eBay

fortyfive2life · ‎09-13-2017

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?

emerald40 · ‎09-14-2017

@southern*sweet*tea wrote:
@emerald40 wrote:
Have you had any recent interest in it from a buyer - bids, emails.

Are you in a habit of doing it?

If not, then imo you will be fine.
No...but it still freaks me out. It's like Ebay is becoming a virtual stalker....

Unfortunately when ebay was more on the honor system, some took advantage of it.

Same as if you have a B&M store and a couple of employees are caught stealing. So if you want to protect yourself you install cameras where everyone is now

watched.

fortyfive2life · ‎09-14-2017

kattinsanity wrote:
You do see one completed listing BUT it was ended as no longer available~~a 3 grand item. On 6/19 he sold an item for best offer on the $1550.00 item, relisted it and ended the listing on 6/26 as no longer available. Why would he take the listing down after only a week for lack of interest when he just sold one the week before?

Read on a little after your post #40~~the OP admits to having done this in the past.

Exactly. And if he is so skiitish, why would he keep relisting high $$$ items here.

While I wouldn't normally feel the need to explain anything about what I list and why I might end it early, I posted the original thread so I'll answer that question. I sold a fiber termination kit for $1550. We had a few extra kits, and I then listed another kit shortly after that because again I had purchased a few of them. Shortly after I listed it, I had a large project come up and decided I might need that kit as a spare, so I pulled the listing. I would be losing money if I sold it and had to buy a new one, so that's why I pulled it. Again you guys keep accusing me of something I'm not doing. If I wanted to hide, I wouldn't be here highlighting all this.

In your last sentence you are equating the last item I had listed (a Fluke FiberInspector) with what you claim is something that I had just sold the week before. I hadn't sold anything the week before I listed the FiberInspector; the last thing I think I sold was the fiber termination kit. The kit is valued at around $1700, the FiberInspector at around $3400; they are not even close to the same thing.

I purchased the FiberInspector to use with my Fluke DSX-5000; I then decided several months later that I needed a different attachment more urgently (copper modules) and so put the FiberInspector up for sale. The offer I received (again, through Ebay) was for $2400. My bottom line was $2900, so I let the buyer know that through Ebay's email system. He then offered again at $2700, and I never responded.

Shortly after I ended the listing; you don't know much about this equipment, but not everyone and their brother needs or can afford these. I just saw this was not going to move quickly, and so ended the auction.

Can I see where Ebay might be suspicous? Absolutely. But the email warning caught me by surprise, and I was upset by the statement that they could charge me FVF on the item.

I won't be responding anymore to the thread. Again I appreciate the discussion; you'll have to believe what you want, most of us make up our minds and don't change them no matter what. To date I've sold over $64,000 worth of items through Ebay which I feel is a lot considering I'm not a store or anything, just a long-time user who puts things on here from time to time.

Thanks for the opinions guys, good luck with your future sales and in dealing with Ebay.

kattinsanity · ‎09-14-2017

So--You had the item listed at just short of 3 grand. You turned down the offer of 25 hundred. The buyer came back at 27 hundred & you DID NOT RESPOND to that offer and ENDED THE LISTING SHORTLY AFTER. THAT is where ebay sees you may have sold it for 27 hundred.

Ebay policy is that if you make a habit of ending fixed price listings your account can be restricted. That's why you got the warning that there are no restrictions on your account YET but saying more or less~~"keep up the habit and there will be". You are on ebays radar now.

katiecamelfoot · ‎09-14-2017

@kattinsanity wrote:
So--You had the item listed at just short of 3 grand. You turned down the offer of 25 hundred. The buyer came back at 27 hundred & you DID NOT RESPOND to that offer and ENDED THE LISTING SHORTLY AFTER. THAT is where ebay sees you may have sold it for 27 hundred.

Ebay policy is that if you make a habit of ending fixed price listings your account can be restricted. That's why you got the warning that there are no restrictions on your account YET but saying more or less~~"keep up the habit and there will be". You are on ebays radar now.

Why are you always so mean and nasty with people? Seriously, you've done nothing but berrate this OP from the get go.

As for his issue, Im sorry, but ebay doesnt own HIS items, and he can pull them down as he pleases. I think ebay would have a hard time defending this one in court. Its actually laughable, its like putting some one in prison for SUSPICION of the crime and never being able to prove they commited the crime.

@fortyfive2lifeDont let the nasties in the thread get you down, most are so brain washed by ebay they believe ebay owns them and would charge them fees if they ever stopped cheerleading

sharingtheland · ‎09-14-2017

@thatsallfolks wrote:
@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.

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

Here is where I found that ^^^ paragraph:

Managing Your Selling Activity

- Ending a listing early

- Reasons for ending a listing early

- Requirements

- Fees

- How to end a listing early

- Tips to avoid ending your listing early

- Manage your inventory carefully

- Requirements

- Fees

Sherry

=^.^= =^.^=
( ) ( )
" " =^.^= " "

sharingtheland · ‎09-14-2017

Ebay policy is that if you make a habit of ending fixed price listings your account can be restricted.

Link ??

Does it define "habit" ?

Sherry

=^.^= =^.^=
( ) ( )
" " =^.^= " "

aeamc-tx · ‎09-14-2017

It is also against ebay policy to have an item listed on ebay while you have it available for sale somewhere else

Where do you come up with this? I've never seen anything close to this. They know people are selling on other sites, their own sites, in B&M shops. They also know people would be stupid to rely completely on them for their livelihood until they so dominate the market that no other site makes sense.

Amazon wants the same thing....and they also know that this isn't how the world works.

Please post the policy so I can read it. Thanks!!

dakotasmoke · ‎09-14-2017

@aeamc-tx wrote:
It is also against ebay policy to have an item listed on ebay while you have it available for sale somewhere else

Where do you come up with this? I've never seen anything close to this. They know people are selling on other sites, their own sites, in B&M shops. They also know people would be stupid to rely completely on them for their livelihood until they so dominate the market that no other site makes sense.

Amazon wants the same thing....and they also know that this isn't how the world works.

Please post the policy so I can read it. Thanks!!

all I can find is this

Not allowed

Including conflicting product information in a listing, such as saying you have a 16G MP3 player in your title, but 8G in the description.
Including comments that discourage buyers from buying on eBay, or that could make them lose trust in eBay sellers and eBay.com. For example, we don't allow statements like "eBay holds me to a standard well above 4 stars. 4 stars will get me suspended, so please only leave 5 stars."
Including our PowerSeller, Top Rated Seller, or Top Rated Plus icons or similar logos and expressions. We'll automatically add these to listings if you are eligible.
Including terms such as "top rated seller," "top rated plus," "top seller," "trusted seller," or other similar terms in your listings, About Me pages, profile pages, or Store pages. (If you're a Top Rated Seller and your listings qualify for Top Rated Plus, a prominent Top Rated Plus seal will appear in your listings.)
Listing an item and stating that it may be out of stock at the time of purchase.
Listing an item and stating that you're simultaneously selling it outside of eBay.
Listing an item and stating the item listed may not be the one that the winning bidder receives upon auction completion.
Listing an item and stating that you reserve the right to cancel a buyer's bid at any time.
Listings that contain inappropriate or offensive opinions or comments about other eBay members.
Listings that contain political views, public service announcements, or other content that does not relate to the sale of an item.

aeamc-tx · ‎09-14-2017

Thanks. That makes perfect sense to me, and I don't blame them for that. All I see them trying to do is stop sellers from using them to advertise other sites. If I were in their shoes, I'd do the same thing.

dakotasmoke · ‎09-14-2017

Im still looking to see if I can find it elsewhere. I would swear it was a rule a few years ago that you cant list on two sites at once but maybe they removed it since it would take a ton of man power to search every site to see if a seller was selling elsewhere.

rixstuff · ‎09-14-2017

@voodoorada wrote:
And I understand the reason for the email, it's just the tone and inference that I'm probably guilty of breaking their rules; if the email just said "hey, please be aware that cancelling to sell outside of ebay is against our policies and here's why" (because it's dangerous for the seller, but also because we want our cut) then I'd appreciate it more.

Right? They just automatically assume misbehaviour. All I think is "Please god let me end this before somebody BUYS the thing I broke this morning" or "Why is that relisted AGAIN? I sold it in July!!"

d-k_treasures · ‎09-14-2017

@southern*sweet*tea wrote:
**general reply**

This is freaking me out a little. I have several books listed that my daughter would like to have. I was going to end the listings and send them to her. Now I'm kind of scared I'll get a nastygram.

Still going to do it - it's MY stuff, after all - but if I do get a nastygram there will be an explosion of nuclear anger the likes of which has rarely been seen around here.

And that is the bottom line.

_____________________________
"Nothing is obvious to the oblivious"

emerald40 · ‎09-14-2017

@katiecamelfoot wrote:
@kattinsanity wrote:
So--You had the item listed at just short of 3 grand. You turned down the offer of 25 hundred. The buyer came back at 27 hundred & you DID NOT RESPOND to that offer and ENDED THE LISTING SHORTLY AFTER. THAT is where ebay sees you may have sold it for 27 hundred.

Ebay policy is that if you make a habit of ending fixed price listings your account can be restricted. That's why you got the warning that there are no restrictions on your account YET but saying more or less~~"keep up the habit and there will be". You are on ebays radar now.
Why are you always so mean and nasty with people? Seriously, you've done nothing but berrate this OP from the get go.

As for his issue, Im sorry, but ebay doesnt own HIS items, and he can pull them down as he pleases. I think ebay would have a hard time defending this one in court. Its actually laughable, its like putting some one in prison for SUSPICION of the crime and never being able to prove they commited the crime.

@fortyfive2lifeDont let the nasties in the thread get you down, most are so brain washed by ebay they believe ebay owns them and would charge them fees if they ever stopped cheerleading

Does this OP want shaking heads or real advice.

Keep telling him he is doing nothing wrong and he should continue as he feels. And you will put him on the fast track to losing his account.

castlemagicmemories · ‎09-14-2017

@aeamc-tx wrote:
It is also against ebay policy to have an item listed on ebay while you have it available for sale somewhere else

Where do you come up with this? I've never seen anything close to this. They know people are selling on other sites, their own sites, in B&M shops. They also know people would be stupid to rely completely on them for their livelihood until they so dominate the market that no other site makes sense.

Amazon wants the same thing....and they also know that this isn't how the world works.

Please post the policy so I can read it. Thanks!!

I know it used to be against Ebay policy to have anything listed here listed elsewhere as well. But I don't know if that is still the policy. I know a lot of sellers list other places, too, but maybe they are ok with taking a chance. I don't know.

castlemagicmemories · ‎09-14-2017

@dakotasmoke

I know it used to be policy years ago that you could not list an item on Ebay and on other sites, too, but I don't know if that has changed or if people just decided to go ahead and do it anyway.