Internal Theft
Dear eBay Support Team,
I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to express my deep dissatisfaction with a recent experience on your platform that has raised serious concerns about the fairness and transparency of your practices.
Recently, I listed a basic watch on eBay for $2,700. To my surprise, the item sold for a mere $720. After eBay’s fees, I was left with only $410 in my account. This significant disparity has led me to question the integrity of your platform, especially when considering the potential consequences of listing high-value items such as gold products with diamonds.
As a trial, I used eBay to assess its viability for my business, and this experience has been eye-opening. I am thankful that I chose to test with a less valuable item first. I shudder to think of the financial losses I might have incurred had I listed more expensive items from my inventory.
It is disheartening to encounter such challenges. My attempts to delist the item were unsuccessful, and reaching your customer support for assistance proved futile due to unhelpful pre-recorded messages. This lack of support and transparency is unacceptable.
I come from an esteemed background, being the nephew of a Northeastern University business school professor, and we plan to collaborate on this incident as a case study for future students. I will be sharing this experience openly with my colleagues and the public as an example of modern-day theft and the challenges of using eBay for high-value transactions.
While I harbor no ill will towards eBay, it is imperative to highlight these issues to prevent others from experiencing similar frustrations. As a US-born world citizen with an extensive background in the luxury watch and jewelry business, operating in major cities like New York, Los Angeles, Dubai, Istanbul, and Hong Kong, I have decided to move my business to Amazon, where I hope to find a more transparent and supportive environment.
I urge you to address these concerns promptly and take necessary measures to ensure fairness and transparency for all users. Your immediate attention to this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
(Disclosed)
annadryl
·2 years agoYou listed an auction, it got a lot of bids, it topped out and sold at $720.
Ergo (get it? Ironic, huh?) that is the market value of the item, at least right now on this platform. Congrats on your sale!
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoYou started the auction at $116
Bidding went to $720
ergo you do not get $2700
stainlessenginecovers
·2 years agoah, the 'Prince of Siam' story makes a return.....
mudshark61369
·2 years ago@Anonymous,
I didn't reply about your statement yesterday:
"I come from an esteemed background, being the nephew of a Northeastern University business school professor, and we plan to collaborate on this incident as a case study for future students. I will be sharing this experience openly with my colleagues and the public as an example of modern-day theft and the challenges of using eBay for high-value transactions".
I seriously hope your uncle is smart enough to look deeply into the incident, before making a fool of himself by using it as an example of "theft" by an online site. If one of his students were to investigate eBay's Start selling information, policies, their fee schedule, and your auction listing, someone would be eating a lot of crow, as a cold plate.
Your uncle would do better to use this as an example of what one should do, before listing items on any online shopping site.
toysaver
·2 years agoI'm sensing danger and am sure you will take the right action.
toysaver
·2 years agosoh.maryl
·2 years agoFirst of all, it makes no difference what kind of "esteemed background" you come from. Albert Einstein's great granddaughter could make the decision to sell on eBay and, if she didn't bother to educate herself on how it works, she could suffer the same fate that you did.
When you esteemed relative decides to use your experience as a case study for future students, the error made here by the seller should be emphasized. Plan to do that?
albertabrightalberta
·2 years ago"Recently, I listed a basic watch on eBay for $2,700. To my surprise, the item sold for a mere $720."
You may have listed your item with a BIN (buy it now) price of $2700, but having listed as an auction, you risk selling (and being obligated to follow through) on whatever the highest bid is should a buyer not do the BIN.
"After eBay’s fees, I was left with only $410 in my account."
If you didn't do your homework by reading and knowing what the fees would be, that's on you.
"This significant disparity has led me to question the integrity of your platform"
Question the integrity? Ebay is totally transparent! Again, not knowing how auctions work and what the fees would be was your mistake in not reading the TOS.
"My attempts to delist the item were unsuccessful, and reaching your customer support for assistance proved futile due to unhelpful pre-recorded messages. This lack of support and transparency is unacceptable."
Had you tried to end your auction early, you certainly could have done that but again, had you read ebay's fees policy, you would have known that ending the auction (with bids) early would still have cost you the same fees you paid for ending with a winning bidder. (Sellers who end listings early when the bidding isn't high enough are penalized because ebay assumes that you either chose to save fees by taking the sale off-site or that you weren't willing to pay a reserve fee and instead chose to end it early. Either way, it's a no-no per ebay and it costs you.)
But again, there's no lack of transparency; it's in the TOS.
"I come from an esteemed background, being the nephew of a Northeastern University business school professor, and we plan to collaborate on this incident as a case study for future students. I will be sharing this experience openly with my colleagues and the public as an example of modern-day theft and the challenges of using eBay for high-value transactions."
Although NU is a great college, it's not Harvard Business School and before embarrassing yourself among your colleagues, you might want to speak to your uncle/aunt before using this "incident as a case study."
No one pulled the wool over your eyes, nothing you found out after the fact wasn't disclosed and any mistakes made were on you.
mudshark61369
·2 years ago@Anonymous,
First you need to know, that the community is not an ebay support team. We are buyers and sellers who volunteer to help other members who have issues.
"Recently, I listed a basic watch on eBay for $2,700. To my surprise, the item sold for a mere $720".
soh.maryl
·2 years agoWhen I look at that listing, you appear to have started it at $116.00.
untitledrecords
·2 years agoNot toys, but I'll play.
Lower your standards.
So when something ends well in your favor, you are pleasantly surprised instead of being disappointed in the outcome.
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoSo you just jumped into selling an expensive item without checking to see what the fee's would be and it's all Ebays fault.
chevymontecarlo88
·2 years agoI would hope with your esteemed background you would know this is not a "Dear Abby" forum.
As an American world citizen to another, Happy 4th!