ebay policies can't be violated

[dick_steel]

I reported listings today that list items at a low price and use menus for you to make selections for the item you want.

Once a selection is made the item price increases by 33%.

No matter what selection combination is made there is no item available at the advertised price.

I reported this to ebay and received a reply stating that this didn't violate ebay policy.

I think it might violate Australian consumer law policies though.

I'm waiting for a reply to find out 😉

PS.  If you're in Australia, try and buy a pair of compression socks for $6.88.

[davewil1964]

No matter how smart or clever you are, there will be a possibilty that you will be scammed.

Empirical evidence?

I've never been scammed, but I have a couple of braincells and a realistic attitude.

[countessalmirena]

@au.1624,

If an Australian seller were to promise a warranty and not honour it - assuming that it’s an authorised business - it isn’t up to eBay to provide consumer assistance. It’s not their purview, for one thing.

The buyer in such a situation has the protection of Australian Consumer Legislation. Even if the seller couldn’t readily help, the local distributor or the manufacturer, as appropriate, has a responsibility and can be pursued through legal means if warranty weren’t being honoured.

eBay are not an agent of the ACL or ACCC (au contraire!). Their responsibility ends with the cessation of the 30-day MBG period. But it doesn’t affect the protections of a buyer buying an authorised brand from an authorised business.

When it comes to warranties offered by Chinese sellers, well… there isn’t any warranty. The words are cynical falseness, misleading, designed to lure in foolish Australian buyers by any means. I think eBay should be forbidding any words to the effect of a warranty in listings by sellers registered on eBay.cn - I doubt it will happen (for various reasons).

But in terms of what eBay could do 3 months down the track… nothing.

I want to reiterate that an Australian warranty has value because it’s both legally applicable and enforceable. A Chinese “warranty” is like an expulsion of wind from the nether regions of an orc.

I’d also say that buying an expensive phone from a random seller on eBay, especially if the buyer hasn’t checked where the seller’s registered, whether they’re an authorised Australian dealer for that phone, what their ABN is, and so on, is a recipe for disaster.

This is an age of rampant scams. Online scams promulgate the reach of these scams and massively enlarge the potential pool of victims. Human behaviour has to play a part in how we protect ourselves as much as possible.

[gutterpunkz05]

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@au.l624 wrote:

Yes you are correct buyers have a choice. Only if they are aware of the choice they make will lead them to be scammed.

Do you think people have a choice when they get scammed? No matter how smart or clever you are, there will be a possibilty that you will be scammed. What I am saying is ebay allows this to happen and people like you  will blame the buyers for being stupid. 

I did not left it for 7 months.  After 3 months I made the complaint. You are not helping but supporting ebay to allows dodgy sellers. 

Located in: Fairfield East, Australia

Ok, the seller is in China. Agreed. What will ebay do if the seller is actually an authorised Australian seller that will not honour the warranty? The same thing, they can get away with it. 

You should understand if a seller in China can do it the anyone can do the same thing. This is where ebay has to step up and do something about this. You need to understand this and think hard if this continues the way ebay is going, might as well say there is no such thing as warranty here at ebay.  Whatever you get is whatever random luck.

If the item is $1000 mobile device with 1 year Australian warranty and dies on the 11 month, are you going to say to the buyer " why did you wait till 11 months to get help"?  As I said, its not about the price, its the principle. 

se use your common sense

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What a waste of time, read and comprehend the User agreement you have accepted and in addition learn how and when a valid warranty can be enforced.

[au.l624]

You deserve a medal. Good on you.

So what you are saying to innocent victims out there they don't have any braincells?

Maybe those 2 braincells may need 2 more

[davewil1964]

So what you are saying to innocent victims out there they don't have any braincells?

Pretty much.

I have many more than 2 braincells, but 2 is all that is needed to pick a scam

[springyzone]

Yes you are correct buyers have a choice. Only if they are aware of the choice

If the item is $1000 mobile device with 1 year Australian warranty and dies on the 11 month, are you going to say to the buyer " why did you wait till 11 months to get help"?

You have made a couple of valid points here.

Many buyers on ebay are not aware of some of the factors at play on ebay. They may think they know how things work, but often they are not aware at all that, for example, an item listed as in Australia may in fact be coming from a seller registered in China.

There are ways to look this information up, but anyone who just reads the actual ad will never see it.

Just a word about warranties. Ebay does not, as countess said, get involved in warranties. It is a place for sellers to sell. Ebay does not make any claims as to the quality of the items listed or anything else. It has a money back guarantee if you don't get what you ordered, but that is it.

Ebay is a really risky place to buy anything at all that requires a warranty. Always consider-if something goes wrong, who do I return it to? How do i get it fixed?

If your seller is overseas, they can afford to just ignore you, Australian law can't touch them.

Even if they are willing to help, it might be an expensive exercise. I have a friend who many years back, bought a camera that was faulty on arrival. She thought the seller was in Australia but nope, she was asked to send it overseas for repairs. They did fix it, I will give them their due, but it was a costly lesson for her.

Many people on these forums have complained that their warranty was not honoured by the sellers, even Australian sellers. The lesson is clear. Never buy expensive stuff on ebay from any random seller. If it is an authorised seller, that is different.

I think some big retailers also list on ebay so you'd be okay with them but if you buy from Joe Blow from Woop Woop north, they can afford to just ignore you.

Some random sellers here might offer a 1 to 3 year warranty.

By the stage something goes wrong, you could well be out of time to claim on ebay, paypal or a bank charge back.

So if you're about to spend hundreds of dollars, be extremely careful where you buy from. Ebay may not be the place for some items.

[springyzone]

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@dick_steel wrote:

I reported listings today that list items at a low price and use menus for you to make selections for the item you want.

Once a selection is made the item price increases by 33%.

No matter what selection combination is made there is no item available at the advertised price.

I reported this to ebay and received a reply stating that this didn't violate ebay policy.

I think it might violate Australian consumer law policies though.

I'm waiting for a reply to find out 😉

PS.  If you're in Australia, try and buy a pair of compression socks for $6.88.

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It can be annoying, for sure. Often it is one of those multi listings where the low priced item isn't anything like what you are looking for. If there was nothing at all in the list available at $6.88, was there something marked as out of stock?

It would violate ebay policies, I am sure, if there was nothing at all that was at the low price, even an out of stock item.

Being honest with you though, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a pair of quality compression socks for $6.88.

I am not sure what you are wanting them for, but if it is for eg long distance travel, be wary as I don't think ones at this price point would give you the protection you are looking for.

[nicqtaro]

Agree with that totally. All my friends have at least one unpleasant buying experience with  ebay poor customer service support, price not attractive, short refund window.  

[nicqtaro]

What a humble human being you are

[countessalmirena]

🧦🗜️💵

There is something very wrong if an unrealistically low price is assumed to be an attractive price.