This is a vent message more than anything, as there is no way to email eBay customer support and there is no point in calling the call centre to complain. After selling on eBay for 15 years, I am done. I am not a big business, just a person who sells stuff they no longer want. eBay has just gone too far with only looking after buyers and not taking care of sellers rights at all. In the last three months I have lost cases for the following reasons:
1. Item not as described - The buyer reported 'item not as described' as the sweater arrived in 'used' condition, not new. THIS WAS OBVIOUS AS IT WAS A USED SWEATER!!!!! In the conidition the item was listed as 'used' and the description stated the exact wear that the sweater had (even mentioning how many times it had been worn). I lost the case and had to pay for return postage (as well as the original postage as I had to refund the entire amount).
2. The buyer changed their mind after the item was sent. After 3 days the buyer contact me to inform me that they no longer wanted the item. They then marked it as 'not received' even though they told me through an eBay message it arrived but they crossed out their details and sent it back as they no longer wanted it. eBay found the case in their favour and I had to refund full amount including original postage.
3. Selling a game machine which was used once, I received a message 'item damaged'. The buyer said that the item arrived with a large crack in it. I wrapped it in a million layers of bubble wrap and put it in a box, but I know these things can happen in the mail. I agreed to refund the buyers money when they sent the item back. eBay took the money off me and refunded the buyer. After two weeks I contacted eBay to advise them that I had never received the returned game machine (worth $450). eBay advised me that it was not their concern and I would need to contact the buyer directly to find out the return details. Surprisingly the buyer never responded. Good for them, they knew how to play the game with eBay and received a free game machine.
4. The final straw was today when I just received an 'item not as described' on a water filter as the writing on the box was faded. Not only did I provide pictures of the faded writing I also put it in the description. The box is simply the packaging for the filter and has no influence on how the actual filter works. The buyer has now taken off the protective plastic and ripped open the box only to inform me that it wasn't as described. They want to send it back for a refund. Which would be find, but now I can't sell it or do anything with it. Goodbye $150. The buyer also has no feedback on eBay, so they probably didn't even know how to read the listing in the first place, but even so, my 764 postive feedback (with not a single negative or neutral feedback) over the span of 15 years counts for nothing.
Thank you anyone who has read up to this point - like I said, I just need to vent. God I am sick of eBay, they have truly turned into a disgusting organisation that has no regard for the sellers, particularly their 'power sellers'. Never again will I sell on here - as soon as they forcefully take the last $150 off me for the incorrectly described water filter which I am now unable to resell, I am done with both eBay and paypal for good. The biggest problem is that there are so many buyers now who know the rules and that eBay will always side with them (without even looking over the details of the case) and they play on that at the cost of us sellers who are just trying to make some money.
