Has Ebay really got this bad?

[Lyndaishistory]

"Warranty Information:
I'm going to start by saying the item is sold "AS IS, That is, no refund!" But it doesn't matter. As long as you submit a request for return under the category of "not as described" (even if it was), eBay will allow you to send back the item despite any of my objections or how valid your reason is. Want a bad ass CPU for a weekend lan party? Order here and when your done return it under the "not as described category". Want to test out a piece of hardware you aren't familiar with? No problem! When you're done with it just request a return under "not as described category" (even if it was). To reiterate, the party line is, the item is sold as is with no refunds. But just tell eBay it wasn't as described (even if it was) and they will seize the money out of my paypal the second you request the return. When I ask eBay to intervene, there automated system will automatically grant you your request regardless of any objections I have, or evidence I wish to present. AND.... if that isn't enough, it will generate a return label and you can send it back at my expensive. So, even though I'm just one guy working out of my garage, selling used electronics, you can buy with the same amount of confidence you would with Amazon, because as far as eBay is concerned, I may as well be."

Seen a lot of these types of messages in independent sellers listings, recently.
Has Ebay really go this bad? I remember it being a great place to sell things but recently I sold a couple of things that (unfortunately) went for 99p. I ended up owing ebay money for those listings.
Is there an alternative? Or will Ebay continue to get worse?

Link:
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sigma-Designs-Realmagic-EM8300-/163201304485?nordt=true&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.m43663.l10137

Yes it has. This chap' s experience is exactly mine. I no longer use it. I've had loads of abuse, postal scamming and outright liars buying from me. I hardly even use it; certainly not a volume seller! I shut my account.

It all went downhill when you stopped being able to leave negative feedback for buyers. I have no idea why on Earth they thought that was a good idea.

Ebay has been going down for years. I have heard many other sellers complain about the same thing.

I don't know anything that compares to ebay on size or variety.

We sold a 'used' but working house alarm. We put in the listing it had been outside attached to the front of the house so the panel was cracked. The buyer still complained that it was cracked then wanted,£10 compensation as he has to buy new batteries ( already explained in the description). We sold a router and sent by my Hermes. Hermes got a signature for it
Guy said he never got it. Then said he found it in the warehouse. Then said it was damaged. Wanted a full refund. We resent pictures of item on eBay showing few scratches as it was sold as used. Also offered for customer to send it back for full refund. That was the last we heard of him. Draw your own conclusions

did get my money back when a buyer in America said the teddy bear I sold him was in fact an old doll !!! took him from NOv 2017 until feb 2018 to decide that though! took me 6 months to and fro to paypal and e bay but got the cash returned, he had scammed people before.

Yes I agree - it's very poor. My husband recently sold a camera on ebay - he had the full spec there, absolutely all details, the final buyer asked questions which he duly answered 100% correctly.

Sold it, sent off (signed for). Even though it was advertised as "no return" etc it came back - and he was severely out of pocket on the postage (due to insurance etc. Simply because the buyer said "not as described" and apparently the camera didn't fit the buyer's lens - but the buyers should have known because the camera body was described correctly, hejust hadn't done his research on whether it would fit or not!

I stopped using it when I sold some of my sons clothes there. All fantastic quality. Only for £20. Seller paid and then claimed were ‘dirty and falling apart’ which is absolutely not true.

Ebay refunded them. Never again.

It's not worth selling cheap items, the sellers fees, and Paypal take their cut, and postage and packing hassle, I just give to charity. I have had refunds on clearly fake items that I bought and did not research, but on receipt could tell it was fake (cheap quality, zips falling off).

Yep. Sold a naice dress on there (for a bargain too), auction winner claimed it had a snag and got full refund plus kept the dress. I knew it wasn't worth contesting and ended up out of pocket due to postage costing less than I charged.

Yes, I didn’t realise selling through their Global Shipping Programme meant the domestic postage costs only applies to sending the item. I found out the hard way when I had to pay £50 to get a £50 dress back from Canada because apparently it was “not as described”. So I had to refund the buyer £50, spend another £50 getting it back, then had to send it to the charity shop because the buyer had decided to scrunch and twist the seams beyond repair in at attempt to justify her claim.

I’ve now only sell through the GSP for lightweight items and to Europe only.

Interesting to know.

Before long I will have several hundred pounds worth of baby stuff to sell. I think I will stick to gumtree or Facebook pages as at least then all the haggling is done face to face then cash is handed over.

Think absolutely buyers should be rated, track record for the number of returns, requests for compensation, whether they fulfil transactions or pull out etc.

Could be like a credit rating

Then sellers can decide what level credit rating they will accept bids from.

I'm sure at some point a competitor to eBay will come in with this functionality and trustworthy sellers and buyers will use that marketplace instead.

Good luck with your business OP, I hope you find a solution.

I occassionally sell my personal items, and have done for over 10 years on e bay, and have never had any bad experiences thank god, I count myself very lucky, reading some of your horror stories. It has put me off selling though. I never sell international, only in the UK and Ireland, and set up my listing to reflect that.

Sold a designer purse on there, buyer complained they had not received it, despite the tracking saying it was sat in the post office waiting collection, they raised a complaint, eBay refunded their money straight away, when they got their money they collected the item, leaving me with no money and no purse

@milliememum
Did you give eBay the tracking number? Someone tried something similar with me (the post office eventually sent the item back to me as they never picked it up from the post office). They did not get their money refunded as eBay could see that they didn't pick up their item.

I have been selling since 2002 and the last few years have been a challenge. I am a private seller. Some items I simply will not attempt to sell as I always seem to get the idiot buyers, footwear mostly, and people with fat legs and wide feet think that they will fit into a standard size, then damage them by trying to force them on and want to return.

I decide when I have seen the feedback left and received whether I need to send recorded or not, and check the address, if it is a block of flats or similar. I recently sold an item to someone who asked me via messages as she was unable to purchase. It turned out she was blocked due to non payment strikes, however I let her buy it but had a 'feeling' which was proved correct. It was a £5.00 item, I posted it signed for. It arrived a couple of days later and was indeed signed for, by the porter. Just before the cut off for an Ebay claim I had a message asking if I had sent it, aha I though, so sent the tracking no. a screenshot of the signature, a photo of the parcel and explained that I also had the postage receipt.

Heard no more until a message arrived from Ebay that the account had been hacked and they were restoring it to the owner. A lot of trouble to go to for a cheap used item....I made nothing on it but lost nothing either due to instinct.

@kpo58 yes, sent them all info I had, but they took buyers side and that was that!!!

We got well and truly had by a buyer last year. They claimed a heavy item was damaged beyond use by a courier, even though the item was listed as collect only and the buyer sent emails saying they accepted all liability for any damage as we didn't want to courier it.

Made no difference at all and we were around £300 out of pocket. Won't sell on it now, we use local FB sites or charity shops.

You can leave negative feedback in certain circumances. I bought an iPad which never arrived. I left neg feedback.

Personally I try Facebook marketplace or local fb selling pages. It means I can see and collect. Even if something is posted if you pay with PayPal they will refund.

Would NEVER sell on eBay again sold a few maternity outfits had never worn. All bnwt one seller stated 'not as described' and got full refund. I offered to send prepaid envelope for return so could pass it on to local charity, seller then said had 'binned' it! CF basically got dress for free as PayPal took money and eBay not interested!

I stopped using it after my account got hacked and they managed to take £50 out of my PayPal before I noticed. They still haven’t sorted it and I had to get PayPal to refund the money and block the account.
It’s been over a year and I still don’t have access to my account.

Im not sure how ebay refunded straight away as pp said. I had a phone that never showed up and despite the seller having the item as not dispatched and the fact they refused all communicatoon with me. I still had to wait 2 weeks for a refund.

Never going to use ebay. I tried selling a number of baby stuff when moving and a table and so many people winning items and not paying or as above complaining item was not as seen when it definitely was. Such a time consuming horrible experience. It was never like this before it just seems to be the last few years it is a nightmare to sell.

I buy odd things on eBay (have never asked for a refund FYI even if a little disappointed) but will never send again.
About one third of things I sold mysteriously went missing and never arrived so the last few things I sent recorded delivery and then basically made a loss. Even if it did show up half of them would randomly find a minor fault.
I find it hard to understand because I’m just not that person.

I got burned one time. Never sold on there again.