Prohibited Information.

[wan303win]

I've been an ebay member since the 1990's.

I've seen many changes in ebay policy in that time...changes mostly for the benefit of the firm, not too many for the buyers & sellers.

The opening of these info forums could basically be a good idea, if you were allowed to name & shame crooked sellers & buyers, or show the item numbers to which you are referring, however, I've found this is not allowed.  Legal reasons I guess.

As I'm recently retired & have lots of time on my hands nowadays, I've been following these boards quite a bit in the past few months. 

By having these forums, the main purpose by ebay management appears to be to get members to answer questions that should be referred to ebay to respond to &/or clarify. Must save the boss a lot of staff = more money for management. 

Most requests for info appear to be answered by the same group of people, who have an astounding knowledge of the rules & regulations applicable to buying & selling, I've never delved into that side of things, I'm interested only in staying within the law. I note there is a moderator who never appears to buy or sell anything, so I assume they are employed by ebay. (I did ask them that question, but never received a yes or no).

It's a shame that what started out as a great avenue for buying & selling, has just become a cash cow for those in control.

[padi*0409]

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@thecatspjs wrote:

  "the boards are run by volunteer members who often know far more about the rules and regulations than ebay staff".

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Which, cats, has been proven time and again over the years I've been on the boards, and probably long before that as well.

When I first came to the boards it was to get help from members that were "at the coalface" so to speak, when eBay's CS reps couldn't help. Even now I get problems now and again and know that if I post that problem here I'm likely to get a relevant answer, but in the main I will share my knowledge gleaned over the years to try and help others out if I can.

Sadly for one reason or another many very experienced posters have left the boards over the years, so like it or not there really is only a small number of knowledgeable members left to help others out, if some of them ruffle your feathers then perhaps just take it with a grain of salt and move on.

[wan303win]

Well! I came to these boards thinking there may be some interesting discussions relevent to the earlier days & aims of ebay, which I was a part of. However I find these pages are mainly being used as a source of instruction to other members which I have no interest in, as I no longer deal much on ebay. The fact that ebay no longer rule these boards, to me, makes the entire forum irrelevant.

I have another life outside ebay, & there are hundreds of discussion boards on the 'net, so I'll take my leave from this forum and move on. (Is that a sigh of relief I hear?)

Merry Christmas to all...and to all...a goodnight.

[thecatspjs]

Neither here nor there really.

Whenever I am around and the trading discussion provides an opportunity to promote that newbies are treated more respectfully than they are currently are - I will use that opportunity to post my view.

Can't see the issue with promoting respect for newbies 🙂

[thecatspjs]

Merry Christmas to you too wan

Whilst it has gone off track from your OP, I truly have enjoyed the discussion and hearing about your perspective, notwithstanding that your experiences have not been the best.

[go-tazz]

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@thecatspjs wrote:

I think you have missed an ealier comment made in this thread by a poster who statef  "the boards are run by volunteer members who often know far more about the rules and regulations than ebay staff".

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Which IMHO is a true fact as they are referring to the eBay staff that would answer in their help centre,(the only

eBay staff accessible to ordinary members).

It would also include Live Chat,Emails to Help & Contact and their Trust & Safety agents.

eBay's "help" has been proven wrong on many occasions when posters have brought a query to the boards,(

the Op would be told something by the eBay "agent" and when they brought it to the boards that info was

proven to be incorrect.

If you've had any "help" from them then you know that their first response is a copy & paste reply and a number

of times it doesn't get any better from there>

I've sent Emails and at times up to the first 5 replies have all been copy & paste replies,(which din't answer my

original question and the info was completely wrong in a number of cases).

eBay "help" aren't hands on like the members here and they often have no idea as to what the correct rules  

and/or their regulations are as they only read from a manual,(members here post from experience and the

knowledge they have built up from buying and selling on eBay).

I would trust Lyndal with any buyer question as she has possibly done it all,(buy from overseas,locally and she

would've had deliveries/non deliveries/breakages,etc via all types of companies).

Digi is impeccable and has a vast knowledge base that she's always willing to share freely,(plus she is IMHO the

friendliest female poster around),

Others have their own knowledge base and experience to answer the questions.

Other try to help in their own fashion and it may seem that they are "out of line" as termed by some,their first

thought is still to answer the query/question and help that Op.

It takes all kinds of posters to make up any discussion group and not everyone will get along" with others

but with the eBay boards IMHO the members there do have a better knowledge on rules and policies then eBay

does and if they don't know it by heart then they'll search for the correct answer.

[brerrabbit585]

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

Sellers cannot have Private feedback.   If feedback is private it means the member is not selling anything on that ID at present.

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I was referring to sellers using their buying ID to post in the forums, and having private feedback on the buying ID (only because of posting in the forum in my case).

[thecatspjs]

Its ok Taz.

I don't mind if you don't understand my posts and the earlier posts they were made in response to  🙂

[go-tazz]

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@thecatspjs wrote:

Its ok Taz.

I don't mind if you don't understand my posts and the earlier posts they were made in response to  🙂

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I know what it was in response to and I stick by my comments,(you have an issue with certain members which is

clouding your judgement).

You didn't come to this thread to post a helpful comment,(instead it was to run your own agenda).

[thecatspjs]

I came to this thread to participate in a conversation. 

I am in agreement with many points the OP has made throughout the discussion.  Not all, but some.

Others in this thread have indicated agreement or acknowlement of the comments I have made.

I have for several years advocated for more respectful responses to newbie posters when the opporunity arises in the discussion.

I will continue to do so 🙂 

[englishrosegardens]

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@ircinic-7 wrote:

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@thecatspjs wrote:

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@ircinic-7 wrote:

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No, but they should not expect that others won't be suspicious about their trading experience or think that they are discussion board troll, as posting IDs also provide a cover for this type as well.  Sad, but true. 

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With all due respect Cats, there are always 2 sides to a coin.

If the private feedback is showing a heap of green dots, what is so suspicious.

Using a seller's ID to post can sometimes be used against the seller.

There have been instances of sellers being under attack from unscruplous on here who will buy to injure.

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There are no green dots visible on private feedback - unless you're signed in and looking at your own feedback.   When someone clicks on your feedback page they see absolutely nothing.