Why get yourselves all worked up?
Whats the point?
I think part of the problem is that Ebay...charges a fortune for the reserve fee so people have to resort to this tactic. I am not advocating it, but I could understand it .... I would like to list a bunch of names on ebay with reserves but they charge ludicrous amounts for reserves ( whether you sell or not ).
There lies the problem...THEY CHARGE WHETHER THE NAME IS SOLD OR NOT.... I am not opposed to paying a listing fee ... that is completely inline.
But in part, ebay is preying on sellers that either have high hopes for a name or have a name that is worth bigger money by charging 1% (on top of all their other addons) sold or unsold. If the name sells..it makes perfect sense to charge the full reserve rate ... BUT ... if the name goes unsold and has a high reserve ( for instance $3k...thats a $30 fee ) why is it that no one has a problem with that? Its not like it takes any extra effort on ebay's part to select that reserve feature.
What they are doing is wrong and they are taking advantage of their market position of being one of the only mass exposure games in town to resellers and endusers. ( domain sites excluded ) .
Now you may argue that if people didn't over priced their names then it wouldn't be an issue. ( its not for us to tell someone what to charge for their name...if you don't like the price don't buy it
) But I think that the attitude here goes beyond the ethics of avoiding the reserve fee ... I think it in part stems from people being upset that they were not able to "steal" name for below its value.
If Ebay wasn't so greedy in there reserve pricing structure...people wouldn't feel the need to do what they are doing to prevent giving away a name. ( Once again not saying its cool to cancel out auctions...but I can understand it. I think Bidawinners example was key... people want something for nothing and get upset when they can't get it. ) I expect the response that if you can't play by the rules then don't play.
Ebay...has made me a very limited user due to their fee structure...I want to post with a reserve and am happy to pay modest fees if item doesn't sell and the percentage/fee if it does. But for them to charge the full 1 percent for non sale is insane and greedy ... not too mentions its cutting the amount of names being listed ... I saw the same attitude at the corp I worked at, they didn't care about the long run ... it was a get the money now attitude, worry about later.....later. Needless to say that business model doesn't work for very long, people don't like getting extorted or getting a lesser quality product while paying a higher rate.
Btw....in regards to $15 handling fee people put on their auctions...the easy way to deal with that is just don't bid on the name...no one is forcing you too. They aren't hiding that charge ... its there in plain view ... and this has been going on for quite a while ... it seems Ebay doesn't care or aren't addressing it ... why should you? Unless you expect to get names for $1. I would rather drop them than sell for a buck...but hey thats just me.
OOo I c you want something for nothing
The bottom line is don't go into this game thinking that you will get something for nothing...those days are over.
my 2â ( no reserve fee )
