Ebay sinking to new lows!

[mk1]

Having been an enthusiastic ebay user since 1999, I have noticed how it's "improvements" over the years have rarely made it better & have usually made it worse.

Now they have sunk to an all time low.

I bid on an item (Non Mini) at the weekend, it wasn't particularly well listed & I was fairly hopeful of a good result. I won the auction on Friday night for £255 (about £20 less than my maximum bid). Needless to say I was very pleased as the notification landed. As it was late at night, I left it at that & decided to pay in the morning, only to find that the auction had been cancelled by ebay for an undisclosed listing violation.

I contacted the seller who was as nonplussed as I. Now, a couple of days later & after the seller having spent hours trying to speak to ebay "customer support", it transpires that the auction was cancelled by ebay because EBAY didn't think it made the "market price"!

IT'S A Fricken AUCTION! That's exactly how the auction system works. Put something up for bid & the highest bidder wins.

Well not on ebay it isn't.

They have also told him that if he lists it again with a 99p start & an open auction, it will probably happen again. They did suggest listing at the closing bid (my winning bid) with a buy it now price, of twice as much!

THIS SIMPLY CAN'T BE RIGHT! It now looks like Ebay are fixing the selling prices of auctions on their site.

[Nick W]

Lost for words...that's got to be wrong surely

[gazza82]

They are also providing seller's data to HMRC ....

[johnv]

So, just say, that in the description it stated that there was a bit missing, or a scratch somewhere, eBay's software would pick that up somehow would they, and adjust their expectations accordingly? It's mad, like everything, the programmers are bored and just adding bits on as they think of them. Facebook's the same, throwing in a load of ill thought out unnecessary 'features' which are gradually rendering it unusable. As for X

[Ronnie]

Surely this is one for trading standards An auction is an auction fall of the hammer it is yours, also starting at 99p can bring in a lot of bidders.

[Andrew1967]

In all the years of using eBay, I've never heard of that Mark !!!!

[Old English White]

The whole point of ebay used to be that it was an auction site didn't it - where sometimes you could pick up a bargain? If you no longer can, then what's the point of it?
Ebay does seem to have gone downhill recently. I won an auction myself before Christmas. Paid for the item immediately and received an email several days later to say that it would be delivered later that day. My wife and I were both at home. A few hours later we received another email to say the parcel had been successfully delivered. We had never seen it - or any delivery driver or van and our doorbell or telephone had never rung. I went outside and had a good look around. Nothing. Checked the tracking email I'd received and there was a "proof of delivery" photo of a parcel outside a front door. It is nothing like our front door and has no visible street number so I contacted the seller to inform him, attaching a photo of my own front door. He was apologetic, agreeing that the parcel had obviously been wrongly delivered and said he would contact ebay and that I should file for a non-delivery as he'd done everything suggested by them including using their recommended tracked delivery.
So far....... Ebay have assured the seller that he has done everything that can be expected of him so he owes me nothing and have told me that they owe me nothing as they have received "proof of delivery" from the courier. I appealed against this, pointing out that the delivery photo shows that the parcel was not delivered to my address but ebay say that is all that is required. The order was only for about £25.00 so it isn't worth a lot of chasing. I've already spent hours.......

[swifty]

I had similar experience to that but with Royal Mail . If Royal Mail delivers to the wrong address but puts up on their website that you have received the item , then it negates you being able to claim from PayPal or your credit card company . I was lucky when this occurred as the purchase was from somerford who posted me out another item . When I informed my postman who I have known for many years he managed to trace exactly where my parcel was delivered to and six weeks later an apology from Royal Mail . It was then up to somerford mini to make a claim … Shirley

[Polarsilver]

Had a look on Companys House .. E-Bay UK have 25 Officers & there have been 22 Resignations.. can agree their senior employee resignations are spread over a number of years but even so .

[Arctic Circle]

I have a black belt in ebay, luckily 99.9% of the deals have gone well. But then there have been the few other times... Customer support? What a joke! It was better back in the day, now they have hidden behind a digital wall. And unattainable. In the same way as their intermediary for foreign shipment (ebay global shipping) named Pitney & Bowes! Did I reach for them for type of heavy rag shaking. So generally in the world, prices go up and service goes down for the big companies...

[wantafaster1]

Sounds a bit like eBay are price fixing just to get more commission

[Exminiman]

……are you sure it wasn’ t the seller cancelling the auction because they didn’t think it had hit market price ?

I say this because I have had this, the comment was “ you dont think I am selling it at that price do you? “ …..in an auction.

[mk1]

In all the years of using eBay, I've never heard of that Mark !!!!

Nor had I until yesterday!

[mk1]

……are you sure it wasn’ t the seller cancelling the auction because they didn’t think it had hit market price ?

I say this because I have had this, the comment was “ you dont think I am selling it at that price do you? “ …..in an auction.

No, that is certainly NOT the case. The seller was happy with the price, but couldn't complete because it was cancelled for a "Listing Violation". TBH, my first thought was what you suggest, but upon closer examination, it was certainly cancelled by ebay themselves.

M

[Spider]

I used it for a couple of years around 2010-ish.

It pissed me right off how non-transparent it all was, very poor communication and frankly, while I don't object to paying fees, there's were just out of hand - even at that time. There's WAY too many restrictions of how it can be used - it's a long long way from what I think of as a 'free market' (as in not free to buy or sell how those involved would like).

Since probably 2012 I have largely ignored ebay. If I do a search for a product, I usually skip over the ebay ones, though, sometimes I might look there, but only for research, buying through another supplier - nearly always cheaper than the ebay listing, or sometimes from who it was that listed with ebay, but never transacting through them.

I see their move to cancel the transaction you had Mark on those terms as only their grab for more cash out of the deal. They are forever more putting their hands deeper and deeper in to our pockets - and for what ? To make a headfuck out what should be straightforward.

Ebay - Sleazebay - have just become far too wealthy - greed pigs quite frankly. Just boycot them. We all survived nicely before they ever reared their ugly head and I'd done just fine without them.

[mk1]

This is the text of the message I received, as you can see, the seller is as perplexed as I am.

Just been on the phone for 40 mins speaking to an eBay agent!
Can you believe this, 'policy violation flagged as item didn't reach true market value'
I genuinely didn't know true value, that was my reason for an auction! They suggested relisting with buy it now and best offer. They also said if I relist the same ie. no reserve and 99p it could happen again,
couldn't explain reason why, probably eBay percentage cut not enough from £255.
Unable to relist right now as item disappeared with all my photos!
Prices vary, the most I've seen is £950 with best offer but that's been on eBay for about 4 months.
I will get it back on soon.

[Exminiman]

How bizarre, makes you wonder what their logic is...maybe they think part of the deal is happening outside of the platform, and they are missing out...? or could it be they are worried about being used to launder money ?

Either way, to use a an algorithm to decide what something should be sold for in on an auction site, is just another nail in their coffin.

[mini_surfari]

I'd just say to the bloke lets do a deal outside ebay then... pay through paypal with protection, the guy avoids large ebay fees, and you get the item at the agreed price.

[mk1]

I'd just say to the bloke lets do a deal outside ebay then... pay through paypal with protection, the guy avoids large ebay fees, and you get the item at the agreed price.

That crossed my mind, but getting messages like that over the ebay message system can be tricky, ebay often block them. M

[Hipwell]

Never heard of this before either. TBH rarely, if ever sell via auction now, it seems to have become more of a shop front than an auction site.