Received a warning for cancelling my item

[fortyfive2life]

I had an item listed for sale, and didn't have much interest after a couple weeks (1 offer, but it was too low).  So I pulled the listing tonight, and immediately received a warning email from Ebay about selling outside of Ebay.

I'm not selling outside of Ebay, and I have no intention to.  In fact, I get offers to do so and always turn them down; I won't even ship to an address that is not the verified PayPal address, and I always require a signature. 

Most of the few items I sell are pretty expensive, and I don't take the risk.  But it's a little ridiculous that as soon as I cancel an item, Ebay decides I'm selling off the site and warns me.  The email says "at this time, no restrictions are being placed on your account".  Fantastic.  So if I list another item and in a couple weeks decide to cancel it, will it be different?

I really wish there was a good alternative to Ebay.  I've sold thousands of dollars worth of items just as most of you have, and Ebay has profited greatly from it.  I appreciate the opportunity to reach a lot of potential buyers, but not the strong-arm tactics.

Thanks for letting me vent.  First world problems right?

[kattinsanity]

How many sellers get an offer, decline it and then sell to that same person & cancel the listing saying "there was no interest for the item"  (getting the offer CLEARLY was "interest" in the item & shouldn't have caused the OP to cancel it for "lack of")?  I bet there are LOTS of them especially when the FVF will be in excess of 150 bucks.  Also the buyer has no buyer protection so all the better for the seller.

The OP has done this before and gotten away with it~~this time ebay is questioning his actions.

[lookng2015]

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@kattinsanity wrote:

How many sellers get an offer, decline it and then sell to that same person & cancel the listing saying "there was no interest for the item"  (getting the offer CLEARLY was "interest" in the item & shouldn't have caused the OP to cancel it for "lack of")?  I bet there are LOTS of them especially when the FVF will be in excess of 150 bucks.  Also the buyer has no buyer protection so all the better for the seller.

The OP has done this before and gotten away with it~~this time ebay is questioning his actions.

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Lot of accusations you're throwing around there. Where's your proof?

[myangelandmyprincess]

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@kattinsanity wrote:

How many sellers get an offer, decline it and then sell to that same person & cancel the listing saying "there was no interest for the item"  (getting the offer CLEARLY was "interest" in the item & shouldn't have caused the OP to cancel it for "lack of")?  I bet there are LOTS of them especially when the FVF will be in excess of 150 bucks.  Also the buyer has no buyer protection so all the better for the seller.

The OP has done this before and gotten away with it~~this time ebay is questioning his actions.

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An offer is not an obligation it can be declined.  Op is cancelling for no longer available.  There are no fees for cancelling just because you declined an offer that wasn't good enough at some point 

[sharingtheland]

This is all I could find in Policies (and it took forever for the opening page to load).  This reads like a suggestion, not a rule.   And note that it refers to "auction-style listing before jumping willy nilly to GTC listings.

Manage your inventory carefully. If you aren't able to complete a transaction because the item is no longer available, it may affect your seller performance. If you have only one or a small number of an item to sell, don't list the item for sale elsewhere. That way, you won't have to end an auction-style listing early because you no longer have the inventory. If you're selling multiple quantities in a fixed price Good 'Til Cancelled listing, consider using the out-of-stock option to allow you to keep your listing active when you run out of stock.

[thatsallfolks]

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@sharingtheland wrote:

This is all I could find in Policies (and it took forever for the opening page to load).  This reads like a suggestion, not a rule.   And note that it refers to "auction-style listing before jumping willy nilly to GTC listings.

Manage your inventory carefully. If you aren't able to complete a transaction because the item is no longer available, it may affect your seller performance. If you have only one or a small number of an item to sell, don't list the item for sale elsewhere. That way, you won't have to end an auction-style listing early because you no longer have the inventory. If you're selling multiple quantities in a fixed price Good 'Til Cancelled listing, consider using the out-of-stock option to allow you to keep your listing active when you run out of stock.

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That policy refers to not being able to complete a transaction. There was no transaction here, because the offer wasn't accepted.

[thatsallfolks]

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@kattinsanity wrote:

The OP has done this before and gotten away with it~~this time ebay is questioning his actions.

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Where are you getting this? And why aren't you responding to the requests for a link to policy? Can't find it?

[lacemaker3]

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@ersatz_sobriquet wrote:

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@thatsallfolks wrote:

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@*eponymous* wrote:

Maybe not nothing since eBay policy changed recently. eBay can decide a seller took a transaction off eBay and charge fvf.

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Do you have a link to the announcement where eBay states they can/will charge FVF if they THINK you did an off-site sale?

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Yes. I too am very interested in where ebay thinks they can charge fees on a sale that could very well have never happened. 

Highly unusual types of claims show up now and then on threads without any announcement nor change to the agreement, but sometimes they have indeed occurred. So proof is needed to be cited the source of such claims. 

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I believe this is what *eponymous* was referring to. When s/he brought this up, I checked and found that the text starting from what I highlighted in red, down to and including the two bullet points, was added sometime in July, 2017.

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Final value fees

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/insertion-fee.html#fvf

If the item sells, you're charged a final value fee calculated on the total amount of the sale and a­­re charged per item. In this case, the "total amount of the sale" is the final price of the item, shipping charges, and any other amounts you may charge the buyer. Sales tax is not included.

Even if the item does not sell, you’re charged a final value fee if you offer or reference your contact information or ask a buyer for their contact information in the context of buying or selling outside of eBay. In this case, the final value fee is calculated on the "total amount of the sale" determined as follows:

• If the item was listed in auction-style format, then the "total amount of the sale" is the auction start price, the Buy It Now price (if applicable), or the price identified between the buyer and seller, whichever is highest.
  
  

• If the item was listed in a fixed price format, then the "total amount of the sale" is the fixed price or the price identified between the buyer and seller, whichever is higher.
  
  

The same text is also in this link:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/fees.html

[missjen831]

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@sharingtheland wrote:

So, the moral of the story is never use "item is no longer available for sale" when ending a listing?

What team group of a division of a department in ebay found that off-ebay sales were creating a huge impact on ebay's bottom line?   I'd say, to ebay, that it's just the cost of doing business.

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I think someone on the team is suffering from paranoia. Or another associated disorder that won't be mentioned. 

[thatsallfolks]

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@lacemaker3 wrote:

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@ersatz_sobriquet wrote:

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@thatsallfolks wrote:

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@*eponymous* wrote:

Maybe not nothing since eBay policy changed recently. eBay can decide a seller took a transaction off eBay and charge fvf.

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Do you have a link to the announcement where eBay states they can/will charge FVF if they THINK you did an off-site sale?

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Yes. I too am very interested in where ebay thinks they can charge fees on a sale that could very well have never happened. 

Highly unusual types of claims show up now and then on threads without any announcement nor change to the agreement, but sometimes they have indeed occurred. So proof is needed to be cited the source of such claims. 

---

I believe this is what *eponymous* was referring to. When s/he brought this up, I checked and found that the text starting from what I highlighted in red, down to and including the two bullet points, was added sometime in July, 2017.

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Final value fees

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/insertion-fee.html#fvf

If the item sells, you're charged a final value fee calculated on the total amount of the sale and a­­re charged per item. In this case, the "total amount of the sale" is the final price of the item, shipping charges, and any other amounts you may charge the buyer. Sales tax is not included.

Even if the item does not sell, you’re charged a final value fee if you offer or reference your contact information or ask a buyer for their contact information in the context of buying or selling outside of eBay. In this case, the final value fee is calculated on the "total amount of the sale" determined as follows:

• If the item was listed in auction-style format, then the "total amount of the sale" is the auction start price, the Buy It Now price (if applicable), or the price identified between the buyer and seller, whichever is highest.
  
  

• If the item was listed in a fixed price format, then the "total amount of the sale" is the fixed price or the price identified between the buyer and seller, whichever is higher.
  
  

The same text is also in this link:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/fees.html

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Thank you for doing their job for them. 😉

[dakotasmoke]

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@kattinsanity wrote:

How many sellers get an offer, decline it and then sell to that same person & cancel the listing saying "there was no interest for the item"  (getting the offer CLEARLY was "interest" in the item & shouldn't have caused the OP to cancel it for "lack of")?  I bet there are LOTS of them especially when the FVF will be in excess of 150 bucks.  Also the buyer has no buyer protection so all the better for the seller.

The OP has done this before and gotten away with it~~this time ebay is questioning his actions.

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are we looking at the same account? I only see one item in the Op's completed listings...

[ersatz_sobriquet]

Bottom line is, end your listing if you so choose, and don't let the bots frighten you. 

If you're using ebay to do off ebay sales, you already know you could get caught through the messaging system. The rest of us that aren't breaking this rule need not be alarmed by these bot messages nor intimidated not to end our listings if that is our choice. It is still our item, we own it, not ebay, and bottom line is we get to decide what happens to that item. 

As for auctions with a bid, I believe even those can be cancelled as long as it is not within 12 or 24 hours, I don't remember which. 

[d-k_treasures]

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@ersatz_sobriquet wrote:

Bottom line is, end your listing if you so choose, and don't let the bots frighten you. 

If you're using ebay to do off ebay sales, you already know you could get caught through the messaging system. The rest of us that aren't breaking this rule need not be alarmed by these bot messages nor intimidated not to end our listings if that is our choice. It is still our item, we own it, not ebay, and bottom line is we get to decide what happens to that item. 

As for auctions with a bid, I believe even those can be cancelled as long as it is not within 12 or 24 hours, I don't remember which. 

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Actually, the bottom line is that ebay can charge you a FVF without any proof  at all  of wrongdoing.

[fortyfive2life]

Thank you all for the input so far, both positive and accusatory.  I can't keep up with the responses at the moment but I will post my final thoughts tonight.  

The bottom line is yes I have posted things before and yes I have ended them early, but I am not using eBay to find sales outside of eBay. The items I sell every now and then are usually expensive and I have been ripped off before so eBay is a nice protection through PayPal because I can ship to a verified buyer and be covered.

[*eponymous*]

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@ersatz_sobriquet wrote:

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@thatsallfolks wrote:

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@*eponymous* wrote:

Maybe not nothing since eBay policy changed recently. eBay can decide a seller took a transaction off eBay and charge fvf.

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Do you have a link to the announcement where eBay states they can/will charge FVF if they THINK you did an off-site sale?

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Yes. I too am very interested in where ebay thinks they can charge fees on a sale that could very well have never happened. 

Highly unusual types of claims show up now and then on threads without any announcement nor change to the agreement, but sometimes they have indeed occurred. So proof is needed to be cited the source of such claims. 

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@ersatz_sobriquet

Although I am perfectly capable of posting the info that I found, Lacemaker has copied the info I posted  in a thread  for the community team, as well as on this thread when I first found this policy revision. http://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Final-Value-Fee-refund-question/m-p/27278258#M1012851

Is that proof enough?

[the_fancy_fox]

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@kattinsanity wrote:

Just last month I ended over 100 listings due to a family emergency.  I never heard a peep out of ebay for having done it.  When things settled down I just relisted a bunch of them~~not all.  If you only want to change the duration to 30 days instead of good til cancelled you should be able to just end the listing and relist it changing the duration time. 

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All I wanted was to put the items on deep discount and let them end after a month. To end and relist would be a PITA due to having to rework the listing to comply with all the changes eBay has made recently (I use sixbit and the changes were done direct on eBay) It wouldn't be worth my time. Unlike the OP, these have been listed for 16 months or more. Well if I get a nasty gram from eBay I will post on it.