AIBU to be really unimpressed with Ebay

[rabbitwoman]

I did start a thread in the Ebay forum on my specific problem - there is no traffic, though - but basically, i have only joined eBay in the last month to clear out my attic. one of the first things i sold was a very nice collectable doll very cheaply to the first person who made me an offer, only for them to claim it didn't match the listing because it was was absolutely filthy - oh, but she would keep it and clean it, if i was prepared to refund her what she paid for it for her trouble..... hmmmm

i assume she thought i would not want to spend the money on the return postage, or that i would be worried about getting negative feedback, but i stood my ground - i called eBay several times for advice and they said to accept the return anyway and when i received it back it was, indeed, perfect and lovely and very collectable - i only gave her a partial refund, to cover my fees, but she opened a case to eBay they refunded her the rest anyway and took the money out of my paypal account!

I naively thought that eBay had policies in place to protect sellers like me from these practices - especially when there is plenty of proof that she was being dishonest, such as plenty of photographs, and lots of messages between us on Ebay - for instance, i asked her several times for photographs which she did not provide, she just kept reiterating that it was filthy and not fit for her children to play with. You would have to ask, who would buy a 35 year old doll off of eBay to give to her daughters to play with WITHOUT expecting to wash it first? However, clicking on her user name, she herself sells vintage dolls, very obviously after having restored them - they are all immaculate - so i find it hard to believe she would not have known how to clean my dolls dress properly? Or that she would not have mentioned this? Or that she would be buying vintage dolls to give to her daughters to play with when she knows their real value?

A bit of research has shown that this is actually very common, and lots of people have fallen foul of similar practices., some to the tune of hundreds of pounds. I am lucky that got my doll back and was able to resell - for a lot more - and that i was only out of pocket a relatively small amount of money, but if this is a known and much reported tactic, why on earth aren't eBay trying to do more to stop it?

There are lots of forums and blogs on the internet i have read the last few days saying that eBay are awful at tackling these issues - but it would seem quite easy to me to be able to demonstrate when someone is being fraudulent in this manner? It is so blatant! Is it because most people would just shrug their shoulders and not bother with reporting?

It just seems so easy to defraud casual sellers like me - what can i do to protect myself? I am only halfway through my pile of stuff to put on eBay and have not even started with the really valuable stuff yet - is it worth it? If there is absolutely no protection for sellers, if eBay nearly always finds in favour of the buyer even when they are blatantly lying, why does anyone ever sell anything on Ebay in the first place!

Less than delighted. Am i unreasonable to be really disillusioned with eBay and want to give up?!

Ebay cases are mostly automated and not looked at by humans.
Their base stance is for a not as described case, to return item to seller and money to buyer. It is presumed item is infact not as described and as such they expect seller to fund outgoing and return postage. You should get a fee credit of your final value fee when you refund in full, but not any listing fees or paypals fees. You aren't allowed to only partial refund in a not as described case, ebay will force a full refund.

As for the calling ebay, they are notoriously bad for their advice, telling you what you want to hear to get you off the phone and not actually the right info. You should never have been told you could partial refund a not as described case.

Appeal the decision of the case, input photos etc, and say you want to report buyer for misuse of the returns/money back guarantee with a false SNAD case to avoid postage for a change of mind purchase.

Sell on Facebook marketplace. Much easier, cash on collection.

I would never use them again after I left my terrible marriage, had zero money and decided to sell my Kindle. It was immaculate, and packaged really well. Buyer said the screen was cracked, refused to provide evidence, and Ebay refunded him.

I remember crying that day because it made the difference between me eating or not.

eBay ha dit's day years ago for private sellers. I haven't used it for years.

They make their money off the big sellers these days. The importers and power sellers.

If you have something of value like a vintage doll, I would recommend looking for a local auction house or toy trader and getting it valued there.

If you have something that you have finished with and want to pass on and maybe get some cash for it, use Facebook marketplace.

Ordinary (non collectible) items which have a higher value such as electricals - get valued at cex / cash converters etc.

I have had such bad experiences with ebay. I had years of selling on there (300+ items) with good reviews. I then had a couple where I had less than 5 stars on the postage time, not negative reviews.

Anyway ebay emailed me to say I needed to increase my ratings, but I wasn't selling at that time. I did buy some items, for which I received positive reviews.

Next thing I knew, I was permanently banned from selling and there's no appeal process to this.

They do always favour on the side of the buyer in my experience and their customer service is a joke.

Screen shot of my profile to prove my rating/

I can't stand eBay. I think it's appalling. I had been a member since the early 2000s and had no problems with it until they went all out for the business sellers. About 5 years ago it went downhill so badly. I'd been scammed, blamed for the Royal Mail's slowness, had abusive messages and had negatives left for a perfect item which turned up on time. I wouldn't mind, but I wrote some of eBay's 'user guides' on successful eBaying....they side with the buyer, almost always. Even the time I had proof of postage but ended up refunding the item and postage due to apparent non-delivery; the guy then sent part of the item back to me! Now everything goes to the charity shop or the tip. I needed the eBay money when I was younger but people are actual scum so I closed my account.

I thought the whole point of ebay was that it was for very normal people like me who just wanted to clear out their old stuff? If it's just for businesses now then what is the difference between ebay and any other business websites?

I sell clothes sometimes and never had any issues so thought I would try to sell an electrical item DH no longer needed. We tested it and it worked fine. Got lots of bids and sold it. The man messaged me to say it wasn’t working. I messaged him back to say sorry and he could return it and I would refund and pay for his posting. Then his mate miraculously had a part that fixed it and if I just refunded him the £30 the part cost he would keep it 🙄. So I said no to that but my offer of a refund was still there if he returned the item recorded delivery. He said he had done so but it didn’t arrive. He said it had been returned to me as they couldn’t find my house (standard terraced house with normal numbering that nobody had ever had issues with before). So I told him that I had never received it and he needs to take it up with the Royal Mail. It would have been easier to just refund him the money for the part than faffing around communicating but it was the principle! He eventually gave up and kept it.

You were actually lucky she didn't just send you an empty box. EBay refund automatically based on tracking. At least you got it back.

I sold a pair of vintage thigh boots some years ago. The buyer had repeatedly messaged me to ask if they might fit her despite being a size too small. I told her they wouldn't but she did high and bought them anyway.
I should have cancelled her bid.
She claimed they stank and demanded a refund.
My trust in eBay was so low that I immediately closed my PayPal and eBay accounts before they could refund the lying cow.
Was sick of their crap and just decided not to take it anymore.

I am quite amazed by what I am hearing about ebay the last few days. I mean, I knew people were arseholes and would try to take the piss, I didn't realise it was so wide spread because ebay pretty much allow it to happen under their noses!!

I thought they protected their customers. It does seem as though they shrug their shoulders when it comes to helping victims of fraud and generally expect people to report to Action Fraud instead. This must actually be so expensive so I surprised the government has not stepped in and asked ebay to tighten their policies as it is costing the tax payer!

Another who only buys on eBay, and even then from shops not individuals.

Maybe buyers should have an ‘items returned’ count visible against their profile and sellers have the right to decline the sale ?

Back in the day the point of eBay was effectively an online car boot sale, but not any more.
You also can't close your account immediately any more; you have to wait 30 days for it to close, or 60 if there's any funds/transactions live.

Action Fraud don't do anything either.

@BobbinThreadbare123

Back in the day the point of eBay was effectively an online car boot sale, but not any more. You also can't close your account immediately any more; you have to wait 30 days for it to close, or 60 if there's any funds/transactions live.

I take full responsibility for this policy 😂 it was all my fault. I should have taken it lying down.

I have sold on and off on ebay over the years. Touch wood never had an issue. Tbh i prefer Facebook now but if an item is very specific I will list on ebay.....e.g. kids arks shoes as parents search for specific sizes.

I’m sad to hear it’s gone downhill. About 10 years ago money was very tight, and I got masses of clothes and toys from EBay, good prices, never any problems. It was a real help to us.

I buy a lot from EBay and have found it great. However I will never sell anything again after an appalling experience and I was nearly scammed with "item damaged, wanted a refund and wanted to keep item".

Really not worth the hassle or stress.

It’s happened to me to. I sold an almost new sports watch. I used the description of the brand website, listed everything it came with, photographed the original box, all the accessories etc and sold for a good price. Got an email about 2 weeks after I’d posted it as the guy claimed id miss sold as the higher spec version with the HR monitor. eBay didn’t even investigate, just refunded him. I Had a lot of abuse from this guy too and when the watch came back the box was badly damaged. I raised a case against him and eBay ignored it.

I only buy now on eBay! Low value things, and even then I’ve had a lot of things not as described etc.

I know a lot of people who have been out of pocket with eBay refunding the seller even when the buyer has been a complete con artist.

Unless I am desperate for the cash (use Facebook or gumtree) I tend to just give everything away to the charity shops. Much easier.

I had one recently where the buyer claimed the envelope had arrived empty... it was one of those Jiffy bag type things so Royal Mail would have bagged it in their damaged bags if it had gone through their system and been open🤨, the postman would have had to knock the door and hand it over so who would accept an open and empty parcel? When I asked for a photo of said envelope you could see the envelope had been cut open... even better was the item on the side in shot of the photo!🤨 fortunately eBay went in my favour this time

I have had my fingers burnt and learnt my lesson. To be honest, everything I list now pretty much says the item is dusty and smells because it's been under my bed for 30 years, genuine buyers are still interested...

People get away with it though, I think because no one reports these things. The number of people who have said 'oh well, it's only £8'.... Even the customer service lady said it might be better for my peace of mind to let it go and move on!!!

Hmmmm....

I guess any online business expects this kind of behaviour and protects themselves against it. But we are not businesses, we are just people. £8 is quite a lot of money to me....

I sell a lot on eBay, particularly second hand clothing so I point out every defect imaginable and have a no returns policy (other than ones allowed under complaints procedures). On the whole, I've been lucky to have good buyers and really appreciate it when people message me to say how pleased they are with their purchase.

Recently I bought a pair of Levi's for my son described as worn once and like new. They arrived unwashed (yuk) with stains. When I queried it with the buyer, he was the most offensive person I've encountered in 15 years on eBay. I'm slightly scared to leave negative feedback as he knows my address!