, there is no need for an antagonistic tone. The eBay members here are in general helpful and friendly, and certainly give a higher quality of advice and information (usually from years of experience in trying to find the optimal ways to use eBay, both as buyers and sellers) than is to be found from eBay customer service.
I don't know Davewil personally, other than my fairly recent experiences on these boards, but I sincerely doubt he has a "kudos army". Presumably members press the kudos button when something that someone has posted makes sense, states something succinctly and correctly, or appeals to them in tone or content. Practically speaking, what good is a kudos on the eBay forums, anyway? One cannot eat them, wear them, trade them, or spend them!
If you read what the eBay member responders have posted here more carefully, I think you may find that their position is closer to what you are saying than you realise. No one here loves eBay's "Best Match" and no one here loves eBay's Cassini algorithm. No one here doubts that there is widespread manipulation of the search engine (especially by Chinese sellers who are, in terms of Australian eBay punitive action, untouchable). No one here doubts that large businesses that have been enticed onto eBay may have special deals that are not disclosed to and are not available to the average eBay seller.
What the posters here are saying is that getting up in arms and shouting for the ACCC is, in many cases, futile. It's futile not because the posters love what eBay's doing, nor is it futile because the posters are weak or sycophantic or apt to give up at the first sign of a sniffle, but for any or all of the following:
- what eBay is doing is allowed under Australian consumer law;
- the ACCC has been contacted and have advised there is nothing they can do in this case;
- the ACCC is not the relevant body for this behaviour;
- eBay's user agreement has your agreement to their behaviour;
- attempts to contact eBay with complaints have resulted in zero action;
- court action is costly and unless there's evidence relevant to these behaviours, a legal case is unlikely to meet the burden of proof;
- court action is costly and even though the behaviours are not fair, they are legal, hence litigants have no case; and/or
- the eBay members here have heard similar "calls for action" many many times before, and always with the same end result.
(There's been one successful instance of working with the ACCC - when eBay wanted to have PayPal as the only "safe" payment method - which was due to there being a genuine case under Australian consumer law. If you remember that instance, ACCC actually advised at the time that it was seeking submissions from anyone affected. It's not the case with eBay Best Match. You can and possibly should contact the ACCC yourself to get the advice directly so that you know firsthand.)
There are no doubt other reasons, but that's the gist of it, I suspect.
My own suggestion (which you're free to reject) - stop looking for enemies here. If you have antagonism towards the machinery of eBay, fine - that's not these members' fault. There are without question some awful policies in place with eBay, and there are current examples of behaviours that I think breach sellers' rights (to wit, enabling Best Offer on items with automatic acceptance at half price, without the seller's knowledge or permission.) You're honestly not going to find anyone saying that THAT is right...
However, it's very much a case of picking your battles and picking your arena.
Moreover, if you're looking for ways to make the best of selling on eBay, I have absolutely no doubt that the members here will give that to you, freely and generously.
