eBay: We're Not in the Business of Selling Soap

by: gizmo

I think its to little , too late. Fixed price or not. I would not consider selling an expensive item on ebay. Lose your money & your item. No protection for sellers, of such items. BIG MISTAKE , BIG MONEY , BIG LOSS.
They are not lined up for anything, under present format. Sounds like a joke to me.

by: iheartjacksparrow

Every time I read a statement issued by an eBay executive my head hurts.

And the L.A. Times story states they are limited edition prints, not original photos, so I can see why they are being sold at a fixed price. If they were one-of-a-kind photos or original negatives/slides they would be crazy not to put them up for auction. I'm sure there are Beatles and Stones fans who would pay hundreds of thousands, if not millions, for originals from that era.  

by: pace306

Another eBay fixed, rig the market game.

Get personally involved with a sellers business, carve out and/or change the rules JUST FOR THEM, then sit back and rake in the money on an eBay store, the fvf's and the "guaranteed" fvf's.

Slick eBay very slick.

by: Rocky

Well, so much for just being a "venue", which would imply that eBay doesn't get to decide whether a seller can make a living at selling soap -- or any other retail product(s).

by: nsc

"I always say we're not in the business of selling soap - but things that strike a chord with them, that have lasting emotional value," Cook added. "We have the opportunity to engage with people who are buying and selling things that really add value to their lives."

To me this sounds like a retreat on eBay's part; an admission that unusual and collectible items remain the core of the site, what differentiates it from others. That would be the same stuff Donahoe denigrated as "flea market" and "garage sale".

If eBay intends to stop destroying what is good about it in a misguided effort to imitate Amazon, that would be an improvement.

by: JohnGermaine

They are NOT in the business of selling anything, they are in the business of supplying a platform so others can sell their goods. This is what has lead to their current problems.

by: Puamelia

Isn't what most of the Chinese sellers sell equivalent in value to soap?

by: Don Wagner

I'll put these next to my Franklin Mint Elvis Plates. Limited Edition or not - these photos are cheap REPROS, plain and simple, and selling repros in limited editions that amount to $50,000 per original photo is just a money-making scheme. They pitch it like its a kumbaya everyone's a winner at such affordable prices moment.  

by: bb6

I might buy one...roll it up...smoke it...then a month later put in a claim that it is not as described. Didn't taste right!!! ;o

by: whipnet

Is this some of that "New Vintage" junk we can start to expect?

*

by: bitbybit

''...eBay is largely known as a neutral forum that acts as a conduit between buyers and sellers of all kinds of merchandise...''

What a crock of sh*t!

Ebay was also about the fun of auctions but since JD's imposed destruction, items from ebay's precious darlings (as this obviously is) will be given full visibility at fixed price while the rest of us unwashed sellers will languish in the dark dungeon.  

by: baconsdozen

Ebay is clutching at straws. It's policies have let it further and further up a blind alley,now it's slowly turning into an online hire shop. Buy,use,reject and return.

by: sasikat9

Thanks but no thanks I have better pictures of the bar of soap on my new sink.

by: Rexford

"EBay thinks of itself as uniquely positioned and uniquely equipped to service customers with special kinds of items"

Oh really? Is that what all that Chinese crap that has flooded the site is.  And is that what all of that merchandise that the big brands are providing...you know, the kind that you can get at any second rate mall or big box retailer.

Another example of eBay being detached from reality.

by: Katie

right click
save picture as

by: Al G

Hell - I like it!

Looks like the Bob Bonis Archive is using eBay to hawk its wears. Why not! If they get a "deal" with no refunds, no dings, etc. so much the better.

As for their wares and what price/format they sell it in - it's their show.

If you deal with slime, just make sure you haven enough solvent to clean yourself off.

Oh yes, we're talking H-O-L-L-Y-W-O-O-D and the music business here where everything is superficial and vapid.

by: Al G

PS. How long has the Franklin Mint been in business???

I love the tag line on the ceramics stuff "only 100 firing production days for this genuine rare limited edition porcelain Marie Antoinette original teacup & saucer".  

by: go-figure

@bb6: I see a full refund in your future!

by: boardwalk

Photos can be scanned and copied.  If someone buys one of these limited edition prints and copies it, will they still be allowed to return it under Ebays flawed across the board return policy?  My guess is that this seller will not agree to those terms.  What do you think Ebay will do? Say No, tough luck, those are the rules for EVERYONE?......I doubt that will happen!

by: rhawk

..Biggest mistake ever to sell on ebay.   You will be theived by both ebay and your "buyer" on stuff like this.

My advice for Bob boner is to RUN RUN RUN.

OH wait....you got special seller protection....no returns?....no dsr's?.....neg feedback removed?

your good to go then!