More Ebay Seller Woes

[just bob]

A while back there was a thread with some concerns about sellers were having with Ebay's polices and how they always favored the buyer. I'd like to tell you about a new headache that is going around. If you list an item using a straight auction you will likely get many bids towards the end including the snipers. You may feel good about things and are happy with the amount your item brought, but wait you haven't been paid yet. Within 2 minutes of the auction ending you get a computer generated from ebay saying something like this;


The buyer requested to cancel this order

Hi Bob,

Please see the cancel details and respond to the buyer by Feb 07, 2021.
If you've already shipped the order, you don't need to cancel it. Just let us know.
Otherwise, please approve this cancel request. You don't need to issue a refund because the buyer hasn't paid for the order yet. We'll credit the variable portion of the final value fees to you. You can apply it toward listing more items to sell on eBay.

See Cancellation Details

Cancel ID: 5227120540
Buyer ID: hitechgi


That right folks the bidder bid on the item 5 times in the last few minutes of the auction and won it by sniping and then less than 2 minutes later they ask to cancel the purchase. I had Ebay customer service call me this morning and explained this situation to them. It is one thing to buy an item like clothing or car parts at a BIN price and then find out you can buy it cheaper locally and ask politely to cancel the purchase if the item hasn't shipped yet. It is a horse of a different color when you bid on something in the last minute of a true auction and then ask to cancel the item 2 minutes later. You might be surprised to learn that ebay is well aware this is going on and is working to clean it up. In fact I was told there was a lot of this going on a month ago but they thought they had it under control. All you can do is report the bidder using the auction links, block the bidder from bidding on your future items, offer the item to the back up bidder - which never works, then relist you item. If it brings $50 less the second time around there is nothing ebay can do about it. The seller takes the hit - as usual.

I just wonder if these aren't kids doing this? It seems like responsible adults could find better things to do?

[bestgear]

I assume at some point Bob the negatives will outweigh the positives for you - for me it happened a few years ago and now I only visit the site as an e-commerce shopper. I know you've been on the eBay platform for many years and I'm sure it's disheartening to see the demise of what used to be a fine marketplace. eBay has become a breeding ground for shenanigan's like the ones your currently experiencing; I hope you can continue to enjoy the benefits while they exist. Tom

[just bob]

I reported the bidder per request by ebay. This is their computer generated response;


We're reviewing your report

Hi Bob,

Thanks for letting us know about a buyer who may have been violating our policies. Here's a summary of your report.
Buyer: hitechgi
Reason: Retracted their bid and negatively impacted my auction
Comments: Bid in the last minute of the auction and then asked to cancel 2 minutes later? Seems like an intentional act?
We'll review your report with any other information we have, including reports from other sellers. Your report is confidential and won't be shared with the buyer. However, keep in mind that we won't be able to tell you about any specific action we take.

All things considered including the obvious headaches. I still feel like ebay is an excellent place to buy and sell items. I live in a small town and could never get the ebay prices on my items locally. According to the ebay seller's hub I've sold 342 items in the last 12 months. I've had fewer than 5 problem bidders / buyers. I honestly think that once ebay is made aware of a situation they work quickly to try and correct it. Our society is so flawed - wingnuts sit around and dream up ways they can screw things up just to prove they can. No matter what policies ebay employs there will be those that try and buck the system. Feedback is a useless tool in measuring the merit of an ebay member. As a seller you can not leave negative feedback for a buyer under any conditions. If you could leave negative feedback at least others would be made aware of this person's character.

[CluelessNick]

I reported the bidder per request by ebay. This is their computer generated response;


We're reviewing your report

Hi Bob,

Thanks for letting us know about a buyer who may have been violating our policies. Here's a summary of your report.
Buyer: hitechgi
Reason: Retracted their bid and negatively impacted my auction
Comments: Bid in the last minute of the auction and then asked to cancel 2 minutes later? Seems like an intentional act?
We'll review your report with any other information we have, including reports from other sellers. Your report is confidential and won't be shared with the buyer. However, keep in mind that we won't be able to tell you about any specific action we take.

All things considered including the obvious headaches. I still feel like ebay is an excellent place to buy and sell items. I live in a small town and could never get the ebay prices on my items locally. According to the ebay seller's hub I've sold 342 items in the last 12 months. I've had fewer than 5 problem bidders / buyers. I honestly think that once ebay is made aware of a situation they work quickly to try and correct it. Our society is so flawed - wingnuts sit around and dream up ways they can screw things up just to prove they can. No matter what policies ebay employs there will be those that try and buck the system. Feedback is a useless tool in measuring the merit of an ebay member. As a seller you can not leave negative feedback for a buyer under any conditions. If you could leave negative feedback at least others would be made aware of this person's character.

I agree with you Bob. I don't sell on Ebay any longer only because I got too lazy to be bothered with it. But out of hundreds of sales over 6 or 7 years I had very few problems and got prices for my items that I could never get locally. --Nick

[herbva]

I hear you Bob. I've been tempted to quit selling on ebay many times, but each time I get over the latest insult and realize that I do get the best prices for whatever I am selling by using ebay. Last year I sold my old computer and got much more than a reasonable price for it. A week later the guy wanted his money back because he said "I charged him too much for it". I started the auction at $1, with no reserve, and it wasn't my fault the idiot bid it up too high. I refused the refund, and he of course left negative feedback. When ebay asked me why I wouldn't approve the refund I explained it to them, they removed the negative feedback, and I'm not sure, but I believe they closed his account. So, at least sometimes they are trying to keep it fair.

[btrwtr]

I have had issues selling guitars on eBay. the buyer pays but then claims there is a problem with the guitar on arrival. Tiny pictures sent in evidence of damage that can't in any way be determined it is the guitar I sold. Buyer wants to keep the guitar but wants a huge discount in lieu of pending negative feedback on sale. One disgusting buyer claimed damage that in no way could have happened and then claimed he could not send better pictures because he had already repaired the damage. Last go around I simply told the buyer many times to return the guitar for a full refund though he insisted he could repair it and it was worth keeping. Got the guitar back along with negative feedback which eBay finally deleted.

I think eBay isn't necessarily in favor of the buyer or seller but rather for themselves and the money they get.

[just bob]

A lot of people aren't aware of this, but ebay considers using the threat of negative feedback as a means of getting a partial refund as extortion and that is the actual word they use. If you are buying an item never tell the seller you will leave them negative feedback unless they give you a partial refund. If you are reported you will face some type of review or suspension. If you are a seller and the buyer is threatening you with negative feedback bait them into saying they will leave negative feedback unless they are given a partial refund. Then at once report them to ebay using the links in the auction and ebay will intercede. I will never give a partial refund under any circumstances. There's just too much game playing going on. Ebay will remove bad feedback left under these circumstances. Like Wayne said above I offer the buyer the opportunity to return the item for a full refund and then just relist it. Many times the item will bring more the 2nd time around. Once in a while it won't. All in all it all works out. Shipping on a guitar must be considerable and would get expensive when dealing with returns.

[btrwtr]

The last buyer never threatened negative feedback. He explained how expensive it would be for me to pay for the return and how he could "fix" the guitar and wanted to keep it if I would give a partial refund. I never discussed a refund but continually requested the return. As soon as he had it back on the way to me he left me a negative. I think this is a common practice for a few buyers that purchase items that are expensive to return. Extortion nonetheless by my definition.

[Reverand]

I wish that eBay would work equally as hard to protect the sellers as they do the buyers.
As far as bid retraction - I have only once retracted a bid, and it was days before the auction ended. I accidentally bid $2000 instead of $20.00, because I missed the decimal. It was an honest mistake.
I have had a time or two where I regretted a winning bid, but I paid what I owed and moved on.
But I have discovered that many people are not like me.