Buyer Protection Fee

[waltonfox65]

I wonder if anyone else has thought about the possibility of this new Buyer Protection Fee going the same way as the PPI fiasco?? Mis-sold BPF, when it's actually a 'redundant' payment, as the buyer will be refunded anyway if there's an issue with non-delivery/damage, etc. Likewise, the seller can claim from the carrier, as has been the case previously anyway, so why the need for this fee?? Seems to me like a case of ebay not thinking things through enough before making these kind of changes, or the possibility of claims being made against them in the future. (PPI v2 perhaps)??

[alexis*27]

No, because whilst they were refunded anyway there was no obligation in law to do that with private sellers.

So you're just getting something that was previously free but now have to pay for. 

If the law changed then eBay would have to rename it to a simple fee to buy, like a membership club. But the charge would still remain.

[m25jet]

If you really feel that strongly about paying the Buyer Protection Fee and do not want to have to pay it, then maybe you should just make sure that you only buy items from registered business sellers whenever you buy anything on eBay.  At present the Buyer Protection Fee only applies to listings by private sellers, but I would not be at all surprised if eBay were to change the rules at some point in the not too distant future so that this fee is applicable to items being advertised by every seller on the site, regardless of whether he or she is registered as a business seller or a private seller.  The other alternative is that you purchase your items off of alternative selling platforms, and/or from High Street retailers, and only purchase items off of eBay that you really want or need that cannot be found for sale anywhere else.

[andha-21]

@waltonfox65 

If there's an angle of attack on BPF I think it's right at the start of the process.

There are 2 possibilities I have seen.

One a Trading Standards warning signal.

Do you feel pressured into buying something you don't want?

Pressure isn't the right word for this as you don't have a choice if the item falls under the BPF program.

The second is a simple question.

If you cannot buy an item with BPF applied from a private seller without paying eBay for the BPF how is that still a consumer to private seller transaction?

The transaction cannot take place without a consumer to business transaction.

But as soon as that happens consumers gain C2B legal rights.

& this is the kicker

If the above train of thought is right, then eBay are probably committing fraud by charging for rights the system invokes.

It's a really sneaky system. Like a snake biting it's own tail. So simple that people don't see/look for it. Pure wood for the trees.