EBAY is a joke...and very unfair to sellers.

I joined EBAY because I thought that when buyers agreed to buy (either BUY IT NOW or winning an auction) that they had to pay. However, this is not the case. The buyer has more rights than I do and it is wrong.

 

Twice now I have been waiting for payment and with no response from the buyer. Since I am new to this I did not know about unpaid claims for the first one so I attempted to have the transaction cancelled. Still no response. I just know that I am not paying a final value fee if I do not get paid. The second one I will put in an unpaid claim but even then there is no consequence to the buyer.

 

I am not listing my items here anymore. There are other sites where I can sell my stuff and it is free. They do not take a percentage of my sale just for selling it. I would be fine with that however, if I actually got paid.

 

EBAY should be more helpful to sellers. When we sell our stuff, you make a profit. Treat us better. I have worked hard to get a great seller rating and it is all for nothing now. I always pay right away, and ship right away. In fact, I have lost money on shipping items to people because I am new at this BUT I still shipped the item. I am so annoyed right now.

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EBAY is a joke...and very unfair to sellers.

The necklace was bought immediately. Not only that but I was offering free shipping so the box cost $2, the shipping (with tracking) $15 and the extra items for free that I put in there totaled $15. I lost money. I got really good feedback so I was fine with it. All I ask is that I get paid if they commit to buy.

 

It was a necklace. It was not gold, silver or expensive. It's a necklace. Obviously the person who bought and loved it is smarter than you. Why waste time describing a necklace (where there are two pictures) for a basic necklace?

 

Don't think for a minute I did not try more detailed listings. BOTH times I got screwed so your opinion is ridiculous. From now on it's Buy It Now and pay immediately. No more getting screwed, no more free shipping.

Message 21 of 65
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EBAY is a joke...and very unfair to sellers.

Its true ! But in your listing to get more traffic maybe add more description. ex. what item is made of ,etc.

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EBAY is a joke...and very unfair to sellers.

There is no excuse for a buyer simply not paying (and not communicating), but there is usually a reason that a transaction goes awry (aside from the deliberate scammers, who are probably far more rare than many sellers believe).  Often the true reason is how the buyer perceives the seller and his/her goods, and how the seller has presented those goods.  There really is a link between the quality of a listing and the quality of the ultimate transaction.

 

In my view, a well crafted, well described, professional-looking listing will attract serious buyers -- and more of them -- and create fewer problems down the line.  With DVDs there isn't much to sell aside from the name of the movie, but selling items involving personal taste, like jewellery, requires a lot more care. 

 

I took a look at the recently sold necklace you had listed, for example.  To properly present this item online I would have included at least 5 or 6 photos (some close-ups of the stones themselves), and 8 or 10 lines of description.  I would also have tried to prop it up against a light-coloured, plain background (such as a white tablecloth), with better lighting (near a window, plus a lamp), in order to create more contrast and highlight the details.  Presented in this way, you may find you can also ask a higher price, which will help to avoid attracting what sellers refer to as "bottom feeder" buyers -- those looking for something for practically nothing, and then either refusing to pay or complaining about quality.

 

I have to say that you are wrong in your conclusion that a piece of costume jewellery like a necklace isn't worth the bother of describing in detail.  It is precisely items like ordinary jewellery that are worth the trouble, partly because there is so much competition in these categories on eBay, and partly because better photos and descriptions will attract the buyers you want. 

 

Promoting an item clearly, accurately and in an interesting way is the biggest part of selling online, where buyers don't have the opportunity of seeing and handling your items. 

 

Please don't take these comments as being criticism just for the sake of being harsh.  I think all of the experienced sellers who replied here can see that you're very close to having eBay restrict you from selling, for the reasons mentioned.  If it's important to you to continue selling to get some cash, you should try to put those suggestions into practise. 

 

I wish you good luck, but you have some work to do to avoid creating the kinds of issues that will only get you into trouble with eBay.

Message 23 of 65
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EBAY is a joke...and very unfair to sellers.

There really is a link between the quality of a listing and the quality of the ultimate transaction.

 

Great point Rose, not that you need any validation. Smiley Happy

 

I was very receptive to Constructive Criticism as a Newbie & replied with a simple " Thanks, I didn't notice that previously. "

 

Did I receive the proper advice, oh yes.

 

Will I continue to receive the proper advice should the need arise, you betcha.

 

After that we have to put those words into action.

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EBAY is a joke...and very unfair to sellers.

There is a lot of classy... classic ... costume jewelry on eBay.... and with good value.

 

A name helps

 

 

Look up Sherman Jewelry  and you will get an eye full.

 

Study the descriptions.... look at the standing of the sellers....  and see which sells more quickly than others.  

 

I have seen some Sherman jewelry sell in the hundreds of dollars....

 

Look at the descriptions  and then ask  which listings give "you" the best view of what is being sold..... including photographs....

 

 

 

I sell books.... and to get the right color... all of my photos are color correct to the same level.....

 

Look at my store  and every gallery photo has the same "tone"

 

Best example of getting it right.

 

Royal Albert val d'Or dinnerware is gold trimmed and creamy white.

 

and look at how many reddish or bluish or greenish tones there are in gallery photos..... Which would you buy

 

There is

 

Sort of acceptable

Reasonably acceptable...  

Acceptable 

Sort of great

Super great  and

Fantabulous....

 

A gallery photo is the first thing a potential buyer sees...  make it glow....

 

 

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EBAY is a joke...and very unfair to sellers.

I find it hard to justify putting too much work into an item which will make very little profit but you see it all the time.

 

It's very common for sellers to spend crazy time editing pictures and packaging items which sell for very little.

 

I've purposely avoided using numbers because the threshold varies / seller, but if it's not going to make a tidy profit why spend time on it?

 

 

 

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EBAY is a joke...and very unfair to sellers.


@i*m-still-here wrote:

I find it hard to justify putting too much work into an item which will make very little profit but you see it all the time.

 

It's very common for sellers to spend crazy time editing pictures and packaging items which sell for very little.

 

I've purposely avoided using numbers because the threshold varies / seller, but if it's not going to make a tidy profit why spend time on it?

 

 

 


Had some spare time to devote to a cheap item the other day. A good hour searching part numbers, figuring out what the part was. Did the listing for $9.99 US plus shipping. I figured it would it unsold for a year. Sold in 36 hours.

 

Worth it or not? Time VS money, not at all. Learning experience on how to search a particular style and application of part number? Invaluable.

 

If one never searches, one never learns. I have found ways of "value adding" cheap widgets that then make them worthwhile. If I never sold the cheap widget in the first place, I would not have had the learning experience that pays off with greater profit on other widgets.

 

Everyone's experience is different.

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Message 27 of 65
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EBAY is a joke...and very unfair to sellers.

I think all of the experienced sellers who replied here can see that you're very close to having eBay restrict you from selling, for the reasons mentioned.

 

What are you talking about? You can't restrict someone from selling for no reason. I ship my products within one day and they are in excellent condition.

 

EBAY: Give more detailed descriptions or you can't sell.

 

Does that sound reasonable to you? What isn't reasonable is all these buyers who COMMIT TO BUY and then don't pay. If they do not like my description, do not bid and commit to buy.

 

What is wrong with people!!!  I am not forcing people to buy so if you commit PAY.

 

Also, that necklace which everyone says I did not give enough description to sold in less than a day and the buyer was very happy.

 

Anyway, I've had enough of listening to all of you. I hope that when you list something and a buyer commits to buy they do not pay you. See how you feel then. GEEZ.

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EBAY is a joke...and very unfair to sellers.

"I like to listen.  I have learned a great deal from listening carefully.  Most people never listen."

 

~Ernest Hemingway

 

 

One of the first things I learned when I began selling in a flea market over 20 years ago is to listen and learn.  That process never stops.  I listen and learn from many of the posters on these boards.  Their advice is invaluable and it is offered to others "free of charge".  I don't know of any other place I could go and get all the free advice and information from experienced business people that I get on these boards.

 

 

Edited:  Meant to "reply to" OP's post.

Message 29 of 65
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EBAY is a joke...and very unfair to sellers.

unpaid items  and cancellations are a part of selling on eBay....

 

I get then every year

 

2013....  I had close $900 in value.   ($450 for two transactions). Would have been nice to have that money....  But to be true to reality  that was a very small part of the sales for 2013.

 

Received super positive feedback  from two buyers  that asked for cancellation... I was very quick for them.

 

Yet that was about 12 transactions.... one per month

 

 

and no where near too many unpaids after having sold so few items on eBay...  

 

 

compare  my number to several unpaids and only with 8 feedback  after how many sales.

 

and I hope you not just throw that Gregg Reference Manual into an envelope without extra protection....an Xpresspost envelope?

 

 

Message 30 of 65
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EBAY is a joke...and very unfair to sellers.

I find it hard to justify putting too much work into an item which will make very little profit but you see it all the time.

 

Cold be a Lost Leader I*m to generate some extra traffic to their Stores, but then again maybe not.

 

We see that a lot with Trading Cards listed at .99 - 1.99.

 

Boy that is a lot of work.

Message 31 of 65
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EBAY is a joke...and very unfair to sellers.

Anyway, I've had enough of listening to all of you.

 

Perhaps you should read Post # 24 again.

 

I hope that when you list something and a buyer commits to buy they do not pay you.

 

It has happened to all of us, not just yourself.

 

Selling on eBay is not always " Sunshine & Rainbows ", but usually is.

 

You have to willing to take the hits, roll with them & keep moving forward.

 

You have been offered some Solid Advice, what you chose to do with that advice is your choice.

Message 32 of 65
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EBAY is a joke...and very unfair to sellers.

First:  Anyone and everyone sells on ebay and so you get problem sellers here in numbers that don't exist on other venues.

 

For fun, google the (archived) website REGRETSY, which dealt with some interesting sellers on another website.

 

 EBay shipping cost issues are endless for Canadians, and since they've introduced the GSP more time consuming

Not clear why shipping cost is a problem for Canadian buyers. US sellers on every site use similar shipping costs, in my experience. The GSP is a shock to Canadians who are not used to paying the (perfectly legal) duty and sales tax on the product they import, but there are still thousands of posts about the UPS practice of charging on the doorstep.

 

sellers and ebay harass buyers for immediate payment

I'm old fashioned. I don't think you should buy anything you can't afford or anything you can't pay for. If you have to defer payment, use a credit card and pay at your leisure, with interest.

returns between countries are expensive and difficult.

I agree, but this is also true of other sites.

 

EBay sellers are abrupt and rude when compared to other venues.

Must be a category thing. I buy books, ray guns, poly envelopes and purses. My sellers are unfailingly polite and overly communicative. Mind you, I am not looking for a new best buddy when I am shopping.

 

 

 

And when we do, we fly off to Boros rich and prosperous. Well, less poor. -- Hoban Washburne

Message 33 of 65
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EBAY is a joke...and very unfair to sellers.

eBay sellers are abrupt and rude when compared to other venues.

 


The new protocol for evaluating sellers will get rid of a lot of these.

 

Neural and negative feedback will stay  and count against a seller.

 

Revision of feedback will still occur ... However, the original negative and neutral will still count...

 

 

Many bad sellers hid behind revised feedback..... No more 

 

 

Message 34 of 65
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EBAY is a joke...and very unfair to sellers.

The first thing anyone who wants to be a seller on eBay should do is..

 

Stand in front of a mirror  and ask

 

 

Who am I?      Be very honest in your answers... Shave off the rough edges

 

 

Many sellers will get into trouble because of attitude...  Just look at the response to some negative feedback

 

They know best,  

 

eBay is in the wrong

 

and there is no better way...than their way....

Message 35 of 65
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EBAY is a joke...and very unfair to sellers.

Neural and negative

 

should be 

 

Neutral and negative

Message 36 of 65
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EBAY is a joke...and very unfair to sellers.

Femme:

 

1.  I believe that eBay is often a teacher for sellers who move on to other established sites such as the one you mentioned.

I don't know why, but it seems to me that the best look for greener pastures while eBay continues to recruit the dregs.

Keep in mind that the regular posters to this board are the cream of eBay.

 

2.  Other sites I buy from almost always charge First Class International shipping costs regardless of item cost.

EBay is the only site I frequent where sellers want to bill for upgraded shipping methods.

The difference is notable.

 

3.  The reason that I find it disturbing when I get harassed for payment when I don't pay right away is because ebay allows buyers to defer payment..  Since ebay allows it, then stop harassing buyers when they don't do it.  

Sellers who want immediate payment should set their listings up that way or back off.

 

4.  EBay sellers are polite until there's an issue.  Then they turn on a dime.  There are more rude eBay sellers because there are more unprofessional sellers here than on other sites.

 

EBay is fine by me........... but it's the Wild West of online venues.

 

 

Message 37 of 65
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EBAY is a joke...and very unfair to sellers.

"I'm-still-here -- I find your comments very odd indeed. 

 

I was a buyer on eBay for years before I began selling, and in all that time (and the years since, because I still frequently buy on eBay), I could count on one hand the times I've had any issues - serious or minor -- with eBay sellers.  I rarely recall encountering the sort of rudeness and lack of accommodation you refer to.  I buy in a variety of categories, so good service is surely not a category-specific phenomenon.

 

If anything, I would say this was a more problematic site for buyers in the beginning.  In fact, the 3 issues I can actually recall with sellers were in those early years -- one for example who charged me $130 (after the fact!) for shipping a $60 item.  Those were the days when sellers could leave negative FB for buyers, and there were no such things as guaranteed returns, required shipping quotes, INAD claims, FVFs on shipping, etc., so in order to avoid a FB lashing from the seller, I paid.  That sort of thing would not happen today. 

 

Recently I purchased 2 items from a seller and when they arrived, realized one of the items was not what I had purchased (wasn't the item in the description).  Now I could have immediately filed an INAD claim -- I was completely justified -- but since I'm a seller, I thought I'd give the seller a chance to remedy the error.  He did, and then some.  He told me to keep the item sent inadvertently (which I may be able to make use of anyway), and he immediately sent me the proper item free of charge.  This was the right thing to do, it's what I would have done, and I thanked him for it. 

 

This kind of service is representative, in my opinion, of the "new" eBay seller, who must work extremely hard to maintain a good reputation, and is willing to accommodate buyers when approached.  EBay used to be the "Wild West", but it's not anymore.  If anything, I think the lousy, inefficient, poorly prepared sellers get weeded out far faster now than used to be the case.  Those of us who have managed to hang on for several years here have done so through a great deal of effort, and through providing excellent customer service.  Maybe you're just buying from the wrong sellers and should look for alternatives on eBay.

 

Or perhaps it's just that I always make a point of paying for my purchases when I commit to buy (or as soon as I'm invoiced).  If I think I may need to defer payment for a few days, I always contact the seller first -- that's the courteous and decent thing to do. 

 

I had a favourite seller I used to buy from who was happy to wait until the end of the month to get my payment, but we always, without fail, had a prior agreement on the matter.  As a buyer, I really have trouble understanding why anyone would hit that "Commit to Buy" button (in the absence of any prior arrangement with the seller) if they didn't intend to pay promptly.  What's the point of a few days' deferral anyway?  As 'femmefan' says, that's what credit cards are for.

 

On the other hand, as a seller, I usually give my buyers 5 or 6 days if they don't contact me, and will give them much longer if they do, but I can't afford to run a layaway service for everybody.  EBay does allow buyers to defer payment, but they condone it less and less these days.  This is why eBay changed to permitting UIC's after 4 days.  Obviously eBay felt 4 days was more than enough time for a buyer to decide to pay. 

 

Sellers who want immediate payment should set their listings up that way or back off."  -- As a seller, you should be aware that this is not a practical option for most.  It prevents purchases from being combined, and until eBay resolves that problem, it won't be a feasible solution to the slow/non-payer issue.  As far as "backing off" goes, eBay itself sends the payment notice to the buyer, then also sends the reminder for payment a couple of days later.  Most sellers I've ever dealt with don't send a personal message (let alone a "harassment") until a few days later.  Again, I would say that if this is happening to you on more than a rare occasion, you should switch to other sellers.

 

There are more rude eBay sellers because there are more unprofessional sellers here than on other sites."  --

 

Where did you find these statistics?  This sounds like a blanket conclusion you've reached based on your own impressions, not on data.  I'd be interested to know how you would be able to determine this.  How would one define "professional" in any case, in order to count the number of "professional" sellers here?  Would they be sellers with experience, sellers with business numbers, or only sellers with stellar reputations, or a combination?  Impossible to define.  

 

There may be a lot of sketchy, fly-by-night and backyard sellers on eBay, quite true, but that's certainly not unique to this site. The solution for an experienced buyer is easy -- avoid them.  The fact is, eBay makes it fairly easy to tell the beginners (or the non-serious sellers) from those who have staked something on this site.  Check the FB/DSRs, description detail, shipping quotes and length of time on eBay for sellers before you buy.  It's a reliable yardstick.  And incidentally, if you have a seller charging you additional funds for shipping above what is quoted in a listing -- report them!  If they don't give a specific quote in the listing -- avoid them!  If you think you'll need time to pay -- contact the seller first, since a good seller will likely agree to a reasonable arrangement for payment, and -- voilà -- no harassment.  Very simple.  Very effective.  It sounds to me as if many of your issues with sellers could easily be mitigated by changing your own modus operandi as a buyer.

 

 

 

Message 38 of 65
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EBAY is a joke...and very unfair to sellers.


@rose-dee wrote:

"I'm-still-here -- I find your comments very odd indeed. 

 

 I could count on one hand the times I've had any issues - serious or minor -- with eBay sellers. 

 


Rose;  That's a long post so maybe this will put it into perspective.

 

Chances are that you and I have the same percentage of difficult buying transactions, but since I buy more mine may be greater in number.

 

In fact, percentage wise I may even have fewer than you do for all we know.

 

 

Message 39 of 65
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EBAY is a joke...and very unfair to sellers.

I just copy and pasted your last paragraph into my note pad and saved it as "Ebay Selling Tips". Thank you!     - Joel

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