Worried about buyer fraud
Summary: sindibadcity expressed frustration over eBay’s return policy, which required changing from 'no returns' to a 30-day return policy for an HID headlight listing. They shared concerns about potential fraudulent claims from buyers, recalling a past negative experience. Various participants advised sindibadcity that selling on eBay carries inherent risks and suggested alternatives such as selling the item as used or reconsidering whether to list it. Some participants discussed eBay's policies and the difficulties in discerning legitimate sellers from scammers, emphasizing the balance eBay tries to maintain in protecting buyers and sellers. Suggestions included tax write-offs for losses and taking precautions based on buyer feedback ratings.
I am not a big ebay seller but every now and then, I sell items i need to flip or just unloading my stuff on ebay. Problem is I have an expensive HID headlight that I listed earlier today, but Ebay would not allow me to list it unless I change my return policy from no returns to 30 days return policy. I got bit once with a fraudulent claim and since then all my sales have been All Sales Final. Reading online, a lot of Ebay sellers seem frustrated with that policy due to buyers fraudulent claims. Ebay claims to back us up with 50% return shipping label, but if the buyer changes the ballast on from their broken unit to mine, what on earth is 50% discounted label do to my useless HID headlight then? I am concerned that i get hit such fraudulent claim when I can least take a financial loss at these tough times. Any advice or recommendations?
sindibadcity
OP2 weeks agook what about selling ot only if somebody has like 25 reviews and 90% are 5 stars, can you select whom you sell any product to?
shire123
·2 weeks agoIn a word. No. If it's listed just about anyone can buy.
dbmm-media
·2 weeks agoall my sales have been All Sales Final
you might think that, but they are not.
roccotacodad54
·2 weeks agoAs shire123 opined a writeoff on your taxes.
I don't sell but I have been self employed which is similar.
Try to think of a loss now as a very delayed payment (Tax write off). Have working capital in the bank and it all works out............
simba6
·2 weeks agoYes, there is risk selling. Just one of those things. Never sell an item you can't afford to lose. Now if it's an item you know you will never use and want it out of the house, go for it.
christworks
·2 weeks ago@sindibadcity Selling it online may not be for you then, or at least not on eBay. I don't list autoparts anywhere else and they are not big part of my business. I offer free returns on 99% of my inventory and I'm TRS+. If someone returns something in a different state than how I sent it, they get 50% knocked off their refund. That always makes up for any shipping I'm out, loss of fees, covers my cost of goods, and I still have a profit leftover. Oh, and I can relist it and sell it again albeit at a cheaper cost.
luckythewinner
·2 weeks ago · EditedIf a buyer wants to defraud you, he will file a "nopt as described" dispute - and having a "no returns" policy will not protect you.
Any buyer can file a fraudulent dispute for any item on eBay. If you are concerned about taking a financial loss, you should recognize that selling on eBay always carries that risk.
sindibadcity
OP2 weeks agoThank you, guys. I appreciate your feedback, but it is extremely frustrating to see a process that can potentially allow fraudulent claims to succeed while leaving the honest party to absorb the loss.
gurlcat
·2 weeks agoHow could eBay know who the honest party is?
bolensparts-360
·2 weeks agoThere should be policy's enacted for sellers that have established themselves , heck atleast allow us to have the option to properly feedback a buyer that was a legitimate problem. There should be a level of respect and trust of a seller with a long reputation over a buyer with hardly any feedback or time on the site.
shire123
·2 weeks agoWhile I tend to agree with what you said, how do you determine "established" and "legitimate"? Those are just too nebulous terms to apply fairly and across the board.
bolensparts-360
·2 weeks agoWould not be that difficult at all , simply be here x amount of years and have atleast x amount of sales x amount of positive feedback . The fact a seller who does everything right has been here years given ebay hundreds of thousands in fees can get railroaded by a rouge buyer with 2 feedbacks is insane to me anyway!
shire123
·2 weeks agoBut who sets the "x". Once set there would probably be lots of people who just missed out and complain.
Still, define "legitimate".
bolensparts-360
·2 weeks agoYou seem to be pushing for set numbers so heres my non expert opinion but someone whos been here for 13 years with 61,000 items sold. 1) Be an ebay seller for atleast 4 years. 2) a minimum of atleast 100 transactions a year after the first year 3) Maintain 99.0% or higher feedback 4) (Just a thought) Must upload and use your own photos, no more stock photos this will ease buyer concerns of cheap foreign knockoffs or "not as described" . Of course not everyone would agree or be happy with these but its ebay people complain about post office prices , blame ebay that dont even relate to ebay!
college2go
·2 weeks agoYour feedback for one thing. Your longevity should count for something. The history you may have with repeat buyers or the actions you take to rectify a resolution quickly. However, none of it counts. I sell and buy and I have never treated my sellers the way buyers have treated me. Time or no time, eBay needs to make time to handle a dispute effectively and with proficiency. Buyers should not be allowed to have malice in their writings to sellers or hint to leave poor feedback. Maybe eBay is not for me anymore but buyers didn’t get away with this crap 20 years ago. eBay never and I mean never protects the seller.
gurlcat
·2 weeks ago · EditedBuyers are not allowed to do that. Any time a buyer sends a message threatening or hinting about giving you negative feedback if you don't do something they want (like give a partial refund) just click the 3-dot menu at the top-right of that message, and report them. Having that report documented will come in very handy later, if certain events ensue.
eBay actually does offer pretty good seller protection in my opinion, but you don't get it just from being a longtime seller. It seems you are missing a lot of important information about eBay policy, despite being here so long. Keep coming here and asking questions, but showing bitterness is not going to help. Be humble and just admit you need help, and you will receive it.
dhbookds
·2 weeks agoThere is risk everywhere...........on the internet/in a store/at a g-sale/walking down the street.....best advice, as said,......if you can't afford to lose it, don't list it.
shire123
·2 weeks ago · EditedAs others have stated on ebay you will need to refund auto parts if the buyer wishes to return.
If you choose to sell and it gets returned then your only option will be to refund and take the business loss off of your taxes at the end of the year.
fern*wood
·2 weeks agoRegardless of your return policy, if a buyer claims not as described you will need to refund or pay to have the item returned and then refund. Any seller can take a hit on any item they sell.
janet9988
·2 weeks agoNew auto parts are 100% returnble for full refund.
Try listing as used.
sindibadcity
OP2 weeks agoIf it is sold as used, that is at least 30% off and no guarantee that the scammer would not file a claim too. Just sucks to see scammers being rewarded at the expense of honest retailers.
gurlcat
·2 weeks ago"....at the expense of honest retailers."
But that's the thing; you're not the retailer of that headlight; you're a reseller of it. And if you had any idea how many dishonest resellers there are on eBay, and how many times more there would be if buyers could be denied a money back guarantee .... then you'll understand the need for it.
Use your imagination for a moment. Say a seller could actually apply "No returns" to mean "All sales final" -then you could get a buyer for your headlight, pocket their money, but send them a box of old newspapers or something. Then relist the headlight again and do it to another helpless buyer. You wouldn't even need to possess the headlight, just photos of one. In fact why settle for headlight money? Why not use photos of famous artist paintings or something?
sindibadcity
OP2 weeks agoand you think that if one was scamming buyers as such, Ebay will not notice a trend? Heck if I was Ebay, I would buy one just to check and see if the seller is really selling bogus items under pretext of headlights or whatever the product might be.
gurlcat
·2 weeks agoIf you were eBay? You don't seem to grasp the scale of millions of sellers. Of course there is a system for recognizing sellers committing fraudulent behavior, and those accounts get shut down all the time.
kensgiftshop
·2 weeks agoOn Ebay, there's no such thing as all sales final.
My advice, if you can't take a loss, don't list it.
sindibadcity
OP2 weeks agothat is why I did not list it.