Products not as advertised

[karenkaren1952]

I have spent a considerable amount on ebay over the last 9 months. I have found that at times the product did not fit the description, was not as expected, but in most instances the return postage stopped me from returning the item, as it wasn't worth the cost. I will never again buy an item over $30.00 from ebay. I think that we need to support the retain sector, they have laws to follow, rents to pay and associated business costs to meet. Buying online is fine, but how many people are employed by the retail sector???A very large part of the community works in retail. 

All items received from ebay sellers had " we left you 5 star rating, please leave me the same" message inside, yes, we buyers have to pay almost immediately, so we are taking the sellers word that the item will be as described, we deserve a 5 star rating.

Ebay seems almost insistant upon 5 star ratings, even if you aren't satisfied.

Ebay has very little standards, they are a business, they make money from both ends of the deal, then they have disclaimers to nullify any misdoings on their part, but they do need to police better, effectively ebay is a large clearing house with minimal overheads for the size of the company, compared to large retailers. Mostly the items slod ion ebay are very low quality, with a few exceptions, the cothes that I bought from China were ordered in XXXL size and I am a 12-14 they were still way too small, postage was not an option due to costs, Vinnies loved them. This was the same with much that I bought, I opened it as was disappointed, except for the items from Australia

Ebay cannot also tell me why transactions are cancelled when the seller says the items have been posted, they don't supply and pocket the postage, they say the item was returned to them, another great scam from the seller, you could make good money from this.

When the global community can work out a way to police the internet properly, many places like ebay will need to lift their standards, or get out of the pool.

I have an adage that I have used for many years "money talks, duty walks", this is almost always appropriate when dealing with most companies.

Now I would rather see what I am buying, have a valid refund policy and a good warranty, be shown how to use an item and know that I don't have to open a dispute to maybe get my money back

[phorum_junkie*]

Most times feedback will tell you if a seller has a habit of sending items that are not as described and there are a lot of sellers like myself who offer a full refund including return postage if they have made a mistake.

If you don't receive an item at all then you are covered as long as you use Paypal and for items not as described I quite agree that I would never buy anything from overseas that cost more than I was going to get back if I had to return it, they just get a neg and one star for everything.

A seller begging for 5 stars will cause me to leave only 4 unless the rest of the transaction is above and beyond what you would usually expect and as for paying straight away? Unless you purchase an immediate payment required item you have up to 8 days to pay whatever the seller may tell you.

[*crikey*mate*]

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@karenkaren1952 wrote:

I have spent a considerable amount on ebay over the last 9 months.

I am sure that many sellers really appreciate this.

I have found that at times the product did not fit the description, was not as expected, but in most instances the return postage stopped me from returning the item, as it wasn't worth the cost.

This is always something to consider when making your purchase.

 I will never again buy an item over $30.00 from ebay. 

Fair enough, everyone needs a line in the sand, but I daresay that you will miss out on some great opportunities and some things that may be available near to where you live. 

I think that we need to support the retain sector, Yes.

they have laws to follow, rents to pay and associated business costs to meet. As do many online sellers.

Buying online is fine, but how many people are employed by the retail sector???

A very large part of the community works in retail. A very large part of the community are also either self employed or operators of very successful online businesses as well. (including all the overheads of the B&M's)

All items received from ebay sellers had " we left you 5 star rating, please leave me the same" message inside,

All of them? Really? I am wondering which site it is to which you refer because on eBay Australia there is no such thing as a star system for a buyer.

BTW, Feedback is voluntary, you do not have to leave it as either a buyer or a seller.

yes, we buyers have to pay almost immediately, Well, that's fair enough, isn't it? (But technically you do have a minimum of 8 days.but this really isn't adviseable, at the very least it would be polite to contact the seller before purchasiong to ask an agreeable payment time.) however, once you commit to buy something, you then prevent a seller from selling that item to anyone else, so this interferes with their cash flow. Additionally, if it was a one off item, the seller is losing valuable advertising and exposure time.

I'm just wondering how many stores allow you to "put something on hold" thus removing iot from sale, with no set payment frame, or how long they would be prepared to "hold" that item for.

so we are taking the sellers word that the item will be as described,

As I said, feedback is completely voluntary and you have up to 60 days to leave it, if you decide to.

we deserve a 5 star rating.

For what? Honouring a legally binding ciontract which you voluntarily enter into? Buyers deserve a reward for paying for what they purchase?

Ebay seems almost insistant upon 5 star ratings, even if you aren't satisfied. This is incorrect. Feedback is voluntary.

Ebay has very little standards, they are a business, they make money from both ends of the deal,

Would it please be possible for you to expand on the first statement, there? As for the second, well of course they are a business. And the third, Of course they make money from the sellers, these are the fees that they charge for the services that they supply. But I am curious how eBay makes money from the buyer.

then they have disclaimers to nullify any misdoings on their part, What misdoings? eBay provides a platform on which trading partners can "meet" and trade, that's all they do.

but they do need to police better, In what way?

effectively ebay is a large clearing house No, they are not. They are the providor of a service which other businesses selling goods use to promote the goods they have to sell.

with minimal overheads for the size of the company, What kind of overheads?

compared to large retailers.eBay is NOT a retailer.

Mostly the items slod ion ebay are very low quality, with a few exceptions, the cothes that I bought from China were ordered in XXXL size and I am a 12-14 they were still way too small, postage was not an option due to costs, Vinnies loved them. This was the same with much that I bought, I opened it as was disappointed,

IMy sense of self preservation tells me to leave that paragraph well and truly alone, cos I'm pretty sure that the mods would not value any contributions I may have about that.....

But, you can check measurements, eh?

except for the items from Australia

So, purchase from Australian sellers.

Ebay cannot also tell me why transactions are cancelled when the seller says the items have been posted, they don't supply and pocket the postage, they say the item was returned to them, another great scam from the seller, you could make good money from this.

Could you please clarify what you mean here please? Pay by a safe payment method and enjoy the benefits of buyer protection offered for items not received within 45 days where no proof of postage or lodgement is available.

When the global community can work out a way to police the internet properly, many places like ebay will need to lift their standards, or get out of the pool.

What exactly do you believe that eBay does?

I have an adage that I have used for many years "money talks, duty walks", this is almost always appropriate when dealing with most companies.

Now I would rather see what I am buying, have a valid refund policy ACL provides this, but what do you consider a "valid refund policy to be?. and a good warranty, well, there are some products that should never be bought on line.

be shown how to use an item and know that I don't have to open a dispute to maybe get my money back, there are only 2 scenarios where a seller of any kind is legally obligated to refund.

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I'm just curious now, have you ever read the eBay terms and Conditions or the Usage Policy?

[karenkaren1952]

Ebay does not vet the sellers, even though it says it does. What is stopping a seller from using another email address?? As a seller you are taken at your word, and a lot of sellers take advantage of this. Ebay is a business, not a friend.

Online sellers sell on ebay because they want to either establish or expand their customer base, in a lot of instances they do not have a shop or business, they trade at markets, I do know this as a few of my friends do this, as do a lot of sellers. You could not survive just selling on ebay.

I do know how many people are employed in the retail sector approx. 44% of the community and if internet buying becomes the norm an awful lot of people will be unemployed.

I am not attacking ebay for doing businessI am saying that the retail sector is suffering and it is a better option, and in many cases cheaper, you can inspect the item, take the item home with you, no waiting months for a delivery and there is a government mandated consumer law for each state. I bought a doona on ebay and the picture was not completely as the item presented, I emailed the seller and she was very nice, but the cost of sending it back made the purchase untenable, so i kept it.

I know many many people who have done the same. If it was in a shop I would not have bought it and saved the $25 delivery and the $40 for the doona.

I am still waiting for products that I purchased in October, I have been assured that they will arrive, but as they were Christmas gifts, I am not holding my breath.

I don't mind paying immediately that is a given, but when it comes to a refund you can wait months, you post the item, and then wait for a decision.

Making money from the buyer means that the selling costs are factored in the selling price, this is how business is done in all areas of selling, both in retail and on ebay, therefore the seller pays a percentage of the cost paid by the buyer to ebay.

I did check measurements on the clothes, the seller told me that there was an error in the measurements and sizing chart. I can post their reply for all to see, and they had fixed this in the ad for the future, this was not right the ad did not change.

Overheads are the costs to run a company, ebay would not have the same costs as a large retailer with branches through the country.

An auction house works the same as ebay, it markets and sells the goods for the sellers either the commission is paid when the sale is settled or by invoice at the end of the month, but mostly people have the opportunity to examine what they are bidding on in a house auction, on ebay you "take a chance".

Ebay can police their sellers by doing company checks, any company will check out a business by means of ASIC when they are doing business, and in the case of personal sellers this is a one off and would be harder to police, but drivers licence numbers would be a good start. Ebay would know if a person is constantly selling that they are running a business and ask for a business rregistration number, in the case of overseas sellers ebay is a global company and they can work this out for themselves or limit the amount of selling by these operators.

I have had cancellations of products that I have bought, I can also post emails supporting this, ebay sends messages saying the seller has cancelled the order, this happened at least a month after the transaction, no reason given and the item was paid for within 20 mins of purchase, then I received a part refund.

I know exactly what ebay does it is effectively the platform for sellers and buyers, and it has grown globally, but this will occur with all successful all businesses, and I do hope that you consider ebay a business.

The rules have not changed for a while for sellers and buyers, all businesses need to keep with the times and evolve and constantly change. The business world is evolving at a rapid pace, ebay should change its listing and buying practice to reflect this. This would constitute policing the way it does business.

A valid refund policy should be that when the item is not as described, faulty, or does not do what it is designed to do you should get an immediate refund as soon as the seller receives the goods back, maybe the money could be held by paypal until the item is delivered and the buyer is satisfied, not wait for a seller to decide.Very few people in business will admit fault. Also ebay would know if a buyer has a "bad record" of buying and returning the goods for a complete refund and deal with this by not allowing any bids from them.

The 2 scenarios is if the item is faulty or does not do what it was designed  to do.  Also if some goods should not be bought on line ebay should police this, they have the power to do all the above, effectively if you want to do business using ebay, that's up to you, its a free country, but by the gripes that have been posted and this would only cover a tip of the iceberg something needs to change.

[davewil1964]

Ebay would know if a person is constantly selling that they are running a business and ask for a business rregistration number,

There is no requirement for a business to have an ABN unless it's turnover is over $75k pa. So how do you regulate the small sellers who basically buy and resell as a pseudo-hobby?

Your issue seems to be with OS sellers. If you bought online from Australian sellers, you would be creating jobs in Australia, rather than overseas.

[springyzone]

Karen, I've been around ebay for probably about a decade, for a while sold second hand things (under a different name) but mostly I am a buyer.

It depends on what you are buying. There are more businesses on ebay now and some may be selling junky items.

But you can still suss out a few home sellers. Read the ads carefully and try to pick up on the genuine sellers, some allow pick up.

 I have also had a lot of success with small aussie businesses on ebay. Over the last few months I have bought a lot of wedding stuff, from diamante buckles to cake bags etc, all at less than I could get them in shops. And the quality was fine.

For bigger items, cars, furniture or whatever, I would always go look first. Always.

And if I wanted to buy something that was going to cost a fair bit of money, over $30 as you say, I would hesitate to buy from someone who didn't have a good rating.