I'm coming up on my tenth anniversary on eBay. Is it as much fun today as then? No. But it's still better than not having it for reasons that others have pointed out above.

I think some of the changes were great. I can remember having to enter the code for HTML (like even for italics!) and what a struggle it used to be to set up pictures. But as time has gone by the changes have become more of a nuisance. Just when you think you have the menus figured out they change them. Most of the recent changes are aimed at making both buyers and sellers fit into specific slots and at trying to second-guess what both want to do. I was a software designer long enough to know the limits of that approach. I liked eBay a lot better when the assumption was that both buyers and sellers were intelligent adults.

On the other hand, I personally don't understand the anger that some folks here feel towards PayPal. Sure, requiring it is a way for eBay to increase their fees. But I'm approaching 3000 auctions as a buyer and as a seller and I have NEVER had trouble with PayPal. In fact, it's my default regular credit/debit card for almost everything else too. I carry a cash balance and (until very recently) earned more on that balance than I could get on my checking account. Even before eBay required PayPal 95% of my buyers used it and I was always disappointed as a buyer when I found a seller who wouldn't take it because it meant a trip to the bank or (worse) the post office. Sorry guys, but I just don't see the objection to PayPal as a good enough reason to leave eBay. IMHO it's no more onerous than checks or credit cards.

I am very close to my 11th anniversary with ebay... and basically agree... I never had a problem with Paypal. Nice to flip out that
card at the local Red Lobster for Din Din... and go home and see
1.5% of the transaction fee back into my account....

I don't like the idea that Ebay FORCES it on buyers and sellers... Am
sure that we can at least get around it somewhat. No one has a
hard time with any of our auctions in finding us and our address.
Just a matter of carefully placing info in the auction that the blasted
bots don't find. They have said Pick Up Items are OK for CASH.
So even if the guy is going to have the item shipped you can put
something in the auction to that effect. What they going to do?
Tell me the 11 year guy that pays them a fair amount of money that sorry charlie your pitched out on your ear? I seriously doubt it and for the most part people pay with paypal anyway.

John k9uwa /w4

'glowsinthedark' expresses my sentiments exactly. Theres much improvement over the days in the late 90s when the site would go down at least once a week - and their stock price would go bananas! - and they would give every body an extra day on their listing. Pooey, I wanted my listing to end on Sunday night not Monday night.

They also had the regular late Sunday night maintenance periods.

People would go nuts nowadays if they did the things they used to do.

It became much better up until the point to where the commercial vendors and 'stores' started dominating the site and the profit-making rules started to favor that side of the business. All the crooks I used to know at swapmeets and hamfests are there now

But thats the nature of business. They are in it to make money - not just to be our buddies that run an auction site.

I give the poll a Plus because in spite of all the issues there's nothing like it elsewhere and I have nothing other than minor complaints about the venue.