I just recently had a bad experience selling on eBay. I swore it off years ago due to the high fees, but decided to try it again and was almost instantly burned. There’s a TLDR at the bottom regarding the lesson learned here. I assume many of you already know this, but I did not…

I sold a piece of electronics equipment. I listed it with local pickup as the only collection option. An out-of-state buyer contacted me to ask if I would ship. I told him I preferred local pickup because I wouldn’t be able to make any formal guarantees against damage (shipping carriers are notorious for poor handling of fragile items and for rejecting shipping insurance claims) and that it would be at his risk. I also told him I would have to charge him extra for the shipping. For anyone wondering, the reason that shipping carriers are almost always successful at rejecting claims (which they do to keep the money they make selling you shipping insurance and/or because of the amount of fraud they sustain) is because they know you can rarely prove the item was actually damaged in transit (it’s as simple as that). As long as they have proof of delivery, you’re essentially screwed. I digress however. The buyer insisted and against my better judgment, I agreed to ship. I packaged everything very well and even offered the buyer to re-list the item with an option to ship (an act of transparency that could only benefit the buyer). He said that wouldn’t be necessary, but was appreciative of the offer.

After delivery, the buyer sent me a message (with pictures) claiming irreparable damage during transit. I of course had no way of knowing if it was actually damaged in transit, or if the buyer had damaged it himself (accidentally or not), or if he was otherwise scamming me.

Still, I responded to him quite respectfully (I assumed he was being honest) and offered to contact eBay to determine the best course of action. He accepted. In my message to eBay support, I asked the best way to handle this and of course, unbeknownst to the buyer, I raised my concerns that I was worried about potentially being scammed. However, eBay failed to reply. They did not even acknowledge receipt of the message. When I opened the eBay app a couple of days later to check for their response, I was greeted with a button notification that the buyer had filed a claim. eBay instantly sided with the buyer and demanded I refund his money. I got eBay on the phone (after wrestling with the automated chat system) and asked them why they never responded to my original message. They said they never received it and moreover, they implied that I was a scammer who sent a damaged item on purpose (because of my refusal to instantly refund the money with no questions asked). Needless to say, I was livid. The only option I was offered was to turn the return request into a support case to be reviewed by eBay. I did so, but eBay found everything in the buyer’s favor very quickly. What’s hilarious is that they informed me of this in a direct reply to the original message I sent (the one they claimed to have never received). They locked down my account and forcibly removed the funds from my linked checking account (which is now a requirement to sell on eBay). They also said that if I wanted the buyer to return the item to me, that I would have to pay for the return shipping as well.

I was stunned. Aren’t the seller fees that eBay collects intended partially to resolve disputes like this in a way more favorable to both parties, as eBay claims? Nope.

TLDR: Does eBay hate its sellers? Nope. Sellers are an essential part of their business model. However, eBay refuses to protect sellers under almost any circumstance because that would shed light on their dirty secret, which is that they actually have no buyer protection either, unlike what they claim. They loudly flaunt a buyer protection policy (which amounts to hounding and harassing sellers) to falsely justify their fees. They don’t want buyers to come to the realization that there is always the option of calling the bank and reporting a charge as fraudulent when they feel burned/scammed. That would make eBay’s life harder. They actually admitted as much over the phone. Of course, this won’t be everyone’s experience. However, I am through with them.

I’ve often heard that fleabay always sides with the buyers. Yours is just another example to add to the long list.

Yep. The reason why was just never completely clear to me until now.

My attitude is everyone is a scammer.

^This 100%.

I sold a testing device and the images showed every part included. The buyer wanted his money back because some part he needed for his purpose wasn’t included. eBay gives the seller no choice.

Isn't Ebay anti-gun? If so why is anyone who owns a gun putting money in their pockets? I've sold several items online but never used Ebay. The OP's experience is just another of many reasons to avoid them.

quote:

Originally posted by calugo:

Isn't Ebay anti-gun?

There are thousands -- make that hundreds of thousands -- of gun accessories for sale on eBay.

I buy a FEW things off fleabay, don’t really sell.

A few recent items, Danner boots for $23, +shipping, excellent fit. Shorter barrel for a Browning Gold shotgun, and a Lyman case prep center.

The few things I sell are usually on facebook marketplace.

I sold some higher end Oppo Blu-Ray players online after moving to 4K some years ago. I was thinking eBay but it might have been AVS Forum.

The buyer claimed one did not work on arrival, but I know they were perfect before shipping via UPS and they were insured. He wanted money back for the repair. I said I would file a claim with UPS, or take it back for a refund, or pay for repair through Oppo after the claim was settled. He declined. I said those are the options. Eventually he said Oppo sent him parts and it was OK now but he didn't like my attitude.

I think he was lying and just trying to get some money back. No way to really know.

eBay now seems to cater to commercial sellers with enough volume to absorb issues like this. Most things are fixed price, not auctions.

Years ago, I sold two old-school Fosgate car audio amplifiers on eBay.
I've been a buying/selling member since 1999.

I tested them before putting them up for sale, and they worked fine.
The buyer received them and said that one of them didn't work correctly.
I told him to return it to me at his expense and I'd refund his money.
Never heard from him again, he never did file a claim.
He simply wanted something for nothing.

I bought these new in the late 1980s and had them in 3 or 4 different vehicles.

I opened my account on eBay 25 years ago. Their selling fees and practices have gotten to where I sell as little as possible there.