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!

[monster-deals]

Trust?

I neither trust nor distrust, I just follow procedure.

Trusting an anonymous stranger seems like something from a long gone age.

[inhawaii]

Majority of my transactions go off without a hitch.

I would sat less than 1% of my transaction go "bad". 

I make enough on the 99% of good transactions to cover a loss once in a while.

[mtgraves7984]

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

@alovelydayforshopping 

Granted, there is very little... it's like tap dancing on landmines. When it doesn't work for me, I'm out. Good luck.

[mobley120]

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

Okay, since you're asking.

I now sell my items on a different site; I very rarely list anything on eBay, anymore. My sales are on a site where I am in control of my return policy, and also I can accept any type of payment method one wishes to use, check, money order, pay pal; etc..

Since you asked:

And just a note: I totally agree with your post.

Good luck with your sales.

[asef6280]

Yes as a seller of 10Yrs on eBay I scratch my head everyday and say why do keep doing this.

Good luck to all of us.

[dhbookds]

Your in the Uk.........so suggest you post there for better comparisons...........but

I've sold here in the US since 2004 and really have probably had fewer than 5 or 6 problem buyers out of 1000's of transactions (this is 2nd account)..........  I have had probably 15-20 returns in that time, some of which were my fault in listing........and those buyers had every right to expect a refund of all their costs (my opinion). 

Based on that, I do trust my buyers.....while being aware there are bad eggs out there which may come my way.......but which, overall, can never out number the good buyers I've had..............

[luckythewinner]

As a private seller i find it impossible to sell on ebay with ANY confidence i wont get ripped off by the buyer!

There are millions of sellers here, so I suspect there are millions of different experiences.

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

Any buyer can steal any item from any seller at any time by filing a fraudulent dispute. That has been the case for a decade now.

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

No you are not. But that does not mean every seller is getting burned many times.

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

I take prudent steps to minimize the chances of fraud and the effect is has on me.

I generally don't pay a lot for inventory.

I generally don't sell high-priced items.

I generally don't sell heavy items that cost a lot to ship.

I generally don't sell items that seem to attract fraud.

[whiteyswrecking]

WE CAN'T 

[powell-memorabilia]

We're all at risk of running into a dishonest buyer, or even just an extremely difficult one.  It isn't really different than the risk of having an item damaged during transit.  You just have to sell enough things that it doesn't matter - it is all a numbers game.  Every seller, big or small, has misses.  

If you are just selling off old stuff that you don't need, an occasional unfortunate sale won't sink you - it was all free money, right?  If you buy items to sell, you just need to add the risk of returns/difficult buyers/in-transit damage/etc. into your selling price.  

One big issue is what you sell - certain categories have higher return rates and definitely higher percentage of problematic buyers.  Again, you just have to price accordingly.  If that calculation puts you out of being competitive, and can't sell at that level, you need to find a different line of products or just hang up your apron.  

[iart]

Out of a thousand sales we might run across half a dozen bad buyers. I understand this is probably because of what we sell. But paranoia could be a bigger problem than buyers.

[mspublicyardsale]

Actually, I too am getting sick of eBay.  I usually sell items from which I can afford to walk away, and I am extremely careful to be detailed in my listings and photographs.  I  have always enjoyed good feedback, and have even managed to deal well with the crankypusses.  Recently, a buyer said that something I know darn well to be authentic was not (and that it wasn't "925" because it was instead marked "Sterling" - figure that one).  And maybe it irked me more because this item was mine and I'm not doing a 'numbers game' for sales.  I release items that don't serve me anymore, but that I actually think folks may be seeking.  I know in years past, I've wanted to find that special item from someone's attic and eBay used to be a good platform for that.  At any rate, the person opened up a SNAD basically calling me a liar vs. contacting me first to ask me some very basic questions.  Add to this is that I'm finding that things don't sell as well as they did in years past.  It seems that the platform isn't as good for the individual sellers anymore.  I have the luxury of walking away, so I promptly refunded the buyer, pulled down most of my listings and all my jewelry listings.  I'll donate them or melt them down for less hassle.   I have a couple of items that may go on here, but when they're over, I'm done.  For those of you who think it still works for you, great.  I sincerely hope it continues that way for you.  As for me, it's just not worth the trouble.  Good luck to you all!

[chernobly41]

Did you expect any other results from Ebay? It's basically gambling and Ebay as the house always wins. Of course there is no protection. You just need to source it out at other places and take a risk. Ebay is not in it for you, but itself and it's shareholders. 

EBAY DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU 🙂

[kabilab]

I am in a different position than the OP. I ONLY list for sale on e-Bay items I know will be next to impossible to sell, or ones I have been unable to sell, in my store. e-Bay affords me a market that is almost infinitely larger than my tiny outlet. Considering my situation, I grin and bear the many problems attendant with this platform. After all, this IS business!

[whatmorefabric]

I cannot for the life of me figure out why anyone thinks that Ebay is any worse than any of the other sites.

This week I had no problems on ebay.

Etsy- a buyer wanted to return her order because it was not as described.        The refund processed automatically for 105.75 when the label was scanned as delivered.    In the package.....ta da ...one yard of fabric.   

Amazon-  Two buyers claim INR even though it tracking shows delivered.     Had to refund because no signature confirmation.

Ebay is also the easiest site I have as far as customers.   

The grass is not greener elsewhere.