Great eBay policy changes

[tundramanq]

I really like the changes eBay has done to protect the buyers and sellers with these two new rules. It makes the sellers cease stealing pictures and copy from our legitimate retailers here or be banned from eBay.

eBay User Agreement:
Provision regarding intellectual property rights. We added a provision in which users promise that the content they give us, or its use, will not infringe on any intellectual property rights.

eBay Buyer Protection Policy:
Resolution of item not as described cases. We updated the policy to clarify that we carefully weigh all the information provided in cases where a buyer claims that the item delivered is not as described in the listing. If we can't determine from the information we have that the item matches or doesn't match the listing description, we generally ask the buyer to return the item to the seller and will ask the seller to refund the buyer. In addition, we updated the policy to reflect that, if as a seller, you choose not to engage with the eBay Buyer Protection process on an item not as described case, we may seek to carry out a reimbursement from you without asking the buyer to return the item to you.

[artificer]

Overall very positive changes.

One small note of concern on the last bit "if as a seller, you choose not to engage with the eBay Buyer Protection process on an item not as described case, we may seek to carry out a reimbursement from you without asking the buyer to return the item to you. " though.
Paypal (aka Ebay's virtual bank) is notorious among vendors for ALWAYS supporting the buyer, even in cases where they are dead wrong (in one case resulting in the destruction of an antique violin).

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...unterfeit.html

The fact that they now say they'll just take money from your account without your okay and the buyer gets to keep whatever product they were complaining about does little to grow my confidence in their tactics- as it's probably going to lead to more scam-buyers.
Not that I sell anything on eBay anyway, but this is certainly another reason NOT to, in my book.

ith:


edit: link added

[tundramanq]

Never sold here either. Hopefully the knowledgeable third party verification and proof of destruction will inhibit the scam buyers. It being illegal to return known counterfeit items thing in the article is new to me.

I have bought things from China that turned out counterfeit (not as described) and the shipping cost to return them was about 3 times the original purchase cost. They know it and I currently boycott China on eBay due to this experience. This new rule will pop that cost of return scam.
There is a plague of "errors of omission" up to outright dishonesty by some of the sellers.

Under this new rule, the parties will have a lot more incentive to resolve the problem before opening a formal dispute. I think that is eBays real purpose for this rule.

[MacLowlife]

Selling on eBay still makes less sense than buying, but now and then it is the best way to find a market. I recently had to just go ahead and bend over when a buyer imagined stains and smells. At least I got my item back. One cautionary note-if you do sell things, try to get the buyer's feedback before posting yours. If you can't wait forever, or they just won't post any, then at least wait past the reasonable period for returns and complaints.

After way too many purchases and just a few sales, I find that eBay is still a better-behaved sample of humanity than you'll find in most crowds

[OC Richard]

I've had great success selling on Ebay, not that I'm a big seller, but from time to time I purge my closets and garage. People will buy anything. It's really a "seller's market" in my opinion, though these new rules seem to change that.

The only problem I can ever recall, from dozens (hundreds?) of things sold, was from a crazy woman in Korea who went ballistic when I informed her how much shipping to Korea would cost. I had written proof and Ebay came down in my favour when she complained.

As far as buying goes, I can only remember being "stiffed" once, back when I was brand-new to Ebay and didn't know enough to know what to avoid. It was a kilt, actually, and the "maker" kept putting me off and putting me off with excuses until after a few months he just disappeared from Ebay. It was a Utility Kilt sort of thing, black canvas, and I lost $100, money well spent in the long run, because I became a much wiser buyer.

Two other buying problems came to mind, both settled in my favour: the person in Hong Kong who sells Scottish regimental items who, when I won an item, informed me that the price in the listing was only good if I sent cash; any other form of payment and it was a new, much higher price. Of course none of this was mentioned in the listing, as Ebay clearly saw.

The other thing was a CD from a seller in Denmark or Norway or summat who, when I tried to pay for the CD, sent me an email telling me that the item was out of stock, and not to send money. They then promptly reported me to Ebay as a deadbeat buyer!

Not so bad from hundreds of things bought over many years.

[cessna152towser]

I used to do a lot of buying and selling of model trains on eBay, but nowadays I very rarely sell anything on eBay because their policies are too heavily weighted in favour of buyers. They seem to forget that the sellers are the people paying the fees. Fortunately I have only once had a bad experience with a scam buyer. Long after I had left positive feedback and several weeks after his purchase of a model railway engine from me, he complained that the motor armature was burnt out and asked me to pay for a replacement part. I suggested he might have had a lot of running from it between the date of purchase and date of complaint but gave him the partial refund he requested as a gesture of goodwill. To which he left a negative feedback "Unhelpful seller, accused me of breaking item" This guy is sitting on a positive feedback score of 100% and over 1,000 but that's because he only ever buys on eBay and never sells.

[OC Richard]

I actually thought of this thread for a moment, last night as I sat at a bar with a fellow XMarker, enjoying a pint, after piping at a wedding, in full kit with my pipes sitting on the bar.

My jacket, my necktie, my vintage waistbelt buckle, my vintage sporran, my flashes, my ghillies, and the cover on my pipes all came from Ebay.

None were items I could walk into a shop here and buy, or buy at a vendor at a Games. The black Argyll jacket is the nicest one I've ever seen, or I should say felt, because the fabric has a lovely soft quality feel to it, not the rough canvaslike Barathea I see in shop and at the Games. It was an inexpensive ex-hire item. The ghillies were new in the box but well under $100 though a top Scottish maker and in my hard to get size (UK 14). Of course the vintage Edwardian sporran and buckle are not things you can go out and buy anywhere but are the result of years of Ebay searching.

[tundramanq]

I still have my instant notification set up for "Utilikilt" listings. 12 of 32 are from eBay and 6 of those are no longer made.
On shirts, the two brands that fit best on me are not sold locally. Even those that are sold here usually are sold out in my size and color choice. Tartans are generally in primary colors and really limit which current "designer" colors will work with multiple kilts or even just one. EBay let's me shop from previous years options without burning any gasoline.