eBay Needs to start Clearing Out Bad Sellers!

[no_zero369]

Oh jeez!  The "fun" of buying on eBay.  The last 3 of 3 transactions on eBay have gone belly up!

Did my DD, which took a long time: rejected sellers with terrible FB scores, Unflattering FB writing, high shipping, expiration dates that have passed, etc.  Settled on a sellers relatively close by with 99.5% feedback.   

So the first transaction gets marked "shipped" with in a day of purchase.  Then nothing.   No tracking number uploaded to the order.  So I wait until the mid-point of the EDD range and sent the seller a note asking if there is a tracking number.  Supposed to be shipped via FedEx.  Crickets - no reply from seller, no tracking number.  EDD comes and goes - nadda.  So I send seller a note - no reply.  36-hours later, start the INR case.  Eventually refunded.

Second transaction the seller accepted a BO, I paid promptly and away we go!  Now to the seller's credit, they shipped fast and item arrived before the EDD!

But I open the package and here is the item, in it's original retail box!  But low and behold the expiration date is EXPIRED!  So I went back and checked the listing - as  I thought.  There in the pictures is the expiration date that is 18 months hence.  So what I purchased was not expired, yet what I got was expired.

But hey, now the fun begins... Seller has a 'no returns' policy.  So OK, Let's see if they fight a SNAD case.  SNAD filed with picture attached of the expiration date I received.   Surprisingly the seller issued a return label?  WTH?  Item is worth ~$10 not expired, so why would they want it returned unless they intend to scam someone else selling expired stuff as fresh product?

But why would a seller do this?  Are they inept and sent the wrong item?  Ignorant of eBay policies like the MBG and ignorant of eBay policies about selling expired stuff?  or just a scammer who thinks they can get away with something like this because they have a 'no returns' policy?  Sigh.

Third transaction,  bought the item and seller takes 3-days to upload a tracking number.  I suspect they were waiting on eBay to provide the funds in their MP account?  Anyway, item was to be delivered in a Sat-Mon range.  So I watch and check tracking:  no acceptance and no movement.  I mean this is like 2-hours away!

 Anyway, when there is nothing happening on the Sat I messaged the seller inquiring about tracking.  Now I would understand no acceptance scan if they told me they tossed it in a collection box. But sellers says, "Oh we shipped it, USPS picks up here every day."  Yeah, right.  If they did that and regularly didn't get acceptance scans any reasonable seller would be on the USPS to get that fixed.  But no tracking scans for a week?  Yeah, right you were OOS or playing games.  So yet another 'case" (INR) gets filed.

I guess I am going to look like a terrible buyer because I leave a bunch of red donuts.  I'd prefer eBay just boot jokers instead.

So why does eBay allow jokers like this to keep selling here?  Anyone first starting out gets 3 bad transaction in a row and they probably, justifiably so, never buy here again!  Why can't we clean out these types so honest decent sellers will have an easier time?

{stepping down off of soapbox}

[jayjaspersgarage]

"But hey 20% of eBay sales are probably from 80% of the small sellers, a whole bunch of which just do not get it!  either help them see the light or kick them out."

That applies to children as well.  If parents could follow the 80/20 rule they wouldn't have to put up with their below average kids.  Two problems with this theory.  Nine out of ten parents who drive SUVs don't believe their kids could be below average.  The other is that the orphanages are too full.  (smirk).

Don't fret.  Your kid might become the student of the minute one quarter and you'll get the bumper sticker to back you up.

[jayjaspersgarage]

" Voice rec and auto-fill are a mess for me tonight! "

No worries.  I know one of the early developers of voice recognition from the mid 1980's.  Think Chrysler K car era. 

If you speak a little slower and turn the music down when training the software it will respond a little better.  It also helps to proof read regardless of the input method.

[no_zero369]

@mudshark61369 

I agree with you generally.

However, the first seller had 1600+ FB, the second 29,000+ FB and the third 900+ FB.  So these aren't new sellers that haven't been around the block.

PLUS, the prior two transactions for similar stuff were from a seller with a FB score of under 50!  This seller was polite, responsive, kind and helpful.  I like helping new sellers that are "with it," up their FB score and get good ratings!  In fact, the first transaction with this 'new' seller was so good that I went back to their store to look around to see if there was something else I could buy.  Just wish this seller had more of the stuff that I buy on occasion as they are great!

So yeah, I agree, no one today needs to think, learn to dig deeper -

• just tweet, ASK or whatever and follow the instantaneous advice that is delivered in a style that suits the one making the query.  Why question if advice is accurate? 
• History is boring. 
• Reading details is a waste of time. 
• Just fake it until you make it. 
• Be highly "offended"  when things don't go your way
• And a whole bunch of other garbage.

One of the nice things about these boards is that IF the advice gets too far out of bounds, there is someone that will come along and offer the correction.  Oh and the Mods tend to keep the 'cancel culture" idiocy to a minimum.

[fixindan]

I regularly buy collectibles on eBay because there really isn’t anywhere else with as much selection. The things I buy range from $10 to almost 5 figures, I’m talking about Pokémon cards. With the growing popularity of TCG and the amount of money premium items bring in, I’ve noticed fraudulent Pokémon listings pop up daily; things listed with a BIN price that’s one twentieth of what they normally sell for in auction. I fell for one in the beginning and now I don’t even bother. These sellers never have any feedback and they’re using the same listing photos. Lately I got scammed by several eBay sellers with 90%+ feedback. It’s always the same story. No ship, file complaint after three weeks, and get my money back after a month. Then I noticed these sellers racked up their positive feedbacks as buyers; they have very little feedback as sellers and certainly no feedback selling something over $1k. One guy even sold me a very rare card and then proceeded to relist it and sell it 6 more times. Still I had to wait a month to get my money back.

That got me thinking perhaps these sellers were simply looking for a loan at 0% interest rate for a month, and eBay’s forcing buyers to provide such loans. If sellers don’t provide tracking and don’t communicate for a week on a 4 figure transaction, why should the buyer have to wait another 3 weeks to get money back interest-free? The dude that sold the same rare card 7 times for almost $10k got 7 negative feedbacks including one from me, and he’s still a registered user with several more positive feedbacks as a buyer since his scamming spree. So what’s eBay doing about him? Seems like nothing.

[no_zero369]

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@fixindan wrote:

The dude that sold the same rare card 7 times for almost $10k got 7 negative feedbacks including one from me, and he’s still a registered user with several more positive feedbacks as a buyer since his scamming spree. So what’s eBay doing about him? Seems like nothing.

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eBay doesn't work off of red donuts (FB score) when evaluating sellers.  Buyers can use the Report Seller function to point out violations of eBay policies.  Those reports carry some weight and enough violation could result in higher fees or suspension.

In addition, I'll make this general comment. No online website is going to reveal the details of how the run their discipline program.  Doing such just gives scammers insight and makes it easier for them to skirt the system.  No website is going to publicly announce the disciplinary actions it takes against users.  No doubt in our litigious society that has some significant risks.

So while it looks like eBay isn't doing anything, one really won't know until the day a user becomes NLRU.

[fixindan]

I just reported a couple of these deadbeat sellers. Thanks for reminding me.

[bettsbj]

About 6 orders of mine this last year have been drop shipments, which EBAY is not supposed to allow.  In a couple of cases, EBAY stepped in and shut down the seller and gave refunds.  With the others, the item would arrive from Sams Club, Walmart, Costco or the other one that sounds like Costco.   If they cannot get the retailer to ship the item, it will be late so they don't control the shipping.  Of course, some sellers sell personal items and just do not have the money to ship, or the desire.   I think there are just too many of them for EBAY to keep up with.  

[gkn29]

@bettsbj wrote:

About 6 orders of mine this last year have been drop shipments, which EBAY is not supposed to allow.  

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Drop shipping IS allowed under certain conditions. https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/posting-items/setting-postage-options/drop-shipping?id=4176

"Drop shipping, where you fulfill orders directly from a wholesale supplier, is allowed on eBay."

[chapabargain]

Why didn't you return it?

[geo-stuff-4-sale]

Amen, This has been my experience lately, I do not see how EBAY thinks this will not hurt them, their reputation and trust from buyers and sellers. You need to do way more than you are to keep a credible image. Does Ebay want to be a flea Market or a multi-versatile sell and buy distribution point. I am sickened by your troubles as well as mine and others. You let to many weasels in the door EBAY, get to doing the right thing, by policing your business.

[mudshark61369]

@geo-stuff-4-sale,

It is better to start your own topic, than to reply to an almost 7 month old one. 

If you tell us what your experiences have been maybe we can help you to avoid them in the future.   Unfortunately, no ebay employees who can change policy, read these boards. 

  "Does Ebay want to be a flea Market or a multi-versatile sell and buy distribution point".

Are the two mutually exclusive?  eBay started out as primarily as an auction site where unique, vintage and collectible items were available. It evolved into a site with mostly new buy it now items, many from very high volume sellers from around the world.   There are tools you can use to separate the wheat from the chaff. It may take a bit more time to do that but it works.

I do wish they would take a page from Amazon and kick a large number of chinese sellers off the site, which might encourage the rest to straighten up and fly right.

[downunder-61]

This thread needs to..........

[geo-stuff-4-sale]

I choose an old post, that I can relate to.  This is almost, my exact experience and feeling as this person. Which means he would care and relate as I do, from what I see in life, most do not care unless it is them or it happens to them. Being a basic professional is not that difficult for any civilized person. Basic things on EBAY should be adhered to, like communication, number one, number two would be doing the basic motions required after a sale. Which is to ship it in some form that even remotely looks like you are trying. These lazy, I am so cool, to cool to work hard sellers are at best funny, anyone who defends bad business practices, I have no time for, money is real, harder to come by and not something for a seller to take for granted or lightly. It is a faith based system to the most part, if that is broken like it is in society, you get chaos and disorder. Luckily we are not that bad on EBAY!

[kh-vince]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread HERE if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.