eBay

parts4projects · ‎04-22-2020

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.

ise710 · ‎04-23-2020

Thank you for marking your own post as the solution. If you ever have any other questions that the community, not yourself, can answer, we are here to help.

digitalbluecat · ‎04-23-2020

That's you just being obtuse. This is a community board to inform, complain, ask questions and yes, even vent about Ebay's growing favoritism to illegitimate sellers from countries they have no reach into over fraudulent, cloned, pirated technology and falsely listed products. To continue to allow sellers that follow the ageless Chinese philosophy of gaining advantage over others is killing consumer faith in Ebay's protection policies. I've been defrauded in over half of this monthes purchases with a variety of methods to easily impede or get around Ebay policies.
Neat tricks like entering pre-shipping information to make it seem an item is on its way can add 3 weeks time for a seller to get away with fraud and clear funds. Using stock photos to show items that don't match real products. Using language in listings that appear to legitimize clones and fake merchandise. Obtaining seller accounts with great feedback and then quickly selling as much as thousands of items before the feedback can show fraud. And many other tricks to delay Ebay from shutting down unscrupulous vendors.
Bottom line is that Ebay has become the number one place to ripoff consumers and get clear with all the stolen money.
Ebay=Efraud

digitalbluecat · ‎04-23-2020

That's really helpful in ferreting out fraudulent seller information. I've had 2 sellers already this month that were listed as USA California and Ohio that ended up being fronts for Mainland China sellers, both of whom have not delivered their products. You now have to assume that any seller with product that could be Chinese is a fraud and will likely deliver nothing like you expect. That's on Ebay for not verifying legitimate physical locations as a real place of business.

earlyant-77 · ‎04-23-2020

@digitalbluecat wrote:
That's really helpful in ferreting out fraudulent seller information. I've had 2 sellers already this month that were listed as USA California and Ohio that ended up being fronts for Mainland China sellers, both of whom have not delivered their products. You now have to assume that any seller with product that could be Chinese is a fraud and will likely deliver nothing like you expect. That's on Ebay for not verifying legitimate physical locations as a real place of business.

Well, checking the estimated delivery date should give you a clue. As would the feedback. As would checking to see where they are registered. As would the prices. As would doing research on the product you are looking for, and not 'lowest price'.

If you have an ETA date a month from now, where would you think it was coming from? And if it's a week or so, open an INR right after the date passes. Or do like I do - don't buy from china!!!

If you were a seller, how would you like a knock on your door by someone saying that they represent ebay asking to verify your stock at that location? It just can't happen. Just report the listing as item location misrepresentation and move on.

The time to research is before you hit the BIN/BID button, not after.