A woman in California recently sold a laptop computer of hers on eBay for $1,300, but it never arrived at the buyer’s house. The seller had paid the U.S. Postal Service for insurance and delivery confirmation on the package, so she should be able to get her money back and see who signed for the package. Not quite. [More]
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eBay Gets Literal With Window Shopping In The Form Of Touchscreen Storefronts
By 6.5.13
The thing about the phrase “window shopping” as we know it, is it really should be called “window browsing.” Because unless you’re in the market for new fenestration, you’re not really window shopping. But now eBay is making that literal move to turn the term into a truthy one, with virtual stores called “shoppable windows at storefronts in New York City. [More]
Man Who ‘Foreclosed’ On Wells Fargo Now Suing eBay For Mistakenly Shuttering His Store
By 5.30.13
If you can remember back to 2011, you might recall the story of Patrick Rodgers, the Philadelphia homeowner who successfully sued Wells Fargo over an error in his mortgage servicing — and then “foreclosed” on a neighborhood Wells branch when the bank didn’t make good on the judgement. Now Patrick’s back in the news with a suit against eBay, which he claims shut down his seller account over a case of mistaken identity. [More]
When An International eBay Seller Says ‘Just Keep Waiting,’ Don’t Listen
By 5.7.13 — Updated: 4.1.14
I. calls the eBay scam that he encountered recently a “new” scam, but it’s actually an ancient and time-honored one. How it works is simple: an international seller claims to have sent your item, then stalls until after the period during which you can file a complaint against the seller has expired. This leaves you with no ability to leave bad feedback and no recourse, and eBay knows it. [More]
‘Boston Massacre’ Nike Shirts Garner High Asking Prices On eBay After Being Pulled From Stores
By 4.22.13
In the wake of recent events, it’s not surprising that Nike would want to stop selling shirts that feature the phrase “Boston Massacre,” complete with blood-stained letters. So of course it probably comes as little shock that folks who have these shirts are now trying to unload them for high prices on eBay. [More]
eBay Seller Who Sued Customer Claims He’s Sorry, Has Filed Dozens Of Feedback Suits
By 4.19.13
The owner of an eBay business who sued an unhappy customer over a negative feedback item is contrite. Mostly, he’s very sorry that he (allegedly) never read the lawsuit filed on his behalf accusing his customer of defamation. He should probably also be sorry that the customer has a relative who works in the litigation department of consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. The seller has used lawsuits to bully customers into retracting feedback before, and may have done it again if not for Public Citizen. [More]
Legislators Maybe Kinda Sorta Thinking About Finally Voting On Online Sales Tax
By 4.18.13
Will they or won’t they? That’s the question now as legislators over yonder in Washington, D.C. are considering perhaps finally voting on whether or not to allow businesses to collect online sales tax. As it stands now, retailers can only impose the tax on a customer if they have a physical location in that state. Amazon is all for the bill, but eBay, not so much. The Senate could vote next week, so now it’s all about waiting and then, seeing. [via Reuters] [More]
eBay Seller Freaks Out And Sues Customer Over Bad Feedback That’s Actually True
By 4.16.13
An eBay vendor shipped their customer’s package with insufficient postage by mistake. That’s not ideal, but it happens. The customer, upset that she owed extra postage, left negative feedback on eBay. That may have been an overreaction, as she could have asked for a refund instead. Again, not ideal, but that happens. What doesn’t usually happen is the seller filing a lawsuit seeking damages from the customer and eBay. [More]
UPS Fails To Use The Buddy System When One Of My Packages Wanders Off
By 3.20.13
When two items go out together as part of the same shipment, should they necessarily stay together? Nowal’s parents got her twins a table and chairs for their birthday, which shipped out in two packages. The toddlers celebrating their birthdays might understand the buddy system, but UPS doesn’t: even though the two packages shipped as a two-package shipment, one box arrived on time while the other disappeared into the bowels of the UPS system because of a damaged label. [More]
eBay Changes Up Its Seller Fees In Bid To Chip Away At Amazon Marketplace
By 3.19.13
Where you choose to sell the stuff you have to sell is a big decision, and online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay know that. So what could mean the difference between taking your budding business to one place and not the other? The fees sellers have to pay can be a deciding factor, and eBay knows it. That’s why the company is launching new fee rules for its sellers. [More]
eBay’s VIN System Error Costs Me $1,000, They Don’t Particularly Care
By 3.14.13 — Updated: 3.15.13
It seems like a good idea on the surface: when an eBay Motors seller types in a car’s Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN, the site automatically determines the make and model from that number and populates the auction with that information. It’s only a problem if that information is bad…which it was, and just that sort of bad info in a listing led reader S. to spend $1,000 more than he would have for the particular model of used Prius that he bought. [More]
All It Took To Get A Refund From eBay Was A Very Public Shaming
By 2.28.13
An eBay user bought a dress for her daughter, but what showed up was far from what had been advertised on the site. eBay now says it will refund the purchase, but not until after being called out by the local news. [More]
eBay Restricts My Account Because They Owe Me Too Much Money, Sort Of
By 2.11.13
LW sells on eBay a lot, and has a neat trick to save on listing fees. He sets up listings in a third-party program, then waits until the site is running a free listings promotion. Then, bam! All four hundred listings go up at once! The plan is flawed, though, because eBay doesn’t want to give LW those sweet, sweet fee discounts. He has to call to get them. Over and over. [More]
If You’re Going To Include Yourself In eBay Photos, Make Sure You’re Not Naked
By 1.16.13
When bidders are looking at items up for auction on eBay, they sometimes base their judgement on the quality of the photos posted by the seller. But for one woman, people weren’t looking at the dress she had for sale — they were wondering what happened to her panties. [More]
Should Sellers’ Friends & Family Be Allowed To Place Bids On eBay Items?
By 12.27.12
For years, eBay forbid friends, family and employees of a seller from bidding on that seller’s items out of concern about “shill bidding,” i.e., that they would increase the price with no intention of buying. Then during the summer, eBay quietly changed that policy to make it more flexible. [More]
Hostess Isn’t In The Ground Yet & Already A Twinkies Lunch Box Sold For $690 On eBay
By 11.16.12
Nostalgia is a funny thing. It can be triggered instantaneously, such as when the news hit today that Hostess is asking to liquidate its assets and immediately the world explodes into a sugary outpouring of Twinkies-related sentiment. And in times of loss, what serves our nostalgic need better than buying up merchandise on eBay? It’s so retro! [More]
The Problem With Buying Intangible Items On eBay: They Can Expire
By 11.7.12
Jen used eBay to buy some Fandango Bucks so she could save a few dollars off the cost of a movie. She wasn’t going to the movies right away, though. At first, the credits came up short, and she filed a case against the seller. They straightened that out, she closed the case, and all was well. Until she actually went to use the codes, and discovered that they had expired. She was out $70, and eBay couldn’t help her. [More]
eBay Has A Zero-Tolerance Policy For Scammy Sellers (Who Haven’t Figured Out How To Game The System)
By 11.2.12
Recently we warned eBay buyers that they needed to make sure to complain about possible scams within 45 days or not only are they unable to get their money back, they can’t even leave negative feedback for the seller. We tried to get an explanation from eBay for this seemingly biased policy. Not surprisingly, eBay hasn’t been terribly forthcoming. [More]
