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 .

[andha-21]

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Seller-Central/New-Buyer-Fee-CATEGORIES-Thread-Please-Add-any-update...

[madeat136]

One item shows as delivered .The other says "we are running late with this delivery" 😂🤣You really couldnt make it up. 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️Sent from my Galaxy

[dobr_502]

As a genuine private seller (not a business seller purporting to be a private seller), I’ve been following the various eBay community threads since the changes from 4 Feb were announced, and reflecting on my own reasons for deciding to leave eBay next week as both a private seller and buyer.

Essentially, it’s being taken for a mug that I don’t like.

1. Why not call the ‘Buyer’s Protection Fee’ what it actually is - a ‘Buyer’s Fee’?

2. Delayed payments are completely unjustifiable and serve only to earn interest for eBay.

3. Taking control of delivery via ‘simple delivery’ is unnecessary and a cynical ploy to generate even more income for eBay.

I completely understand the frustrations of business sellers seeing other business sellers using the benefits of being a private seller to undercut their prices, and agree that eBay need to take more robust action against such sellers.

I also appreciate that eBay is a business in a competitive market and not a charity.

However, where eBay is playing a risky game is that it is alienating genuine private sellers and buyers like me who are leaving the platform on principle and unlikely to return.

A global company, eBay will undoubtedly survive the exodus of small fry like me and the wheels will keep turning, but I no longer want any part of it. 

[ripface]

Good post, as a private seller myself I've thought long and hard about the recent changes.  Fortunately I rarely sell low value items on the platform, and due to the BPF will be unlikely to use it in this way in future.  You're quite right that eBay will continue, but they have no doubt alienated vast numbers of private sellers and this will sure have an impact on profits, albeit a fairly small impact.

Maybe this will prompt some entrepreneur to come up with a new online auction website that caters for the little people!! 

[dobr_502]

Thank you, I’ve thought long and hard about whether to stay or leave and am in the very fortunate position that I don’t rely on eBay for income, it’s more a hobby where I spend any earnings on purchases from eBay. 
If eBay was honest about the reasons these changes were being introduced (i.e. their income share is reducing against other online selling platforms), I would be more accepting of them, but to try and package it as a benefit to us as buyers and sellers really grips my **** and I’m done.
All the best.


Sent from the all-new AOL app for iOS

[originsreborn]

I could have sworn I read somewhere on here, that the BPF wouldn't show on Auctioned items until it came to checkout? ..It's showing on all my live items (listings renewing after Tue 11th).

[nilocp]

You are incorrect my friend. I have just sold 2 items as a Best Offer. One was £22.50. Buyer protection of £1.56 deducted!  Another offer of £15. Buyer protection of £1.27 deducted.

So despite what Ebay has told us, the Seller pays the Buyers Protection not the buyer!!!

[thesmi42]

I'm not surprised, and can only guess that it's just another phase in the chaotic and amateurish implementation of the roll-out of BPF that we've seen so far.

The Project Manager's Xmas bonus must be hanging by a thread. 🤣

[podlingsmum2007]

I have taken best offer off my items and ended the listings that I had sent offers on yesterday. Thank you for the heads up about this.

[martinwh1]

Depends on the underlying project - if it was to get rid of private sellers who list low priced items then the Xmas bonus is safe 🤣🤣

[scorpios1981]

I've just had to reduce my private selling prices as when the buyer protection is added on it makes me less competitive on price compared to business sellers. I think that's the point being made here!

It's a backdoor charge for private sellers. They might as well return to transparent fees for sellers as the percentage based add on for buyer protection makes the prices all over the place with odd amounts charged to buyers.

It will also encourage even more lies from dodgy buyers saying things haven't arrived. They will get paid off but small private sellers have then lost the item for sale so gain nothing.

[dogrobinsnest]

I have said this from the beginning but was told I was talking rubbish you are correct & all my items once this fee is imposed will go some sort of signed for this will result in me selling next to nothing but I will protect myself or not sell at all.

[scorpios1981]

I think I'll also revert back into no 'free postage' items as the fee percentage doesn't seem to apply to the separate postage charge. If you include free postage that whole selling amount is 'taxed' by eBay by the looks of things?

[dogrobinsnest]

Yes I think you are correct. Once they have imposed this charge on my items I will take a time away break to sort out the way forward for me. On principle I will not be buying anything from private & business sellers on eBay in the future .
Sent from my iPad

[scorpios1981]

I bet eBay will reintroduce fees on postage as their next move like they did years ago when some sellers would dodge fees by cutting the item price but plumped up the postage costs. 

Advertising themselves as a free selling platform is definitely misleading with the changes brought in in recent weeks/ months!

[leighbayuk]

---

@scorpios1981 wrote:

If you include free postage that whole selling amount is 'taxed' by eBay by the looks of things?

---

Correct. It is a triple pay day for eBay. Buyer is charged a protection fee for the included postage. Seller is charged a payment processing fee which includes the postage cost. eBay earns a commission on the postage purchased.

Postage is meant to be a flat expense that is the buyer has to pay. But eBay profits at every step.

[qualityshipments]

That's me done for a while, far too messy this whole new system.

Best offers I am receiving are a mess. Prices are a mess.

All listings ended for the forseeable, goodluck all.

[scorpios1981]

I buy off eBay as well as sell and now I wonder why I would need this so called 'buyer protection ' when they've always had protection in place anyway when things go wrong?!

[scorpios1981]

The changes have now made it worse than the old system! I'd honestly prefer to pay the old style fees as a seller than create haphazard pricing for buyers. They've complicated matters and will upset a lot of private sellers doing this.

[qualityshipments]

Agreed no issues with fees at all, it's a business they need to make money.

But the way they have rolled this out is a disaster, killed any motivation I've had to list any of my items.