Open Letter to ebay... wonder if a respose will be forthcoming from them.So fed up with all the carp

[beautysecretfashion]

 just received an email from ebay congratulating me on using Fast N Free on my listings.. they are a little off the ball as I changed from FAST (one day shipping) to now 3 days due to their ridiculous estimated delivery dates that have been occurring lately ie Qld to SA 3 days!! Not happening unless sent express or courier perhaps??... any way I thought I would send them back a reply and I am in no doubt I probably will not hear from them at all regarding my concerns!!!!

My reply to ebay:

Well you may think it is good. I do not. I sometimes lose money just trying to keep up with competitors. Fast N Free... phewy!! If Australia Post did not let me the seller down and ebay not give ridiculous estimated delivery dates perhaps I would feel better about ebay as a whole?

I have heard from a few sellers that it is now against the ebay protocol for customers to ask sellers questions PRIOR to a sale??? This to me is absolutely absurd in a business where customer service is paramount. I have been told it is because ebay is concerned that sellers will sell  OFF ebay!! Ummmm OK, punish those that do, not the honest ones that don’t!!!! Quite honestly ebay has become such an unfriendly place not only to sell but to buy also which obviously effects my sales. 

You place all sellers in the one basket – GUILTY before being proven innocent!!

I purchased an item on my buying ID a few weeks back and I can tell you it was from a BIG retailer.... I then receive a few weeks later an offer of special discount to buy BUT not from their ebay account!!! They used my ebay email address!!! So I assume ebay is worried about Amazon coming to the market in Australia and perhaps you (ebay) have every right to be concerned because if Amazon does not treat their sellers as “liars, guilty”, and sneaky why would a business not change and go to an opposition that treats them with respect.

ebay you should be concentrating on your HUGE SELLERS who deal in whitegoods! Have Large B&M stores not the mini Mum & Dad sellers!! Get real!

Of course I am not in the category of a huge seller but I do pride myself on customer service and giving my customers an honest and professional transaction & service,  it is such an insult that ebay does not treat their customers (*sellers) in the same vein. 

I will be looking at other venues in the near future for selling my goods as I feel ebay has become a very negative atmosphere for me personally and do not feel I am being treated with respect or integrity to which I feel I deserve.  Whether you take on board what I have said in this message is neither important or necessary for me in my decision making regarding selling.  The fact that buyers cannot contact me to ask questions leaves a very sour taste in my mouth indeed and I can only assume a more sour taste in the buyers mouth towards me if they are not able to ask me questions about my products prior to selecting and making a purchase!!

Grow up ebay and be a professional selling and buying platform you once were and not be so paranoid in thinking with the adage “ Sellers on ebay sell off ebay therefore ALL sellers do”  when in fact it would more than likely be your big Market place sellers and not us little ones that your efforts should be intended!!

I would like to know if you took the time to read this... but then again why would you both when you are so busy trying to catch sellers who sell off ebay and not focus on facts that sellers care about.

[chameleon54]

Most of the letter is well thought out and on the money.  I,m not sure what you mean by " buyers being unable to ask questions '' though. This facility is still available and buyers can ask questions about an item. I have had a number of questions and communications from potential buyers in the last couple of days without any problems. Buyers or sellers just cant include their personal contact information in the message.

Like many I think this is not very helpful particularly when selling large pick-up items or things that should be inspected prior to bidding such as cars, but maybe ebay want to move away from these products anyway. I suspect ebay are moving to a model of only selling new items which can be mailed or couriered. Inspection before buying will not be required with these sorts of things as buyers would be relying on product reviews and research. ( hence the push for identifying numbers ) 

Unfortunately sellers of used, one - off items ( including myself ) need to keep an eye on ebay policy and have an exit strategy for when used, one -offs are no longer welcome on the site.

[*tippy*toes*]

Cham, unfortunately, there have been a number of sellers (and buyers) who have been stung by merely asking a question. No mention of pick up, no contact details requested or sent, just asking a question. Sellers have a right to be paranoid. What I find infuriating is buyers can now use it to their advantage if they like (not sure why they would, but they could). As we know, if either party stuffs up, both get blocked. A disgruntled buyer could ask a question on an active listing that would cause a block as payback to a seller. Yes, they themselves would get blocked, but that doesn't really matter.

To the OP, sadly, your email will fall on deaf ears. They don't care. They are having a drug induced paranoia (which normal people would be sent to a mental hospital over) and they're not about to stop it any time soon. They also don't care about idle threats to leave. You're only one person out of a billion. They know there are other sites, but they also know those other sites don't get the traffic, so most people don't sell much. They are also not worried about Amazon. It hasn't affected them in other countries that already have it, it's not going to bother them when it hits here. For the type of items I sell, Amazon is useless for both buyers and sellers because they don't sell this stuff. Amazon are not a threat to eBay at all.

[ivak245]

A fairly concise letter, which 99% of sellers would back you up on.... Unfortunately,  I think you would get a better reaction if you wrote to, say, the Easter Bunny. I would like to be proven wrong, but I know I wont.