eBay condones scammers on their site

[smklumberco]

Over the past 22 years that I have been with eBay I have contacted their security department at least a hundred times to report obvious scammers individuals selling items they do not have individuals hacking accounts and the list goes on and on eBay resents the fact that you contact them to tell them that there is illegal activity going on their site .

[mudshark61369]

@smklumberco,

  "I have contacted their security department at least a hundred times to report obvious scammers...  and on eBay resents the fact that you contact them..."

How do you know eBay resents your reporting of the scams?  If you have been contacting the former Trust & Safety, or Security Center depts.  Those are not the proper place to report listings. You do that by using the Report Item button on listing pages.

If you mean they have not taken immediate action on your reports, it has nothing to do with resentment.  eBay has never reacted to a single or multiple reports of an item, by an individual member. 

Because of the number of new listings posted daily from around the world, there is no way they can vet each one, so they have to be reactive about taking action.  However, since many scams may mirror mistakes made by inexperienced sellers, they have to be careful about removing items, or they could end up being sued. 

An individual report could be from a competitor of the seller trying to get their item(s) removed and reports by people who sell in the same category of items, are automatically disregarded. 

eBay is pretty good about catching on to scam listings and removing them. Members who know the terms of the MBG, don't lose their money. 

[tgo63]

I disagree with your assessment, eBay DOES NOT care about counterfeit products sold on their site, all they care is to collect profit.  There are so many spark plugs sold on their site with listings title and photo indicating OEM brand name products made by NGK, Denso,  etc while description states "unbranded". The price is often a fraction of genuine product cost. eBay does not do anything about those. I had a hard time to get refund even though vendor admitted via eBay message "product is not 100% OEM" and indicated they will issue refund if I leave them a positive review.  The vendor motocar-part continues selling counterfeit products on eBay

[mobley120]

"Spark plugs"

Just want to note something since your post mentions "spark plugs" in it.

Its been a few years back, but I purchased a set of spark plugs off of eBay, and the price was competitive with others, they were AC Delco;

when I receive them, and when I checked the gaps on 'em, I noticed something didn't look right, so I showed them to a friend next door, who owns a large auto repair shop in town and, has been in business for over 30 years, and this is what he said about the plugs:

they are rejects and they're normal sent out as scrap once a pallet crate gets full. He was curious how I came about getting them. 

Needless to say, I haven't brought plugs on eBay, since.

And, I "100%" agree with your post

[mudshark61369]

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@tgo63 wrote:

I disagree with your assessment, eBay DOES NOT care about counterfeit products sold on their site, all they care is to collect profit.  There are so many spark plugs sold on their site with listings title and photo indicating OEM brand name products made by NGK, Denso,  etc while description states "unbranded". The price is often a fraction of genuine product cost. eBay does not do anything about those. I had a hard time to get refund even though vendor admitted via eBay message "product is not 100% OEM" and indicated they will issue refund if I leave them a positive review.  The vendor motocar-part continues selling counterfeit products on eBay

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@tgo63,

Your issue should have been posted with its own topic.  Did you not notice in the item specifics that The plugs were listed as Unbranded, and Manufactured in China, not Japan?  Even a whole sale parts distributor cannot sell NGK plugs for that price.  Had you checked the seller's feedback profile and clicked on the numbers of neutral and negative feedback they have received, you would have read several comments about fake brand name items being sold.   Since you did buy from a listing that gave false information, it makes it harder for ebay to respond.  The seller also should have received a defect for item brand misrepresentation.  They have pulled the listing for now.

It seems that at first you only contacted the seller, you did not open a dispute through the Money back guarantee. 

"vendor admitted via eBay message "product is not 100% OEM" and indicated they will issue refund if I leave them a positive review".

That statement about feedback should be reported as it is a cause for them to receive a serious defect for "feedback extortion".  You can still report them for that message.  Below are the steps you should take to report the seller.

1. In the Help box  click on Resolving buying problems.
2. The page that opens is titled Resolving issues with sellers
3. Scroll down to,  Reporting an item or issue with a seller click
4. Scroll down the next page to the  Report a seller button click
5. Select the buyer has violated one of eBay's policies. 
6. Fill in the seller's username,
7. Select Other and fill in the details in the text box.
8. Your report should say the seller messaged me "saying leave a positive feedback in order to get a refund" feedback extortion policy violation.  Please check my messages.

[7606dennis]

I'm curious as to how you have determined that the hundreds of reported scams that you have reported were indeed scams?  Are you someone with an expertise that would qualify you as an expert witness in a court of law regarding the recognition of online confidence schemes?

[oldwestgold]

I know all too well what you are talking about.  Years ago I use to report fake coins and scams. 75% of the time someone at eBay would pull one or more of my listings for no good reason. I would call into CS and they would review the pulled item and all times would state there was nothing wrong or in violation of the listing pulled. Their answer was, I'm sorry and just relist it. Big deal. I guess my time is free. I would complain and even do one to prove to them what was going on.  Nobody gave a darn. I even sent a certified letter to eBay legal contesting this and requesting an investigation as to what eBay employee was doing this. Letter was signed for - I never heard anything back. Most sellers work very hard to make eBay a positive buying experience. Is it so hard for eBay CS and management to give a little care in return? I have been with eBay for 20 years also.

[oldwestgold]

Attacking the OP is getting so old in this community board. Everyone is allowed their opinion and allowed to post within the guidelines. Today's society of know-it-alls, spelling police, grammar police, etc. is unbelievable. Just a suggestion. Have a good day.

[1tuna]

ebay has allowed counterfeit fantasy items for a long time.I happen to be very knowlegable about 2 brands in particular,Vachron & Constantin and Lecoultre. I have been a long time material supplier for both of these brands when it comes to restoring vintage watches.My material is all genune old stock and used and is sought after by many.I am always up for a knowledge contest when it comes to these 2 brands vintage watches

the creation of counterfit  fantasy items with a mixture of new and old parts is a long entrenched practice at ebay.volunteers can be trained to spot them in under 60 seconds,its that simple

nothing is done because thats the preferred way of doing things

[7606dennis]

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@oldwestgold wrote:

Attacking the OP is getting so old in this community board. Everyone is allowed their opinion and allowed to post within the guidelines. Today's society of know-it-alls, spelling police, grammar police, etc. is unbelievable. Just a suggestion. Have a good day.

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The OP is openly accusing eBay of ignoring his reports of sellers scamming.  I merely want him to provide some authoritative evidence that he is qualified to determine that a listing is fraudulent which would give a reason for eBay to take his reports seriously.  

By the way, spelling and grammar are important when communicating, in my opinion.  

[corvettestainless]

@1tuna ebay has allowed counterfeit fantasy items for a long time.....

The 1st 10 words of your statement are so inherently wrong.

There are Tens of Millions (read that again, 10's of Millions) of New and Repeat listings posted everyday. I know you believe that an actual 'person' looks at every listing, but it's not possible, feasible or happening.

Volunteers? it would take 5,000,000 of them to look at every new listing, and then who's to 'certify' them that they even know what they are talking about? Who's to say they are not made up of the competition and are purely motivated to remove said competition?

[karlinfarm]

Oh, the stories we could tell about eBay counterfeit gold listings starting back in 2012, but eBay has too many "cheerleaders" (still active) that we wouldn't want to upset. Much like the Leonard Cohen song..."Everybody Knows." Check out who "we followed" over the last 18 years for some proof. [Alibaba & AliExpress] completely devastated the market with counterfeit replicas a decade ago & they have been popping up ever since. Considering “eBay will continue to allow sales of coins, paper money and bullion now and in the future also,” be extra safe if you buy and be sure to check your Gold. {Only good news is eBay security did get a little better pulling the obvious fakes & reporting them does help out} Stay healthy! 

[oldwestgold]

Tell someone who cares. The OP doesn't have to do anything anyone says, including you. Take a pill. And seriously? 105 feedback and no listings don't make you an authority. Half da gode daiy.

[7606dennis]

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@oldwestgold wrote:

Tell someone who cares. The OP doesn't have to do anything anyone says, including you. Take a pill. And seriously? 105 feedback and no listings don't make you an authority. Half da gode daiy.

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Have a good day yourself.

[hawkwind5454]

I don't think it's so much that eBay doesn't care, it's just that there are so many of them, and ebay has bigger fish to fry. Also, I feel that eBay uses a governmental line of thinking of "acceptable losses".  That is to say, that yes, there are scammers on eBay, but there are so many MORE  people who are not scammers, that when dealing with millions of people, that's just the way it is. Engage a few would-be thiefs, it's called security.....But engage millions, is called a war. EBay just not want a war and they certainly can't fight that many scammers.