Page 3 | To never use eBay again

THisbackwithavengeance · 23/10/2021 07:51

I have sold on ebay since the 90s on and off and have had my fair share of chancers.

My most recent was a job lot of 5 pairs of trousers. Nothing special, just Next, Dorothy Perkins etc. Couldn't be bothered to list individually just wanted rid. Sold for a tenner, so bargain right? Buyer then opened a case to say that they were in bad condition so to shut her up, I gave her half her money back. By this time I have lost money so I am pissed off but hey ho...

I then checked her account a few days later. She has individually listed all my trousers as being in VGC. Now she is entitled to relist, I have no issue with that, it's the bare faced lie to ebay to get her refund.

She is now a saved seller and one day, I may or may not fuck her over.

Piglet89 · 23/10/2021 07:56

EBay’s website is a fucking crime against organisation. Impossible to find shit on there.

NautaOcts · 23/10/2021 08:04

Agree that if it says collection in person and I want to use a courier (due to location or size of item) then I ask prior to bidding if they’re prepared to work with a courier.
Many will because it opens up the pool of buyers - not many people have the transport at hand for something like a sofa.

But I wouldn’t expect them to wrap a sofa - what on earth would you wrap it in? A decent courier has blankets and stuff they can put over but a sofa should be fine I would’ve thought. In fact I’ve got a lovely £150 sofa I got this way.

NautaOcts · 23/10/2021 08:05

@Time40

You can't claim non arrival of collection only item

Yes, you can. People can and do. They pay by PayPal, collect the item, and then claim that the item never arrived. Ebay don't care - they always favour the buyer, and will refund. It's a known scam. I always used to put "cash on collection only" on my collect-in-person listings, but several years ago Ebay made it impossible to remove the PayPal payment option. If the PayPal option is there, people will pay by PayPal whatever the listing says.

I think there’s a new thing with a QR code or code to enter or something that verifies the item was collected.

KhaleesiOfChaos · 23/10/2021 08:18

I haven't used eBay since Facebook marketplace was launched. No fees, much less hassle and items are generally sold and collected within 24/48 hours. Usually always locally too.

HunterHearstHelmsley · 23/10/2021 08:33

Collection in person is because you don't want to wrap whatever it is, fanny about printing labels etc. I wouldn't be impressed with someone who tried to use a courier after buying. I can't think of many that would accept an unwrapped, unlabelled item!

Shade17 · 23/10/2021 08:56

Yes, you can. People can and do. They pay by PayPal, collect the item, and then claim that the item never arrived.

That’s not how it works now.

BewareTheBeardedDragon · 23/10/2021 09:07

@OooohAhhhh

Btw If it's collection you should never accept payment via eBay as it leaves a trail and you are leaving yourself wide open for a buyer to claim "Item never received" as you wouldn't have any proof of postage, because it was collection. For collection stuff you should do cash on collection only, or bank transfer. I love eBay, had my fair share of problem buyers, but haven't we all? Speak to eBay, they will refund your fees. Block her, & re list as cash on collection. Or sell via marketplace etc.

They have tried to get around this issue by now having a collection code which the buyer brings up in their phone and you scan on yours so that there is proof on eBay that they came and collected.

KingsleyShacklebolt · 23/10/2021 09:21

Gumtree is much better for things you want to sell locally. I've stopped using Ebay as a seller too, far too many cheeky fuckers out there.

YoungGiftedPlump · 23/10/2021 09:29

Some couriers arrive and wrap which is fine

I did once a sofa. I bought a giant roll of thick plastic used in buildings for about £8. The buyer paid

severusvape · 23/10/2021 09:33

I refuse courier collection and have now stated when I sell as it seems many don’t understand.

Very rude not to ask the person before buying, expecting them to package the item and wait in for the courier. Also the buyer many say the damage will be their responsibility but EBay will go in their favour and refund them.

MandalaYogaTapestry · 23/10/2021 09:41

@dottypencilcase

I totally understand OP. I sold a beautiful, high-dining table a few months ago with a partial glass top. It went for pennies vs what I'd paid for it but I needed a more child-friendly table that wouldn't make me wince each time the DC went near it. Anyway, buyer came to collect it in a caravan (!) after examining it like they were a forensic expert. All good. Until i got an alert the next day saying they'd opened a case against me because of chips to the glass, missing xyz, scratches to the base, etc. There was no way I was accepting that table back in the condition they'd described because the table had been in near mint condition. Ebay the bastards decided in the buyers favour (they had PayPal buyer protection and eBay buyer guarantee or whatever it's called) so I was without a dining table and the paltry amount I got for it was taken away from me too! Never again!

This is disgraceful, sorry you went through it. So the buyer paid by PayPal and collected in person? Didn't ebay make them return the item to you before issuing a refund?

HelplessAndLost · 23/10/2021 09:42

If the buyer arranges the courier then they are responsible for the item aren’t they?
I bought an item from a Mumsnetter and she told me to arrange the courier. I did and the item disappeared never to be seen again but the seller couldn’t be held accountable as I’d organised the courier so lost my money for that and the money for the item. Definitely won’t make that mistake again.
Very cheeky of them to presume you’re prepared to wait in for the courier though.

MattDamon · 23/10/2021 09:44

I would never sell anything high value on Ebay anymore. Too many chancers/scammers, plus the fees are insane.

I recently sold a laptop on Gumtree. It took 5 weeks of reposting the advert to find a serious buyer, but it was worth it. I met them at a neutral location, they examined it in person and paid cash. Anything happens after that point, not my problem.

dottypencilcase · 23/10/2021 09:47

In the case mentioned above, I asked eBay why the buyer was entitled to a refund when they'd come and inspected the item and had taken it away. Surely if it had been damaged, they'd have refused to collect it. Any damage caused afterwards was therefore done once the table had been taken away. I was told they were entitled to a refund because they'd collected in person and they had 'sellers rights to return' but had the table been collected via courier, eBay would have rejected their claim and told them to claim compensation via the courier company. I was told the complete opposite in another case which makes it clear they don't have a clue what they're talking about.

As for negative feedback- I was left negative feedback when someone wanted to return an item and I refused, they then cut the leg off the trousers abs tried to claim they'd arrived like that! The damage increased with each message basically. eBay told me it was against their rules to leave negative feedback so they'd be removing it. Maybe they make up the rules on a call-by-call basis.

JojoLapin · 23/10/2021 09:53

Hideous place and their attitude towards counterfeit goods (majority of cosmetics and luxury items there) is shocking.

Would not touch with a barge pole.

Agapornis · 23/10/2021 09:54

If you cancel rather than report, they're not able to leave you feedback.
Mind you, I wish I could leave feedback for the buyers who somehow "didn't notice" that items are collection only...

JaneDoe21 · 23/10/2021 09:58

It's not just buyers!

I had a seller last month not send my item and refuse to refund me even though they said they had my money waiting in their account for eBay to refund. Just awkward for the sake of it.
YANBU though, i would of refused courier collection too.

TokyoTen · 23/10/2021 09:59

YANBU I used to use ebay a lot to sell kids stuff they grew out of etc. I closed my account recently and won't use them again. Two security breaches and 1 difficult purchaser I decided it wasn't worth the hassle.

motherofcatsandbears · 23/10/2021 10:03

Have you tried this number for customer services?

0800 358 6552

They’ve been very helpful on this number.
Challenge the feedback and selling fees, the buyer sounds like a serial twat.

spongedog · 23/10/2021 11:14

@Sally090807

The whole thing is a total nightmare. I sold some expensive shoes that belonged to my daughter, I sent them via Hermes and paid extra for guaranteed delivery. They were picked up from my local store but never made it to the main sorting hub. Hermes offered me £20 and I’ve had to refund the buyer £130 and my daughters £180 shoes have been “lost”.

But that implies to me that you didnt have them properly insured on Hermes as they only offered £20 for goods of value to £130. You have to specify the value.

I cant insure the items I mostly sell (for damage or loss) so decline protection, wrap for a bomb going off and watch the tracker like a hawk!

spongedog · 23/10/2021 11:17

@Agapornis

If you cancel rather than report, they're not able to leave you feedback. Mind you, I wish I could leave feedback for the buyers who somehow "didn't notice" that items are collection only...

I had a strange one recently. I had to cancel a sale overseas - GSP had been cancelled on the category I used. I hadnt realised and the s&H costs I could obtain were far too much. So both I and the buyer mutually agreed to (sadly) cancel the sale. But the transaction was left open and by mistake late one night (and after a few glasses of wine) I left buyer feedback. I tried to cancel that and was told that EBAY left the transaction open for several months. Literally wtf! I have left feedback for a closed non-existent transaction. I couldnt get any sense out of the rep at all.

Gymohithoughtyousaidgin · 23/10/2021 11:29

@StepAwayFromGoogling

I'd assume 'collecting in person' means a courier could collect on your behalf.

I agree with this. OP you were in the wrong here. I think you were being difficult and deserved the negative feedback

takenforgrantednana · 23/10/2021 11:29

@Pencilandpaper

Used to use eBay loads but haven’t sold anything for over a couple of years. I have a sofa I need to sell due to moving house, it’s branded and in excellent condition so fairly high value. I listed it very clearly as collection in person with my town.

Anyway, item ends and the winning bidder immediately messages me telling me wrap the sofa “like a newborn baby” I messaged back stating that I hadn’t included packing materials cost, so no it won’t be packaged. She then tells me it will be collected by courier on one of two days! So I reply again, saying as stated it was collection in person and I’m not sending a high value item unwrapped with a courier, nor am I staying in for two days waiting for it to be collected.

Since then I have had no end of grief trying to sort. She messaged me constantly, being very rude. I reported her but have heard nothing on my report. Whenever I try to get hold of someone at eBay, their website is like a maze - eventually you stumble on a live chat who may or may not be able to help. I tried to refund the buyer but it kept saying there was an issue with my account. Finally got through to an agent who managed to refund for me so i thought all resolved..only to find today I have been stung with final value selling fees and negative feedback from the buyer.

Aibu that eBay is such a stressful experience. I’m closing my account!

you need to get back onto live chat and they will remove the neg feedback and also the final value fee as you didnt actually sell anything did you? dont close the account until you have sorted this all out

MatildaIThink · 23/10/2021 11:33

eBay became very anti seller years ago, first they removed the ability for sellers to leave negative feedback, then they started to allow "Item not as described" to be used as a free returns system for change of mind buyers, now they seem to not give a shit about sellers and this new payment system is a slow, badly implemented mess.

Unfortunately there is no viable alternative and they know this, so they can keep treating sellers like shit and have little imperative to change.