warwickhunt Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 Just had a suspension on my ebay account as I'd breached eBay's policies; I phoned them to get details as the email was a bit vague! I sent a message asking a seller if I could check out the condition of a bass and he duly sent his address but it transpires that asking to view an item before actually buying it, isn't permitted. I argued that there were many instances (especially a bass) where a seller's description and/or pics might not be sufficient. However, they say that the only permitted course is for a buyer to purchase it, then if it doesn't match the description you can file for a refund... REALLY? This isn't so much a rant (their policies are part of T&Cs so you can't argue) but a heads up to be careful when communicating as your account can be suspended (3 days) with the potential for them to delete your account. Quote
ped Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 It’s so you don’t just pay for it face to face rather than through eBay. They want their grubby mitts on your money. 2 Quote
BassBunny Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 So what happens with a seller who puts in his description, "Welcome to come and try"? I've seen that many times. Bet eBay don't delete the item and suspend the seller as they lose their wedge on the sale. 1 Quote
ped Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 They just ban the customer for asking to come and try Quote
BassBunny Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 Just now, ped said: They just ban the customer for asking to come and try Thought so. 🙂 Quote
ped Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 They’re very selective in what they deem inappropriate. Normally it boils down to what doesn’t lose them money. 1 Quote
la bam Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 As soon as you send any contact details to each other before buying, phone, address etc its robots will automatically pick it up and flag it. 2 Quote
foxyFuze Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 Yes, I had a seller who had a wrap on the knuckles from FeeBay for sending his address. In the House of Cards-like refrain "you may say that, I couldn't possibly comment", you could send a photo with a phone number hidden on a bit of paper by the instrument (not too obvious of course). Quote
Geek99 Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 53 minutes ago, ped said: They’re very selective in what they deem inappropriate. Normally it boils down to what doesn’t lose them money. I think actually it depends on which eBay person you ask Quote
Guest MoJo Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 18 minutes ago, foxyFuze said: Yes, I had a seller who had a wrap on the knuckles from FeeBay for sending his address. In the House of Cards-like refrain "you may say that, I couldn't possibly comment", you could send a photo with a phone number hidden on a bit of paper by the instrument (not too obvious of course). Or this...... Quote
BreadBin Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 My account has been suspended for the same reason. Their argument was that I should agree to buy something and then reject it if not satisfied (alloy wheels with tyres) I have subsequently arranged to purchase items advertised on eBay for cash by simply messaging a photo of my phone number written on a piece of paper. Ironically if I had been permitted to view before buying the transactions would have gone through eBay but after the way they treated me I decided they can fcuk off! 3 Quote
CameronJ Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 I tend to send my phone number as words "zero-seven-nine-five-zero..." or my email address without the punctuation "cameronj(at)mail(dot)com" Works for me! 1 Quote
musicbassman Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 Yup, another trick is to show a pic of your 'original purchase invoice' (reasonable enough) - which just might happen to show the full contact details of the original purchaser (i.e yourself) 1 Quote
wateroftyne Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 It's crazy, isn't it? I'm surprised they're still a going concern. Quote
chris_b Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 I've bought 2 basses on Ebay. First was a standard win-the-bid type sale and on the second the buyer suggested I try it out and sent me his address. I gave him the cash so I guess that's what Ebay doesn't like. Making us complete the sale, then reversing it if something isn't right, gives us all of the hassle and them none!! All that cash is sitting in their bank account gathering interest! I don't use Ebay any more. Quote
paul_c2 Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 I don't think I'd ever buy a bass on eBay, its just too much hassle. Not only with not being able to try, but the postage. What happens if it gets damaged when you send it back after trying and not liking it? I'd restrict it these days to new boxed items or something I can collect and try out before giving cash (ie so it would need to be very local). Quote
Grangur Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 Also, when listing things, having PayPal as a payment option is compulsory. You can say "cash on collection, I don't accept Paypal" in the description, but you can't list without this payment method. So, going back to the OP matter, is it after the commitment to buy that Ebay get up-tight on contact details, or is it only before you click "Buy" ? Quote
stingrayPete1977 Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 For items where viewing is essential there's a classified add option. Quote
NikNik Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 I am very suspicious of Ebay now, after an horrendous lost/returned mail episode. A firm sent me a non-ebay paypal invoice. I duly paid, noting all my details were correct. There was no browser auto-fill going on. A week or so later, no item. Contacted the firm who said item sent over a week ago......to a click and collect outlet!! After much analyses and proving points on both sides, I headed to the outlet, only to find that they had rejected the item due to no Ebay collection code. Contacted paypal. It took a week to sort but it transpired - and this came from a UK paypal rep's mouth - that ebay had somehow managed to change my preferred address to a non-paypal-verified address. Even when I went into my Ebay and paypal accounts, only my home address came up. The rep said he had flagged numerous occasions of this happening and it's not been acted upon. Slightly off topic but note this as another Ebay red flag. Quote
warwickhunt Posted March 21, 2019 Author Posted March 21, 2019 3 hours ago, Grangur said: So, going back to the OP matter, is it after the commitment to buy that Ebay get up-tight on contact details, or is it only before you click "Buy" ? They don't want direct (unsupervised) contact i.e. anything other than their messaging and defo no face/face. Their stock response to my questioning about buying unseen was that a buyer can return an item to the seller (I'm unclear who'd be out of pocket in the courier costs?) if it isn't 'as described'. I argued that a vintage instrument could very easily be misdescribed / misrepresented and only having the instrument in hand would reveal, despite a detailed description... which let's face it rarely happens! 1 Quote
Moos3h Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 I'd imagine that most sellers of something *nice* will always have it available by another channel too? e.g. I've a bass for sale at the moment, it's on ebay for visibility but I have it listed here, Facebook, Reverb etc. so always worth a quick google to check! Quote
Shaggy Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 It's a far from perfect system, but I've bought a shedload of basses and a few amps on eBay, mostly from abroad, and have to say I've never had any trouble whatsoever. It's generally a more friendly experience buying and selling,on this forum, but flip side of that is I've been shafted twice Quote
Grangur Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 3 hours ago, Moos3h said: I'd imagine that most sellers of something *nice* will always have it available by another channel too? e.g. I've a bass for sale at the moment, it's on ebay for visibility but I have it listed here, Facebook, Reverb etc. so always worth a quick google to check! There's a new complication with ebay: you now can't list anything saying "this is up for sale in other places, so it might get ended". Doing this gets your listing removed. Quote
Les Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 Kinda given up selling on ebay. Last 4 instruments I've shifted have been sold on facebook marketplace Quote
jazzmanb Posted March 22, 2019 Posted March 22, 2019 Its a shop window but for a lot of people now its past its best .Never sell on there anymore .Everyone knows the value of everything and there's too much hassle for sellers Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.