Greed of Listia

Back in 2011, I discovered a fun site where cash really wasn’t needed. All one had to do was list items or do “tasks” for credits, which was the currency of the website. I ran out of credits, had a few bad transactions, and left.

I returned in the summer of 2016 out of curiosity. The credit/dollar ratio was pretty reasonable.

But, as usual things change …

Today? Today it seems like a greed mill. It’s actually quite sad.

For example, this listing:

[Phone screen-cap of auction on Listia. On the listing page, someone states "Oh my. Magnificent. Top notch auction" 😒 I don't even think so]

[Inside view of the case. Not much difference than the ones below 👇]

That’s right … a COACH case for sunglasses is being offered for a GET IT NOW (GIN) of $460. I could get two COACH purses for the price of that case. Actually, I did get two rare COACH purses for less than the price of that sunnies case (got those in 2015).

FYI:  The price on the GIN didn’t change. The cash price was based on my credits. At the time of the first screen-cap I had more. Obviously I had less for the second one . 

This is ABSOLUTELY ridiculous! It definitely does not cost that much!! I should know. I own one!

I bought my COACH sunnies from Lenscrafters in the summer of 2015. The case that’s being offered? I got it for free when I got my “sunnies”. I paid less than $350 for my sunnies. Even on COACH’s website, sunnies go for as low as $150. I’ll bet if you contact COACH you might be able to get the case through them 😊 

Since my case “cracked” last year (inside hinge), I went to Lenscrafters for a replacement. For $20, they would have replaced it as it would’ve been a “donation” for their eyeglass donation program. It would’ve been worth it had I had the $20 on me. I just did not have the money at that time, and I never got back to Lenscrafters.

Anyway ...

eBay has new ones for less than $40 (some with free shipping), and I was able to get a fairly decent USED one for under $10. It’s in better shape than my current one that's for certain.

[Inside the Coach case - identical to mine that I got in 2015]

[Closed case. Identical to the Listia one]

[My case and "sunnies" when I got them in 2015. Same case as the eBay and Listia one]

So, what makes this guy’s sunnies case on Listia **SO** special it’s worth $460? The free shipping? Even at $50 for the case, which is still a profit, it doesn’t cost $410 for shipping. Not at all! Basically it boils down to greed! Nothing more.

That’s not the only thing over-priced on what was once an “online garage sale” or trade site …

Check out this eBay gift card: 

[Gee, what a bargain! I pay $182 for a $50 gift card? 😑]

Yup, for $182 GIN, you can get this $50 gift card!! That's got to be a great deal!! Oh I'm so upset I missed it!!

Someone on the Listia Facebook page showed a picture of a $5 Amazon gift card for nearly $128 for GIN!! $128!!! Uh, why not just add that money to your gift card account on Amazon? 😉

Some see no monetary value in credits as you only get them by doing offers, selling items, or buying them. However, driving up the cost of them for cash-out value (which you can only cash out 1 million at a time; that’s equal to around $36 – and there is a LONG wait list for that privilege) it also drives up the real dollar (money) ratio. 

That, in turn, makes items more expensive on the website (sometimes even above their actual value) and adding in free shipping also adds to the price of the item. In short, it becomes worthless to sell or even buy on the website.

I have both bought and sold on the website. I have a few more things to off-load, but I’m seriously re-thinking that. Seriously. It’s really sad that some people drive up the cost of an item far past its actual value just for sheer greed. I understand wanting to recover the listing cost, seller’s fee, some value for the item, and postage. I don’t understand why someone would take advantage of someone though. They can’t say they don’t know – if they have access to the internet (which is needed for Listia) – they can research it.

Another thing is the “FOREVER” postage stamps being sold:

[100 stamps is really $49. This is nearly DOUBLE the price!! The actual credit/dollar price is about $90. I could get 183 stamps and have change left over]

[$51 for $20 worth of stamps? Hello? The carrier will deliver them for free, I could buy them at the post office and get 104, over double!]

[Oh, that explains the cost!! It costs her nearly $31 to send them!! 😒 I really don't think it does. She could charge $30 and still make a tidy profit AFTER mailing them!!]

And, some sellers don’t even use their own pictures, instead stealing from eBay sellers’ listings (who they’re likely buying them from to re-sell) and posting the pictures as their own. Sometimes either copying over the watermarks or just ignoring them entirely:

[eBay seller with these "beads". I bought these beads from this seller as they are the original ones.]

["Diana" watermark covering the Serjaden one. This isn't the only person "Diana" has used pictures from]

[eBay/China listing for the "Euro Blue Confetti Rose Beads"]

[Listia Seller listing. Notice the same picture? No way to report it to Listia either.]

Not to mention, some of the price of the beads are outrageous! Some sellers charge anywhere from $5 (around 135,000 credits) to $15 (around 405,000 credits) for five (5) beads.

Why would I pay $5 for five (5) beads when I can get those same five (5) beads from an eBay seller (yes, from China) for $1 (roughly 27,500 credits)? I’m saving $4 and I could end up getting more beads as well! Sure I have to wait, but there are some sellers who don’t mail the items for 10 days!

That violates Listia’s policy, but … who cares – really, seems not even Listia cares.  They don’t have an adequate reporting system and even if they do acknowledge it, they hardly ever take action 😒

Listia it seems has become a greed mill. Which is unfortunate. It is unfortunate they do not even attempt to address the issue either. I’ve met some really great people there. I’ve also met my share of weirdos. I’ve gotten some great items (pens, craft ornaments, beads, jewelry, collectible stamps) on there. 

I’ve often said I wouldn’t go back on that site – not even to unload what I have. Now? 

Now I’m really thinking about leaving. I’ve tried to contact Listia with very few results – actually, none! They rarely say or do anything. They let the offenders continue to operate. 

I’m tracking the COACH sunglasses case auction, and I’ll let y’all know how it ends.

But, the greed on this website has turned it into nothing more than a cheap, generic version of eBay with fewer buyer protections and reporting methods. 



UPDATE: 


Auction ended with 767,600 credits (roughly $27.91). Definitely not the $460 he wanted, that's for certain:

[Auction ended]

[Current rate of credit exchange as of the ending of the auction]