Well I've been wanting to write this small piece congratulating the eBay India team on the great job they've been doing and sharing my experiences for some time now, so here goes.
They're obviously some issues with Paisapay implementation (particularly when things don't go right and a refund is due) but I'm pretty sure that is being worked on as well.
Feedback as a Seller
Anyways I've been selling most tech/electronic items on eBay more than 3 years now mainly for recreation and the fun aspect of it. In the recent few months however, I've seen the marketplace as really evolved with buyers actively searching for high end niche electronics as well. eBay India may soon become similar to eBay US where you can sell practically anything and the buyers/marketplace appraises it fairly.
In the recent few months I've been able to find buyers for some products that I thought almost no one would be searching for on the online Indian marketplace. Luckily, I've been pleasantly surprised.
Also recently I was following the auction of a high end pair of earphones by Sennheiser and I was quite shocked to see the wining bid go upto Rs. 3500+ (the market price was Rs. 5400 and I was willing to pay upto Rs. 3000). The best part was that the bidders were all non-zero feedback members thus indicating repeat buyers.
The fact that even such high end products are being successfully sold on eBay is a great victory for the eBay India team - I can assure you that 1 year ago the same auction would not have gone above Rs. 2000.
On a personal note, I recently found a local buyer for my Desktop via eBay and I was quite surprised to find such an understanding buyer who actually understood/appreciated the time I had spent hand-picking each component/building my beloved PC and appraised it appropriately.
In the recent months, eBay India has emerged as a website where you can sell pretty much anything if you start it as a low priced auction and most of the times the buyers will appraise it appropriately. I've had close to 200 views on some of my items without using any listing upgrades (except Subtitle) in 5 days which is quite remarkable.
The best part is that out of the previous 30 something listings of mine, I've had only 2 non-paying buyers which is really a big step up from some years ago when half of the buyers were bidding for fun. Obviously, the buyer requirements I have in place contribute to this fact.
Feedback as a Buyer
Since I personally sell electronics, I usually have a pretty good idea of the market prices and from where to get the right thing at the right price. Consequently, I hardly ever bought things from eBay India since i found them to be at least 10-15% expensive from prevalent market rates. Recently, I've found extremely competitive prices on eBay and many a times lower than the market prices and have made purchases of over Rs. 20,000 in recent times. I think eBay's lowered fees is a very big step in this direction and now many big sellers have started pricing their items aggressively. For the first time in my life, I've actually started searching on eBay first when I want to make a purchase.
I have although had a few problems as a buyer (particularly due to bad/new sellers) so eBay should maybe consider somehow educating the sellers on describing the products accurately along with actual product pictures.
General Comments
Sorry for making you read this rather long piece ( if you're still with me) but I really wanted to congratulate eBay India for the good they've been doing. Most of the posts I see in the community boards nowadays are complaints and many times it turns out to be the member's own fault. Also members should be more understanding and appreciate the fact that even though eBay tries its best, there are bad apples in every marketplace. Also as I've also learnt recently - the best way to be safe is to use your own discretion (particularly when buying).
However, eBay India's improved buyer protection and Community Court for seller's protection are great initiatives.
As a parting note - I've been selling for 3+ years now and always conduct my business fairly and in accordance with eBay policies. So far, eBay/Paisapay has not given me a single reason to complain - everything from Paisapay registration to Payments to KYC Verification to Express Remittance has gone smoothly and within the stated timelines. As far as my selling experience goes, thats a big thumbs up to eBay.
To all new/existing buyers and sellers - just be honest and respect other people - you're sure to have a great time here ๐
