Ebay - the online car boot sale?

overkill

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Been using ebay for years now, and until recently been happy overall, with few dodgy items and only been hit with one scam, which, thanks to the Police, ended well.

Now though, I'm getting more and more cheesed off with it. Out of six items I've bought in the last month only two have been as described. The rest range from not being anything like the description, to downright worthless, booty sale, crap!

This though, is really only the continuation of a trend that's been ongoing this year. A lot of people I've spoken to have stopped using ebay due to getting cheap crap foisted on them, and no way, without getting into lengthy, off putting, and not always successful procedures, of getting anything back. If you try and warn others off a seller by leaving the appropriate bad feedback you just get punished by retaliation which damages your score!

My latest example? Bought what was advertised as an 'excellent condition' SACD. What turns up? A CD in a scratched to buggery case, with a damp looking insert, and a CD that's had erm' a 'busy life'. Ie knackered. What chance getting my money back without damaging my feedback? None, thats what.

Time for someone to setup a new auction methinks, with effective safeguards.
 
Why not use the effectively run "Classifieds" section on here? Obviously, depends on what you are looking for, but never had a problem with any of the trades I had done on there.

Martin
 
Certainly a lot of people think of eBay as an online car boot sale. A lot of genuine businesses also use eBay as a trading platform and it can be very effective albeit they are competing with people clearing out their houses.

I know that eBay (despite all the press they get) are trying to get rid of this image. eBay are launching a new website - eBay Express which is going to be purely for businesses trading on line. This way, you'll know you are buying from a business.

As an aside, eBay employees get T-Shirts and fleeces with the eBay logo on but they are advised not to wear them outside where others can see the logo in case they attract the attention of a disgruntled eBay user :eek:

John
 
So far I have been pretty lucky with what I have bought in there although I suspect the law of averages dictates that if you a buy a lot you'll get the odd turkey:thumbsdow I agree though, that the feedback system does need reforming in some way and the rogues should be brought to account. You should be able to negate any bad feedback you receive from them
 
So far I've been lucky and I've not had any problems. As a general rule thought I never buy CD's or DVD's to many Pirates out there ... Yarg !
 
I only use Ebay to buy older video games that are more difficult to get hold of (SNES, Saturn & Dreamcast stuff mainly) or to add to my ever growing toy & movie memrobilia collection.

I cant say I've ever had any problems at all with them & everything has arrived & been exactly as described.

I think it's just luck of the draw though & I just try to ensure that I buy from people with more than enough positive feedback & I have made notes on the better sellers I use so I can try to stick to those only.

Neil
 
My gripe with ebay of late is that it's increasingly difficult to find second hand goods in a lot of sections due to businesses selling new stock all the time. If I want new (full priced) goods, I wouldn't be looking on ebay for them.
 
misterjingo said:
My gripe with ebay of late is that it's increasingly difficult to find second hand goods in a lot of sections due to businesses selling new stock all the time. If I want new (full priced) goods, I wouldn't be looking on ebay for them.
Good point. However, a lot of this is the fault of the buyers on Ebay. They simply don't look to see what the current retail values are, or what a guide price on a used item is. As such sellers 'see them coming' and offer, often higher than the high street prices, as these individuals are too lazy to check, and buy their goods thinking it's a 'bargain' just because it's on Ebay. Yeah right. :rolleyes: This has led as you say, to a flood of 'new' listings that aren't any sort of bargain at all, and squeeze out 2nd hand listings.

Again, this has become much more of a problem this year.
 
The problems with the feedback system could be resolved very quickly if they removed any feedback for a transaction against you that you had successfully disputed.

The standard of traders could also be improved if they did more detailed checks on who you were and where you are from so that you can only ever have one ebay account. The auction template always displayed the sellers true location. Obviously the seller should have access to the buyer's true location as well and should be able to exclude countries as well.
 
Deepcore said:
So far I've been lucky and I've not had any problems. As a general rule thought I never buy CD's or DVD's to many Pirates out there ... Yarg !

I still use ebay for photography stuff but not for pc games, DVDs etc any more as like you say there are too many pirate copies going around. I'm looking for season 3 of the shield but the majority of the ones on ebay are obvious fakes.

You might want to try out Swopex as they hold all payments in escrow until you've confirmed that you've received the item and everything is as it should be.

I got a DVD so badly scratched from a seller on there that it wouldn't play so I sent it to their offices and once they'd confirmed what I'd said they refunded me the money. It did cost me to send it to them but I'd prefer to do that than have the person who sent it to me get the money.
 
BrianC said:
{SNIP}
The standard of traders could also be improved if they did more detailed checks on who you were and where you are from so that you can only ever have one ebay account. The auction template always displayed the sellers true location. Obviously the seller should have access to the buyer's true location as well and should be able to exclude countries as well.
The big problem with that is the vast userbase that is growing on a daily basis. The administration in that would be a huge task and not one I could imagine anyone would relish.

As for the location, I have noticed a lot of items being listed as 'Located in UK' but the sellers in Hong Kong. An easy way to see this is modify your default view, to show shipping costs and sellers loccations. I find it saves a lot of time trawling through dross.
 
I can't believe people are comparing Ebay to a car boot sale. :confused:

Where's the dodgy burger wagon and the miserable sod at the entrance who takes your 20p whilst completely ignoring you?? ;)
 
I've had the odd problem over the years but I've learned from them. I still love ebay and don't have any hesitation in using it.

You can normally read into the description if a seller is being economic with the truth. Best to just ask them a question direct on the condition of the item and see what they say.

If nothing else, Ebay provides a good laugh just from reading the feedback.
The best I've seen recently was when a buyer left feedback for a mobile phone they'd purchased claiming it was not as described and full of scratches. The Seller's response was : Item was advertised as new but used. :D

Saw one yesterday where a guy left negative feedback on an e-book he'd bought to increase his penis size. :rotfl: The e-book claims 2 to 4 inches increase by some sort of exercise routine. Silly sod probably probably made his knob bleed to try and get results before he figured he'd been had.

Oh btw....I only found that auction because it was part of the seller's other items. ;)
 
I've only been a membe ron ebay for less than a year and I've had enough.
First item I sold a stupid Nigerian tried to scam me.

Basically someone conned me out of £320 (un-registered once they got my money). Of course Paypal was no help they could only give back like £110.
Went thought a small claims court online and finally today after about 2-3 month got the rest of my money back + £50 court fee.

I was about to pay £150 from a buisness seller this weekend but didn't because I had to wait to confirm my card details, and what do you know, hes un-registered and probably took off with other peoples money too.
 
BrianC said:
The standard of traders could also be improved if they did more detailed checks on who you were and where you are from so that you can only ever have one ebay account.

There are a couple of reasons why some sellers have more than 1 eBay account.

1. Diversity of products. I've got a client who sells bathroom fittings and outdoor wear on eBay. He uses two different eBay ID's so as not to 'polute' his eBay ID as the concern is that buyers would think he was dodgy selling two completely different product lines on a single ID. I know of some legitimate business sellers with 5 or more ID's.

2. It's a sad fact of life that some people are out to get others. I know of one eBay seller who's business was ruined by a buyer - she had a disagreement with someone on one of eBay's forums who then made it his mission in life to destroy all her auctions by placing ridiculous bids on all her auctions. As a result of this, some users have a second ID that they use for the forums.

John
 
Joe90sDad said:
You can normally read into the description if a seller is being economic with the truth. Best to just ask them a question direct on the condition of the item and see what they say.
This is the problem - you can't. Because of the feedback system someone might have had several people complain but you would never know as they don't want their feedback rating damaged. As for descriptions, they aren't worth the time of day. Even if the seller 'provides photo's any fool these days can use photoshop or similiar.

As before Ebay used to be a great place for bargains, for finding stuff you hadn't seen in years, or getting new at a better price. Nowadays the liars and scammers are starting to pop up far too often, and Ebay need to take action before it's too late. For many it already is. When I go through my feedback it's salutory to see how many users with 100% good feedback have recently jacked it in.
 
Overkill, my experience has been fine, that's all I can say. Maybe you've just had a lot of bad luck. I've found most sellers to very honest about the condition of goods.

I honestly don't think it has got worse. The only thing I have noticed is that rather than a lot of second hand stuff there are more and more traders on there selling new kit.
 
Joe90sDad said:
Overkill, my experience has been fine, that's all I can say. Maybe you've just had a lot of bad luck. I've found most sellers to very honest about the condition of goods.

I honestly don't think it has got worse. The only thing I have noticed is that rather than a lot of second hand stuff there are more and more traders on there selling new kit.
No, not really. As I say, I've spoken to a lot of people who like myself used to enjoy ebay and were rarely unhappy with what they got. Over the last six months that's become less and less the case.

It may be that the sections you use just don't attract the sleazy sellers, or more likely, you've just been lucky.

People don't leave because everythings hunky dory. This year I've noticed more people than ever are 'no longer a registered user' in my old feedback or when going back to a seller I've used previously and been happy with.
 
overkill said:
No, not really. As I say, I've spoken to a lot of people who like myself used to enjoy ebay and were rarely unhappy with what they got. Over the last six months that's become less and less the case.

It may be that the sections you use just don't attract the sleazy sellers, or more likely, you've just been lucky.

People don't leave because everythings hunky dory. This year I've noticed more people than ever are 'no longer a registered user' in my old feedback or when going back to a seller I've used previously and been happy with.

Agree no longer a registered user myself might be tempted to re register If I ever want to sell something that buyer collects and pays cash. Other than that I am staying away.
 
shay0 said:
The big problem with that is the vast userbase that is growing on a daily basis. The administration in that would be a huge task and not one I could imagine anyone would relish.

Big chunks of the checks could be automated as it is with paypal and I'd start with new account anyway, eventually the old bad accounts would get banned over time. Cutting off easy access to new accounts would solve a lot of the problem that scammers cause.

johndon said:
There are a couple of reasons why some sellers have more than 1 eBay account.

1. Diversity of products. I've got a client who sells bathroom fittings and outdoor wear on eBay. He uses two different eBay ID's so as not to 'polute' his eBay ID as the concern is that buyers would think he was dodgy selling two completely different product lines on a single ID. I know of some legitimate business sellers with 5 or more ID's.
I'd allow for multiple shop fronts with feedback categorised by the different shop fronts but still tied into the same master ebay account. I'd also make this type of account subject to stronger and more frequent background checks.

johndon said:
2. It's a sad fact of life that some people are out to get others. I know of one eBay seller who's business was ruined by a buyer - she had a disagreement with someone on one of eBay's forums who then made it his mission in life to destroy all her auctions by placing ridiculous bids on all her auctions. As a result of this, some users have a second ID that they use for the forums.John
With a single lifetime account the stalker would have been banned for good removing the problem and the need for the compromised solution. I'm in favour of a single universal ID name (but not password obviously) for all Internet access. I'm convinced people would treat other people far better if they couldn't hide behind a screen name.
 
With a single lifetime account the stalker would have been banned for good removing the problem and the need for the compromised solution. I'm in favour of a single universal ID name (but not password obviously) for all Internet access. I'm convinced people would treat other people far better if they couldn't hide behind a screen name.

Unless Ebay start asking for passports and birth certificates to register with them, it's not going to happen. Even then the 419ers and their like will get round it.
 
Speaking from personal experience, I find eBay works very well - far better than you would imagine, as it requires basic honesty from all parties to work properly.

My feedback is currently 594 (but with repeat business it's 745) mainly from selling. In that number of transactions, I've had 1 negative from someone who had no intention of paying and left it me in retaliation for my bad feedback to him, 1 claim for an item lost in the post and 1 item damaged in the post.

No complaints here.
 
Joe90sDad said:
Unless Ebay start asking for passports and birth certificates to register with them, it's not going to happen. Even then the 419ers and their like will get round it.

It is exactly what I'm talking about, far more rigorous checks on who you are including proving that you have a UK bank account from a trusted Bank. I'm also suggesting a sliding scale of authentication based on what you want to do within Ebay, such as a buyer only would only need a valid UK bank account and UK postal address, but a business class seller would need far more.

You are never going to stop the fraudsters completely, you only have to look at the number of benefit frauds that get caught to see that but by raising the entry bar for getting an account to scam from you will dramticly cut down on the scams.

In the past ebay has made enough money from the scams and legitimate new customers to off set the lose of losing existing customers but eventually this trend will cost them, especially if an viable alternative comes along, and with the size of the auction business I think that it is just a matter of time.
 
Beobloke said:
I can't believe people are comparing Ebay to a car boot sale. :confused:

Where's the dodgy burger wagon and the miserable sod at the entrance who takes your 20p whilst completely ignoring you?? ;)

Here's the burger van and if you want i'll set up an auction where you can "donate" 20p ;)
 
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I've never had any problems, to be honest. I reckon that if you use the adage "if it seems too good to be true, it probably is" you won't get caught out.

I use ebay to buy and sell items that are hard to find elsewhere: for this, it's invaluable. I don't use it to try and get a bargain at the expense of someone else.

I reckon you need a bit of 'spidey sense', but on the whole, it's only the chumps who get burned.
 

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