eBay Sellers Complaining of Crackdown

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AuctionBytes Blog
News and insight focusing on
ecommerce and the online auction industry
by Ina Steiner, Editor of AuctionBytes.com

June 25, 2007

eBay Sellers Complaining of Crackdown

By: Ina Steiner

Mon June 25 2007 15:06:13

Sellers are reporting that they are being targeted by eBay for seller nonperformance ("breach of non performance policy"). While this may or may not reflect a new policy, it seems the level of enforcement has increased in the past week or so. As with other recent Trust and Safety initiatives, eBay has not announced anything about it, at least from what I can see.

Here's an example of just one of many threads about the issue.

As you can see, this seller has no telephone number to contact eBay. It appears to me that recent T&S initiatives (beginning last fall) have increased the demand for customer support, but from my understanding, capacity has not increased.

Making the site safer by cracking down on sellers sounds like a sensible idea, but eBay sellers know that unscrupulous buyers can give them unjustified negative feedback. By going purely on raw feedback, and not taking into account circumstances like deadbeat and newbie buyers, some good sellers may get caught in the net. And as usual, sellers are left wondering if eBay exempts their top sellers from such crackdowns.

I have inquiries pending, in the meantime, let me know if you have been affected by this issue by posting a comment below, or calling the AuctionBytes Hotline (see this page for the toll-free).

Comments (179) | Leave Comment | Permalink

Readers Comments

eBay Sellers Complaining of Crackdown

by: Kathy

Mon Aug 6 18:12:57 2007

Please email me at kathyscarnine@cox.net with any info about a lawsuit regarding this. It is time that we all fight back. I plan to file complaints with the FTC and with the Better Business Bureau.

eBay Sellers Complaining of Crackdown

by: mickeydeez

Thu Aug 9 02:18:25 2007

eno59,your buyers say you suck

Item took 20 days to ship and arrived DOA! This seller can suck it. Buyer:

ldsj ( 18) May-03-07 18:13
-- (#200032937056) --
BEWARE! paid 2 weeks ago, no communication, no product, NOTHING!!! RIP OFF HERE! Buyer: heelshaven ( 151)
No longer a registered user Mar-26-07 12:33
Reply by eno59 (Mar-26-07 19:30):
still in transit and takes up to 45days for what he payed for .

-- (#200034241929) --
paid for item...never recieved...45 days to get refund..Bad ebayer Buyer: giftsnmoreonline ( 122) Jan-22-07 14:57
Reply by eno59 (Jan-22-07 15:03):
https://em.canadapost.ca/emo/basicPin.do?language=en 7210029006010916 Proof
Follow-up by giftsnmoreonline (Jan-22-07 16:49):
why pay for something and refuse it...did you ever think canada post at fault !!

-- (#200047069675) --
Read before you bid, battery as-is already stated, buyer unable to read english Seller: a1electronics_wholesale ( 526) Sep-24-06 08:56
-- (#110023611652) --
Item arrived well packed but was DOA. No way of knowing exactly why. Buyer: saswork ( 20) Mar-01-03 07:04
Reply by eno59 (Mar-23-03 00:55):
They do work tested and formated . leaves feedback without emailing not good

-- (#2304591309) --
Aution didn't work out. Seller: seany2000 ( 68) Dec-06-02 11:51
Reply by eno59 (Dec-12-02 18:38):
He refused to send what I payed for . lost on the exchange rate. his fault

-- (#2059181753) --
HD never worked, e-mailed back and forth, after 2 months, now ignores me, FRAUD! Buyer: fmentone ( 21) Apr-09-02 19:53
Reply by eno59 (Dec-12-02 18:40):
Does work its an sx model need to go in the adapter and say yes to send command

-- (#1326816139)

eBay Sellers Complaining of Crackdown

by: Bob H.

Fri Aug 10 21:03:09 2007

I see that somebody else agrees with me that eno59 has eBay problems. And, in case you're wondering, I DID NOT post the comments by ''mickeydeez''. Though, when I searched on eBay's community, the only eBay user named ''mickeydeez'' came up as a long-time registered user with ZERO feedback. Of course, just because he/she used that name on this forum doesn't mean that this is the same person who is registered on eBay.

Switching back to the topic: I know that there are sellers still operational on eBay that have worse records than some sellers who have already been suspended. This just implies that eBay's ''bloodletting'' is NOT over and that the time will come for the rest of the bottom feeders to be suspended.

For example, I was contacted by a user who has a FB = 85% with detailed seller ratings of 3.5 to 4.4 out of 5. On top of that, she had 5 negatives out of the last 9 transactions. And, she wanted me to sell to her. Ha! Ha! Let me jump right on that sale!

Her listings were still active. Why is SHE still on eBay? Then again, maybe she just came out of a suspension and is trying to get her FB rating up by buying instead of selling.

Yes, she should have been dropped and probably belongs in the bottom 2%. That doesn't mean that people who are complaining about their suspensions don't also belong in the bottom 2%. Think about it, if you ARE in the bottom 2% (by whatever criteria eBay uses), then you should be dropped. Does it really matter what order they suspend the 2% in?

eBay Sellers Complaining of Crackdown

by: LAURA TRUEMAN

Fri Aug 10 22:34:53 2007

Ina ebay has no customer service whatsoever. You wait days for an email, yet they shut your site down. You ask Live Help its like the Three Stooges poking their eyes out. You tell them that people are doing chargebacks even tho they have the merchandise ... they don't care. Truthfully ebay needs to be monitored by the gov't they are out of control and as much as they would like people to think THAT they are a corporation, they don't run their organization as such.

eBay Sellers Complaining of Crackdown

by: Brent

Thu Aug 16 14:45:25 2007

I'm in the same boat with everyone else. I have over 20,000 feedback and a 98.7% score. Ebay sent me the email restricting my account saying I had over 5% negative and neutral feedback for the last 90 days.

I added it up and I actually had less than 2% negative and neutral feedback for 90 days. I couldn't talk to my gold powerseller manager because he left the company and ebay is restructuring the program so they aren't assigning new reps right now. The rep I did talk to had no idea why I was restricted, but couldn't do anything about it.

I played the game and contacted the negs and neutrals I did receive and had most removed by mutual removal. I emailed and asked for the account to be reviewed again. Guess what. I got the same form email telling me to wait 30 days and continue to resolve my issues.

Issues? What issues? I don't have a single open dispute.

eBay Sellers Complaining of Crackdown

by: Jason

Thu Aug 16 17:08:48 2007

We actually have a lawyer that has won against ebay already, and now is taking on our cases. Feel free to email me with information about your case, and I can give you the lawyers details so you can join our non continency suit.

eBay Sellers Complaining of Crackdown

by: sjj

Thu Aug 16 18:25:14 2007

Ebay has issues!
Yesterday, I received the famous email from ebay stating that I met the standards for a ''good'' seller. I also got a phone call stating that I was being put on probation for being a ''bad'' seller. ALL IN THE SAME DAY!
They don't know what they are doing.
It's a comedy of errors.

eBay Sellers Complaining of Crackdown

by: Rey

Thu Aug 16 23:47:43 2007

Ebay is doing what they THINK is appropiate , but they dont realise they are digging themselves by making many of the good sellers go somewhere else..and eventually this will have repercusions. they spect 100% from sellers but when is time to respond to the sellers concerns and questions all they do is send a canned responses which doesnt even make sence.. If we the sellers were able to rate ebay, they would have been NARU a long time ago. moreover if we had the power to fire some of the management for poor handling of the company interests I know which top management i will fire on the spot..

eBay Sellers Complaining of Crackdown

by: jsicolts

Fri Aug 17 07:59:21 2007

ebay "crackdown" is totally unfair. We are at 99% approval, yet a few OVERSEAS buyers that squeek at the postal rates and shipping has caused us to be on a THIRTY DAY restriction. We have appealed of course. It does NOT seem to effect sales and listings on HALF.COM and other sites, Alibris, Biblio.com etc.
What are they cracking down on? Sellers that DO NOT REQUEST negative feedback removal?
ji

eBay Sellers Complaining of Crackdown

by: Donna

Fri Aug 17 08:02:52 2007

I just got a notice from eBay this week that I am being limited in the number of items I can post due to a 5% dissatisfaction rate over the past 90 days. I have written to eBay to explain that the reason for my falling a little behind is that my husband passed away, but have received no response. And since his estate is in probate, I will be depending on eBay for additional funds until probate is completed. I've been a member of eBay since 1996. I have had only one eBay user name and account for all those years. I have maintained a rating during all that time which has never been--and still remains--at least 98%! My volume during the period they considered for this limitation was small, due to the personal circumstances, and yet they took this action. Ever since eBay announced that they were placing emphasis on "buyer satisfaction" a year or so ago, I've been concerned that stuff like this might start to happen. It seems that the small sellers who really got eBay started are no longer important to them. I'm very, very disappointed.

eBay Sellers Complaining of Crackdown

by: Magda

Fri Aug 17 08:39:42 2007

Who taught eBay arithmetic??? I received hundreds of positive feedbacks after having received a few negatives which brought down my rating, yet the numbers never go up again. How is that?

eBay Sellers Complaining of Crackdown

by: BC

Fri Aug 17 08:53:07 2007

Even though my feedback rating is 99.8% I have had enough of ebays crap and closed my store I am taking my selling elsewhere and to my own site. Feedback is to subjective and some of the buyers who complain about the smallest matter rather before they even contact the seller. Enough is enough for me. Ebay has just become to much of a hassle to sell on.

eBay Sellers Complaining of Crackdown

by: Cathy Cushman

Fri Aug 17 09:04:20 2007

If Ebay is going to put so much credence in buyer's feedback about seller's non-compliance, then the buyer's should have at least a 50+ feedback so they can at least have a little experience and savvy to know what in the heck they are complaining about!! Some buyers get a big ''kick'' out of joining Ebay, leaving negs for honest Ebay sellers who have worked for years to build a good reputation. The newbies ruin a good seller's reputation, close their account, and open a new one...only to jack around with another honest ebay seller. The buyer needs to show some credence in order to be even allowed to ''neg'' someone. For example, I got my firt neutral yesterday in over one year by a buyer with a feedback of 7. Why? She said I shpd her item other than Priority Mail that was stated in the auction. Guess what? It doesn't state anywhere in my auction about shipping Priority Mail. It says Standard Mail Delivery, which, by the way, saved her over $12 in shipping fees. What can I do as a seller? See what I mean? Her feed back of 7 vs mine of over 2700? Make sense? Hell, NO!

eBay Sellers Complaining of Crackdown

by: philby

Fri Aug 17 09:29:37 2007

I see that this first blog entry was June 25.
Yesterday we received a notification from e*bay that we were still sellers in good standing (oddly enough as did two other sellers I know in different countries).
Is this a pre-cursor to becoming not a seller in good standing? There are some mighty funny things going on at e*bay, like the number of high end BINs hits right on end of billing cycle by zero feedback accounts that appear to have been inactive for some years. These are BINs total in the tens of thousands of dollars just via a cursory search. Now while one can and does claim back the final value fee, it is only a credit and they still have your money.
Unrelated issue? I don't think so. Don't believe me? Do a check on completed items across several cats and have a look. Many of these disappear within a couple of days like they never existed as completed items.
I think there are many serious problems with the site, and what we are seeing is damage control of a kind to keep that share price up.
The issue, as has always been the issue, is that while they implement many new ideas for ''buyer safety'' they are all at expense of ''seller protection'' as well.
No wonder so many sellers have left in large numbers. This latest tactic, lack of customer support and ruthless attitude to sellers small, medium and large will impact further.
They have forgotten something really basic. The less sellers who have ethics, and will depart because of unfair treatment, the less buyers will come to the site.
The novelty value is off e*bay. As soon as the name became a verb, and it just became another part of life, the chrome came off the knob.
ENRON PART DEUX on the horizon?

eBay Sellers Complaining of Crackdown

by: DD

Fri Aug 17 09:47:50 2007

I was a victim of this about a year ago, long before eBay's new policy. I had basically stopped selling on my account with feedback rating over 2,000, 99.6% positive. I ran 7 auctions for ''around the house'' clutter, and 3 were won by the same non-paying bidder with a feedback of ''1''. He wanted to send a check, and I clearly said I would accept Paypal and money orders, but no checks. Long story short, I decided to accept the check with a 5 day wait after I received it. 3 weeks later, no check came, and I kept getting emails threatening negative feedback, so I filed a NPB complaint. The next morning, he had left me negative feedback for all 3 items. The check never came, so 2 weeks later I pulled up the NPB dispute and saw he responded that the check was mailed (though he could walk on water before he proved it had cleared.) I closed the dispute, got my FVF credit, and he emailed eBay and had his NPB strikes removed??? I emailed eBay, and they told me since he responded to the NPB dispute his feedback would not be removed. What a crock! A year later, I am still PO'd about this result. A week later, I signed in to place a bid and found out my account was suspended for seller non-performance. This jerk filed a complaint on ME, and then I was required to try to contact the 5 other buyers out of over 2,000 that left negative feedback, and have them write a letter to eBay explaining that the problem was corrected. The last negative before this A-hole was over a year before, and I had to get in touch with them? I called the old Powerseller support number I had, and gave them total hell in trust and safety when they told me it was my fault for screwing up the transaction. Well, the account is still suspended.

My question for the almighty eBay is this... eBay seller ''bargainland'' has a 93% positive rating, including neg/neutrals, over the past 30 days. Total feedback is 90.4% positive. This is a seller that truly hurts the buyer experience, but continues to sell on eBay? If I had been paying for 3,000+ weekly auctions, then FVF added, over $50,000 in monthly fees, would I have been suspended?

eBay Sellers Complaining of Crackdown

by: philby

Fri Aug 17 09:50:28 2007

QUOTE:
Who taught e*ay arithmetic??? I received hundreds of positive feedbacks after having received a few negatives which brought down my rating, yet the numbers never go up again. How is that? UNQUOTE

Because their dumb system works like this... if you get a couple of negs early in your selling days when you only have a few feedbacks, it lowers your percentage. It never recovers. The reverse is true for seller who started long before the % BS and has several thousand feedbacks, and several hundred negs and shows a percentage of 99.7%.
That e*bay really thinks that most buyers have any clue as to how to honestly fill in that star rating system just indicates that they have no clue just how low the lowest common denominator is out there.
Ms Cushman's comments above are right on the money, too.

eBay Sellers Complaining of Crackdown

by: cam

Fri Aug 17 09:55:05 2007

A policy that prohibits sellers from earning a living has got to have redress. This policy has a large impact on new sellers. You cannot have a blanket policy based upon metrics without taking sampling size into account. For example, a new seller with 10 positives and 1 neutral falls into this ''net'', and new sellers are the ones most likely to make a ''newbie'' mistake (delayed shipping, overcharging no shipping, bad packaging, etc).

This is just one problem with this system. Others include the decimation of the feedback system. eBay should just eliminate feedback for buyers. A seller should never ever ever now leave negative feedback for fear of retribution because the weight is now strictly on the seller. There are sellers who will always end up getting more negatives than others - driving certain segments totally off eBay (liquidation sellers for instance).

Instead of giving ''bad'' sellers a hand up, they are met with retribution, and I for one, am tired of eBays attitude that sellers are a dime a dozen. Go back to old feedback and see the number of sellers no longer selling. This program could have been a postive - A phone call, webinars, workshops for sellers not meeting the standards, instead the first ''method'' of improving buyer satisfaction is suspension. Is it any wonder that so many sellers dream of getting off eBay? Getting their own website, customer list, store and saying good bye eBay??

I've never been a customer of a company that has so little respect for its clients.

eBay Sellers Complaining of Crackdown

by: fly

Fri Aug 17 10:08:49 2007

I like the idea as too many people have been ripped off by terrible eBay sellers. One question though for eBay: If they see a neutral as a buyer having a very bad experience, why not just get rid of that option? That way if the buyer really is upset, they will leave a negative and then as a seller we know they are seriously upset. They aren't going to know their neutral is affecting us like a negative and if they did, they likely wouldn't leave it or would contact the seller first.

eBay Sellers Complaining of Crackdown

by: ashley

Fri Aug 17 10:32:08 2007

Ebay has become a hot bed of scammers. Remember the book that exposed the paypal SNAD policy that enables buyers to get things free?
How long before the buyers catch on that they can blackmail you with the threat of a negative and possible shut down your business if you do not allow them to steal your merchandise.
I noticed Ebay's 3rd largest seller Bargainland, Who had horrible feedback, has just opened their own site. They seem to have no shortage of customers either. According to their forum page, they will be allowing outside sellers on their site in the near future. I just wonder if more of the huge sellers leave Ebay, will this impact Ebay's future policies on limitations?

eBay Sellers Complaining of Crackdown

by: Pat

Fri Aug 17 11:00:45 2007

I've just read about this new policy on Ebay, my wife and I have been selling on Ebay for about 7 years. Our feedback rating is 99.9% positive. Most of the 6 negative comments we have came about when Ebay integrated the feedback from Half.com with our feedback from Ebay. And all of it is from deadbeat buyers who left it just because they thought it would hurt us personally. My question for Ebay now is do they actually look at the feedback comments to make their determination of whether a seller is ''non performing''? We recently received a neutral feedback for some thing and the written comment was ''great seller, fast shipping! completely satisfied!'' We are not sure if this person meant to leave this a neutral or did they accidently hit the wrong button? I can see where this could be a problem for us if more people start doing this sort of thing. I hope (and pray) that Ebay actually looks at comments left rather than just the numbers, it will certainly make a lot of difference.

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