Well I’m a big fan of Ebay, and have been using it for over ten years. I’ve bought and sold way too much stuff from there since, and before the whole sneaker world blew up, it was the best place to grab a steal. Over the years the entire ebay marketplace has become super saturated, and there are plenty of people living off of that and cashing in. As far as the stuff I look at on the regular there (sneakers, art, etc.) which usually releases in limited quantities, ebay sellers have created the after-market value with their ridiculous buy it now prices. That’s not where my problem lies though, that’s just simple laws of economics, and sucks for me.
So a couple weeks ago I decided to go and start putting up some kicks for sale since I have enough pairs to wear a new one each day for like two months straight. One of them was extremely limited, retailed for a grip when they came out and are in high demand. The auction ends for an absurdly high price, and I’m happy. Two days later instead of getting my paypal email confirming payment, the buyer writes me telling me he’s not going to pay for it. Ok, once again no big deal since deadbeat bidders are a dime a dozen and that’s just how the game works.
So I start the usual recourse, file a non-paying bidder claim and leave negative feedback for them. When I go and do this, low and behold the bastards changed the feedback system. “Starting in May, sellers will no longer be able to leave negative or neutral feedback for buyers.”
And their reasoning is:
No negative or neutral Feedback for buyers
The previous system prevented buyers from leaving honest Feedback since they feared retaliation from the sellers if they left a negative. This made it harder for buyers to distinguish between sellers while making bidding or buying decisions. In addition, when buyers received negative Feedback, they reduced their activity in the marketplace, which in-turn harmed sellers.
To further escalate the bullshit factor, if you want to get your final value fee back you have 2 options. One is to tell ebay both buyer and seller agreed not to complete the transaction, and as soon as the other party agrees you get refunded (which leaves no bad marks on the deadbeat buyers account). Or the extra special screw the seller again option to file a non-payment claim. This can only be done 14 days after the auction has ended. Once it’s filed, the buyer gets another week or 2 to respond, and after this ebay decides the outcome. Enough strikes against the buyer and their account can be disabled. So you gotta wait a month, and the public can’t even see what the scumbag did. The buyer has no reason to actually follow through with the auction anymore. Where’s the justice?!
Honestly, the system is flawed either way, but is more of a pain in the ass than ever.
August 18th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
I totally agree. I’ve sold several items through ebay in the past, but now I can’t do that anymore. What protection is there on ebay for a SELLER now?
Also, my activity on ebay has declined (but not stopped) recently. I’ve got a 0% positive rating now as the only recent feedback I’ve received as a buyer is from sellers who have left me feedback before. (and that doesn’t count) So while I actually have a 100% positive feedback rating, it might look TO SELLERS like not one of hundreds of purchases I made earned me positive feedback. Ouch.
Ebay’s feedback system is truly useless now, unless you are a frequent buyer…and always choose a different seller with each purchase. Even then, it is only of dubious value to the buyer. WTF