I made $100K from a dick joke • Hacker News Board

Re: I made $100K from a dick joke

#221

Post by rybosworld » Mon, Jan 06, 2025, 4:19 PM UTC

nosioptar wrote: post #111

rgovostes wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just remember eBay has almost no way to report scam listings, hacked seller accounts, obviously fraudulent buyers, etc. They don’t want to clean up their act. Caveat emptor. Two executives were recently imprisoned over harassing a journalist, to give you an idea of the corporate culture. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EBay_stalking_scandal

EBay doesn't care about fraud unless they think you're going to file a charge back with your card issuer, then they're pretty quickto protect their bottom line. I do know for a fact that eBay can kick a seller off very quickly though. I bought a NES shaped raspberry pi a few years back as a gift. The day I got the item, I went to leave the seller glowing feedback, only to find his account was axed (he included NES ro…

Ebay effectively enables mail fraud - it's surprising the postal inspector's haven't taken notice.

Re: I made $100K from a dick joke

#222

Post by ANewFormation » Mon, Jan 06, 2025, 4:22 PM UTC

Beijinger wrote: post #107

segmondy wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ebay is still useful for obscure stuff. if you want to buy used servers, GPU, electronics, car parts, etc. I don't think ebay and FB MP really overlapped, MP ate craigslist. The closest thing to eating ebay is Aliexpress.

I found ebay more reliable, interesting and smoother than Amazon. Amazon screwed me over for 40 USD now they are nagging that I should sign up for "Prime" (I ordered a bunch of stuff, maybe 800 USD. They decided the order is fraudulent, and canceled it, without ever telling me. When I moved into my new place, there was nothing. No sheets, no nothing from Amazon. That this order was "canceled" without any email seemed…

Btw, 'informal' agreements, even oral only, are legally binding, though it may (?) vary by state. For example an email is legally binding.

In a case like this,there's not even the need for small claims - if you just contacted the better business bureau, you'd have gotten reimbursed the shipping and then something reasonable on top as 'an apology for the misunderstanding.'

Re: I made $100K from a dick joke

#223

Post by throw10920 » Mon, Jan 06, 2025, 4:28 PM UTC

rgovostes wrote: post #94

oaththrowaway wrote: post #19

I sold a laptop on eBay once long, long ago. Someone did the "Buy it now" option but never paid. I'm trying to remember the exact situation (probably more than 10 years ago), but I had exchanged messages with him several times and he always had an excuse to not pay. Then I noticed he was selling the exact same model of laptop so it was easy for me to realize that he had just "bought" my laptop to remove the listing s…

Just remember eBay has almost no way to report scam listings, hacked seller accounts, obviously fraudulent buyers, etc. They don’t want to clean up their act. Caveat emptor. Two executives were recently imprisoned over harassing a journalist, to give you an idea of the corporate culture. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EBay_stalking_scandal

What alternatives are there to eBay? Craigslist seems sketchy and Amazon doesn't support the auction model as far as I'm aware. I want to use good alternatives and encourage my family, friends, and co-workers to do so as well. eBay seems unsalvageable and I think the best thing for us is for it to die due to economic starvation.

Re: I made $100K from a dick joke

#224

Post by lotsofpulp » Mon, Jan 06, 2025, 4:33 PM UTC

ANewFormation wrote: post #222

Beijinger wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I found ebay more reliable, interesting and smoother than Amazon. Amazon screwed me over for 40 USD now they are nagging that I should sign up for "Prime" (I ordered a bunch of stuff, maybe 800 USD. They decided the order is fraudulent, and canceled it, without ever telling me. When I moved into my new place, there was nothing. No sheets, no nothing from Amazon. That this order was "canceled" without any email seemed…

Btw, 'informal' agreements, even oral only, are legally binding, though it may (?) vary by state. For example an email is legally binding. In a case like this,there's not even the need for small claims - if you just contacted the better business bureau, you'd have gotten reimbursed the shipping and then something reasonable on top as 'an apology for the misunderstanding.'

The Better Business Bureau is a private organization with zero power to enforce any agreements or judgments. At most, it was Yelp before the internet.

Re: I made $100K from a dick joke

#225

Post by nkrisc » Mon, Jan 06, 2025, 4:33 PM UTC

cute_boi wrote: post #101

bpye wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems to just ignore filters like “date listed” sometimes too. And people will list items at nominal prices and give the actual price in the description. Generally a poor experience.

Was looking for car, and found out they mentioned down payment lolz. FB marketplace is very bad.

I know some car listing sites (used to, at least) offer ad products to dealerships that would post their inventory on FB Marketplace as well.

Re: I made $100K from a dick joke

#226

Post by jolt42 » Mon, Jan 06, 2025, 4:37 PM UTC

throw10920 wrote: post #223

rgovostes wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just remember eBay has almost no way to report scam listings, hacked seller accounts, obviously fraudulent buyers, etc. They don’t want to clean up their act. Caveat emptor. Two executives were recently imprisoned over harassing a journalist, to give you an idea of the corporate culture. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EBay_stalking_scandal

What alternatives are there to eBay? Craigslist seems sketchy and Amazon doesn't support the auction model as far as I'm aware. I want to use good alternatives and encourage my family, friends, and co-workers to do so as well. eBay seems unsalvageable and I think the best thing for us is for it to die due to economic starvation.

Facebook Marketplace has dried up craigslist, not saying it's better for scams, but I feel like it's the only game -in town- now.

Re: I made $100K from a dick joke

#227

Post by blendergeek » Mon, Jan 06, 2025, 4:38 PM UTC

0xDEAFBEAD wrote: post #112

probably_wrong wrote: post #21

I don't have a great opinion of marketing in general and therefore I'm often unconvinced with arguments like "marketing is about fulfilling a customer's needs" or "adding efficiency to the market". Therefore I feel vindicated when a moderately-upvoted post says the quiet part out loud, namely, "Yeah, we made a fake post and just lied to everyone on the internet. I'm not sorry, because not only was it popular - it bec…

>I'm often unconvinced with arguments like "marketing is about fulfilling a customer's needs" or "adding efficiency to the market". This product is actually an ideal case for marketing, because most people weren't aware that a product like this existed. The best ads notify you about something you genuinely want to buy. What you're really complaining about is astroturfing , not marketing. The more dubious sort of mark…

> There are a lot of old consumer brands, and there are a lot of brands known for junk, but there aren't a lot of old consumer brands that are known for junk.

This is why repeatedly buying old consumer brands and then turning them to junk is so insanely profitable. It takes years or decades for consumers to realize that a trusted brand is junk. The consumer never knows that the corporation that turned their brand to junk is currently looking for more brands to acquire.

Re: I made $100K from a dick joke

#228

Post by jolt42 » Mon, Jan 06, 2025, 4:38 PM UTC

ninkendo wrote: post #36

oaththrowaway wrote: post #19

I sold a laptop on eBay once long, long ago. Someone did the "Buy it now" option but never paid. I'm trying to remember the exact situation (probably more than 10 years ago), but I had exchanged messages with him several times and he always had an excuse to not pay. Then I noticed he was selling the exact same model of laptop so it was easy for me to realize that he had just "bought" my laptop to remove the listing s…

I had the exact experience selling an iMac on eBay about 10 years ago. Buyer clicked buy it now, my listing was removed, they never paid. They deleted their account shortly after (it was some .ru email address.) eBay had nothing to say other than “try again after X weeks”. Why, so it can just happen again? They admitted they have zero protection against it. I deleted my account and sold it on Amazon instead. How anyo…

unless you are a regular seller, Amazon is completely not worth it, right?

Re: I made $100K from a dick joke

#229

Post by mixmastamyk » Mon, Jan 06, 2025, 4:42 PM UTC

acac10 wrote: post #198

mixmastamyk wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I sold quite a few things on Amazon back in the day. Was great for getting things off my shelves collecting dust at a good price. At some point maybe ten years ago they started requiring very invasive identity validation to sell. My account from '98? and good selling karma does not matter apparently, not grandfathered in. Long story short, don't expect Amazon to be more reasonable than Ebay these days.

How is this equivalent?!? In fact, stronger seller identification is what makes the site safer for everyone. I think you're really missing the point of stronger identification on commercial sites. It should be done for sellers AND buyers alike. It would drastically decrease the number of bad transactions if people knew they were no longer shielded by anonymity.

Not worth it to me to sell an occasional ~fifty dollar item. Would rather leave on the sidewalk or throw in the trash if need be.

Re: I made $100K from a dick joke

#230

Post by nfriedly » Mon, Jan 06, 2025, 4:46 PM UTC

firesteelrain wrote: post #194

harrall wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

eBay and Facebook Marketplace don’t really compete. FB is better for normal fungible items. eBay is better for specialty stuff. Don’t forget that you have to pay to list and usually have to ship on eBay. It’s two totally different vibes. If I wanted to sell a Dewalt angle grinder, I would go to Facebook first. If I wanted to sell a Sony E-mount camera lens, I would go to eBay first. Most used things I buy make more s…

FB marketplace is full of people wasting your time. "Is this still available?" Yes it is - never heard from again. I stopped giving out my address. I will give a general area where we can meet so they can gauge how far it is for them. When they are on their way, I give them the public location to meet. Only serious people will meet me. On some occasions, I still get ghosted. But ghosting has become more and more comm…

Yeah, FB marketplace is the worst for that. I end up putting up with it, though, because it also has a lot of legitimate buyers and no fees.

I usually just give folks my home address and a time I'm going to be home anyways, and ask them to send me a message once they're on their way. Then I generally forget about it until I get a message from them. If they ghost me, oh well.

I don't take the ad down, and if anyone else asks, I just tell them to ask me again after the scheduled time.