I have found out about the new insurance policy the hard way (to the tune of over $400) which is the seller of the item is responsible for paying to insure items, not the buyer as in the past. I sold an item (as I had for the past 7 years of selling on Ebay), and offered the customer the option to insure the package. I assumed (as in all type of auction purchases) that the buyer has an inherent risk because of the opportunity to purchase an item for much less than the retail value. The overnight package was lost by UPS. The buyer requested a refund. As the tracking number I provided them stated the package was LOST by UPS, they received a full refund as mandated by EBay from ME. My understanding of ebay as a member (potentially ex member) is that the reason a Feed back score was invented and created was to separate minor risk from major risk as a buyer (otherwise, WHY WOULD A SCORE BE CREATED?). So, food for thought: Ebay has effectively REMOVED liability to the buyer. That feedback score that all of us have put so much work into over the year is MEANINGLESS. Why would I care if I was purchasing an item from a seller that only has 4 total feedbacks and 2 of them are negative. If the seller doesn't send the item, I get my money back if they can't prove it was delivered (even if the shipping company lost it and it was not the sellers fault). If they do send it...AWESOME, you usually get a huge discount for sellers with poor feedback or very little feedback.
I wonder if Ebay actually thought about the ramifications of what they have done with this policy change!?!
Food for thought: As a seller, I am responsible to pay for the time cost involved with creating a listing, listing fees, upgrade fees, final valuation fees (both ebay & paypal), shipping insurance fee and the time to package and ship an item. I am at FULL risk, so I must now have tracking on EVERYTHING I sell, regardless of the price of the item, as that is my only recourse to prove the customer received their item. The auction winner either receives the item or their money back.
Here are the predictions I see arising from this new insurance policy:
1. Your feedback score as a seller now means nothing. Why? Because as a buyer, you either receive the item or you request your money back regardless of the sellers score.
2. Ebay will become the largest marketplace for moving stolen goods. Before, I would never bid on an expensive item from a seller that has 0 feedback, but now I could care less. A thief has a zero out of pocket cost for an item, so what do they care if a $3000 item sells for $400? Its pure profit. Meanwhile, the quality businesses that sell the same item that have great feedback scores can't compete.
3. Auction style listings will dry up or disappear (or the original asking price listed will be the exact minimum price the seller can still make money with). Soon the risk to reward aspect will become too great. Buy it now will be the only type of listing, which means that Ebay will effectively become an online shopping mall that will attempt to compete with Amazon (and fail) for retail business, and craigslist will take over the used item for sale.