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eBay, Please Refine Item Condition Policy Guidelines
I think it would be beneficial for both buyers and sellers if the condition policy were refined. One possibility would be to separate Brand New, New (Other), Used, and etc. from the item's condition. I have been collecting movies, books, and various other items over the past few years. There have been several items I bought marked as being "Brand New" which have only placeholder images of said physical media. Upon arrival I notice they are quite damaged, but also sealed. Therefore, they technically comply with the "Brand New" condition guidelines. There are several loopholes here for sellers, as they don't have to take an actual picture of the item depicting the condition it is in, nor is it required of them to denote the actual condition the item is in in the seller's item description. The looseness of the Brand New condition guidelines inherently leads to buyers being upset, assuming the item should be, at the very least, in near pristine condition. Which results in a good chance of return requests being initiated. And potentially eBay customer support needing to step in and either resolve the issue or issue a refund on the seller's behalf.
Therefore, I believe it would be beneficial for all parties involved - buyers, sellers, and eBay staff - if these guidelines were to be more descriptive or separated into different categories to reduce confusion and upset, along with time and money being tied up by resolving disputes. It may even go so far as keeping buyers (and sellers) from avoiding eBay after having bad experiences using it in the past.
comics-scifi-collectibles
Mentor3 years ago@funkyfolkrocker The conditions options are good, but the problem is that eBay can not control what sellers do on their listings unless they go back to requiring an actual photo of the item and not a catalog image for books or "new items".
This is why eBay has the eBay Money Back Guarantee.
If your item doesn't arrive in Brand New condition that is a not as described refund request. The seller has to pay return shipping and then issue you a full refund. This goes on the sellers service metrics. As few as 10 not as described in a category then the seller is charged higher fees and items are suppressed in search. If they don't improve then they may not be allowed to sell in that category OR even be banned from eBay.
When eBay steps in and forces the refund, it comes from the sellers pocket. AND the seller gets a DEFECT on their account. Not too many defects and the seller is banned from selling. Defects are much more harmful to a sellers account than the seller service metrics which take longer to affect a seller.