eBay

blastodial · ‎06-24-2016

It would be so easy to nail Ebay with a charge of aiding and abetting fraud it is surprising that nobody has thought of it. Ebay brags about how "important" the Ebay community is yet they put up so many road blocks that make it impossible. Now they have blocked any means of a buyer getting the sellers info unless payment has been received. Such stupidity on the part of Ebay, particularly since quite often the posted shipping costs, which are determined by Ebay are always too high, thus forcing an HONEST seller to refund the excess. Not every buyer has or uses paypal which is another can of worms..

It would be nice to see Ebay return to what it was about 5 years ago. Today it needs competition badly. Only then will they smarten up and even that is doubtful!!!

aubreyclay56 · ‎06-24-2016

@blastodial wrote:
It would be so easy to nail Ebay with a charge of aiding and abetting fraud it is surprising that nobody has thought of it. Ebay brags about how "important" the Ebay community is yet they put up so many road blocks that make it impossible. Now they have blocked any means of a buyer getting the sellers info unless payment has been received. Such stupidity on the part of Ebay, particularly since quite often the posted shipping costs, which are determined by Ebay are always too high, thus forcing an HONEST seller to refund the excess. Not every buyer has or uses paypal which is another can of worms..

It would be nice to see Ebay return to what it was about 5 years ago. Today it needs competition badly. Only then will they smarten up and even that is doubtful!!!
you can contact the buyer and ask what there shipping address is but you cant exchange email information,i never use anything but paypal no worries that way either,as im sure most sellers do use paypal and if you like you can except any form of payment you would like,credit cards bank check mailed to you but not sure that is a good idea although i done that once,and for shipping costs i always use a guestimate after a few yrs you now exactly how much to charge just by the weight and location,just the way i roll

femmefan1946 · ‎06-25-2016

Now they have blocked any means of a buyer getting the sellers info unless payment has been received.

This is a personal security thing. Until the buyer has completed his part of the transaction, there is no relationship that requires personal information.

Also it is there to protect eBay from losing fees if the members decide to complete 'off-eBay' .

There is a Contact Seller/Buyer link to eBay Messages on every listing.

Before the purchase there is a Ask Seller a Question option on every listing, at the bottom of the page.

particularly since quite often the posted shipping costs, which are determined by Ebay are always too high,

Shipping costs are determined by the seller not by eBay.

Shipping is based on the service, the dimensions and weight of the parcel, distance, packaging costs, insurance costs, and whether or not the shipment is tracked.

If the advertised shipping seems to high, a customer can ask the seller for a personal quote to his postal code BEFORE bidding. Some sellers will not comply or will tell the customer that the quoted price is accurate, especially if the seller used Calculated Shipping.

thus forcing an HONEST seller to refund the excess.

I've done that when I overestimated Flat Rate shipping. It's not a big deal.

Not every buyer has or uses paypal which is another can of worms..

EBay now allows new (or Guest) buyers to pay directly with a credit card.

This reduced Buyer Protection but may be easier for newbies.

While sellers cannot demand anything but electronic payment (PP is the main one, but eBay does recognize a few others), eBay does allow buyers to waive the protection of using electronic payment and offer to pay by cheque, money order or bank transfer.

Most sellers will not accept such offers, but they are not forbidden to do so.

PP and it's predecessor BidPay have been around since 2003. I was selling then, and welcomed them as a faster and more reliable way of getting paid. No more bounced cheques or counterfeit MOs!