Ebay sellers are getting worse

[pappy0321]

Since we live a long way from decent shopping, we buy quite a few items off the online stores, namely ebay and Amazon.  I have well over 2200 transactions (all purchases) on ebay.  The sellers are getting worse and worse.  This year I have approximately 30 contested orders, from never receiving items and the seller refusing to make good on the shipments, to drop shippers sending very incomplete orders, to improperly packaged items.  So far ebay has made good on everything, but I'm almost certain that the qualification process for sellers has has been relaxed to the point of incompetence.  Even when ebay makes good on a refund, I've still lost valuable time, effort, and patience to get the problem resolved.  

[stainlessenginecovers]

ebay, like amazon, facebook, craigslist, etsy, mercari on and on has NEVER had ANY particular 'vetting' requirements for a seller. Sellers are NOT required to have any testing, experience in customer service, retailing etc.

It's NOT that 'sellers have got worse'- it's that 'thieves have expanded' and you need to be smarter than them.

Since Covid, many more flocked to finding other ways to make money sitting home- so have the thieves and they are out 10x more than they were 10 years ago. 

But, YOU- as a buyer, can EASILY help stop all those issues by simply looking at and reading the feedback. Those that 'do not ship' or 'drop ship with problems' are easily seen. Don't buy obvious dropped shipped items (are pictures 'real' or 'catalog'?).

Don't buy from sellers with less than 100 feedback if there is another with 4000 feedback

Don't be greedy, wanting to save $2 buying from a 3 feedback seller over a 27000 one. 

Don't buy from sellers with 40 feedback and 3 negatives

Don't buy from a seller with any recent issues showing in their feedback. 

I have been purchasing on ebay since they opened and with easily 5000 transactions, I've had 2 issues (and those were when there was no protections in the 90s, early 00's)

[marnotom!]

I could say the same about Amazon sellers.  I've had some less than ideal experiences with them, too.

[bonanza125]

Not all sellers on Ebay are professional or care about what they sell, how they package, and shipping time. You get variety of sellers. All you can do view the feedback and if you find issues then don't buy from that seller. Make sure they have a good return policy. With every year which goes by you will find that more new sellers will be joining the site to try to sell stuff. They are as experienced as veteran sellers so you will find some issues with a transaction. There is a 30 day money back guarantee if a transaction doesn't go right either not received or not as described. Just look at it as part of dealing with random people online. 

[bonjourami · Accepted solution]

"but I'm almost certain that the qualification process for sellers has has been relaxed to the point of incompetence."

What qualification process?

[12345jamesstamps]

60 % of Amazon items for sale are from 3rd party sellers...and I have no idea what the percentage is of eBay where sellers sell items from Amazon.

Wouldn't it be funny if a sale on Ebay is from Amazon but from a third party seller...LOL.

[ed8108]

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@pappy0321 wrote:

.Even when ebay makes good on a refund, I've still lost valuable time, effort, and patience to get the problem resolved.  

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Internet buying does entail some risk &

time wasted is something that buyers can never recoup.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

It is likely that the products which you received from dropshippers should never have been Ebay purchases.

There are entire classes of merchandise which should never be purchased here. In production, NEW products with a manufacturer's warranty often fall in that category,

There are many foreign sellers who know nothing about the products they sell, who are using US retailers to drop ship or slimy sellers of B goods to drop ship. Many more of them than ever before because they have no way to put food on the table due to rampant inflation in their homelands, and no opportunity,

[pappy0321]

You mean there is absolutely no process to qualify to sell on ebay?  You've answered my question.

[fbusoni]

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@pappy0321 wrote:

You mean there is absolutely no process to qualify to sell on ebay?  You've answered my question.

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@pappy0321 

All one needs to sell here is an ID and a credit card of some sort (or perhaps a debit card will suffice, I'm not sure).

eBay's approach can be summarized as follows: 

• Allow any imbecile, thief, charlatan or con-artist to sell on eBay.  
• After a certain number of buyers lose their money, eBay's computers will restrict or terminate the selling privileges of the aforementioned seller.

eBay makes clear in its user agreement that it is merely a place where selling / buying transactions can (in theory) occur.

Meantime, you (the buyer) are protected by the eBay money back guarantee.

I have sold here since 1999 but only on very rare occasion do I buy here.