Ebay Quality Decline

I've been an eBay member since the early 2000s. I used to really enjoy it, but some things have changed....

I can't buy new clothes because even though the seller shows to be in my same country, it inevitably takes a slow boat from China and is junk. Uneven seams, inferior fabric, wrong sizes. They have found ways to mask where thier product is coming from. Designer brands used to mean something, but they have faked those products too: fake perfume, fake name-brand sunglasses and fake handbags.

The days of scoring a bargain on eBay is over....unless eBay starts a quality control unit.

I have bought 5 garments in the past two weeks and tossed 4.

sunnydae

1333 View listings

Posted 3 years ago·Last reply 3 years ago

6 comments

mudshark61369

·3 years ago

"There is no such thing as foolproof, because fools are so darned ingenious" (unknown)3113 View listings

@sunnydae,

There are ways to figure out if a seller is actually China based or drop ships from there. Below is a list of things I check.

On Listing pages:

Items priced well below brand name items price.
An item location address that does not give a city and state Ex: USA / United States, New Jersey / USA ...
The use of U.S. flag symbols and several mentions of being a U.S. seller.
Item descriptions that have wording in them that doesn't seem like it was written by a person whose first language is English.
A High volume seller with a feedback percentage below 98.9%
Item titles giving a brand name, and photos showing a brand name label, but in the Item Specifics it says Brand: Unknown.
Items that don't have a recognizable Brand Name.
The use of metric and standard measurements.
Photos with Asian models in them.
Very low priced multi-variation listings where the lowest priced item is either not available or only in one color.

On a Feedback profile page:

The seller's country of registry, sometimes.
All or most feedback is for Private listings.
Neutral and Negative feedback saying items came from China. That took a long time to arrive. Missing items from multiple quantity orders. Clothing sizes not being correct, usually too small. Cancelled purchases. Poor communications. (click on the numbers of neutral and negative feedback received, to read only those comments).
Responses to non positive feedback written by someone whose first language does not appear to be English.

It may take a little time to use the above lists, but in the long run can save time and possibly money.

Why did you toss the 4 garments? Maybe because of ebay's policy about clothing sizes you may have had to pay the return, however you could have donated them rather than throwing them out.

lady_madonna

·3 years ago

Volunteer Ebay Mentor1040 View listings

@sunnydae

1. Always check to see where the seller is registered. You can do that by going to their Feedback Profile page.

2. If you receive an item that does not match description or photos, you can file an Ebay Return Request.

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/returns-refunds/return-item-refund?id=4041

Since the seller in China cannot send you a prepaid return shipping label, they will have to either send you the money for the return shipping or issue you a refund. If they don't do either one you can ask Ebay to step in to help you.

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/default/ask-ebay-to-step-in?id=4701

ms.rodriguez*

·3 years ago

39 View listings

Check carefully the estimated arrival and look to see what location the seller states that he is in. If he lives nearby you and shipping takes more than 2 weeks, then it's probably coming from China. Look at the text too. Often foreign sellers make grammar errors in the description. ARe all of the items stock photos? That is another sign of sellers from China. Also look at the photos carefully. Do you see cars that are NOT sold in the USA? Are all of the models oriental? That is another sign of a seller from China.

ALways open an item not as described case if the item is crap. Make the seller refund. DO NOT PAY FOR A RETURN SHIPPING LABEL NO MATTER WHAT THE SELLER PROMISES.

ms.rodriguez*

·3 years ago

39 View listings

Run to Kohls. They have tons of clearance items 80% off. I got a 30% off coupon if you use the Kohls card. I hit 3 Kohls store today.

pjcdn2005

·3 years ago

3879 View listings

Some sellers are dishonest about where the item is location. Before you order, click on the sellers feedback and it will show where seller is located. If they are in a different country than the item location on the listing, it's still possible that the item is being shipped from the US but if you don't want to take the chance, you should move on to a different listing.

frugalmarketplace

·3 years ago

40080 View listings

Obviously you are buying from the wrong sellers.