Ebay promotes blatant selling violations. YAY!!!!

[aussie.grazing.boards]

I just want to draw everyones attention to completly unfair selling and listing violations that eBay does absolutely nothing about.

Money is more important to them than creating a fair and level playing feild. (as is with all corporations)

Case in point:

I have several direct competitors that have fake Aussie accounts, there is a way to check this and I will tell you. Click on their product, below the box where the price is displayed, you will see something like, "Item location Regents, Park. NSW". However, when you on click their feedback number you will see something to the effect, "Registered User in China". This is because the feedback information is stored on global mainframes (which holds your feedback info for a lifetime, even after you are dead) it officially system roots their I.P address (the number that identifies them, and their global location) to that server. This, can not be faked, if you're from Africa, it doesn't matter what you do, the country from where you are REALLY located, will appear on that page.

I have reported these users sometimes up to 3 times a day for a week for a total duration for 14 weeks and counting. I've even used eBay's "Call me back" service, and had a really nice young man being blown away when he did the above proceedure, and he assured me, he will hand it directly to there investigation team . . . . and nothing has been done.

At this point, I will state, that young man, (and innocent staff receiving my reports via the messaging system) sincerely meant what they said, but, they were the only people that were concerned, because, as soon as this violation was relayed to the investigation team (decisionn makers), they filed it in to the "who cares" folder.

Think about it, are you going to close down any of these guys? My selling fees are about $700 per month, their selling fees would be in excess of $1000+ per week, they are Power Sellers who have shooting star ratings.

So, my point is this, why don't we change the name of this place from eBay.com.au    to    eBay.com.cn  ?

Our listings should at least have priority over international listings, but no, they are pushed to the back.

Now, I'm a reasonable man, instead of kicking their ass to funky town, at least set some proceedures in place so that when someone uses the advance search filter settings "Australia Only", ONLY AUSTRALIAN LISTINGS APPEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FROM LEGIT AUSSIES IN AUSTRALIA. Not Mr Wong, who is taking a handful of people who sincerely want to buy from Australians, but don't, because they are duped. Are you still with me? That's the only opportunity for us to get niche customers, and that too, is taken away from us.

Even as a seller, I buy a lot of things. Just 3 hours ago, I was searching for "Watchmakers tools" (try searching for that after you've finished reading this, and see I'm telling the truth), it took me 40 minutes to find a legit seller in Australia, I had to click their feedback number/count to figure out where they were really from.

Finally, if you've read this far, I need your help, how can this be fixed? What could be done that would reach the decision makers? I've tried countless times reporting this using standard methods, and nothing gets through to them

I'm interested in your views.

Dave

[123angeleyes01]

Oh Baby I hear your pain ... Im in fashion new and used I don't even get a ranking amongst the cheap **bleep** that buyers have to wade through. 

[saarzi]

Im confused. and... no.

How on earth is that a "fake Aussie account"???

Firstly, look at my feedback - "11-Dec-99 in Australia".  Actually, I lived in the U.S. from 1998 - 2001. I registed my Ebay in the U.S.  - Australia is my CURRENT location. In fact, I spent New Years Eve crushed in a crowd of a few million in Times Square. This is why I complain frequently on these boards about not getting any .com.au free listing emails - I only get the U.S. ones.  When Im the the UK, This says Im in the UK (surpise!).

Secondly, what's wrong with an account owner being located in one country, and the item located in another?  This isnt fraudulent or against Ebay policy that Im aware - can you post a link to the policy you are referring to?

My account was registered in the U.S. while I was there. I am now located in Australia. Sometimes I list items on the UK website for my items that are located in the UK, while I am physically located in Australia, or the US.  Sometimes I list items that are located in Australia, on the UK website when in im the UK, or Australia.   Same with the US website.   I travel frequently between the three.

Im fairly sure Ebay arent silly enough to think that people dont travel, and that companies dont have representations in more than one country (or maybe not). 

The only time I can see this is an issue is if the seller is dropshipping, or not stating in the item description where the item will really be sent from. That is possibly fraud. Simply having an item located in a country where you are not, is not.

Also, the "item location" search where you can pick "Australia", "default", "worldwide" etc, is exactly that  - ITEM location. Not seller location.  If you are looking for companies or sellers who live in and pay their tax in Australia, thats a completely different thing, and that type of search does not exist on Ebay to my knowledge.  Checking their IP doesnt prove whether or not they an an Aussie business - it only shows which country they might be listing from or currently in.

We know Ebay CS are poorly trained - they would have little idea what youre talking about, hence pass it on - I suspect its ignored because it appears you are a little confused, and none of this is against Ebay policy.

Or have I completely misunderstood your post? (possible!)

[digital*ghost]

Seller's listing items as being in Australia when they are in another country is definitely an issue (misleading item location), but as gtx says, item location and seller location are two different things and it is allowed on eBay for item and seller to be in two different locations - that's how dropshipping works (or is supposed to), eg I can list an item, set its location to the US, all the while I'm in Australia. Or even say I have a warehouse that's interstate that processes and dispatches my orders - my location is Adelaide, item location Sydney. 

[imastawka]

Dave, you seem to be under the illusion, that the country of

registration automatically changes on your 'my ebay' page

if you go to another country and log in.

Yes your ISP address is different by it doesn't change

your country of registration.

And you've never heard of drop-shipping?

Ebay's mainframes are teetering on the edge, so why would they store

your fb 'long after you're dead'???

Fink ya need a good lie down for a while  

Or did I get it wrong too?  

I'll just take a number and go sit next to gtx   

[aussie.grazing.boards]

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@gtx305 wrote:
 

Or have I completely misunderstood your post? (possible!)

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My point is this:

I'm not against international competition, but I think a buyer should have the right to select Location, "Australia Only" and have genuine Australian account holders appear in the search field.

Our location is the only edge we have, against tough competition, and it too is now taken away from us.

If you can sit there, and form an argument  to "legitimize" sellers with false accounts,  . . . . , sorry, but I really have nothing to say to you.

If I have taken your point incorrectly, I appologise

[imastawka]

When you select  'location - Australia'  That means the item location,

not the seller's location.

It's so people know they won't have to wait 3  bluddy  weeks to get it.

[digital*ghost]

Buyers can currently filter results to Australia Only, but this relates to item location  (and one of the reasons why item location misrepresentation is an issue). If you look at it from a buyer's perspective, the reasons they may wish to buy an item located in Australia would be speed of arrival, and / or ease and cost of return (if necessary), whereas the seller's location probably has far less impact on a purchase decision because it has less influence over aspects of the transaction that buyers consider when they buy. 

A filter like that would also mean that any Australian seller (i.e. a person located in Australia) who is dropshipping via China, US or wherever, would still be filtered into an "Australia only" search if it went purely on seller location. 

What we really need is for eBay to uphold their policies and take action against sellers who state the item location as Australia when it is really in another country. (It kinda also bugs me when you see sellers with "Oz" or "Australian" etc in the store or ID names, but both seller and item location are overseas, but at the end of the day I don't think there's any rules about that sort of thing). 

[aussie.grazing.boards]

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@digital*ghost wrote:

What we really need is for eBay to uphold their policies and take action against sellers who state the item location as Australia when it is really in another country. (It kinda also bugs me when you see sellers with "Oz" or "Australian" etc in the store or ID names, but both seller and item location are overseas. . . .

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That's my point exactly.

Regarding the product being located in Australia, and the seller in China. It might be different with the products you sell, but 100% of the sellers listing similar products to me are in China, with products in China.But state otherwise (lie)

Blatant listing violations, and eBay does nothing about it. It is a breach of their terms, if you bother to read it, but they don't enforce it.

Because I can't use an actual sellers name, search "watch Tools" (watchmakers tools). Spend 5 or 10 minutes clicking on sellers location, and compare that to the product location. Only ONE of the sellers you see there are in Australia, with the product in Australia. Check the negative feedback, they will say, "Product posted from China, not Australia, avoid avoid avoid". (something to that effect)

That's what peeves me.

[i-love-my-sheep]

Sometimes a Chinese (or HK) seller will be listed as being in that country, but the actual item is in Australia. You can check that by looking under the postage tab. If the item is in Aus, it will say that it's being sent by Aust Post. Some of these sellers will offer direct deposit as an option, with an Australian bank account.

Most of those types of sellers will state in their listing that in the event the item isn't in stock in their Australian warehouse, it may be shipped from OS at no extra cost to the buyer (apart from time).

If you can throw an item number at us, it would give us something to go by.