Author Topic: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay  (Read 9574 times)

Juli

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Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
« on: December 08, 2011, 02:26:08 PM »
There are a few things I find quite annoying about eBay.

1. Sellers have to deal with nonpayers. There isn't a way to avoid them really. You can only block nonpayers that have two or more nonpayments strikes. I am now dealing with my 9th nonpayer of this year. Sellers can not leave negative feedback for nonpayers and nonpayment strikes are kept confidential so you can't see if someone is a nonpayer. Another thing is you have to wait 7 days until you are allowed to relist the unpaid item (which in my experience has always sold for considerably less than what it originally sold) or wait 7 days until you can give a second chance offer (which by that time the second highest bidder may have lost interest in your item as they bought another one from someone else).

2.  If you are not familiar with eBay, sellers get 50 free listings per a month that they can use any time during the month (including 7 day duration auctions). These last three days eBay had a promotional 5000 free listings from Dec 6-8 if you list auctions with 5 day or less duration. I had a bunch of autographs I wanted to list so I knew I wanted to take advantage of these listings so that I could still have my monthly 50 to list other items throughout the month.

Since I had my settings preset at 7 days duration, I didn't realize I was using up my monthly 50 free listings. When I came to my 51st listing I saw I was being charged listing fees. I went back to see why and noticed I had used up my 50 monthly free listings instead of using some of the free 5000 listings I had for that day only. I decided to go back and change all my auctions to 5 day duration hoping the monthly listings would be returned and I'd be using the 5000 free ones I had for that day. It didn't turn out that way.

I decided to call eBay and tell them my situation. Even though my auctions now follow the guidelines to qualify for the 5000 free listings, they can not be counted as being part of the 5000. I could not have my 50 monthly listings returned. They said it was not possible. I was very upset. I now have to wait until January to have free listings.

3. I have had eBay tell me on several occasions that I needed to go back and add information (such as a starting price) that was missing. When I go back to fix it, I find out I actually had the information entered but now my whole description is gone. I try everything to recover it but it can not be found so I have to rewrite it. Learning from this experience I now copy and save my description before going onto the next page.

4. eBay's final value fees. They take 9% of whatever your item sells, and then another 2.5% or so from the use of PayPal. So you end up getting about 88.5% of what the item sells. You also have to pay eBay fees on what you charge for shipping and handling, and eBay sets limits at what you can charge, so if an item really cost $10 to ship, eBay doesn't care.

5. I have had eBay pull an item because I wrote "I believe this autograph to be authentic." eBay told me saying that made it sound like I wasn't sure it was authentic so they pulled my listing. I called them up complaining I wrote that because I can not be 100% sure an autograph is authentic unless I see it signed in person so that is why I wrote I believe rather than that I was 100% sure. They said they would look into it and try to appeal it, but they never did. It stays against my record. Now I write "I guarantee this autograph to be authentic or your money back" so that way I am saying I'm pretty sure it's authentic but if it turns out I made a mistake the buyer gets their money back. I have not had a problem since I changed my wording.

Right now that's what I've got. If you can think of anything please add it here.

~ Juli
« Last Edit: December 08, 2011, 02:31:58 PM by Juli »

Offline MoviePosterBid.com

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Re: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
« Reply #1 on: December 08, 2011, 02:57:37 PM »
Hi Juli.. aside from the ebay thingy I hope you're doing well.. and thanks for the card
:-)

concerning your post, I only have one answer.... fleaBay sux

Movieposterbid.com is the FIRST All-Movie Poster Auction Site. We're not #1, but we try harder
"LIKE" MoviePosterBid.com on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/Movieposterbidcom

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Offline Crazy Vick

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Re: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
« Reply #2 on: February 09, 2018, 08:23:08 PM »
Re: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
A: Fucking everything. 

Is it just me or has ebay become a total crapshoot. Nothing seems to be selling... with the high costs, seller prejudices, etc. there are no longer any incentives for me on ebay anymore.  Basically have to give my stuff away to make a buck.  I haven't changed neither has the stuff i sell so i guess ebay has changed or their clientele or the economy of all of the above.  That's it for me.  I even got this message today: Earlier this week, a communication was sent out notifying you of a promotion on 500-free Insertion Fees for auction-style listings. This communication was sent out prematurely in error. The promotion will begin on February 12, 2018, and not February 7, 2018, as previously stated. You will be receiving an email on February 12th with the promotion details and will be eligible to activate the promotion at this time.

WTF??  Obviously i had tried to list some stuff yesterday and am now sh*t out of luck...amateur hour at ebay!  If you need to unload on your stocks may i suggest ebay.

Offline Crazy Vick

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Re: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
« Reply #3 on: February 17, 2018, 11:36:03 AM »
Jeff didn't you ask me what type of stuff I sell...   In any case just random collectibles, posters, books, LPs. Etc.  Done now though.  Will just collect rather than flip the stuff.

Offline erik1925

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Re: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
« Reply #4 on: February 17, 2018, 12:31:01 PM »
Yea, I had Vick.. I went to edit the question and deleted it by accident.

So it sounds like you dealt in a little bit of everything. I dont sell all that often there, but when I have, it's been a good experience. But I suppose the more one sells, the more one will run into (and have to deal with) the clowns, jerky buyers and complainers.  :-\


-Jeff

Offline Crazy Vick

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Re: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
« Reply #5 on: March 03, 2018, 09:16:29 AM »
a question someone might know - rather than ship to hong kong if I ship to a middle person company (DGX) as per request from the buyer, where does my responsibility begin and end?  If its successfully delivered to DGX in the US, can the guy make a claim via paylpal if there's an issue subsequently via the 3rd party?  (e.g. damage or lost)

Offline jtoh014

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Re: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
« Reply #6 on: March 03, 2018, 10:12:23 PM »
a question someone might know - rather than ship to hong kong if I ship to a middle person company (DGX) as per request from the buyer, where does my responsibility begin and end?  If its successfully delivered to DGX in the US, can the guy make a claim via paylpal if there's an issue subsequently via the 3rd party?  (e.g. damage or lost)

I am doing this for all my posters. I use a third party forwarder in the US that ships to me in Singapore when I've consolidated enough and pay the forwarding charge.

Typically, I'd say your responsibility ends once it reaches the warehouse of the forwarding company. That is the address stipulated in the terms of service. Anything that happens after that should be the buyer's problem. That is the risk of using a third party shipper that they have to bear.

Having said that, it is going to be your responsibility if the poster tube gets damaged on the way to the forwarder (rare case). The forwarder usually alerts me on that. I sometimes get my posters and the edge wear is terrible because of poor packaging. I know it's not very fair to go to the seller to ask for a refund/partial, because it could have possibly arrived flawless at the warehouse, but I usually pin it down to poor packaging and do it anyway. Truth is, edge wear is completely avoidable, and I've always messaged sellers telling them that the ultimate destination is outside of the US so please pack securely (hard tube, bubble wrap at edges etc) or I WILL raise a case if it comes heavily damaged.

I once had two mint copies of posters in a tube open and inspected by the forwarding company (they do it by random, so they claim, for security reasons), and WOW, they actually tore my poster! Then they sent an email telling me "We're sorry, we tore your poster, etc etc." I was furious, but there is little I can do. The seller has assumed all his responsibility, and my grievance is with the forwarding company.

Sad to say they offered either a 10% shipping discount on my next order (lol!) or a refund on the posters. I wouldn't have been that mad if not for the fact that the declared amount of the posters is $10 (which is the price I won them at), but their actual commercial value is certainly >$50.
J

Offline Crazy Vick

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Re: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
« Reply #7 on: March 04, 2018, 09:42:28 AM »
thanks J that helps. I read that the item should be delivered to the address listed in paypal, whether reshipper or buyer.  Do you have your third party listed as an address under your paypal? 

There are email exchanges in which he clearly asks and we agree to proceed this way, just want to make sure this is enough in the event of a claim on his part.

Offline jtoh014

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Re: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
« Reply #8 on: March 04, 2018, 10:56:37 AM »
thanks J that helps. I read that the item should be delivered to the address listed in paypal, whether reshipper or buyer.  Do you have your third party listed as an address under your paypal? 

There are email exchanges in which he clearly asks and we agree to proceed this way, just want to make sure this is enough in the event of a claim on his part.

I'm sorry I don't really understand the claiming part. If you could explain it a little further I might help.

Regarding the address in Paypal, the answer is no, I use my Singapore address in my Paypal. No others. On ebay I use my forwarder's US address, because then the shipping charges will reflect correctly. The confusion usually sorts itself out because:

a) The seller will charge me shipping to a US address, and therefore it's very clear that he/she is shipping it there

b) I always pay with Paypal (just to have a record), of which I can input my shipping and billing address. Once again, they're clearly different, so regardless I always follow the shipping address when sending, and they should too
J

Offline Harry Caul

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Re: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
« Reply #9 on: March 04, 2018, 07:28:47 PM »
I'm curious... are you normally charged customs fees for purchases shipped to Singapore?  If you use the re-shipping service are you taxed the same way? 

Offline jtoh014

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Re: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
« Reply #10 on: March 04, 2018, 08:45:55 PM »
I'm curious... are you normally charged customs fees for purchases shipped to Singapore?  If you use the re-shipping service are you taxed the same way?

We do pay a goods & services tax (GST) of 7% for imports valued above $400. Anything below we don't.

Yes, when re-shipping, I have to declare the value of my packages to the shipping company. If it's more than $400 (usually not), then I pay the GST.

Consolidation helps me because I may be buying many different packages from different sellers and the shipping cost can add up quickly. The forwarder I use sends the package to me via DHL express. Rates are not fantastic but still overall cheaper. 5 tubes from the US may cost $100 to ship individually, but I usually pay $5 x 5 = $25 for domestic, then another $20 - $30 to ship those 5 tubes over.
J

Offline ddilts399

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Re: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
« Reply #11 on: March 06, 2018, 08:24:54 AM »
Return policies.. ebay trying to be walmart. For collectibles categories,   I changed my mind, or it cost too much are not reasons to return something. 100% of the time, the item does not get back to me the same condition it left in.

Offline Simes

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Re: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
« Reply #12 on: March 06, 2018, 08:33:19 AM »
Return policies.. ebay trying to be walmart. For collectibles categories,   'I changed my mind', or 'it cost too much', are not reasons to return something. 100% of the time, the item does not get back to me the same condition it left in.

Sir - not to be a complete pain in the ass, picking you up on everything, but;

On the other thread you stated that Not taking an image of every poster was not an issue 'cos that's what the returns policy is for.'

If 100% of the time, the returned item is thus unsellable, then perhaps this too would be a reason to take a shot of everything.  Not sure if this could cover you for the change of mind (it might) or the cost, but if not, then, if combined with a non-stock image, perhaps remove your returns policy altogether. 

If that message is front and centre, that might focus their attentions...maybe.

As an aside, is there added incentive for a buyer to buy from someone with a returns policy?  Have you tried selling without this in place, and if so has there been a reduction in throughput?

Offline ddilts399

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Re: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
« Reply #13 on: March 06, 2018, 11:22:50 AM »
ebay pretty much forces your hand on returns. I used to just allow returns if damaged, but with the all the buyer support in the claims system, its not even worth the effort to deny a return.

Once ebay gets an app that will import, crop, resize and autocorrect images directly into listings from my camera and not a cell phone (cause I am sure that will happen at some point), I promise I will no longer use stock photos  ;D


If the issue is mine, I have no problem with a return, but... I changed my mind is ridiculous. I like those about as much as the people who cant read and thought they were getting a bluray or dvd.


Offline Simes

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Re: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
« Reply #14 on: March 07, 2018, 05:03:20 AM »
but... I changed my mind is ridiculous. I like those about as much as the people who cant read and thought they were getting a bluray or dvd.

Really?  I did laugh at that one.  Utterly hilarious.

Offline Roughoutline

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Re: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
« Reply #15 on: March 30, 2018, 02:51:19 PM »
Sales of original film posters on eBay has taken an extremely severe nosedive for me. With a rolling stock of 50 posters, I used to sell 2-3 posters a month as standard, and now I'm barely doing a fraction of that. It feels like all the buyers have dried up, what gives?

Offline AdamCarterJones

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Re: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
« Reply #16 on: March 30, 2018, 08:12:54 PM »
In the UK, eBay must abide by the UK Consumer Regulations as it's literally the law.
They then add their own bollocks on top, but I always use the regs.

As a business, you have to offer returns.
Their are certain items that you do not have to offer returns for, but movie posters etc are not exempt - you just have to describe the item correctly and ensure the photographs are clear enough.

Saying that, you will get absolute liars scam you.
I sold a campaign book on my personal account just after my cousin died in January (the auction was already running) so wasn't subject to consumer law as it is buyer beware (even eBay say that private auctions are as-is but when do they listen to their own rules?!). Anyway, I described the book correctly, detailed the cut-out sections etc. However, the buyer on delivery of the book emailed me to say a page was missing (when it wasn't). To cut a long story short, he threatened me with negative feedback so I told him to go for it, which he didn't. Instead, he sent the thing back and told eBay. Because of what happened with my cousin, I couldn't be bothered to mess around, so I refunded him. I looked at the page he said was missing and you know what he did? He had ripped the damn page out himself!

eBay sales are declining overall despite what they say.
And it's their own fault.
Best wishes,
Adam

Offline Simes

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Re: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
« Reply #17 on: March 31, 2018, 02:55:50 AM »
Where can one find information on annual sales figures?

Is there any alternative to eBay outside of, for us, your proper auction house?

Offline Roughoutline

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Re: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
« Reply #18 on: March 31, 2018, 11:45:42 AM »
Where can one find information on annual sales figures?

Is there any alternative to eBay outside of, for us, your proper auction house?

eBay are listed on the stock market, so they have to publish their finances. Their annual revenue figures shouldn't be difficult to find.

Offline AdamCarterJones

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Re: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
« Reply #19 on: April 04, 2018, 11:25:07 AM »
Is there any alternative to eBay outside of, for us, your proper auction house?

In terms of auctions, no.
However, I believe once eBay turns into Amazon 2.0 something will have to replace it.

I'm surprised Facebook haven't yet introduced their own regulated marketplace...but that is coming.
Maybe eBid will get more exposure?
Perhaps Amazon will introduce an auction platform?
Google already has the infrastructure to do it.
Best wishes,
Adam

Offline Crazy Vick

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Re: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
« Reply #20 on: September 25, 2019, 07:54:51 PM »
so DID YOU KNOW

when you refund partially someone via paypal for an ebay sale, the refund WILL APPEAR on your ebay seller's account BUT --

Ebay doesn't automatically credit you a prorated amount against your refund, meaning basically they don't revise their 10% cut based on the actual sale price but keep their 10% on the initial sale price.

You need to CALL ebay and they have to manually revise to reflect the new amount

Biggest load of crockshit I have ever heard. Whats the opposite of caveat emptor ? puke puke

Offline Stefano

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Re: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
« Reply #21 on: September 26, 2019, 09:33:32 PM »
so DID YOU KNOW

when you refund partially someone via paypal for an ebay sale, the refund WILL APPEAR on your ebay seller's account BUT --

Ebay doesn't automatically credit you a prorated amount against your refund, meaning basically they don't revise their 10% cut based on the actual sale price but keep their 10% on the initial sale price.

You need to CALL ebay and they have to manually revise to reflect the new amount

Biggest load of crockshit I have ever heard. Whats the opposite of caveat emptor ? puke puke

Huh.  Etsy only charges a 5% transaction fee for sellers, but if I ever refund a buyer - even something as little as shipping overages - they automatically remit whatever their portion was.  Etsy has some issues (forced "free shipping" anyone?), but this thread is reminding me why I came to hate selling on eBay.  I have thought about returning to eBay because there isn't a huge presence of original movie poster collectors (or sellers) on Etsy, but maybe I'll throw some movie posters up there and see what happens.  EBay really is better for buyers than sellers now.

Offline erik1925

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Re: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
« Reply #22 on: September 26, 2019, 11:07:51 PM »
On the flipside, Ive never had a problem with Ebay when selling and them not doing auto-adjustments, for things like refunds, adjusted fees, insertion listing revisements etc.  thumbsup.gif
« Last Edit: September 26, 2019, 11:09:10 PM by erik1925 »


-Jeff

Offline Crazy Vick

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Re: Things that are annoying for sellers on eBay
« Reply #23 on: September 27, 2019, 07:38:46 PM »
On the flipside, Ive never had a problem with Ebay when selling and them not doing auto-adjustments, for things like refunds, adjusted fees, insertion listing revisements etc.  thumbsup.gif

Just did a partial refund again earlier this week to avoid trouble with an obvious troublemaker.  Partial refund appears in my seller profile, but check "Seller account-Account Activity" and yep-- the original take from ebay remains there unchanged.  You may be getting fleeced Jeff and not know it.