Resell? What's the thinking behind this then?

[sheba-knows-best]

Well! There I was, on my sniping account (private not business), happily combining and paying for a few purchases, when I noticed that when I leave feedback for some items (not all items interestingly), the top tab then turns to 'resell'.  This doesn't happen on my business account which stays as 'view similar items'.

When I clicked on 'resell' all of the item specifics are filled in.  The photos are not. Although they are very easy to simply go and copy from the original listing of course.

What's going on now? Is it to try and reduce returns? Get the buyers to resell instead? Be nice... can't see it working. Is it to encourage selling? eBay must be able to see I buy a lot on that account. Is it thinking I sell on a different online site? 

Curiouser and curiouser... all thoughts welcome x

[sheba-knows-best]

Just to clarify, I do not sell on my private account and never have. 😊

[sheba-knows-best]

... although like every other business seller at the moment I've been sorely tempted...

[4_bathrooms]

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@sheba-knows-best wrote:

Well! There I was, on my sniping account (private not business), happily combining and paying for a few purchases, when I noticed that when I leave feedback for some items (not all items interestingly), the top tab then turns to 'resell'.  This doesn't happen on my business account which stays as 'view similar items'...

...What's going on now? Is it to try and reduce returns? Get the buyers to resell instead? Be nice... can't see it working. Is it to encourage selling? eBay must be able to see I buy a lot on that account. Is it thinking I sell on a different online site? 

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The interesting thing is it is just as illegal for a trader to misrepresent themself as a private buyer (consumer) as it is for them to misrepresent themself as a private seller. Although "Resell" could have been made an option because remorse returns aren't typically accepted by private sellers it seems clear what behaviour that option is intended to encourage.

It's also worth noting that if a private account purchases from another private account then resells the same item via the same account that eBay would collect two lots of Buyer Protection fees on the same item. 

[bojangled]

@sheba-knows-best  - also been tempted, but my Jiminy Cricket won’t let me!

I have it on my private account too.

I guess it’s just an attempt to get buyers to sell with a couple of clicks?

Jo

[bravergrace]

I don't know if the rules have changed, but eBay used to say that if you buy for business purposes, you should register the account as a business.  So they might be trying to reduce genuine returns rather than encouraging private buyers to indulge in a spot of illegal selling.

They might be trying it out on the lines of the normal post-Christmas, "Sell your unwanted gifts on eBay" promotion.

As a seller, I'd welcome it, if buyers are presented with another option that isn't "Would you like to send this back for free?  Just blame the seller because your Christmas do was cancelled, and trust eBay to clobber the seller on your behalf".

[yvonnshepher54]

Is it if you buy from private accounts of does it not matter?  

[theelench]

IMO it's one of the main reasons that private sellers have been deserting ebay for some time (that is until SD was dumped on them).

Ebay nagging 

Reduce your price

Accept Offers

Send offers to 'interested' Watchers

Start your auction at a (very) low price (🤣 to get more interest 🤣).

Far too many businesses on private accounts forever Watching and waiting for offers but never buying unless they get lucky and snipe for an opening bid or someone is desperate enough to send a fire sale offer. 

Plenty of demands for ACTION when criminal businesses are found selling on private accounts but those same businesses go very quiet when the subject of businesses masquerading as private buyers is raised.

Criminality on ebay is rife amongst the business community (registered or not) and that swamp needs draining before it becomes so obvious that it taints even those that are honest and ebay for condoning it. 

[sheba-knows-best]

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@yvonnshepher54 wrote:

Is it if you buy from private accounts of does it not matter?  

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I buy almost exclusively from business accounts but I dug back a few months and on a couple of private seller purchases I still had the resell option. 

[leadhills_scot]

I've been seeing it recently when buying on my business account. Doesn't matter if the seller is private or runs a business, it shows up once the item has been delivered. As I no longer sell I really don't see the point of opening a private account just to buy a few books and jigsaw puzzles. 

[valueaddedresource]

It's just eBay trying to increase their Enthusiast Buyer stats which have been stuck at ~16M since 2022.

eBay defines "enthusiast buyers" as those who meet at least once of the follow criteria:

shop on eBay at least 6 times per year

spend at least $800 per year or

buyers who also sell on the site.

In Q4 2022 that "Enthusiast Buyer" stat dropped from ~17 Million to ~16 Million and it's been stuck there ever since, despite eBay throwing all kinds of discounts out there that have been intentionally designed to try to encourage buyers to also sell (or sellers to also buy) on the platform - nothing seems to have really moved the needle.

While there have been other ways for buyers to "sell this item" from their previous purchases, my guess is eBay is hoping this design change to make it more front and center/in your face might help nudge those numbers a bit.

[the_book_seekers]

Not seeing it on my business account. I still get the sell similar item. Sounds like ebay is trialing something - at the very least putting it in the mind of the buyer to resell on ebay.

[theelench]

In reply to your post on the "Extreme Fall...." thread as it seems more appropriate to do so here.

I was not taking a 'pot shot' at you in particular, if I had been I would have replied to your post.  I was not aiming at any individual seller at all, but making a general observation on the huge number of businesses that operate on private accounts with apparent impunity. 

That is par for the course on both Seller boards and if business sellers can vent their anger at other businesses operating on private accounts, isn't it right that private sellers be allowed to vent theirs at a practice that disadvantages them when businesses pretend to be private buyers?

With the numbers of private buyers having declined over the years the activities of these "private" buyers becomes all the more obvious and with less competition from genuine private buyers they are distorting the market to their advantage.  Ruining ebay as a place for private sellers to sell.

Going back to your original point, the "RESELL" button.

I started buying as a private buyer on ebay in 2012 and I had a Purchase History page.  Each item bought had an Options menu (drop down?)  with such as Contact Seller and Return This Item, amongst several others including "Sell This Item".  It appeared on every item I bought over a period of years.

I hadn't realised it had ever disappeared until I read your post.  Something I always do with interest because they are always interesting and informative.  It's regrettable that on this occasion your post touched directly on a subject that is usually swept under the carpet.

[cobwebcottage]

Again, nothing to do with this thread (business sellers masquerading as private sellers) but since you constantly bring this up, could you please provide some evidence for your statement so we can all form an objective opinion and comment on this.

Maybe start another thread on the subject?

[technthread]

If business sellers buying on private accounts stop bidding, the private sellers will end up with a lot less money from their auctions. It is a bit harsh to claim this is ruining eBay. Would private sellers prefer fewer bids? Let’s be honest even private sellers can spot a bargain to flip and do it all the time, they just don’t declare it. 

With a buy it now price, if it gets sniped by a business seller I don’t see the harm there either, the seller is still no worse off financially and they should do some product research if they want to maximise their sales. 

[jonatjonatjonat]

That is always my query on that.

im sure what is suggested is happening, but I’ve never seen any evidence of it, or it’s simply hard to spot.

A business selling on a private account can be easy to spot.

how do you even identify a business buying as a private seller?

I don’t think businesses ‘go quiet’ on the matter, I just don’t think it’s that easy to spot.

[cobwebcottage]

Well it's all gone very quiet.

I am waiting for a new thread on the subject so we can all have a good debate about it.

I also want to know if, when I go buying, I should wear a big badge stating 'trader' to be legal??

[technthread]

When I see this brought up I always think it’s implying that if a private seller knew they were selling to a business then they would refuse to sell as they are being prejudiced in some way. I’m not sure what difference it makes myself, most sellers will honour their sales regardless of the account type of their buyer. 

I can tell you that one reason businesses buy on private accounts is due to the cashback they can receive from certain sites if they buy privately. Yes it breaks their T&C’s but it is what it is, it’s hard out there, 10% cashback on purchases goes a long way.

eBay also throw funded coupons at private sellers that business sellers don’t get to use as buyers. That’s why I buy my packaging supplies on my private account.

[technthread]

One more thing that I know business sellers are concerned about. There are competitors who will try to figure out where they are buying some stock from and can easily do some digging and work it out from feedback. If you find a gem of a seller on eBay you don’t want people following the breadcrumbs. 

[bojangled]

@technthread Precisely, back in the day there was a visible trail via bidding history, feedback and usernames to see who was buying what.

There are many high profile (eBay award winning) resellers on YT that openly show their buying activities on here, the V platform, retail arbitrage etc. 

Jo