Crooked Ebay Seller

[Hankphenom]

It's bad enough (for bidders) and for eBay's business, I would think, that they allow sellers to pull their listing after bidding has started and make a deal offsite. I hate that, and it shouldn't be allowed, IMO. But to think they would countenance cancelling a completed transaction so the seller can make an offsite deal, that's just nuts.

[thecatspajamas]

I think you are mistaken if you are thinking that eBay would ever condone pulling a listing and selling the item off-site. They have wording all in their rules and regulations prohibiting such a thing. The problem is that unscrupulous sellers don't pay attention to the rules. And eBay has to allow for sellers to pull listings in which they have legitimately made a mistake, which is what unscrupulous sellers will say happened when they go to end a listing early. (There is no check box when you're ending a listing early for "I want to sell it to someone else for more money").

Ebay can't possibly investigate every item that is pulled because "there was an error in the description" to see if that is a legit excuse, but they may take action if you report the seller for trying to jack up the price on you after the fact like this. You just have to be sure and emphasize how this is costing eBay money, because that is their main concern. Stories like this are the ones that make potential new eBay users shy away from using the site, and eBay doesn't like losing money or bad publicity.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by thecatspajamas

Stories like this are the ones that make potential new eBay users shy away from using the site, and eBay doesn't like losing money or bad publicity.

That's my point. eBay should make it a rare exception for a seller to end an auction early, with some process to make them show what the error was that they didn't catch before they finalized the listing. As it is now, this practice is all too routine.

You really don't think eBay knows what's going on? Of course they do, but they've clearly decided it's better to let bidders get pissed off by the practice than to piss off sellers by trying to do something about it. Sellers pay the bills, the way they must look at it.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

That's my point. eBay should make it a rare exception for a seller to end an auction early, with some process to make them show what the error was that they didn't catch before they finalized the listing. As it is now, this practice is all too routine.

You really don't think eBay knows what's going on? Of course they do, but they've clearly decided it's better to let bidders get pissed off by the practice than to piss off sellers by trying to do something about it. Sellers pay the bills, the way they must look at it.

If you report it and there's proof of refusing to complete the sale they will do something about it. I don't know if it takes a few complaints or only one serious one, but they do suspend sellers for not completing a sale. The guy I had back out sent the info in an email through their system, and when I asked if they wanted me to forward the email to them they said I didn't have to and that not only could they see it, they were looking at it while we spoke. That seller ended up being suspended and so far hasn't returned, at least under the same name.

Steve B

[thecatspajamas]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

That's my point. eBay should make it a rare exception for a seller to end an auction early, with some process to make them show what the error was that they didn't catch before they finalized the listing. As it is now, this practice is all too routine.

They have to have some way for sellers to cancel a listing if they have made a gross error. And as long as there is a way to cancel a listing, unscrupulous sellers will jump through whatever series of hoops eBay has set up to do so if it means making an extra buck or two. There is no way eBay is going to hire people to sift through a bunch of claims to "show what the error was that they didn't catch." EVERYTHING with eBay is routine, as it has to be with the kind of volume of listings they are dealing with.

Also you should know that there are no eBay detectives on staff, out there hunting through the millions of listings to sniff out crooks and their dirty dealings before they have a chance to strike unfortunate buyers. There are a few instances where a company has someone on staff that will browse eBay listings looking for counterfeits or forgeries of their employers' stuff and then report those to eBay for them to act on (try selling a bootleg Disney Song of the South DVD or unlicensed KISS memorabilia and you'll see what I mean). Otherwise, you have to report bad stuff to eBay yourself for them to do anything about it (like a "citizen's arrest"). It may take several reports on the same seller, or incontrovertible evidence of the seller's guilt, but they will (sometimes) boot them. And it seems like cases like this where the seller is skating their way around eBay fees are the ones most likely to get them booted. The thing to remember is that it is much much much harder (and more expensive) to prevent or catch these things before they happen than it is to react to the situation after the fact. Just being realistic here.

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

You really don't think eBay knows what's going on? Of course they do, but they've clearly decided it's better to let bidders get pissed off by the practice than to piss off sellers by trying to do something about it. Sellers pay the bills, the way they must look at it.

As a regular seller on eBay, I can guarantee you that they do cater more to the buyers than the sellers. Sellers do pay the bills, but if there are no buyers, nobody gets paid. Ebay knows they are the best site in town as far as general exposure, ease of access, and getting more eyes on your stuff, and they also know just how far they can push sellers without driving them away (mostly by repeatedly testing their boundaries). I would say 90-95% of the time if there is a dispute between the buyer and the seller, eBay will side with the buyer unless the seller has rock solid evidence (like a tracking number with signature, and even that isn't guaranteed).

[Hankphenom]

Good points made by all. But my bottom line is still this: I've seen way too many auctions of great stuff end early to think that all but a few were done in response to errors in listings rather than to an offsite offer the seller thought he couldn't refuse. As for policing this practice, how about at least making the seller state what the error in the listing was? Is that too much to ask?

[thecatspajamas]

(deleted duplicate post)

[thecatspajamas]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

I've seen way too many auctions of great stuff end early to think that all but a few were done in response to errors in listings rather than to an offsite offer the seller thought he couldn't refuse. As for policing this practice, how about at least making the seller state what the error in the listing was? Is that too much to ask?

I'm not disputing that. I'm just saying that eBay can't completely do away with a seller's ability to end a listing early for legitimate reasons. And as long as there is a way to end a listing early, there will be people who abuse it. Making the seller type out what the supposed error was won't stop crooks from ending their listings early for profit any more than having them check a box next to a generic reason (current method) does. You're not being a very good crook if you can't lie on a form question...

So I guess my point is that you shouldn't get pissed at eBay when crooks abuse their system. There are plenty of other reasons to get pissed at eBay, and I for one am glad that this is one instance where they haven't completely tied all sellers' hands in order to thwart a few crooks. They tend to do their fly-hunting with shotguns rather than chopsticks

And just to be clear, I do not have any affiliation with eBay other than the usual buying/selling. I do not end auctions early to sell an item outright, no matter how ridiculous the offer, but I have ended listings with gross errors in the description on a number of occasions. It happens. If it's a minor error, I'll add a note to the listing and double-check with the winner to be sure they still want the item, but if it's a major error, I have found that it's usually better to just go ahead and end it, fix the mistake, and let any bidders know when it will be relisted (correctly).

[Hankphenom]

...and like other organizations I depend on, no reason be shy about pointing out flaws as I see them and recommending fixes. I love you sellers, too, by the way, and want all of you to be very, very, happy, so you'll keep doing what you do.