Ebay: how do you...

[Ron Whitfield]

...really get ebay officials attention/contact for seller violations, instead of wasting time with the BS they provide?

I've submitted a question to them, but I don't expect much of a reply, in part due to the halfass way they set up questions for submission instead of getting the direct facts from the start.

[Nords]

Re: Ebay: how do you...

...really get ebay officials attention/contact for seller violations, instead of wasting time with the BS they provide?
I've submitted a question to them, but I don't expect much of a reply, in part due to the halfass way they set up questions for submission instead of getting the direct facts from the start.

I think the answer is "you can't". They've pretty much set things up to force you to use their process.

Assuming this was something you bought,
1. Use a credit card so that it doesn't matter whether eBay responds. You can challenge the charge with your credit-card company.
2. Let eBay know the facts through their "process" and then, once you get your money back, it's over.

Assuming you're a seller being nailed by some other seller, you can only document what's happening and hope that eBay eventually gets tired of the controversy. Or you can do what thousands of other sellers are doing and vote with your feet.

You could ask your question here or of one of the gazillions of "how to" authors & bloggers who do a lot of eBay business.

A few years ago an eBay seller was being "used" by another seller. The first guy would spend his day scarfing Dell computer deals and then he'd resell them on eBay at a small markup. The second seller was riding his coattails by offering almost exactly the same computers for a buck or two less. The second guy was even using images from the first guy's listing by just redirecting his buyers to the first guy's image URLs. Once the first guy realized what was happening, he added more code to his listing to redirect the second guy's shoppers to an image of a scorched computer. Problem solved, eBay never got involved.

Several years ago I was taken by an eBay seller for $1200 (four $300 BuyItNow transactions). I got a semi-coherent apology and a request for more time to make good, but nothing happened after another week of trying to start a discussion with the seller. So I e-mailed the whole laborious pile of crap to eBay and never heard from them. Meanwhile I challenged the charges on my card, which Mastercard reversed against PayPal. That presumably attracted eBay's attention but not in a manner that I could tell. Once I had my money back I notified eBay of the reversed charges. They closed out the dispute a month or two later and I never heard from a human being by e-mail, let along a postcard or a phone call.

I know that many eBay sellers never let their PayPal account have a balance of more than a few bucks. eBay has been known to "resolve" disputes or problems by sucking the money right out of the PayPal account, so the sellers make sure there's never more in the account than they're willing to lose. Kinda like having the IRS garnish your checking account...

Years ago you used to be routinely able to leave neutral feedback and maybe even an occasional negative one. Now neutral feedback is regarded as a heinous accusation and I don't even know if negative feedback can be left on a record anymore. So a seller or a buyer with a 99% rating may still be a scumbag, but it's not easy to tell from the feedback unless you can wade through it to find out what made people unhappy.

[Ron Whitfield]

Re: Ebay: how do you...

Fortunately, the weirdo that sent me some BS isn't the seller, I hope, different names/accounts, but you never know. I think I have it resolved, we'll see.

[Amati]

Re: Ebay: how do you...

My kids keep telling me to sell some excess inventory on Ebay. So far, I've not had the urge to take the time to learn how to do an Ebay account, etc. And now from your posts, I'm thinking it might not be worth the trouble.

For you HTers who buy/sell on Ebay, has it been worth the effort?

Is the local Craigslist a better choice, due to shipping cost when using Ebay?

[Nords]

Re: Ebay: how do you...

My kids keep telling me to sell some excess inventory on Ebay. So far, I've not had the urge to take the time to learn how to do an Ebay account, etc. And now from your posts, I'm thinking it might not be worth the trouble.
For you HTers who buy/sell on Ebay, has it been worth the effort?
Is the local Craigslist a better choice, due to shipping cost when using Ebay?

I'd always prefer selling through Craigslist over eBay because you can meet the buyer somewhere to swap goods/cash. Saves a lot of shipping/postage hassle.

I've been buying over eBay sporadically for the last eight years, but last weekend was the first time I'd started selling. (I'm unloading oddball family "heirlooms" that have been dumped on me with no stories or other documentation, and it's not moving through Craigslist.) If you've never used eBay before then it's definitely worth reading a book (like this one, the first eBay book I read) or a how-to website written by an author other than eBay. eBay & PayPal can pull some nasty surprises transaction protection on both buyers & sellers, buyers can do the same to sellers, and eBay/PayPal don't always offer full disclosure in clear language.

I have a dozen things to sell, I'm probably going to net $100-$150, and I have no plans to ramp it up to a hobby/career. But I know shipmates who've moved quite a bit of merchandise over the years through buying at local garage sales and reselling over eBay.

David Owen wrote a book a few years ago about kids & money. When his kids discovered eBay they started reselling their old clothes, toys, Pokémon cards, and video games. He said they also started taking much better care of their possessions: saving the original packaging, instructions, & accessories, using them with care, and thoughtfully planning their sales around holidays or Disney promotions. If your kids are so eager to have you unload stuff on eBay then maybe they'd be willing to do the work for you.

I have a cousin (near Chicago) who's made a high-paying hobby out of selling for others on eBay-- she assesses their items, estimates their likelihood of selling and what price they'd probably bring, takes the photos, does the transaction for the owner, and then keeps a third of the net. You may be able to find a local entrepreneur willing to take the hassle out of your hands for a cut of the cash.

[tutusue]

Re: Ebay: how do you...

[...]You may be able to find a local entrepreneur willing to take the hassle out of your hands for a cut of the cash.

There's a business that does this...sorry, can't remember the name...on Queen St., a block or so ewa of Ward Ave., makai side of the street.

[Kalihiboy]

Re: Ebay: how do you...

I've had mostly good experiences on Ebay, but have had a couple bad experiences. One person didnt stick to their original quote on shipping and requested that I send them some more money, I did and that was the last I heard from them. I put a complaint into Ebay and they said 3 weeks had passed and it was too late to file a complaint. Another time the person kept making excuses as to when they would mail the material, it went on and on, and again it was too late to file a claim. Problem I have with Ebay is this the 3weeks or so they give you to file claims simply is not enough time because a large number of items are shipped to Hawaii via parcel post, media mail, etc. and those items can take anywhere from 3 to 8 weeks in my experiences. Well if the seller claims they mailed the stuff and you wait for that time period for it and it doesnt come, then they are off the hook and we are essentially punished because we're in Hawaii because of our location. Not fair. I complained to Ebay about this and said it is unfair and there should be special exemptions to buyers and sellers in both Hawaii and Alaska because of lengthier shipping times. They said they would consider my proposal but most remarks from them I was under the impression 'well Hawaii is in the United States so why should you get special rules'. Still not right or fair.
Unfortunately I was screwed out of about $200 or so which is kind of alot, but 2 bad transactions out of 100+ is not too bad I guess.

[Ron Whitfield]

Re: Ebay: how do you...

I've rarely had a bad experience and have many good, but when you're salivating for something and have already paid, then the deal get's squirrelly, like this one, and the sweet Strat I may have fumbled yesterday ...
I love on-line shopping but it has it's drawbacks and can cost you at least what you've saved on previous trannys.