Good morning @papso22
With all due respect, and without intending any rudeness, I was actually neither seeking anyone's understanding nor a remedy, it was more a statement of fact and announcement of a reluctant yet unavoidable decision... to whit, my overall recent experience in buying from sellers on this platform and the lack of support, understanding and plain fairness in eBay's policies when dealing with problems, has led me to make the firm resolve to take my business elsewhere... this platform is now fully my last shopping port of call, with any further (albeit unlikely) BINs made as a guest and no involvement of CS or MBG should problems occur, only chargeback.
The entire buying experience is now proving less, much less, than satisfactory and, having been told that eBay & the MBG "had my back" , they have demonstrated, in fact, that they do not, and CS is completely useless and/or unable in countering automated decision-making, which systems are in place ONLY to ensure the maximisation of profit and absolutely nothing else.
For instance, a recent buying experience saw a seller claim that I cancelled two items and I have been unable to have those deficits removed from my account, leaving me with a bad reputation and 2 refunds made, of which eBay DOES take notice. Sellers who listed goods that they did not actually have in stock remain unpunished, despite a detailed complaint with evidence. Rather, it is MY supposed actions and another refund that are in question... again!!
In the period before my break from buying on this once great platform (remember when we all thought, talked, trusted and felt of eBay as a warm & friendly place?) I encountered sellers who drop-shipped, advertised a false product location, demonstrably mis-described goods or downright lied and misrepresented their listings, sent the wrong size or even wrong product, doctored photographs to hide defects which they furthermore did not describe... of which, none have been censured in any way by eBay. None. And just listen to the outcry on these pages and elsewhere from other buyers saying exactly the same things.
Customer service have either been unable, unwilling or not empowered to help in a variety of instances with these differing problems of mine or of a significant amount of other eBay users, and are often downright inept, unknowledable or just not up to the job, sometimes issuing decisons in complete variance with policy. And when they simply cannot cope with the issue at hand they put customers on hold, which eventually disconnects, or actually just put down the phone there and then!
In a particularly bad example of seller manipulation and CS ineptitude: I have seen CS remove photographic evidence from feedback, following which the seller published a comment in complete variance to that evidence while at the same time imply that I was dishonest, then have my initial feedback also removed after seeing his own comment banished for breaches of policy... in other words, the seller was able to have the entire feedback removed by constantly appealing to CS until he achieved his goal... a clean slate, despite his poor performance, lies and dishonesty, which only reflects badly on eBay as a whole... because it is this platform and it's policies, guidelines, CS, etc., etc., which ALLOWS such behaviour to be possible, and is apparently unable or unwilling to counter it. At no point was I contacted to offer my side, against this seller's claims/accusations... seller's on eBay have, therefore, effective carte blanche to misrepresent items and their condition, then either avoid complaints/returns/refunds by relying on the buyers' inexperience & ignorance or bullying ("never in my x amount of years on eBay..." or "just look at my feedback"), blame the courier (and also thereby disclaim any further responsibility), claim any manner of wrongdoing by the buyer, and finally have removed justified and deserved negative feedback, which then cannot be reinstated! Again, it would appear that there's no profit in protecting buyers!
The MBG... seemingly largely automated, has not the means to recognise when returns/refunds have been FORCED upon a buyer, but only issue warnings from eBay triggered by a certain percentage of total purchases vs. problems... and, once again, CS are powerless to intervene and ensure fair play... why should a buyer have the blame applied to them and their "performance" when it is the seller who is not compliant with policy? No system is in place to actually distinguish between seller or buyer fault regarding returns, it is only set up in a way to put the onus on the buyer, who is then warned off for policy violation & misuse of the MBG with the threat of account closure...
I have never had my honesty called into question in this manner, and so impersonally, without any recourse to appeal or correction... It is unfair, unjust and downright insulting; a system effectively giving sellers free reign to make money for themselves and eBay, where ONLY profits have any merit it appears.
Having been a customer with the largest online retailer for some considerable years, I can say that I am not now, nor have ever been, treated in so shameful a manner nor had even remotely anything akin to the amount or kind of problems there, as I have done here... NOR ANYWHERE ELSE, for that matter.
Neither have I been treated with so cavalier an attitude nor taken for granted by that platform (nor any other online retailer or on the High St.)... quite the contrary, in fact, where a problem can be resolved in a handful of minutes because the customer is treated with respect and deference, appreciated for their custom, and NEVER has their complaints treated with disdain or distrust, or dismissed out of hand.
