Ebay should stop bait and switch

[castlebowman]

Ebay is condoning illegal "bait and switch" selling tactics by encouraging multiple item listings that customers are unable to avoid. It is now impossible to find the cheapest item from a search, as i certainly would never waste my valuable time clicking on each item in a search until I found one that I like the price of.  I FEEL MYSELF INEXORABLY BEING DRAWN TO AMAZON, HOW SAD. I have been a customer of ebay since it was just a notice board. 

[7606dennis]

I don't believe it can be labeled "Bait & Switch" if the lowest priced item is or was available at the time of the listing. Of course, there may be an issue if the quantity of the lowest price items was small, but I'm not sure that it would be considered to be an illegal selling tactic if the lowest priced items were sold before the listing's time ran out.

[trustedbasset]

I find it is done by international sellers a lot.

[mrv71]

They do in on purpose, and it IS "bait and switch" - they never have or intend to sell the item for the lowest price, it's just a search manipulation tactics. That's why I always block all international sellers in my searches, and they have mostly junk anyway. Unfortunately, there's no way to block only Chinese, Indians and such, but leave Great Britain and Europe.

[luckythewinner]

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@7606dennis wrote:

I don't believe it can be labeled "Bait & Switch" if the lowest priced item is or was available at the time of the listing

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It is bait and switch if the lowest priced option is not really the item being described in the title, listing, or category.

An extreme example of this would be a listing in the iPhone category, with the lowest-priced option being a charger or a case instead of an iPhone.  

[chrysylys]

It is NOT B&S as long as the low priced item is available.  It IS an abuse of the Multi-variation option and it IS search and browse manipulation.

[castlebowman]

Thank you for your reply, you sound like a corporate shill, I hope it is not so. We could have a discussion over semantics but I do not intend to do so, forums are full of  tangential arguments that have little to do with the ethos of the original point. Suffice it to say that multiple item listings mostly have within them a cheap item such as a charging lead (as a learned person suggested) from a search of an iPhone for example. The cheap item vaults the iPhone search to the top of the list (baited)  when you click on the item, as you have to, you find the price has changed (switch) , not only switched but by far not the cheapest "iPhone" . Clearly "bait and switch". Ebay does nothing about this, despite being aware of it for several years, ergo ebay condones it. 

Please do not bandy words with me as I also have my own saying regarding ignorance of a person and it goes thus........

Do not argue with the ignorant, they have nothing to learn and you have nothing to gain.

[chrysylys]

We all know exactly what kind of listings you're referring to and they do NOT fit the definition of B&S.

[castlebowman]

Do you work for Ebay ?