Does eBay realise that their money back policy is great for thieves?

I've sold hundreds of items on ebay, never a problem until a buyer from KAZAKASTAN.  I should have known from the start.

 

But, the buyer had about 20 feedback, all sounding good.  I mailed the $85 item through paypal mailing.  Tracking would have been nearly $70 so that was out of the question, I couldn't compete with other sellers at that rate.

 

I sent it, after about 4-5 weeks, he complained to eBay, and because he didn't use tracking or pay for it, I lost all $107.  

 

Now the guy messages me through facebook with a smiley face and message, 'thanks for free game!"

 

Thanks eBay, you're making it totally impossible to sell to foreign countries.  Tracking from Canada to anywhere other than Canada is outrageously expensive and is not an option unless the item is in the hundreds of dollars (and even than, not a great option for the buyer).  eBay is killing the eBay experience and making thieves very , very happy to get free stuff.

 

 

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Does eBay realise that their money back policy is great for thieves?

Kazakhstan has been very good to me.
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Does eBay realise that their money back policy is great for thieves?

"Thanks eBay,"

 

Do not thank eBay as they have nothing to do with it.

 

You could have sold that item to the same buyer using an advertisement in a magazine, through your own website, or another online venue such as Amazon... all with the same results.

 

The venue used by a seller to advertise a product has little to do with the protection offered buyers - worldwide - by credit card issuers (banks) or processors or third parties such as PayPal. 

 

Selling online does involve risks and there is little one can do to eliminate them totally. That loss should be considered a "cost of doing business".

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Does eBay realise that their money back policy is great for thieves?

73rhc
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Did you call eBay after the FB post? It might time to put a few countries on your excluded list!!!

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Does eBay realise that their money back policy is great for thieves?

"Thanks eBay, you're making it totally impossible to sell to foreign countries.  Tracking from Canada to anywhere other than Canada is outrageously expensive and is not an option unless the item is in the hundreds of dollars (and even than, not a great option for the buyer).  eBay is killing the eBay experience and making thieves very , very happy to get free stuff."

 

Ebay doesn't make it impossible to sell to foreign countries, on the contrary, it makes it easier. Thieves? Thieves are everywhere. Its no ones responsibility other than yourself to protect your interest . If you send items to countries that can be deemed questionable then I would either protect my self with tracking or roll the dice and hope all will be fine.

 

There are certain countries I refuse to ship to. Tracking for me is always. If my buyer doesnt want to pay for it , I dont sell it.

 

Thats just the way I do it.

 

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Does eBay realise that their money back policy is great for thieves?

Seems logical not to ship any item not willing to take a loss, use tracking or your on your own, not a Ebay fault.You took a gamble and lost a cheap lesson.
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Does eBay realise that their money back policy is great for thieves?

I had a similar incident with a lady from Italy.  First she asked that I falsify Customs Declaration.  I refused.  When she got the  item, she was mad at how much duty/taxes she had to pay and wrote, "God tells me you owe me a big discount".  When I refused, she claimed, "item not received".  She got her money back because I could not provide tracking.  She then thanked me for  the free tiara. All this went through eBay's Messaging Service.   I complained to eBay.  I was a Gold Power seller at the time and had an account manager.  I discussed the case with her and she promised to take it up with Trust and Safety.  Nothing changed.  Purchaser also left negative feedback with a comment in Italian.  I had it translated and it was vulgar.  She  called me a diseased &%#@.  It was removed but nothing else was done to her.

 

The item was a $200 tiara.  Why did I not have tracking?  Because it cost $75.  Of course, I could not charge that much without getting into trouble with eBay, so I took a chance and shipped with Small Packet at $15, including $100 insurance.  Had I sent it with  tracking, I would have had $200 + $15 - $75 = $140.  If it got lost, then Canada Post was going to  reimburse me $115.  So I took the risk, hoping to keep the whole $200.  Of course, as it was, I did not file a claim with Canada Post because I  knew it was not "lost" so I lost $215.  Would I do  it different?  No.

 

I sold here for a 13 years.  I went through a lot.  The first 3 years I sold items under $10 and it was very uneventful.  No problems.

The last 10 years, I sold big ticket items and I could write a book on both buyers and management.

 

 Now I am taking an extended "vacation" of eBay/PayPal watching.  Mr.Elmwood has stated several times that eBay is important to us but we are not important to eBay.  I agreed with him and could not understand why it was like that.  But now I see different.

 

We are very important to eBay.  We have made them a successful on-line store and they didn't even have to buy inventory.  We came with inventory and they are scooping off larger profits than most department stores make.  We also pay them for the honor.  

 

They have devised all kinds of games for us, and we have all played with the hope of winning coveted titles and ratings that would put us on top of selling.  But the brass ring is always out of our grasp and the merry-go-round keeps turning, and the price gets bigger with each turn.  Those that cannot play the game get thrown off, putting the rest in fear of loosing.  We have become third world servants.

 

 

 

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Does eBay realise that their money back policy is great for thieves?

I just got nailed also for an item not received from Kazakhstan and sent a full refund to the buyer and lost $105.00, I have never done good with this country and now they are also on my blocked list.

 

I used to have lots of buyers in Germany, however since last summer according to the Canada Post the German customs are opening most parcels coming in and delaying deliveries, almost every order sent this summer in Germany I had buyers contacting me for their orders and they were all delayed and all arrived with the parcel showing signs of being open, so now Germany is on my blocked list and my status in Germany has taken a big hit I am  below standard.

 

I always done ok shipping without tracking overseas however with ebay changes  I cannot afford to do it anymore and I will have to keep blocking countries until we can get decent shipping cost with tracking.

 

 

Message 8 of 11
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Does eBay realise that their money back policy is great for thieves?

You might just end up with every country on your list.  England, Australia and USA were always great to deal with, I never worried about them.    Not anymore!  Not only did they get my goods for free, they even left negative feedback.

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Does eBay realise that their money back policy is great for thieves?

Thanks for sharing your story. It helps balance the ebay-apologists' "suck it up, buttercup" philosophy.

Maybe it gets tiring hearing newbies exaggerate ebay's flaws, but there are still huge flaws, probably biggest of all the mindless, willfully blind approach they often seem to take when dealing with obvious scam disputes.
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Does eBay realise that their money back policy is great for thieves?

I think you are right I will soon have every other country block on my list.  Today I had to refund a buyer in the UK for an item not receive 3 weeks after I sent their parcel, their excuse was that they are moving away this week and cannot wait for their parcel to arrive. I am not shipping without tracking anymore I am changing all my listings to shipping with tracking, that will likely kill all of my sales overseas but this is what Ebay wants.

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