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

[Thumper]

​I wouldn't report it (since in this case, the seller would know you were the reason) - Trust me, there are some truly scary crazy people out there.

As far as the block - you can go to the bottom of most any page, go to Site Map, then under Sell Seller Activities you will see the block bidder/buyer list.

​Actually in this particular case I think you have no choice but to report him to protect yourself in the future.  This is blatant price collusion, it is illegal, it's fine that you refused the offer BUT should he be reported by someone else later on and there is an investigation the fact that there is an electronic footprint with you involved you could also be swept up as part of the investigation & may find yourself being contacted in regards.  Not responding, or responding weekly & only to the requestor would simply give the impression that you took correspondence offline - that might get you investigated too.  - best to report through official channels, ebay is not likely to do anything anyway but at least you are on record as attempting to do the right thing.

[KShine]

​Actually in this particular case I think you have no choice but to report him to protect yourself in the future.  This is blatant price collusion, it is illegal, it's fine that you refused the offer BUT should he be reported by someone else later on and there is an investigation the fact that there is an electronic footprint with you involved you could also be swept up as part of the investigation & may find yourself being contacted in regards.  Not responding, or responding weekly & only to the requestor would simply give the impression that you took correspondence offline - that might get you investigated too.  - best to report through official channels, ebay is not likely to do anything anyway but at least you are on record as attempting to do the right thing.

​If he is mentally unstable, and counted on this as a source of income, and he believes that you caused his account to be suspended - have you really protected yourself?

The correct thing to do would have been to report it without responding to the user. But since there has already been active communication - the user might look at it as if you listened to his explanation, judged him, and then decided that he needed to be punished.

Edited May 4, 2015 by KShine

[Darth_Raichu]

This is why I rarely participate in the race to bottom on eBay 

[DenJ91]

​Actually in this particular case I think you have no choice but to report him to protect yourself in the future.  This is blatant price collusion, it is illegal, it's fine that you refused the offer BUT should he be reported by someone else later on and there is an investigation the fact that there is an electronic footprint with you involved you could also be swept up as part of the investigation & may find yourself being contacted in regards.  Not responding, or responding weekly & only to the requestor would simply give the impression that you took correspondence offline - that might get you investigated too.  - best to report through official channels, ebay is not likely to do anything anyway but at least you are on record as attempting to do the right thing.

​I hear what you are saying, but I'm with Kshine.  I don't need further issues haunting me because someone didn't like that I stood up to him.  I have multiple emails back and forth stating I didn't like what he did, so I'm not worried at all about being swept up.  He must have apologized 5 more times and said he didn't realize it came off like that.  Sorry but I believe him.  Like I said, this isn't a new user, he has perfect feedback.  Maybe he's done it before, but there's something to be said for just quickly killing a person's feedback without at least opportunity to correct actions.  People make mistakes.  You wouldn't want someone killing your perfect feedback over an error of judgement that you did.  It's almost too easy for someone to leave neg feedback or report and it sticks until you appeal.  Just don't need that headache in the future.  I've done nothing wrong and hopefully he learned from it.  

I moved on, I sold all my lots within hours anyway and did really well on them.  Success in my book.  But everyone's opinion were valid on here and I respect them so thank you. 

Oh and I also did call ebay today and spoke about it, and they said it would be anonymous reporting, but clearly the person would know it was me, so it's not all that anonymous.  I blocked him as a bidder from now on, so I did do something for myself.  Not worried. 

Edited May 4, 2015 by DenJ91
more info

[dcdfan]

There's one seller on eBay that has hundreds of items under MPN: 10189 (as well as a couple of other unrelated catalog #'s). So, when you do a search of LEGO 10189 (which is Taj Mahal) & sort by price, you get to sift through hundreds of items that have nothing to do with Taj Mahal. I'm not sure if this is laziness on the sellers side or just ignorance. Am I missing something here...?

[Grynn]

There's one seller on eBay that has hundreds of items under MPN: 10189 (as well as a couple of other unrelated catalog #'s). So, when you do a search of LEGO 10189 (which is Taj Mahal) & sort by price, you get to sift through hundreds of items that have nothing to do with Taj Mahal. I'm not sure if this is laziness on the sellers side or just ignorance. Am I missing something here...?

​

Another grand flaw in eBay design. When you create a new listing using "sell one like this" from an existing listing including the MPN, it gets copied to your listing. Then, if you have a generic (lazy) or no description and use the "sell similar" feature, to just change title / price / pics (maybe) for all the rest of your listings, the MPN gets copied again, and again... and again. Then all your crap shows up in search results for that first item according to MPN.

I noticed I had done this to about six sets of my own last year, previously I never understood it either.

[asharerin]

Unfortunately plenty of sellers also spam the popular MPNs on ebay. Further complicates the search. 

[diablo2112]

You'd think after nearly 20 years, eBay could fix all these problems.  They are among the worst big internet companies, ever.  So many things they could change: feedback system (based on actual performance data and defect rates; not flaked out buyer extortion), blocking of non-paying and new accounts (sorry, build some reputation before you try to buy a $1000+ item), and so many more.  Thank heavens Craigslist and Amazon are now alternatives, at least for some sales.

[gregpj]

​

Another grand flaw in eBay design. When you create a new listing using "sell one like this" from an existing listing including the MPN, it gets copied to your listing. Then, if you have a generic (lazy) or no description and use the "sell similar" feature, to just change title / price / pics (maybe) for all the rest of your listings, the MPN gets copied again, and again... and again. Then all your crap shows up in search results for that first item according to MPN.

I noticed I had done this to about six sets of my own last year, previously I never understood it either.

​Some dingbat does this with 7965 in Canada.... Dude, if you're a member here on BP, fix your damn listings.

[brickelements]

Spam MPN'S, dingbat sellers?  Why not say thank you for finding inventive ways of capturing more viewers/eyeballs/screentime?

Is it wrong?  I am not versed in every single eBay policy.  If it is not against site rules then what is the problem exploiting the system already in place.  You never know when a Lego pirate fan might want a new shiny millennium falcon.

 

Let the berating begin. 3..2..1..

[asharerin]

Spam MPN'S, dingbat sellers?  Why not say thank you for finding inventive ways of capturing more viewers/eyeballs/screentime?

Is it wrong? .

Is it wrong? I'll leave that for the ethics gurus. It certainly violates ebay's search and browse manipulation policy and they can permanently ban you from doing it. Will they? I doubt they get enough traffic to generate enough complaints these days.

[gregpj]

Spam MPN'S, dingbat sellers?  Why not say thank you for finding inventive ways of capturing more viewers/eyeballs/screentime?

Is it wrong?  I am not versed in every single eBay policy.  If it is not against site rules then what is the problem exploiting the system already in place.  You never know when a Lego pirate fan might want a new shiny millennium falcon.

 

Let the berating begin. 3..2..1..

​dingbat was the only word I could think of that wouldn't be censored by the forum.

That's not inventive, it's manipulating search results and THAT is against eBay policies. Maybe they aren't dingbats, maybe they are just lazy morons who think their listings are more important than anyone else. Maybe they have 4 hungry kids to feed so they're desperate to sell something. Maybe they don't care about eBay as a marketplace and are just selfishly grabbing everything they can.

Or maybe they are just greedy and ignorant and don't care about anyone else but themselves.

[Darth_Raichu]

Spam MPN'S, dingbat sellers?  Why not say thank you for finding inventive ways of capturing more viewers/eyeballs/screentime?

Is it wrong?  I am not versed in every single eBay policy.  If it is not against site rules then what is the problem exploiting the system already in place.  You never know when a Lego pirate fan might want a new shiny millennium falcon.

 

Let the berating begin. 3..2..1..

​Forget the rules and lets take a look at the bigger picture.  This kind of spamming turns potential buyers away from eBay and not just any kind of buyers, the ones who are ready to spend $$$ on expensive already retired sets.  Which buyer likes to search for deal on an item by going through pages and pages of unrelated garbage ? How is this going to attract first time buyers ?  Of course old timers like me can screen out  these sellers, but most new buyers would as likely leave in disgust never to come back again.    

This is fine and dandy until these kind of sellers are ready to sell their expensive already retired sets

[brickelements]

Decent argument.  I am altering the MDN's on my listings to coincide with what is related to each individual set.

For instance 7939, I might include: cargo city train tracks remote controlled ...anything I could not fit into the main title of the listing that relates to the type and contents of any given set.

If the MDN can be used to help a user find a listing I am all for using it in such a manner.  Granted I think I took it a bit too far when I have used terms like: pirate castle technic star wars for a City train set.  Thanks for the feedback...however some of you should grow up a bit and not use terminology like: moron, dingbat etc.

 

Thanks for play'******

[gregpj]

Decent argument.  I am altering the MDN's on my listings to coincide with what is related to each individual set.

For instance 7939, I might include: cargo city train tracks remote controlled ...anything I could not fit into the main title of the listing that relates to the type and contents of any given set.

If the MDN can be used to help a user find a listing I am all for using it in such a manner.  Granted I think I took it a bit too far when I have used terms like: pirate castle technic star wars for a City train set.  Thanks for the feedback...however some of you should grow up a bit and not use terminology like: moron, dingbat etc.

 

Thanks for play'******

Sorry you feel that way about what I said (it's pretty obvious you're talking about me and that's fine, I can handle some criticism)... but I don't like it when people think they can manipulate search results to suit their own needs and I'm not shy about it. I call it like I see it. I think it's a dirty and unethical way of getting more attention to your listings and when someone does it with 50 older Star Wars listings that are way overpriced I find it even more offensive.

I have no problem with adding extra words that make sense to the listing. I also realize sometimes people make mistakes or use another listing as the starting point for other listings and may inadvertently leave some information in. But they are the minority.

It's the same game all of the custom "instruction" makers do with their listings with all the popular modular set #s or when their "bulk" lot contains a single part from Cafe Corner. I seriously think those folks should think about someone but themselves for a change.

[mscheaf]

Try to search for HE 10233 and look at all the single parts from one user that have nothing to do with HE. I hate search results manipulation. It is against ebay policy for a reason. I have found that reporting it does nothing though.

[brickelements]

I am looking for the eBay selling policies so I can read them more thoroughly.  Any help would be appreciated.

Specifically related to the current discussion of search manipulation.

[brickelements]

scratch that...just found it.

[LegoEdison]

yes, the search result is a mess if they put in the wrong MPN. but if the picture is not even what i am looking for, i won't bother to click inside. it is annoying but it is not that bad. easy solution - put a price limit to filter out the too good to be true $$ 

[brickelements]

Keyword spamming is when people use words or details (such as brands, item condition, model names, pop culture terms, product names, style, and type) that have nothing to do with their items so that their listings will show up in search results. Since this clutters eBay and makes buying and selling more difficult, we don't allow keyword spamming (see also brand names).

 

Ok then.  They must have too many listings to  monitor effectively.  It is rampant in just the Lego search results.

To those who are polite about the heads up thanks...others, not so much.

 

However there are some inconsistencies in their policy wording...this relates to my listings only...All fit within these parameters Toys and Hobbies/building toys/Lego/sets.

How granular do you need to be?  Based on their category structure a train is not different than a pirate set...

It is only broken down by theme in the listing itself...not in the category selection process when creating a listing

 

 

Now if a parts seller is spamming a set category then I can see issues with it...as I guess it should be listed under "other"

 

[gregpj]

Keyword spamming is when people use words or details (such as brands, item condition, model names, pop culture terms, product names, style, and type) that have nothing to do with their items so that their listings will show up in search results. Since this clutters eBay and makes buying and selling more difficult, we don't allow keyword spamming (see also brand names).

 

Ok then.  They must have too many listings to  monitor effectively.  It is rampant in just the Lego search results.

To those who are polite about the heads up thanks...others, not so much.

 

However there are some inconsistencies in their policy wording...this relates to my listings only...All fit within these parameters Toys and Hobbies/building toys/Lego/sets.

How granular do you need to be?  Based on their category structure a train is not different than a pirate set...

It is only broken down by theme in the listing itself...not in the category selection process when creating a listing

 

 

Now if a parts seller is spamming a set category then I can see issues with it...as I guess it should be listed under "other"

 

eBay has obviously worded keyword spamming to be sufficiently broad so they can decide for themselves... but I'll bring your attention to two important "not allowed" bullets.

• Under keyword spamming: Keywords in any part of a listing that aren't related to the item you're selling.
• And under text and other information: Misrepresenting the item for sale

If someone puts 7965 as the MPN for a different Star Wars Lego set, that is keyword spamming by their definition. If you put "pirate" under a train set that has no pirates in it, under their "text..." bullet, you are misrepresenting the item for sale. I think that's pretty obvious... If it's NOT something you're selling, DON'T mention it.

Once again, sorry you don't agree and sorry you're offended by my choice of words to describe people who don't feel the need to follow the rules and be ethical. Please feel free to PM me about it if you need to otherwise I'll leave it be as well.

Edited May 6, 2015 by gregpj
edited for clarity, bad sentences, oops

[grackleflint]

There's one seller on eBay that has hundreds of items under MPN: 10189 (as well as a couple of other unrelated catalog #'s). So, when you do a search of LEGO 10189 (which is Taj Mahal) & sort by price, you get to sift through hundreds of items that have nothing to do with Taj Mahal. I'm not sure if this is laziness on the sellers side or just ignorance. Am I missing something here...?

​FYI. there is a feature in eBay's Advanced Search where you can exclude listings from specified sellers.

[mscheaf]

​FYI. there is a feature in eBay's Advanced Search where you can exclude listings from specified sellers.

​

That's good for me but it doesn't help the... let's say "less savvy" typical ebay buyer who is trying to find a Horizon Express which I am trying to sell. But thank you, that will be really helpful for me personally.

[Huskers1236]

​FYI. there is a feature in eBay's Advanced Search where you can exclude listings from specified sellers.

​Wow, I kind of feel dumb not knowing you could do this and the seller you have there is one of the main culprits.  Thanks for the heads up.

[I am Niko]

I had a lot of 10 polybags with BIN for 30 days.  The day after it ended, a buyer e-mailed me, asking if I could relist them because they missed it.  I relisted it for another 30 days and messaged them back with the new link.  After a few days of not hearing back, I lowered the lot to 5 polybags, and set the price to a little more than half the original price.  Some more time goes by, and the same buyer messaged me back, saying they missed it again (with a story about why they couldn't buy it before) and asked if I could relist again...even though the listing was still open (only changed to a lot of 5).  I lowered the price on the lot of 5 to exactly half the original price for a lot of 10, told them they could just enter in a quantity of 2 and get 10 total for the original price, and also included the link again.  After a few days, still no response or purchase.  If I didn't know any better, I'd think it was some eBay bot, getting sellers to spend 30 cents on new listings.