Is Ebay RIFing Sellers?

[Jim in Idaho]

ebay doesn't allow sellers to leave negative feedback for a buyer. That being said, I agree with your basic point that ebay needs to police their business and takes steps to minimize the number of irresponsible (or worse, dishonest) sellers and buyers. If this is actually happening, I'm all for it also.

Yes...but that is a relatively recent new rule. If you go back 10 years, or maybe even less, it was common practice that sellers would leave negative feedback as punishment for the buyer who left negative feedback, even if the buyer paid promptly, and got screwed by the seller. So, the result was all sellers got treated pretty well....buyer were afraid to leave the TRUE feedback the bad sellers really deserved.
The way EBay should have been setup was first of all...no returns on purchases. Second, if the buyer paid promptly, they got positive feedback. Then the bad sellers would get the feedback they deserved, and in the case where buyers left bad feedback for sellers that didn't deserve it, all sellers would eventually get some negatives, but it would all balance out, and buyers would see, and discount, a certain amount of negatives on sellers. Then Ebay should have rooted-out the sellers that were consistently causing problems. They also should have rooted-out buyers who didn't pay. With everything being done by credit card, or PayPal, there's no excuse for not paying....NONE. But EBay wanted all the sellers they could get...because that's who generates the revenue to Ebay. It was short-term thinking, and it's proving a pain-in-the-butt to correct.
Jim

 

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[trdhrdr007]

Non-paying buyers are the least objectionable type of bad buyer. Having to relist an item is not the end of the world. The ones I can't stand are the ones that.....claim the item never got there.....or that the package arrived & nothing was in it....want to send the item back because it has a scratch that was clearly shown in the auction photos & expect the seller to pay for return postage....etc.

 

[Iron Patch]

Yeah ebay decided to go with the Rumsfeld Iraq invasion strategy.

Has anyone made the point that most big sellers actually start out as small sellers? To kill them off it's like cutting the funding to education, who's going to do the jobs down the road. Makes no sense.

 

[Cojones]

Non-paying buyers are the least objectionable type of bad buyer. Having to relist an item is not the end of the world. The ones I can't stand are the ones that.....claim the item never got there.....or that the package arrived & nothing was in it....want to send the item back because it has a scratch that was clearly shown in the auction photos & expect the seller to pay for return postage....etc.

Try getting back a brick instead of what you sold. Now that's a bad buyer.
Happened to me a couple of years ago.

 

[Jim in Idaho]

Non-paying buyers are the least objectionable type of bad buyer. Having to relist an item is not the end of the world. The ones I can't stand are the ones that.....claim the item never got there.....or that the package arrived & nothing was in it....want to send the item back because it has a scratch that was clearly shown in the auction photos & expect the seller to pay for return postage....etc.

Yup...and that's why I think there should be a "no return" policy. That's how onsite auctions work...should be the same for Ebay. That would mostly solve the "buyer" problems.
Jim

 

[jerseyben]

Yup...and that's why I think there should be a "no return" policy. That's how onsite auctions work...should be the same for Ebay. That would mostly solve the "buyer" problems.
Jim

Returns have nothing to do with it. When you go to list something, there is an option to accept returns or not.

The problems arise when people claim they never got the item or claim it is not as described. Often times, that is extremely subjective or people outright abuse the system.

Regardless of whether or not you selected "returns accepted", you are gonna be accepting a return whether you like it or not.

 

[CC-Hunter]

Yes, the most difficult problem is buyers who say they never receive the item (happens to me more with lower-priced or internationally shipped items that have no tracking number). To protect your feedback you just have to issue a refund and move on.

Back to the original issue in the thread, ebay may or may not be doing things that discourage sellers, but I am a small time ebay seller (no more than several hundred in sales per month) and I haven't seen any effort to get rid of me. In fact, I just get a lot of free listings.

 

[Nickleanddime]

The only thing I see fing buyers is these people that start stuff out way way to high. And that from the sellers us ring the web to price stuff. I price mine in any setting by "natural" profit. Example if I pay $1 for something and I know the price should have been $10 ill price it at $15 so ill get my ten. That way the buyer feels they get a good deal and they will price it at $20 to get that $$15 most of the time. I think to many retail sellers are losing the basics of business. They price to high and leave to much stock in store or closet. Recently I bought a lamp that I sold for 18.50 in a antique store they wanted $45, asked how long they had it and they said about 10 years!! I paid $2 for mine and still made a good profit, and so the next guy could get a good one to. That's how business works in the resale world, you gotta leave a little for the buyer to sell on a rainy day.

 

[Mindrot]

I started my own side business selling tackle on eBay. I'll be completely honest. I find it extremely difficult to find reasons to keep going with the insane fees. Not to mention paypal fees.

 

[RustyGold]

Ebay takes away your seller account then lets you buy on ebay? I wonder how many people that would turn off?

 

[Old Bookaroo]

Jim in Idaho:

I don't post feedback for my buyers until they have received the books (almost everything I sell) and are happy with them.

So far, so good. If they books have been delivered I wait a few days and if I haven't heard anything, I leave feedback.

Good luck to all,

~The Old Bookaroo

 

[Old Bookaroo]

Cojones:

Was it at least a new brick?

Good luck to all,

~The Old Bookaroo

 

[trdhrdr007]

I don't have a problem with a legitimate return. There are times I might make a mistake in a listing, something gets damaged in transit or whatever. That's all part of it.

On the subject of fees....I don't like paying the roughly 13% it comes out to for most things, but that's a heck of a lot less overhead than running a store. I also sell from a display case at the local antique mall. Rent in a low sale year runs about 13-15% of total sales. On a good year it can be less than 5% of sales.

 

[Jim in Idaho]

Returns have nothing to do with it. When you go to list something, there is an option to accept returns or not.

The problems arise when people claim they never got the item or claim it is not as described. Often times, that is extremely subjective or people outright abuse the system.

Regardless of whether or not you selected "returns accepted", you are gonna be accepting a return whether you like it or not.

And that's exactly why Ebay's policy should be "no returns". You made the case for me.
Jim

 

[diggummup]

If ebay was "Rif"ing sellers it would be the equivalent of cutting off ones nose to spite their face.

I started my own side business selling tackle on eBay. I'll be completely honest. I find it extremely difficult to find reasons to keep going with the insane fees. Not to mention paypal fees.

That's ridiculous. I have to laugh everytime I hear someone whining about ebay fees. They aren't that high unless your paying too much for whatever it is your trying to sell on there that is. Try selling your crap at a local auction house and see what they charge you. Try a brick and mortar store and see what kind of overhead you'll be paying for that. Try a spot in an antique mall and see what that costs you and how many months your items sit there without selling. Try the flea market and figure in your time and sweat and the smaller prices that you will get for your items there. I guess you could open shop on Craigslist and sell your stuff on there with no fees if ya wanted to. Or just sell your stuff out of your garage, that's another option. Give me a break.

 

[deserdog]

Been selling on Ebay since 1999, and it has gotten harder and harder for small sellers. I have had I think 1 negative and one or 2 neutrals, and have feedback of 4904. You can do everything right as a seller, and still get hit with negative feedback, or low DSRs, which can kill you as a seller. Buyer pays for media mail delivery, and then wonders why it is taking so long. Buyer clearly sees how much shipping and handling is, buys, and then hits seller with a low DSR in shipping. All of the power is with the buyer now. As a seller, you cannot leave negative or neutral feedback for a buyer. But as a buyer, you can leave whatever you want for whatever reason.

 

[Beachkid23]

They should make it so you can't do partial refunds. All or nothing. I hate that crap! One lady said it is a brighter green then in the picture. Can you refund me $25. Nope, you can send it back. It has a scratch the size of a flea, I want $15 back. I hate it. I told the last guy I can't do anything until he sends me a picture of the scratch. I needed it for my records. Never heard from him again!

 

[jerseyben]

If ebay was "Rif"ing sellers it would be the equivalent of cutting off ones nose to spite their face.

That's ridiculous. I have to laugh everytime I hear someone whining about ebay fees. They aren't that high unless your paying too much for whatever it is your trying to sell on there that is. Try selling your crap at a local auction house and see what they charge you. Try a brick and mortar store and see what kind of overhead you'll be paying for that. Try a spot in an antique mall and see what that costs you and how many months your items sit there without selling. Try the flea market and figure in your time and sweat and the smaller prices that you will get for your items there. I guess you could open shop on Craigslist and sell your stuff on there with no fees if ya wanted to. Or just sell your stuff out of your garage, that's another option. Give me a break.

Diggum you could not be more correct! I have a lot more to add but if I said it all here, Im sure it would upset a few people.

 

[mark1982]

The only reason I can see for this is that EBay has finally realized they have many crappy sellers. For too long they have tolerated sellers who treat their buyers like thew buyer is the problem. Ebay made money, in the short run, allowing these lousy sellers to stay on the site. Now Ebay's reputation has fallen, and their business is going down, and maybe they're finally trying to clean things up. If so, I'm all in favor of it. The first step they should have taken, years ago, was to require sellers to post feedback as soon as they were paid. Should never have allowed sellers to hold buyers hostage, after the buyer had paid, with the threat of negative feedback if the buyer left negative feedback when treated poorly by the seller. All that did was keep the bad sellers in business. EBay has paid a significant price for that practice, and is now seeing the cost. Jim

I agree about the feedback 100%, however Ebays reputation fell when they started charging to much to list items. Sure it's great that you can list something on eBay you otherwise would not be able to sell, but eBay realized this and started making to many changes. People also charge astronomical shipping prices to cover the added costs of eBay and PayPal fees. eBay and PayPal both have to make money yes, but they need to lighten up a bit.

 

[Beachkid23]

I agree about the feedback 100%, however Ebays reputation fell when they started charging to much to list items. Sure it's great that you can list something on eBay you otherwise would not be able to sell, but eBay realized this and started making to many changes. People also charge astronomical shipping prices to cover the added costs of eBay and PayPal fees. eBay and PayPal both have to make money yes, but they need to lighten up a bit.

I offer free shipping on all my items unless they are .99 auctions. Then maybe $2.50 if it sells under $15. I don't like selling large items unless its at least $80 profit. But I tried amazon and it was a pain. May try again after Xmas though. This is one reason I offer to sell for people. It's at no loss to me. Just get the items and sell them. I quit my job this year and sell on ebay full time. All the bills are paid, I've spent endless hours learning what sells and where to find stuff besides yard sales. We are having a yard sale in a couple of weeks, I hate them! I want to buy stuff not sell it! There's no way I'm opening a store to sell it and not gonna sit at the fleamarket. This works for our family, the income is better then my work and I get to spend time with my family everyday. I work my rear off not to get negative feedback and have become a perfectionist on my shipping. Bottom line, ill pay 13% before setting up shop somewhere else! I love it, I've made my monthly salary this month on there from when I did work and today is what, the 5th? I have tried to get friends to start selling on there, but they complain about the fees. So then they pay me 35% to do it for them! Makes since....