I'm defective

Brooker_Dave

soolin wrote: »

Yes there are quite a number looking at potentially losing their accounts come August, but still a small percentage overall and they are being replaced by new sellers joining up all the time.

Things are changing and if RFW is correct then perhaps some proper alternative sites in a year or so might actually calm eBay down a bit.

I think seller numbers are down, not that long ago you could find someone selling *anything* you could think of on ebay, now I don't even look anymore, it's just not on there.

That said I don't know where people are selling things instead, it's not like there are any new venues for people to use.

Ebay could find themselves finished, small sellers struggle to find alternative selling venues, but Argos (and the like) can give up any time it wants, it's own website is more popular than ebay.

RFW

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

It's marketing, all I ever read, and have done for years, is people pleading for a new sales venue.

I'm not sure the law has changed all that much, ebay seem to force private sellers to accept returns and take paypal payments, but there's no real law that insists on this?

There's been plenty who've tried an auction site, some slightly more successful than others, most have just disappeared and continue to do so.

There's a problem with how to define a 'private seller' within the law. No site is going to allow people to say they're a private seller and send out any old tat and tell the buyer to do one when they complain about it.

The one thing I know about auctions is that the person selling invariably thinks their item is better than it is and worth far more than anyone is willing to offer. I've been involved in auctions since I was a kid, I love them, but if someone offered me an endless supply of cash to put into an auction site I'd do my best to talk them out of it.

vesper

I think ebay has to make more of an effort to educate its buyers and sellers about these defects and how they are incurred. It seems like the majority do not even know that 3 stars or less incurs a defect. (My own parents commented tonight that to them 3 stars means good as its in the middle).
I personally have got 5 defects on my items.
2 of which were 3 stars or less for description (I sell very simple items, for which the description is the best it can be),
2 for not received (1 opened when it was in the same parcel as some other items which they had received but they just hadn't seen it, sure enough 1 message later and they had it, the other was opened the day after purchase),
1 for a neutral feedback (bloke bought a specialist item and complained the scale was wrong, which as my parents manufacture the item and have done so for 30 years no its not).
Fully expecting another one tonight as someone has left me feedback saying I am a rip off for postage (charged 93p, 93p large letter stamp put on their item), so postage stars will get hit no doubt.

So all of my defects are not really defects. It's not as if I have done anything wrong. Yet its my account that takes the hit if this continues.

Brooker_Dave

RFW wrote: »

There's a problem with how to define a 'private seller' within the law. No site is going to allow people to say they're a private seller and send out any old tat and tell the buyer to do one when they complain about it.

That's how it works with real auctions, you bid what you thing something is worth and then pay up, if it's junk or not worth what you paid, tough luck.

Back in the day when we were all earning proper money out of ebay, that's how it worked too.

RFW

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

That's how it works with real auctions, you bid what you thing something is worth and then pay up, if it's junk or not worth what you paid, tough luck.

Back in the day when we were all earning proper money out of ebay, that's how it worked too.

I'm not disputing it and probably hark back to that myself. There's a difference with Ebay and other online auctions where items can only be viewed by the picture. The private seller with no refunds may well show a picture of a brand new Iphone 5 and send a broken Iphone 4. The buyer would rightly have a justifiable complaint, it's with those that the idea of any auction site offering no buyer protection falls down, the buyers will just walk.

Also not many auctions are that strict. Most people know they are buying stuff at their own risk but there will always be the odd idiot who bids on something unknowingly and asks for a refund or doesn't pay. As an auctioneer it's easier to let them go than stand your ground and force them to pay and keep the item. In one of my first (live) auctions I wasted a few hours on a guy who insisted on a refund for his own mistake, standing my ground was at the expense of other customers and cost me business, I never did it again.

grapesicle

Ebay is a nightmare these days - I sell all my good stuff (clothes - I'm a hoarder) on Depop, and anything left over either goes on Ebay if it's worth anything, or to the charity shop.

I have had far too many 'defects' for INR when I've kindly refunded the buyer and claimed from RM, or the buyer just forgot to pick it up from the post office/check with other household members before opening a case. So I'm defective too

I might direct all my Ebay questions on here in future - their own forums have a few choice grumpy members who can be so rude!