Fucking eBay! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

[friesianrider]

I spent about four hours yesterday listing a bunch of crap that needs to be sold on ebay. I spent a lot of that time looking up information, writing good descriptions and all that good stuff. Last night just after midnight, all but two things had bids, including one thing I listed that was for about $400 (which I wasn't sure would even get a bid but it did - yay!), so I was pretty excited.

This morning I wake up, and fucking eBay cancelled ALL my auctions! Apparently, because the douchebags own PayPal too, you can no longer say in your auctions like I do that you only accept "non-credit card" PayPal (because when you take CCs through PayPal, they hit you with yet more fees). It's bad enough the bastards cancelled my auctions (although I understand), what pisses me the hell off is that they DELETED them all. Now I have to spend another 4 hours rewriting and researching information again. Plus, I now don't know who was bidding on my stuff so I can't write them and tell them it's been relisted.

Fucking eBay corporate whores...I hate you!!

:rant:

:argh: :grr: :argh: :grr: :argh: :grr:

[Mutley]

1. Is there any way you can contact them

and get them to un-delete them, or whatever, so you'll at least have all your information back?

[friesianrider]

2. Probably not...eBay, like PayPal...

...is notorious for being hard to contact. Ebay is slightly easier, but you have to wait 3 days for a reply. I'm more concerned at this point about contacting the high bidders, so maybe I'll ask about that. It's worth a shot :)

[Mutley]

5. Call them.

I was royally screwed by a seller last year (terrible feedback rating, but I wanted to give him a chance -- won't ever do THAT again) and after emailing ebay with no response several times I called information, got an 800 number, and called it. The guy I spoke to contacted the seller and told him if he didn't refund my money he would delete the guy's account. Got my money back two days later.

On a side note -- I still check the guy's feedback from time to time and he is still screwing people right and left. Some people never learn.

[friesianrider]

6. Hmm...

When you called information, you just asked for a number for eBay, Inc?

The other thing is, do you think they'd even be able to tell who the high bidder was before they cancelled their bid and deleted the auction?

[Mutley]

7. I just asked the operator for any number for eBay, Inc.

Yep, and I don't even know what position the man I spoke with was in, but it worked. He asked me how I got that number and I told him, "I called information." LOL.

And, I'm not sure if they'd be able to tell who the high bidder was. I would think they'd have to have some way to recover deleted auctions in case there is a mistake, or someone at eBay has it out for someone, or even for a court case or something.

Did they notify you of their new policy before they deleted your auction?

[friesianrider]

8. Nope...

That's the thing...I listed something just about two weeks ago and had the same "non-CC PP" in the auction without a problem. I don't recall ever getting anything from ebay that that had changed.

I would have appreciated them just giving me one day or something to edit my auction before deleting it. Hell, they could have deleted the phrase themselves. I would have settled for them just deleting the auction from public view but providing it on My eBay page or something so I still had my descriptions I spent so much time writing. It just sucks because I always try to write thorough and thoughtful descriptions, and I spend a lot of time making sure they're accurate and all...and now all that time I spent is wasted and needs to be re-done from scratch. Plus, I have no assurance the previous high bidder on my higher-dollar item will see the newly relisted auction, and it may now get less bids or no bids at all.

Fucking ebay...:grr:

[Mutley]

9. Did they at least refund your listing fees?

Maybe, if you are really in the mood for a fight, you could get them to pay you the amount of the high bid since they didn't even notify you of the policy.

[friesianrider]

14. Yes, they did (supposedly)...

I just talked to someone on Live Chat, and apparently the auction is gone so they have no way of finding who the high bidder was.

I'm going to go through my ebay messages and see if I see any notification of this new rule.

The really dumb thing is, if my item doesn't sell or sells for less, they don't make as much money, either.

[pitohui]

16. well always back up yr work

most people who spend a lot of time writing their ads would back up their work, just as you would back up any other form of writing -- even a long DU post

always back up yr work

it just isn't that hard to hit save to word or notepad once in awhile

[friesianrider]

18. No, I guess it isn't that "hard".

But I didn't think my auction would be pulled for a reason I'd never even heard about before.

[Awsi Dooger]

11. Ebay doesn't like phone calls

I found that out when my account was hacked two years ago. I located the phone number via a Google search but the person who listed it indicated they were not exactly enthusiastic to phone inquiry, and that was indeed my experience. They no longer list phone numbers on their website.

The live help is pretty good. The wait times can be annoying but they give you a reasonably accurate estimate, or at least they did two years ago.

That does suck if the listings can't be rescued, especially if they had plenty of html.

[Mutley]

12. I sort of figured that when the guy asked me how I got that number...

but he couldn't believe what happened to me and helped me anyway.

[LynzM]

3. Wait, you're not allowed to specify that?

You can't state what kind of payment you want? Are you sure that's the reason they got pulled??

[friesianrider]

4. Yep...

Apparently the reason was that if you say you will take PayPal, you have to take ALL forms of PayPal. Because I said I can only take non-CC PayPal, they pulled all my listings and deleted them. I know lots of people who say they only take non-credit card PayPal because if you only have a personal account that's all you CAN accept. To accept credit card PayPal, you need to upgrade to a business account.

Apparently, you can't say things like "I only take non-CC PayPal" or "I can only take eChecks by PayPal" or something like that.

It just pisses me off because the listings were deleted, so I have to rewrite *everything* all over again. I wish they would have saved them somewhere so I could just copy and paste and fix the offending phrase :)

And, the shit's on them...now I won't take ANY form of PayPal. Since they own PP, that's their loss (as if ebay doesn't already make a killing off listing fees, final value fees, etc).

[northzax]

10. that sounds really weird, doesn't it?

anyway, call 18005551212 for national 800 number directory. it's even free.

I think it's strange that you can't state the truth, that you can't take the payments. Won't people figure out that you can't take cards when they try to use it and it pisses them off? what a strange rule.

I could see them saying that you can't deny CCs if you can take them, but since you can't take them, it's not really a choice, is it? strange.

[friesianrider]

13. They're basically just trying to bully you...

Into upgrading from a Personal Account to the Business Account. If you only have a personal account, you can't take CCs, so PayPal gets no fees from it.

Most sellers like to offer PayPal (even if it is only non-CC) since so many buyers like it. Ebay knows this, so I guess is trying to use this new rule as way to force people into upgrading so they can continue to use PayPal.

I won't do it - PayPal was lucky I dealt with them at all. I had someone pay me for something about a year ago by credit card PayPal. I sent it, and when the person got it, he said it was great and loved it. Two weeks later, he writes me and says he deosn't like it anymore and wants his money back (wtf?). Since I always say all sales are final unless it was described wrong or damaged, I stuck to it. This ass contacts PayPal, tells them that the item was *not even the item he bid on* and he wants his money back. PayPal then suspended my account for *fraud*, debited my checking account for the entire refund, and didn't even make the guy return the friggin' item! So he basically got a $185 item for free and got his money back. I tried for MONTHS to try and get ahold of someone with PayPal and never got it resolved. I lost my item and my money.

[LynzM]

25. Ugh. That's absurd.

I mean, totally. There was no way for you to prove it... and they just take his word for it? What kind of a deal is that?!

[pitohui]

15. it is clearly in the terms of service

yes, they pull ads that violate the terms of service

they used to give people 24 hrs to fix the ad when they made this mistake, but hell, you know, ebay has been around since the 20th century, they prob. figure you might have actually read the rules by now or something

[friesianrider]

17. Um, ok.

I listed something one week ago with that phrase in it and and did not have it pulled. I have never heard of such a rule until now, and after talking with some other sellers on one of my Yahoo groups, apparently this is a recent change.

eBay changes their rules all the time, so it isn't like I "should have read the rules by now or something" as you put it.

[LynzM]

24. LOL... people read stuff??

Just teasin'... I just didn't realize that. Of course, I've only ever bought and sold a total of maybe 20 things via ebay, so I'm pretty much a n00b :)

[MadHound]

19. It is for reasons such as this that I won't sell anything via eBay

If I can't get it in a real auction, I can always sit it out on a friends flea market table, or sell it through the paper. Ebay started out OK, but they have developed into a horrible, beuracratic nightmare that charges entirely too much, with too little freedom for the seller, and little safety for either party.

[friesianrider]

22. Yeah, I know...

I've sworn off them many times, but really, you get so much more $ for things (especially higher-dollar collectibles) using them instead of a flea market or yard sale.

But they really have become a bureaucratic nightmare and far too often sellers and buyers get screwed with little or no recourse.

[MadHound]

26. Now that's just not true!

Personally I've always found that if I can get an item into a consignment auction, it will sell for much more than I could get at eBay. You live near Philly, surely there are some pretty decent aution houses around there. Get to know a couple, especially those that deal in antiques and collectibles and start selling your stuff through them. Hell, if I can do that out here in Missouri you can do it in Philly.

I agree with your assesment of flea markets, but only up to a point. If you keep an eye out you can get a table at a flea market that will get you good prices. Maybe not in the Philly area, but perhaps a smaller city of around 100,000. Not as many suppliers, so you can get away with a higher asking price.

And quite frankly, I put a pretty high price on my time and peace of mind. Spending it going around and around with eBay would drive me through the roof.

There are also other on line auction houses, you might go with one of them:shrug:

[barb162]

28. I think I agree with you here.

I remember not going on it for over a year and when I came back and looked at it, I had a hard time maneuvering in it, couldn't believe all the new rules and so much other stuff.

[tjdee]

20. That's really harsh--I hadn't realized how much of a jerk to sellers Ebay

has become.

I've not listed anything there in a while, and I've been hearing how ebay's trying to choke the sellers which sucks considering the sellers are the reason they even have a profit.

Sorry it got pulled, I know how long it can take to write up those descriptions--it's not easy cheezy to do.

[friesianrider]

23. Yeah, they're really awful to sellers...

It's unfortunate too, because if I can't contact the interested people, that means the item may sell for less which means ebay will get less $ too.

They have just gotten extremely greedy with their fees and have far too little customer service. They're evil...evil I tell you! :)

[KitchenWitch]

21. Note to self:

Next time I list anything on eBay, make sure I type up and save the description in Word, in case it gets pulled.

[Awsi Dooger]

27. That's what I do

Actually I make a referable file for each item. I check out the completed items and see which descriptions were the best and apparently worked best, based on number of views and how much it sold for. Usually I'll copy the best descriptions and paste them in my file before writing my own description at bottom. It's simple to scroll up and look at the previous descriptions while forming your own. Then I'll just copy my description and paste into the ebay box, applying html like bold or paragraphs or whatever.

Obviously I'm not going to copy the descriptions others have used, but borrowing a phrase or idea is OK. I'll write down the basics like model number and how much I paid for it originally. That always seems to work, if you tell them it cost $250 originally and now wow only a fraction of that. Words like mint or gently used always work, positive stuff not bland. I look at the shipping rates and try to be very reasonable in that regard without costing myself money on shipping. Then you have to make sure you list in the proper category, and include the best keywords in the title so the search results will include your item.