How can sellers trust eBay buyers anymore?

[alovelydayforshopping]

ebay has moved from a bargain finding second-hand selling platform to a poor /slower/less efficiently version of amazon!

As a private seller i find it impossible to sell on ebay with ANY confidence i wont get ripped off by the buyer!  For private occational sellers and genuine bargain hunters it has simply become redundant.  I have sold a few things as clear out during lockdown and have had terrible trouble with buyers treating me like amazon, so buying items, trying them on/checking them out their end (in one case the buyer had my item aprased his end , decided he couldnt make the money he thougt he could) and then claiming the item is "not as described ". There is NO protection for sellers here. EBay makes the seller foot the bill (plus postage both ways) even when the item is exactly as described and buyers even state in emails they just don't want it or it doesn't fit! The seller is at no fault but ends up with the bill!!!

There seems to be no protection at all for private sellers here who are selling their items in good faith.

I cannot be the only one to get burn many times over by this?

If you hear me, let me know how you now sell as a private seller!

[numisnorway]

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@monster-deals wrote:

I just follow procedure.

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1984 called

[jonathankirkland]

Honestly, for me, this is a huge plus as far as seller protection. It will take a little time to get to that level, but once I am in I will feel much more comfortable selling here (PS: I was TRS 3-4 years ago when I first began selling and it was extremely easy to achieve):

Since dishonest buyers are going to claim SNAD anyway to get a free return, it seems like a no-brainer these days to just go ahead and offer the free returns right off the bat to make less headaches for everyone.

In fact, I bet it increases sales by making buyers feel more comfortable. Inspiring buyer confidence is important and I could see that being a tipping point for sales when comparing my listings to that of my competitor, if I offer "30 day free returns" and my competitor has "no returns/refunds". We're both offering the same thing really since there's no such thing as a no returns/refunds except mine is much easier to deal with.

[gjs_16]

Focusing on the buyer here isn't the way to solve this problem, mostly because sellers have no control over that.

It starts with sellers always being honest and upfront, which unfortunately not all sellers are... It is all too easy to get caught up in a bad situation as a buyer when one runs into one of many unscrupulous sellers here who play a variety of games...

That's how the whole thing starts, that's why buyers see nothing wrong with it.

I was told, keep your side of the street clean...
Let the rest take care of itself.

[harmony0920]

I am currently dealing with a claim made against me by a buyer and I am at a loss why ebay is not handling this fairly. I'm tempted to take down all my listings and never use ebay again. The buyer clearly states that they washed the item when they received it in the mail and it came out of the wash damaged and demanded a refund. I have a no returns policy and clear photos of the item in brand new perfect condition with tags attached. Ebay withheld my payment and sided with the buyer who was given a shipping label for return. I have called 3 or 4 times and all they say is "we are escalating this to the appeals department" and to wait for an email from the appeals department because they don't speak over the phone. It's baffling, really.

[downunder-61]

@harmony0920 

If the appeal burns you contact eBay on Facebook, they are more switched on and you can actually state your case.

https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness

[harmony0920]

Thank you, this is helpful. I messaged them on instagram, but will try facebook now.

[katzrul15]

This thread was started in Feb - looks like the OP has stopped selling here some time ago.  Online sales are not right for everything or everyone, unfortunately.

[jack-falstaff]

I am an occasional seller and more of a buyer, but I would like to share with how I buy.  I know a lot of sellers get into a box and forget what it is like to buy...

1) I find the item I want on Amazon and look at the price and if its Amazon that is selling it or an independent seller.  I personally do not like to buy from independent sellers on Amazon if at all possible.  For that...

2) In a separate tab, I pull up eBay and search for the same thing.  I prefer to buy from here, but the big difference with eBay is its more freer with its sellers, so it tends to be a bit more disorganized.  When you bow to the Amazon overlords, they control everything and thus... easier to find stuff.   I try to do that search by product ID.

3) In yet another tab, I will pull up the manufactures site if available and sometimes costco

Now that I have all that open I start comparing.  I primarily am looking for return policy, feedback rating (if its below 97% I wont bother... But also, if there is a massive amount of feedback, that's a negative for me.  I know for an absolute certainty that eBay can and will remove negative feedback based on how much money you make them or if they are concierge status... They get free removals each quarter).  

I know people always say something like "I am not Amazon/Walmart...etc" but that is who youre competing against.  If you have a no return policy, why on earth would I buy from you when other sites are easy.  Many times, I will pay a little more and just go to Costco where they have a return policy that goes back years.  That is what youre up against whether you think its fair or not.  Sorry if I just salted your coffee with that revelation.  

I like shopping with eBay as a buyer because I can support a small business with the protection of a big business.  I can smell out someone who is passionate about their business and have a human touch, and even though I do a lot of investigation...  There are sellers out there who misrepresent their items, and I prefer having protections.  

Thought a buying perspective might be handy in this thread...

[katzrul15]

@jack-falstaff 

Wow.  What a great buyer perspective.  We shop a lot alike, except I am not a Costco fan.  Lol

When you say "a lot" of FB for an e-Bay seller, you pass - what do you mean?  Mega sellers?

I do not care if an e-Bay seller states no returns.

MBG, says otherwise.  Never had an issue.

Curious, how you know a Seller is passionate?

[jack-falstaff]

@katzrul15 

When referring to feedback, I am looking at sellers that have over 5,000 reviews and are at 100%.  It says to me that they are calling in to get feedback removed.  Its not my only qualifier but I know it happens.

For return policy, it simply shows me how much faith the seller has in their abilities and confidence they can deliver a product.  I know I can use eMBG if I get something wrong or damaged, but why go through the drama if I don't have to.  After all, I am buying something because I want it, not because I know my purchase is protected.

For seeing if a seller is passionate about being a seller I look at 2 main things:  picture and descriptions.  If the photos provided are only stock photos, its either a lazy listing or a drop shipper.  I also look at description;  is it a copy and paste message or is it more?  Is the grammar correct?  If a seller is taking the time do those things, then I know they pay attention to detail.  Sloppy, lazy listings = bad transactions.

[redskingod]

I don’t trust sellers because so often when I win the order gets canceled for some bogus reason if they don’t like the price.  I don’t mean once or twice.  It’s happened dozens of times.  And three times nothing showed up and nobody did anything about it.  eBay doesn’t help, the sellers don’t help and USPS doesn’t help.  This place is no longer worth purchasing things from.  

[caseypl]

Certain categories cause more trouble than others. How often do people go to a store, buy something, then never wear it? Probably alot. 

I just crossed over 1k sales. Car parts. I've had maybe 7 to 8 allegedly get damaged plus maybe 10 return requests and of those, I only entertained 1 as far as getting it back. It was a tested product that worked fine and the buyer failed to diagnose the problem his car had. So maybe a 1.3% return rate. Not all that bad and some of those damaged items I learned from and now would avoid selling that stuff again or will do box in a box shipping. 

[kh-stanley1]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread HERE if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.