Wednesday, November 5, 2008
EBAY'S CHANGING RULES
EBay's changing rules created more trouble the week of October 19 and after. They recently banned payments by check or money order. That means PayPal, owned by eBay, is in total control of non-credit card payments. A buyer sends the money to PayPal, then the money is sent on to the seller via an eCheck. Most sellers want to be sure they are paid before they ship the merchandise. But PayPal had a glitch with the eCheck payments. The mix-up, required claims etc., meant the sellers did not get the money quickly. If they don't ship in a timely manner the buyers are upset and it reflects on the reputation of the sellers. What is even more upsetting is that PayPal and eBay have not been responding to inquiries about problems and PayPal is able to hold the money much longer than usual. Have they ever heard of customer service emails or phone calls?
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That's not correct. First, an eCheck is one method for the buyer to pay the seller; that is not how PayPal pays the seller. A seller can withdraw funds in several ways, such as via an ATM withdrawal, a mailed check, or a direct deposit to his own bank account. Once funds are cleared within the seller's account, he can make a direct payment to the shipper (e.g. USPS) at the time that he prints the mailing label for the package.
In addition, while eBay does indeed want sellers to take payments only via PayPal in future, a buyer is still free to ask the seller if he will accept an alternate payment method, and the seller is free to accept or decline.
Also, the requirement to remove mentions of other payment methods from listings has been postponed until after the new year.
While I'm not a fan of a lot of eBay most recent changes, practically none of which seem to be for the better, it is important to keep the details straight on what is and is not changing, and when.
You call it a "glitch" in PayPals accounting methods . . . I don't think so! It looks more like the old "Float" game, popular in Real Estate transactions.
My PayPal check for an ebay transaction was held up about 5 days. That doesn't sound like much, but multiply my $1,500.00 check by the number of transactions posted on ebay in that 5 day period, then calculate the interest earned on that "5 day float" and it does make one very suspicious!
Paypal also had a terrible problem last year with a glitch that ended up having buyers packages shipped to the wrong addresses. This happened to me. 3 items I bought ended up going to my old address in another state! This glitch was caused by paypal not purging their data. When it crashes and they re-start the system, it can revert some accounts to the personal information they had when you opened it, which could be years old! That glitch caused enormous confusion and anger to those affected. Both paypal and ebay never addressed the situation fully or offered any recompense for lost sales or items. With paypal, your pretty much on your own if you encounter a serious problem.
That is why I have not been bidding on eBay. Paypal's new rules are too confusing. I was chewed out by a seller one time because it took so long for her to be paid through Paypal and I had no idea that it would take as long as it did. Paypal and eBay have left both buyers and sellers in a catch-22 situation. A buyer says that they want to be paid within a certain time period and the buyer tries to pay within that certain time period using Paypal and it doesn't get there in time. Now, you can't even send a check or money order. I think eBay's business is going to suffer. They have made a lot of customer unfriendly decisions. They appear to be getting too greedy and especially in this economy, people are looking for ways to save money, not pay more money. I really think eBay needs to refocus its priorities or it may price its way out of business.
When is greedBay going to stop gouging the hand that feeds it?
PayPal's problem was that cleared eCheck payments from buyers were not able to be claimed by sellers after PayPal informed the seller to claim the payment.
An eCheck is a payment method by which the buyer funds the payment to PayPal via an electronic check from their bank account. Unlike an instant transfer or credit card payment, it takes several days to clear.
Your statement that "A buyer sends the money to PayPal, then the money is sent on to the seller via an eCheck." is incorrect and misleading.
I have been selling on e-bay for 7 years, and within the past few days, I am unable to list OR relist items until any mention of checks or money orders are eliminated. They were the only types of payments I have required from buyers until e-bay FORCED me to accept paypal, and now won't let me take checks and money orders. E-bay went from being a 'venue'where I could run my business pretty much how I wanted to being a dictatorship where I feel like an 'employee'. 85 percent of mu customers used checks and money orders and I am NOT happy with their so-called 'improvements'.
I recently sold on ebay under a new account (I have 3 with a total of over 500 positive feedbacks). The item went for $152.00, buyer paid with Paypal. Since this account was newer, Paypal kept the money till I shipped the item, it was received AND the buyer gave positive feedback. Or had it for 3 days (if verifiable) or 21 days!!!! I have to admit..I was not in a situation to lay out the $25 in shipping charges without being paid for it!!! Then I had to annoy the buyer to please, PLEASE...leave me positive feedback so I can have my money! I think they should release the shipping charges immediately! (when the buyer did leave positive feedback, it still took 24 hrs for them to release the funds to me)
and the decrease in listing price in CERTAIN categories just led to an increase in final fees...15% is outrageous! I recently sold something for 99 cents (hoping it would go higher), after listing fees, final fees, and Paypal fees...I made about 10 cents!
Both E-bay and PayPal's customer service departments are virtually non-existent. They operate without logic or intelligence and NEVER directly address your issues. E-mails they send in respone to an issue are inevitably canned, NOT addressing the concern you have but instead composed of a series of pre-crafted sentences pasted together to present an appearance of an actual reply. It is absolutely infuriating, YET, because of the absolute monopoloy of both companies, it is either play in their camp, or not at all. PayPay specifically refunded money to a buyer because the merchandise arrived broken. The buyer claimed it arrived
"significantly not as described" instead of pursing an insurance claim, and PayPay refunded their money. I was forced to pursue the insurance claim, and upon doing so, it was very evident that the merchandise had most likely been damaged AFTER receipt. By her own admission, the buyer had refused to open and inventory the items, saying only that the damage was extensive. It was only evident that the damage was extensive AFTER the postal inspector and I unpacked the ENTIRE box; damage was almost exclusively on the bottom, which could not have been determined without unpacking the entire thing. Therefore, the only way the buyer could have known this without opening and checking could have been because she most likely dropped the package herself, either by accident or design (buyer's remorse). Refund for "significantly not as described" is designed to prevent fraud by sellers, NOT to circumvent an easily remedied process such as pursuing an insurance claim. By allowing the buyer to bypass this step, PayPal essentially forced ME to be my own insurer. Because the shipment was in two boxes, and I only insured each box for half the total value amount, I was refunded the insured amount for one box, yet it was part of a set, so could not resell the other half and was therefore out the other half, regardless. (Learn from this when insuring items). The point is, both PayPal and Ebay make their own rules, regardless of the legalities of any given situation, and if they make a decision that defies logic, NOTHING you do will allow you to prevail because their bylaws give them total control. Their court, their balls, their rackets. You want to play, you deal with it.
We have used PayPal for the past 8 years and have nothing but a great experience with them. As others have said, the only time that there is a delay in getting funds is when the buyer uses an e-check rather than a credit card or funds in their Paypal account. The seller is notified that the e-check is pending and the funds are usually cleared within 3 business days. On the other hand, our non-paying eBay biders have mostly been those who promise to send a money order the day that they purchase an item but - you know it already- "the money is in the mail" but never shows up. For our eBay business, we are glad that this option is gone. While we do not like some of the other changes, this is one we do approve. Paypal fees are less than having our own credit card clearing account. We also like the security and protection because the seller never actually has the buyer's credit card, so the chance of fraudulent charges is greatly reduced.
The minor details of how this glitch happened seems to me less important than the facts that:
1) There is a PayPal glitch which results in a delay of payment to eBay sellers.
2)Again, eBay and PayPal have done virtually nothing to calm seller anger, rather, have said very little about it.
I've been an auctioneer for more than 25 years. I write online and keep my finger on the pulse of what's going on at eBay and other online selling venues.
People are not happy about this.
Want to find the fastest way to go out of business as a brick and mortar auction house? Hold up payment to the people you owe money to.
eBay has been able to weather a lot of storms, lets see if their "let them eat cake" attitude can hold off the mob when said mob is sketchy about getting paid.
Fix this eBay.
In the meantime, it would do all sellers a lot of good to get their OWN Website up and running. Even if this were just as a supplement to eBay sales for now.
Hello, I think that Ebay and Paypal have gone to far this time. It seems that Ebay is getting greedy They get your money when you list your item, They get there cut when it sells, and now there forceing us to pay with Paypal to get that fee also. EBAY how much MONEY do you need to make???????????
Unscrupulous buyers can scam a seller and the seller usually has no recourse. PayScam generally believes the buyer, we have seen it many times, even when the seller has proof the item was correct,undamaged and sent on time. It is crazy that Ebay does not allow paper payments anymore. It has nothing to do with "safe transactions" I have over 300 100% transactions using only paper payments, so why doent Ebay take this into account?A seller can't leave a neg feedback for a deadbeat buyer! To be forced to use something, due to their monopoly is wrong. I will not be bullied into signing up for PayPal. Good bye Ebay!
By January 2009, all approved electronic payment methods will be integrated into eBay checkout. For example, buyers will be able to enter their credit card number directly into eBay checkout, and the payment will be routed to the seller's Internet merchant account or to their PayPal account
Well we have picked a new president. Now that is over it is time to pick a new online auction site. Try SeeAuctions.com. You now have a good choice so there is nothing to complain about. You will be seeing news and ads all over about this site.
Good luck
When I heard about Ebay's "new" payment rules, Paypal only, it was readily apparent that it was, and is, just another form of extortion on the part of Ebay; or greed, as many like to call it. I have not used Ebay for buying or selling in several months, and it seems that Ebay does not want small sellers, who used to be the backbone of the site. The "brain trust" at Ebay seems to have nothing but disdain for its' small sellers. I had sold mostly antiques & collectibles, and this seemed to be the inventory of most small sellers. It's too bad that a good venue for many in-home businesses will now become too expensive & unwieldy to continue.
Try see auctions for a new site.
I see it both ways I recieved a International money order My bank held for 1 month and cost me $9.00 to cash.So I can see where Paypal does help.But when My auction says pay within 7 days then on the 7th day the buyer desides to send an echeck which takes another 4-5 days to get.After payment they send you a message PLEASE SEND ASAP.You recieve a Negitive Feedback for Slow shipping.The seller can do nothing about it.Now does that seem fair.
I usually e-mail the seller and ask if they accept money orders, which is how I always pay. It's quick, easy, and very 'cashable' at any P.O. I have had few if any refusals and my Feedback comments/records can be checked for prompt payment and reception credibility. Easy as pie to me. marje
How dare ebay tell me the conditions of a sale. If a check or money order is OK with the buyer and seller what right do they have to demand otherwise. I've had it with ebay. I will neither sell nor buy any items through them.
I handle ebay sales for a medical supply company. They are holding our payments until proof of shipment or receipt reaches them. Some of our items cost thousands of dollars and we are expected to ship before we receive payment! I don't think so!! Tell me one other business that will give you the goods before you pay. Now, if anyone pays us with paypal, we refund the money and ask the buyer to send a check or wire transfer.
You have to go to PayPalsucks.com in order to find any phone #'s to reach PayPal as they purposefully do not list phone #'s for customer service. Also their customer service is a joke it is almost impossible to get a timely or useful response from them. It now costs about 10% of the sales price on most sales by the time you pay the listing fees, the final value fees and then the PayPal fees. Now they are pushing really hard for the seller s to offer "free shipping" which you then end up paying all of the aforementioned fees on as well. eBay and PayPal are getting more and more difficult to do business with. Also they generally deny ongoing problems for days and weeks. You have to search the forums and user groups to figure out if it is your computer or their system that is causing problems. I would be out of business quickly if if I conducted my business like they do. Hopefully they will make a change for the better soon. If not many more of us will simply do our business some where else.
Andy is also not totally correct. PayPal has always been up front on the matter of eChecks, and this "non-problem" seems to be generated by neophyte users who don't fully understand the process fully. An eCheck is generated because a payer is not verified; that is, does not back up up his or her payment with a credit card account. When this occurs, the payment is generated from the payer's checking account, and takes the same amount of time as a regular check to clear (about five days). I have always had to explain this to my buyers so that they do not give negative feedback for delivery time delays (and I have often suggested that they place a credit card on PayPal's file so that this does not re-occur in the future). If a buyer is verified with a credit card account backup, the electronic transfer is instantaneous.
The real problem here is eBay's greed which has really created a restraint of trade. I'm really surprised that someone has not initiated a class action suit to stop these restrictions. Why can't my customers pay me any way that is agreeable to both of us? Because eBay, which owns PayPal, wants a bigger commission. Since Meg Whitman left, eBay is spiraling down the toilet.
I have had an eBay account for eight-plus years, but I am most likely going to close it over this new policy. I was more a buyer, but I did like to sell occasionally, and I object strenuously to being told what sort of payment I must accept. And I resent losing the ability to pay by other means if someone is willing to accept it. I absolutely refuse to have anything more to do with PayPal -- I had an account years ago and discovered the hard way that some of its policies were quite unacceptable -- meaning there is no way I can sell anything anymore. Clearly, since eBay will now get the PayPal fee on top of its commissions, the intent of this change was strictly one of gouging its users.
I have often wondered and 'hoped' that the Kovel family would start an online auction sight...How great would that be???
I couldn't agree more that paypal has been at the root of alot of my payment problems some things have taken as long as 2 months to be resolved.They don't respond to resolution efforts. It is FRUSTRATING for both buyer and seller. Donna
with e-bay or pay pal.I havent had any problem But do not like all the new restrictions on buying or saling. Have been looking for a different outlet. Therefore haven't put any new things on it.
I agree EBAY & PAYPAL have gone off the greedy deep end, for this they have lost my and my friends business. In my opinion, these ridiculous changes are signs that the company is losing business, and on it's way down hill. EBAY & PAYPAL is just another company sucking the "life" out of their customers in the name of profit for their share holders!!
BUYERS and SELLERS BEWARE, watch your money!
USA Paypal ..:with over 600 transactions with Money order-cheque,all showing up in my mail box within 4-8 days..it worked well.Now with no chance of leaving feedback,and forced payments.......aprox 140,000 ebayers have left for other sites,far as i know.Looks like their stock went from $60 a share 3 years ago to less than $15 today.
Ebay Canada Paypal is set for Jan 15-09.....then another 150,000 will be looking for another site to sell.
I agree EBAY & PAYPAL have gone off the greedy deep end, for this they have lost my and my friends business. In my opinion, these ridiculous changes are signs that the company is losing business, and on it's way down hill. EBAY & PAYPAL is just another company sucking the "life" out of their customers in the name of profit for their share holders!!
BUYERS and SELLERS BEWARE, watch your money!
I too wish the Kovel Family would start an online auction site. It's sad that if you went to any antique store they would probably take any kind of payment and bend over backwards with customer service on top of that. Come on Ebay, with the economy the way it is now is not the time to glitch up a system that's not broken. Your customer service sucks and remember your sellers are your best customers!
Ebay and Paypal have made it so difficult for so many buyers and sellers. Even now there's been mention of Auctiva possibly beginning to charge for their services as a direct result. For those interested in other selling venues we've found Bonanzle to be super. Payment options are up to you. There's so many good things - check it out when you have time. We see it becoming the site to buy and sell from.
yes eBay and Paypal have gone over the top on control & fees. But they still are the only game in town. We no longer will ship out of the USA as you then have no protection as a seller. I have been a Power seller for about 5 years now and they really make us jump through all sorts of hoops just to maintain our status. Most are really a stupid like restrictions on our account as to being able to list multiples of similar items.
The only choice we really have unless a new auction site or an established "gun site" for instance goes to general listing is feebay.
Hey let me tell you about Paypal!! I wouldn't use them to buy a thumbtack. If ANYONE can screw up your payment they hold the prize!!!!! Not only have I had two really bad experiances with them, but it took over 6 weeks onetime to get a payment straightened out!! And chechk this out; they double took money out of my bank for one of these screw ups. Took forever to get it back. Look, now that Ebay owns them, "one will lie, the other will swear to it!" I think all my business with Ebay may be coming to an abrupt end very soon. Once a business becomes a dictatorship and thinks they can do exactly what they want anytime they want, especially my decision on how to handle my money, all I can say is, "Goodbye!!"
Although I sell on an ongoing basis on ebay, I couldn't agree more with your comment about a customer service email or a telephone number to call. Anytime you have problems you have to go through numerous and wieldy steps to contact ebay. It's very inconvenient to use. I think some of this is done intentionally to deter you from wanting to take the effort. Then again....if they provided these types of customer support they would need more people...i.e. fees would go even higher than they already are. As for Ebay owning PAYPAL....along with my last comment....it's all about greed folks. The customer in most large corporations is at least number three on the list of priorities....1) The CEO and directors MUST receive outrageous salaries 2) Shareholders expect unrealistic returns on their investment and...Oh Yes 3) the actual customer (ebay seller) who is the one providing all this dough to pay all these greedy people. There are still people who do not and/or will not use PAYPAL for various reasons and this new decision by ebay to only accept PAYPAL payments is going to deter a number of potential buyers which is a negative for both ebay and sellers because both lose on this one. It is imperative that sellers make buyers aware that they WILL accept other payment methods if agreed upon at the time of sale. As a matter of fact, I would encourage this. That's my two cents worth.
Australia I think was Ebay's testing ground for this procedure. I doubt it was a success for anyone concerned.They managed to offend not only a substantial percentage of their users but also our banks. MY memory of events is a tad dodgy but I think Ebay / Payal were before either our courts or our Department of Fair Trading (or both). The first time I can ever remember Banks and the public taking united action. Ebay / Paypal lost, made some face saving comment (letting us know this was only a temporary pause in their plans to monopolise transactions) and withdrew. There were no winners in this whole sorry saga. IT has left such a sour taste in every ones mouth that anecdotally at least many long time traders have pretty much abandoned Ebay. And buyers that were to be forced to leave financial details with Ebay / Paypal and use only Paypal have also left. It's my observation that the goods I looked to buy are not as frequently offered, and certainly the goods I like to sell don't seem to fetch the same prices. And all this a very long time before the current financial meltdown.
My memory is that Ebay added insult to injury with some other changes around that time. I could be wrong but there was talk of Ebay not permitting sellers to leave negative feedback for buyers but still allowing buyers to leave negative feedback for sellers !??!
Also, it seemed Paypal would dip into a seller's linked accounts and refund money to buyers that made a complaint without first allowing the seller to dispute that complaint. From memory one seller complained in our forums that even sending an item Registered Mail requiring a signature was no protection. They had one incident where the signature was printed in Block Capitals, the buyer then complained the item was never received and Paypal retrieved the money from the seller's account without consultation. Last I remember the seller was still trying to get the money returned.
My memory of event is somewhat hazy, I believe I'm correct in substance if not in detail. Anyone interested could check our Forums on Ebay Australia, but I also have a vague memory that the forums were interfered with and that alternate forums had to be set up for Ebay users to have their experiences published.
This is all such a shame as in these current economic times Ebay could have come to rival any of the world's past financial institutions levels of reach and longivity. It is such a sweet system for world trade. Perhaps they feel they already do? And I really like Paypal, it was all I ever offered to overseas buyers. It worked very well for me. I still use Ebay, but sparingly as a buyer. I was planning to make it a major financial part of my life this year and am disappointed that I lost confidence in it to the extent that I haven't bothered.
To hear that they plan the same stupid greedy grab for money elsewhere means that they just haven't learnt the lessons of their Australian experience. Or perhaps they have? Perhaps Australia was just their proving ground sufficiently far from the world's eyes that they could fine tune the logistics and legals of their strategies? But they obviously didn't learn that a smaller percentage of a large pie being grown ever larger by enthusiastic users is better than a larger percentage of a pie that has many users choking on it and eventually walking away from.
Maybe the hand writing is on the wall, is PayPal going to be spun off?
On the other hand if PayPal is a problem, write your congress, after all, credit card companies are regulated.
Certainly there are areas that eBay/Pay Pal can improve and it doesn't appear they will be doing that since they OWN the market in online Auctions-
I just wish that someone would start a new site and invest some capital into MARKETING it like eBay has marketed it's site.
I tried the other auction sites for selling but the buyers are still at eBay- because eBay continues to MARKET themselves.
So until someone out there has some capital to invest in an online auction site to rival eBay- they will continue to own the market.
Google took on Yahoo and did a pretty good job of marketing themselves- it paid off-
Anyone out there?
Personally, I am quite pleased with the move. As sellers we no longer have to wait for a buyer to send payment (the most recent took almost a month). Additionally, buyers have the PayPal security guarantee and PayPal eChecks still clear faster than waiting for a mailed check, depositing it, and then waiting for the check to clear. This is a win-win situation.
A thought for all you naysayers out there. Move your business somewhere else. That will leave more buyers for my articles... FYI, I have averaged over 60 items a month since July so there is a good viable market for items that are well priced and well presented.
Feebay is getting greedier and I'm practically done with them. Their so called improvements are are like the Bush policies, only thinking about how to get more out of us! .I have gone from power seller status to maybe 3 items a month and now have 2 stores elsewhere becauisr of their "improvements. They are so big they think they are invincible. Sooner or later there will be blowback.
Ebay is going to fart around until sellers find other avenues in which to sell their goods, i.e., craigslist, online auctions, etc. If that happens, they have no one to blame but themselves.
I recently received a pending payment. After the usual 3-4 day wait received notice of cleared check. 3 days later I received a noptice from PP if I don't claim my money by ... the money will be returned to the buyer...forget the a..enine anwers received from PP, totally inappropriate to the questions asked. Finally, I found their phone #..voila! I am told it was "technical" error and will be corrected...it was, only to receive another message to claim the $$ or they will be returned. How many busisnesses would survive doing business in this manner....ebay listings are way up..newbe's think of caking extra money during the holidays...but wait..talk to a new seller, some they already have their fill of it after selling a few weeks. Ebay will feel the negative effects of their unreasonable antics within the near future. It is time to have another ebay "Protest" day, no listings/buying for 2 days, and time to check out other auction-sites ....
ebay's requirement of electronic payment(paypal) and refusing sellers to advertise that they will accept money orders and personal checks is nothing but GREED on ebay's part. For years(ever since they bought paypal) ebay has "warned" buyers that there was not protection when paying with check or money order. That didn't work well enough for ebay, so they decided to strongarm the sellers. A lot have left and a lot more will leave.
The same month paypal and Ebay came together, things never came out the same. Small businesses were put on "limited" accounts, Paypal rarely argued with Visa or mastercard about a return, and paypal has been known for quite sometime as liars when it came to fixing issues to get your account back up. One problem, they want you to pay up discrepencies with the promise that your account will be re-issued. you stand by their word, you pay, they delete you indefinately. ebay is the same way. Once you owe them past 45 days, they will ask you to pay up and they will reinstate your Ebay. This is my true account. I pay up for items i shipped overseas, thinking i can get my account back. they then send me an e-mail stating that the people that just ripped me off need to drop bad feedback. now why on earth would certain customers overseas do that if they just ripped you off? there is a website called paypalsucks.com. I'm there alot. this is your best route to fight Ebay and paypal. you're not alone.
I am ready for a new place to buy and I buy a lot! Tried of the too big business attitude of ebay.
I sell around 500 - 600 items a year and if I have to pay the paypal fee which is charged on the final total price which also includes the shipping and materials purchased, (that money goes to the post office and stores, not into the sellers pockets), that will mean an additional $2500.00 - $3500.00 more every year in fees not to mention that I also have federal income taxes to pay and all of the other expenses in life are also rising like electric and gas bills, property taxes, food and gasoline, etc... it is becoming unbearable and I will quit ebay the day they cancel my auctions for not taking paypal. They should be happy with the fees they are already making off of other peoples labor. Purchasing the computer, camera and other equipment, paying internet server charges, going out and finding the item, cleaning it, photographing & editing the pictures, loading the pictures, researching it, typing out the description with more and more requirements on the listing form, answering questions, packing it, & then taking it to the post office takes a lot of my time, work & expense. Now they are asking for even more of my life. Ebay is like a tyrannical boss who asks more and more of the employee while paying less and less. It is getting closer to quitting time after 9 years and over 4000 positive feedbacks at 100%. The definition of wealth is Labor. When you labor, you are trading a portion of your life and soul and there should be some profit in doing that otherwise it is slavery. Stand up against ebay and tell them to back down and turn the clock back a few years on their policies. There is millions in profits waiting for them if they will treat their sellers humanely, if not, my life is worth more than this slavery. ((((Ebay, the sellers are your friends and they want your success, listen to them...Please!!!))))I notice on all of the discussion boards, that the negative ebay posts seem to have the highest number of readers.
Sign the petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?jdonohoe
copy and paste it to all the sellers, buyers and stock holders you know.
Larry -- I agree with you. But the way I understand it, a seller is not permitted to advertise that other types of payments are accepted. In fact, I saw some complaints in one of the eBay community forums saying that eBay had been removing listings that had such information in them.
I have been on ebay for over 6 years and have never had a problem with sending or receiveing payments until this year...i do not have credit cards so when i pay through pay pal it is with e-checks...and when i recieve a payment i do not ship until the money is in my bank account ( not the paypal acct.) my bank account someone can pay for an item on friday night using paypal and not have a dime in their bank acct, and you can get burned for the money, i think that ebay only wants to have people get paid with paypal so they can make a mint off the fee's, we as sellers on ebay should be able to get paid however we want too, and not have it dictated to us, just my opinion, i think it is a monopoly and it sucks...
I love to tell this story about paypal and I swear it is true. I sold a Suntanning lamp to a person in Calif. He received it and immediately contacted me saying it was not as described. They then contact paypal a insist on a full refund. PayPal then tells me that they were going to send (from my account) a full refund including the shipping cost AS SOON AS THE BUYER CAN SHOW PROOF THAT THE SUNLAMP WAS RETURNED. They do just that, and receive their full refund through Paypal. I then Do receive my package back...filled with a few pieces of rotten wood and a broken headlight. PayPal wanted nothing to do with me. Great People.
Personally, I am quite pleased with the move. As sellers we no longer have to wait for a buyer to send payment (the most recent took almost a month). Additionally, buyers have the PayPal security guarantee and PayPal eChecks still clear faster than waiting for a mailed check, depositing it, and then waiting for the check to clear. This is a win-win situation.
A thought for all you naysayers out there. Move your business somewhere else. That will leave more buyers for my articles... FYI, I have averaged over 60 items a month since July so there is a good viable market for items that are well priced and well presented.
I must totally agree with MedievalMaggie! You got it going Girl!
"Both E-bay and PayPal's customer service departments are virtually non-existent. They operate without logic or intelligence and NEVER directly address your issues. E-mails they send in response to an issue are inevitably canned, NOT addressing the concern you have but instead composed of a series of pre-crafted sentences pasted together to present an appearance of an actual reply. It is absolutely infuriating, YET, because of the absolute monopoly of both companies, it is either play in their camp, or not at all".
Further, Paypal's e-check floating practices (holding monies for 4 business days to clear) are a convenient profit center. Perhaps, 10 years ago this would have been a valid practice before electronic banking. But today, I can't float checks because they clear usually within 24 hours. Frequently my e-checks clear my bank in that time, but Paypal will not release funds to the Buyer for another 3 business days. Yes, I have complained numerous times.
I so wish I had the income Paypal receives from this Profit Center! I would never work another day in my life!
Like ya'll, I'm tired of all the constant rule changes and fee changes. Between eBay, Paypal, UPS, USPS and all the constant increases in fees I think I'm actually losing money on every sale.
Because of the economy there are fewer buyers, therefore, the bidding is lower. This is a losing battle. EBay is bitting the hand that feeds it.
I used to enjoy eBay. It used to be exciting. Now I get a headache everytime I go to work on my eBay auctions. And what about those shipping fee restrictions on movies, books and records? I sell those items once in a Blue Moon, but how can they tell you how much you can charge for a shipping fee?
I'm gonna check out those other two sites that others have mentioned; SeeAuctions and Bonanzle. I just may be moving my little bitty business.
I sell around 500 - 600 items a year and if I have to pay the paypal fee which is charged on the final total price which also includes the shipping and materials purchased, (that money goes to the post office and stores, not into the sellers pockets), that will mean an additional $2500.00 - $3500.00 more every year in fees not to mention that I also have federal income taxes to pay and all of the other expenses in life are also rising like electric and gas bills, property taxes, food and gasoline, etc... it is becoming unbearable and I will quit ebay the day they cancel my auctions for not taking paypal. They should be happy with the fees they are already making off of other peoples labor. Purchasing the computer, camera and other equipment, paying internet server charges, going out and finding the item, cleaning it, photographing & editing the pictures, loading the pictures, researching it, typing out the description with more and more requirements on the listing form, answering questions, packing it, & then taking it to the post office takes a lot of my time, work & expense. Now they are asking for even more of my life. Ebay is like a tyrannical boss who asks more and more of the employee while paying less and less. It is getting closer to quitting time after 9 years and over 4000 positive feedbacks at 100%. The definition of wealth is Labor. When you labor, you are trading a portion of your life and soul and there should be some profit in doing that otherwise it is slavery. Stand up against ebay and tell them to back down and turn the clock back a few years on their policies. There is millions in profits waiting for them if they will treat their sellers humanely, if not, my life is worth more than this slavery. ((((Ebay, the sellers are your friends and they want your success, listen to them...Please!!!))))I notice on all of the discussion boards, that the negative ebay posts seem to have the highest number of readers. There is a reason for that. Sign the petition and pass the link on to sellers and buyers that you know. http://www.petitiononline.com/jdonohoe/petition.html
Ebay, Feebay, No way, No day
Isn't there an attorney out in the e-bay sellers market that can do something about this dictatorship type behavior? I am boycotting e-bay in hopes others will also & put a dent in their pockets forcing them to take a second look. They are all for making even more money from us but not taking care of us sellers & incuring more cost for us! Someone help!!! Debbie 8yrs on e-bay
Boycott ebay! Lets give another website the business they deserve. Ebay no longer deserves anyones business. I have been selling for 9 years and the last couple of years I have been barely selling anything. Between there new feedback system where you are at the mercy of the buyers and their fees,it just isnt worth it anymore.
Ebay Sellers are definitely LOOKING for alternative sites to sell. IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE THAT KNOWS OF A SITE LIKE EBAY??? BUT RUNS A PROFESSTONAL BUSINESS, GIVES CUSTOMER SERVICE TO THE SELLERS....We will NOT ship UNTIL we have our Money. Ebay should allow BUYERS to pay in whatever Method makes it the easiest for the BUYER to BUY....PERIOD!!! Ebay has NOT consulted "The Community" about this change. Their "protection" is a CODE-WORD for GREED....Sounds like our Congress????? EBAY is RUINING our little business which we LOVED!! AND they NEVER ANSWER...LIVE HELP is just to Smooth the feathers, the information does NOT go any further than the shredder!!!!! This NEW Boss must NOT have any Merchandise Experience...Get Rid of Him...
It sounds like you have a ringer from ebay posting comments here! I always thought that auctions were a free market system, where buyers set the value of goods and sellers could operate using any type of payment system that worked for them. Then you get ebay....what a drag to have their greedy grasping little pay pal system shoved down our throats. I am currently exploring alternative sites to use for listing my items. There is something totally un-Americn about ebay these days. I guess whoever runs it has no knowledge of what made this country great in the first place.
It sounds like you have a ringer from ebay posting comments here! I always thought that auctions were a free market system, where buyers set the value of goods and sellers could operate using any type of payment system that worked for them. Then you get ebay....what a drag to have their greedy grasping little pay pal system shoved down our throats. I am currently exploring alternative sites to use for listing my items. There is something totally un-Americn about ebay these days. I guess whoever runs it has no knowledge of what made this country great in the first place.
We on e-bay will be forced to use e-bay checkout, and they will be able to tell how we were paid thru that...don't kid yourself, there will be no checks or money orders. Big brother WILL be watching...
This nazi type business. I hope I don't buy anything on ebay again. I always paid by check and had over 90 positive feedbacks. This is ridculous. Anonymous
Ebay has changed too much over the past 2 years with rule changes and fee adjustments. There has always been pressure by Ebay to use Pay Pal and I have not had good experience as a seller with pay Pal. This is why I have discontinued listing with Ebay or buying on Ebay and have gone to more friendly on line listings such as Go Antiques and Ruby lane.
It occurs to me that if PayPal holds the money, they also hold the interest payments. Not much on my twelve dollars, but lets multiply that by the millions of eBay customers...I don't like the way this company can "double-dip", charging me a seller fee as eBay, then a transaction fees as PayPal.Gary, Atlantic Canada.
I would like to make a correction on something said. An echeck is not generated because an account is not verified. An echeck is used when the buyer does not have the funds in their Paypal account, and it does then come from their checking account. Verified has nothing to do with it.
Ebay has also stated that the occasional money order or check will be allowed but it must not be a regular thing. Of course, I do not agree with them. I never for a moment thought the real reason was to give the buyers more confidence in the sale. That is ridiculous. They truly must think they have a lot of idiots as sellers. Well, maybe we are since we have put up with them for so long.
I do not agree with some of the things they do. However, I have to say that the cost of selling on ebay vs a brick and mortar store is miniscule. Paypal is no different for us in charges than if we accepted credit cards. Those things to me are understandable.
What is not understandable is the situations they put the sellers in as one of you put so well. But, I have also found with this star rating system that no matter what we do, not matter if we charge less than the actual shipping, if we ship the next day and the transaction is perfect, MANY BUYERS simply DECIDE FOR THEMSELVES what they thought it should have been...Recently, because I had not sold much lately, I could tell a buyer left me 4.5 on my overall ratings. I asked her why, and she really got upset since she assumes it is confidential. Well, it is, but if you only have one buyer in a week leave a fb, you can tell exactly what they left. Back to her answer. Now, keep in mind I actually charged her 6.00 less in shipping because I made the decision to ship it priority. I was getting tired of people selecting parcel post and not realizing I am on the East Coast and it takes longer to get to the West Coast. Her answer to me was that she does not like it that sellers do not put the amount of shipping on the labels. I DID. She also thought my shipping was too high???? I charged her 6.00 less. Did she look at the shipping label? NO! She bought the item when in my description I stated clearly if you do not agree with all of the terms, shipping, shipping time, etc, please do not purchase, that if you are buying you are committing to a contract where you agree to these terms. DO THEY READ THAT?? NO! Someone buys something they think the shipping is too high on and they then can leave us less than desirable feedback???? THIS is NOT RIGHT. Ebay thinks only of the buyers, and frankly I am tired of it...But I go right back to where I started..You can't run a brick and mortar store for this price. Ebay knows this. Ebay knows they are like Kleenex..We don't say tissue. We say Kleenex. We don't say auction sites. We say ebay. On television, it is never Etsy or any of the smaller auction sites, it is ebay, and they know this and this is why they will continue to do as they please. Losing 140,000 people more is not hurting them.
Fighting them is like trying to fight your electricity provider, your water provider. We finally have a choice on phones, which for many decades there was no choice, but that is the only choice we have. So, we either just accept the bad with the good or we quit and make nothing or we go to another auction site that does not attract as many.
It's a crying shame, but this is a catch 22. Damned if you do. Damned if you don't.
I'm a three year buyer on ebay with feedback to support my fast payments...usually within minutes of auction end if I get a correct invoice right away. I'm verified for bank accounts and credit cards and address. I'm as big a part of the money that both the sellers and ebay make. In this past year I received a telephone number and was able to establish a password to contact them anytime I had a problem so there are numbers to contact, but it seems they used some, unknown to me criteria, to decide who got that option made available to them. I personally prefer using PayPal for the security it offers me , however, I have also had to use checks or bank drafts when I've won an item and those were the only options for payment per the seller.
They definitely could make such a service available to everyone. I worked in customer service for 28 years for the biggest telephone company so am very concious of the needs for a business to make it easy for all it's customers to resolve issues.
Folks, once antiquesgary.com is up and running next month, there will be NO FEES. None. Payment will be anyway you like, and protection on your Visa purchases will offer a fool-proof way to play...Watch for it!
We have been in business for 20 years as an auction house and began selling on eBay 7 years ago. The ignorance and lack of concern for sellers which eBay so overtly shows has driven us to the point where we advise our clients to sell locally through our auctions instead on eBay and we no longer list any of our personal collections through eBay for the same reasons. Those reasons being the consistant manipulation and lying about changes that take place where ebay claims they are implementing this policy change due to overwhelming requests andsupport from the ebay community. If we lied to our live customers the way ebay lies to the internet public we would have been out of business years ago. Our attentions were really sparked when ebay wanted to force implementation of the DSR, yet failed to adequately label the system so that buyers understand the difference between a 4 and a 5 - according to the DSR scale if we get all 4's on a transaction we did our job and met all the buyers expectations to a satisfactory level. However, according to ebay's rating scale we must maintain a 4.6 DSR to retain our POWERSELLER status and if any of our catergories were to fall below a 4.3 we could be suspended from selling or severely limited in the number of items we are allowed to list. At this same time ebay came out with the announcement that sellers would no longer be granted the opportunity to leave negative or neutral feedback for any buyer regardless of circumstances. This has proved to be our biggest frustration with eBay to date as buyers are no longer accountable and sellers have no way to inform other sellers that this buyer is someone to avoid. After letting the dust settle for 6 months they want to push through this policy of paperless payment and no mention of checks or money orders are allowed to be mentioned anywhere in your listing after January 15, 2009 or the listing will be removed, this too is a slap in the face to the small business owners as well as the private party trying to sell a few item on eBay. We are fed up with all their games and jerking us around like their puppets. As CEO of Alpha & Omega I run my business and set policy for my business and I do not appreciate eBay trying to force its warped views of how to run my business down my throat. As of yet we have a few listings each week on eBay, but we are working on setting up our own webpage and scouting around for other website auctions - once we find a valid alternative we will be gone from eBay for good.
Our Antiques, Collectibles & Books business included selling on eBay over the past ten plus years (less over the last couple of years). When my partner passed away 6 months ago I contacted them (very difficult to do, by the way) to transfer the account to my credit card from hers. I was concerned about retaining our 500 positive feedbacks & continuing to sell. When I finally reached someone (through their live chat, I think), they refused to discuss the issue or any options until I provided a hard copy of the death certificate. Upon receipt, they immediately closed the account, citing "privacy concerns," & "hoping you enjoyed your eBay experience." All of the feedbacks generated over the years were dumped, all doors closed except that of opening a new account. Based on what I am reading & hearing locally, that is a bad idea. I look forward to a new selling site to fill the void!
I've sold on eBay for almost 11 years now. Its fees, including Paypal, have slowly crept to around 8.5% of the hammer price (I don't sell low-end, but if one does, then the percentage is closer to 15%). This is still far less than the commission structures of most live auction companies. Like most, I don't like it, but I try to pass on costs, and usually do. However, I'm surprised no one has mentioned that requiring buyers to have Paypal may be the first step toward imposing a buyer's premium. eBay is a business folks, just like ours, & their game plan is to make & increase profits, just like we hope to do. I assume that they are trying to expand their revenue base, which traditionally depended on list fees & final value fees. Requiring Paypal payments adds another 2.9% plus on each transaction. I would bet that the next step will be a 3-5% imposition of buyer's premium. Since eBay is a venue, the only real way they can increase revenue is (1) have more items sell through the site; (2) increase fees on what does sell; or (3) a combo of 1 & 2. I don't begrudge eBay's attempt to make more money, but I do grumble--a lot--because eBay's attempts also make it harder for me to make more money.
I have sold on eBay for 5 years. Is anyone forwarding all these comments to eBay? They really just don't care. I have a glitch and never get reply.
PLEASE SOMEONE suggest some other good auction site. I enjoy selling this way, but eBay is eating my profits like crazy. Do your own math. We are LOSING money to PayPal.
I will consider opening my own store.
Take the ebay survey and tell them what you think of the paypal only and other changes. They have finally asked their members for comments in this survey:
http://survey.ebay.com/survey/cmb/cmb08007?list=2&source=zgGnfBdOBT
Since Meg Whitman left, ebay has been going downhill. I hope she got all of her sale price. They need to understand that without sellers you will not have buyers, and not just yank money from a seller's account when a scam artist complains. (this happened to me and feedback at that time confirmed a pattern). That's the reason for not being able to leave negs to buyers. (You can check pos and then say what you want, but that will be removed). I hope someone fixes ebay. It's broken and that's a damn shame.
I haven't been buying or selling on ebay either. Don't like Pay Pal and can't use a money order. I will be using Local Yokal Auctions. They seem to appriciate the sellers a bit more!
I am done with Ebay, good riddance. I will not be bullied into using something I do not want. Using paper payments for over 309 pos 100% feedbacks should tell a buyer that I am honest and reliable. Never had a problem. Ebay should recognize this also. I think it is Ebays way of getting rid of the smaller sellers that don't bring in much money. But they are shooting themselves in the foot. The new CEO does not realize that it's sellers like myself, casual sales that have made Ebay what it is. I know, if I don't like it I can go elsewhere.Not a good business plan, to oust those who have been a good player all these years.
Good bye Ebay, and until you allow hnest sellers to take paper payments again, I will be elsewhere.
well I for one am WORN OUT WITH FLEABAY, being one of the first sellers on there from North Carolina, I have finally ended my relationship with them and have gone to ebid dot net an English company, one life time fee of 50.00 and 2 percent selling fees, and OMG the customer service is OUTSTANDING ! ! !
I havent sold TONS, but I am selling a few things a week. Its enough to help me stay home to care for my 82 yo mother who has dementia. AND I hope it goes the way of fleabay and becomes a great site ! !
eBay is trying to strangle commerce in various ways. they seem to want to eliminate all the individual buyers.
first of all, sellers of books are now limited in the amount that can be added on for shipping - at the same time that postal services have discontinued fourth-class or printed matter mail except for advertising. as it costs more than the limit to ship virtually anything larger than a pocketbook, the excess comes out of the seller's profit. when alerted to this, eBay kindly suggested that the excess be added to the list price - on which it calculates its take.
as for a seller being able to ask whether a buyer wants to use a different payment vehicle, nobody from eBay has told us that.
and about customer service:
a year ago we were duped by a seller on eBay who was acting for a ring operating on the eastern seaboard, selling fake "scalamandre" fabric. the purchase was paid via paypal.
what did paypal do?
NOTHING. closed the file twice. we had to call them on their non-toll-free number and wait for ONE HOUR before a live person spoke to us. she said she would reopen the file.
what happened after that? NOTHING.
eventually via the agency of either the attorney general of new jersey's office, or the internet crime complaint centre, the money was reimbursed.
on the sale, Paypal took:
their usual cut,
foreign exchange at their rate,
foreign exchange on the reimbursement at their rate,
and their cut once more, for handling the reimbursement.
it is cheaper to use paypal within the US, but out of country, between eBay and Paypal, 25% to 30% of the gross is sucked up by these two.
Paypal WILL NOT link to a US account one might have in one's home country.
I see a dying company and it doesn't even know it's dying...I left feebay in Feb. with the 1st boycott of the year. I've been quite happy on my new venue - OnlineAuction.com. There are no listing or fvfs. Charge is $8/month for all you can list. You can cross reference to any other web site you might have - even your eekbay site - connectivity & communication are part of the new face of eCommerce. At OLA, you are free to use ANY form of payment you want. Even cash, if you would be so foolish.
A huge number of us have dropped NoPayP merchant accounts and have gone with Google Checkout. PP is *bay's evil twin, and most of us prefer to have as little as possible to do with them!! About 50% of my customers pay by check or MO; not everyone is comfortable having their financial info on file with another large anonymous corporation.
I was very happy as a small seller on feebay - enjoyed my customers and the other sellers I dealt with. As feebay became more and more intrusive & restrictive, I found it intolerable. My friends who are still there are selling less and less for lower and lower prices. PP has instituted incredibly restrictive policies by which they can arbitrarily decide to hold your money for 21 days (or more) - with feebay's blessing.
There are now many non-bay options. The traffic on 'bay is dropping and other sites are benefiting. Anyone who is totally disgusted with 'bay is welcome to come to OLA.com and see if it's a match. It's the only real auction site that's competitive. Many people use OLA as an adjunct to their own independent sites
The implosion of *bay makes me sad. I'm particularly sad for the sellers who are trying to hang on as *bay stomps on their fingers & PP kicks at their heads.
I am so furious with Paypal. I have sold on E-bay for 4 years, and until now I have not really had any problems. The no checks/money orders is KILLING MY BUSINESS! I have seen a dramatic drop. I get an e-mail today stating something about having to claim my money from a buyer on the paypal website. It said if I did not claim it by 12/7/08, it would be given back to the buyer. However, the buyer paid with an E-Check, and the payment will not even clear until the 13th of this month. IT HAS NOT EVEN CLEARED & THEY ARE THREATENING TO TAKE IT BACK!! It says I need to manually accept it. I do not understand!! I tried to call customer service, which would not help me, because the account is in my husband's name. I even know everything they need to ask me for security. I ended up hanging up & saying a few chosen words before doing so. I am done with them. Screw E-bay too, b/c they are the same....BLOODSUCKERS!!!
it is very easy, you list an item.
a buyer comes along. you end the auction and then you get paid through a through a bank transfer.
now ebay only gets the listing fee!
it's very easy. you list the item. a buyer comes along. you pull the item. sell it through a money transfer and we all win. and EBAY, they only get a fraction of their previous money as they will be paid for an item listing fee only. and no paypal fees
brilliant isn't it. if more of us did that we could keep ebay and screw them with a very big driver!
message delivered, do you think they would perk up and listen to their bank accounts dwindling?
it's very easy. you post an item, a buyer contacts you. you pull the item, buyer makes a bank transfer. and ebay is the one with just the listing price and nothing else. paypal is not involved at all.
if we were all willing to do this it would send a very big message to ebay... one, don't bit the hand that feeds you.
I wholeheartedly agree with all of you who are disgusted with Ebay. I certainly don't have to spell out all of the reasons, as everyone has covered those thoroughly.
Ebay is s sad shell of it's former self. I do still sell on Ebay but only in "few and far between" increments of 2 - 4 items. I may list once a month or less.
No sense in continuing to complain...it all falls on deaf ears. The bottom line is -- they don't care. I'll say it again. They don't care. Even if they're listening, they don't care what we have to say. They're going to do what they want even at the cost of losing revenue.
So what I've done is: I've found 2 other sites to sell on and have started my own free blog. I sell through all 3 of these venues and am making money again. Without the headache.
For your own peace of mind...do the same. Let it go. Find another home and thrive on it. You'll be soooo much happier!
I am a greedbay refugee, and I can't say I'm sorry. Reason being, I left greedbay last July and went to eBid.net. The influx of people from greedbay to eBid.net is absolutely astounding. I do not regret leaving one iota, and am happy as pie at eBid. If you are looking for an alternative selling/buying experience then you can look no further. www.eBid.net is just what you are looking for. Having entered the Auction Arena 10 years ago, this past September 29th in the United Kingdom, they are second only to eBay. However, unlike eBay, their structure is built around the support of both seller and buyer. This year, eBid was publicly recognized by winning the prestigious 'Gold Award for Best eBay alternative on the net 2008, and more recently The Silver Award for Auction Sites on "Top Ten Reviews",, an online ezine located at http://online-auction-sites.toptenreviews.com/ild. eBid Co-Founder Mark Wilkinson stated, "Over our 10 years we've worked to build an international business that supports buyers and sellers across the globe. Our support for 'Average Joe' trading means, as other online auction websites become predominantly focused on expanding the 'business to consumer' strategy losing sight of the fundamental needs of their customers, we are enjoying double digit monthly growth."
As a buyer, it costs nothing to join, and you can upgrade to a seller at anytime. As a seller, you are provided a viable two tier selling platform with the choice of zero subscription costs and minimal fee on sale or subscription with zero final sale fee, thus enabling significant profits to you the seller and substantial savings to the buyer. For a limited time eBid is offering their sellers lifetime status at half price or $49.99 in the equivalent currency of their individual country. Oh yes, and by the way, this option gives the seller five separate stores in which to sell their wares.
Upon officially launching their business in the U. S. on the celebration of their tenth birthday, with an extensive PR and media campaign, eBid's presence has now expanded globally into 18 territories across the US and Canada, UK, Africa, Asia and Australia. Wilkinson further stated, “Following extensive trials analyzing the buying and selling habits of the online consumer across the US the launch represents a significant milestone. We now feel confident to invest in the expansion of our business and will continue to work in partnership with our U.S. users to enable them to list items for sale globally in a safe and secure environment.”
In August, eBid recorded 1.3 million listings across the U.S. The company said revenues grew 45% month-on-month in August "predominately by attracting disgruntled eBay customers, indicating a correlation between eBay policy changes and a surge in new listings to eBid." Whether you are a buyer or a seller, you will also enjoy the friendly and helpful forums, and a terrific administrative team who are real people, answering your questions personally and on the forums. So, what are you waiting for? By the way I'm Gramma and I currently have four stores on eBid.net, so paste the following URL: https://secure.ebid.net/perl/normal.cgi?home=us&mo=register-main and come join us, at least look around and definitely check out the forums. You won't be sorry you did.
I will NO LONGER buy or sell off Ebay.
They are DOUBLE DIPPING fees.
Enough said.
I stared in 1998 and have over 2500+, very few negatives. I do have my own merchant acct thru my brick & mortar business but Ebay has gone TOO FAR this time.
It's been fun, but goodbye, Ebay.
well I can say , Ebid.net is picking up alot of customers, and sellers from fleabay,
AND ALSO Googlecheck out is FAR MORE FRIENDLIER then poopal, and cheaper !!!!!!!
I HOPE everyone of the Kovel Readers will come and check out the site, and I HOPE JOIN UP ! ! ! !
I could put my referral link in here, but hey join up and spread the word across our great country ! ! !
I have never had any problems with paying thru ebay and paypal until the last couple of months. I cannot checkout thru ebay. I have to go to the send money tab in paypal and insert the email address of the person I am paying. I also have to mark the transaction as goods sold. Any mention of ebay takes me to the ebay checkout and if i dont want to use the paypal credit account, it wont go thru. Paypal says that my password for ebay is invalid, but I can sign in and buy. ebay is giving me a runaround. I haven't sold on ebay in a long time.
I have been selling on Ebay for 5 years now as a hobby,and also I do this because I am disabled and am trying to make extra money and to have fun, but now with their new rules and fees it is hard to get ahead, it seems I am paying them more than I am recieving, now they kept warning me to remove my ( I will accept money orders, checks and cash listings ) so I had to go through 150 listings to remove any mention of accepting those payment methods. Recently I had an E-Check payment made on one of my items, the customer kept e-mailing me for a week, it took 8 days for me to finally get paid and I shipped the item out yesterday, this does'nt make for a happy customer, so here is the deal, a buyer pays through paypal now you sold the item for 431.99, Ebay gets their fee of 16.27, and then paypal takes their fees of 12.36 may not mean much to some, but for me thats alot of fees, Ebay and Paypal are making a ton of money off of us, and it don't seem right, but we continue to sell, I am looking to find another site to sell on with less fees and eventually get out of Ebay
TOM
I hope you would check out ebid.net, its a great site, still growing, but the fees are the DEAL ! ! !
50 for a life time membership, and its free IF You dont use the gallery, if you do use itits 2% fvf :)
check it out and welcome on board to the disgruntled fleabay ship !
tor
norseman34@gmail.com if oyu want to write me
Well, Sounds like everybody on here is unhappy to a point with Ebay, and Pay pal...Feels like an Ebay thread towards the end. So, as Sofy says, come on over to Bonanzle. You'll love the community, the payment methods, and the simplicity of the site. I have looked at a lot of sites and find Bonanzle.com one of the best out there.
Kat~
With all the ebay changes and problems! Please do check out and give BidandGoAuctions.com a chance. Its a new auction site and its free. We need more sellers on the site. I do welcome you to look at this auction site. Best of luck to all!
Answer is no & no. I sold on ebay for 7 years & am now happily a seller on ebid. Why?
*ebay/paypal fees ran 25%,ebid's are only 2%.
**glitches are widespead, never announced, & mess is never cleaned up afterward. A March 2008 payment reversal problem took a month to fix, & resulting negatives were never reversed (I got 15). New feedback system was initiated favoring new feedback, AND those w/ low scores (resulting from the glitch) were suspended.
**Paypal holds all payments 21 days, not just on new accounts but is inconsistent enforcing it. Seller urged to mail quickly, but receives no money for mailing!This, says ebay, is to prevent fraud.
**sellers CAN NOT leave buyers anything but positive feedback (i.e. all buyers have 100% positive feedback) but buyers can still leave sellers negative feedback EVEN IF THE BUYER DOESNOT PAY FOR ITEM.
**negative feedbacks, even if given in error, or by nonpayer,can not be reversed.
**suspensions, even if given in error, can not be reversed.
I finally got smart & turned ebay in to my state's consumer protection division. ebay has yet to reply.
EBID EBID EBID is the answer for those looking for another auction company. It started in England & has been in US for a few years. If you buy a $49 lifetime membership you pay no listing fees, and only 2% when item is sold. OPen up to five stores absolutely free. You get a free t-shirt w/the membership too.
No rules about what position your items are displayed at, there are fewer listings, so mine always come out near time of searches, not buried under 1000 identical items. You have options for displaying items in alternate places (top of category, for example) for small fee AND then you pay NO FEE WHEN IT IS SOLD.
Customer service is a joy, with answers that make sense and are not canned. Policy questions go right to management & decision is made within a day. After clarifying my question, they even warned me what key words not to use to avoid a problem in future. Can you imagine ebay doing that?
I brought many of my ebay customers over (note to the wise here, save all your customer names, emails and addresses BEFORE you close your ebay account. You lose access to them then. Send your customers notice of the change--they join for free and you get buddy points for bringing them over). You can use the points to buy ebid advertising stuff.
Action? I have only been a member 25 days and have had brisk sales. Out of almost 100 items, I had only 5 or so that had to be relisted. I did start w/ lower priced items at low starting bids just to get the action going which worked fine. Figuring opening a store would mean my items might sit for a while, I stuck w/ straight 7 days auctions. My sales have been split between old ebay customers and ebid people who found me thru search.
I chose to keep Paypal for customer convenience but other options available, but am not crazy about its past performance on ebay.
ebid has almost 2 million auctions and is growing at a rate of 5%. Many many of the buyers and sellers are from ebay. Many of us have super low feedback scores at this point so it does not matter. It is like old home week to get together with all the ebay people.
It is a joy to be able to fearlessly open my emails or to log into my auctions again. It was getting so that every email or transaction was a problem. Between the ebay ever changing rules, the nasty customers and the tech problems, it was very unpleasant to log on and get a headache trying to figure out how to solve the latest emergency.
Happy note, there is a website that keeps track of auctions and there are perhaps 20 different companies with auction. On any given day ebay has 25,000,000 listing,BUT the other auctions account for almost 16,000,000. ebay's growth is only 0.8%, while many are gaining daily ground (ebid is growing at 5%). Looks like the giant is falling even it took more than a few Jacks/Jills to do it.
Additionally I did open my own website, with so-so results. The ebid auctions are going much faster.
When it comes to ebay, vote with your feet, but take your customer information with you!!!
Instead of crying about the injustice, I urge everyone to outline their problems with ebay in a straightforward letter and then forward the letter to your state's consumer protection division. The division will forward a copy to ebay with a deadline and will be required to reply to the questions raised. For the fees they charge, ebay should be able to provide some satisfaction when there are tech problems or Paypal link problems, etc. They are able to avoid our questions via their LIVEHELP, Tech Support, Trust & Security, but try telling the State of New York, Florida, Texas, etc, to stop bothering them. One or two letters might not have any affect on ebay, but if as many letters went to consumer protection, as replies to this comment, their lawyers would be really really busy for the next few years.
Start being smart consumers. This is just a company, and it must account for its actions or face the consequences. We can not run our busineses in this manner, ebay should not be able to do it either.
I would advise all to give EBID a try. Fantastic Customer Support. The Forums extreemly helpful and supportive. They all support you with Sales and Buying. Better than this , they give every bit of advice and support for you to open your on Shop , complete with ' eye catching ' Banners. Try this Auction for the friendliest bunch of people
The main effect of ebay's rule changes so far has been to alienate many sellers. These sellers have moved over to ebid.
Now many of these sellers push Google Checkout as their preferred method for taking payment, over paypal.
Where ebay's changes have affected the seller, it is now affecting the buyer...
ebay buyers are feeling the effects of ebay's rule changes and the problems paypal can cause, Sadly though many of these buyers don't realise that ebid.net is out there where buyers are not forced to use paypal.
Ebid allows the buyer to 'checkout', using the marvellous Google Checkout system.
For the buyer, ebid is also a marvellous place to grab a bargain, due to less bidding competition - this of course will change, as ebid is becoming more and more popular, so it is best to get established now.
Some useful links.
ebid
http://ebid.net
Google Checkout
https://checkout.google.com
Booksforsale's ebid.net store
http://uk.ebid.net/stores/booksforsale
Like many people, I relied on ebay to earn a living after I lost my full time job. After years of selling sucessfully, I began to have problems early this year with both my computer and my ebay accounts. Thought I would have to replace my computer it got so bad. When the problem was solved it turned out that ebay was fully aware of problems. It neither announced nor warned anyone about them. Paid items turned to unpaid or payment returns, etc. and computer corruption occured too.Ebay did not acknowledge or adjust any negatives or complaints I received, nor did it correct the incorrect payments/accounts. That was my problem. Problem reoccurred several times. Soon after ebay suspended me for lousy feedback and/or other problems that ebay could not explain. After many contacts the ebay reps either felt matter was too complicated to explain, or no one knew exactly why and took guesses on what it could be. I turned ebay in to my state's attorney general and got a silly phone call from ebay explaining that I probably was suspended from ebay for FOLLOWING A EBAY POLICY i.e. ebay allows sellers to select a handling time (time from when item is paid until it is put into mail) I selected option that I mailed items in 5 business days. However,since ebay has a 4 point anonymous buyer evaluation system which includes the question "did it ship FAST?" my score in this area was always low. Rep noted it appeared I also took a month to ship, which she felt was highly irregular and wrong and led to the suspension. However I explained I had many customers who bought several items every few days for weeks and then asked me to ship all at one time to save postage. This buyer preference was probably what she was seeing in the stats that was very suspicious to ebay! Hillarious part to this phone call, ebay volunteered to allow me back on if I improved my score, otherwise I was out again. Well, take away my living, thousands of dollars in sales, suspending me for following the ebay rules, etc,and then offer this as a solution? I let my attorney general know that ebay's solution to my problem was no solution at all. Can you believe these people? Who is running this goofball operation?No wonder ebay dropped from listing 100 MILLION items a day to 25 MILLION and are operating each day at a minus 0.5%! Other auction venues like ebid are gaining 5-8% auctions each day. I doubt much can stop the dive ebay is taking but dumping its present administrators and getting a team in there that can rewrite their policies, reduce their fees, and treat sellers with respect is a good start.
With auctions falling from 100 million a day to 25 million a day, even the dumbest company will soon have to notice the problem. That is a significant loss for ebay and the daily negative growth should alarm someone there.
When the day comes to completely gut ebay and start again w/ new staff & new rules, just bring in some of the old sellers. They can certainly help in the reorganization! I doubt sellers would institute contrary, confusing, arbitrary or downright stupid rules.
This article should be titled "EBAY'S EVER-CHANGING RULES"! Their bait and switch can sometimes be subtle but, since they are the big gorilla in the on-line auction game, they think they can do what they like.
Does anyone remember the bait used to get sellers to use PayPal in the beginning? They promised that there would never be any fees for the basics - only for upgraded accounts. Now they charge so that a small $ amount auction is not feasible.
It's just plain GREED - just like the greed that caused all the current problems in the financial world. Nothing good can come of it. I stopped buying and selling on eBay.
I sell on both ebid.net and also have started to venture into the cyber mall with
bonanzle.om, www.bonanzle.com/booths/NCTreasures
Im finding it very easy and inexpensive to sell on either of these sites!! though I must say sales are very slow all over.
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