eBay's rip off new buyer protection fees and delayed payment for sellers

[rowater82]

I first posted on this last night and received dozens (possibly more than 100 in less than 24 hours) of emails and posts on seller centre and eBay community  sharing my objection to eBay's new rip off Buyer Protection fees and delayed payment for sellers. Re: Buyer protection fees. Unilaterally imposed on all listed items including those listed by sellers before the February 4 changes. I wonder if this is illegal? It is almost certainly in breach of UK Trading Standards Laws - to unilaterally increase the price of an item, publicly advertised, days, weeks, months beforehand,  without the seller's consent. I will be seeking pro bono legal advice. And may well move to another platform. eBay's actions are despicable, motivated purely by greed. BUYERS already had protection under the previous system. I have expressed these views to an eBay rep on the phone. If eBay had tidal wave of complaints and an exodus of items - removed from sale on eBay - maybe their powers that be might see sense and abandon this rip off policy.

[specialk1937]

Maybe if ebay was subjected to stiff opposition it would have to sharpen up
its act! You can't equate their situation with supermarkets on the high
street, where everyone is in stiff competition with one another!

[papso22]

Out of interest, where could a  buyer get that for £3 without postage?

[theelench]

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@storage.boutique wrote:

The point I am making is that if you are genuinely a private seller, great. You should be aware that the heat is now on for Private Sellers and spotlights are starting to move around the field, so you should certainly be absolutely sure of your explanation as to where the goods came from that you are selling. Cast an eye down your sales list and think what it might look like to a cash hungry tax inspector and think what explanation you can give in the event of a question or two. 

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Tax Inspectors will no doubt be rubbing their hands in glee now that they have A.I to man the 'spotlights' and move them around the fields at lightning speed.  Joining up the dots for the first time in ways that could rarely have been contemplated without it.

It's about time that crooked business sellers trading on private accounts had the spotlight turned on them as HMRC tracks down the links between accounts on different sites and multiple accounts on the same site that have been safely hidden and ignored by ebay until recently.

Some business sellers have worked themselves up into a frenzy of anticipation, predicting tax investigations going back many years and huge bills for those caught out buying to sell-on at a profit on a  private account.

But let's not forget that mis-representing a business as a private individual works both ways and the evidence of any wrong-doing by businesses buying on an anonymous private account and selling on a properly registered business account will become just as obvious as trading on a private account, both are equally criminal and it's not only "private" sellers who are going to be caught out.

[jfra4705]

As I have just been ripped off by a seller I agree totally with buyer protection fee so long as you get the service not tried it yet will put in complaint tomorrow also I’m pleased the seller has not been paid. Until the customer receives the item in the condition it’s supposed to be in there should not be a payment. Unfortunately there are a few unscrupulous sellers and the public deserve to be protected should a seller send off item straight after sale in the condition stated on line will only have to wait few days for payment I don’t see the problem, if you received an item that was described as excellent then on receipt you find it was glued and broken bet you wouldn’t moan about buyer’s protection then.

[1-2sell2u]

No, but you could just start a return with "item not as described" and be
refunded. The fee is just a way of them making more money. And why is it uk
buyers have to pay a fee, hence the Rip off Britain tag.

[goodibags]

Just to clarify, the buyer fee is money paid by a buyer direct to Ebay. It never enters the seller's account and has nothing to do with the seller.

[footballgroundsfrenzybooks]

Yes, that’s my point - EBay pocket it from the we buyer! I know it’s all to
do with phasing out private sellers and tax returns etc but makes me miss
the old days. Never had issues in twenty plus years of buying and selling.

[storage.boutique]

I totally agree with you that you should expect good service and things to match the description. So please do not take this the wrong way, but you purchased an item from a Private Seller (not a business, but a hobbyist or amateur) who only sells a few things each year. You also purchased the item on eBay which has always "enjoyed" one of the worst reputations for private sellers. So, with the greatest of respect, there is an element of poor judgement on your behalf. 

I agree with you. I think eBay are absolutely correct to try clean their act up by penalising private sellers if they do not meet buyer expectations. We business sellers have to pay extra costs and often times have to manage buyer expectations based on poor previous private seller performance. 

I do hope you get the issue resolved to your satisfaction and would suggest that next time you buy something on eBay, do so from a reputable Business and not a private seller.  

[goodibags]

"next time you buy something on eBay, do so from a reputable Business and not a private seller"

No, do the opposite of that. You'll get a far better quality item that's been well-looked after (often with only one previous owner) and for only a fraction of the price from a private seller.

Remember, private sellers do NOT pay Ebay's extortionate fees (that businesses need to include in their prices) and will never seek to profit from your purchase, by definition. You know it makes sense. Just look at our prices. 😁

[theelench]

I totally agree with you, especially if you're buying collectables.  There are too many properly registered, therefore supposedly "reputable" business sellers who mis-represent themselves as private buyers to snap-up "bargains" from private sellers.  Particularly those selling off inherited items or their own or relatives collections.

Their only motivation is to turn a quick profit.  All too often know nothing about what they're selling and are quite happy to mis-represent the provenance, attribution and condition of the item to get that quick sale.  Even a quick look at other items for sale and sold items on ebay is often too much effort for them to make to ensure accuracy. 

How many times have I bought vintage glass from "reputable business sellers" only to find them skilfully photographed to omit the unmentioned chips, and scratches.  Enough to to be very wary of all "professional" sellers and to develop a preference for "amateurs" who lovingly describe the item, can actually name the Maker without resorting to multiple-choice titles such as "Bagley / Sowerby / Walther" to spam the search results and who can be bothered to interrupt their trawling of ebay's search results for more bargains, long enough to answer a request for more pictures or ones that aren't blurred.