I want to make clear that despite all my 
complaints i still use Ebay due to the fact that 
overall i think it's benefits outweigh my 
negative points, lack of alternatives of same 
calibre, many bargains....

I also don't have a problem with the issue of 
them driving the price up.  No one is forcing me 
to bid & i like the idea that i can get an item 
as long as i am prepared to pay the price.  

But my complaints are:
(1) Illegally taking money from my credit card.  
This has happened to me several times.  Make a 
one time payment by credit card it says. No so. 
Every time i have done that they take the liberty 
of charging my card every month automatically 
even though they explicitly say they will NOT do 
so.  I get ignored every time i ask why.
(2) Crap help system.  That new system send you 
around in circles & i noticed you click some 
links & it just takes you back to the beginning 
again.  I could not find what i was looking for & 
emailed them.  Credit to them that they reply 
quicker these days.  They gave me a link & it was 
just the same help URL again.  
(3) Random & selective ending of auctions.  
They end my auction saying my item is not 
licensed for sale in the UK as it is an import 
from US.  I accept that but ask them why they 
have targeted my auction and not others when 
there are 50 other identical auctions.  One time 
i got ignored.  Another time they say that they 
usually only act when an auction is reported.  
Thus i take the step of reporting all these other 
auctions & lone behold they ignore me & do 
nothing.
(4) The Vero Program
For practical reasons i guess this is a good step 
since ebay do not seem to have the manpower to 
police stuff themselves.  If you want to contest 
the ending of an auction ended by one of these 
Vero members you contact that member direct.  If 
you are unsatisfied with it & speak to ebay about 
it their speciality is to cut & paste some 
irrelevant info & give u some URLs.  They repeat 
the process till you give up in despair.
(5) Ineffective Square Trade Program
To get "illegal" feedback removed you normally 
have to resolve it in Square trade.  If the other 
party does not respond you have no case & thus no 
ground to request removal.  Even IF someone has 
left you an inaccurate feedback with profanity.

This is just some of the stuff i have had to deal 
with from ebay.  Most of it is to do with their 
customer service.  These days i rarely even 
bother to contest them or engage them.  With scuh 
sloppy service i figure i should cut my losses & 
save my breath.. *sigh.

To think of the money I have paid them in fees 
and they can't even answer me a few questions...  
makes you wonder where all the money goes.

I don't think they are really evil in the 
conventional sense.. just lack any customer 
service.