For over ten years we only sold our surplus parts through eBay. Our store name was jbake9 and then Kaiser_Industrial and we were and are thankful for the convenience of the platform, the audience it reaches, and the shipping discounts. However the following reasons contributed to us seeking alternatives to eBay and starting our own online store.
Reason #1
Proxy Sellers
Around 2010 eBay changed policies that made is easier for Chinese and other international sellers to appear in “US only” search results. Since then we have noticed a steadily increasing clutter of search results from proxy vendors on the eBay market. While this in itself was not enough to pry us away from eBay it is one of the major factors motivating us to move away from that market. We want our customers to be confident that we have the part and that the part is coming from the USA.
Reason #2
Aftermarket Parts
Many proxy sellers on eBay appear to be selling aftermarket parts under brand names and often they do not make a distinction between the two. For the purpose of this post the term “aftermarket parts” includes both true aftermarket or generic parts as well as suspected counterfeit parts. We question the authenticity of aftermarket parts listed on eBay based on indicators within the listing, the seller’s store, or comments left by buyers. I have not (am not qualified to) physically confirm my suspicions regarding authenticity of any product listed on eBay. We want our customers to be confident that the part they are ordering is physically authentic surplus.
Reason #3
Feedback Issues
We see questionable eBay seller taking advantage of the feedback system . First, feedback is not weighted by category or price. It common for questionable sellers to have sales from large quantities of very inexpensive items (usb cables, cards, or earrings) to offset their low feedback rating on expensive and unrelated industrial items. Second, feedback is removed for refunded items without removal ratio given. We want to be part of a more accurate rating system.
Reason #4
Promoted listings and sellers
The option to promote your store or boost your listing within eBay, combined with the issue of proxy sellers with aftermarket parts creates an environment that forces local (USA) physically authentic parts to accept lower profits by paying for promotion or wait for seasoned buyers willing to take time to weed through all the proxy sellers/aftermarket parts. We refuse to promote our listings because it is a tool that caters to proxy and aftermarket sellers. We would like our items to rank based on real factors such as response time, return ratio, and shipping time. We are not interested in bribing our way to the top.
Reason #5
Proxy Sellers Using Images and Data from Local Seller
A couple years ago I sat down with a friend and showed him how my listing on eBay was copied and a generic part offered at a discounted rate by a proxy seller. They did not use my image but they used my title and part number. This was followed by five or six more proxy sellers each discounting the item a little more. Then we decided it would be fun to pull up one of his listings on eBay. We looked at a physically authentic surplus PLC part he had recently listed with a unique identifying mark. He was shocked to see that half a dozen proxy sellers had taken his image and listing details and were offering the ‘same’ part at a discounted rate. In some cases the identifying mark was carefully hidden with a watermark. We want our buyers to be sure that they are getting the product pictured.
A simple search on eBay can show the affect of current eBay policies and practices on local surplus sellers. In 2023 I spent an entire morning digging through one search on eBay from the banner to the 19th search result for the query “Allen Bradley” with “US only” selected. What did I discover? Out of the first twenty sellers only five are actually located in the USA. Of the non-proxy sellers the results were as follows: Result #5 was for a new seller (72 feedback, 274 listings, 1.6k items sold) from Kentucky who had a suspicious ratio of sales to listings with mostly new in box PLC parts. Result #6 is a seller who only had one active listing. Result #8 was also a a seller with very few listings. Result #10 the only full time USA surplus seller to make the list, r-lsales, with a $12 Allen Bradley battery assembly. Result #16 a long time USA seller of baseball cards with an $8k Allen Bradley available. From the banner to the 19th search result only the $12 battery was a listing from a serious USA based industrial surplus seller with enough feedback and products to make a purchase with confidence. That is only 25% physically US based sellers from our sample and only 5% physically US based sellers with enough feedback and products to make a purchase with confidence that the item is authentic surplus.
Starting our own online store is the way we chose to cast our vote against these eBay policies and practices that negatively affect us in the US surplus industrial market. We appreciate buyers that are willing to do the same by purchasing directly from us.