Ebay: Wake Up & Smell the Coffee! Protect Us From Fraudsters Now

punkpink

porto_bello wrote: »

Passing on the cost of scamming to Royal Mail is possible, but it's as morally wrong as the scamming that precedes it.

No offence taken, just making a point that not all buyers are scammers!

But i was not on about 'passing on the cost of scamming', if you have proof of postage and the parcel never arrives (even if it did you have no way of knowing if it isn't tracked) then you are allowed to claim from royal mail can't you? I did, but i may have been scammed, i will never know but i got my money back for the item...

Crowqueen

porto_bello wrote: »

Punkpink, no offence intended.

The point I was making is that sellers can and are being hurt by negative feedback and INR claims, whether they are are honest or not.

And ebay has granted all buyers a free for all to undermine sellers, whether those buyers are honest or not - even when a history of routine INR claims and negative feedbacks offers clear evidence of dishonesty.

Passing on the cost of scamming to Royal Mail is possible, but it's as morally wrong as the scamming that precedes it. - It's not the answer.

So do you want to attract buyers, or do you want to make it so secure for sellers that I take my money elsewhere?

Pembroke

The biggest problem that any protest will have is that because Ebay is so big the amount of fraud is very small in comparison. Okay I admit that if it happens to an individual seller then the rate is 100% but in this interview transcript http://pages.ebay.com/event/robc/ the person being interviewed says that the fraud rate on the US site is one hundredth of one percent (0.01%).

If the figures are the same on the UK site then I can't see the management of the company considering that it be a massive problem and let's face it unless any fraud is committed on the company itself I really can't see them worrying too much about any protest you make.

BigRedAnt

Crowqueen wrote: »

So do you want to attract buyers, or do you want to make it so secure for sellers that I take my money elsewhere?

Are you suggesting the two are mutually exclusive?

If you are an honest buyer then how would this affect your buying experience in any way?

lovinituk

Crowqueen wrote: »

So do you want to attract buyers, or do you want to make it so secure for sellers that I take my money elsewhere?

Where are you getting this view from that anyone wants to affect buyers negatively? It makes no sense to do something like that. The group is just asking for the system to be fairer.

BigRedAnt

Pembroke wrote: »

I really can't see them worrying too much about any protest you make.

That is the most valid argument I've seen on here. Whether our case is wrong or right (and I believe it is right), Ebay are big enough to just ignore it. However that doesn't mean it isn't worth trying, if we get enough people to agree then maybe, just maybe, they will listen.

chancesare_2

lovinituk wrote: »

Thats a very sweeping statement that hasn't taken into account other factors. If you're a high volume seller of lower value items, it makes no sense to add 71p for recorded delivery onto the overall price - you either price your self out of the market or you take a big hit on your profit margin. Personally I send anything worth about £20 - £30 by recorded but everything under is sent normal with proof of postage.

You will find that a lot of ebay sellers are well aware of the rules and regulations and realise how skewed they are in the buyers favour!

Ah, you see. As a high volume seller you are right 70 odd pence for recorded is a waste of time. I don't use recorded. I am contracted to Royal Mail for a first class tracked service. Fully tracked (not just delivery but at points through it's journey). I pay one price per packet up to 15kg for any UK postal code.

So, all I am saying is it is horses for courses.

I do not have a scammable product. I sell in the UK and overseas. All my UK is tracked but anything under £41 sent overseas is at the mercy of both the customer and the service of airmail in their country. If an item doesn't arrive, I cannot say for sure whether they have scammed me or not. But, I am covered either way.

lovinituk

chancesare wrote: »

Ah, you see. As a high volume seller you are right 70 odd pence for recorded is a waste of time. I don't use recorded. I am contracted to Royal Mail for a first class tracked service. Fully tracked (not just delivery but at points through it's journey). I pay one price per packet up to 15kg for any UK postal code.

So, all I am saying is it is horses for courses.

I do not have a scammable product. I sell in the UK and overseas. All my UK is tracked but anything under £41 sent overseas is at the mercy of both the customer and the service of airmail in their country. If an item doesn't arrive, I cannot say for sure whether they have scammed me or not. But, I am covered either way.

So you're saying 'I'm alright Jack, don't care about the other sellers'! - joke

You are in a great position there. But not every seller has the volume or financial backing to be able to use a service like that so not everyone is in a position to affordably have everything tracked. Who do you think a buyer out to pull a fast one is going to target?!

chancesare_2

BigRedAnt wrote: »

IThe problem is that as business sellers we can't protect ourselves from this, without pricing ourselves out of the market.

The choice seems to be send it recorded, which means you can't compete for price and make very few sales, or send it untracked and take a chance with the scammers. Now what kind of choice is that?

But as a business you do have a choice and you can protect yourself.

Royal Mail have various options for business users. Recorded delivery is NOT a tracked service. Royal Mail do offer a tracked service for business customers which is 99.9% reliable (having used it for 3 years I can say that hand on heart) and your post is treated like special delivery, it is flown around the country, not road transported. It is quick, cheap and perfect for Ebay/Paypal.

Sometimes people are not aware what is available and blinker themselves, the first rule I learned in business was to rely on no-one other than myself. I find out what I need to do and I get it done.

chancesare_2

lovinituk wrote: »

So you're saying 'I'm alright Jack, don't care about the other sellers'! - joke

You are in a great position there. But not every seller has the volume or financial backing to be able to use a service like that so not everyone is in a position to affordably have everything tracked. Who do you think a buyer out to pull a fast one is going to target?!

No, but it seems this thread is coming from a 'business' seller point of view.

A business seller for RM standards is anyone who sends more than the norm. You can negotiate decent prices (and I mean really decent) with them on just 100 items per week. That is within the remit of the figures being bounded about on this thread.

BTW, I never think a buyer is 'out to pull a fast one'!