I have never lost “big bucks” like some of you do, but I do have some useful insights that may help all of you.

First of all, eBay email support is USELESS. Those people LITERALLY copy/paste the help documentation and email it to you. They don’t know anything and will NOT help you. Any thing happens, CALL.

2nd, be EXTRA, EXTRA careful when buying internationally, ESPECIALLY name brand items. You need to understand that most countries in Asia and Europe have MUCH HIGHER import tax than the USA. So why does it make sense when an iphone is being sold for $200 in China — because it’s most likely a FAKE! Authentic iPhones go for ver $1200 Us Dollars in China due to import restrictions and tax. Similar reasoning applies designer apparels. Do you know a Louis Vuitton bag cost MORE in France than it is in the USA because of the VAT? Don’t be fooled. 

3rd, but not the last, try to stay away from sellers that ships via a method that can’t be tracked online. If there are shipping upgrades, DO IT, if the item is expensive! What’s the extra 10 or 20 bucks to you when you are putting hundreds of dollars on jeopardy? If you can’t afford the shipping upgrades then DON’T BUY.

Lastly, open a CASE as soon as you smell something fishy, and ALWAYS within 30 days, especially if they still owe you a tracking number. If the seller’s Estimate date of delivery goes over 30 days, DON’T BUY. This is the most important rule of all rules. Doesn’t matter what games the sellers are playing — open a case as soon as you can — don’t wait!

Hope this helps~

I have a bad experience with eBay purchasing. I bought several items from eBay seller ryesun , when I received them I found they are not as good as described. So I asked to return them and shipped back by insured mail. The seller received it and physically disappeared. I tried to complain with eBay and they asked me to give a tracking number. I do not have it while I got a dilivery confirmation from usps. eBay people said they cannot accept it so I lost my money. Here I would like to say,

Ryesun, you bad people, you are going to get punished since you are such a liar and bad person;

eBay, you help bad person stealing from others, you fucking suck.

Can anyone tell me why Paypal cannot send a simple statement of their fees monthly like ebay does?  They make it so difficult to calculate their percentages.  If someone knew how much Paypal and Ebay get, they would have second thoughts on whether or not to list items with their services.  Does anyone know of an alternative to ebay to sell items?  Not happy with ebay or Paypal but feel trapped.

Hello dear Reader,

I got robbed on the eBay. Please read so you don’t get in the same situation I did. That’s how it happened:

I purchased an IPhone in February. It was a good deal, except it was going to be shipped from China, so the delivery date was two months. After about 52 days, I logged in eBay and saw that the seller I purchased from is “no longer registered on eBay”, and I could not access the listing of the item. Therefore, I called eBay to clarify what is going on. Here is our conversation:

-Hello customer support representative, what is going on with my purchase?

- Hello, dear eBay customer, the user is no longer registered on eBay, but if you don’t get the item by the last date of estimate delivery time, you will at least get you money back.

-OK, cool, thank you very much.

I did not get the item, so I tried to open a case. IT WOULD NOT LET ME DO IT. So I called eBay and told them what happened, and they told me that THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO, because it has been more than 45 days since the purchase of the item. “We are sorry, but you lost your money”- is basically what they told me.

1)   EBay let the seller specify such a long delivery date(!) and they tell me I will not get the item back

2)   However, that is not the biggest thing. I told them about my conversation a week ago, and how eBay C.S. representative said that I would get my money back. “If that is what we told you, we will stand by our promise. Let us investigate and you will receive   an e-mail tomorrow” – told me C.S. representative.

It took them 4 days. First of all, they deleted all the information regarding the item from my account. Nevertheless, I would call them everyday and ask about the progress. Everyday they would transfer me several times and tell me either “The person you spoke to is not at work” or “We need more time.” Finally, after 4 days, I got the final response.

-Hello dear eBay, how is my thing going?

-Hello, we are sorry there is nothing we can do.

- But you told me that you would stand by your promise and give me my money back!

- We are sorry. I can’t access the listing because it got deleted.

- Why did you delete it?

- There are many reasons why listing can be deleted (No Fuck!)

- Well that’s interesting. What about all that investigation stuff?

- What investigation stuff? There is no note on your account about any of this.

- No note? I called everyday during the week and there is no note about me???

- Yes.

- Than pull out the history of my calls and look for people I spoke to!

- Do you remember the name of a person you spoke to?

- Yeah sure, I keep a special book to record the names of all C.S. representatives I talk to.

- We are sorry, there is nothing we can do. First of all, there is nothing we can do because the listing got deleted(!). Secondly, there is no note about that on your account. Thirdly, we cannot pull out the history of your calls.

- Well, that is fucking great. Fuck you eBay. First you promise I will get my money back; than you say I will not get my money back, but if you said would get my money back you will stand by your promise; now you can not find any information on my account about me contacting you. Is that correct?

- Yes sir, that is correct. We understood that we fucked up and it was easier for us to delete everything than be an honest company. We don’t care about our customers, all we want is to get money from you. We are not even going to bother to record this situation so we can work on it and make sure it is not going to happen again. Is there anything else we can help you with?

- Go fuck yourself.

So this is my story. Since eBay did not care to do anything about it, it can happen again to anyone who is not careful. It does not have to do anything with the long delivery date; the fact is, for eBay, it is normal to cover their mistakes at the expense of their byers. For eBay, customer is nothing but a piece of shit with a credit card number. I am a student who works hard to get his education; I worked for this money the whole previous year. I dreamed to develop apps for IPhone and be able to show them to my friends; eBay destroyed my dream. EBay deserves to be destroyed.

P.S. I did some more research, and I was able to find the bustard that stole my money. Here is his Facebook profile:

https://www.facebook.com/GoTToAG

If that article evoked any emotion from you, please express it by writing him a message. Let him know what a bustard he is. If he blocks his profile, I have all of his information stored on my computer.

P.S.S If you, Paulos Fentorouk, read this, know that I will tell every your friend, your girlfriend, your family, what a disgusting creature you are. I know where you live, and I promise you, I will not forget that you stole money from me.

Believe it or not, eBay is enacting a new program that is meant to make you a better seller.

Check this out:

the buyer pays for the item immediately. eBay KEEPS THE MONEY until you provide a shipping number and they can prove it’s been shipped to the buyer, only THEN do you receive the payment.

As I was told on the phone by a supposed eBay supervisor, you can have a lean on your payPal account for the cost of shipping, but you can’t have the money until FIVE DAYS AFTER IT HAS PROVEN SHIPPED.

So you come out of pocket to ship it, the buyer says they never received it, then they refuse to give you the money - EVEN WHEN IT WAS PROVEN SHIPPED!!!

See my above entry, 7 months after the time was PROVEN SHIPPED, they took 22 dollars out of my account because the buyer said they didn’t get the time that was TRACKED TO THEIR FRONT DOOR!

So eBay now runs on an IOU system. You have to send the time, at your cost, and we will give it to you somewhere down the road. The eBay Police are in FULL EFFECT! 

FUCK YOU EBAY!!!

You may have read about how eBay booted me off last year, claiming i was bootlegging my own items, ones MY COMPANY MAKES!!!

Well, here goes another loopy tale from that account.

Last August I sold an item to a guy in the UK. It was paid and tracked through eBay, THEY HAVE THE TRACKING INFO RIGHT THERE IN THEIR OWN PAYPAL!!!

This was 7 months ago.

They just sent me an email claiming the buyer never received the item and they are going to take 22 dollars from my PayPal to cover his expenses.

REALLY?!?

They claim i can’t provide the tracking number, IT’S IN THE SALE!! IT’S CLEARLY VISIBLE …… wait …..

EBAY DELETED ALL THE SALES FROM THAT ACCOUNT. So maybe I can’t prove that it was shipped, as there is a tracking number in the order.

FUNNY, IT HAS ALSO BEEN DELETED FROM THE PAYPAL ACCOUNT LISTINGS …. BUT WAIT - I HAVE A PRINTED RECEIPT PROVING THE NUMBER.

Sorry sir, providing that number doesn’t mean anything after 7 months, therefore, we side with the buyer who received the item 7 months ago, and even though you CAN prove it, we don’t care.

FUCK YOU EBAY!!!

Remember, they will prey on you months later, figuring that you haven’t got the time to argue over 20 bucks - and they do it to ten million people annually - THAT’S MILLION AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS THEY ARE ROBBING FROM YOU!!!!

SCREW EBAY!!!!! 

I have been trying to figure out selling on Ebay for over a year now (I’ve bought and sold since 2004, but over the last year I’ve tried to build a competitive Ebay store.) I am currently nearing the 2000 items listed mark in my store. I have tried doing everything Ebay has in their policies. I have never had any problems with domestic buyers other than a couple that failed to read the description. Even then, at the time I didn’t offer a return policy, but did allow a few unhappy people with buyers remorse because they failed to read the description to return the item for a refund (I know that even though I did nothing wrong, had I not made them happy, they would attack my DSR rating, which a few did anyways) I have always shipped items the next business day, many the same businss day if payment was received by noon. I then started running into item not received cases from international buyers, all from China and Russia. 65% of my total sales come from international buyers. Due to the fact that I was offering USPS first class international shipping, most buyers chose this shipping service, because it is the most economical, and of course no tracking number whatsoever. I figured surely if Ebay allows sellers to offer the service to their buyers, Ebay would surely stand behind a seller if they have proof of shipment. It’s not like it’s the only international shipping option I give buyers, I offer all 3 USPS international services on all of my items, and the buyer is the one that choses the way they want it shipped. So how could it possibly be my fault if a buyer doesn’t get their item in 2 weeks when they chose a delivery service with 4-6 week delivery timeframe? I found out real quick. A buyer in China purchased an item, waited 6 days to pay for it, and it shipped the same day as he paid… first class international. 1 week after it shipped he opened an item not received case against me. Well I was sure I had no worries, I had proof of shipping, hell the label was even printed through Ebay as all of my shipping labels are. Well I found out real quick, that Ebay is indeed 99% for the buyer. It took them no time to decide in the buyers favor and issue them a refund. Now the customer has my money, items, and of course Ebay and paypal still have their cut. (Doing things like this has got to make Ebay and paypal accessories to fraud, because anyone with a brain could do the math, and know its rediculous to be able to open an item not received case in 1 week, and I thought they had to wait 30 days to be able to do so, I guess not) I called, played phone tag, and ultimately was told that if I did not have a tracking number, I would lose 100% of these type cases. So I spent 2 months trying a different approach. I decided to revise all of my items, and only offer international shipping using only service that provides a tracking number. My international sales dramatically declined in these 2 months (about 90% decrease) so I decided is was worth more to me to offer the first class international sales, and issue a refund here and there for something that’s not my fault, but this approach would still be more valuable to me than not have any sales at all. I also decided that my 2 problem countries, China and russia, if the buyer paid for first class international shipping, I would still ship it priority with tracking and eat the difference in cost myself, as paying $15 for shipping out of my pocket is better than refunding buyers $200-$300 and lose my item. A buyer from Russia purchased two items from my store and paid for them the next day. Of course they chose first class international mail, and I shipped it priority mail international with a tracking number and insurance, and the label was printed and package was shipped 2 hours after they paid. 3 weeks later I get a message saying the buyer has filed an item not received claim, and the funds for the 2 items have been placed on hold. Well I wasn’t going to back down, I did everything Ebay has told me I needed to do and the buyer lied in the claim he filed, saying that he contacted me several times through a message, and that I never responded. Well I figured that knowing that the buyer never contacted me through Ebay, and surely Ebay would see that there was indeed no communication from the buyer as he stated, I was wrong again. The case was decided in the buyers favor. He then leaves negative feedback for both items, stating that they never shipped. Now how could he say such a thing, when the label was printed through Ebay, paid for through Ebay, and tracking information attached to both items as well as a message letting him know his item has shipped. I had never had negative feedback to this point and am a toprated seller, both domestic and global. I figured the only thing I could do to defend myself to his negative feedback with a lie stating that the item never shipped, was follow up to his feedback stating item shipped the same day paid, included the tracking number, and that the items were stuck in Russian customs. After researching ebay feedback policies, I seen a section when Ebay will remove feedback. One line stated that negative or neutral feedback left due to customs delays can be removed by Ebay. So now I am excited because surely I can call and have this negative feedback removed according to their policies. I call and 2 hours again of talking to someone, and just going in circles, I want to speak to a supervisor. Finally speak to a supervisor, who told me I was wrong and the only way I can have the feedback removed is to have the buyer agree to it. I argued their own policies, but was basically told I was stupid and didn’t know what I was talking about. I know for a fact that all they do is read over and over from a book or something, because at one point this supervisor lost their place in a sentence, and acutally started the sentence over with the exact same words. Already furious over Ebay’s lack of respect for their sellers, and how they let us be abused, I get a message from ebay saying I was in violation of their feedback abuse policy, and my policy compliance was hit. This is how the message from Ebay read:

Because the text of the following Feedback comment contains another member’s contact information, it is in violation of the eBay Feedback, Withdrawal, and Removal policy.

shipped SAME day paid tracking # CQ689540399US stuck in russian customs

—-About the eBay Feedback Abuse, Withdrawal, and Removal Policy—-
For information on Feedback abuse, please go to:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/feedback-abuse-withdrawal.html

We understand that you may have been unaware of this eBay policy, and we invite you to learn about how to keep your experiences on eBay pleasant and successful.

If you have questions, please contact us:
http://contact.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?customersupport&Query=I%20want%20to%20learn%20more%20about%20feedback&Domain=Homer_FB&From=37343

Thanks,

eBay

Please don’t reply to this message. It was sent from an address that doesn’t accept incoming email.

I put a line through, and bold set the comment they removed that I left to defend myself and my reputation. They say it contains another members “contact information” I can’t believe this. How they get their contact information out of that statement is beyond me. I now am finding myself searching other options to sell to do away with Ebay. I am tired of being a puppet on a string, getting dunked in the water by Ebay and Paypal, just to see how long they can hold me under before I drown. Ebay and Paypal are evil, and care no further than the lining on their own pockets. I long to see the day someone has the means and the funds to open a competing website, run it similar to Ebay and take away most of their flaws, and that alone will be the death of Ebay, so until that day, yeah, FUCK YOU EBAY

About a year and a half ago, my paypal account surprised me with a “random security check” after logging in to check if a payment had cleared. I went through the security check, which then asked me to update my password. WTF?! Anyway, about a week later i get the same “random security check” and again my password needs to be changed. By this time im pretty pissed off, but i got over it and changed it and move on. Anyway, a few months later, i sell a phone on ebay and im hitting the buyer up with emails asking why they haven’t paid, and they keep telling me they have and that the payment was sent nearly a week ago. So i email eBay and paypal to find out whats going on, and they tell me that the payment was indeed received a week ago, but it was sent to an email address i haven’t used in nearly 7 years! This email address was the first email address i used to create my ebay / paypal accounts, and shortly after, i had changed it and not used it since. I asked WTF was going on, and asked why after all the bloody “random security checks” i get screwed over with this bullshit. They couldnt help of course told me i need to clear my cache and cookies more often… Um WTF?! Let me explain what was happening. When you sell an item, you define what payment options you want to provide, and type in your paypal email address. For me, this address has remained the same for many years and i’ve never changed it, but when i checked the details for the listing for the phone, it had my old and unused email address (i cant even access it) listed for my paypal account.  Um.. excuse me, your telling me that cookies and cache data on a computer i owned 7 years ago has somehow managed to get onto my current machine and is being accessed by ebay and paypal for paymnet instructions?! What the unholy fuck shit is that all about?! The final straw: About 8 months ago, i created an ad to list my camera for sale on ebay. I initially listed it with a fixed price, but the final sale fees were too high. I tried an auction with a reserve, but the fees were still too high. So i tried an auction with no reserve, but i was not comfortable with selling it, knowing it may not reach my desired sale price. In the end i decided to check out a classified listing, and was quite surprised to see that on the final page, it said my fees so far were $0 and there was no final value fee if my item sold. I was pretty happy with this, and never thought any more about it. There were no image fees or listing fees of any kind, and unlike my earlier attempts, it did not display a final value fee if my item sold. Whoo Hoo, i was finally able to list my item with not only low fees, but magically it was listed with NO FEES!!  Of course, this all went to shit when about a month or so later, i get an email saying my fees are due. I checked it out and i noticed that i incurred a fee higher then i would have got if i listed it with as a fixed price listing. I contacted eBay and asked why i was charged fees when the final ‘review listing’ page showed no fees at all, and they simply said there were still final value fees that apply. I told them that it was absolutely misleading and by law, eBay should be required to display all fees associated with an ad, regardless of whether it sells or not, before you click “list my item”. They didn’t reply, and to my horror, i received an email a few weeks later informing me that my fees had been paid via an “e cheque”. I have no idea what the fuck an “e cheque” is, or how it was used to pay my fees, but the payment was taken from my bank account which is used for online purchases only, which never has any money in it, causing it to be overdrawn, hitting me with more fees. I have not used ebay since for buying or selling and i’m doubtful i will ever buy again, but i can be damn sure i will never sell again. Fuck you ebay you scumfucks.

I opened an easy account a week ago. My first one. I am stuck in a bad contract with Verizon with a POS phone. Checked out eBay for an IPhone and saw a listing I wanted to bid on. I bid, I won. Excellent. I had a few days earlier created my first Paypal account. I paid through PayPal. Sweet! Just got to wait for the item to ship now. PayPal says because I used bank account instead of credit card I need to wait for the payment to clear. Emailed seller and advised of this.she is cool with a couple days wait. That took 5 days. Payment cleared so I should receive iPhone soon. I wake up this morning to an email saying my eBay account is indefinitely suspended for suspicious activity. WTF! Check PayPal, and payment still shows cleared. Money also gone from bank account. I called eBay and was told that my account was permanently suspended and they would not tell me why. Money still gone. Called PayPal and they confirmed seller has received payment. Emailed seller asking to ship item and received a response back that eBay is holding my/her money hostage and she will ship when they release it to her. What the hell is going on here?

Ebay suspended my account because I choose to complain about items I bought from some of their sleezy sellers. I bought several things, spent quite a bit of money using their site. I bought things from sellers all over the world, and some sales were fair, others not so much. On the ones I purchased from scam artists, I filed complaints, and ebay sent me a warning letter telling me I could not give negative feedback to so many sellers.  I responded with letters explaining that many of the items I received were defective, or no longer supported under warranty, and felt it my obligation to inform other potential buyers from those sellers. A week later, I received a letter from ebay telling me my account was being suspended, and there is no way for me to ever reopen an ebay account.

Editor’s Note: I’m surprised to see a buyer would have an account suspended. However, his comments about giving negative feedback to so many sellers leads me to question whether this is one of the scam artists that most sellers have a problem with. If sellers don’t have the ability to leave negative feedback for buyers, buyers shouldn’t have that option either. However, the truth is that they should both have the ability to leave feedback - negative or otherwise. Right now, Ebay’s feedback policy is a joke. Only buyers can leave negative feedback. Sellers’ only option to leave feedback for buyers is if its positive. Negative feedback from sellers to buyers is not an option.