eBay & Paypal create a system to screw over casual sellers

[misterx]

I just have to vent a bit. As you know, I have recently posted some items for sale. Unbeknownst to me, the playing field had changed since I last sold something. Paypal has set up a system where, as an individual seller, you can be royally screwed. The new rules are:

1. If, as a seller, you have "received fewer than 20 Detailed Seller Ratings in the last 12 months", or if you are selling "gift certificates, video games, cell phones, computers, or consumer electronics" , eBay flags the transaction for "Payment Hold", and Paypal will withhold any payment you receive for 21 days, as long as no dispute is filed. If a dispute is filed, who knows what happens. You can get your money sooner if the buyer leaves positive feedback, or three days pass since proof of delivery (only available for shipping with tracking numbers) without complaint.
   
   
2. Ebay, meanwhile, has instituted another new policy that sellers can only leave positive or neutral feedback for buyers. That's right. If you get screwed over, you can't give them a bad mark for it. It CANT affect their rating.

I am currently being affected by this, despite having a 100% satisfaction rating, because I don't have enough comments.

I was a dishonest buyer, I know what I'd do. I'd order something, and when it arrived, say "I got a box of rocks", and dispute it. The cards are totally stacked in the buyers favor. You would probably get your money back, and then be able to do it again, because the seller wouldn't able to document it on your profile. As a seller, I'd not only be out the item I shipped, but also the cost of shipping it, with no recourse.

I fear I could be heading for this exact situation. I have had a payment for $70 on hold for over a week, and today the package is marked as delivered, but I don't have any comments, so they are still holding my money. Even if it doesn't transpire, someone else will surely experience it soon enough. This system is prime for abuse.  BE WARY IF YOU PLAN TO SELL ON EBAY.

I am going to look for alternatives next time.

Comments

[meccahi.livejournal.com]

They instituted this awhile back.. and it's the exact reason that I rarely use Ebay anymore to sell my work. The fees alone were bad enough.. and then they decide to push the envelope even further with this.

[misterx.livejournal.com]

I went ahead and sent a complaint through the system, but to think about it, I highly doubt they give a shit. There is more money to be made on the high-volume side of the equation... who cares what an individual or mom-and-pop-shop says?

[roaming.livejournal.com]

Whoa. What stupidity. This makes me hesitate to BUY on ebay, because it fscks over good sellers. Luckily, I've been avoiding even looking at Ebay for months, so I won't be tempted.

[dampscribbler.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the heads-up, I had no idea. This royally sucks, it's generally been pretty easy to be a low-volume (read one or two sales every two years) seller on eBay, but now it seems too risky....

[barefoot-dyke.livejournal.com]

i haven't sold on ebay in several months and after i heard about these changes, i'm not sure i want to anymore.

[theldara.livejournal.com]

There has been a lot of anger over this, and deservedly so. They screwed up a system that worked well.

I'm going for selling most things local now (Eastman Classifieds is great, and you do not have to be Eastman to use it - http://theeclassifieds.com/ ). I still use eBay for some things (like cheap cat toys) and purchasing, but I won't sell anything decent on it anymore. Too much risk.

I hope the pending transactions for you go well.

[adamantplatypus.livejournal.com]

I think that's ridiculous. If someone is legitimately being difficult to deal with or their products are not up to snuff, you should be able to warn others to the situation.

I HAVE had to leave negative feedback, for someone that refused to answer e-mail about my payment question and then tried to nail me with a dispute while I was waiting on THEM.

Check out these yahoo groups

[astaciamorrigen.livejournal.com]

I really hate the new rules for ebay, so I found other places for selling things. You may want to look into them:

blountvilletnbuyandsell
sell_auction_anything
sellittricities

They each have a photo section where you can start your own album. The only other idea I have is craigslist.

[wolfsilveroak.livejournal.com]

This happened just under 6 months ago. A LOT of people left Ebay because of it.

[tn-grrl.livejournal.com]

There's a new online vendor being advertised on the back of this month's MAKE Magazine. I'll see if I can get the info to you.

[dampscribbler.livejournal.com]

Off-topic -- I'm trying to email Melanie about buying some soaps and I'm not getting a response -- is the mallowdrama email the best one to use, or should I email her somewhere else?

Thanks.

[misterx.livejournal.com]

I let her know. A spammer has been using her email as the return address lately, she's been having trouble sorting it all out.

[dampscribbler.livejournal.com]

Ugh, that sucks. Thanks for passing the word along.