Tips for reporting none compliant businesses

[moldosgifts]

Bit of a cheeky post "do members have any tips on reporting private/business"

Mine is list the item numbers then state how many they have for sale and mention Breaking consumer law for not displaying business details and fee avoidance in the report ( ebay love that bit ) they act quick (in ebay term) with that mentioned in the report. 

Any More ?

[susapric-68]

With a business on a private account you could also point out how they are avoiding the  EU General Product Safety Regulation 

[therenewalworkshopltd]

Between those two, that is a hell of a lot to get in 100 chars!  🙂

I think I've tried just about every combination you can think of at one time or another.

90% of the time, it is ignored, but it does work on occasion.

I have no specific tip though, as it seems to me to be entirely random and depends on who actually reviews it, more than anything else.  Get the AI, then it never passes!

[wyntersemporium]

I spotted one that is selling Vivienne Westwood rings all brand new and on a private account last night. Also saw another “private” seller with over 2000 brand new  items. I thought there was a crackdown on how many they could sell 

[moldosgifts]

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@susapric-68 wrote:

With a business on a private account you could also point out how they are avoiding the  EU General Product Safety Regulation 

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I'll start using that with toys and baby stuff

[therenewalworkshopltd]

Not so much a crackdown, just a reduction in the number of new listings each month.

Though I've yet to understand why a private seller needs 300 every single month.

I do understand that on occasion, people will have more to sell off. 

So why not just give them say 100 and if more are required, they need to ask for them and provide a reason.

I mean, who, in a full time job has time enough to list 300 items every single month?

[moldosgifts]

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@therenewalworkshopltd wrote:

Between those two, that is a hell of a lot to get in 100 chars!  🙂

I think I've tried just about every combination you can think of at one time or another.

90% of the time, it is ignored, but it does work on occasion.

I have no specific tip though, as it seems to me to be entirely random and depends on who actually reviews it, more than anything else.  Get the AI, then it never passes!

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I am the opposite have been rather successful with my reporting as i monitor those i have and a rough estimate is 70% change or close their accounts maybe a touch lower but certainly more than 60%

[cobwebcottage]

I did wonder what CS would say if you bought an item from an obvious PS who is trading and then called them to ask for a refund for the BPF. Quoting their own policies on business sellers and the reason for paying BFP as well as the law on misrepresentation.

[therenewalworkshopltd]

Now that is interesting.

What actual reason are you using when reporting?  Business not displaying correct details?

I got so frustrated a while back with one particular business.

They were selling a wax jacket cleaning service and a couple of items otherwise.

But they must have had the exact same listing (on a private account), just changing the names of the various coats they cleaned.

Included on each listing was a photo of the phone number/email address and each listing was for a £1 ish.

They even had those details on the description as well, but with hyphens etc.

I don't know how many times I reported them, but in virtually every case, they said that there was nothing wrong.  And that wasn't just AI, it was agents as well!

Even when listing where taken down, the appeared again the following day.

And I wasn't the only one reporting them.

They did eventually get sorted, but after the point where I got a warning for false reporting.  Absolutely ridiculous. 

[moldosgifts]

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I use other then state my case Opening line "this seller is a business using a private account thus avoiding selling fees" follow with a list of listing with amount they have for sale

Then mention the fact they are breaching UK consumer laws

[jonatjonatjonat]

When the business I work for started out as a business, we had stringent listing limits. Incredibly low! Like you could list 10 products.

It took months to increase them.

Yet a private seller could list as much as the business I work for within 6 months.

[wyntersemporium]

Also saw the following 

“they were also moaning on these boards that business sellers should also have a seller thing to pay they said business sellers are the pillocks of society  and totally trustworthy!,,”

[bojangled]

@moldosgifts I’ve tried something along those lines, mentioned DSR, fee avoidance with no joy, am now withdrawing from the category that this seller has completely swamped with at least 4 shops, over 10,000 listings with multiple quantities.
Even had a private DM with community team re this seller, and they are still active after 2 years. 

[moldosgifts]

Sorry to hear that they will be getting a nice letter from HMRC if that's any conciliation to you, 

On amazon you have to do a test purchase before you can report anyone that will be taken seriously, But the private business is not really an issue over there. Its more fake items or your selling my wite label product.

[cobwebcottage]

☹️ 

And to all of the 'leave them alone' supporters who don't give two hoots about how it affects some ones livelihood, this is the consequence. Not that you would care.

[gemini-project]

I have tried everything and i have now lost all hope of these sellers either moving on or being forced into a business account.

After multiple reports over the last 6 months i have had one single item removed which the seller put straight back on.

You can easily see these people are business sellers but nothing is done.

They will only get a tax demand off  HMRC if they are not paying taxes so they will just carry on selling on a private account.

[fribblecollectables]

I copied the following from on here a while back:

"This seller appears to be violating eBay’s business registration policy by selling brand-new items in multiple quantities, indicating they are reselling rather than selling personal belongings.

eBay requires such sellers to register as a business.

If misregistered, this not only creates an unfair advantage but also results in lost fees for eBay.

Please review their account for compliance. Thank you."

As an aside, a family member is saving about £300  a month by not changing from a private to  a business account.

The last time we met, he literally laughed  at me and thanked me for subsidising the money he is putting into his pocket when I pay my fees on my account.

As he said, eBay haven't made him change to a business account, so why should he.

[gemini-project]

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@fribblecollectables wrote:

As he said, eBay haven't made him change to a business account, so why should he.

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Because he is breaking the law maybe, you haven't said if he's a business or not but i guess he is.

[therenewalworkshopltd]

I really don't understand how many people are so flippant about breaking the law.

I would be willing to bet, that those same people would be up in arms if someone made a fraudulent item not received claim on Ebay.

Which begs the question, why is the first one ok, but the second not?

Are they just stupid and don't understand what could happen to them?

Or are they just completely ignorant?

And I'm not talking about those obvious ones that are absolutely in it for the money!

[slash-halen]

The problem is these consumer laws are not properly enforced, the reality is that more than 50% of online retailers are breaking consumer laws in one regard. Nothing is done to these retailers until a complaint is made. So until a proactive approach is enforced, eBay won't do anything, they will just continue refunding the buyer at their expense and let the private business seller keep their funds (although maybe the recent updates has addressed that issue with holding funds).