Why so many misleading listing results?

[parachuter2006]

It becomes increasingly impossible to search for items and hope to get the actual price in the search results.
Even with quite detailed and creative search terms you are bombarded with results of suspiciously low prices.
Search for a simple 24V 2Amp transformer and you get hundreds of switchmode power supplies instead.
Often starting as low as 3 bucks.
You check the listing and instead of the expected single item with the shown single price you get a menu to select what you want.
And of course the low price from the search result corresponds to something totally different, like a case, adapter or plug....

What exactly is the point of allowing faked multi item listing that cover a price range from under $5 up to several hundred Dollars?
Someone actually looking for something has to waste hours comparing listings and go through menu options - often to find out the item he wants is not even available at all.
If I search, for example, for a heavy duty phone cover then I don't want to get tons of results starting at a few bucks where the low listing price is a USB cale instead of the protective cover that then suddenly shows up to cost about twice as it should cost.
And of course it is again the power sellers listed first and with the most misleading listings.
Promoting through buyer frustation?

I often have to waste valuable time creating quite long search terms with exclusions and all only to get a chance to actually find what I am looking for.
Multi item listings should be limited to selecting quantities or for example with clothes sizes but not to list totally unrelated items to fake a low item price that results in the top of the search.
Yes, I tried the support suggestion and searched for "Best match" instead of lowest price.
But then I get usually totally overpriced results and it ends to be a total mess as it becomes impossible to compare prices and find the best deal.
Until recently there was at least a price range listed, like $3.95 to $298 and you could expect that if you look for something relatively expensive that the higest price would be what you look for.
Now this bit disappears as well and the buyer only sees the $3.95 and nothing to even suggest it is in fact a misleading multi item listing.

For crying out loud: If you want to sell an expensive amplifier then why do you make sure it appears as a low priced item in the results, especially if the corresponding item has nothing to do with an amplifier??
In the real world this is called misleading advertising and punishable by law, Ebay however supports it to the fullest.
As a result honest sellers listing properly and as single items miss out on buyers while power sellers with an endless list of negative feedback are presented as the prefered choice.
Sure, someone might find a true bargain on the way of finding what he is actuall looking for but it is no longer worth the frustration of wasting hours on a search that should be done in minutes...
And funny enough almost all of these highly misleading sellers use Chinese Paypal accounts.....

An item search should not be a task for a rocket scientist.
Common sense like with any other search engine should be enough.
Sure, if one would search for "mobile phone case" it would be a bad idea as it is not specific enough to get a result for an Iphone or Samsung.
And well, if you search for "small screw" in the hope to quickly find a specific M3 screw then you should go to a real store instead.
Power sellers however get more and more creative to cater for even the most complex search requests by simply adding everything possible and impossible in the listing.
Be it tools, electronics, machines or replacement parts, you never find what you need without going through endless amounts of faked multi item listings.
It is not a feature at all to provide the option to find accessories, attachments or just a faked warranty in the selection menu.
If I see an advertisement in the window of my local retailer for a good camera then the price shown is for the camera and not a lens cover, bag or microfibre cloth.
In Ebay however the same camera shows up as a bargain under 10 bucks until you find in the menu it actually costs 60 bucks more than at your local retailer and does not really come with the same manufacturer warranty ....

Bring back real listings!
Make multi item listings again what they were in the beginning and ban their use to fake a low price for the item pictured in the search results!
It is misleading advertising and should be treated as such!

[countessalmirena]

@parachuter2006,

... your posts are not only quite lengthy (not necessarily deplorable in itself), but they are also conflating points that only cause confusion when conflated as you've done.

I read your last post (marked as having been posted on ‎14-10-2019 07:33 AM).

It isn't straightforward.

I do understand your frustration, but repeatedly posting in the way that you have done is not helping to communicate your message.

I hope that the following points might be of use to you when you search. They don't form an exhausting list of the ways in which you can avoid having to wade through listings with variations that violate policy and throw up search results that are muddy the waters. However, in lieu of a real code-based solution, they may at least help.

• In the left panel (your search options), under Price enter the lowest realistic price that you would expect to pay for the (genuine) item for which you're searching. That will weed out some results;
• In the same panel, under Item location, select Australia only if you're buying an item for which you need a warranty;
• Consider avoiding Chinese sellers if purchasing brand name items, electronic/electrical items, and items commonly counterfeited;
• If there are sellers who pop up again and again in your searches (as sellers who violate the listings with variations policy), enter their names into the More refinements section, where you can specifically exclude sellers by username. You can also set up such a search using the Advanced search;
• If listings with price ranges still pop up in your search result, skip completely over them. Don't even consider clicking onto the search result to view such a listing;
• Don't necessarily trust a power seller to be selling genuine items and being a seller of integrity (as eBay don't inspect sellers' items and bestow seller ranks and titles upon other criteria);
• You may want to limit the search by selecting "Authorised seller" under "Show only"; and
• You may also want to limit the search by clicking onto "Brand" and then clicking onto the particular brand names from which you want to choose. You can exclude "unbranded" results by selecting all brand options except for "unbranded".

When talking to eBay, I suggest

• not speaking in a hostile, aggressive, stressed, frustrated or minatory manner;
• not conflating separate issues;
• not using the conversation as a platform for every grievance;
• having a desired (and realistic) outcome in mind before you are even connected to the CS rep;
• remaining courteous at all times;
• bearing in mind that eBay's Tech / IT team have ignored even worse issues than those which so frustrate you;
• bearing in mind also that eBay's Tech/IT team have not infrequently "fixed" things that didn't need to be fixed, possibly for no better reason than to look busy;
• understanding that eBay's coding is a hobbled-together mass of sometimes conflicting web coding, and would be a nightmare to fix properly;
• being ruefully aware that there is no way to contact eBay's Tech/IT people to report coding problems and glitches, and that when a CS rep tells you that the problem has been raised/mentioned/escalated to the Tech department, that is mere twaddle; and
• understanding the limitations facing eBay.com.au CS reps, particularly when it comes to sellers registered in China.

As general background, you can read about why Chinese sellers get away with violating listing policies in this post. (In particular, read the section enclosed in the spoiler.)

Separate the things that are irking you into their component parts. For instance:

• some sellers have no stock although listing is still visible;
• some sellers misuse listing with variations function by having non-related items in the same listing, with a price variation (popularly known as bait and switch);
• sometimes there are very wide delivery estimates;
• some delivery estimates are more than 30 days;
• some prices for items vary considerably;
• some sellers have private listings (best avoided except when it's avoided due to the type of product being sold);
• some bad sellers move to new accounts when the old/existing account becomes too damaged;
• the fact that there's even an ability for some eBay members to create new accounts (to bypass policy violation sanctions);
• buyers can't get a guaranteed shut-down of listings/accounts which they report;
• (incorrect) perception that listings can't be reported unless an item is first purchased;
• eBay hasn't the ability to ban accounts using different IP or spoofed/hidden IPs, different accouint details, etc.;
• some confusion/lack of clarity about tax evasion and import duties (you may want to read this thread which contains salient facts); and
• etc.

(I haven't included anything covered in your fourth and fifth paragraphs. I need more coffee...)

[davewil1964]

Geez, Louise, you've out-(word) counted the countess.

As she said, it might be handy to try to reduce your posts to novellas, or short stories, even.

We don't really need a blow by blow description of your interactions with eBay. The gist would be sufficient. Especially when none of us has any more power than you to influence how eBay operates.

[digital*ghost]

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@parachuter2006 wrote:

Just for the fun of it I tried to create a multiple item listing myself.
And to no surprise it was not accepted and taken down so I can "fix it" by Ebay.
Appearently I can not list a picture of a priey amplifier at a price of 2.99.
The description clearly stated I am out of amps and only the audio cables are left.
Isn't it funny how a private seller gets a warning for copying the same methods power sellers use every single day?

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I know my reply is a bit belated, and it's not going to help much (if at all), but that would have likely triggered the policy violation (the bolded bit, I mean), since the words in the description were likely picked up by the automated system. I'm an Aussie seller who uses variation listings, with price ranges, and am most certainly subject to all the rules that Chinese sellers are not, but I often create listings from scratch with an out of stock option (this is because you can't change a normal format listing to a variation listing, and I'll occasionally purchase stock that has variations in separate orders, so I create the listing with all options, but set the ones I don't have stock for yet at 0, updating when the stock comes in). 

I know your main issue is with sellers who abuse the format, but price variations are pretty essential to the format for those who don't abuse it (even eBay's own store - for packaging supplies - uses price variations, allowing buyers to purchase a pack of 50 or a pack of 100 of a bubble mailer, for example). My price ranges are for similar reasons, and also because some of my items take more time, and cost more, to produce in different sizes. Other sellers will have price ranges because they offer matching products in a single listing - dinnerware for example, where one might want to buy just the dinner plates, just the cups, or everything. If this was not possible, the number of listings for the same or similar items would increase significantly, causing other frustrations in search results - there are other issues as well, minor or major depending on your persepctive; eg I have some older listings like this, one for small quantity and one for a bulk quantity, and the number of times someone will by multiple of the small quantity (equal to or higher than what's in the bulk pack) thus outlaying a much higher amount of money, because they didn't spot the other one, is a problem (at least for me - I feel bad about it so I usually include a bit extra, but then I need to go in and make adjustments to the quantities etc. Over time I've been creating new variations listings to counteract this, but ending popular listings can have a negative impact on my store, so I do it sparingly). 

Anyway, this puts eBay in a bit of pickle, though one I can't say I have much empathy for, because they are in it by choice. They're not really in a position to restrict, change or withdraw the format due to all the negative effects that would have (honestly, some categories would become flooded with listings, even more than they already are, with page after page of virtually itendical items - this happens already, so imagine the prospect of wading through 100 pages instead of 50), and they choose not to enforce certain policies with certain sellers, also to the detriment of the site. It's not about money, at least not from listing or selling the items in question, as Chinese sellers don't really pay fees to sell here. 

That's important to understand, because if eBay can't / won't enforce these policies, and it's not a financial decision, what kind of decision is it?

You lament the members having an apathetic stance on the situation, but think about that previous sentence I just typed, and then think about what it would actually take to be able to enact a top-down systemic change that deals with these kinds of issues the way you want them to be dealt with. Also think about the fact that eBay can implement changes in reaction to frequent buyer complaints, and occasionally does do just that, coupled with the fact that this issue has been one of the most complained about for years, and nothing has changed - why not? 

If you want other members to become activists for your cause, I suggest A) offering more than complaint, B) figure out what needs to be done about the issue (I can guarantee you speaking with customer service plebs is a water and duck situation, with some lip service thrown in), and C) convince others that such changes are not just possible, but likely, otherwise the majority of people will go on simply choosing to work with what they have, or go elsewhere. 

On the other hand... If / when eBay get around to properly implementing the changes to listing formats (which they are currently far from doing as that has its own issues), then listings on-site will be product-based, and it will be impossible for bait / switch variation listings to have the effect they have right now, since all products will be assigned a unique identifier and everything with the same idnetifier will appear under one listing, meaning the cable (and its price) won't affect the search result for the iphone, or whatever. 

[chrisn5162]

NO NO !
It is not the  Chinese   manufactures or sellers that are to blame in most cases..
It is the local  sellers that put up these misleading adds.
And very well said by

parachuter2006
We appreciate  your input and comments.
Hopefully eBay will do something about  it,
Or maybe we should go to a more honest Chinese site ?

[chrisn5162]

Sick of rip off and misleading adds, do you think ?

[sandypebbles]

The member you are replying to (who posted over four years ago) has passed away

There is no need to spam the forum with your personal opinions to every member who posted factual comments years ago

[parachuter2006]

It seems some members got the wrong idea about my 'lenghty complaints'....

Ebay, in the early days had a dedicated section for feedback and complaints - where REAL humans working for Ebay replied.
Sure, in some cases it took 2 weeks to get a reply but still.
This great service was abandoned by Ebay after a few years and without having had fixed or actually addressed ANY of the long standing issues members had.

Next step was provide this community forum - where members do reply but where Ebay just refuses to check anything.
Making this forum rather useless in terms of finding help for issues NOT explained on help pages already.
Considering Ebay takes 15% of all sales by default users should have the right to expect more.

I still have 4 open claims against dodgy sellers that failed to deliver anything, refused to communicate and refused to refund.
And While Ebay eventually refunded through their policies, the criminal sellers are still active and still use multiple accounts.
How do I know?
I check for an item that isn't really common and find a few sellers offering it.
But out of 6 available sellers 5 won't even take my money - blocking my purchases.
After complaining to Ebay for weeks I got to hear they indeed use multiple accounts, they indeed banned me and they indeed never did any business with me.
Ebay failed to explain how or why these sellers were able to ban me.

As for the listings:
I do know my way around Ebay and that for now almost 2 decades.
Means I know what changed in those 2 decades and why it was changed.
Funny enough though Ebay simply refuses to ensure multi item listings are at least legit.
I know right away if some VR headset or such is listed for $2 - $799 that the item I am after is listed at 800 bucks.
But what exactly has a generic cleaning cloth, a trolley token or ( for crying out loud) a sticker to do in a listing for a headset ?
A multi item listing should be for different versions of the headset, not for useless **bleep**.

What I noticed that I find concerning is this:
The offending sellers are mostly power sellers with many thousand items sold.
Their accounts provide the exact same items and listings.
Once an account drops below 95% for the feedback rating the seller kills this account.
So they always have profiles with a just good enough rating to keep fooling people.
How do I know?
Because for a quite a few items I was unable to leave feedback because the seller already closed the account = and Ebay confirmed it.
Quite a bummer if then you need a refund because the item you got was the wrong one or arrived totally damaged while the packing is in prestine condition.
I even provided Ebay with a list of accounts and again they were happy to confirm it is actually the same seller.

Having said that:
These sellers also use multiple paypal accounts.
While this IS a clear violation of Ebay policies they still get around it.
Made possible thanks to Ebay NOT enforcing their own policies.
These criminal seller do provide the SAME address for their activities.
On top of that Ebay encourages this behavior by offering sellers to remove negative feedbakc once a refund was provided and also to create a new account stating they can't fix the feedback rating in other ways.
Now, who is the actual criminal here?
Dodgy sellers or Ebay by promoting this criminal behavior?
Just saying...

[sugar249]

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@parachuter2006 wrote:

How do I know?
I check for an item that isn't really common and find a few sellers offering it.
But out of 6 available sellers 5 won't even take my money - blocking my purchases.
After complaining to Ebay for weeks I got to hear they indeed use multiple accounts, they indeed banned me and they indeed never did any business with me.
Ebay failed to explain how or why these sellers were able to ban me.

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For someone who claims to know so much about Ebay,  you don't seem to know much.

How do you get banned from some sellers,  it's called a blocked buyers list simple really.  Or you have to many non payment strikes.

So many inaccuracies in your novel,  but hope you had fun

[repentatleisure1952]

Four years to type that & you do mot understand that sellers are no longer paid via PayPal & sellers can't "kill the account"... only eBay can do that.

I did not read every chapter in your latest book.

[davewil1964]

But out of 6 available sellers 5 won't even take my money - blocking my purchases.

Why do you think that is?

For the record ANY seller can block ANY buyer for ANY reason whatsoever. One of the few powers an eBay seller has.

It's generally reserved for buyers the seller deems to be an actual or potential problem.