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When are we going to stop calling it "evilbay" ?


Greg Myers

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Seems to me this is just a "band wagon" thing. There can't be that many people that hate this boon to finding anything you can think of. :huh: Where else can you find pictures, price guidelines, information, availability,and the product its self? It;s your choice to buy or not. No one is forcing you to pay the shipping or even look at these gems from the past. :o

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I agree with you 100%. I've bought a lot of stuff off ebay and never had a significant problem.

And with 80,000 items under Automotive kits, it's a great shop to cruise - and nobody gives you a funny look on the way out if you don't buy anything.

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I agree with you 100%. I've bought a lot of stuff off ebay and never had a significant problem.

And with 80,000 items under Automotive kits, it's a great shop to cruise - and nobody gives you a funny look on the way out if you don't buy anything.

or you don't have to have an awkward conversation with the hobby shop worker about Magic Cards...

I have always enjoyed shopping and selling on eBay.

I don't get mad at the gocery store if Kraft makes crappy mac and cheese...

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I agree 1,000%.

In my opinion, ebay is one of the wonders of the internet. It has opened up possibilities to us (and everyone else) that we couldn't have even imagined 20 years ago, and changed our hobby for the better. And considering the sheer enormous size of the site and how many transactions happen every single day, the fact that it works as smoothly as it does is astounding.

If anyone has shown us what the internet can be, it's ebay. Every time someone calls it "evilbay" it's like nails on a chalkboard. 99.99% of the time, the person who is blaming "evilbay" for his problem is actually having the problem with another ebay user, not with ebay itself.

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I have to say that when I first heard the "evilbay" moniker I thought it was idiotic.

What folks have said about it bringing together buyers and sellers in a way never before possible is entirely true, and ebay and PayPal have delivered 100% positive transaction results to me. The very few problem transactions I've encountered have been ENTIRELY resolved to my satisfaction.

However, ebay's most recent activity-tracking and constantly trying to get me to BUY BUY BUY and SELL SELL SELL MORE STUFF now, and constantly sending me emails for stuff picked by some idiot algorithm, that have practically NO RELEVANCE to what I ACTUALLY WANT, is getting a little out of hand.

Edited by Ace-Garageguy
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Just an opinion, but there is some truth to this.. I figure some of it is just the grumpy older people (not necessarily in calendar years, but in mindset) that like to complain about the internet, cell phones, anything associated w/ modern life. The 'living in the past' crowd. They always find something to complain about.

I've been a successful eBay user for 16 years...could count the number of problem transactions I've had on one hand.

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However, ebay's most recent activity-tracking and constantly trying to get me to BUY BUY BUY and SELL SELL SELL MORE STUFF now, and constantly sending me emails for stuff picked by some idiot algorithm, that have practically NO RELEVANCE to what I ACTUALLY WANT, is getting a little out of hand.

I get the same emails, but in my case the products featured are right up my alley. Odd that they missed your preferences so badly.

But of course, you are free to not open their emails... ;)

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I get the same emails, but in my case the products featured are right up my alley. Odd that they missed your preferences so badly.

But of course, you are free to not open their emails... ;)

Well, just because i bought a gluebomb mess or "parts kit" for a specific build doesn't mean I want to be notified of EVERY piece of modeling trash that comes up, and just because I bought some '50s jazz CDs done by artists I actually LIKE doesn't mean I want to be notified of everything else in the genre.

Constantly bombarding me with junk email is the same thing as annoying telemarketing...I don't have to answer the phone either, but I'm sick of the whole hysterical BUY BUY BUY mentality. I don't recall telling ebay they were free to clutter my inbox with useless stuff.

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Excellent point, and one I need to look in to rather than complaining. :)

At the bottom of the emails I get from them:

"eBay Inc. sent this e-mail to you at xxxxxxxxxxxx because your Notification Preferences indicate that you want to receive general email promotions. If you do not wish to receive further communications like this, please click here to unsubscribe."

Problem solved... ;)

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At the bottom of the emails I get from them:

"eBay Inc. sent this e-mail to you at xxxxxxxxxxxx because your Notification Preferences indicate that you want to receive general email promotions. If you do not wish to receive further communications like this, please click here to unsubscribe."

Problem solved... ;)

We'll see. " Notification Preferences indicate that you want to receive ......general..... email promotions" .

The "general" opt-out may not stop the specifically-targeted-by-buying-history emails. We'll see.

And there are SOME ebay communications I want, so filtering out anything with an ebay origination won't solve that particular issue.

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Yeah I always get a kick out of one person here who has all kinds of angst about ebay Paypal etc.

Some carry on like it's the anti-Christ

Ever think that the one guy who constantly has problems on eBay IS THE PROBLEM??

And those who have never tried it and say that they'll NEVER do eBay and NEVER sign up for Paypal are probably ashamed of their internet skills and afraid to try. Then there are those who aren't credit worthy enough to get a credit card or Paypal and bark loud as a cover for that.

Me? I was instantly in love with eBay from my first look in 1998. I've been a constant user and like others above said, I've found items that I never thought I'd see in my lifetime. For me the tough stuff is more related to my stamp collection than models. There are very rare privately perforated coil stamps that were created in the 100s or low 1000s. And now I have them all!

I've always said eBay is like cocaine... first you get hooked and the next thing you know, you're selling to support your habit!

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We'll see. " Notification Preferences indicate that you want to receive ......general..... email promotions" .

The "general" opt-out may not stop the specifically-targeted-by-buying-history emails. We'll see.

And there are SOME ebay communications I want, so filtering out anything with an ebay origination won't solve that particular issue.

That opt out lingo I posted was taken right off one of those "targeted to your previous views and preferences" emails... I think that's the kind of thing you were talking about?

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There's another way of looking at "evilbay".... a narcotic provided by a seductive temptress, who lures you to abandon your judgment and spend your money on sparkly, shiny things that could be irresistible. But where does the evil really lurk?

It's just commerce...neither 'good' nor 'evil' necessarily. Truly the worlds largest 24/7 flea market, swap meet, store, etc. It's a better way to blow money than gambling...at least w/ eBay you spend money and get product.

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We'll see. " Notification Preferences indicate that you want to receive ......general..... email promotions" .

I get a kick out of the emails I get from eBay. I collect a US stamp that has a catalog number "300". So that's a search I will do in the correct category. Then I get a cheery email from eBay.. "WE FOUND 300!" and it gives me a choice of "Chrysler 300 owners manual", "300 colorful plastic hangers", "300 Calorie cook book" and other totally irrelevant items. Maybe I broke their search function? :P

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Just an opinion . I have been both buying and selling on ebay since 1999. I have 1500 transactions. I think ebay is better for the buyers than for the sellers. I don't believe I ever refered to them as evilbay. I will admit to calling them Feebay however. That being said I do love ebay and purchase most of my models there. As a matter of fact I have 5 things right now that I am waiting for that I bought off ebay. If were not for ebay my Cobra collection would not number the 600 + that it does now.

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I get a kick out of the emails I get from eBay. I collect a US stamp that has a catalog number "300". So that's a search I will do in the correct category. Then I get a cheery email from eBay.. "WE FOUND 300!" and it gives me a choice of "Chrysler 300 owners manual", "300 colorful plastic hangers", "300 Calorie cook book" and other totally irrelevant items. Maybe I broke their search function? :P

Automated email generation off of search terms...not a precise science...sounds more like a 'spray & pray' style.... throw out a bunch and see if anything sticks...

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... I collect a US stamp that has a catalog number "300". So that's a search I will do in the correct category. Then I get a cheery email from eBay.. "WE FOUND 300!" and it gives me a choice of "Chrysler 300 owners manual", "300 colorful plastic hangers", "300 Calorie cook book" and other totally irrelevant items...

Yup. ^_^

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