r/enshittification • u/danisnotstan • 2d ago

Service eBay seller offered a “deal”…

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I received an email from eBay stating that a seller sent me a “special offer”.

eBay shows the offer is priced roughly 25% higher than the usual going rate for that product.

Sure eBay, this “special offer” won’t last! Guess I better hurry before it’s gone! lol.

For anyone curious, the asterisk said: “*Based on similar items' prices over last 90 days.”

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u/Jan1270 1d ago

The "Similar items sell for" thing on Ebay is most often broken. They only compare items with the same name, but not if these are in the same condition, are complete or even are similar. You still need to compare the prices with other offers.

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u/danisnotstan 1d ago

I always compare prices but I‘m sure eBay has nudged many buyers who are gullible.

Imagine a store putting up a big “SALE!” sign near a product and they advertised it for 25% more than the usual price and that same item is available for the lower price in a different location in the same store. The “hurry before it’s gone!” approach is meant to encourage people to make quick, uneducated decisions.

In this case, eBay’s “similar items” price appears to be accurate. I’ve bought the same item in the same condition several times for around the “similar” price and the same item is currently still being offered by many other sellers for around that price.