There are no simple/easy solutions in the direction the internet or third party commerce for that matter have went and depending on venue much the same exists in retail. I mean where does one begin this discussion?
Does theft happen online? Absolutely! It happens in retail as well albeit perhaps at times a bit easier to catch folks. Any customer in retail can perform a chargeback against an item purchased and in most circumstances will win but there exists a different standard in sizes of retailers in chargebacks and the same via online third party venues. Ask where a chargeback or return is more likely as a consumer yourself, eBay or say Macy's online? Of course it's the former not the latter.
Now put yourself for a moment in eBay's shoes. They are not a retailer, they are a venue... Let's say they are like an in person Co-Op venue with many sellers in the building, they lease space, they perform the transactions and take a commission on every sale. Where would a customer service rep be able to act on co-op members behalf's? How can a CSR online represent you're buyer/seller interests in transactional problems? Listing, explaining FVF's on and on sure, but in a transactional issue becomes a different matter.
The disconnection of those transacting makes for a he said/she said environment and there is a solution to that. eBay has a merchant interface whereby sellers can get a merchant account and transact through their own card processor/merchant account provider. Thus a seller can represent their own disputes but that is expensive as every communication in disputes w/ you're own card processing tends to cost $25 and a minimum of $50 right from word go.
Now if we're talking about how to make eBay a safer environment for buyers / sellers the transactional methods need change as does what metrics are public facing and I'm not sure about the legality of that. That is to say if buyers had to have a forward facing metric(s), how many orders, how many returns, how many disputes and of what nature, how many negatives FB's issues. Some that information may not be legal to have forward facing just as Walmart doesn't get a display at the checkout counter of how many times a buyer punctured his new Goodyear tires in the warranty term attempting get replacements deeming the tires defective. Having a more detailed forward facing seller metric would be more consumer friendly except for the fact we're still in a he said/she said mode.
These threads pop on here all the time and the discussion is always the same basically but there exists little discussion in ideas on how to solve the problems. The fact the problems did not exist in magnitudes of order 10 years ago has no bearing on the world now. This would be like saying these youth that mass invade retail stores stealing the places blind before police can even arrive didn't happen 10 years ago, so a solution didn't need to exist now it does.
All that said, the sort of changes that would help eBay become a safer venue of commerce for example as I noted above may well detract good buyers. Take feedback, leaving negative feedback to a buyer would help caution sellers to a buyer. Yet the feedback might be invalid, the seller actually did wrong by the buyer and is retaliating, good buyer say's goodbye, I'm done here.
It'd take a VERY sophisticated algorithm albeit doable to help filter bad buyers. Have to look at who they are transacting with, that sellers record, how many times said buyer has had transactional problems across their buying history WEIGHTED against the entire seller demographic at high data resolution of said sellers. Well that sounds like a plan there are pitfalls when injecting the simple matter of new sellers or new buyers where little data is established. So Joe/Sephine has two fine transactions, third goes awry, now their metric looks horrible and no sellers care transact yet he/she was taken by a seller.
Don't think it happens at Amazon or Macy's or Home Depot? Sure does. Heck, my lady just sent back two tops to QVC as when they arrived she wore one and doesn't like how the material feels.
The brass tacks of transacting via plastic cards sit's within' the banking system and franchises that refuse to change as they make money coming and going no matter the circumstances. You don't see Visa/MC/Amex or Discover creating centers whereby goods shipped to them for inspection before being forwarded to a consumer, sounds ridiculous right? They could actually afford it but it still doesn't change buyer regret or the fact buyer claim it damaged or not as described when it arrives on their doorstep.
Amazon sells pallets, oodles and oodles of them that are returns as does Walmart though Jacobs Trading for example. They do that as it's more costly to try test, deal with warrants of merchantability than just dump em' as loss. Then of course there are those who buy those pallets and bam, some items are back on Amazon again or here!
We've a place opened up where Monday's everythings $1, Tuesday $2, Weds $4, Thurs Closed (restock), Fri $10 etc... ALL of what's there are pallet returns, mostly Amazon's, even have cardboard mystery boxes $35 and every box has Amazon's logo plastered on them. BIG SIGN NO RETURNS. Yet in reality, no returns doesn't exist when using a charge card. If I bought a widget there for $1 and want chargeback I can and irregardless of outcome it's going to cost that place $50 at a minimum, $25 from their bank and $25 from the card processor, possibly $25 from the merchant account provider. Understand? Banks, merchant account providers, aggregate card processor ALL MAKE MONEY on chargebacks. Here you're not getting hit with those fee's and they are very very real, I've had merchant accounts. Here you're shielded from card fraud, stolen cards used, own merchant account, uh uh, out the money, out the goods and out any expense trying pursue it.
Anyways... The harsh reality and yeah, it sux is what exactly does any seller expect Customer Service Rep's at eBay to do when the problem relates to transactional issues, claims. They are NOT in a position nor authorized by any banks or card processor risk units, government, courts, laws to do anything, not a thing. I mean does anyone think eBay itself enjoys sellers being taken? Consumers being taken? Having countless manufacturer brands accusing the venue of fraud? Being the "Poster Boy" of third party ecommerce regulatory discussions around the globe?
Of course not!
Wouldn't it be nice to have a website where any seller or business go to and look up a name/address and see a buying history? Sure would, probably be a matter of two weeks before it'd go absolutely insane with letters from consumers, attorneys and then some.
There are no simple solutions but that said, IMHO potential solution idea are what folks as sellers should be discussing. Sometimes "Hive minds" come up with real answers.
