eBay and all it's issues (discuss what eBay needs to change)

I think they need to take a more even-handed approach to settling disputes. Currently they pretty much always side with buyers and sellers are losing out.

So true

ucfgrad93 said:

I think they need to take a more even-handed approach to settling disputes. Currently they pretty much always side with buyers and sellers are losing out.

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The Resolution center is poor at best...does not see other issues...is not intuitive ...the worst page I have ever seen. They need to throw it out
and redue it by some other Geek

Orange Furball said:

I just sold a device on eBay and the last bidder swooped in at the 2 seconds remaining mark and bought it. They upped the previous bid by $2.50.

So I thought ok cool I sold it. Turns out they are from another country that I don't ship to.

Besides the seller fees on eBay being complete bull crap, they need to make it so if a buyer is in another country and I list it with no international shipping, they need to contact me first and ask about it. After that the seller can approve them if they want and allow them to buy.

What do you think they should change?

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This surprises me. I have tried to bid by accident from a seller who only shipped to US and was unable to even bid from here in Canada. Not sure if it is different according to country. I have always had to contact the buyer and ask if okay to bid and then have them change their shipping options so I could even enter a bid.

I am also a seller and when I have a large item I want to stay here in Canada, once I list it with no international shipping options, I will receive the odd request asking to ship outside Canada. But I have always had to change my shipping options so they could even enter a bid.

I also agree with you about the fees being charged by Ebay, then having to pay more fees to Paypal. What Ebay should be doing for sellers is charging one set fee if you are a seller and are using Paypal in combination with your sales. They should not be double dipping.

I know some people will argue with me by saying "just sell for more", but somethings will not sell even if they are only a few dollars higher. Everyone is looking for that great deal or what they perceive to be a great deal.

It was good for me when our dollar was low and the US greenback was strong, plus Ebay fees were much lower. I could buy at CDN price, then list in US dollars. Even with fees I could make 20-25% profit margin. With CDN dollar being higher and fees, it is hard to make good money if any at all currently. Not saying that can't change.

I have never had a major issue with my buyers. Most of mine are regular buyers who I have come to know. Been lucky their, but it is probably what I sell that keeps most of the flakes away. The few minor problems I have had with buyers always tend to be with very low dollar items. But I have found if you stay ahead of them and keep a dialogue going, no matter how much of an idiot some can be, you will always come out ahead. Not that I like to do it, but sometimes it is easier to just refund them and make them go away. Eat your pride, take the loss and mark it down to experience. Never had to deal with a large dollar item fuss luckily.

Yes Ebay could make changes but that is not going to happen till they see their profits start to fall. And even then I would be surprised. There is a lot of corporate greed out in the world today and unless all the sellers on Ebay band together, well good luck. We are a very small minority. Ebay will cater to its money makers. But I also understand it is about making money and pleasing your shareholders.

One of the things I did to increase my profit margin was to create my own websites and let my customers know about them. Then really slow down my sales on Ebay. Only listing the occasional item to get more exposure, which Ebay does well. Now I can directly accept credit cards and Paypal on the occasional sale, which has significantly increased my profits. Plus no Ebay fees. Credit card acceptance directly is a much lower fee to the CC companies. Just wish I could take debit because that would make me completely eliminate Paypal on my sites.

1. You can block countries, as already mentioned.
2. You can cancel auction, if buyer did not meet your qualifications.
3. You can get refund if buyer did not meet your qualifications.

Ebay is what it is. It's a waste of energy to complain about what needs to be changed. Instead, put your energy into determining what you need to do to sell productively on their site.

When you write your listing, you can specify which countries you will ship to. That's your responsibility, not eBay's.

If you research completed sales of iPhones, you can see that many of the auction listings that sell for a high price are "won" by low feedback bidders. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that these phones are not actually sold.

Listing your phone for a Buy It Now price with immediate payment required would have eliminated your situation.

I also would strongly urge to do research on shipping an iphone to another country. I am not aware of any insurance that can be purchased to cover an iphone shipped internationally, but I may be wrong. It's very difficult to get a phone through customs without it getting stolen, but if you feel comfortable shipping internationally, you may be lucky.

I spent close to 20 hours doing research in the cell phone category on eBay before selling two phones. I am an experienced seller on eBay in another category, but I still needed to learn before listing my phones.

The eBay experience is what you make it...or don't make it...whatever the case may be.