Getting a bit fed up with whinging private sellers

[jere-nott]

Why are private sellers whinging about payments? Most of them should be business sellers anyway.

Some of my buyers can take up to two weeks to pay, no problem for me.

In addition I have to pay a listing fee and a final valuation fee of around 17%. One would have to pay this at a local auction house if not more.

Some private sellers are deluded, list an item at a crazy high price which most of us would laugh at. Yeah you don't need luck with that price you would  need a miracle. For example I have seen valueless postage stamp(s) listed at a BIN price of £1500.00!

Describes it as rare stamp and a collectors must have! Just irritates me that these idiots think that buyers are naive.

Private Sellers if you don't like eBay new rules go elsewhere like ebid

Sorry, just my rant.

[*devils.advocate*]

My sympathies lie with you, to some extent.

Some private sellers are, indeed, over-zealous with their pricing or just trying to catch out the naïve.

However, I would say that I can't agree that most of them should be business sellers anyway - some of them, definitely, but not most.

[auctionmike1]

eBay used to advise that use of the words "rare" or "scarce" in a description helped sell an item, so blame eBay and not the sellers.

Speaking as a collector, I often have to buy stuff that I already have or accompanies things that I really want. eBay was (repeat WAS) a great way of selling off the bits that I didn't want and I suggest that this is true for many other collectors. We shouldn't be business sellers, we really are the private sellers who supported eBay in its early days.

[papso22]

I agree that most private accounts are owned by genuine private sellers.  However my perception is that at least 50% of the private sellers posting on the boards about the changes should have business accounts.

And most of them are in denial.

[cassidy_r_private]

I don't agree they're all in denial. There will be plenty using private accounts to avoid disclosing their addresses.

[*devils.advocate*]

I agree that present issues have brought a lot of these chancers out of the woodwork and that they should have business accounts and they are at fault - but that is equally eBay’s fault for letting this situation happen.

I do, however, “object” to them being referred to as private sellers - that is letting down those who are genuine private sellers - these chancers should be called what they are (and that’s not a private seller).

And IMHO there’s been an awful lot more genuine private sellers venting at current issues - it just seems that the focus has been on these chancers rather than the genuine concerns of the honest.

But genuine private sellers need to realise that others - eg. business sellers - are not venting their wrath against them, it’s against these pseudo-private parasites.

[goldenwolfman]

As I’ve said on several occasions, it’s pretty obvious who is ‘not’ a private seller. NEW goods in duplicate and plenty of them. However, to sound contradictory, there are also an element of private sellers who have built up large volumes of listings that consist of personal collections - maybe stamps, postcards, Diecasts, maybe toys or games in fact all sorts of items. Not difficult to have 50k stamps (got them myself, through both collecting since I was 10 and inheriting my brothers) maybe a couple of thousand postcards (got about 800 - again inherited), diecast, I’ve got a 100+ maybe - not difficult! I’ve got a few hundred football programmes, been to games since I was a kid. So if I listed them all - wow, could have 10,000 listings if I could slowly build them up?
Now there are professional sellers of all of these items, they see private sellers who have these items for sale as competition and be sure that creates animosity between business and private. If all these private sellers wanted to sell them cheap then businesses would buy them and then sell them high! So why shouldn’t the private sellers sell them themselves? 
A dose of reality - these private sellers may make money but they then spend a chunk of it with… yes,  business sellers! 
So think on - be careful of getting rid of these private sellers as it may not make things better for business!

Moving on to the crazy high priced items, worthless stamps at £1500. Not seen those, but I have seen lots of worthless 50p coins at £800 - 1000, the answer is simple… ‘Money laundering’ - and yes I have come across some of this worthless tat selling at crazy prices!

Finally one last thing, we have inherited the latest ‘obey protection plan’ to protect me from being conned. I did actually think I already had ‘buyer protection for the last 20 years’???? …and I’d like to add the only issues I’ve had during the last 20 years have more often than not been with ….BUSINESS SELLERS !

[theelench]

Then they should say what they mean.

They, just like the OP, evidently have no trouble distinguishing between private sellers and business sellers pretending to be private, so why do they then describe both as private sellers without bothering to distinguish at all?

Another of the OPs ilk, on a different thread, reckoned that so many "private" sellers gave themselves away by writing in too 'businesslike' a way.

Perhaps something similar explains why business sellers find it so easy to get confused between business sellers,"private" sellers and private sellers.

Perhaps most business sellers are already operating "private" accounts, they are after all commonly posting on buying or posting accounts to hide their business activities and that's why there are so many fake private accounts?  They think that their constant complaining, disruptive, repetitive and dis-respectful posting will throw everyone off their tracks?

Oh sorry!  Rant over!    I don't know what came over me, possibly just a bit of good old fashioned prejudice 🤔 

[beyourb3st]

Where are you guys getting your stats from ?

[cosmic121]

I think we’re allowed a little whinge when eBay doesn’t play by it’s own rules!

Tracking 

I posted the item on February 10 and it was delivered on February 11.

the buyer left positive feedback on February 12.

the carrier I used was DHL UK and all the tracking details were provided eBay.

eBay is still showing the item is not delivered. So on Friday the 14th I got a call with a customer service representative. After listening to them explain to me that the carrier was at fault I finally persuaded them to let me talk to someone else. The next person I spoke to said it would be sorted out. It’s now been one full week and I still haven’t been paid. Problem is now, I can’t get through to a human.

All Shipment Updates

• Tuesday11 February 2025
  16:06 (UTC)
  Successful delivery
  
• Tuesday11 February 2025
  08:01 (UTC)
  Notification for recipient
  Nottingham
  06:52 (UTC)
  Van is loaded
  Nottingham
• Monday10 February 2025
  23:09 (UTC)
  Arrival at Delivery Depot
  Nottingham
  
  Collection event
  Nottingham
  
  Arrival at Delivery Depot
  Nottingham
  
  Collection event
  Nottingham
  20:28 (UTC)
  Arrival at Delivery Depot
  Nottingham
  
  Collection event
  Nottingham
  
  Arrival at Delivery Depot
  Nottingham
  
  Collection event
  Nottingham

[cosmic121]

Update… now spoken with a CS agent, he also said the carrier is at fault (it isn’t) I should be paid within 24hours, so no need to whinge anymore!

This is a link that you can select to speak and request a Call Back.

To Contact Customer Services click on this link:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/eua?id=5275&mkevt=1&mkpid

On weekdays lines open between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Weekends lines open between 9 a.m. to 6p.m.

[cassidy_r_private]

A post about another platform vanishes quicker than you could say "it would be lovely to get some feedback from ebay on some of these topics".

[fassiphone]

And the majority of removed negative/neutral feedback was originally left for... business sellers.

*gasps*

[plpmr]

Not just over priced but, just one example ~

Over £600 for a penny black, 1841 penny red and 1841 2d blue all “The stamps are in Mint Never Hinged condition”, all exhibiting clear postmarks.

[cassidy_r_private]

Don't start me on "mint".

Mint should mean completely indistinguishable from new. I don't understand how hard that is to understand.

Mind you - not as bad as scratched up and ancient cameras that are "opened, never used" or "I only used it twice".

[tommystrezures]

and may have facsimile written across the rear of them!!

[brownbookbear]

I'm a private seller who is fed up with being lumped in with "business private sellers". I treat my buyers as I would like to be treated - fairly, honestly and with respect.  Adopting a professional attitude does not make me a Business seller - it gets me repeat customers and positive feedback.  I'm selling crafting items and clothing which I no longer want/need.

eBay seem to have decided to use a sledgehammer to crack the problem rather than using the data they have (volume of sales, number of listings with multiples of same item, seller name has reseller in! etc) to solve the problem.

I always accepted that selling fees were something I had to pay - I was happy to get x% off fees offers but listed even without the offer.

It was annoying when eBay brought in fees on postage as well as the item, probably due to sellers with rip-off postage , but it was something we had to learn to live with.

Now, I can't use multi-listings which I did use to try and get people to buy more than one item.  Buyer got a discount and I saved on postage.  They are now for Business Sellers only - ok, accept and move on and spend hours re-listing as single items.

Private Sellers do use their selling funds to buy on eBay - I do for things like mailing bags but also for items for myself.  Most of my purchases are from Business Sellers - I probably would not buy as much if I had not sold items first.

There are good Private Sellers and bad ones but the same can be said for Business Sellers.  Don't make generalisations - it doesn't solve anything.

[cassidy_r_private]

An average of 23 unwanted items a month, every month for 21 years.

My wife would have cut up my debit cards years ago.

[jere-nott]

You make some very good points.

I am a 74 year old pensioner selling my stamp collection which I have been collecting for over 60 years. Just trying to supplement my Pension.

However, because of my volume of sales and I did buy a collection of which some I want the others I did not therefore, technically, I have bought to resell.

eBay messaged me to require that I upgrade to a Business Seller. After a few exchanges of messages I complied. Not a problem for me.

I sell on eBay because, in addition to the extra income, it keeps me busy and keeps my brain alert!

I will also comply with HMRC tax laws and declare my income via a tax return 

Further, I treat all my buyers with respect and courtesy and I deal with everyone openly, honestly and transparently.

[cassidy_r_private]

The irony is, that a large number of sellers masquerading as private would owe no tax whatsoever anyway by the time deductible allowances were taken. It's not worth it.

When I first started my business, I was in a very low paid job and quite by chance came across an auction and made some lucky purchases which I sold on ebay. One thing led to another and in year three I turned over 51K on the quiet and was starting to have problems sleeping at night. I got an accountant and by the time he had finished I owed zero tax and was back on track with HMRC, going on to form a company and trading very profitably on here for another 10 years or so.