Ebay Scandal

jaspodeman

I would be interested to hear of similar stories. People must know about this and ebay needs to feel the pressure from it's betrayed users.
I am writing now to inform you of a breaking scandal on ebay. It seems most people are now using ebay, but the rules are and have been changing steadily this year, so that now more rights are afforded to the buyers, than are the sellers. I have been a seller for 7 years with over 8000 postive feedbacks from satisfied customers. Ebay have just introduced a new feedback system, where only the buyer can leave a negative feedback or a neutral feedback. Sellers can no longer leave negative or neutral, only postitive feedbacks.
As many knew would happen, many buyers, knowing they won't get a neutral or neg in return, are now leaving far more more neutrals and negs than before, many unfairly.
Ebay now take these feedbacks into account, and are suspending sellers left right and centre for 'non perfomance' they call it. I have just been restricted for 30 days on ebay. I can't buy or sell, and this is my living. After 30 days, they say they will review my account, and although I have pressed them through many emails and several phone calls to them, they won't say what you have to do to be re-instated. None of the call centre staff know why this is happening, the ebay hierachy don't tell them and seem to give them very little information.
If you check on the forums and q and a parts of ebay, you'll see thousands are up in arms over the unfair treatment ebay is meting out to it loyal sellers, many of whom have been trading for up to 10 years.
Ebay in my case, gave me no warning, just an email stating they were restricting my account for 30 days, possibly permanently. No selling, no buying, and no clear definition of what you need to do to prevent you being suspended permanently.
So my livelihood has gone for at least 30 days, maybe forever, because of ebay's new draconian rules. This is nothing less than scandalous, maybe illegal, I'm not sure. It's happening to lots of sellers, and it seems to be suicide on ebay's part. Why destroy the businesses of it's loyal sellers?
I had 154 positive feedbacks, 5 neutral and 2 negative over the last month. So, 3-4% of unhappy customers, or those that on less than meritous grounds left bad feedback, ebay says this is non-performance!
Many are leaving ebay for this betrayal of trust, and, no matter what complaints you make to ebay, nobody is willing to listen and act! It needs someone with clout to bring them to book.

Premier_2

The ebay rules were revised based on customer (i.e. ebay users, both buyers & sellers) feedback.

If as you suggest, many buyers are leaving unfair negative feedback resulting in sellers being suspended "left right and centre", eventually there will be no sellers left. Without sellers, there will be no buyers. Without sellers and buyers there will be no ebay.

Don't you think if ebay was losing business, they wouldn't revise the rules again?

I guess the fact ebay have not indicated any further revision of rules suggests they are happy to have listened to their customers, provided what their own customers requested and are pleased with the overall results to date.

Bamber19

I can see the problems with the new system but in fairness, for years buyers (and sellers) have been leaving positive feedback that really isn't deserved, simply because they fear a negative in retaliation for a deserved neg. Blind feedback would be better to be honest.

Premier_2

Also why do you think the buyers on ebay are any different to buyers on amazon?

On amazon, buyers can leave any feedback they want (just like ebay) but there's no issue of unjust poor feedback being left.

Whilst its true that amazon sellers could leave feedback (either good or bad) for buyers, in reality many don't bother since hardly anyone sees it anyway. Sellers cannot prevent buyers with extremely bad feedback from buying (unlike ebay) but then again sellers are guaranteed payment once a transaction is confirmed. (but that still doesn't stop a bad buyer making an a-z claim/chargeback which is more severe than any paypal claim/chargeback)

Marty_J

Can buyers on eBay be properly termed "customers" of eBay?

Surely it is the sellers who pay to list the item, pay the final value fees, and who pay to receive payment through PayPal?

If so, wouldn't that make the sellers eBay's buyers (if you get what I mean)?

Brooker_Dave

jaspodeman wrote: »

I would be interested to hear of similar stories. People must know about this and ebay needs to feel the pressure from it's betrayed users.
I am writing now to inform you of a breaking scandal on ebay. It seems most people are now using ebay, but the rules are and have been changing steadily this year, so that now more rights are afforded to the buyers, than are the sellers. I have been a seller for 7 years with over 8000 postive feedbacks from satisfied customers. Ebay have just introduced a new feedback system, where only the buyer can leave a negative feedback or a neutral feedback. Sellers can no longer leave negative or neutral, only postitive feedbacks.
As many knew would happen, many buyers, knowing they won't get a neutral or neg in return, are now leaving far more more neutrals and negs than before, many unfairly.
Ebay now take these feedbacks into account, and are suspending sellers left right and centre for 'non perfomance' they call it. I have just been restricted for 30 days on ebay. I can't buy or sell, and this is my living. After 30 days, they say they will review my account, and although I have pressed them through many emails and several phone calls to them, they won't say what you have to do to be re-instated. None of the call centre staff know why this is happening, the ebay hierachy don't tell them and seem to give them very little information.
If you check on the forums and q and a parts of ebay, you'll see thousands are up in arms over the unfair treatment ebay is meting out to it loyal sellers, many of whom have been trading for up to 10 years.
Ebay in my case, gave me no warning, just an email stating they were restricting my account for 30 days, possibly permanently. No selling, no buying, and no clear definition of what you need to do to prevent you being suspended permanently.
So my livelihood has gone for at least 30 days, maybe forever, because of ebay's new draconian rules. This is nothing less than scandalous, maybe illegal, I'm not sure. It's happening to lots of sellers, and it seems to be suicide on ebay's part. Why destroy the businesses of it's loyal sellers?
I had 154 positive feedbacks, 5 neutral and 2 negative over the last month. So, 3-4% of unhappy customers, or those that on less than meritous grounds left bad feedback, ebay says this is non-performance!
Many are leaving ebay for this betrayal of trust, and, no matter what complaints you make to ebay, nobody is willing to listen and act! It needs someone with clout to bring them to book.

This has been going on for several years.

Expect more and more semi professional sellers to be banned permantly from ebay.

Ebay seem to have forgotten where their revenue comes from.....

patchwork_cat

Does anyone know the % required to not get banned - tbh though is your feedback normally like this or is this new because buyers are being malicious? If your feedback is normally like that it isn't great. Don't want to be unsympathetic because I am, very - I am seriously slowing my main id due to serious lack of sales because of the credit crunch, but am having real problems with item location on best match search on my secondary id used for second hand items. Despite it stating in my 'dashboard' item location standard I am at the bottom of the pile on best match search with only 2 days to go - so unfair - I too can't get out of ebay why ( no longer got a phone line as lost powerseller on 10 may)

StaffsSW

Quite a lively discussion about this on Tamebay at the moment - http://www.tamebay.com/2008/05/ebay-need-to-get-dolphin-friendly-sooner.html

BritBrat

I think all sellers should not leave any feedback at all.

I bet the buyers will not like that and in time the only feed back will go to sellers.

After all you only have the one option to lose.

patchwork_cat

I had that policy britbrat and started getting nasty comments from buyers added after feedback.

G-G_4

I had the same thing happen to me.. 250 ish feedback, the last 20 feedback were positive, no problems at all.. No disputes etc..

But because in the last 90 days my feedback had deteriorated due to 2 negatives then I got banned for 30 days!

No warning, nothing!

I used to be an eBay seller and had an account with thousands of feedback, and 4000 listings, so if that had happened then I would have beed distraught.

When this happened to my account a few weeks back I just opened a new eBay account and carried on selling.. I have 11 feedback now..

So, it's a bit of a stupid rule anyhow, because you can just open another account..