eBay, full of crooks, clones, misrepresentation. Why are you allowing that?

[parts4projects]

More and more, I have been buying away from eBay because there are so many scammers here these days.

I just bought an outdoor camera that said it was PTZ and only after paying for it did I look closer to find that yet again, another seller misrepresented his listing. No PTZ, they just added that as a misleading keyword. Minutes after buying and paying, the seller updated to shipped and now I have no option to get my money back. Worse, it's from China and their MO is to offer you a 1/3 or 1/2 back when things don't work out.

Amazon has very strict rules about listings so why doesn't eBay get on top of that? The eBay method of reporting is silly as can be. You have to pick from lists and many times, the options don't come close to what you'd like to report so I'm sure many of those reports go to waste.

Things I'm sick of on Ebay...

Countless duplicate listings to have to wade through because sellers list slight variations.
Misrepresented goods where key words are used which the item doesn't even have.

Chinese and other sellers that offer you a partial refund after misrepresenting their item.

Cloned goods which are NOT like the original at all. I cannot count how many hardware devices I've purchased only to find out they are cheap clones. When you ask the seller to show you an image of the label on the back, they pretend not to understand what you are asking and relentlessly refrain from sending anything that can help you to confirm the item. Usually, clones have slight differences that are hard to spot without asking or seeing more images.

I could go on but it's why I'm doing less and less shopping here and many people I know have moved to Amazon.

I LOVE eBay, I'd like it to survive but the amount of nonsense is becoming overwhelming.

[paradiso*bella*a*venire]

If youre having this happen a lot to you, it would be wise to vet your sellers better.

If pictures arent showing what they should be showing, ask the seller questions and if they give you any answer that are questionable, move on to another seller

Also, do your due diligence in READING sellers negative feedback

[oldwestgold]

I can understand your frustrations but I always say or at least someone did years ago, "Investigate before you invest."  I find some people who do not read the clear descriptions of an item and just hit the buy button. In the end, you are responsible for choosing to buy an item. I would suggest looking closely at what you want to buy before buying it and always look at the feedback of the seller.  It tells a lot. There are scammers everywhere but overall, I find sellers to genuinely care on eBay. I would also stay away from sellers in countries like China or India. Pay a few cents more if necessary and buy from sellers located in the USA if that's where you live. Good luck!

[7606dennis]

I'm not sure why people blame eBay for the actions of some unscrupulous sellers.  It is akin to blaming a store for allowing a shoplifter to steal from them.  They aren't allowing it, criminals are breaking the law.    

[paradiso*bella*a*venire]

And How!

[lex-talon]

I could go on but it's why I'm doing less and less shopping here and many people I know have moved to Amazon.

I LOVE eBay, I'd like it to survive but the amount of nonsense is becoming overwhelming.

First of all, take Oldwestgold's advice. You need to look over a seller; read their feedback and all that. Spend a little more and buy from U.S. sellers only. 

Many of the items I bought were from eBay & are not available on Amazon or there was going to be a delay in shipping, so that was out of the question. Have to admit, I do like eBay a whole lot better than Amazon.

[hurryagain]

@parts4projects 

Oh...you can get your money back...you will just have to wait a bit for it.

When the misrepresented item arrives, open an item not as described case against the seller.  Seller will have 4 days to respond...if they don't escalate the case and eBay will step in and render a decision (I am thinking in your favor).

I did look at the item and that "PTZ" is right on the description.  You should take a screenshot of that page and upload that image in the case you open against this seller.

Since the seller is from China, they are probably going to just refund you without you having to return the item...so there is a small consolation...you will probably get to keep the item.

Just remember - open the correct case - item not as described.

Good luck.

[parts4projects]

Oh baloney. The first reply is someone actually trying to blame the buyer? Give me a break. I want to trust buyers, not have to forensically check them out before I buy.

You say READING like it's my fault that sellers use keywords they should not just to get attention. You try to make it sound like it's my fault for sellers purposely being ambiguous and so on.

I explained I bought a camera. I did read, it's the images that finally gave me the hint that the camera was not PTZ. That should not be my fault, it's the seller for using key words to get attention on listings.

Buyers should not have to constantly wonder if sellers are legitimate, eBay should do more to make sure that sellers are doing a better job about being honest. Ebay needs to give us better tools to report sellers and should be on top of sellers like Amazon is.

I have never, not even once had a problem on Amazon where support didn't take care of it instantly instead of making me spend hours trying to make things right. Mostly, that's because THEY vet those sellers and is how it should be.

[mb7050]

Sellers also always claim their cameras have push notification and email notification. I have bought like 10 ip cameras in the past years and none of those have such functions that actually work. Chinese sellers are also constantly scamming buyers in all possible ways. 

nowadays I receive only like half of the items I've ordered and the sellers constantly try to refuse to refund me for not received items.  before shipping usually took no longer than 2 weeks nowadays it takes even over 3 months.  years ago there was a time when I had no issues but it has slowly become worse over the past few years.

[parts4projects · Accepted solution]

Is this really how stupid society is becoming? Most of you sound like you are trying to blame me for not reading and that is absurd.

I've been buying on ebay since the 90's, it's not like I don't read and am not aware of all the things you say.

In the end, many sellers are simply ambiguous in how they list things.

It should not be up to buyers to have to spend extra time trying to make sure the seller is being honest. You can tell me it's my fault all you want but I assure you that eBay is going to become much less relevant unless everyone that likes this site support each other better.

I love the randomness of the stuff for sale here but I'm sick and tired of the crummy sellers and it's no wonder so many are moving to sites like Amazon.

I would love to see this site survive but with ridiculous thinking like what I'm seeing here, it simply confirms to me that the few that post compared to the tens of thousands that simply leave is probably why eBay is heading down this path.

I hope you'll all change  your tunes at some point or this site will eventually be gone.

[hurryagain]

@parts4projects 

Did you look at my post (#7).

Does this work for you?

I know you are annoyed at the whole thing (putting it mildly)...I'm just hoping that you get the situation resolved in your favor...although it will take a while....

[parts4projects]

That's another problem. Some overseas companies are showing US based locations and it's pretty obvious they aren't in the US.

Anyways, I give up. Seems people are ok with the way things are so I'll just slowly stop buying here I think.

[paradiso*bella*a*venire]

@parts4projects 

If thats what you took away from my post, me blaming you, then I suppose it wasnt helpful at all to you. What I would have liked for you to take away from my post was a sharpening of your ability to avoid these type issues by being a bit more scrutinizing of not just one aspect of a seller's account,  but all aspects that are given to buyers when deciding to buy.

Ebay does not have a means to look over every listing. They are aware of problems and gives buyers as well as sellers some measure of protection, but Ebay expects each to know and do their part to help themselves.

Im not blaming you for what the  seller done, Im suggesting to you things you could do to help you. You didnt see it as such and feel you have no responsibility in this. 

Not sure how you concluded that I blame you for sellers dishonesty, but ok.  

I wish you well in future transactions  

[hurryagain]

@hurryagain wrote:

@parts4projects 

Did you look at my post (#7).

Does this work for you?

I know you are annoyed at the whole thing (putting it mildly)...I'm just hoping that you get the situation resolved in your favor...although it will take a while....

...No response...

Seem like OP just came to vent...No problemo. 

I hope you can find the products that you are looking for in a way that makes you happy.

Good luck in your future endeavors...where ever that may be.

[gozmneak]

For me I have in the past purchased from outside of the US, however, after many problems I only buy from US based sellers. Even then I look at their feedback profile and if it's not stellar (does not have to be 100%) then I move on. My experiences have been good so far. I also am a power seller and make sure my profile is as spotless as I can.  You will probably pay a little more but have much less problems.