Why I'm leaving ebay as a seller

[bricksnmortar]

Some time back I pulled both my personal and all our work selling accounts off ebay. The changes to the policies made being a seller impossible. You couldn't even leave negative feedback for a buyer. This prevented us from being honest and that goes against my values. There was no point having a rating system if it was not honest.

I'd hate to think how many hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of product we had sold on ebay.

Some time later ebay wrote to me seeking a return to ebay. I was very hesitant. Had ebay changed?

Recently I sold a camera flash. It was in immaculate condition, listed as used but said 'as new' condition. The ad showed exactly what was included. Every item. The item was tested as working perfectly. It was tagged as no returns.

The flash sold. The flash was shipped on time.

The buyer complains to ebay he expected an extra cable to be included even though it was not listed and was not shown in any photos. He asked ebay for a return and this was granted by ebay and the money was pulled from our account. The listing showed photos of exactly what was included. The item was exactly as described. The item worked perfectly. And yet ebay has forced a return on us and taken the money.

Today I reached out via chat to talk to ebay. After presenting the points above they ended up simply cutting off the conversation. So we have sent out a perfect item, on time and ebay has taken the money and hung up a support conversation.

Ebay is simply a terrible place for sellers, there are competitors now who allow us to trade honestly. There is no point coming to us again because after all the reassurances, you haven't changed. You simply do not care about customers or about delivering value to the planet and that is the worst sin a business could commit.

[padi*0409]

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@imastawka wrote:

You forgot to mention the trebuchet.

Chamo got one of them those?

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Ah yes, the Trusty Treb Stawks...................or Paccie Flinga......................

                                                        

[chameleon54]

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@imastawka wrote:

You forgot to mention the trebuchet.

Chamo got one of them those?

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OK you got me there,

Spoiler

Unless of course theres one packed away in the trunks in the shed that I,ve forgotten about..........

When I was a young bloke we used to shear sheep for an eccentric multi millionaire.  The guy had unlimited money AND WAS A HOARDER .....He had around 15-20 acres, plus numerous large sheds crammed with everything you could imagine from old washing machines to army tanks and Rolls Rorce cars. At lunch time we would play a game where we would think of an object and see if the guy had it tucked away somewhere. Nine times out of ten he came through.

Spoiler

I never thought to ask if he had a trebuchet though !

@ Padi, - very impressive work ( although I do think you have too much time on your hands.....   ) So did the trebuchet work well ?, Any videos of it in action ?

[bricksnmortar]

Thanks to all ther replies. Regarding timing of the return, the buyer requested the return, escalated it and as soon as they did that ebay granted the return. When I messaged a supervisor (all call centre staff and managers are in Phillipines) they said that the return had already been granted and there was nothing I could do. I asked when was the opportunity I had to step in to avoid that and they said that they review the case and make a decision and that's all there is.

So this says to me that any buyer can return any item whenever they want and there is nothing a seller can do. The 'no returns' checkbox is a sham. Your statements about your own policies are pointless. Its ebay's sandpit and they will do what they want. Being fair is irrelevant. Spending time looking into an issue to determine what's fair is irrelevant.

I wanted to reach out to the local ebay offices and there isn't one. It also makes me think that ebay will almost certainly avoid paying tax in most countries since when I search for ebay as a legal entity locally there isn't one, just an overseas entity in what appears to be a tax haven. That actually makes me feel ill thinking if they are actually scamming the system as well and diverting money away from local schools, hospitals etc.

[lyndal1838]

Actually ebay Australia and New Zealand is registered with ASIC and always has been.

Ebay is also registered for GST and has been collecting it on overseas purchases since July last year and remitting it to the ATO.

The ebay offices in Australia are located in Sydney although they are unlikely to give you any information.

Use the 1800 Freecall number and you will be connected to ebay staff in the USA....not the Phillipines Call Centre.

And the ebay Head Office is in San Jose CA.....not a Tax Haven.

[brerrabbit585]

If ebay paid taxes in Australia they'd pass it on in fees to the sellers, who'd pass it on to the buyers in their prices (if they could), so one way or another ebay wouldn't be the ones contributing to the tax coffers.

[countessalmirena]

@bricksnmortar,

I'm sorry you're in that position.

•  
• Can you confirm that the buyer chose the return option on the basis of "not as described"?
• Has the item already been sent by the buyer? (Proof of despatch?)
• Have you already received the item back?

Depending upon your answers to those questions, perhaps further help can be given. (I'm not 100% sure, but at least if we know the answers to those questions, targeted replies on these thread could be of help to you.)

I am really surprised that you describe it as the buyer requesting the return and then apparently being able to escalate it immediately. eBay say:

❝Once you start a return, the seller has 3 business days to sort things out. If your problem isn't resolved at the end of those 3 days, you can ask us to step in and help.❞

You should have had 3 days in which to contact eBay and tell them that the buyer was claiming Not As Described on the basis of something not promised in the listing. The buyer should not (so far as I am aware) have been able to escalate immediately.

If you didn't have those three days, it is certainly appearing unfair (and against eBay policy - although I suppose eBay cover themselves with this caveat from the MBG policy page: ❝In some circumstances, eBay may also automatically accept a return request on a seller's behalf and require the buyer to return the item to the seller.❞

Should you decide to contact eBay now, just to ensure that you don't have any defects as a result of this, you could also refer to eBay's Return an item for a refund page when speaking with the CS rep:

❝Misuse of returns or eBay Money Back Guarantee

eBay Money Back Guarantee is designed to protect both buyers and sellers. If we decide that a member is misusing returns on eBay, or eBay Money Back Guarantee, they may be subject to a range of actions, including limits on buying and selling privileges and account suspension. Examples of misuse include:

• Selecting an inaccurate reason for returns
• Disregarding item conditions required for returns
• Requesting an excessive number of returns❞

[mooniemarked]

Ive sold $700 worth of my craft this month and got back **bleep** all .. I've been able to withdraw $150 at the most ...i reakon.
so I'm either doing something wrong ...OR... ""eBay got together with PayPal....just to say "" this is how we are going to rip everyone off..without them even realising it..".the proof is I the screenshots I've just taken of my bank account ...my PayPal and my ebay...and yes I'm willing to share it all with the world..I'm **bleep** ...right now because to me it just doesn't add up.

[davewil1964]

There has been, for a couple of years now, a 21 day hold on payments to new sellers. Which is what you appear to be. Once you get enough feedback/time selling the hold will be released and you will get access to your funds straigh away.

There are quite a few old threads that go into more detail - try reading those, but don't post on them please.

[bricksnmortar]

registering a presence with ASIC to operate in the country and having a Pty Ltd or other entity are VERY different.

https://abr.business.gov.au/Search/ResultsActive?SearchText=ebay

I do not get billed from Ebay in the US, your statement "And the ebay Head Office is in San Jose CA.....not a Tax Haven." is clearly a misrepresentation of the facts.Ebay operate out of places like Luxembourg and Ireland which are known tax havens and Ebay has regularly bee targeted around the world for using them

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/google-facebook-amazon-ebay-apple-7251746

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/treasury/technology-giants-paying-just-1-per-cent-...

I'm guessing you have some incentive to defend ebay in the face of all the evidence?

[bricksnmortar]

I do not see a reason for returning the item in the resolution centre, however hte buyer claimed the item was not working because the extra cable was not included for him to be able to test it with. The battery that you would also need to test it was not mentioned. 

The item was received by the buyer, tracking number and confirmed by the buyer

I have not received the item back but ebay has provided notification that the buyer has initiated the process.