Seller lies, no stock, not in UK

[lee_73-2009]

I've had it with buying new goods on eBay. It's a complete waste of time and money. Some sellers say they have a product and they are in the UK and this is clearly not true. They've spoilt eBay for genuine sellers of UK stock. The delivery times are ridiculous and then the refund process way too long. EBay does nothing about this and it's no wonder everyone uses Amazon now. I was always an eBay user and rarely used Amazon for new stock but I'll always use Amazon from now on. It's totally illegal when a sellers cons you out of money for stock they don't have.  And how is ebay unable to stop sellers stating they are in th UK with stock when they obviously don't. Stick to second hand stock from eBay and don't waste or time or energy on anything else. EBay will continue to go downhill unless something is done about this. Was great at one time but eBay just feels like some dodgy online buying site now where buyers are treat with contempt by sellers and eBay themselves.

[lee_73-2009]

Apologies for the poor English in this post by the way but I'm raging!

[messier44000]

Always check the sellers FB before buying.

If its full of negs and neutrals about the stock not being in the UK, when the listing says otherwise

walk away and buy elsewhere. Plenty of good sellers on here. Just do your checks before buying 

and not after.

[plpmr]

Many make the same complaint as you do and, unfortunately, most, like you, never leave feedback to reflect their experiences.

So many hit at eBay for doing nothing but don't bother to hit back with feedback.

“It's totally illegal when a sellers cons you out of money for stock they don't have.”

Not condoning this activity, but how does a buyer lose their money when they are provided with buyer protection to get their money back?

Yet again eBay is to 'blame'.

[lee_73-2009]

That's fair enough and I do. Sometimes the item is specific. The seller looks ok with no problems. Says they are for example in "Guildford", then after waiting 2 weeks with no response to emails, just before you can put in a refund or complaint request, they magically reply to your email apologising. My point is if eBay expects every buyer to do a Sherlock homes on every seller, people will eventually just get sick of it. You shouldn't have to. A commitment to delivery times for registered UK sellers should be set up in the eBay system. Not just on thier description. As I've said Amazon ping stuff relentlessly next day delivery. I think it's time eBay really moved with the times. Why should I have to wait nearly three week to get my money back on a product when the seller supposedly is based in the UK?

[fargvs]

Your English is fine and for future information ... 

Before pressing the Bid/Buy button ... a quick check on listings takes a few clicks = 

1. Item location is seen under Postages in listings ... 

2.Seller Location is shown in their Feedback profile ... 

3.Country of eBay site Registration  is seen by clicking through  'Items for sale /View listings' links to Seller information in left column.  

Even if an item is showing as being sent from a UK location,  if either member is based/registered anywhere outside the UK, it will trigger an additional 20% VAT import fee.   See >

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/listing-policies/item-location-misrepresentation-policy?id=4244

[lee_73-2009]

Firstly I have not left feedback because if you do, you then enter a feedback battle with the seller, who in turn hits back with their feedback, and this process can then last as long as the problem you are leaving the feedback for?!? And eBay eventually removed all feedback in favour of the seller because they have followed eBay's out of touch conditions?!? All in all this drama including the original problem can go on for 2 month! I don't know about you but most things take donkeys anyways without having to waste my time with that carry on. I've been there and done that and never again.

Secondly my money is precious at the moment as im sure is yours too. I bought this item on the 15th. I still haven't received my money back as today is the first day I've been "allowed" by eBay to ask for my money back. Imagine buying something from a shop and on getting home finding out it didn't work. Let's say it cost £100. You go back to the shop and ask for a refund. The shop owner says "yea no problem, come back in three week and I'll give you your money back." I don't think so. I'm losing my money as far as I'm concerned if it's over a ridiculously long period of time. Money if I had I could be spending elsewhere or buying the same product from someone who will actually send the product out. But no, no on eBay. Your money gets sent to eBay jail. It's ridiculous it really is. Massive problems with processes and they are not fit for purpose in 2021.

[myriad*seller]

You can check the sellers location on their feedback page

The location shown on the listing is the location of the item, not the seller

Many overseas sellers keep stock in the UK for fast delivery, however, if you buy from these sellers there is a 20% VAT surcharge added to the cost of your item, so if you get to checkout and additional VAT is added, then you know your seller is overseas

[gallovidian]

---

@lee_73-2009 wrote:

EBay does nothing about this and it's no wonder everyone uses Amazon now

---

Everbody? It is hard to know who you expect to read your complaint, then. I use Amazon for vide streaming, and it is one of the few selling platforms which probably approaches eBay for safety, although the process of getting your rights is less obvious, and you probably prefer obvious. eBay is far superior on description and illustrations, if the seller chooses to use them to the full.

Do a search for "UK stock" in titles, and you will find hundreds of sellers, some of them very large,   who are registered in China (as they are entitled to do), but claim to have their stock in the UK. Most of them have anything from fair to excellent feedback. You can isolate their negatives, and find very few which allege false item location. They are giving literally millions of British people what they want.

Sellers are required to have the item in stock for the full duration of the listing, and sell it for the price and postage stated. I and probably most of the regular posters here have bought the occasionally disappointing item, but have never, indecades, lost money to a crook. Here is how they did it, and it works. You have real power against anybody who sends an item from China when it is declared as being in the UK.

.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee?id=4...

Is it to be wondered at, if many of us go to retailers' own websites, or that other one, only if what we want isn't on eBay? It takes a bit of study, preferably at the first sign of trouble, not when you are wondering if guesswork and the seller's guidance have played you false. Most of us have forgotten ho going to shopswith cast tok a bit of learning t.

[plpmr]

"Firstly I have not left feedback because if you do, you then enter a feedback battle with the seller, who in turn hits back with their feedback,"

Exactly how can the seller hit back at you with feedback?

[gallovidian]

---

@lee_73-2009 wrote:

Firstly I have not left feedback because if you do, you then enter a feedback battle with the seller, who in turn hits back with their feedback, and this process can then last as long as the problem you are leaving the feedback for?.

---

I can't help feeling that this isn't quite as factual as it might be. Feedback can be removed by eBay, for reasons which can be avoided by careful and intelligent reading of the Member to Member Contact Policy. (I rest my case on that.) We hear it said that eBay will sometimes remove it for reasons which aren't in any rule, but I suspect that the buyer could often supply an explanation if he wished. Feedback is removed if you lose or abandon a case. The latter seems fair, as the commonest reason for letting a case time out (followed closely by stupidity) s probably the knowledge that you can't or shouldn't win.

But these events just happen in one,with no battle. The only protracted battle I can imagine is the seller making repeated demands for revision, often offering bribes which nobody will enforce if you revise and he doesn't follow through.

The fist thing you do is to tell yourself tht the feedback is obviously biting as you would wish. Then report him to eBay if the language or frequency amount to harassment, or if he is trying to buy a revision.  Then add a followup to the feedback you have left, saying something like "Sent  threatening/wheeding/bribing messages damanding removal of the above. It stays!" (Insert number and wording as appropriate.)

That will cause you some inconvenience, and him anguish, humiliation and loss of sales. HIf he is an employee his boss will probably cause him much more.  I would think those considerations carry some weight with you.

If a seller posta negative coments as ostensibly positive feedback on you, you can reprt it to eBay. It will be removed, and he will receive a severe warning. Even if it is justified, which with some mental strain I can imagine, it is no defence.

Buying new or used items on eBay with♂ut thinking can be a hazardous and unrewarding experiuence. I don't believe it would suit most of us.

[lee_73-2009]

You've made some good points there. And I agree with most. I just think eBay has lost its way in its processes. Making things fast and simple is priority for all online companies. And most are pretty foolproof if things go wrong. I don't think eBay has moved with the times in this. Having had some problems on eBay over the years, and probably no more than average, I think surely you've got to agree it's a totally annoying process when things do go wrong. It just doesn't compare to anything else. Why? EBay has a net income of roughly 2 billion and assets of nearly 20 billion. Why can't they overhaul the interface and user experience. So for example, if a seller says their stock is in the UK, no matter where the company is or where they registered, why give them 12 days to send out an item?! No matter what you buy or where within the UK, if it doesn't come within 3 to 4 days it's never coming. Giving sellers this long isn't right. Likewise if you see a seller who just hasn't dispatched it. You still can't even contact eBay about this until the delivery time is up even though the item shows not dispatched. I'll always use eBay for selling and buying used goods. There is no other website better for window shopping too, but unless they take another look at some of their rules and smarten up the sites processes I won't be buying new stock on it.

[lee_73-2009]

Oh and by the way, the seller now has been given until November 2nd to reply to my request for my money back. Messed up and totally ridiculous for an item I paid for on October 15th. There just is no denying this.

[lee_73-2009]

I take your points onboard. However, imagine the advertising campaign for eBay if it was based in reality.
“Use eBay!😄 we’ve got millions of users, so you will never be able to contact us directly if you’ve got any problems!”
“Use eBay!😃 but make sure you do your homework on our sellers! If you don’t you’ll only have yourself to blame!😀”
“Use eBay!😄 we’re middle guys! Don’t blame us if things go wrong, you should have thought first before you bid or bought you thicko!🤣

[elitegiftsltd]

---

@lee_73-2009 wrote:

Oh and by the way, the seller now has been given until November 2nd to reply to my request for my money back. Messed up and totally ridiculous for an item I paid for on October 15th. There just is no denying this.

---

And how many days is November 2nd after you opened a case? 

[elitegiftsltd]

---

@lee_73-2009 wrote:
I take your points onboard. However, imagine the advertising campaign for eBay if it was based in reality.
“Use eBay!😄 we’ve got millions of users, so you will never be able to contact us directly if you’ve got any problems!”
“Use eBay!😃 but make sure you do your homework on our sellers! If you don’t you’ll only have yourself to blame!😀”
“Use eBay!😄 we’re middle guys! Don’t blame us if things go wrong, you should have thought first before you bid or bought you thicko!🤣

---

As in all purchases, buyer beware. Ebay doesn't vet its sellers on an ongoing basis - that is why the sellers have feedback!

You can buy from whom you want - but every site you buy from its going to be at some point you deciding whether the seller is worth buying from.

You doing your own research in other words.

[lee_73-2009]

Well I may be wrong, but I predict eBay will be be in trouble soon. Someone always steps in and does it better. Time will tell.

[Anonymous]

I second that. Amazon is far superior when it comes to speedy delivery. If you pay for it you get the item guarantied next day (delivery till 10pm!). I will never buy new items from Ebay again.  Marked as "despatched" tells you nothing. As soon as the seller bought an label from Ebay the item get the mark "despatched". And yes, many sellers claim that they and the item are located in the UK but they are not and send from China. 

[naughty_neena]

Of course you need to check out the seller beforehand.

You are dealing with someone you have never met, seen or have any proof they even exist. It could well be a hacked account that has just recieved loads of negative feedback over the past few weeks yet you consider it ok to hand over your money to them.

Best always check as advised.

[gallovidian]

---

@lee_73-2009 wrote:

Well I may be wrong, but I predict eBay will be be in trouble soon. Someone always steps in and does it better. Time will tell.

---

You wish! That's the sad thing: you really do wish.

I've been using eBay for over twenty years. I've made wise and unwise purchases, just like anywhere else, but I've never found the Money Back Guarantee process comples in the way we often hear of. That comes of not reading the thing, or not until it is too late. You can't afford to attempt a claim by the light of nature, which we often see burning dimly here.

I don't suppose I have had to contact ebay CS more than for or five times in many years, about cases actually in being. "Call me back" gives an estimate of when you can expect the call, which has always been kept. .It has sually two, and even a three minutes, more often two, ad in the first peak of the pandemic one.

Due to where I was at the time, I can remember when I first saw it proclaimed on discussion boards that ebay was doomed. It was  early in 2002.