My Suggestion to make eBay a better place - its Easy

[bish38]

1. Scrap the buyer’s protection.

2. Private and business sellers both pay the same commission on sales, maybe 7.5% and perhaps a small listing fee which would make people think twice about trying to sell rubbish.

3.Limit private sellers number of items at any one time, to perhaps 50. The point being that many ‘privates’ are in reality on a serious business level.

4. Scrap simple delivery for experienced sellers, but still use eBay tracked for everyone.

5. Make allowance for a seller packing and sending very fragile items ( an expensive vase needs double boxing etc… but a pair of jean’s don’t)

6. Do anything to create a positive and level playing field without discrimination and give buyer’s confidence.

Basically an item from a private seller should be presented to a potential buyer the same as one from a business seller.

After all if an item is faulty or not as described buyers have the protection that they need.

[ebooksdiva]

We don’t have private sellers in the US you’re either a buyer or a seller as an individual or business. 

Scrap buyers protection? Not going to happen since eBay is all bout the buyer not the seller. 
Here in the US fvf are around 13.25% for ALL sellers depending on the category.  
New sellers already have selling limits.
Simple delivery what is that? Again we don’t have that here in the US. 
Good luck with getting eBay on board with any of that

[hartungcards]

You lost me at, "Scrap the buyer’s protection."

[whatmorefabric]

Can't scrap buyer protection.     Since ebay takes Credit Cards,  the CC companies require buyer protection.

[jonathanbrightlight]

If you did even some of that, eBay would probably disappear entirely.  Online marketplaces have to be buyer-centric to survive.

[redlinear]

@bish38 
  Number 6 needs to go.
  eBay is already doing everything they can to create a level/equal playing field. 
 They need to let sellers create their own policies and their own reputation.
Feedback rating was an excellent source for determining reputation.  
It no longer is because all sellers are subject to eBay policies. 
It's not easy to distinguish between most cruddy sellers from most good sellers in advance any more.

[kensgiftshop]

If you want all that, why not open your own site so you can make the rules.

[le-5262]

Hurts my feelings a little about the private sellers being limited...

I ain't botherin' nobody

plus

I get the impression I would fall under your rubbish category

...and that kinda hurts.

[short_circuit.lineman61]

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@bish38 wrote:

1. Scrap the buyer’s protection.

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yea, it will be a sellers paradise with no buyers

[dirk12955]

"Scrap buyers protection"   I stopped reading at #1 on the list

I can't think of a single action that would drive away the few buyers we have more thoroughly.

ebay rule #1     The customer (Buyer)  is ALWAYS right

ebay rule #2    When the customer (Buyer) is wrong?    See rule #1

[tobaccocardyahoo]

It is hard to remember any suggested improvements on this forum which have not been presented before, usually repeatedly over the past close to 3 decades.

There is little wonder that Ebay ignores all suggestions.

In the U.S. buyer protections exist because of Federal and State Consumer Protection Laws, written in the days of mail order sales which were high fraud. Credit card regulations and Internet marketplaces enshrine and enhance these protections. In the early days of PayPal they infringed on such protections and were threatened with termination of their ability to take credit cards.

Experienced business people, especially retailers, understand these protections are necessary. Amateurs like the UK private sellers have a steep learning curve. I assume Ebay has business problems in the UK so has reached out heavily to amateurs recently.

[le-5262]

I'm definitely going to agree with you on that point.

I'm really interested in further reasoning as to how #1 is going to make things better.

I've not had a customer even have to reference it in any transaction...

[lacemaker3]

@bish38  is registered in the UK, as a private seller.

So it's pretty clear that they actually meant to say:

"1. Scrap the buyer’s protection fee."

which is a new charge to buyers on eBay UK, rather like a buyer's premium at a traditional auction (but a lot lower, TBH, at about 5%). It's included in the price that buyers see, added on to the private seller's BIN price. So the buyers see the actual price they have to pay.

There have been a lot of changes to the fee structure for private sellers in the UK recently. It's fair to say that a lot of sellers don't like them. But I doubt that eBay will consider changing them back any time soon.

[roccotacodad54]

1. Scrap the buyer’s protection.

6. Do anything to create a positive and level playing field without discrimination and give buyer’s confidence.

Basically an item from a private seller should be presented to a potential buyer the same as one from a business seller.

-->After all if an item is faulty or not as described buyers have the protection that they need.

   Your last line on #6 kind of contradicts #1.

   And if #1 ever became a reality unless you mean a better place is one without buyers (at least this one).......

[redlinear]

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@le-5262 wrote:

I'm definitely going to agree with you on that point.

I'm really interested in further reasoning as to how #1 is going to make things better.

I've not had a customer even have to reference it in any transaction...

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With no "ebay" buyer protection.
Sellers would be responsible for their own shipping, return, refund policies.  Which (among other seller policies) would be a direct reflection of their Reputation (feedback rating).
Instead of buyer being able to return an item without seller approval. The buyer would have to contact the seller in hopes of reaching an agreement.  
If no agreement is reached, bad feedback would be sure to follow (we know this to be true).  Enough of that and buyers move on to Better feedback sellers. 
ALSO, it's a fairly safe assumption that a CC chargeback is coming as well. Which should be taken from the seller if chargeback is successful.