eBay

070953s04s5 · ‎04-14-2016

I have been buying/selling on ebay for several years, until recently i did more buying then selling but decided i wanted to start making some money from home so i started selling. Big mistake.

Selling on ebay has been the worst experience ever, i didn't realize before (because i had only sold occasionally) how unfairly the seller is treated.

Its getting to the point that i don't even want to log on to ebay anymore. Buyers can get away with pretty much anything and the fact that ebay took away the negative feedback system for buyers makes it worse because a buyer can do almost anything they want without worrying about having their public reputation ruined.

I have had buyers claiming they didn't receive their item and even if i have proof of delivery ebay sides with them.

I have had listing where it states i do not accept returns or refunds (because i sell beads there would be no way of knowing if when they were sent back if i would get them all) however if a buyer opens a case or complains they get their money back (to me what is the point of even having the option of not accepting returns because in the end it really doesn't matter)

I have had buyers (what i feel) black mail me by telling me that they received their item and it wasn't what they thought, as i said i sell beads and i have had a couple of buyers say that they didn't get enough beads (even though there are pics of what they get and its in the description) so they decide to tell me that i either send more or they will leave me negative feedback. So basically saying send me free stuff on top of what i bought or i will ruin your reputation.

I have had buyers say they weren't satisfied with their item and when i offer a refund after the item is returned i hear things like well never mind then i don't want to go through the trouble of returning it i will just leave negative feedback instead. So again basically saying give me a free item or i will ruin your reputation or the ones who purchase something and don't even pay at all.

I am thinking if these buyers had to worry about getting negative feedback maybe they would think twice about doing these things.

I know that out of the the almost 100 items i have sold this had only happened about 5 times but still i don't feel it is right that i can be blackmailed and there is nothing i can do about it.

Sellers fees etc are what keep ebay going but yet we are treated like **bleep**

After all my buyers have received their items and everything is done i won't be selling on ebay anymore until things change greatly. I am taking my selling to another site.

femmefan1946 · ‎04-14-2016

I have had buyers claiming they didn't receive their item and even if i have proof of delivery ebay sides with them.

Did you have Proof of Delivery or proof of shipping? Only the former is accepted.

BTW, given the high cost of 'tracking' services from Canada Post, you may find it cheaper to go with Cookie Jar Insurance, which is a form of self insurance.

You add a few pennies to your asking or shippingprice as a premium against disputes. When you get a complaint, you pay out of the Cookie Jar of virtual pennies. No questions asked, no time (at 17cents a minute minimum wage) wasted.

(to me what is the point of even having the option of not accepting returns because in the end it really doesn't matter)

Yup.

And it is turning off honest but cautious customers while scammers know this is unenforceable.

If you take Paypal you make refunds. And refunds are not returns.

buyers say that they didn't get enough beads

And they may be right. Do you sell by number or by weight?

This is where the 'Return for full refund" comes in. If the buyer has to go to the trouble of repacking, stamping, and getting the beads to the PO box, it may be enough to discourage the claim.

If it's good enough to keep, it's good enough to pay for.

Ir you could PP them the value of the 'missing' beads. Fifteen cents? Fifteen dollars?

i hear things like well never mind then i don't want to go through the trouble of returning it i will just leave negative feedback instead.

You do know that such FB can be removed because of the threat, right?

Stand your ground with these scammers.

I am thinking if these buyers had to worry about getting negative feedback maybe they would think twice about doing these things.

Doubtful.

Who do you think reads feedback?

Only your future customers. And leaving a lot of negatives is a very good way to lose honest customers who don't want to deal with cranky sellers.

There are two types of negative feedback.

From unhappy honest buyers, with real problems.

From scammers, who are trying to manipulate you.

Scammers try not to leave FB because eBay can trace it back to them. Buyers have had their accounts suspended because of too many disputes.

I notice that a lot of your sales were made by Best Offer Accepted. I'm not a fan of Best Offer, and I wonder if having that as an option is telling actual scammers that you are easily manipulated?

You should also go to you Seller Preferences and open an automatic Block against bidders with Strikes for non-payment. This wasn't mentioned as a problem so far, but I suspect that deadbeats with Strikes have other bad behaviours.

I don't know if a 5% complaint rate is high or low in your category. Perhaps you should ask on the dotCOM Board where there are many more posters with more knowledge of your shared field.

ypdc_dennis · ‎04-14-2016

@070953s04s5 wrote:
...
I have had listing where it states i do not accept returns or refunds (because i sell beads there would be no way of knowing if when they were sent back if i would get them all) however if a buyer opens a case or complains they get their money back (to me what is the point of even having the option of not accepting returns because in the end it really doesn't matter)

I have had buyers (what i feel) black mail me by telling me that they received their item and it wasn't what they thought, as i said i sell beads and i have had a couple of buyers say that they didn't get enough beads (even though there are pics of what they get and its in the description) so they decide to tell me that i either send more or they will leave me negative feedback. So basically saying send me free stuff on top of what i bought or i will ruin your reputation.

I have had buyers say they weren't satisfied with their item and when i offer a refund after the item is returned i hear things like well never mind then i don't want to go through the trouble of returning it i will just leave negative feedback instead. So again basically saying give me a free item or i will ruin your reputation or the ones who purchase something and don't even pay at all.

I looked at some of your listings and I can see where some of your unhappy buyers come from. They are the ones that don't read your description text and assume that the pictures you have posted for the listing will be what they get.

It's a really bad idea to post images of product that you are not actually selling unless you indicate right on the photo that it is a sample image. Putting "The pictures are of other lots i have but gives an idea of what kinds of beads you will receive." in the text is not good enough.

Also put the quantity that you are selling right up front in the title. Don't bury it in your text description, especially when some of your images show more quantity than what the listing is selling.

-..-

hlmacdon · ‎04-14-2016

@ypdc_dennis wrote:

I looked at some of your listings and I can see where some of your unhappy buyers come from. They are the ones that don't read your description text and assume that the pictures you have posted for the listing will be what they get.

It's a really bad idea to post images of product that you are not actually selling unless you indicate right on the photo that it is a sample image. Putting "The pictures are of other lots i have but gives an idea of what kinds of beads you will receive." in the text is not good enough.

Also put the quantity that you are selling right up front in the title. Don't bury it in your text description, especially when some of your images show more quantity than what the listing is selling.

-..-

Expanding on the excellent points above, you are also leaving yourself vulnerable for return fraud by not detailing and picturing exactly what the buyer will get. If you sell on ebay, you essentially have to accept returns, so add returns to your listings and revise listings to detail (your polymer clay supply lot is a good example of this done right) and photograph exactly what will be received.

When you have this sorted out you will be in a better position to address buyer complaints of a similar nature. That ambiguity in the listing would likely lead a CS rep looking at a claim to side with the buyer. Should you receive complaints of a similar nature you will be in a much better position to win any claims as well as getting any feedback removed. Ebay takes feedback extortion seriously when you call in to report it, but only if your own house is in order.

femmefan1946 · ‎04-14-2016

I was thinking about those pictures.

Since they are samples, not the actual items that will be shipped, maybe make a picture of the beads in an untidy heap, or piled on a scale showing the weight?

Mind you, if you are anything like my SIL, that would be practically impossible for you. She claims she is CDO, because OCD is not in proper alphabetical order.