Unscrupulous selling practices across the entire site

[kent9206]

Hi all!

Just wanted to get everyone's opinions on some changes to eBay that I only just noticed about a year ago, after having signed up for an account well over a decade ago.

Back then eBay was certainly the premier online marketplace for practically anything IMHO. Now it seems as though the company is getting greedier by the day, and encouraging their sellers to do the same.

A simple search for product X, sorted by price + postage, no longer brings up only product X listings in the order you'd expect; rather you're bombarded with what I'd call clickbait ads. Each one is carefully crafted to make it look 10x cheaper than the associated product/s actually are, and you don't find this out until you look at the actual listing.

At that point you realise that the listing isn't just for product X, but also products Y and Z. Oh and they all come in 10 different colours, each one being a different price! Plus, if you buy 50, you get a 1 cent per unit discount! Wow, what a sweet deal! NOT!!!!

OK, I'm obviously exaggerating, but seriously guys...what gives??? And as if everything I've said so far wasn't bad enough, you don't even notice that you're being scammed until you log into your account!

If you're like me and are paranoid about the multitude of cookies that every man and his dog wants to put on your PC these days, then you come to the site as a guest, search for whatever, end up finding a listing that you like, click "Buy It Now" and are then prompted to sign in.

That's when the price can suddenly jump up a few dollars, because you didn't realise that the blue one was more expensive than the red one (for example). But once that cookie exists on your PC and eBay can effectively track your every move, then the price auto-updates via AJAX as soon as you change your selection.

Has anyone else noticed and been annoyed by these things as much as me? Or am I just being pedantic? MTIA 

[4channel]

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@maranock wrote:

Revisiting what was 'back in the day' is irrelevent. There is no point to it as policies have changed and things are different so it is a waste of everyones time and energy.

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There's no waste of time or energy. If someone's opinion or observation is of no interest to someone else then that someone else can skip it and go to something else.

[maranock]

These forums are not about giving emotional support, a shoulder to cry on, or observations as a whole. That is what your therapist, or Facebook is for.

These forums are for giving guidence and advice for real Ebay problems and helping people navigate Ebay rules and regulations.

[4channel]

Well the OP was looking to discuss a valid point and the problem is that this forum has a few people who have banded together to decide what is hip and what isn't. Some people get chased away! That's not fair.

From time to time there have been concerns about bullying here that have been expressed by members other than myself.

I actually found the OP's intro post even though a bit long for a Mr. Lazybones reader like me,  it was quite well thought out, valid and interesting.

[jellybirddesigns]

@maranock

It would be great then if those with questions were given straight answers without know-it-all attitudes and snide comments.

[kent9206]

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@4channel wrote:

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@maranock wrote:

Revisiting what was 'back in the day' is irrelevent. There is no point to it as policies have changed and things are different so it is a waste of everyones time and energy.

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There's no waste of time or energy. If someone's opinion or observation is of no interest to someone else then that someone else can skip it and go to something else.

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OMFG you took the words right out of my mouth!! Thank you so much! And that goes to everyone else who has stuck up for me as well, especially @jellybirddesigns who gave me the word I was really looking for when I resorted to "passive agressive": snarky. There is no need for it and it is just plain rude!

I apologise for creating yet another thread on this topic, but I guess my Google Fu needs some fine tuning. Plus I should have searched this site directly too. Although as mentioned before, I ended up on the US forums after doing a Google search, didn't realise that and continued to search that site for similar threads for a minute or two before giving up. I can now see that it certainly is a well-known and often-discussed topic, on both that site and this one. But I just didn't know the right keywords to use to find those posts initially.

Anyway once again I apologise if I wasted anyone's time, but I never forced you to reply. I simply wanted to know whether this was something that people were disgusted by as much as me, and for anyone to whom the answer is "no", I would expect you to completely ignore my post and not waste your valuable time!

I also hoped for (but didn't expect) some pointers to get around these listings, which the Americans, @maranock and @springyzone have given me. So thank you to those peeps as well 😄 And btw maranock, I realise now that this isn't really a place for opinions, but rather constructive questions and answers, so I apologise for not making those hopes clear.

[kent9206]

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

So two Americans have the same viewpoint as you do? That speaks volumes when you think of the millions of Americans who use ebay.

Compare that with the much lower volume of Australians who use ebay, and the even lower numbers who come to the boards.....how many Australians agree with you?

I am among the many ebayers who never sign out of their accounts.....why do you think it is an unsafe practice?   I have never had a problem in all the years I have done this.

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While you make a very valid point about their population vs. ours, I don't appreciate the snarkiness. And I don't think that staying signed in is "unsafe" per-se, just a violation of my privacy and freedom. As shoppingbag* eluded to after your post, cookies are almost-always used for tracking and ad serving these days - two things that I loathe with every fibre of my being.

Tthe worst part is, the regular Joe on the street or your mum or dad would have no idea that saving a second of time costs them that freedom. Of course, you have the right to feel differently though, and I respect your opinion in regards to how it affects you. Please pay me the same courtesy 🙂

[kent9206]

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@shoppingbag* wrote:

Just wipe your history and cookies when you log out.  Cookies are only placed so they can give you ads for similar things, sometimes I find this is a help.  We are all aware of these types of misleading and annoying listings, nothing is forcing you to look at them or buy from them. These have been around forever. I really don't waste my time thinking about such things because they are a fact of life, and here to stay. If this is all you have to worry about in life then good on you, your life must be fantastic. The rest of us have much more serious issues to worry about.

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LOL you just proved my point. i.e. "so they can give you ads for similar things" 😉 You might find that helpful but I find it intrusive and annoying. I came on the site to look for X, that doesn't mean I'd like to be upsold Y and Z as well. I hate upselling in general. Yes I could simply ignore those ads and I always do, but as a web developer it gets really tiresome to turn on your PC every day for work and be constantly bombarded by such **bleep**. Especially when eBay is not the only source of it...not by far.

The variation listings also haven't been around "forever", they are a fairly-recent thing considering how old eBay is and how long I've been a member. Or maybe I just didn't notice them for the better part of a decade (though I doubt it).

Anyway sorry I know I'm ranting so I'll shut up now. Have a good day 🙂

[kent9206]

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@*tippy*toes* wrote:

The only advantage of not being logged in while you search, is that you don't get bombarded with emails from eBay asking if you're still interested in X item.

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And it's not worth having that advantage because...? Emails like that are the bane of my existence. To which you may think "OMG get a life", it's so trivial, etc. But when you get hundreds of spam emails every day, and can't delete that account because it is so ingrained into your work and personal life that the headache of changing would be worse, well how would you feel??

[maranock]

You can turn off the annoying emails in your account settings.

[kent9206]

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@springyzone wrote:I've been annoyed myself when it has happened to me. You go to look at eg a cake topper and think it is seems unusually cheap at $1 or $2, only to find the one that drew your interest is $14.

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OMG thank you!! That's exactly what I'm talking about! But to me it isn't just annoying, it's downright fraudulent and eBay should do something about it!

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@springyzone wrote:

From memory, I think ebay rules are (or were) that listings like that were supposed to be for 'like' products. So for example, same dress but different sizes or different colours. But for sure, some ebay sellers abuse the concept.

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LOL I've never seen a single one that doesn't abuse the concept. And since this is such a commonly-discussed and hated concept, I don't believe that eBay's inaction on the matter is a sign of good will. They say it is not meant to be abused because of course they have to, or their public image would go down the toilet and the buyers would disappear. But will they do anything about it? Of course not, since it means more money for them!

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@springyzone wrote:

If you're after some cheaper or smaller items, sometimes it pays to make the search Australia only. I'm not saying that you'll never get those annoying listings then, but they seem more common amongst Chinese sellers.

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LOL you hit the nail right on the head there! It is most-definitely a predominantly-Chinese thing, but searching Australia only (is there any other way to search? :P) doesn't get rid of them, because many of them have emmigrated to here and set up shops in our own backyards!

Not all of them are unscrupulous **bleep**s of course, in fact most are the nicest people you'll ever meet. But enough of them are for it to warrant concern. I'm trying my best not to be racist here, but how else do you say something that is so easily observed by searching for any small electronic appliance, or accessories for your phone or computer (and yes, that is what I predominantly search for)?