# eBay Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/ebay/ 69 people recommended eBay in Hacker News comments, 28 had mixed feelings and 136 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. People who said how long they have used it report a median of 20 years, among 13 people. It was recommended in 12 of 12 months, in 46 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** Criticized more than recommended: sellers widely complain about high fees and scam listings; those who recommend it use it for obscure parts, used books and secondhand electronics, with useful search and buyer protection. Summary written by Claude from the comments below. Claude agents reviewed it against the quotes on 2 Nov 2026. ## What people warn about - High seller and shipping fees (6 comments in the sample): "Too expensive for things you can sell for cash on one of the dumb local marketplaces or on Craigslist." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49148818)) "The eBay fees are bad enough as it is, throw in whatever insane amount GameStop would take and it would squeeze everyone out." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48015287)) "Their pricing are insane, they take a cut on your product price, but also on the delivery method and even on the taxes" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49148663)) - Scam listings and sellers (3 comments in the sample): "They're doing a terrible job of preventing scams. Right now there are hundreds of listings for GPUs at too-good-to-be-true prices" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48110932)) "they began to transition to a new page layout a few years ago, which made it too difficult to screen against scam-sellers" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50087274)) "Ebay is no less shady. Buy something(from China) that takes a long time to arrive, reviewing is disabled. Ebay is junk." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48740068)) - Site changes hurt browsing (1 comment in the sample): "they started permitting videos instead of pictures for the thumbnails of certain products and I pretty much stopped browsing the site" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48454711)) ## Why people recommend it - Finds obscure, hard-to-find items (6 comments in the sample): "eBay's value proposition is different in that it opens that up from just items from people within driving range, to anyone around the world." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48116003)) "as soon as something gets even mildly obscure then there's nothing that has the reach and coverage of eBay" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49310253)) "For really obscure content, internet archive, your library, usenet or even eBay are the go to!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48359167)) - Trustworthy, with reliable buyer protection (3 comments in the sample): "over several hundred transactions and a few disputes that were settled fairly I've had a good experience" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48110800)) "Ebay has a history of being legit, though they have had a long list of uncanny acquisitions themselves" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48007435)) "eBay's reputation and trust network is really what makes it a viable product at this point." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46713268)) - Cheap used books (3 comments in the sample): "eBay->title search->sort price low to high-> usually results in under $5 free shipping for almost any oldish book." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47871034)) "After the existence of Ebay, a few hundred dollars could populate a shelf with the standard reference books" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49262003)) "As a buyer, I find buying used books on eBay much better than buying used books on Amazon." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47283612)) - Good for used electronics (3 comments in the sample): "eBay International exists and I've shipped my laptops from the US to Bolivia, Guam, Sweden" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47943840)) "Fortunately EBay makes this sort of bearable, especially using last generation's tech." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46468611)) "I have recently been trolling eBay for used computing equipment rather than buying new" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47025822)) ## Other online marketplaces people recommend - [Amazon](https://hackerapproved.com/p/amazon/): 120 recommend, 88 mixed, 580 criticize - [AliExpress](https://hackerapproved.com/p/aliexpress/): 43 recommend, 16 mixed, 75 criticize - [Allegro.pl](https://hackerapproved.com/p/allegro/): 11 recommend, 2 mixed, 4 criticize - [Tindie](https://hackerapproved.com/p/tindie/): 8 recommend, 2 mixed, 12 criticize ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://www.ebay.com/) ## The badge A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged. ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "eBay", https://hackerapproved.com/p/ebay/ (69 recommend, 28 mixed, 136 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.