eBay

ammolitehunter · ‎12-07-2015

I run a business that specializes in the top end of my jewelry sector so my items are top drawer--fine gems and only precious metals--no junk.

I list my stuff under the Fine Jewelry section of Ammolite.This has worked fine until recently when junk sellers selling cheap plastic imitations flooded my section and took over the space.

I spent hours/days trying to find someone who would listen to my complaints and finally succeeded and that seller out of the UK is gone off the ammolite section and is now plagueing the opal sector where apparently they have not been challenged.

Now though--there is a mass seller of junk ammolite invading the "Fine Jewelry" section of ammolite and taking over much of the space.

Check this seller and you see they are engaged in mass marketing of cheap trash--feedback indicates their items are NOT sterling silver--some cheap base metal plated with silver--and the stone is about low quality as it can get--yet they are allowed to invade "Fine Jewelry" space and push out the people who actually DO sell the real high quality stuff.

I have no problem with people selling low grade stuff for what it is--costume jewelry--but I object like hell when these people start listing where they dont belong.

I have sent in my complaint to my contact at Ebay and will also send a copy of this post--hoping that they will cooperate and get these people to behave.

we shall see.

I will report results.

westernstargifts · ‎12-07-2015

I don't sell top end jewellery but run into the same problem with fake "copper" jewellery flooding the market. And it looks as though the problems will only get worse.

http://http://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/blog/blog.pl?/pl/2015/12/1449194566.htmlwww.ecommercebytes.co...

http://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abn/y15/m12/i04/s01

rose-dee · ‎12-07-2015

My understanding is that eBay does not look kindly on deliberate misrepresentation of items by listing in the wrong category(ies), and that they will come down hard by removing such listings.

This may seem like an obvious suggestion, but have you tried using the "Report this Listing" link, in addition to making a personal report to eBay? The problem with the "Report this Listing" feature is that you have to pick one of the pre-set reasons given in the drop-down lists and sometimes it takes a bit of time to find the right one. Once you do though, you can report each and every similar listing.

Another route I would try is to present this directly to Raphael at one of the Wed. board hours as an issue of category manipulation or intentional inappropriate category choices by this seller. You may actually find it better to contact Raphael directly. I remember that you brought the issue of real vs. junk ammolite up at the Wed. board hour in the past, but it seemed to me it was difficult to understand exactly what eBay could do about it without creating a new category or actually checking each piece for authenticity. If you present this as an issue of sellers deliberately listing in the wrong category, you might have more success.

P.S. You do have some very beautiful pieces, and they deserve not to be swamped with dime-store junk.

rose-dee · ‎12-07-2015

@westernstargifts wrote:
I don't sell top end jewellery but run into the same problem with fake "copper" jewellery flooding the market. And it looks as though the problems will only get worse.

http://http://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/blog/blog.pl?/pl/2015/12/1449194566.htmlwww.ecommercebytes.co...

http://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abn/y15/m12/i04/s01

Oh, this is really depressing news, if true. I read with particular dismay the quoted comments by Wenig, and the last couple of paragraphs of the first article (see below). Wasn't it Wenig who was saying a few months ago that eBay wanted to focus on its "traditional core" of sellers?

Coupled with the new on-time delivery policy (and the virtual abandonment of almost all other defect-generating factors), the only things Chinese sellers and sellers pushing mass-produced Chinese goods will need to worry about will be getting the items to buyers within eBay's timelines and avoiding open cases by refunding. Otherwise, goodbye good service.

This may be the death knell for those of us who have sold true vintage items on eBay in the past (see the text I've put in bold below). It seems a flood of "vintage" knock-offs and wannabees, which don't have problems with brand fakery, is about to hit North America. We all know how good the Chinese will be at cranking this stuff out by the container-load.

"Devin Wenig, who was head of eBay Marketplaces at the time and is now eBay's chief executive officer, told the Atlantic, "We have a really big China export business to Europe and the United States. And they respond very, very quickly to consumer taste, whatever it might be. It's really remarkable to see how quickly the manufacturing base adapts to the demand signals they get."

The magazine explained that's why there is a huge "new vintage" manufacturing sector built around buyers' online searches, and the publication showed an image of an authentic 1960s Pan Am tote bag alongside a new "vintage style" counterpart, both available for sale on eBay.

Sellers in the US may well ask why eBay isn't providing them with data about US search terms so they can list items that shoppers are looking for - including authentic vintage items. Is that such a radical idea?"

cumos55 · ‎12-07-2015

There will always be a seller who wants it to be a highly desirable and many times collectable item.

I ran into this when I sold Blue Mountain Pottery... and Chalet Art Glass.

I could very quickly see if something was in the wrong category... call it sale by association with the best

It is very difficult to report someone who does not describe the item properly.... and even more difficult for someone to decide if it is listed improperly.

I know the subtleties ... However, for someone at eBay to decide... simply by photograph that the listing is in the wrong category is very difficult.

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-07-2015

Items like that have been in demand for a long time so I don't see this as a new trend 'about to hit North America'.

I remember seeing reproduction Pan Am totes and other memorabilia at online stores at least 5 years ago. There is probably some overlap but I think that for the most part, a collector of real vintage items doesn't buy new 'vintage items and vice versa so those products are being aimed at different section of buyers.

ammolitehunter · ‎12-08-2015

yes--I have used "report this listing hundreds of times"--all totally ignored.

I am fortunate that I have my own sales website so I don't have to rely exclusively on Ebay's inaction any more.

I built my own site two years ago when it became evident that Ebay does not give a hang about complaints or enforcing their own rules.

ammolitehunter · ‎12-08-2015

re:

"You may actually find it better to contact Raphael directly."

How do you do that?

I'm all ears!

treasure.hunter.d · ‎12-08-2015

@ammolitehunter wrote:

yes--I have used "report this listing hundreds of times"--all totally ignored.

I am fortunate that I have my own sales website so I don't have to rely exclusively on Ebay's inaction any more.

I built my own site two years ago when it became evident that Ebay does not give a hang about complaints or enforcing their own rules.

As have I regarding Chinese garbage sellers who have invaded the glass sections with their "Murano" glass perfume bottles. I have reported via web and directly to Ebay reps on the phone many many times

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING HAS EVER BEEN DONE!

Ebay no longer has even the tiniest iota of integrity to their business practices. The Chinese sellers in my case have thousands of sales so the revenue from those sales is far more important in Ebay's eyes than the fact that they are fraudulently seeding keywords in titles to manipulate search results. Someone like me however makes even the tiniest of mistakes in this area and the huge boot of Ebay is crushing my throat almost instantaneously.

The direct result of all of these fraudulent listings is that legitimate items are being buried beneath thousands of downright fraudulently titled listngs with no hope of ever being found. Conveniently, on the Ebay US site, the geographical filters are buried in the advanced search page where most buyers don't even know they exist so the chances that buyers, the same ones that we know mostly don't even read entire listings, will filter out the Chinese garbage and be able to see the legit stuff, are slim at best.

Ebay has sold its soul to China and the rest of us be

thD

rose-dee · ‎12-08-2015

@ammolitehunter wrote:
re:
"You may actually find it better to contact Raphael directly."

How do you do that?
I'm all ears!

His regular email is raphael@ebay.com. Be patient in waiting for a response as I think he's always extremely busy. There may be nothing that he can directly do about this issue as an eBay Canada representative, but it's worth a try, and probably at least worth bringing to his attention.

In the end, I think 'treasurehunter" is -- sadly -- quite right in saying that eBay probably has little incentive to put any controls or restrictions on massive Chinese sellers of junk who are making them tons of money. Why kill the goose that's laying your golden eggs?

The rest of us just have to find a way to survive between the cracks.

rose-dee · ‎12-08-2015

@pjcdn2005 wrote:
Items like that have been in demand for a long time so I don't see this as a new trend 'about to hit North America'.
I remember seeing reproduction Pan Am totes and other memorabilia at online stores at least 5 years ago. There is probably some overlap but I think that for the most part, a collector of real vintage items doesn't buy new 'vintage items and vice versa so those products are being aimed at different section of buyers.

What I was trying to point out was not that there was a new trend coming (I agree we've seen these items for a few years now), but that there will be an even greater flood of such items if eBay is now partnering directly with whole Chinese cities in an effort to develop them as "suppliers" for eBay of knock-off vintage of all sorts (not just fashion accessories).

Read through this announcement (linked in the eCommerce Bytes article) for the details:

https://www.ebayinc.com/stories/news/ebay-agreement-with-northern-chinese-city-is-a-welcome-boost-fo...

This seems a whole order of magnitude difference in approach, from eBay simply opening its doors to big Chinese retailers as they have for the past few years, to now being active "partners" with Chinese cities or regions in management, training, financing and supply. In other words, direct and active fingers-in-the-pie investment. There is no turning back from this kind of commitment, and evidently eBay has no concerns that the city it's partnering with happens to be situated in a communist state.

If we thought true vintage items were being flooded with Chinese "stuff" in categories on eBay before, just give it another year or two. The problem is not that this stuff is listed on eBay, but that it drowns out the items that true vintage collectors are looking for and creates what I call "search fatigue". This is especially true if -- as has been mentioned -- eBay neglects or refuses to police its category requirements because the Chinese stuff is selling like hotcakes to those who demand it.

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-08-2015

Much ado about nothing.

Did you read the article in the Atlantic? Devin Wenig mentions that they supply search data to manufacturers. The magazine writer makes the comparison on their own..not as a quote. In other words, that red wool-blend Cross Colours hat on eBay might not be the relic from 1989 it appears to be, but instead a newly manufactured replica. (It is, of course, against eBay's policy to sell counterfeit items.) Yes, there's a huge and thriving "new vintage" manufacturing sector built around—and tailored to— your online searches. It's why, for instance, you can find something like an original 1960s-era Pan Am tote bag, and its new "vintage style" counterpart

Wenig is not quoted as saying anything about vintage. Perhaps he mentioned it but he certainly wasn't quoted if he did and there is no proof in the article that he was referring to vintage. When I read it, it seems that the writer made the comparison, not anyone at ebay. Wenig said they send search data and I can't imagine them sending ALL search date. They probably submit the top search for items. My guess is that vintage corsets or red wool blend Cross Color hat are not searched for very often as compared to searches for new toys and electronics.

There is nothing in the other article about vintage items or about sending them search information. That city is know for manufacturing specific items so perhaps they are trying to grow the market for those particular items. There products may be competition for someone but I just don't see the correlation between either article and vintage reproductions.

Personally, I would be happy if there wasn't direct from China 'stuff' on ebay because it seems that the quality and service provided is often not very good and that hurts ebay in general imo And yes, it clutters up the site. But obviously people want and buy those items so ebay is providing them here.

mr.elmwood · ‎12-08-2015

As a speaker at an eBay function said to me: "It does not matter what they search for, it matters what they buy".

Wrong category? So what, those buyers were going to buy that anyway. They were never going to buy the good stuff.

I gave up tilting at this windmill a long time ago as "caveat emptor". At an average of 800 million listings, say, turning over ten times a year, that is 8 billion listings a year to watch. You wonder why little is done?

It doesn't matter that there are fakes mixed in with the real stuff, as those buyers were never going to buy the real anyway.

I see this all the time in auto parts. Sellers have no idea what they are doing, There are many that have found ways to mass spam so that a 1969 Chevy Nova specific part will show up fitting a 2015 Kia.

eBay is very aware of all of this. Report an individual listing? Really out of the rotating 8 billion per year?

I do not worry about what the other guy is doing, I worry about what I am doing.

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gifts_of_elegance · ‎12-09-2015

A couple years ago I introduced a line of Christian Dior Sterling Silver jewelry which I list under Fine Jewelry. The sales on it are very limited. I found that my listings are always at the very last page in its category. I looked at the competition and found items advertised as sterling silver and set with "real" precious stones. All at prices as low as 1 cent. Made in India, China, etc. All sellers with 100% feedback.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Fine-Jewelry-/4196/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=sterling+silver+jewelry&_sop=15

There are over 196,000 listings in this category.