Ebay's new buyer protection scam

[wayne15071965]

So I have been a seller on and off her since June 2001, Over the years I have sent items recorded delivery that either never turn up , or arrive with no notification of delivery.  Now someone wants to charge a buyer a fee for safe delivery, when they would have been charged that in the P&P cost.  Frankly it sounds more like a scam than customer service and Ebay are also trying to force us to use their shipping option, So much for free enterprise, sound like trying to get the monopoly on delivery as well.  As for hanging on the sellers cash til 2 days after delivery, really so post office goes on strike and you don't get paid, Think I may start looking to leave. So much for eBay's loyalty to us .

[dogrobinsnest]

Yes all of those things Plus just no common Sense, well I will leave all my items on here I have taken time away while I adjust all my shipping cost to signed for mail to protect myself I know I won’t sell anything but that is life as they say.

[wychmoon_esoteric]

We have been trying for ages to do so

[wychmoon_esoteric]

We have been trying for ages to do so

We are a tiny seller and still dissolving the fee costs now so 

They technically aren't paying, we are 

[knightinarmour]

Here is a riddle for you…

the category I sell in mostly (toys and games)  doesn’t yet have buyers protection and I have live sales going on. I’m non business and sell occasionally 3-4 a month maybe but I happen to have more currently. I’ve been a member since 2001 so I’ve seen a lot of changes. (I remember launch fees (!!) and people paying in cash with coins stuck to card! Those were the days). 

Anyway, should they remain unsold at the point when buyers protection is imposed on this category, will it automatically be added to my live lots increasing cost overnight, or will they work backwards and calculate the buyers protection from the prices I have already set?

I could argue that I launched the lots under the terms and conditions that prevailed at the time (ie no buyers premium) and it would be against consumer law to add it subsequently… but this is eBay. 

I was doing a big clear out and it wasn’t until the 11th lot that I noticed a reference to buyers premium as that happened to be a different category to the others. 

[andha-21]

Certain areas of toys and games came live with BPF today. Warhammer models have it, I checked.

You may want to check again.

[dogrobinsnest]

All my pin badges & postcards went up over night you don't see it until you click on the item then you will see the buyers protection there

[andrew1691]

For small private sellers selling low cost items eBay is now dead .. just not worth it.

[andrew1691]

On Trustpilot Ebay.co.uk are scoring 1.2 out of 18k reviews so they will get the message eventually and probably reverse the BPF or amend it to exclude low cost items .. They will be monitoring its impact. 

[dogrobinsnest]

Yes you are correct but just leave them up for sale you may not sell anything for now but ebay will have admin cost for leaving them on site LOL

[dogrobinsnest]

The trouble is by the time they realise the problem it will be too late all there buyers & sellers would have gone else where. As I have said before & repeat EBAY remember IT TAKES A LONG TIME TO BUILD A CUSTOMER BASE & NO TIME TO LOOSE IT .

[capitalomnibus]

I agree, it is nothing more than a scam. The buyer protection fee is basically the fee the seller would have paid for listing the item. 

Seeing that advert on tv about selling on ebay now is free is a f###ing insult and makes me mad.

Plus now the 2 days after an item is delivered to get paid. So in effect selling anything for 1st or 2nd class postage, would wait a lifetime as it would take over 14 days to get paid.

I have now put my account into holiday mode, awaiting a decision, but after that, may just cancel all my listings, had enough of ebay

[knightinarmour]

Yes you are right. All my lots (role playing games) now have it added on top of my set price. 

in the list view on “selling” where I can scroll through them it is NOT showing. Just my price. But it you go into each individual item it’s showing the increased price - or what the buyer sees. 

I bet those “watchers” are now regretting not buying at the original lower price. 

so for me they have imposed a change AFTER I launched it. Surely that’s illegal? 

[bogush75]

Another small thing : auctions listed some time ago that will finish eg. tonight or tomorrow - are those going to have that "protection fee" added ?...  (should have, to be fair to other sellers ?)

[andha-21]

I'm honestly not sure about the legality of that area. Within terms and conditions we agree to their policies simply by using their site/app. Whether there is a law that takes precedent over that I'm unsure. 

But it certainly isn't a good thing.

[andha-21]

Yes, just saw one of my bookmarks finish. A couple of days ago, no BPF, today, yes.

[scorpios1981]

I'm surprised they have gone ahead with this 'mess' of a system. Haven't they learnt from previous scandals of PPI etc? Forcing buyers to pay to 'insure their purchase ' when they already had plenty of protection. If it's just a question of paying for 24/7 customer service ( which I'm guessing will be an annoying chat bot type service?) then surely this should be an option, not something mandatory?

Why should private sellers be basically mistrusted to give a good service? Doesn't a history of positive feedback make a difference anymore?

Just as with landlords, painted as all scumbags that rent out mouldy properties to angelic tenants, private sellers are assumed to be the likely people to 'scam' their 'angelic' buyers. Most 'small' landlords are good and the high majority of private sellers are good. The vast majority of buyers are good but sometimes I can't get them even to respond to messages, let alone leave feedback so I think there's a poor chance of them 'accepting' their purchases, allowing small scale private sellers to be paid in a reasonable time.

The pricing of items now with buyer protection is a mess. It's near on impossible to price something to sell now that'll end up with a 'rounded up' price at the end. A random annoying amount pleases no-one.

[bogush75]

Flip side of the coin - small seller's prices are higher so less chance to sell now.

Who is the winner? ..

The rich get richer.

[papso22]

---

@wychmoon_esoteric wrote:

We have been trying for ages to do so

---

Upgrading your account is simply a matter of a couple of clicks.

[wychmoon_esoteric]

Exactly big businesses don't have to pay

Smaller shops have to now up prices or dissolve the cost themselves. eBay already sides with buyers most of the time and they have loads of protection yet small sellers now have to pay even with 100% fb when large shops have like 70% and loads of negatives 

[jckl1957]

It is not a 'big shop'/'little shop' issueThe changes only apply to private sellers.

As advised, if you were properly registered as a business, you would not be impacted by the changes.

Do I need a business account?

If you plan to sell casually, such as selling items you no longer want, a private account is the best option. 

If you want to sell large quantities, if you have items that you've made or bought to resell or if you already have a business outside of eBay, you’ll need to register a business account.

Create a business account

If you want to register as a business, select Create a business account on the registration page. We'll ask for some additional details, like your business name, type, and address.

Create a business account now