eBay is far to abusive to sellers
Summary: A participant initiated a discussion on the subject of alleged abusive practices towards sellers by a major online marketplace, but the content of their message and the responses from other participants were not provided.
I've been on eBay for over 20 years. I'm finding that eBay has become quite abusive and hostile to it's sellers. Given the fact that 100% of eBay's income is derived from sellers, we are treated like the third wheel between the buyer, seller, and eBay. We don't matter to them. Any issue, any problem, and ANY financial liability goes to the seller regardless of who's at fault. eBay excuses buyers for stealing and they don't correct their own mistakes. They just tell the seller they are sorry but you still have to pay for our mistake. Even with feedback, no matter what, the blame goes to the seller with no recourse. Enough is enough. I'm done with them. Am I alone here with this problem?
danizde75
·1 week agoOmg u are so not alone! I've been selling on them for years now, and even when the buyer is completely at fault, they side with them. I recently sold a brand new pair of prada shoes, I only charged like 500 for them( they cost me over 950$ when I bought them) after sitting in my closet for a year never worn, I decided to sell them. They sold instantly. I guess the buyer decided they did not want them upon receiving them, so they flat out destroyed them, the pictures they sent me saying item not as described looks like they took a knife or pair of scissors to them. I have pictures of them before I sent them out brand new beautiful condition etc..they demanded a refund and I must take back a now destroyed item i cannot resell. Ebay of course sidemen with the buyer saying I must accept the return. I reported the buyer to the seller abuse thing. And im yet to hear back from them. I find it to be so unfair that not do I have to refund this person, but now they are gonna send me back a pair of destroyed high end designer shoes that I can never wear or resell again so I basically lost 950$( the original cost of the item when I bought it) and now have to refund an additional 500$$??!!!! How is this fair. Im trying to find a way around this, but I keep hitting walls. Am I gonna have to accept the return, and then what? Record myself opening the box to show its not the condition is sent them out in? Now my account is basically on "block" if u would. I have orders coming in but not allowed to have the money for what I sell, cuz they keep putting my sales "on hold" until it reaches the price that im being forced to return. I've decided now I will NEVER sell on ebay ever again. Im trying to close my account, but they refuse to let me do so. This is the most aggravating thing ive ever had to deal with, and im just so confused why they would not side with me, I have 100% positive feedback, and never had a complaint filed against me thru ebay, ever. Why won't they take that into consideration and see that the person that purchased my item is a scammer. Anyways, thank you so much for listening to my rant. If anyone has any advice for me please help. Anything is appreciated. Thank you so much!
-Danielle
ladybugmls
·10 months agoDitto to @powell-collectibles
100% of eBay’s profits come from BUYERS. Unless you are selling one of a kind items that no one else is selling, eBay does not “need†you. In fact, there is an argument to be made that the more supply on the platform = lower prices = less fees for eBay.
Sure, if every seller abandoned the platform then there would be no eBay. But this will never happen.
bonanza125
·10 months agoYou are not alone in this opinion however everything is in policy. Whenever I list something I know exactly what to expect as far as terms and solutions if problems come about. This is why I put a personal limit on myself of what to list and what not to list. I understand that buyers are given a 30 day money back guarantee before I even list the item. If I feel that the item will create a problem I will not list it. Yes buyers can make claims very easily which is why sellers have to protect themselves by doing there own work. What surprises me is when sellers think that Ebay or a certain platform are doing them wrong yet they continue to sell on the platform. I would think that if a platform was doing me wrong I would end all listings and sell on a platform I feel is doing me right.
101dolphns
·10 months agoWelcome to the gig job world. Think Ebay is tough? Try any of the other gig jobs out there. Try driving rideshare. Bwahahahaha. Ebay is by far the easiest that I've tried.
powell-collectibles
·10 months agoeBay doesn't derive 100% of income from sellers, but let's pretend that it is true. If you leave, what happens? You sell items that others sell. If you end your listings and a buyer is looking for something that you had, and there are ten more available from other sellers, how does eBay lose out on anything? They don't. They still get those fees - just from a different seller, not from you. Good for eBay.
Now, let's say that a buyer is tired of mediocre sellers and stops shopping here. What happens? You and others still have those same items for sale, but that buyer no longer visits, no longer buys that item. eBay loses out on those fees that they get from the sale. Bad for eBay.
The hard truth is that the vast majority of sellers are worth very little to eBay. I'm thinking somewhere around 99% of us. Well, we are worth what eBay gets in store subscription fees, not much else. Really, how many amethyst necklaces do we need? How many USB cords are more than enough?
I can make the case that many sellers are net negatives to eBay. Those sellers that don't bring in INCREMENTAL revenue vs. other sellers AND drive away buyers with their poorly-described items and substandard packing and customer service. Even fine sellers that don't bring in incremental revenue, don't pay store fees, but talk to customer service every week about store reset are net negatives to eBay.
Folks at eBay are smart enough to know that buyers are far more important than sellers. It isn't controversial, it isn't a hot take. Best to accept the truth and your place in the universe. After that, navigating this stuff gets much easier and less stressful.
meme6253
·10 months agoThings are not Great at times that's for sure, But Abusive & Hostile are very strong terms to use.
ten_o_nine
·10 months ago@bonefire
Am I alone here with this problem?
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What problem? You're making a general statement without sharing any specifics.
aerospacesurplusnett
·10 months agoYour not alone, but in reality there is NO solution, If you try selling elsewhere ...you will be back, I suggest you not take it personal and just get back to listing, stay under the radar, do not contact ebay unless its critical, dont follow there suggestions and just follow the rules. Remember eBay is a business, their primary focus is making money... FOR EBAY, next they value the buyers, then probably anyone else they can think of and way down at the bottom of that list is us sellers.
luckythewinner
·10 months agoI'm done with them. Am I alone here with this problem?
You are not alone in your opinion of eBay, and you are not alone in saying that you are leaving. Sellers come here to announce that they are leaving all the time. But eBay's quarterly filings with the SEC do not seem to indicate that it is widespread.
inhawaii
·10 months agoNo, you're not.
You still have several items listed.
dhbookds
·10 months agoAm sure you aren't alone............but, in a minority since there are millions of sellers still selling.......
My thought is that any retail business experiences losses......shoplifting, customer verbal abuse, bad checks and returns of damaged (by buyer) goods, etc. Ebay/on line sellers experience the same. It's up to each seller to determine whether it's worth continuing to sell or not...