OH EBAY, WTF is it now? (Long vent)

[RickM]

I swear to ***, WTF is up with EBAY? It continually gets worse and worse.

A bit of history....I joined in 1999 and have done quite a bit of business in the years to follow. Pretty much my experience with them has been uneventful, up until about a year ago.

I had a Graphotype 350 Dog tag Embosser up for auction. It's a very sought after piece of machinery and bidding is typically competitive. My auction was receiving alot of attention when 3 days into it the item vanished from EBAY. ???WTF???

An Email from EBAY reveals that my machine was a Debosser and not an Embosser. While this is technically true these machines are universally referred to in the industry as Embossers (you can check with Wikipedia ). Additionally, the content of my description clearly made the distinction. However the experts at EBAY know better. Auction pulled, no questions, no seller involvement whatsoever.

Approx 4 months ago I'm auctioning off a Winco Generator. In the title I describe the unit and finish off with "Not Onan or Generac". You see this done all the time. Including now. However, the auction was pulled because I was employing "deceiving sales practices". Holy bejesus, am I that bad?

Now I have an Engraver up for auction and a prospective purchaser asks a question and I decide the answer would make a good addition to the content of my description. So I proceed to revise my auction....that is IF EBAY allows me.......apparently not......





WTF?

So I write:

Topics > Question About Listing

Message: Why can't I revise my listing? I'm adding info that prospective
bidders are asking about.

Please correct this issue!


Then I get this bucket load of double bull$hit speak....

Dear Rick,

Thank you for writing eBay in regard to the recent restrictions you?ve
experienced on your account.

In order to maintain a safe trading environment, selling limits are
occasionally placed on accounts. A restriction was placed on your
account to limit you from selling or revising certain items. The
restriction will remain active at this time.

Regrettably, once you have encountered your selling limit on one of the
brands that is included in our initiative against counterfeiting, you
will no longer be able to revise the existing items either.
Unfortunately, some Sellers have tried to circumvent selling limits by
revising existing listings.

If there is an urgent revision that you are unable to do that may
significantly affect the value of the item you are selling, you are able
to end the listing early before the last 12 hours. You may contact our
billing department and they can consider a courtesy credit for the
insertion fees.
...

I understand your frustration regarding this matter and apologize for
the inconvenience it caused you.

Please understand the restrictions placed on your account are not
accusations of you personally selling counterfeit items nor do they
affect your standing as a valued eBay customer. The restrictions are
proactive means of assisting eBay to reduce fraud and negative buying
experiences on the site.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

eBay Customer Support"



Has this happened to anyone here? I sure wish there were an alternative to EBAY!

...and since when is a New Hermes engraver favored by counterfeiters?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I used to simply say "f*ck ebay and use craigslist" but c-list is virtually worthless now too - nothing but scammers and time-wasters and people that don't return your calls.

I guess it's back to the Want Ads in the newspaper.

[RickM]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

I used to simply say "f*ck ebay and use craigslist" but c-list is virtually worthless now too - nothing but scammers and time-wasters and people that don't return your calls.

I guess it's back to the Want Ads in the newspaper.

I agree 100% on CL. It's not conducive to selling certain types of items as well.


Some advice, be wary of counterfeit engravers on Ebay.....and if looking for a gift for wifey check out the great deals on Gucci and Coach handbags.

[legion]

It's really funny on C-list when someone does call, says they'll be there, and never shows up!

[svandamme]

eeh, can't you simply answer the question of prospective buyers, and have the answers show up on the auction???

[RickM]

Originally Posted by svandamme

eeh, can't you simply answer the question of prospective buyers, and have the answers show up on the auction???

Yes, but I answered and did not select the option. When I decided the answer would be valuable it was too late.

Besides, why should I not be able to revise my auction? That's my beef.

[widebody911]

n the title I describe the unit and finish off with "Not Onan or Generac"

I hate when people clog up the search results with this *****. It's also not a triple-headed purple dildo - so why not include that little fact in the title, too?

[Super_Dave_D]

Originally Posted by RickM

Approx 4 months ago I'm auctioning off a Winco Generator. In the title I describe the unit and finish off with "Not Onan or Generac". You see this done all the time. Including now. However, the auction was pulled because I was employing "deceiving sales practices". Holy bejesus, am I that bad?

Ya I hate when people do that - deliberately deceptive to get search hits

[kstar]

Originally Posted by RickM

. . . snip . . .

...and since when is a New Hermes engraver favored by counterfeiters?

I have experienced a few episodes like you've described, and they really pi$$ed me off. Most of the time, eBay works alright.

The "Hermes" in the name is where the eBay machines are getting you - eBay thinks you are listing "Hermes" clothes, handbags or other designer ware which are often counterfeited.

So a machine picks up a "keyword" then you complain and get some stupid machine response by email.

Best,

Kurt

[RickM]

Originally Posted by Super_Dave_D

Ya I hate when people do that - deliberately deceptive to get search hits

Heh heh.
Actually I don't care for this tactic either. A tweak to the search spares me the grief.

To be honest I tried this technique with the generator because, IMO, the EBay audience is typically not well schooled regarding this type of product. Therefore, giving them additional options can be of benefit to them.

I never knew this was taboo in the eyes of the EBAY police. I've seen it done alot, in the past and still today.

[tabs]

Rick what it comes down to is that your just another scum bag scam artist...Plain and simple...and e-Bay says so...knows so?

e-Bay lost a bunch of money last quarter....and the stock price went down...could your problem be an indication of the reason why?

[911Rob]

Originally Posted by RickM

Yes, but I answered and did not select the option. When I decided the answer would be valuable it was too late.

Besides, why should I not be able to revise my auction? That's my beef.

Just tell us the eBay item, what questions you want us to ask, we'll ask them, then you select the option to post them to the auction.

Sorry, I'm a solution orientated guy.

Peace,

[RickM]

Originally Posted by tabs

Rick what it comes down to is that your just another scum bag scam artist...Plain and simple...and e-Bay says so...knows so?

Tabula: Ya think Ebay could just come out and just tell me. Why the long winded double talk.

Kurt: You're right. The Hermes clothing/apparel crap is what kicked this off.

Rob: Thanks for the offer. I did this about an hour ago.

[JavaBrewer]

I still have pretty good luck with CL. Ebay too though it's tougher to find a bargain there these days. Here's a little funny from Randall Munroe http://www.xkcd.com

[futuresoptions]

So....how much you want for that thing???

[stealthn]

Ebay got their butts handed to them in the last couple years from selling fakes, Hermes being one of the Companies that sued.