No more cash on collection.

[geosacha007]

Just saw the new seller rules.  I've got no issue with the reduction in free listings.  But no more cash on collection I do mind.  It means there is no way to make a buyer check on collection and once they accept it pay with no risk of them changing their mind later. 

And will buyers be happy being forced to pay up front before they see an item?

[jb_technical_service]

This is a break of our freedom of choices. If I preferred to pay by cash or received payment via cash, it is my choice, and nobody should force me to pay by card or bank transfer. This is Ridicules!

[lucy_farmer]

'If I preferred to pay by cash or received payment via cash, it is my choice, and nobody should force me to pay by card or bank transfer.'

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You have freedom of choice; the choice is not to buy off ebay.

 A lot of users think ebay's rules are stupid, restrictive and onerous.

But we also know that it's ebay's game, ebay's ball and ebay's rules. If we don't want to follow their rules, they are within their rights to kick us off their pitch....

[jb_technical_service]

Lucy, while it's their platform, saying 'it's their game' dismisses legitimate concerns regarding their cash prohibition policy. Even 'their game' should have fairness, especially when rules disproportionately affect users who prefer or need cash transactions for collection or delivery. If users find these rules 'stupid,' that's a problem, regardless of ownership. You say 'if we don't want to follow their rules,' but for many, especially those relying on cash for local transactions, that's not a realistic option. Simply 'leaving' ignores eBay's significance as a local marketplace. Where's the real choice if rules exclude cash transactions for collection or delivery? Accepting these cash prohibition rules as 'stupid, restrictive, and onerous' because 'it's their game' is passive. Shouldn't we advocate for better rules, even on private platforms? If users find them problematic, that's a red flag. We can voice concerns and push for more inclusive policies regarding cash on collection or delivery. Ultimately, 'their game' doesn't excuse unfair rules. Limited choice regarding local cash transactions and 'stupid' rules demand we advocate for fairness, even on their platform.

[edwardian-dreams]

Seems eBay is going the vinted way

no cash on collection

 No custom postage 

next will be huge screw ups 

oh hang on they’re already happening  oops

[kmaltman]

The only reason I can see for this change is if "someone" or some business was desperate to get their hands on all the cash from millions of transactions and to bank it so they could temporarily hold a continually replenished pool of other peoples money. Smacks of desperation if you ask me.

[kmaltman]

This change is a disgrace, apart from all the obvious reasons it's a bad idea (except for e-bays bank balance).

What happens if a buyer simply changes their mind or makes up some excuse (after having looked, inspected the item, and taken it away)?

Do they still get their money back?

AND do they have to return it to the seller?

Logically if it was collection only that's probably because it was not practical to post it. !!!

[kmaltman]

I was about to have a massive downsizing clear out on e-bay. I'll be honest I dislike this stupid idea (ex-for e-bays bank balance) so much that I just joined Gumtree for the first time. 

I think Gumtree will love this latest change, I'm sure they will get a massive influx of new customers..... Well done e-bay

[4_bathrooms]

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@kmaltman wrote:

What happens if a buyer simply changes their mind or makes up some excuse (after having looked, inspected the item, and taken it away)?

Do they still get their money back?

AND do they have to return it to the seller?

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It depends what reason the buyer selects for wanting to return the item. If the buyer chooses a remorse reason (changed my mind, doesn't fit, ordered by mistake etc.) and the seller doesn't accept remorse returns the seller can simply close the case without any obligation to issue a refund.

However, if the buyer chooses an "item not as described" reason for wanting to return the seller is responsible for arranging return of the item then refunding the buyer or reporting a problem.

I was surprised eBay removed cash on collection as a payment option especially for private sellers. However, that was before eBay introduced the "buyer protection fee" - something they would not have been able to charge on a cash sale.

[lucy_farmer]

What happens if a buyer simply changes their mind or makes up some excuse (after having looked, inspected the item, and taken it away)?

Do they still get their money back?

AND do they have to return it to the seller?

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Yes and Yes.

The buyer can indeed open a returns case and the seller will have to send a returns label ( yeah right....😮 try that on dining table/gas cooker/ pile of paving slabs...)

If the 'returns label' proves to be impossible, ludicrous or totally impractical, the buyer either gets to keep the item or the seller will have to go and collect it themselves.

But the buyer get their refund whatever happens.......

[emmajay_66]

I'm struggling to see any logic behind removing cash payments.

Do you remember when we were charged a listing fee plus a final value fee plus a PayPal fee and received a selling fees invoice every month, and all those fees were a lot more than the buyer protection fee is now, so adding a small fee for using cash is quite possible. So saying cash is unsafe, as that seems to be their narrative, is complete nonsense. Cash works perfectly fine if I sell an item for collection only on another platform, for example Facebook marketplace. Now they have my bank details so they can pay me when I've sold something, but not they also say they can use it to charge any selling fees that may be due. Excuse me, what fees exactly since selling is free is it not? So again I'm sure they could still take their cut if I were to choose the cash option that they have taken away. Make it make sense.

[4_bathrooms]

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@emmajay_66 wrote:

Excuse me, what fees exactly since selling is free is it not? 

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eBay only abolished the final value fee for private sellers. There are still fees for optional listing upgrades, the international fee, shop subscription fee (for private sellers who subscribe to a shop), the dispute fee and the seller currency conversion charge for sales where the buyer paid in a different currency.

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@emmajay_66 wrote:

So again I'm sure they could still take their cut if I were to choose the cash option that they have taken away. Make it make sense.

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It is a buyer protection fee that is entirely paid for by the buyer; a buyer can't pay eBay for the "protection" the fee affords them if they pay cash. Prior to the abolition of cash on collection as a payment method buyers who paid cash received no protection at all when purchasing from a private seller as doing so forfeited any eBay Money Back Guarantee protection.

[emmajay_66]

okay in that specific buyer protection sense I understand, but recently I sold a double bed which for obvious reasons was collect only. I lost the first buyer who was very indignant that I wouldn't (couldn't) accept cash, he said what if I turn up and give you the cash, I said we can't because we cannot complete the sale. He said just end the listing saying it's no longer for sale, I'm sure that would have got me a slap on the wrist or worse. But essentially he was prepared to forego his buyer protection for the convenience of cash. But here's a thing, does it actually matter which of us pays the buyer protection fee as long as it is paid, and as long as the buyer and seller are both aware that one of them will be paying it. As an example, I sell an item for 40 quid, eBay adjusts the price to £42.50 or whatever to include the BPF, we complete the sale ticking the box saying pay by cash, then very soon afterwards eBay takes £2.50 from my bank. The buyer gave me 42 quid in cash and the net result is I have 40 quid that I asked for. eBay still gets the BPF and if there's a subsequent problem for the buyer they deal with it

[lucy_farmer]

'I lost the first buyer who was very indignant that I wouldn't (couldn't) accept cash, he said what if I turn up and give you the cash, I said we can't because we cannot complete the sale. '

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Out of curiosity, had either of you tried to exchange contact details (i.e. address to collect it from) *before* paying? If he could have seen that doing so is impossible he may have been less indignant!

'But essentially he was prepared to forego his buyer protection for the convenience of cash.'

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I can see his point in this instance; how much protection do you need from an item that you can see, touch, try out, etc. etc. before paying for it?  (as long as all the blame for this daft decision ends up with ebay and not the seller, it *is* quite funny..😆)

[emmajay_66]

as I recall, he clicked "buy now" with an expectation he could pay cash and I think I managed to tell him where the bed was located, in a storage unit not at my home address, I've known for a vey long time that eBay messaging doesn't permit the exchange of phone numbers, email addresses and the like.

yes he did say he wasn't happy to pay until he had seen the bed, and a problem arose because eBay wouldn't accept my bank account for payouts which I had discovered from having sold a much smaller item just the previous week. it took nearly 2 weeks to resolve the bank account problem, which in itself was a whole other load of nonsense. the upshot in respect of the bed was that I promptly removed all items I was selling because I could never be paid. but that person refused to pay online anyway. after the banking issue was resolved, I relisted the bed and it sold quickly.

[4_bathrooms]

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@emmajay_66 wrote:

As an example, I sell an item for 40 quid, eBay adjusts the price to £42.50 or whatever to include the BPF, we complete the sale ticking the box saying pay by cash, then very soon afterwards eBay takes £2.50 from my bank. The buyer gave me 42 quid in cash and the net result is I have 40 quid that I asked for. eBay still gets the BPF and if there's a subsequent problem for the buyer they deal with it

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Should the buyer need to subsequently use the "buyer protection" they paid for how exactly would eBay refund them? The sale funds were never held by eBay (as part of buyer protection) and someone who only uses their account to make purchases isn't required to have a bank account linked to their eBay account. eBay certainly wouldn't be sending someone to the buyer's door in order to hand a wad of cash back to them.

[jonat_broad]

You can of course choose to pay cash for any product. However - you'll simply have to find that product somewhere other than ebay.

[emmajay_66]

How long exactly does the buyer get to lodge a complaint, because everything I've sold very recently I've had the funds pretty quick. So are we saying that if the buyer makes a complaint after I've been paid, eBay will just reach into my bank account and take it back. If that's the case then I'll be doing what I told eBay when they couldn't fix the bank account problem. Stop selling on eBay and move smartly to gumtree os something similar 

[papso22]

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@emmajay_66 wrote:

How long exactly does the buyer get to lodge a complaint, because everything I've sold very recently I've had the funds pretty quick. So are we saying that if the buyer makes a complaint after I've been paid, eBay will just reach into my bank account and take it back. If that's the case then I'll be doing what I told eBay when they couldn't fix the bank account problem. Stop selling on eBay and move smartly to gumtree os something similar 

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Buyers have 30 days on ebay to make a claim for a refund.  And yes, if you don't refund voluntarily you have agreed to let ebay take it from your bank.

[lucy_farmer]

'Where's the real choice if rules exclude cash....'

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Where's the real choice if rules exclude cash in doing many things in the modern world?

(Things like parking your car without a smart phone to hand?  We are told the choice is don't use those car-parks/companies.)

These are all private companies who can do whatever they want and chase the customers they want, and ignore the customers they don't want.

And the advance of technology means that companies can save *huge* amounts of money by not having to pay human staff to deal with physical human concepts like cash. (They don't mind losing the very small percentage of people who don't want to deal with digital: they've made up that loss by not paying enough human staff)

Ebay certainly is a significant  local marketplace, but, just like the local car-boot sale, it has every right to turn people away who don't wish to follow their rules.

Nobody has any 'rights' to use any private company.

Yeah, it'd be wonderful if enough users got together to force a company to change it's mind (or go bust), but, being a pessimist, I don't believe they will. Most people are so wedded to the 'convenience' of doing everything online that losing the ability to use cash doesn't register on them at all.

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Right I'm about to go 'off topic' a bit here......

Losing the option to use cash is also important in a far larger world than ebay. Cash is vitally important as a back up payment method. If you ever ended up on the sh** list of the govt of the day, in a cashless society, you can be 'switched off'.

This idea brings out 'nothing to hide=nothing to fear' types to jeer at luddites like me. And in this country, at this time, with this govt, yeah, they're probably right.

But govts change, times change, technology changes and ideas change.

Look at Hong Kong. It used to be no.2  in the global 'freedom index'. (the good ol' Land of the Free the USA, was at around no. 27...)

Now poor old HK is being crushed.

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So I do have a great deal of sympathy for your opinion on the need to keep cash options ; not just on ebay but in life in general.

Unfortunately, I believe the use of cash will be eroded bit by bit until it's no longer available. The loss of it will just be 'nodded through' because of the 'convenience' of digital everything and no need to employ humans to deal with it...☹️

[kmaltman]

So basically selling a few sets of mag ally car wheels for several hundred pounds each (as I intended to do) on e-bay is now a totally stupid idea. I wasn't joking about joining Gumtree earlier, I just looked on there and very similar wheels are selling for £600 a set. 

Obviously if someone comes, looks, is satisfied and pays, that's job done. With this system its basically asking to be ripped off.