Does Ebay ever seriously listen to its members?

[vintage-radio*com*au]

Recently I purchased a LED bike headlight off a seller who stated that free postage was offered. After the sale I was blocked from paying and a message was displayed that the seller would be using a private courier to freight the item instead and that I would have to provide a physical address so the item could be delivered. The problem here is that no-one is at home to receive parcels through the day and my employer frowns upon workers receiving parcels at the firm's loading dock. So how does one pay for and receive items in this situation, where the seller has misinformed potential buyers about delivery options? If had known that "postage" was not available then I would have avoided this seller.

So I go through the motions of an unpaid dispute, sending an appeal (which was ignored and I didn't get e-mailed my copy - fix your site Ebay) and then receiving the unpaid item strike - all without Ebay sending a formal response to the appeal.

In ten years+ on Ebay I have never before refused to pay for an item and have 100% positive feedback, including from many sellers with good reputations themselves. About 95% of my auction wins are paid for immediately following the auction and some sellers acknowledge this in their feedback to me. On this occasion I was simply mis-informed by the seller and because of this I was unable to receive the item, despite asking him to honour the postage option he displayed in his listing.

At the end of the day I don't care much about the unpaid strike - one in ten years doesn't seem much to worry about but there's two things I would like to say regarding the matter:-

1. Ebay's communication is below par. The sending of notices regarding unpaid items with no obviouslt successful way of explaining the issue is just pathetic. The fact that when I finally managed to find a form to lodge an appeal I didn't end up being responded to is also a joke. Communicating with Ebay should be far more streamlined and replies to concerns should be addressed far more expediently. These problems should not happen in the 21st century and involve companies worth billions of dollars.

2. Ebay needs to treat its feedback system more seriously. Members actively use it and I'd like to imagine that a vast majority of the comments left for all are truthful and accurate. I think the fact that I have 100% positive feedback and the seller I was dealing with has has 18 negative comments in the last year should be taken into account when dealing with disputes.

[digupatin]

Does Ebay ever seriously listen to its members?

From my limited experience, when I had issues recently - the answer is No.

Until their bottom line is seriously affected or China removes their sellers  - the answer is again no.

[digital*ghost]

Just a couple of things I think it's worthwhile mentioning. 

First and foremost, no, eBay doesn't really ever listen to its members. Most processes, communications, etc - especially on-site or via email, are automated, with formulaic responses that rarely - if ever - relate to the nature of the issue or enquiry.

Even if you manage to get a CS rep on the phone, most of what they are authorised to do and say is limited, contradictive, often false and/or misleading, and ultimately not that helpful at all. It is a genuine surprise to me, and many other members, when someone has an easy, positive interaction with ebay. 

That aside, "postage" in a listing refers to all methods of delivery, whether Australia Post is being used or not - this is eBay's doing, the seller has no control over the wording, but they do have control over the services they select. Most of the time, unless the postage section says "Freight" (which is almost invariably a courier service), you won't be able to tell whether a seller is using Australia Post or a courier unless you view the Postage & Payments tab in full, and even then sometimes they will select 'standard delivery' when they are using a courier, so hopefully there are other clues in those cases (eg won't send to PO boxes, mention of services used in a listing). 

A member who is exclusively a buyer can not receive anything except positive feedback, so while I do think it would be nice in some cases if a logical, reasonable and fair-thinking human being looked at specific cases and took things like a members trading history into account when trying to decide the outcome of a case, it should be a full and accurate reflection of a member's trading history..... and feedback as it currently stands is very, very..... very far from being able to show that. (And not just because buyers can't get "negs", but because there is so much FB left on eBay that is untrue, unfair and downright ridiculous). 

[vintage-radio*com*au]

 it should be a full and accurate reflection of a member's trading history...

Yes, I agree and I should clarify that I am both a buyer and seller and thus would be at risk of a Neg if I didn't do the right thing.

[digital*ghost]

BTW, did you know that the strike appeal / removal process is also automated? Once it's issued, eBay send buyer's an email with a link to appeal (as far as I know, anyway - so far I've only been on the issuing end, not the receiving end), eBay doesn't even pay any attention to the reason someone didn't pay (judging by the experiences posted to the forum by other buyers), so there's no actual person looking at cases at all, going "hmm, does this person deserve a strike or not...", it's just UPI closed without payment, strike is issued, no matter what. Then, appeal submitted, strike reversed (never once heard of one being turned down, at any rate, which just further undermines the systems eBay has in place to inform and/or protect members, be they buyer, seller or both). 

[vintage-radio*com*au]

I didn't know about the automation but I am not surprised to be honest. If neither a human being or even fuzzy logic analyses appeals them it is pointless having them and they should simply ditch it and award a strike no matter what. It won't improve Ebay's own reputation with the people that use the service but it'll save a bit of stuffing around.

[vintage-radio*com*au]

There is a link provided in their dispute e-mail however it doesn't go directly to the appeals process. It leads to a page where you can select from a few options, including appealing though the appeal process seems to be more for those who have paid and the seller has lied about whether they have received the payment or not. It includes options to insert images of photocopied cheques, to prove that such a payment method was used though how does one photocopy a cheque they claim to have sent? The whole system is bizarre and the way the options are labelled it would seem that there are submissions that Ebay simply does not want to receive.

[lyndal1838]

The provision to attach a photocopy of a cheque is because in the USA when a cheque has been presented and honoured the cancelled cheque is returned to the issuer.  If the buyer can show the cancelled cheque it proves that the seller has been paid.

However if you pay through paypal there is no question as to whether you have paid....you just enter the paypal Transaction ID into the appeal.

If the appeal process does not fit your scenarion just get on the phone to ebay and appeal it that way.

[curmu-curmu]

Sorry all...but it's time for this again!

[vintage-radio*com*au]

Some good news!

Today I received a message from Ebay stating that they have conducted a review of my trading history and have decided to remove the unpaid strike against my account.

This is the outcome that I was seeking so I am pleased with the result.

I guess I was a bit miffed at how things went down but am glad it is now all sorted.