eBay, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)
CAPS Rating:
Offering a forum for the buying and selling of stuff, eBay is the world’s largest online marketplace.
Growing the love for investing
Offering a forum for the buying and selling of stuff, eBay is the world’s largest online marketplace.
BATS data provided in real-time. NYSE, NASDAQ and AMEX data delayed 15 minutes.
Real-Time prices provided by BATS. Market data provided by Interactive Data.
Company fundamental data provided by Morningstar. Earnings Estimates and Analyst Ratings provided by Zacks.
SEC Filings and Insider Transactions provided by Edgar Online.
Powered and implemented by Interactive Data Managed Solutions. Terms & Conditions
RSS Headlines
Fool UK
Recs
I'm usually going to be bearish on companies who don't treat their customers well. IMHO, eBay is in this group because I find their policies to be buyer friendly (this is good) at the expense of the sellers (this is bad). It makes me not want to use eBay for listing my things that I want to sell, because I think the seller protection is inadequate, and they're trying to tell me how to run MY business by placing all these rules and stipulations on what methods of payments I can accept or use. I don't support this at all. In addition, they seem to keep listing their fees, which makes it less economical. I only use eBay as a price guide most of the time now. I pick eBay to "Underperform" until they get it right, by treating their paying customers properly.
It's a valid concern, but think about it this way. If there is a dispute between buyer and seller, the resolution is undoubtedly going to leave one party happy and one party upset - there's almost never a win-win. eBay has decided to err on the side of the buyer, for better or for worse. This is a similar tact that almost every retailer takes, and even the one the credit card companies take. I'm not saying it's right, but in my gut I don't think the sellers will leave unless they can make more money somewhere else. And right now, the biggest number of potential buyers is on eBay.