Ebay ignoring genuine complaint by using 'Automation and AI', which finds nothing wrong.
Summary: In the discussion, ststo-46 raises a concern about eBay's reliance on automation and AI to handle complaints, suggesting that this approach fails to address genuine issues. Other participants, including str11p, upda8077, disco1192, ne.mas, rosiemac333, and wheretheloveb, engage in the conversation, although the details of their contributions are not provided. This thread highlights frustration over technological processes potentially overlooking valid customer grievances.
Anyone here getting this problem, where a complaint is 'dealt with' by automated response and AI, which basically means it finds nothing wrong, even though there is an actual serious problem? Where are the humans to deal with it???
Bought item which was listed as Rosewood - a specialised wood - and what i got was a very cheap item made from some sort of fibre laminate; definitely not Rosewood. Basically, it's like buying a table advertised as 'oak' then receiving something made from veneered MDF. Totally misleading..and the seller knows it.
Naturally I gave negative - and totally polite and honest - feedback which the seller keeps messaging me to remove. I asked them to change the wording of their advert to something like 'Rosewood effect' so that future buyers will know it's not genuine Rosewood. The seller said they would do this - so they obviously know theyre deliberately misleading buyers - but so far they haven't, yet they keep asking me to remove the negative feedback.
I have reported them twice now to Ebay, both times receiving a response that 'nothing was found'. Both times automation and AI was apparently used. Totally ridiculous, it needs a human to see that misrepresentation is taking place, not some AI that just scans text and finds nothing out of place.
I have reported it a third time and if I get the same 'automation and AI' response, will contact UK Trading Standards - who will definitely look into it in person, not with AI. Ebay say they want to stop bad sellers and protect buyers but so far they seem to be turning a blind eye to it.
rosiemac333
·1 month agoI am moving away. I know over the years i said this many times, but because of security in the familiar i remained in the eBay mire. No longer. You always had to deal with scammers. Now ebay itself has become the scammer.
ststo-46
OP1 month agoIt cetainly is a mess.. and no way to run a business, especially one the size of Ebay
Just had a 7th message off the Chinese seller asking me to remove my negative feedback - is there any way to stop these scammers even messaging you? I can't find a button to block him outright
wheretheloveb
·1 month agoThere is a function somewhere where you can 'report a seller'. It'll probably only give you a tick-box set of reasons though.
I 'think' it's a proper rule breaker when someone pesters you to alter feedback. Ebay should act on it.
You can definately block buyers in your account settings but not sure if this applies for sellers aswell
ststo-46
OP1 month agoI did report the seller.. and got back the usual 'we find nothing wrong'. I've reported the messages too but again, Ebay found nothing wrong. Totally crazy!!!
It's obvious AI just looks for offensive words but the seller's messages are always very polite - if annoying - so obviously nothing 'bad' is being flagged up. The number of messages means nothing to AI, but to a human it should be easy to see that 7 messages are excessive and pestering.
Same with the seller's listing - AI can't check if it's truthful or not as long as it contains no bad text but a human should be able to understand that he's not selling what he says he is, especially when I've sent photographs.
Incompetence is bad, but deliberately doing nothing about problems is unforgiveable.. and all the time they're calling you a 'valued customer'. We're more like 'valued mugs' I think.
wheretheloveb
·1 month agoI know pigs dont fly but wouldn't it be nice for Ebay to at least come out and say SOMETHING about the current difficulties with Ai. These boards are full of people having items removed.... tweezers, screwdrivers, scissors, and I think even a walking stick I heard somewhere. Okay the forum is a tiny minority of sellers but the problem is obviously happening on a massive scale.
Maybe it's just teething problems and Ai is still learning but come on Ebay give us some reassurance.
The rate it's going, there wont be many things we can actually sell on here
rosiemac333
·1 month agoI had an item removed (a beauty device Dr Pen MS8) that had all the EU, UK including US and Canada safety certificates. It also had the COA proof that it was legit. I also had the proof of purchase. When AI removed it i appealed to the “appeals team” they agreed with AI. The same item is currently available to buy on eBay, other established online retailers and high st shops. But in their wisdom the appeals team went with AI.
wheretheloveb
·1 month agoIt truly is an absolute cluster^^^^uk. Along with all the other issues on here, it must negatively affecting Ebay, possibly in revenue ? Probably why they're trying to recover it through increased selling charges / promoted listings.
It's annoying for both buyers and sellers and many of them are moving away from ebay.
rosiemac333
·1 month agoAI also removes perfectly legitimate items. When you appeal to “The Appeal Team” they get back to you with a no reply email, siding with AI. Even though you are certain AI was totally in the wrong removing your item. All i can think is, AI has a superior intellect to them. Which is scary.
ststo-46
OP1 month agoThanks for thse two examples, upda8077 - I've noticed the search manipulation too, and how a lot of Chinese sellers seem to have warehouses in London!
wheretheloveb - you're quite right that Rosewood has restrictions, like all exotic woods. I build guitars so use it often. Sometimes the quality can vary but at least it should always be Rosewood, not the rubbish the seller was pushing.
Have you noticed all the Chinese sellers who will make you a 'copy' of an expensive guitar for £250? Note that they never show a pic of the headstock because they will actually copy the offical logo, so your Gibson Les Paul copy comes with 'Gibson' on it - very naughty. Another one for Ebay to ignore totally it seems.
ne.mas
·1 month agoOfficially been on eBay since 1999 but unofficially since 1992
There is an awful lot Wrong with eBays Automation and AI. I am constantly having items removed because of policy violations which AI and Automation pick up. Recently this has resulted in account temporary suspension. eBay seem to not care and could do with seriously reviewing their policies.
Consequently I list on rival sites the items that are removed.
disco1192
·1 month agoEbay just gets worse and worse, yet they still wonder why Amazon and Vinted are becoming more and more popular (I don't use the latter, but I hear them mentioned a lot at work, whereas no-one ever mentions Ebay, unless they say how bad it is).
I reported an item recently which clearly stated "bootleg copy" twice in the listing - it's still available!
Tried a solution to a NAD item via online chat - that didn't work. Ebay phoned me on 12th May, telling me that I could "escalate" the day after (they lied). Seller did not provide a return label, only an address (they clearly had something to hide, as the "return name" was just some initials - it was a residentlial address, not a business). I ended up losing £6.68 because I had to buy my own postage label.
Don't even get me started on the nonsense that is "collection over 60 miles from xxx xxx" in listings - this used to be e.g. "Collection from (name of town)", but the recent change requires us to click on a map link, which doesn't even get the town right - I recently bought a collection item, but the "map search" actually displayed a place over 10 miles away, adding to my petrol costs. Besides, vague statements like "over 60 miles" could mean Nottingham or Exeter, which is ridiculous!
Listings are swamped by endless "sponsored items" which I have no interest in whatsoever.
They also appear to be allowing sellers to see who has viewed their items, so that they can send unwanted/annoying "offers" to buyers, with NO way of blocking them from doing this.
Justified negative feedback is removed, so feedback can no longer be trusted.
This place is run by idiots who clearly never actually use the site themselves.
Unsurprisingly, I only use Ebay if there is no other choice available.
ststo-46
OP1 month ago'Unsurprisingly, I only use Ebay if there is no other choice available'
Exactly why I use Ebay - I buy a lot of stuff for model trains and similar hobbies and have to use Ebay for the simple reason there aren't any local model shops in towns these days. Plus if I need parts for old models then I have to use Ebay and hope someone is selling what I want - and they usually are. I also buy 80s music equipment too, which isn't available elsewhere.
I always check feedback before I buy and to be fair I've had some amazing bargains - maybe I've just been lucky so far. I've never sold anything on Ebay and probably never will as I can foresee even more problems.
ststo-46
OP1 month agoHere's the response from Ebay for my 3rd complaint..
Note that this has now apparently been looked into by a human who, like AI, also finds no fault with a seller advertising one thing but sending another. Absolutely disgraceful.. and confirms what everyone has said about Ebay not being interested.
upda8077
·1 month agoI have tried to report things myself, its just a waste of time. See here :
https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Buying/Ebay-allows-search-manipulation/m-p/8042794#M84277
And here :
https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Buying/ebay-allows-companys-to-advertise-quot-UK-Stock-quot-on-photos/m-p/8042805#M84279
upda8077
·1 month agoAs @str11p said, its normal behaviour, it just seems pointless reporting things to ebay, its 99.9 % always the same response, "not in violation of ebay polices", that is one of the reasons why less and less people buy on ebay, its reached a point where you cannot trust a lot of sellers on ebay. And ebay dont seem interested.
Now if I want to buy something I ask the seller lots of questions first, ranging from item condition to where its being sent from (if it a new item), a lot of sellers say the item is in the UK, but when you finally receive it you realise its come from china.
ststo-46
OP1 month agoThis item was from a Chinese seller. First time I've bought from such a seller and for the price I wasn't expecting top-quality.. but I did expect it to be the correct material as listed.
Lesson learned; no more buying from such sellers. To be fair, this is the first bad thing Ive had from Ebay in the 7 years I've been here so I can't really complain.
wheretheloveb
·1 month agoI'm a woodworker. Might not be totally correct but afaik there are restrictions on shipping / importing some exotic woods, Rosewood etc.
Certainly annoying, and false advertising by the seller. Correct for you to point it out in the feedback (not that the feedback system is any indication of how good a seller is).
Ai on this site is becoming a real nightmare but sometimes real humans are not much better.
And it seems that more and more stuff advertised on Ebay Uk is from overseas sellers I try to avoid them if possible.
str11p
·1 month ago"Anyone here getting this problem"
Happens all the time. Most of us have given up reporting such items.
(If you didn't) you could've got your money back by raising an Item not as described claim.
ststo-46
OP1 month agoThanks for the reply, I thought this might be a common problem.
I did raise a return as, in adition to not being Rosewood as described, the item - a guitar fretboard - also had large glue stains all over it and arrived broken. Totally shoddy and useless product. While I was packing it for return, it broke again, such was the poor, fragile construction.
Coudn't be bothered to send back the bits so just took the loss of £9. I was more interested in getting the seller to change their listing to avoid others being misled. This particular item is being sold by a lot of different sellers, all stating it is 'Rosewood'.
Such a shame Ebay won't chase up these fraudulent sellers.. but I suppose as long as items are selling and Ebay is getting their cut they aren't bothered.