I Hate eBay

[ForceField]

Noticed the "I hate paypal." thread and thought I would start one about eBay seeing as how they're blood relatives.

Just sold a motherboard to some guy who before even contacting me, leaves a negative feedback claiming that it was DOA.

Now, I tested this motherboard before shipping it to him, so I know that it works. I also made sure to package it well so that there was no movement to minimize the risk of damage during shipment.

I sent him a message telling him to make sure that he's using compatible parts (RAM/CPU/etc.) along with a link to the support website. I am sure that he's just using a memory stick that is not compatible with this motherboard. We are currently in communication to fix his own hardware problem ... So now that he left me negative feedback, he's also getting FREE Tech Support from me on how to fix his incompatiblity issue.

I have maintained a 100% Positive Feedback rating since 2004, and now because of some __________(Fill-In-The-Blank) my rating goes down to 96.6%. eBay will not allow a seller to remove feedback even if the buyer is lying or doing something wrong so I'm stuck with it.

Feel free to share your own bad eBay selling/buying experiences.

[1713969858]

1713969858

[rjk]

Noticed the "I hate paypal." thread and thought I would start one about eBay seeing as how they're blood relatives.

Just sold a motherboard to some guy who before even contacting me, leaves a negative feedback claiming that it was DOA.

Now, I tested this motherboard before shipping it to him, so I know that it works. I also made sure to package it well so that there was no movement to minimize the risk of damage during shipment.

I sent him a message telling him to make sure that he's using compatible parts (RAM/CPU/etc.) along with a link to the support website. I am sure that he's just using a memory stick that is not compatible with this motherboard. We are currently in communication to fix his own hardware problem ... So now that he left me negative feedback, he's also getting FREE Tech Support from me on how to fix his incompatiblity issue.

I have maintained a 100% Positive Feedback rating since 2004, and now because of some __________(Fill-In-The-Blank) my rating goes down to 96.6%. eBay will not allow a seller to remove feedback even if the buyer is lying or doing something wrong so I'm stuck with it.

Feel free to share your own bad eBay selling/buying experiences.

THIS. This is the problem. goddamn ebay and all that they stand for. Fuck them in the ass with an aircraft carrier.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

Noticed the "I hate paypal." thread and thought I would start one about eBay seeing as how they're blood relatives.

Just sold a motherboard to some guy who before even contacting me, leaves a negative feedback claiming that it was DOA.

Now, I tested this motherboard before shipping it to him, so I know that it works. I also made sure to package it well so that there was no movement to minimize the risk of damage during shipment.

I sent him a message telling him to make sure that he's using compatible parts (RAM/CPU/etc.) along with a link to the support website. I am sure that he's just using a memory stick that is not compatible with this motherboard. We are currently in communication to fix his own hardware problem ... So now that he left me negative feedback, he's also getting FREE Tech Support from me on how to fix his incompatiblity issue.

I have maintained a 100% Positive Feedback rating since 2004, and now because of some __________(Fill-In-The-Blank) my rating goes down to 96.6%. eBay will not allow a seller to remove feedback even if the buyer is lying or doing something wrong so I'm stuck with it.

Feel free to share your own bad eBay selling/buying experiences.

THIS. This is the problem. goddamn ebay and all that they stand for. Fuck them in the ass with an aircraft carrier.

I like how you think. I was going to work my way up by starting with a pineapple.

[Garr255]

eBay will not allow a seller to remove feedback even if the buyer is lying or doing something wrong so I'm stuck with it.

A similar thing happened to me, and I got bad feedback. It goes away after a year, so now I'm back at 100%. But recently I slipped and told another member my age (16), and he reported it and my eBay and PayPal accounts are frozen until I'm 18. All I can do in paypal is accept money (of course they would allow money to be sent to a frozen account, now it's theirs to invest for a few years), and give refunds. I did fortunately trade cash for the lot of money I had in my account with a friend recently, so I was able to get some of it back. But this isn't the case for most people, and I'm sure tons of accounts are frozen because of similar reasons.

Dwolla is cool though, haven't had any problems transferring with them between Gox and my bank

[rjk]

eBay will not allow a seller to remove feedback even if the buyer is lying or doing something wrong so I'm stuck with it.

A similar thing happened to me, and I got bad feedback. It goes away after a year, so now I'm back at 100%. But recently I slipped and told another member my age (16), and he reported it and my eBay and PayPal accounts are frozen until I'm 18. All I can do in paypal is accept money (of course they would allow money to be sent to a frozen account, now it's theirs to invest for a few years), and give refunds. I did fortunately trade cash for the lot of money I had in my account with a friend recently, so I was able to get some of it back. But this isn't the case for most people, and I'm sure tons of accounts are frozen because of similar reasons.

Dwolla is cool though, haven't had any problems transferring with them between Gox and my bank

Try reporting the dude that reported you for the same thing, or maybe something worse
Best case scenario, he gets his account suspended while they work out the details, which takes forever when it comes to GayPal and Fleabay.

[Vod]

Don't burn bridges with the guy - eBay has a method to allow both parties to remove negative feedback.

I believe it's called "Feedback Revision" but am not sure.

[Garr255]

Don't burn bridges with the guy...

I agree with that. Getting back at him wouldn't benefit me at all. :/ ohh well, I really wish there was a good alternative to eBay, mainly in the customer amounts. Sadly there's nothing like it.

[kjlimo]

http://www.bitcoinclassifieds.net/

Here's another way to sell stuff!

[TheHeroMember]

I was a victim also on eBay, yet still been trading items there. Just can't find any other credible site with same nature of business.

[Garr255]

I was a victim also on eBay, yet still been trading items there. Just can't find any other credible site with same nature of business.

I just discovered bitmit.net

It looks good, and has a built in escrow service, but has a much smaller population.

Perhaps we, as a community, should adopt it much like we did Gox?

[ForceField]

Update to what happened since the first post (and sorry for the long post):

1. When asked via eBay messages what the buyer was using to operate this motherboard, he admitted that he used an incompatible RAM module that wasn't listed on the supported list. He would not consider using a memory stick that was on the manufacturer's support list, so he..

2. He opened a ISNAD (Item Significantly Not As Described) case. Immediately and without my permission, PayPal goes into & debits my account for the entire sum of the purchase price. No decision has even been made yet.

3. Since eBay's "Buyer Protection" policy is biased in favor of buyer, he obviously won the case and was told to send the item back to me.

4. I went to the eBay's appeals site and received a ticket number. Then called eBay Customer Support and spoke to Vanessa. I explained that I cannot be responsible for a buyer not operating the item incorrectly. She told me that I would be able to appeal eBay's decision only after I received the item back. She explicitly told me that if it worked when I received it back, that I would be able to get the payment returned to my account.

5. Then spoke to Adam from Buyer Protection. I told him that the buyer needs to do their research before buying something in order to operate it correctly and that I shouldn't be responsible for their lack of expertise. He was unhelpful and very arrogant and told me that his supervisor, Jeremy, would call me back with 24 hours. I never received such a call back nor ever spoke with a Jeremy.

6. I received the motherboard back, tested it, and it works fine.

7. Called eBay again. Initially I spoke with Audrey from eBay Customer Support. I explained the error in judgement made by the eBay agent for allowing a return in the first place considering the buyer admitted to not using the necessary parts AND considering the fact that in my auction description it is explicitly stated that, "All Sales Are Final and All items Are Sold As-Is With No Refunds."

8. Over the phone, I was given the run-around by multiple eBay departments and transferred several times. I spoke with an agent from Buyer Protection, Christine. I then spoke to her supervisor, Kate. When she told me the exact same thing as her agent, I asked to speak to her supervisor. Initially, she told me that she was the highest I could speak with. I talked to her for another few minutes, and after a while, I asked again (not using the word 'supervisor') who her "Boss" was. Only then did she transfer me over to Daniel.

9. Not a single employee understood the technical details about how computer hardware works when I explained that this motherboard only works with compatible memory. Also, not a single eBay employee apologized to me for this issue. In fact the final main supervisor that I spoke to, Daniel, had the audacity to tell me that what happened, "was a risk of doing business" and "that what I was told by Vanessa from Customer Support was incorrect" and "there is nothing we can do at this point" but "you can relist the item for sale again" (and hope not to get scammed again?)


Bottom Line:
- If you are considering selling something on eBay, think twice. You may get lucky playing their russian roulette in the short term, but you will lose in the long run.
- If someone has the intention of scamming you, wasting your time, or has buyer's remorse, then much more often than not, they will win.
- A buyer can use any multiple # of ways to scam or otherwise intimidate a seller into giving in. In my experience they will try to scare you with negative feedback or abuse the "Item Significantly Not As Described" as probably the most successful scamming tools.
- There is only a Buyer Protection policy, NOT seller protection.
- eBay owns PayPal, so they can use both however they see fit (consumers will lose against monopolies)
- Ultimately, neither eBay nor PayPal customer support will help you.


Alternatives:
- Sell on eBay, but Do Not Accept PayPal, use alternate payment forms such as Dwolla, Bitcoin, etc. (Problem= not many buyers would forfeit Buyer Protection)
- Sell on Craigslist (Problem= may need to wait a long while before you get a reasonable offer/buyer)
- Bitmit was suggested above (Problem= Bitmit is not even close to mainstream so using that will not get your products exposed to a wide base.)


In retrospect, this is one of the worst selling experiences I have had in the 8+ years of being a member. Although I have never had to contact eBay customer support before, I did not expect them to treat a loyal customer in such a manner.

Even though this issue was for an item under $100, I would have fought just as hard to protect my rights as a seller if it was only for $1.

I am considering filing a complaint against eBay with the BBB.
I may also publish this experience in other places and send a copy to their complaints dept (if one exists) and to the CEO, or as far up the corporate ladder as I can go.
They should not be allowed to continue doing this to honest people.

[BTC guy]

Ebay is good for buying. When i have something to sell i do it here and on CL. Works for me.