eBay reporting options suck

[r4vi]

I take issue with eBay's options for reporting.

I report a fair number of items every month.  I do this due to listing violations such as offering a vehicle for sale and "reserve the right to end this auction as it is for sale elsewhere" - which is a direct violation of the seller agreement.

I bought an item which did not come in the configuration listed in the item description.  How the hell do I report this?  How do I make eBay aware of the inaccuracy and misleading nature of the item description?

Do eBay care in the least?

I find a lot of problems with items where I KNOW the information provide is contradictory, misleading or fraudulent.  If I report them, I have no chance to leave a comment as to WHY they are such, I have to leave it up to the eBay "investigation team" to make a deliberation without them having the knowledge that I have.

I'm expected to pick from a few dropdown lists, and then leave it up to eBay.  Which invariably results in NOTHING happening.

I reported an engine I saw listed as "will bolt into a Pajero with no modifications or changes" - it was a Mitsubishi motor, but to fit it to a Pajero would require a LOT of changes, including a custom made sump.  I contacted the seller and they ignored me, so I reported it to eBay.  But they don't know the seller is incorrect, and they didn't contact me to find out why I listed it.  End result?  The seller sold his engine, probably to a Pajero owner, who just bought a motor that will cost them a small fortune to adapt to fit.

I won a BA Falcon XR6 Turbo in an eBay auction for $10000.  The seller straight afterwards contacted me and told me he wanted $14000 or I couldn't have it.  It ended up that we talked on the phone and he told me he sold it and so "sucked in" and "you are in another state so you can't touch me".  I reported him, tried to take the seller to task through eBay, and they did NOTHING, including allowing the person to continue on eBay with no penalty.  I'm actually glad as I found out the car was two halves of two cars stuck together to do a dodgy to get past the writeoff register but that's not the point.

I see dodgy stuff all the time.  I see people ripped off and try to get fair recompense after the fact, where eBay should have been able to stop it occurring in the first place.

It's very frustrating.  I go out of my way to be the best community member I can be, including looking out for other people by trying to do something about the liars and charlatans.  But at the end of the day, a lot of sellers on eBay think they can hide behind anonymity, or demanding you pay their PayPal fees, or lying, or even physical threats.  And eBay do NOTHING about these people.  At least in my experience.

I have basic rights under Australian statutory law.  Whether you are a professional seller or someone selling something for the first time, how about treating people with respect and giving them those rights?

"Oh the item is faulty - send it back and we will send you a replacement, but you have to pay return postage" - guess what?  Fair Trading say this is BS.  But it happens THOUSANDS of times a day.

Listen here matie - if you send me an item that is not fit for purpose, is not as described, or has a manufacturing fault, it is YOUR responsibility.  I DO NOT CARE if you paying for return postage and sending out a new one wipes out your profit.  That's NOT my problem.

If it's damaged in transit, it is YOUR responsibility to take it up with the courier/postal service, not mine.  YOU paid the company to courier it/post it, not me.  Therefore YOU have the contract with that service provider, not me.  YOU get the money back for yourself, and YOU refund me or take the item back and take it up with the courier.

I honestly DO NOT CARE if your "policy" is this that or the other.  That's a business/operational decision and is not backed by law.

If I'm being a prat of a buyer and not giving you your fair share, or being painful, well then I'm being a prat.  But I'm not.  You resolve the issue and I'll be happy.  You tell the truth and I'll be happy.  You take responsibilty and I'll be happy.  If I'm wrong, I will admit it and openly apologise.

I'm sick and tired of the blatant lies, fraud, misrepresentation, inappropriate terms, extortion, fraud, deliberate flaunting of responsibilities and breaches of seller terms.  Right now I could confidently assert that more than 20% of all items listed and/or sold on eBay AU breach one OR MORE terms of eBay.

[*crikey*mate*]

And that reply is a perfect example of the problem.

Gotta love capitalism - excuse me, I need to go throw up.

What are you doing on this forum if you think it's "part of the problem" - seriously?

Economics 101

Australia is a capitalist society. If you want something different, I think North Korea has vacancies.

Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership od capital goods and ownership of the means of production, with the creation of goods and services for profit.

[*crikey*mate*]

Except that "most decent sellers will offer to do this" - I guess this means there aren't many DECENT sellers on eBay.

r4vi - stop nit picking. I said most decent sellers will offer to do this and in no way was that even remotely suggesting there are not many decent sellers on eBay - this was your take on it

I guess this means there aren't many DECENT sellers on eBay.

If you seriously don't believe eBay is the place to find decent sellers, then instead of continually harping on about it here, you should purchase elsewhere. JMO :8}

I have a bridge to sell...... ]:)

Free postage.....

[***super_nova***]

The problem is that some people ignore FB & DSR, then are surprised when transactions do not go smoothly.  Over the many years I have been shopping on line, and out of thousands of transaction, and tens of thousands of $ (not just eBay; other sites, and many people whom sell from their websites) I had only handful of unpleasant transactions.  I have dealt with many very lovely sellers, and most glitches in transactions were rectified promptly and to my total satisfaction.  BUT, you have to do your homework and choose who you can trust.

[phorum_junkie*]

Australia is a capitalist society. If you want something different, I think North Korea has vacancies.

:^O:^O:^O:^O:^O:^O:^O:^O:^O

Love it.

If you buy something that does not come in configuration and choices offered then one has to wonder what you expected to receive? If you buy from a seller with a raft load of negs and dreadful DSRs what do you expect to receive?

If you buy at auction,  from an overseas seller or from a private Australian seller then the transaction is not covered by Fair trade and consumer legislation so where do you get the idea you can force them to refund if you don't pay for a return?

Lets face it some people just aren't cut out for ebay

[carls*world]

They've simply "streamlined" it, or "made it easier" recently. (Bit like just having one red light on the dashboard of a car in place of temp, volt, oil, fuel gauges and other warning systems)
There used to be a comments box to describe what it is they're supposed to be looking for as a violation, along with the facility to include up to 10 item numbers simultaneously.

I agree with the OP on this, too generalised now.

Items I've reported for quite serious breaches have been left to run longer than the "24-72 hours" Ebay quotes to act, and I've then emailed directly, the offending listings pulled within a day. Of course, at the same time, I receive a reply stating that I should be using the conventional (with link provided) method of reporting.

[obie1au]

here is a perfect example for everyone once a week search eBay for "chiko" roll posters which are meant to be in very limited print for the last three years i have watched the same two sellers constantly selling them as original and only the last one left how many last one's left can possibly exist have reported it three times as being reproduced surprise surprise back the next week don't waste your breath or time!!!

[phorum_junkie*]

obie1au if it is obvious to you then it should be obvious to anyone who is a collector and if they aren't and just like the look of it they won't care.

It is a bit like a certain gift shop in the UK holiday town of Blackpool, it has been having a closing down sale for the last 40 years at least, everyone knows it isn't true but they buy there anyway because that store stands out from the others!

[r4vi]

obie1au if it is obvious to you then it should be obvious to anyone who is a collector and if they aren't and just like the look of it they won't care.

It is a bit like a certain gift shop in the UK holiday town of Blackpool, it has been having a closing down sale for the last 40 years at least, everyone knows it isn't true but they buy there anyway because that store stands out from the others!

Yup.  A dog is a bit like a cat.

[banknotes_1]

I agree!

Ebay must be INTENTIONALLY not allowing to report "Incorrect item description". There's just no such selection under their numerous drop down menus. This is why I avoid using ebay as much as possible.
For the item that is misrepresented with a wrong catalogue number, while the seller states in large capital letters that they only sell guaranteed genuine items, there is no matching selection. The best I could do was:

REPORT CATEGORY: Listing practices
REASON FOR REPORT: Inappropriate item description (FAIL! because at the third menu there's no match!)
REASON FOR REPORT:  Other listing practices (you would guess this one will be fine!)
DETAILED REASON: No match at all, not even close!

Thus unable to report the seller who misrepresents their item.

For such a large company ebay either are incompetent idiots or crooks. In the above case it is a banknote listing that gives a completely wrong catalogue number, but in other cases it was plants, such as palm trees tat were intentionally misrepresented, selling cheap palms as rare ones. Ebay does not have a good match to report it and there is no comments field to explain what is wrong with the listing. I believe that ebay does this intentionally.

[padi*0409]

Start your own thread instead of dragging up a 9 1/2 YEAR OLD one.

The mods will probably lock this one so it was a pointless exercise on your behalf.