After 25 years, by EOY I predict I'll be done with eBay

[covetmodern]

Sorry to vent, but I think I'm pretty much done with selling on eBay, at least for my business.  My goal is to close it down by the end of the year. 

Over the years eBay has stepped on the heads of good sellers by raising their fees, imposing over friendly buyer policies that hurt sellers, allowing scams to perpetuate,  outsourcing customer service, doing nothing about listings I have reported as fraudulent... the list goes on.

This most recent transaction and refund request was the last straw for me.  I guess I missed the memo on the fact that eBay now issues a full refund, including the shipping costs for even buyers remorse return requests.  About a year ago, I moved away from free shipping because we'd lose too much on return requests.  I guess I don't understand what the difference between free shipping (adding the shipping cost to an item price) vs. charging for shipping.  I guess it's just a smoke and mirrors marketing ploy.

So, here's what happened - 

Buyer purchased item on July 9th.  They received item on July 14th.  Request return on July 20th.  Waited 17 days to send it back, and of course it arrives while I'm out of town for 3 days and eBay requires I inspect and issue refund within 2. 

I call eBay to let them know I cannot inspect the item until I return.  They issue a 5 day hold on the return request.  On the 4th day, I pick up the item at our return PO Box, inspect it (it's fine) and go to issue a return.  I can't because eBay has this 5 day hold on it.  The following morning, I get an email from eBay stating they issued a refund on my behalf.  I'm told they charged me the final value fees since they issued the refund.  This makes no sense because I was still within the 5 day hold and I couldn't issue the refund when I tried.  In all of this, I also find out I'm charged the $10.55 we charge for shipping - so now, I'm out $21.51 on an $80 item.  

I call them and they give me a long runaround, tell me what's up and nothing they can do about it.  I'm really having a hard time accepting that someone can buy an item, return it because they have buyers remorse and I have to incur this kind of loss.  

Before anyone thinks this is a knee jerk reaction, I have been selling for 25 years and have watched sales decline over the years so much that it is not profitable.  It would be easy to blame the products, but we sell a lot our products on other sites with far fewer issues.  I cannot fathom taking a risk for more expensive shipping items - I used to sell vintage furniture that shipping costs were $300-1000.  That would be an incredible loss.  With all of these policies, the overly complex listing process with an ocean of subcategories, attributes, item specifics, etc. makes this a nightmare to navigate any longer.   I used to manage a business here, now I am treated like an eBay employee who is charged to work for them, while also not getting any of the benefits of working for them.  

[12345jamesstamps]

Cool items for sale. I wouldn't give up. There is always going to be one bad apple(buyer) out there.

Its expected when selling.

I had a nice sale the other day. I goggle their address. It is a nice expensive house. I checked all their feedback. Great feedback back and forth. I checked recents sales on what they buy and so on. That what they  are buying from the past from what they bought from me. Yea, I know sellers have to do this extra homework to play it safe nowadays.

[covetmodern]

this wasn't a case of a bad buyer though.  It was a matter of circumstances and eBay's system and policies that have created a place where risks are higher than ever.  I'm just fed up with all of these dysfunctional policies and automated systems that suffocate sellers.  There's little to no room for common sense any more.  

[bonjourami]

As I look into my crystal ball, I prediict you will come back, or never leave in the first place. Just because the odds are against you, as most sellers who announce their departures on the boards never leave at all, or return shortly. But I do wish you good luck.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

I didn't read your entire post, because I really don't need to know the reason for your decision, but, we must each decide what is best for us. Fortunately, this is 2023, and sellers have more options than ever, so I'm sure you'll find something that satisfies you at some point.  Best of luck to you!

[vintagecraze50]

We moved clear across the country 4 years ago and I continued to keep my store open while we were on the road. We had some refund requests during that time and were unable to inspect the item before we arrived at our destination. We just did the refund like we were home. None of the returns were fraudulent or a problem during that time. 

[covetmodern]

Oh, and the follow up "customer service" emails have been atrocious. 

I had disputed being charged by eBay for closing the case because I had actually attempted to, but their system didn't allow for that because the case was on hold.  Their reply had nothing to do with this at all.  They provided instructions on giving good customer service when someone files Item Not as Described cases.  They also included instructions on how to file a fraud claim - again, does not apply here.   I replied that this was a request for return, not an INAD and that the item was returned unopened.  They then send me an affidavit to complete to file a report on the buyer.  

I really don't get this at all.  

[covetmodern]

Oh, and now I find out they also charged me for the return shipping the buyer did.  On top of that it was sent in a box that was about 10 times the size of the item.  So, I'm out $30.06 on an $80 item that was returned because the customer changed their mind. 

[chapeau-noir]

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@covetmodern wrote:

well, I would never sell on Amazon... so there's that.  

I opened an shop on the other "E" site and have had great success, but they too are changing things making it more challenging, but nowhere near what eBay has.  

For example - if you don't accept returns and a buyer requests a return/refund, the site will just issue a refund without requiring a return.  The site claims that no returns implies the seller doesn't want it back, when we as sellers know that is not generally the case.  

For me, it's not this particular transaction that is the only problem.  It's a combination of many things that have evolved over the years - most importantly, the bottom line - sales.  If sales are low and costs/risk is high - it's just not worth it here anymore.  

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Etsy is worse than here.  It used to be great - I sold on there for years but what tore it for me was being forced to pay 12% for their stupid ad program with NO info on how they actually manage it - "Don't worry your pretty little head about it, ladies" is basically the attitude over there.

[covetmodern]

Yeah, I've had to really dig in and research to justify Adwords.  Fortunately, it only applies to when someone actually makes a purchase related to a google search, not a click.   On the flip side, I used to complain about google searches not showing eBay items.  The reality is that Google charges a fortune for those searches.  I've had to adjust the cost of items because of that and to be honest, it has worked out better for us... for now.  I've kept a close eye on it though.  I ran a cost analysis on all of our items and found it really only affects one item we sell and its about 10% of those sales. 

[yuzuha]

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@tobaccocardyahoo wrote:

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@covetmodern wrote:

Waited 17 days to send it back, and of course it arrives while I'm out of town for 3 days and eBay requires I inspect and issue refund within 2 days

I would hope this is a relatively uncommon chain of events. But the outcome you saw was the likely outcome on most if not all Internet marketplaces.

Selling on an Internet marketplace includes in its costs having to live with time requirements which may not fit the way you want or need to run your business.

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Exactly. You cannot expect a buyer to somehow know that you are going to be out of town. In this case, it sounds like the buyer opened a return request and then sent the item back well within the amount of time they were allotted. They cannot control the postal system as to when the return actually reaches the seller.

[nichtr_78]

ebay let me down so bad. this site is garbage. so are the shills.

[covetmodern]

No, they sat on it for 14 days before mailing it back. I watched tracking info and reviewed it after it arrived.  It arrived 17 days after they requested the return.  eBay allows for 15 business days, which can be 21-22 days after the return window.  So, if you have a 14 day return window, the return period can take 5 weeks after the customer received it. That’s a bit excessive in my opinion. Returns should be prompt - within 5 business days. This avoids many problems. Or, make it the same amount of time as the buyer took to get it in the mail.  If it takes them 10 days to drop it at the post office, then the buyer gets 10 days to issue a refund. Guarantee that will get things moving quickly. Lol. 

[yuzuha]

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@covetmodern wrote:

No, they sat on it for 14 days before mailing it back.  It arrived 17 days after they requested the return.  eBay allows for 15 business days, which can be 21-22 days after the return window.  So, if you have a 14 day return window, the return period can take 5 weeks after the customer received it. That’s a bit excessive in my opinion. Returns should be prompt - within 5 business days. This avoids many problems. 

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eBay allows for 30 business days. I had a remorse return request just a month or so ago and the buyer was given 30 days in which to return the item.

[2006h3]

24 year seller here....... I had the identical discussion with my wife tonight at dinner.

This used to be a great platform to sell on....... Ebay all third party support filled with people that are trained to lie at every point.

Ebay doesnt care if you leave or not because they are too busy collecting 30% selling fees on sneakers and car parts.

Ebay should run their next marketing campaign that says something like "ebay the worlds largest automotive junkyard and sometimes we sell other stuff to"

HK

[lakefor94]

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@yuzuha wrote:

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@covetmodern wrote:

No, they sat on it for 14 days before mailing it back.  It arrived 17 days after they requested the return.  eBay allows for 15 business days, which can be 21-22 days after the return window.  So, if you have a 14 day return window, the return period can take 5 weeks after the customer received it. That’s a bit excessive in my opinion. Returns should be prompt - within 5 business days. This avoids many problems. 

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eBay allows for 30 business days. I had a remorse return request just a month or so ago and the buyer was given 30 days in which to return the item.

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I would not buy anything from a site with a 5-day return window.  

Received a power supply I needed today. I tested it this evening. There are times when I can't even get to testing purchases for a couple of weeks due to other demands.

30 days to start a return is the norm on most every major online venue.