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48 replies

"What's eBay Like for Buyers These Days"

W wiccanwandcrafterMember
quote:
Originally posted by easternages:
Well that Griff sure is a company man ! Cut of his hand and inside it will read ebray like a stick of candy. Big Grin Not sue of my history but us humble humans have used cash for payments for 3000 year and now ebray makes it unlawful. Why dont they be honest and say use paypal because we want the extra fat fee. Same as the free shipping con is anybody fooled there is no such thing as free postage ask at your local post office. The postage fee is added to the selling fee and who gets a bigger $ commision yes our friends at ebray - thats bray like a horse. Try a site in Europe called Delcampe they a honest and admit when things go wrong posting a note across every page what the fault is and when it will be fixed an extra plus is they employ humans who know what they are doing not just guve a select few stock answers which is normally "cookies on yourPC" to everything.
I am watching the US news channels for cases being filed against ebay for restrictive practise hopefully the board of directors will end up in a prison in Cuba that will soon be empty.
Ebay needs to know who the customer is - Thats the sellers and they will leave this sinking ship as soon as google or another launches a comparable site. Smile
Written by an ex very loyal ebay seller one of millions around the globe
Happy New Year

I was thinking bray as in JACKA@@ actually.
W wiccanwandcrafterMember
quote:
Originally posted by dcsbodyjewelry:
Ebay claims they want to improve the "buyer experience, yet I have reported listings from at least 100 different CRIMINALS selling FAKE merchandise on ebay and not once has Ebay taken proactive steps to ban these sellers.

Just take a look in fashion jewelry in the Rings subcategory. There are currently over 105,000 listings and well over half of those listings are from asian based CRIMINALS (Thailand, china, hong kong, malaysia) claiming solid 14k gold with genuine precious and semi precious gemstones...when in reality these sellers are peddling cheap gold plated costume jewelry with simulated gemstones. The feedbacks buyers are leaving these sellers tells the truth about these corrupt sellers, but ebay turns a blinds eye to the high degree of organized crime networks that are rampant on the site.

Asian based sellers are now all but completely dominating many listing categories lying about the genuineness of their products, and undercutting legit businesses to such a degree that legitimate businesses are getting lower and lower bids, less sales, and forced to operate under extremely narrow profit margins to compete against the massive number of criminals on ebay's seller platform.

It's ironic how quickly small volume U.S. sellers get restricted and/or suspended because of a few low DSR ratings in S&H for silliness like charging a small handling fee, yet most Asian based gemstone dealers run 99 cent auctions with shipping rates of as much as $25 for a gem that weighs less than an ounce...and ebay doesn't see that as a problem.

Ebay would rather jerk U.S. sellers around forcing them to ship for free or place unrealistic shipping rates in categories like media merely to gain market share over Amazon.

Buyers have been leaving ebay for years because of all the criminal activity that exist on the site, and the vast majority of the criminals are still selling on ebay peddling their counterfeit goods and fake crap using an organized network of seller IDs.

Honest, reputable, business minded sellers have been moving off ebay's seller platform at an alarming rating and that trend will continue.

GREEDbay no longer has the monopoly on buyer traffic they once enjoyed, and savvy online sellers are finding success utilizing low cost marketing techniques and social networking to drive shoppers to their new storefronts and websites.

You should look in the collectibles categories. Where you have Asian and Australian sellers running 0.99 listings both auction and store for "real" swords and knives that are supposedly hand forged, handmade or that are supposed to have damascus blades when an honestly import real sword like they are listing would cost 80+ for the handmade hand forged and 100+ for damascus. I mean even with the super-inflated s&h on the listings there is no way that these are what they claim or are not hotter than the lava flowing out of the volcano on Hawaii.
F firelakeMember
One thing you have going for you is that eBay/Paypal HATE IT when you go over their head to your credit card company. Remember, your credit card company will back you up when Paypal won't. I've had numerous run ins with Paypal and I've ALWAYS gotten my money back...usually, by merely reporting a fraudulent charge to my credit card company after Paypal has told me to get lost.

quote:
Originally posted by Global Discoveries Store:
Another problem I had was buying two items listed as shipping from Ottawa, Canada. They arrived in non working condition and I contacted the seller for the return Canadian shipping address. I was informed that they have no Canadian address and that I have to ship back to China.

PayPal requires that you ship back with tracking. From Canada the only tracking provided for international shipments is via Expresspost which cost me $49.95 to ship back to China after having contacted both eBay and PayPal about the fact that the seller listed fraudulently as items being located in Ottawa, Canada but shipped from China. I also informed eBay and PayPal that I had a right to ship back to the location of the item as shown in the winning listings and that I should not be forced to ship back to a country in which my items were not located. I was told by both eBay and PayPal that they were just a go between and don't interfere between buyer and seller in this kind of thing. So I told them both..."Well seems to me with all your talk about getting tough on fraud, that you are supporting fraud by allowing a seller to fraudulently advertise the item location as being Ottawa, Canada but in all actuality shipping from China with no valid Canadian address at all. I got no help from eBay or PayPal on this.

I had to file a dispute with PayPal to get the two items refunded as the seller wouldn't refund, but in order to insure I would get a refund, PayPal's crazy policy of shipping back with return online tracking cost me $49.95. I told PayPal I could get a receipt from the post office and ship regular mail and upload the receipt, but I was told, that is not their policy.

The seller promised in the PayPal dispute to reimburse my return shipping cost but has since refused, and when I contacted PayPal to get help getting the promised return shipping cost reimbursed, even though it clearly stated in the dispute that seller would do that, PayPal said they can't do anything as they are not a go between.

So I lost $49.95 to a fraudulent seller and the fraud continues to be promoted by eBay who I informed that the seller is listing falsely as item location Ottawa, Canada, but who to this day continue to list that way with eBay all the while knowing it and I lost $49.95 as PayPal won't make a seller pay up to a promise written by the seller within the PayPal dispute.

Then I lost out to a buyer who returned a worn and damage garment, after having proved my case, all because no one at eBay or PayPal enforces the return policies that sellers are now forced to state.

For now, I remain a very dissallusioned eBAy seller!
F firelakeMember
After reading every post in this forum, all I can say is WOW. I knew I wasn't the only seller who was upset with eBay but I was surprised that there was not a single post defending their business practices.

For those of you who are concerned, as buyers, about the ripoffs being perpetrated, contact your credit card company. If you didn't receive what you've paid for, your credit card company will back you up and Paypal will not be able to do anything to stop it.

As far as eBay's policies benefiting only buyers, this has always been the way they've run the business. I gave up on large scale selling on eBay years ago...long before the DSRs and not being able to leave negative feedback for buyers. It was very apparent to me that eBay was not interested in protecting the people who are THEIR customers...the sellers who pay them.

This isn't going to come as any consolation to those of you suffering through the current mess but walking away from eBay and finding other sales outlets is the best thing you can do.

It's just a matter of time until eBay is affected by a mass exodus of sellers.
O ooajMember
I think they should have titled the article
"What's ebay like for sellers these days"
Maybe we can suggest that to the authors, LOL?
Maybe we will get lucky and the economy will actually take them down.
I hate to see it, but breaking up what has formed into a collosal mess is the only way
that new businesses will get created. Ebay has already started it for you.
I'm most PO'ed about the payment things related to Paypal.
A WORD OF ADVICE:
Since Paypal is not a bank, and they have the option to lock up YOUR $ for quite a while,
DO NOT leave any more $ in that account than is necessary to do business.
WHy let Ebay borrow on your dime?
Not sure if the money there is insured, but just the same, ebay (and now Paypal, which is just another word for Ebay) will NOT be making as much off my Paypal fees now that they have changed their requirements to paying only through PPal. WHen I get a payment, it gets transferred direct to my bank once it goes into PPAL, Wink
A auctionbunnyMember
"Now, you can search for an iPod Nano and get only the Nano, not Nano accessories."

"Griffith further reminds us that, in the background, the Best Match search rewards sellers with high DSRs."

These two concepts are completely at odds with each other. So now sellers with accessories with great dsr's will be placed ahead of sellers with the actual searched for item and lesser dsr's? Eh?

Try it for yourself. Search eBay for, say, "Korg Triton" -- it brings up memory cards and refills with one actual synthesizer at the very top!

NOT COOL.
novelchicknovelchickMember
SO...AUCTIVA...are you listening????????????

is this store project going to turn into a internet mall???
and PERHAPS...i could faint at the thought...a new venue for disgruntled feeBay sellers????
i do believe everyone here would jump ship if you created a viable alternative...talk about having a ready-made customer base. i am SURE you could find a way to charge us LESS than feeBay and still make a LOVELY PROFIT.
S selling4aliving42272Member
Be careful reporting sellers or listings. It will cause your account to be closely watched.

Now, my biggest sellers are address labels. I sell them for $2.00. If I added tracking to my package, I would have to charge for Priority Mail. Maybe it is just my little post office where the post master watch for 1st class coming in with delivery confirmation. But, it is not allowed. Who is going to pay almost $5.00 for a sheet of labels? NO ONE! But, yet, if Ebay forces the issue, I would be out of business in no time. Most of my buyers are honest and I have no problem shipping again if they say that they didn't receive the first set.

And in 2005, I sent out a ring to a buyer. She stated in emails that she didn't want it and expected me to refund her before she returned it. She filed with Paypal stated she didn't receive the ring. I called Paypal. Copied all of her emails. She even put in the dispute that she received the ring. Paypal gave her the money and she kept the ring. I was told by the Paypal rep - if I can not prove I mailed it with a tracking number - I will lose everytime. This was before I used tracking on my other items. And I will admit that when I know for a fact that a buyer is trying to scam me and I didn't ship with tracking, I will send them a receipt with tracking and submit to Paypal. I have done this 1 time and would have lost alot.

There is a seller in Canada that sells counterfeit items, overcharges on shipping and brags that if she gets a paypal dispute, she refunds and then files non payment against the buyer. She has cursed at her buyers and even does so in her feedback.
S selling4aliving42272Member
Paypal has held up my money more than once before I learned. I would keep the money in my account as another savings account. The second time they froze my account, I had $800 in there. It took me 3 weeks and the dna of my youngest child to get my money released. Now, on a daily basis, I pay 1/2 to my ebay balance and pull the rest out as soon as it gets in.

I think I hate Paypal more than I hate Ebay.
S selling4aliving42272Member
Yep, that is what I do. If I have a balance with ebay, I take (up to) half of my Paypal balance and pay ebay daily. Go to the post office and ship. Go to the atm and withdraw the remaining Paypal balance and go to the bank and deposit. At any given time, the most I will have in my Paypal is $5.00. After the hassles they gave me the last time they limited my account, there is no way I will leave anything in there. Of course, next time they try to limit me, I will have an attorney speak to them.
1 1584118Member
I used to enjoy buying AND selling on eBay. After all the changes favoring buyers, selling is no longer fun. I had two crazy buyers in a row that were totally bizarre and irrational, and eBay was no help at all. There was also the nutcase who sent a handfull of vulgar, abusive emails that I couldn't get any help with. I also made a purchase right before the new and "Improved" feedback rules took place. The seller left me a negative feedback stating that I was a non-paying bidder, even though according to her listing I still had one more day to make the payment. When I contacted eBay, they said there was nothing they could do to a seller, even if they lied in a listing. All I could do was ask her if she would retract the feedback, which, of course, she didn't do. That one bad feedback had a negative affect on both my DSR and my attitude towards ebay. Then to top that all off, I listed two items that closed within minutes of each other on a Sunday evening. I had lots of watchers on both and couldn't figure out why there weren't more last minute bids. As soon as the listings ended, I got a message from a member who tried to bid but couldn't. I required my bidders to have a Paypal account. Seems that eBay's connection to Paypal went down at that exact time and no one could bid on my two items. When I contacted eBay they pretty much said too bad, so sad. One item was a set of rare books that sold for $66...they should have gone for $200-400. The other was a tablecloth that should have brought $100 more. The ebay rep's brilliant solution was that I should contact the winners, refund their money and they would cheerfully let me re-list the items. Am I the only one thinking that that was a lame response? I thought eBay should have stepped up to the plate and admitted the problem. Then they should have cancelled ALLLLLL affected listings, taking full responsiblilty, and allowed the items to be re-listed with no extra listing fees. Instead, I took it in the shorts and have nothing but high blood pressure everytime I think about it. Also, since when does NEUTRAL mean NEGATIVE??? If a buyer WANTED to leave a negative, the option is there to do that. Why does eBay have the audacity to alter the intent of a feedback??? And everybody else is right, the only reason to require Paypal, etc., and to really push the free shipping is to boost eBay's take. Did they really think everybody in the eBay "family" was that stupid? You would think by now the light would come on and they would start realizing that with no sellers, their much-sought-after buyers will have nothing to buy.
S selling4aliving42272Member
I actually got in trouble because I refused to leave feedback after they changed the rules on us. I am suprised I didn't lose my account. I told the ebay person that I wasn't leaving feedback because it was unfair that I only had the option to leave positive for a buyer who only paid after I opened a non paying dispute. I told him to just go into my account and leave it himself if it meant so much to him.
M michael8431Member
I know it has been said many times by many people how terrible eBay has become, myself included! But, the one thing I cannot recall reading about is just one single reason why people have stayed with them all this time...

I was a powerseller and made quite a bit of money on eBay, once upon a time that is. I removed myself from eBay's dictatorship back in June 08, it hurt me financially to do so, but the economy was and still is falling apart which hurt us all. eBay had nothing to do with the economy fallout, in fact, they probably helped things overall for many people. But, I made up my mind to leave, and I'm a bit stubborn like that when I set my mind to do something. I decided that I was just not made of the correct elements to allow my pride or my being to suffer anymore for eBay's rules and regulations, their ridiculous changes and seemingly spiteful nature of doing business. I was simply done with it all, and so I have been....

I let it all go, I dropped my name, the one that I worked so hard to build from the ground up is gone now. But I'm still here, I'm still alive and I still sell. eBay was my beginning, but they are not made of the correct elements to be my end! And so they haven't been....

So that's my story in a nut shell. The only thing I'd like to know is, why do you stay?

Do you stay out of fear? Do you stay out of respect for the one who has shown you nothing but disrespect? Do you stay because eBay represents some sort of parental figure and you're hoping that mommy/daddy/eBay will finally step up to do the right thing for their children? What ever the reason, Id suggest loosing hope and gaining faith! Hope is like a wish list, hoping things will somehow change is just like wishing on a star. It's a pretty sight, but gone in a moment's time. Hope stands still, but faith can make you move. If you can just have faith in your own self, then you already have everything you'll ever need to leave eBay behind like a bad dream.

If not, then please let me ask: Why do you stay with eBay?

Michael
C chelseacraftMember
To Tim Sabin... who told Mammycat that a 53% profit on a paltry little $5 item was a windfall:

Now subtract her self employment income tax, gas to the post office, labor to list it... and you end up with a LOSS on the item.

Look up the word KEYSTONE, Tim. Retailers keystone for a reason.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

I'm completely disgusted with those who characterize buyers as innocent angels.

Ebay committed suicide when they forgot where their revenue comes from.

Bestowing the ENTIRE GENERAL PUBLIC with the omnipotent power to shut down a store any time they desire is insane.

Consumers are like little kids. They are never happy. They can't make up their minds. Ask them to find a flaw, they will find at least ten flaws. Nothing is ever good enough for them. Give them a free gift & they'll complain about the free gift.

Feedback is just a temptation for consumers to rip on merchants.

Ebay's failures are that they should have gone to a psychology class & a sociology course before they did something so completely STUPID.

Slow suicide is still suicide.

Like my granny always said... Cut bait & go to another fishing hole...

Ebay is all fished out!
S selling4aliving42272Member
I stayed and am still there because it represented my income. In 2007, I was separated from my husband and supporting 4 kids. I used ebay to take my little hobby and built a business to where we were able to eat and keep our home. Ebay was 100% of my income.

Now, it represents about 60% of my family's income. My husband is back home. And we are making plans to work together and build the business.

Maybe, it is fear that keeps me on Ebay. I can't just cut it loose and walk away completely.
A arcticangelstreasuresMember
"Griff" is a BIG FAT LIAR!

"Griff"We had a long chat with Jim "Griff" Griffith, eBay's avuncular spokesman, about buyers' concerns and the changes they spurred. He explained that DSRs are not that cut and dried and a seller restriction is not the same as a seller suspension. When one of a seller's DSR ratings slips below 4.3, Griffith says, "Their listings are not taken down from the site; they just can't list new items 'til the DSR goes up."

Griff is lying: My store was stripped just as several auctions were about to end, costing me about $500 dollars in revenue, for the following reason:


My Story: I had a tough month in Dec. 2008, and there were a few issues that I resolved quickly that concerned refurbished merchandise (never will I list refurbished again!). I also had a customer try to return an expensive jewelry item 35 days after delivery. Our policy is 7 on jewelry. He left serious negative feedback that hurt our Christmas sales.

A few days after Christmas my search standing was lowered. A week later I checked my ending auctions that I was counting on to pay my seller fees, just in time to find my store was stripped of all of its listings. I received a copy of the letter from one of my regular customers that basically portrayed me as a scammer.

Ebay's response was that my customer service ratings fell to less than 1% of all Ebay sellers. That is hard to imagine unless they are using an untested bell curve (which are crap).

What I was told that if you have 1 DSR score that is at a 4.3 they will restrict your listings.

3 of 4 of my DSR scores were lower than 4.6, my overall average was 4.59.

1, not ALL, of my DSR scores fell to a 4.3 for about 2 weeks. It was the item as described. 2 were at a solid 4.5 shipping time and communication, and Shipping charges were at a 4.67.

3 days after Ebay destroyed my business, ALL of my DSR scores were above a 4.6.

What Ebay is not telling buyers:

Buyers do not know that if they rate a seller with less than 3 stars he or she is signing a death warrant for an Ebay Seller's business.
A arcticangelstreasuresMember
Retraction:What Ebay is not telling buyers:

Buyers do not know that if they rate a seller with less than3 stars he or she is signing a death warrant for an Ebay Seller's business.

Please read as:

Buyers do not know that if they rate a seller with lBuyers do not know that if they rate a seller with less than 5 stars he or she is signing a death warrant for an Ebay Seller's business.ess than 5 stars he or she is signing a death warrant for an Ebay Seller's business.
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