one company many faces?

[klav_us2015]

I am a relatively new EBAY consumer and I have been very happy with the vendors and transactions I have made up until recently. I wont get into names at this point but here is the situation.

I decided to purchase some IP cameras for security around my house, I did some looking around and decided to go with some cameras on EBAY, the listing clearly stated that the item would be shipped in one day and would be shipped from a warehouse in the US, no mention about PO boxes or shipping restrictions to my area.

Too make a long story short, I had problems with the shipping and the quality of the product which I am trying to sort out with PAYPAL.

My big concern about this transaction was finding out that this vendor has many many listings on EBAY all operating under different company names, the listings all make a consumer believe they are buying from different company's but when you actually go and purchase an item you end up being billed from ONE company who is in fact operating under many different aliases.

IS this legal on EBAY?

To me any company that needs to have the protection of operating under several SHELL company's is up to no good.

This situation has really made me re-evaluate if I am now comfortable even doing business with vendors on EBAY, which is very unfortunate because like I mentioned there are some really good folks making an honest living here.

[reallynicestamps]

My big concern about this transaction was finding out that this vendor has many many listings on EBAY all operating under different company names, the listings all make a consumer believe they are buying from different company's but when you actually go and purchase an item you end up being billed from ONE company who is in fact operating under many different aliases.

IS this legal on EBAY?

Yes.

Just as The Bay also operated as Zeller's.

And TipTopTailors / Dylex at one time operated most of the clothing stores in malls across Canada.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_Top_Tailors

What you may be seeing is 'dropshipping'.

The lazy or naive seller contracts with a supplier, often in China, sometimes in the USA, to use the supplier's catalogue of products.

The listings usually are very professional and thorough, but you can spot them because no matter what the seller's name, the listings are identical except for price.

The seller makes a sale, tells the supplier, pays the supplier, the supplier ships.

The seller keeps the difference between the customer's payment and the supplier's fees.

If the supplier is supplying shoddy goods, the seller gets the blame.

If the supplier runs out of stock, the seller gets the blame.

If the item does not arrive promptly, the seller gets the blame.

If the customer opens a Dispute, the seller gets the blame.

In any case, the usual problem buyers have with PP disputes over shoddy goods, is that PP requires the purchase to be returned to the seller (not the manufacturer).

The buyer must use tracking and this can cost over $40 if the seller is overseas. And is still surprisingly expensive within North America.

If the buyer cannot prove the seller has the goods back, she will lose the Dispute.

Lessons?

• If there are dozens of identical items being offered, you may as well buy the cheapest one.

• Choose the most experienced seller. Read not only Feedback (anything under 99% is poor) and also the Detailed Seller Ratings (anything under 4.8 is poor).

• Don't expect to get your money back. It may cost more to win a Dispute than to buy the item.

• Expect the item to be shipped from overseas and to pay duty and tax.

• Don't allow more than 30 days to pass between payment and dispute. The deadlines are longer, but you want your money ASAP.
• You get what you pay for. No more.

[klav_us2015]

Thanks for the reply.

I understand the concept of a seller having his products listed under several umbrellas(so to speak),its a great way to look like there is lots of competition out there,when in fact there may only be 1 or 2 vendors actually selling the same item

.

My issue is the fact that there is false information being posted on the listings, one example is the shipping location, many of the listings say that the item is shipping from a US or Cdn warehouse, yet they all seem to drop ship from CHINA.

I also now know that there is really no protection for a consumer after the purchase because as soon as I opened a dispute with PAYPAL,EBAY will not step in (I thought they were separate company's now LOL) the vendor received the PAYPAL non-receipt claim and promptly provided a tracking number to EBAY and now Ebay is forcing me to wait 2 weeks until they will "step in".

So now I am in a position were I have products that are faulty that I will have to pay to return, I have products that I still have not received that I am being forced to accept and then pay to return, the ironic part is I bought a similar product from another online vendor(not A re-seller) AFTER I started my claim, I received my product in 3 days, the company actually picked up the phone to answer my questions and the product works perfectly.

LESSON LEARNED.

[pjcdn2005]

I also now know that there is really no protection for a consumer after the purchase because as soon as I opened a dispute with PAYPAL,EBAY will not step in (I thought they were separate company's now LOL) the vendor received the PAYPAL non-receipt claim and promptly provided a tracking number to EBAY and now Ebay is forcing me to wait 2 weeks until they will "step in".

So now I am in a position were I have products that are faulty that I will have to pay to return, I have products that I still have not received that I am being forced to accept and then pay to return, the ironic part is I bought a similar product from another online vendor(not A re-seller) AFTER I started my claim, I received my product in 3 days, the company actually picked up the phone to answer my questions and the product works perfectly.

You sound very frustrated and I don't blame you. It sounds as if you are having a problem with a few of your purchases as you mention returning an item and also mention not receiving an item so I'm not sure what sort of claim that you opened or where you opened one.

When you have an item not as described always open the claim with ebay if you are in the timeline (30 days or less after actual delivery time) as the money back guarantee states that the seller has to pay for return shipping in that situation. As you found out, ebay will close the claim if you start a claim with another company whether it be Paypal or your credit card company.

I'm not sure why though you say that you have products that you haven't received yet and that you will be forced to return? How do you know that you want to return them if you haven't received them yet? Also long have you been waiting since you ordered them and did the tracking number show that they should be delivered soon?