FAO Ebay staff - Reporting businesses trading on private accounts

[howmuchtobid]

To whom it may concern.

It's about time it was made easier for Ebay users to be able to report businesses trading on private accounts in a much more straight forward way.  At the moment there is no obvious option when using the report item option, i.e. there is no business trading on a private account option.

I and many other business sellers/Ebay users have spent a lot of time reporting blatant business sellers on private accounts however we are often wasting our time as all we get is a pointless AI response which simply isn't good enough.

This is something that needs to be introduced urgently as it will help legitimate business sellers survive and hopefully flourish, also in many ways it will be of great benefit to Ebay. It will also help Ebay's image as having so many illegal sellers on the platform is not a good look.

Can someone from Ebay please confirm they have seen this, thank you.

[bojangled]

@lupo-store 

I really hope there is some good news for business sellers in the pipeline. 
I think the two tier thing is upside down and the wrong way round!

As a business, buying in bulk, using services with regularity whatever the costs should be cheaper than offered to retail customers. 

If anything this current situation is making me invest in an alternative online presence and other outlets and not actually marketplace based. 
So it's not all bad when someone moves your cheese!

Jo

[lupo-store]

Thats a great book!  

Nobody wants to be the best video store.  From my 25 years of experience of selling on eBay there have been highs and lows.  The current situation is challenging but I know that the business minister (my friend met with him on Thursday) is keen to get money into the coffers.

The issue is the treasury don't want to spend to recoup this so put it onto the platforms.  I know Amazon are pushing for VAT on ALL sales on UK marketplaces so therefore only VAT registered sellers would be able to reclaim.  

[gemini-project]

I found this add

"Kenwood TS590S HF/6m TRANSCEIVER BOX'D Widebanded Swap Icom 7300 / Yaesu Ft 710"

This is in breach of ebay policy asking for an exchange so i reported it, guess what!!

"We looked into your report and didn’t find the listing to be in violation of our policy. This determination was made using automation or artificial intelligence. "

It may be artificial but has no intelligence 🤣

[stormatic2015]

They are not asking for an exchange.

swap or SWaP is a term for radios. (Not an expert, just 2 mins to googling )

https://www.analog.com/en/resources/technical-articles/swap-the-rf-solution.html

[dch2112011]

You learn something new every day - not sure many would know what SWaP stood for so an understandable mistake by gemini

[gemini-project]

You are wrong he is asking to swap his radio the "Kenwood TS590S" for either an "Icom-ic7300 "or a "yaseu ft-710"

However i am an expert you obviusly don't know what these items are.

[dch2112011]

This is the description - What is a silent key sale !

It looks like the seller idoesn't own the item - yes the title infers a swap but the description and price doesn't - could it be a way this not so cute seller has found to include popular items in the title to manipulate search results - possible? Which could infer either of you are correct 

Kenwood TS590S HF TRANSCEIVER BOX'D Widebanded Part of a silent key sale not mine so i will be selling it as spares or repair due to being untested by my self so no returns accepted due to nature of the hobbie and scammers so only buy if you agree to terms and conditions of sale.

[stormatic2015]

So your talking about the eBay item number that ends with "3376".

Does not mention a swap in their listing description. Maybe they copied and pasted the title. Also if I made this mistake if its what you say it is, then eBay CS will make it aswell. So even if someone did research it which we all know they didnt. They may reach my view and as they will not be an expert in radios, who is to say you are right or they are, so they leave it as "nothing wrong".

I see why you pointed them out they seem like a business operating on private accounts, with their name saying that, but could be a collector. However, It looks like a truck/Van breaker selling radios on the side account. 

[dch2112011]

Personally not knowing anything about radios, I think the seller is trying to manipulate search results by including common search terms in the title but to a layman it could read as wanting to exchange the product.

If I add comma's which are often left out of titles it would look like this

"Kenwood TS590S HF/6m TRANSCEIVER, BOX'D, Widebanded, Swap, Icom 7300 / Yaesu Ft 710"

This would make more sense - I do understand why and how titles are used to manipulate search results 

[dch2112011]

In any event the title contravenes ebay's search manipulation policy - so the seller should forcibly be made to reword the title - this would be the best bet for reporting - explain why - 

search manipulation policy 

[gemini-project]

I have asked him if wants an exchange, he was willing to take my radio and some cash for an exchange.

[dch2112011]

But would he have done that if approached anyway - Who knows !  It does not surprise me - reading between the lines this seller is a chancer and should be avoided - good way of checking at least you have proved his intent to ignore ebay's policies - although they do not seem to care less about their listing policies or whether they enforce trading off the platform - at least for private sellers who pay no fees ! 

[lupo-store]

One of my biggest competitors in one of my markets has just gone.  I have been reporting them snce April.  Just on one listing they were selling £1500 pm.  

I reported them directly again to concierge the other day and the listing has gone along with all other listings.  My sales for that product have gone up.  Good work eBay on this.

I hope this is the start of the real clean up

[janitia]

Been trying to report this but its almost impossible - dont want to buy from a private person when operating as a business but the prices are good but wary of not having guarantees as you would a business - and what information can you get that proves who they are and get refunds/returns if needed?  Reporting these businesses would be a great help to ebay!

[gemini-project]

Forget reporting anyone, eBay just aren't bothered, all the ones i reported multiple times are still selling privately 2 months on, there seems to be more business selling privately than not, i refuse to buy anything from these people although that's not going to stop it.

I would contact the seller direct and ask about guarantees and returns.

[howmuchtobid]

Ebay are clearly not capable of dealing with this however in the end they will have to as the income they generate in the UK must have taken a battering. There is no point ebay generating an increased GMV if they make little money out of it. Ebay a year from now will look very different. It will either be much improved or on the floor.

Business sellers are clearly leaving in their droves.

[gemini-project]

I'm hoping to leave early next year, i have upped my prices a full 10% on eBay compared to our website which is now seeing more sales over the last few weeks driving customers over there.

[myretrostore-uk]

I have been wondering why my sales have tanked. A lot of my competitors are now cheaper as they are listed as private sellers so don't have to pay fees and can offer lower prices.  😡

eBay really need to fix this. The zero fees for private sellers is clearly being abused and they are not doing much about it.

[gemini-project]

eBay are doing nothing about it and you don't stand a chance competing, they can knock 5% off take all the sales off you and still make more money than you can.

You might as well start over as a private seller.

[lupo-store]

You are totally right. I am hoping that my lobbying directly to eBay via concierge and to their compliance teams, and also directly to the head of compliance for VAT at HMRC (Who I openly know has weekly meetings with amazon and eBay and I have met several times at the Treasury when campaigning against VAT evasion)

Has caused a pincer movement and now eBay have been forced to introduce these measures to mate selling on a private account unattractive if you are a business