I admit--I am a jewelry junkie. Every so often when I have a few spare minutes I look for jewelry--on auction, ending soonest. I've made some great purchases in the past, but I am super careful--making sure I have my settings turned on, and I also read the listings carefully before each purchase. Even still, I have been burned before--but recently, and especially with all the policy changes for US sellers, the discrepancy between what is allowed to happen to me as am International buyer vs. what I am punished for as a US seller has really got me upset.
I have recently become interested in all the new jewelry that is coming from India--there are a TON of new sellers here from India (or old sellers with new ID's- I don't know). Anyway, between the shill bidding (and it isn't a myth--I have bid on countless things here on eBay and I know how things are supposed to work--and whatever is happening just isn't right--I've never seen anything like it--totally corrupt) the false advertising for "Sterling Silver" which when you read the fine print is actually silver plate (I thought this wasn't allowed) and the worst breach of policy I have ever seen (as described below)--it is a nightmare and a mess.
I recently won a ring from a seller from India with "Free Shipping" and lo and behold when I went to pay they had sent me an invoice with a shipping charge of 6.99! So I called eBay--sure enough the CS confirmed that the ring was sold with free shipping. Of course, customer service did absolutely nothing to help me--so I have to ask the seller to cancel the order for me--but I get a strike. So now I have to call back and have the strike removed--totally unfair and ridiculous. I have been on eBay for 13 years and I have NEVER not paid for an item--I really resent my account getting that strike. What's more--the CSR was very evasive about what kind of correction this seller was going receive, if any--leading me to believe that they were somehow protected. I can't prove that, but it's a feeling I got--she didn't even seem that surprised about it. Shouldn't there be some kind of punishment for making me waste my time having to call CS twice--and also for leaving me totally unsatisfied with my "purchase?" All of their listings still say "Free Shipping." And what about all the other innocent buyers who fall for this scam and either just go ahead and pay, or take a strike when they ask the seller to cancel? Is India the new country to be wary of--and how many buyers will this lose eBay as their trust/confidence is violated? For the life of me--I can't reconcile how making some fast money from China or India garbage is worth losing tons of buyers--buyers that could be lifelong sources of income for eBay. How does this make sense?
I just don't understand why sellers from other countries are given such incredible breaks here. I am not xenophobic, and I purchase frequently from other countries--but how come I can't return an item to China on their dime, but a buyer from ANYWHERE in the world can basically return/steal my item and/or my money (however it works out--I basically lose--right)? And why is eBay enforcing this Global shipping thing by dropping us from Global Top Rated if we don't sell a certain amount to other countries? What am I missing here? Why are US sellers responsible for not only honestly, integrity, and towing the line (OK-fine), but also are forced to take risks that they don't feel comfortable with--like offering Global shipping, dong FREE RETURNS, and paying for every single little mistake out of our own pockets?
Now they won't even support us in regards to false SNADS--it is everywhere here on the boards--and I have experienced it myself recently. Returns have gone through the roof, and buyers are basically being told its OK to lie. And they do--and pretty soon they won't have to lie--they can just be as irresponsible as they want--on OUR dime. They have given buyers a license to steal--from us--the country and sellers that BUILT eBay. Not only that, but we also have to worry about being ripped off by everyone ELSE in the world. No protection for sellers, but also as US buyers we are sorely neglected.
Heck, some sellers are restricted/punished/banned just for having a double listing. When you think about it, it is crazy--when you see thousands of multiple listings from China. Are we just stupid for going along with this? Again, what am I missing here? Shouldn't eBay be concerned with its US sellers and give us some breaks? I am not saying that they should allow US sellers to lie, cheat, steal, shill bid, and break all the rules--not at all--but why do they allow other countries to do so? If I tried half the things that have happened to me as a buyer who shops Internationally--I would have been gone a long time ago.
Instead I am still here, following all the rules, stressing out about getting defects, making sure to ship on time, plugging away and working as hard as I can to describe everything perfectly, yet still dealing with false SNAD returns, living in fear of negative feedback--all the while still trying to maintain some of my dignity, and end the day proud of what I have accomplished. But it is getting harder, to be honest--and I have loved eBay forever--the things I have purchased here, just amazing and eclectic and different and unique and wonderful--but it is getting harder to reconcile the old fuzzy nostalgic feelings with the new, and "improved" eBay. The eBay that seems to care nothing about me as a seller, and could also care less about me as a buyer.
