibility to sell items I would certainly not sell any other way. I live in Portugal, a small toy soldier market. With E-Bay selling or buying is...worldwide. I thank them for what they provide me, knowing that nothing is perfect or satisfies everyone...

 

[Dickbuttons]

In my limited time in collecting, I have bought and sold soldiers with fine individuals in Australia, Canada, several European countries, just to name a few. I would probably have never met nor done business with these fine people, save for Ebay and Ebay live.

 

[Gideon]

As much as I detest eBay, the fact that they are a neccessary evil is an understatement.

For the newer products I occasionally sell on eBay, their price is really pretty good. If I were to list with Amazon, they get like a 30% cut overall.

I have been collecting stuff over the years and found it amazing when I discovered the European eBay sites. I was able to find things that I had never seen before and get them at a better price than what they would sell on the US eBay sites.

In that way, opening the globe up to individuals doing business with one-another, eBay has provided tremendous value. Paypal really solidified it by providing a common payments platform and then USPS opened up their international label generation to the web making for a pretty solid foundation for this type of commerce.