@marnotom! wrote:
@pjcdn2005 wrote:
Well said! Due to the constant site changes as well as the GSP, ebay seems to be become more complicated each month for both sellers and buyers.
Perhaps you can explain to me, then, how the GSP complicates purchases, because I'm not getting it. I search for listings in "list view", see the results with the subtitle "customs services and international tracking provided," and avoid them. Seems straightforward to me. What am I doing wrong?
It isn't that your approach is "wrong" however it is an exercise in stepping on eggsells. It seems that the eBay shopping experience has gone from being an enjoyable one to the whole eBay website being a red flag of Caveat Emptor. The GSP isn't the only thing that has degraded the experience, but is a major aspect.
When I'm shopping somewhere I don't like to walk on eggshells because it means a business is deploying underhanded techniques to get me to spend more money than I want to ala carrot on a stick. eBay wants you to see that ultra low price tag the sellers set first and foremost and preys upon those who may not immediately see the smaller print in comparison.
That subheading you mention isn't there to protect buyers, it's there to protect eBay from fraud (e.g. bait and switch) lawsuits. Notice how that subheader doesn't say "There are additional charges for customs services", to a newcomer they could think that the item price includes those services.
But that subheading is just a red herring in the grand scheme of things; it's yet another thing one has to watch out for, yet another thing you have to beware; when you're on a website like eBay and it essentially forces you to spend your valuable time looking for those headers, potentially having to skim page after page of searches while walking on eggshells because there's no way to computationally filter them out.
To be perfectly clear, looking for that heading, using search orders, etc is a workaround, not a solution and none of the members who are defending or claiming to be "objective" about the GSP's existence are getting that. Workarounds should only be in place until a problem is resolved; when they become long-term it creates a toxic environment, an environment of complication and complexity because these workarounds are compound. It's easy to give a workaround as a solution academically because in context the issue is isolated and standing on its own in forum postings etc but doesn't take into account the fact there are multiple points in which caveat emptor must be employed with eBay. First: I'm having to look over my shoulder for malicious sellers stabbing me in the back, Now: I'm having to watch over both shoulders for eBay doing the same.
To define each:
A workaround is something done temporarily to step around a problem until a solution may be implemented.
A solution is something that is longterm, it is a permanent mechanism whereas the problem is actually dealt with.
eBay isn't about to implement a solution because the programme is too far gone, it's like the archaic tax code that plagues most countries, it's impossible to throw the entire book — full of loopholes — out and start over because it's a part of the culture, part of how things are done and you sir, have become victim to to that mindset.
Like a pawn shop, if I'm spending more time looking over my shoulder as the store owner (eBay) is making the shopping experience complicated, I'm going to be pressured to leave because I feel uncomfortable doing business where things can't be broken down into simple terms and where there is too much irrational red-tape. I feel uncomfortable doing business with organizations where things are needlessly complicated to satisfy some corporate bottom line — I don't even shop at stores that ask for a name and phone number when I'm paying with cash.
This isn't about the GSP alone, it is about complexity, it's just the GSP is the poster child for that complexity.
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