eBay forces buyers to open claims against sellers

[RockMyAmadeus]

Yes, I'm sure this is nothing new to some of you.

 

To you eBay newbs out there, pay close attention: if you have a problem with a seller, find a way to talk to them FIRST. Do NOT click "contact seller" and then choose "item not received" OR "item not as described", because that will FORCE YOU to open a CASE against a seller, which is RIDICULOUS. eBay doesn't need to know there's a problem before the seller gets a chance to work it out!

 

It is just ANOTHER in a long, LONG line of idiotic decisions eBay has made.

 

I know...I KNOW...this should be basic, obvious, common sense and courtesy, but it's clearly not.

 

Either choose something BESIDES those two (and if you see the CLAIM template, STOP AND GO BACK), or find their e-mail address through the Paypal receipt page, and contact them DIRECTLY, FIRST.

 

It's NOT HARD.

 

 

via Imgflip Meme Maker

[DiceX]

It's NOT HARD.

 

That's the only part I read.

 

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

It's NOT HARD.

 

That's the only part I read.

 

[Timmay]

It's NOT HARD.

 

That's the only part I read.

 

 

You read the important part.

[mrmyst]

[nwpassage]

I think legitimate sellers on e-bay pay the price for a lot of unscrupulous sellers. I understand e-bay siding with the buyer as they are the bread and butter, but definetely see how it makes selling unattractive.

[tjdill]

Most of my ebay problems are simply deadbeats. 1 out of 5 never pays.

[MediumLover]

I agree, the automatic opening of a case on first contact with a seller, by ebay is ridiculous

 

It has been my experience that if the problem is not resolved ebay may use messages sent through their system to help determine the outcome.

 

Using other means of communication may cost valuable time, and may not be

used by ebay if the case is escalated.

 

I think knowing this is important, there are those who would certainly take advantage

of non ebay messaging for unethical purposes.

[youmechooz]

I think legitimate sellers on e-bay pay the price for a lot of unscrupulous sellers. I understand e-bay siding with the buyer as they are the bread and butter, but definetely see how it makes selling unattractive.

really? i would think the seller is the bread and butter. not sure if buyers pay $1000+ every month in ebay fees...

[Tony S]

I think legitimate sellers on e-bay pay the price for a lot of unscrupulous sellers. I understand e-bay siding with the buyer as they are the bread and butter, but definetely see how it makes selling unattractive.

really? i would think the seller is the bread and butter. not sure if buyers pay $1000+ every month in ebay fees...

 

You would think. But it appears that eBay has decided/determined that as long as they have the buyers, they can pretty much stick it to the sellers with impunity. If they screw over the buyers and they all start shopping at Amazon - then the sellers leave too.

[joecgcmaniac]

I think legitimate sellers on e-bay pay the price for a lot of unscrupulous sellers. I understand e-bay siding with the buyer as they are the bread and butter, but definetely see how it makes selling unattractive.

really? i would think the seller is the bread and butter. not sure if buyers pay $1000+ every month in ebay fees...

 

You would think. But it appears that eBay has decided/determined that as long as they have the buyers, they can pretty much stick it to the sellers with impunity. If they screw over the buyers and they all start shopping at Amazon - then the sellers leave too.

 

+1

 

Even before E-bay took away the seller's ability to neg a deadbeat buyer, they proved that they cared more for the buyers than the sellers.

 

They don't want small sellers they only want big-time sellers. They'll bend over backwards to make buyers happy because they know Amazon is now an option for many buyers.

[Warren Oates]

Another ebay sux because ____________________ who would have thunk.

 

I know, some people got nothin else.

 

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

Another ebay sux because ____________________ who would have thunk.

 

I know, some people got nothin else.

 

 

 

(thumbs u

[BeerThirty]

I sold a book to a Boardie on eBay. I recognized his eBay handle and decided to throw in some freebies (he bought one 9.8 modern slab. I threw in 2 not 9.8 modern slabs). He was confused and wanted to ask whether or not I had made a mistake. How'd I hear about it? I got an e-mail telling me that the buyer had opened a case against me. When I got the e-mail, I was puzzled, but when I read the comments in the case, it was clear that the buyer was just making sure that I hadn't sent him too much stuff. He closed the case immediately when I told him that they were freebies.

 

Interestingly, I don't blame him for opening a case against me. It's the easiest way through eBay to contact a seller. EBay always tells you that they want you to resolve your problems on your own, but their interface makes it easy for the situation to escalate quickly.

[Columbia Comics]

I think legitimate sellers on e-bay pay the price for a lot of unscrupulous sellers. I understand e-bay siding with the buyer as they are the bread and butter, but definetely see how it makes selling unattractive.

really? i would think the seller is the bread and butter. not sure if buyers pay $1000+ every month in ebay fees...

 

You would think. But it appears that eBay has decided/determined that as long as they have the buyers, they can pretty much stick it to the sellers with impunity. If they screw over the buyers and they all start shopping at Amazon - then the sellers leave too.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong...but without sellers...you don't have buyers?!?! :shrug:

 

I've never once understood the argument that buyers drive eBay. Buyers BUY from sellers.

 

Pretty straight forward. Now I'm 100% certain eBay bends the sellers over backwards...which makes no rational sense to me...

[Tony S]

I think legitimate sellers on e-bay pay the price for a lot of unscrupulous sellers. I understand e-bay siding with the buyer as they are the bread and butter, but definetely see how it makes selling unattractive.

really? i would think the seller is the bread and butter. not sure if buyers pay $1000+ every month in ebay fees...

 

You would think. But it appears that eBay has decided/determined that as long as they have the buyers, they can pretty much stick it to the sellers with impunity. If they screw over the buyers and they all start shopping at Amazon - then the sellers leave too.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong...but without sellers...you don't have buyers?!?! :shrug:

 

I've never once understood the argument that buyers drive eBay. Buyers BUY from sellers.

 

Pretty straight forward. Now I'm 100% certain eBay bends the sellers over backwards...which makes no rational sense to me...

 

Did you ever see the movie Eight Legged Freaks? The small, poor town of Prosperity, Arizona built a huge shopping mall on the belief that "if you build it, they will come". The mall was always empty of course.

 

99% of the time, businesses locate where their potential customers are at. Many a business has failed due to poor site selection.

 

Availability of customers drives it.

[ianh]

No offense but that's a bad analogy comparing a brick and mortar to a site on the Interwebs.

 

This is a weird situation as both sellers and buyers as ebay's customers as both are equally important. The fact that their system provides protection for the buyer and the ability to take advantage of or leave negative feedback to sellers but not the reverse is a flawed system. So far it doesn't seem to have caused issues for them though so it must be working no matter how unfair it might be.

 

[Tony S]

No offense but that's a bad analogy comparing a brick and mortar to a site on the Interwebs.

 

This is a weird situation as both sellers and buyers as ebay's customers as both are equally important. The fact that their system provides protection for the buyer and the ability to take advantage of or leave negative feedback to sellers but not the reverse is a flawed system. So far it doesn't seem to have caused issues for them though so it must be working no matter how unfair it might be.

 

No offense taken. Your opinion is valid and I welcome discussion.

 

Even though it's unfair it works because there are lots of buyers on ebay and sellers are going to go where the buyers are. Regardless of if they sell brick and mortar or the internet.

 

We shouldn't lose sight of the "why" of eBay's actions on this subject. "Feedback war" was common back when sellers could leave negatives for buyers. It worked like this. A seller did a buyer dirty or gave awful service. The buyer left a neg. Then the seller neg'ed the buyer. Problem was the great majority of time the neg hurt the buyer a lot more than the seller. Because the sellers usually had far more feedback so a few neg's didn't make much difference.

 

Now if the buyer doesn't pay the seller can go through the non-paying bidder process and the buyer gets a "strike". But there is no real way to relay if a buyer takes forever to pay or if they otherwise try to scam like saying the box was empty or trying to return a different item.

 

Ultimately, eBay does what is best for eBay - and that more often than not that is keeping buyers happy.

 

 

[DeliBebek]

Did anyone else get the recent email from eBay asking users to watch a couple of videos and do a two-question survey about them? One was to encourage buyers to the site, the other to encourage sellers. Neither was very effective, in my opinion. It's clear that the management of the site is more important than promoting the existence of the site, when it comes to getting more business.

[loadstone]

Supply and demand issue? There are simply more people selling than there are buyers? Or is it a function of guaranteed vs unguaranteed money. EBay is guaranteed a percentage off what you sell no matter what but the buyers money isn't guaranteed until they pay. As a registered seller, you are bound to the fees but a buyer is a free agent that can choose to spend their money elsewhere. Or perhaps it is more about which side has access to a viable alternative.

without sellers there can be no eBay you say? Sure if there were an equivalent alternative but there is not for sellers. However, for buyers there are many competitive alternatives, thus without buyers sellers will seek where the buyers end up going, so eBay sides with buyers to keep them buying for the greater number of sellers at the expense of the few screwed over sellers.

Riddle me this batman, what if sellers had a viable or better alternative? Whom do you think eBay would side with?