Should eBay alert Sellers and Buyers to Pitfalls re Postage?

[kalwal]

I just learned the hard way that it is not enough to send an item with tracking, as eBay encourages you to do. What they neglect to tell you is that you should also send it with extra cover for the item's full value, as they will not "protect" you if the parcel gets lost in transit. For me, eBay's insistence on tracking has always been good enough to feel protected as long as I used tracking. That and the assumption that the high fees I am paying should not just be so that eBay can offer protection to buyers who contribute absolutely nothing to their protection.

And talking about buyer protection, eBay also neglects to tell buyers that they will not be protected if tracking shows that an item was delivered although the buyer may never have received it, either due to it being mis-delivered or falsely scanned as delivered.

My question really is whether eBay should (or has to) disclose above pitfalls to their members many of whom would not be aware of them and as a result could find themselves misled and financially disadvantaged?

[gutterpunkz05]

Ebay is not the carrier and is not responsible for lost or damaged items.   Ebay purely provides labels on behalf of carriers with which they have negotiated discounted rates.  Any claims for loss or damage in transit, should be directed to the relevant carrier.

[kalwal]

That is true. But why then does eBay suddenly feel responsible when a buyer claims an item has not been received. Should eBay not tell the buyer to make enquiries with the carrier?

[kopenhagen5]

eBay does.

They tell the buyer to work it out with the seller whom has the contract with the carrier.

Then if a dispute arises, eBay has the MBG to fall back on for buyers.

[veiled-lady]

I'm not sure why anyone would think eBay would cover the cost of an item lost or damaged in transit.

That's not something I ever even thought of until now.

Tracking is mainly to help the seller prove that an item has been sent within a seller's handling time, and then delivered to the buyer.

You may have a bit of a point about buyers not realising that they will lose an INR if tracking shows delivered to their suburb (I think, or within a certain distance of their address), as some people just take "buyer protection" at face value and don't read all the rigmarole surrounding that.

I just think that too many people assume things without ascertaining all the facts.

[kalwal]

That does not really answer my question, does it?

[davewil1964]

The real question is 'should buyers or sellers do some level of due diligence'?

According to you - no.

According to anybody with a couple of braincells to rub together - yes.

Insurance for items valued over the default provided by the carrier has always been the responsibility of the seller. Given that said insurance covers the seller. The buyer, on eBay, is protected by the MBG. If your margins are so slim that you can't pay a couple of bucks for insurance to cover yourself, then you should probably look at your business model.

[kalwal]

The question really was whether eBay should DISCLOSE the pitfalls of postage. I am sure I have a point somewhere because eBay did not send me a transcript of our chat as they usually do.  Unless it's a convenient technical failure, I might have given them something to think about. For example, should they recommend to sellers to take out extra cover as tracking alone won't do in case of loss in transit, and should they disclose to buyers that they are not protected by the MBG if the carrier scans an item as delivered, but the buyer didn't receive it, either due to mis-delivery or theft. I have had this happen to me, and the carrier refused to accept responsibility while eBay did not want to know about their MBG. I can understand, why, since anyone could come along and claim not to have received something when in fact they did. But the end result is that the honest buyer loses their money and the goods, and that makes eBay's MBG somewhat questionable. Still, the point is not ebay's policies but their full disclosure of them.

[gutterpunkz05]

My last transcript took a few days to come through, so I strongly doubt you have given ebay any cause for concern at all