I cancelled my eBay plus subscription as the coupons hardly ever work on the things that I want.
Summary: 88david88 expressed their decision to cancel their eBay Plus subscription due to the ineffectiveness of the coupons on products they desire. springyzone, clockwork_planet, and several others participated in the discussion, but their responses were not detailed in the content. The conversation suggests a shared sentiment of dissatisfaction, although specifics are not provided.
I got so frustrated with trying to work out why the EBay Plus coupons don’t won’t that I ended up just cancelling the subscription.
e.g. Why did the Black Friday coupon BLKFRI work on item https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/187787874717 ??
it’s a mystery. Just get a vague error message “This code can't be applied to your order.” and when I review the codes conditions there is no valid explanation given what I’m buying.
This is not the first time that I’ve wasted my time trying to use the so called benefits of eBay Minus!
I give up.
*casey*
·8 months ago"Now this seller has a FB of 99.3%, which I think your average casual, very occasional buyer might think a sensational score. Regulars here know it bears looking into.
But here's the thing.
When I click on that seller's feedback, I see a field of green dots.
This is a big seller with nothing but green for 'this item'.
When I look at all items, I still see a long list of green.
And down the bottom, I can scroll onto page 2 and 3 and so on, but if I want to see the real 'at a glance' view, I can't. Not unless I click on switch back to classic view small tab on side at the top"
Adding to springy's great post, even after that's all been done, the feedback page shows
"Most Relevant" as the default (which is usually all green) instead of "Most Recent" .
The buyer then does one last check so they click on the seller's About page and see eg:
About us
Location: Australia
Member since: 28 November 2015
Seller: xxxx
Top Rated Seller
xxxx is one of eBay's most reputable sellers. Consistently delivers outstanding customer service
The buyer then assumes it's a really good, experienced seller who's been selling here for the last 10 years and is highly recommended by eBay
padi*0409
·8 months agoThat's a bugbear of mine as well, at least allow us to nominate which one we want to see and I imagine most would pick "most recent".
lezned-toycollector
·8 months agoThe percentages are nothing but misleading fluff, and really aren't worth squat.
I found a seller with 99.4% a couple of days ago. They had just under 14,000 negs showing, and over 300 negs for the actual item I was searching for... needless to say, the back button came into play and they didn't get my $$$
springyzone
·8 months agoI agree with you that percentages can be very misleading.
You can get someone who is a good seller with a lower %, simply because they are not a big volume seller.
Or someone with a high percentage where you have a very ordinary experience.
But I still thing feedback has some value as a rough guide to possible issues.
They are extra information.
My gripe is that ebay lets the feedback do the talking but doesn't act on it. It expects buyers to do all the investigative work or take a risk on MBG. I suspect your seller also had a note to say they were one of ebay's most reputable sellers. Ebay could weed out the truly dreadful sellers and withhold accolades from the iffy ones.
i-once-was-bump
·8 months agoAnother issue I see is that sometimes the negative feedback has mostly come after the buyer has purchased then when they come here for help they are blamed for buying from a seller with a stack of negs.
I purchased from a bookseller with 95% (yes I decided to take the risk) and by the time my book arrived the seller's feedback had dropped to 59%. My book arrived well within the time frame and was exactly as ordered. Had I had an issued with my order I would have come here to be chastised for buying from a seller wiht 59% feedback.
*casey*
·8 months agoAnd sadly, much of this happens due to
eBay Aiding and Abetting FRAUD
I could fill a forum with examples but the following is just one.
Classic fake tracking scam.
I know for fact that it was reported to eBay before the OP posted the thread.
The OP was the first to leave negative feedback. Look at it now.
https://community.ebay.com.au/t5/Buying/Am-I-being-scammed-Seller-sent-cheap-item-and-is-now-desperate/td-p/2633264
springyzone
·8 months agoYes, I think that does happen a fair bit & it is probably frustration, because those of us on this forum have probably seen the same thing over and over and in the end, you do wonder, why can't people just take a second to at least look at feedback before they rush in to buy?
But you're right in that I think it does hurt quite a few new people who come in with a genuine enough complaint and then are bombarded with replies that say that they have been stupid and they are the problem. Sometimes we're killing the messenger rather than giving any practical advice.
It's true some people do make mistake after mistake and their transaction has been a complete disaster zone but it is ebay that needs to lift its game.
Just because we can navigate our way through some of the sections (feedback, seller location etc) it doesn't follow all buyers can or even realise some sections exist.
Part of the problem is ebay is (I think) trying to turn the focus onto products and not sellers & not seller location. Just products and prices, rather as Amazon does.
The difference though is Amazon has a lot more control over most of the goods and delivery.
i-once-was-bump
·8 months agoI think the ebay statement leads buyers to think 95% feedback is great
sandypebbles
·8 months agoAnd again, buyers only have to move their eyes slightly downwards to see the number of negs
I understand some feel that buyers should take zero responsibility for their buying choices, but that is what helps dodgy sellers keep on selling
The attitude 'it was listed so I had to buy it' as well
springyzone
·8 months agoThat's one aspect.
There is another.
I just looked up a seller who has one item in my watch list.
Now this seller has a FB of 99.3%, which I think your average casual, very occasional buyer might think a sensational score. Regulars here know it bears looking into.
But here's the thing.
When I click on that seller's feedback, I see a field of green dots.
This is a big seller with nothing but green for 'this item'.
When I look at all items, I still see a long list of green.
And down the bottom, I can scroll onto page 2 and 3 and so on, but if I want to see the real 'at a glance' view, I can't. Not unless I click on switch back to classic view small tab on side at the top.
So my guess is a lot of buyers assume this is a good seller. Unless they switch to classic view, there is no easy way for them to see this seller has 56 neutrals and 26 negs this month.
Ebay still has the info available to buyers but it is not quite as easy to see as it was a while ago before they switched to the new, improved format.
*casey*
·8 months ago@88david88
I've never used it but many posters have complained about being unable to use the coupons.
BUT
"Why did the Black Friday coupon BLKFRI work on item. This code can't be applied to your order"
Was that an eBay Plus Offer or this one, which may have expired ?
https://pages.ebay.com.au/buyer_coupons/2025/blkfri/
If it was an eBay Plus offer, ebayplus needs to be shown on the listing.
Only certain sellers are eligible to display the ebayplus badge and the seller of that item doesn't have it shown on any of his listings.
sandypebbles
·8 months agoAs far as *that* item goes, why would you want to buy from such a dodgy seller anyway?
Their feedback is awful
Red dot after red dot for not sending anything, sending random items and zero communication skills
It's a mystery as to why buyers want to keep support sellers like this one
i-once-was-bump
·8 months agoIt is not a mystery when ebay state
sandypebbles
·8 months agoAnd the buyers say otherwise
It is a mystery why people make the choice to only care what the eBay bot blurb says rather than think or care about why all the human buyers have left all the red dots
It is not hard
springyzone
·8 months agoI agree with you that people really should look at ebay feedback carefully before they buy.
Many buyers though are not particularly concerned with either checking or giving feedback, which on ebay is a mistake.
My own impression is people are slightly more inclined to give feedback on a site if they are unhappy about something, so it is not unusual see a mix of comments on any product or company.
But I do think a lot of buyers are swayed by the ebay blurb about a seller being one of ebay's most reputable sellers. For a start it is right up at the top before they have to delve into any details. And I think the reason for them being reassured is buyers assume that ebay cares about its good name and reputation and wouldn't describe a seller that way unless they were overall reliable and pretty good. That they must have proved themselves to ebay.
If ebay overhauls anything on its site, that is one thing it should target. The words should be a badge of honour, they should mean something. They should only go to sellers who not only sell regularly but who also have feedback in a very high range. That should be made clear to buyers and sellers.
For the rest, ebay should say nothing.
sandypebbles
·8 months agoIt should, and eBay shouldn't be bragging about dodgy as sellers being one of 'the best'
But all the red dots from real life human buyers are just as highly visible on the same page so it should not be a hard choice who to believe
It would be like me opening the front door, seeing it is pouring down rain and saying 'I'm not taking my umbrella because the BOM website says it is fine today
springyzone
·8 months agoThat gave me a smile. So true.😁
My guess is they see a mix of good and bad feedback and say to themselves that you can never please everyone and so they put their trust in ebay's comment instead. Big mistake.
And that is if they even bother to check feedback at all. I have to admit I have become very wary of some feedback from random unknowns (on other sites) but i go the other way and tend to mistrust some of the positive feedback.
I just cannot fathom though why ebay has to dole out such favourable comments to some very dodgy people.
clockwork_planet
·8 months agoYeah I found the same thing. I joined up and then found that I could never use it. Cancelled within the 30 day trial so I never paid for it.
Honestly it feels like eBay's time has passed.
springyzone
·8 months agoI've never personally been tempted to join as I don't buy enough to make it worth while.
What I have found is a lot of items on ebay are not covered by ebay plus and a lot of things I do buy have free postage anyway.
You'd be better off with one pass as it's cheaper and covers quite a few online stores & you really do save postage.
I guess that isn't much help as I don't know why your code is not working. Only thing I can think of is maybe ebay plus doesn't cover international items, but I don't know for sure. The item is in NZ.