Are fruitcakes running rampant on eBay lately? Selling, buying, listing, feedback, etc...

[Will 4]

1 hour ago, Fenix_2k1 said:

Chinese fraudsters hitting eBay UK with fraudulent listing after fraudulent listing on UCS sets. On sets I'm following I'd say there's 10 listings per set. 3 day auctions all 0 feedback sellers.

I don't understand why eBay doesn't care. They are the ones who will end up paying out when customers end up with nothing and then losing customers who are scared to use the platform.

I would imagine it is not to with real buyers but a way of using stolen credit cards or paypal accounts. So ebay take their cuts and the credit card company has to refund so win win for Ebay unless the authorities start properly deal with it.

[Alpinemaps]

And eBay will just rejigger prices again when the profit margins start shrinking.

 

It will be sellers that pay in the end.

[Guest TabbyBoy]

1 minute ago, Alpinemaps said:

And eBay will just rejigger prices again when the profit margins start shrinking.

It will be sellers that pay in the end.

It looks like it's happening soon... I've already heard rumours of the FVF going up to 12.5% and a big clampdown on free listings ;-(  It's OK as long as it discourages these Chinese idiots for listing their crap. As for the FVF, it's already extortionate (esp. on postage!!!) but, then again, a lot less than the overhead of running a B&M shop.

It's now got to the point where eBay make more money than I do (with no risk!) when selling LEGO and the taxman takes 40% of what's left - just ain't worth it anymore as a business seller that has to comply with HMRC.

May I predict that eBay won't exist 5 years from now?

[hockeyweasel]

eBay raised my monthly limits to 87,500 listings and $6,600,000 for being a good seller.

I typically have about 40 active listings at any one time, with a total value that probably doesn't top $1000

I called eBay CS and the first thing that the lady said was "the eBay computer must have been drunk! I've never seen that before!"

Since it supposedly doesn't help or hurt me as a seller, she said just to keep it as it is.  I guess.  I hope this doesn't reduce my likelihood of getting special promotions.

[Guest TabbyBoy]

3 minutes ago, hockeyweasel said:

eBay raised my monthly limits to 87,500 listings and $6,600,000 for being a good seller.

I typically have about 40 active listings at any one time, with a total value that probably doesn't top $1000

I called eBay CS and the first thing that the lady said was "the eBay computer must have been drunk! I've never seen that before!"

Since it supposedly doesn't help or hurt me as a seller, she said just to keep it as it is.  I guess.  I hope this doesn't reduce my likelihood of getting special promotions.

Dream on ;-)

Since I became a Business Seller (a VERY bad move!), I've not had a single promotion from them, not even any free listings or £1 FVF offer. I asked to revert to a private seller, but this wasn't possible due to my past volume of sales. I've closed that account (and lost over 4,000 feedbacks at 100%) and now have a new Private account which I use occasionally. eBay DO NOT reward loyalty so they can shove it up their arse as far as I'm concerned.

[ravenb99]

1 hour ago, hockeyweasel said:

eBay raised my monthly limits to 87,500 listings and $6,600,000 for being a good seller.

I typically have about 40 active listings at any one time, with a total value that probably doesn't top $1000

I called eBay CS and the first thing that the lady said was "the eBay computer must have been drunk! I've never seen that before!"

Since it supposedly doesn't help or hurt me as a seller, she said just to keep it as it is.  I guess.  I hope this doesn't reduce my likelihood of getting special promotions.

has nothing to do with promotions.   High listing limits are a good thing, never know when you need more.  Sure most will never get hit but having the option is great.

 

 

 

[Will 4]

One that sums up Ebay right now

[Darth_Raichu]

26 minutes ago, Will 4 said:

One that sums up Ebay right now

Welcome to the club.  It has been that way in the US for 6-7 years now.

[mizeur]

Non-fruitcake story.

Bought and paid for a set. The seller inventoried before shipping, found some missing parts and offered several remedies. We agreed to a refund to cover the cost of BrickLinking the missing parts. Set shipped promptly.

Set arrived and I discovered it was missing some parts the seller hadn't caught. The seller agreed to issue another refund to cover the additional replacement cost.

Annoying to have to do some more work to get a complete set but at least the interactions with the seller were pretty painless.

 

 

[labfreak7]

So this might belong in the complaint thread, but here it goes... I have had two consecutive complaints from buyers who had som bogus issue with something I sold. For example- i sold a doll trunk to someone who sells American Girl items, and they write to me that there are scuffs on the bottom. The pictures are some pink chalk that they put on the bottom of the trunk. Then they are complaining about the shipping price. Needless to say, they want a partial refund. What I want to write back is a bunch of explicatives, but instead I offer for them to return the item. Every time I have an issue with a buyer, it turns out that they are a reseller trying to get over on me. Scumbags.

[oneknightr]

3 hours ago, labfreak7 said:

So this might belong in the complaint thread, but here it goes... I have had two consecutive complaints from buyers who had som bogus issue with something I sold. For example- i sold a doll trunk to someone who sells American Girl items, and they write to me that there are scuffs on the bottom. The pictures are some pink chalk that they put on the bottom of the trunk. Then they are complaining about the shipping price. Needless to say, they want a partial refund. What I want to write back is a bunch of explicatives, but instead I offer for them to return the item. Every time I have an issue with a buyer, it turns out that they are a reseller trying to get over on me. Scumbags.

Props on the self-control! Do you have buyer paying return shipping in your description and if so, how many of these people actually return it for a full refund? I would imagine a low number since they'd have to pay return shipping.

[sflv]

2 hours ago, oneknightr said:

Props on the self-control! Do you have buyer paying return shipping in your description and if so, how many of these people actually return it for a full refund? I would imagine a low number since they'd have to pay return shipping.

It doesn't matter what your terms are for returns. All a buyer has to do is check the "item is not as described" button during return to get free return shipping paid by you. I had someone say they got a duplicate video game as a gift the same time they bought from me and I still had to pay for them to ship it back.

[oneknightr]

1 minute ago, sflv said:

It doesn't matter what your terms are for returns. All a buyer has to do is check the "item is not as described" button during return to get free return shipping paid by you. I had someone say they got a duplicate video game as a gift the same time they bought from me and I still had to pay for them to ship it back.

And how did they get away with filing a SNAD? What did they say about the game you sold them that was not as described?

I didn't think about side-stepping buyer paying return shipping by filing a SNAD. 

[labfreak7]

It doesn't matter what your terms are for returns. All a buyer has to do is check the "item is not as described" button during return to get free return shipping paid by you. I had someone say they got a duplicate video game as a gift the same time they bought from me and I still had to pay for them to ship it back.

This. It doesn't matter what the reason is. Sellers have to accept returns even if they indicate that they do not. The person kept insisting that I overcharged them in shipping. Then they opened a return request and my funds were frozen. Had to ultimately cave and issue a partial refund if they closed the return request. When a buyer wants to screw you, there is no stopping them. Had my other return arrive today broken. I emailed the buyer to ask what happened. They said they put it back in the box and shipped it to me. Then they said " big items get damaged in shipping sometimes. It happens". So what, now I am out $200 for that, plus return shipping? I escalated the case to eBay- they will probably side with the buyer and issue a refund. Then they will have to deal with me. It's not going to be pretty.

[labfreak7]

Needless to say, eBay decided in the buyers favor and I am out $200. Really wish there was a better place to sell. I am so done with eBay's crap.

[Furious_george]

38 minutes ago, labfreak7 said:

Needless to say, eBay decided in the buyers favor and I am out $200. Really wish there was a better place to sell. I am so done with eBay's crap.

At least you have a choice. eBay is  all we have.......for now.

[KShine]

1 hour ago, labfreak7 said:

Really wish there was a better place to sell.

Your selling platform isn't the problem - it's the species of your customers.

I only sell to elephants and dolphins, and I have yet to have any issues.

But yes, when this happens it is a bit soul crushing (and unfortunately, it seems to come in waves). The sense of helplessness is awful - and while we can try to do our best to avoid being the easy target, once in a while we are still going to get hit.

Edited June 16, 2017 by KShine

[Grynn]

(Disclaimer - the following is aimed at no one in particular, but simply offered as advice that could benefit us all a little.)

I wish everyone complaining about getting screwed would realize that you have more of a say and impact than you think - and by accepting these bogus decisions and policies and simply venting here, you are only enabling it to continue.

I've had final decisions reversed, had buyers made to pay for bogus "SNAD" return shipping, had negative feedback erased, and more. You simply have to be patient and persistent - and let eBay know that the situation is unacceptable. First make an honest effort to work it out with the customer. Have the evidence available showing that you tried to provide your own excellent customer service, without being cheated. Then escalate the case to managers. Insist on it when they say one is not available. Call back when they hang up. Put in the time. Explain your situation over and over. Document every call and conversation. Reiterate how long you've been a customer, and how terrible the customer service experience you are getting is - all without being a jackass. Simply make your problem their problem, and they will usually become more willing to help you get rid of it.

It's rare, but you can even occasionally find a human that cares enough to see the situation the way it is, and do what is right. Yes, they have the power to do that. There is no "buyer always wins" policy. Certainly that is the eBay culture that has developed in the past few years, but each case is handled individually in the end - by humans. Do your part and make them act like it... or else don't complain. Maybe it's not worth the effort to you, and maybe it shouldn't be this way, but deal with things the way they are to the best of your ability and you'll find a lot more satisfaction.

[labfreak7]

Point taken. If you read my posts in their entirety, you would have seen the part where I say " now they will have to deal with me". I fought tooth and nail as i do every time they or any one else attempts to screw me. And I have won almost every appeal, including this one. That's not the point. The point is that eBay always sides with the buyer, even when they know they are wrong, because they want them to come back and shop again. Rewarding these bad seeds creates a toxic environment for sellers, where we are constantly on the defensive. It's wrong. We are customer of eBay as well, as we use their site and have to pay up for it. By all means punish the bad sellers, but the good ones get punished too. That was my point. The chips are stacked heavily against eBay sellers, and people know it and abuse the system. Same situation with Amazon.

I know how the system works, and that if you fight hard enough you can prevail. . I don't complain sitting on my hands - I fight.

However, why does it have to be that way?

This post was meant to vent, but also to inform other BP'ers of this kind of situation, because if you sell on eBay or Amazon, it's going to happen to you too.

 

[Grynn]

1 hour ago, labfreak7 said:

I know how the system works, and that if you fight hard enough you can prevail. . I don't complain sitting on my hands - I fight.

Kudos, and I think there is a ton of value in sharing such experiences.

1 hour ago, labfreak7 said:

However, why does it have to be that way?

In part, because not enough people do as we do. That was basically my point.

[brickvoyeur]

Ordered a New 21030 US Capitol Building for $59.99 last week on eBay. Arrived this morning as a dropshipped Amazon Prime pancake.

I don't think this was that cheap on Amazon in the last week that someone could make a profit, even with points, at that steep of a price drop.

So... how do I handle this mess? Should I reach out to Amazon or the eBay dropshipper for the return?

 

I figured at the $59.99 with free shipping, that it was purchased at a store closing for a heavy discount. Not the case this time around. At this point I assume this was purchased with a stolen credit card... or someone just enjoys losing money.

[minicoopers11]

5 minutes ago, brickvoyeur said:

Ordered a New 21030 US Capitol Building for $59.99 last week on eBay. Arrived this morning as a dropshipped Amazon Prime pancake.

I don't think this was that cheap on Amazon in the last week that someone could make a profit, even with points, at that steep of a price drop.

So... how do I handle this mess? Should I reach out to Amazon or the eBay dropshipper for the return?

 

I figured at the $59.99 with free shipping, that it was purchased at a store closing for a heavy discount. Not the case this time around. At this point I assume this was purchased with a stolen credit card... or someone just enjoys losing money.

eBay dropshipper. Stolen credit card or they ran out of stock of their original source (possible, but unlikely).

[carini26]

On 6/14/2017 at 5:31 PM, mizeur said:

Non-fruitcake story.

Bought and paid for a set. The seller inventoried before shipping, found some missing parts and offered several remedies. We agreed to a refund to cover the cost of BrickLinking the missing parts. Set shipped promptly.

Set arrived and I discovered it was missing some parts the seller hadn't caught. The seller agreed to issue another refund to cover the additional replacement cost.

Annoying to have to do some more work to get a complete set but at least the interactions with the seller were pretty painless.

 

 

Sort of curious who the seller was in this case.... 

I have sold off decent quantity of older, used sets recently.  Some were personal collection, some were purchased locally, etc.  Tried to inventory every one and advertise as complete, only to wake up to negative feedback (w/out contacting me first) expressing their disappointment a few pieces were missing.  I have had to issue a few partial refunds for their trouble, but man, I will think twice before purchasing large lots of used LEGO from unfamiliar sources.  

Have definitely reworded listings to protect myself in future, but buyers are not created equal.

 

[Jackson]

1 hour ago, brickvoyeur said:

Ordered a New 21030 US Capitol Building for $59.99 last week on eBay. Arrived this morning as a dropshipped Amazon Prime pancake.

I don't think this was that cheap on Amazon in the last week that someone could make a profit, even with points, at that steep of a price drop.

So... how do I handle this mess? Should I reach out to Amazon or the eBay dropshipper for the return?

 

I figured at the $59.99 with free shipping, that it was purchased at a store closing for a heavy discount. Not the case this time around. At this point I assume this was purchased with a stolen credit card... or someone just enjoys losing money.

I would first contact the eBay seller about returning the damaged item to see what he or she says.

[Alpinemaps]

1 hour ago, Jackson said:

I would first contact the eBay seller about returning the damaged item to see what he or she says.

Yep.  Go back to eBay.  See what happens there.

It's not necessarily fruitcake for an eBay seller to dropship from Amazon.  I've had to do it when I've "lost" stock before.  (Which annoyed me, because I found it a couple of weeks later).  I took the hit to save my own ratings, but I also warned the buyer that it would be coming straight from Amazon.