10 Reasons Why eBay Sucks for Sellers

BY Ben Lang Nov. 20, 2009 723 Comments

Yes, I started my entrepreneurship career on eBay. My business was selling other peoples items and then taking a commission. I enjoyed making nice commissions and was even interview on television. I loved eBay then. Now I don’t. Here are 10 reasons why I think eBay sucks for sellers. I’m not the only one who hates eBay, so many people have eBay problems.

1. Illegitimate feedback

If a buyer gives you a negtive feedback for no reason, you can’t remove it. There goes your entire reputation and sometimes your entire business.

2. Annoying rules

For example in the last 12 hours of an auction you can’t change images. A potential buyer emailed me to notify me that I had put the wrong picture on the auction page. There was no bid but because there were only 10 hours left, I couldn’t change the picture, and what do you know, no sale.

3. Bogus buyers

No more negative feedback for bogus buyers, meaning that buyers who don’t pay for their winning bids cannot be penalized by the seller. This too destroys the entire feedback system.

4. Fees

EBay’s sale commission is a good chunk plus you have to pay for every listing detail practically. Subtitle: $.50, picture: $.25, bold title: $1, etc.

5. PayPal

If you use PayPal which is very handy for eBay selling you’re going to be ripped off. They continually take more and more commissions. Plus eBay owns PayPal so you are charged 3 times, listing, commission and PayPal!

6. Refunds

Someone can buy your item using PayPal, receive the item, and then lie and say that it was not shipped. PayPal will then refund them the entire purchase amount.

8. Shipping

Everything relies on shipping. The postal service once lost a small expensive package I sold; the buyer had not pay for insurance. So I had to wait for weeks to find out what happened, and then reimburse the item from my pocket!

9. Free alternative – Craigslist

There’s just no incentive to sell on eBay when you have Craigslist. It’s 100% free, the buying market is huge, its easy, no shipping involved, door to door. What more could you ask for?

10. Terrible customer service

If you have a problem with a sale or purchase, you have to go through bots and finally days later receive a humans actual help.

* Messy interface

Every time eBay seems to update their interface and website it gets worse. No matter how many people complain the site just becomes worse.

So even though I started a successful eBay business I have moved on. If you use eBay, let me know what you think.

Alternatives to eBay:

Feel free to share your experience with eBay below.

Entrepreneurship

eBay, top 10

JD

Not happy. Ebay member since 2001; 60 transactions – 100% positive. Not a big fish, but super honest, reliable and fair. I just sold an item and Ebay says I have to use Paypal, and, I have to wait 29 days to get MY money. That’s just wrong. They get a percentage off the sale, they get a percentage off the required Paypal transaction, and, they get to make money with MY money while they make me wait for a MONTH. Greedy Bast**rds!

If I upload a UPS tracking number, they say I MIGHT get MY money 3 days AFTER delivery is confirmed. Wow! What other entity on the planet ships you stuff without being paid, then waits until 3 days after you receive it to get paid? Ebay couldn’t possibly have found a more annoying way to do business. May your monopoly cost you dearly in court. May the puppeteers who cooked up this Machiavellian business model get their just rewards. May someone else come along and eat your lunch.

Once I receive my money, I will be closing both my Ebay and my Paypal accounts, and bid them adieu forever. Way to go Ebay! You really figured out how to be super greedy and annoying. Bravo!
Richard

Funny how you take a break with top seller & power seller status come back a couple of months later list 50 items thinking nothing about it then wham they do a evaluation can’t find any new feedback so they go back twelve months dig up some bullshit feedback 1 & 2 low ratings from a scum bag buyers who dinged the crap out of you because you wouldn’t let them have free shipping threaten to give bad feedback if not “Reported this extortion to ebay did nothing about it” then my power & top seller ratings are removed, give me the red tag on poor performance standards and has paypal hold my money while I build a whole new seller track record. Craigslist sound good to me but one problem there ebay now owns 30% of that site also. I’m just going to build my own e-commerce store and fuck these people. Never except paypal at my new store either !
Right bob

eBay suck, they go from one extreme to the next. They suspended me for leaving negative feedback for a buyer who ripped me off. These buyers get away with everything, the sellers have no right. This company sucks!
Classix63

I have been on ebay since 1999. January 2013, after becoming disabled and not able to work outside the home, I decided to try and make ebay a somewhat full-time source of income. I recently signed up for the Trading Assisant Program, listed 100′s of items and have been selling fairly steady since Jan. 2013. A couple of weeks ago I had ONE buyer leave me a Nagative FB which was totally Unjust and filled with Lies! At that point I had a FB score of 118 @ 100%. That one LIAR with his Negative FB has all but Ruined my reputation!! One Negative FB -vs.- 118 Positives was enough to lower my overall rating to 97%. Which, in turn, got me suspended from the TA Program. Even though I have since received 5 more Positive FBs….My overall score is not increasing enough to allow me access back into the TA program Seems Completely UNFAIR that One Idiot can ruin me and my opportunities. I now have to live in “fear” for an entire YEAR for this One LIE to finally be “buried” from my overall score. Yet, EBAY only allows Sellers to leave All POSITIVE or nothing at all for buyers!! I am not comfortable with listing on Craig’s List…but, at this point, looks like I have no other options. I HAVE to be able to SELL items in order to pay my bills, buy food and pay for my prescriptions!! THANKS EBAY FOR BEING SO SUPPORTIVE (NOT!!) OF A VERY GOOD, HONEST AND DEPENDABLE SELLER!! :~~~~
crappy call

i got no problem with any fees. But i really don’t like their rules. once you got restricted alert, it’s time to say good bye (because you may got suspension). FcuK Ebay!
Norman L Guilford

http:www.webstore.com
http://www.facebook.com/alicen.boyer Alicen Boyer

I have had an ebay store for over 5 years. I had a 100 percent positive feedback for years. Last month, I shipped a daily planner to a prison inmate. She said she never got it and left negative feedback. In tracking the package, I saw it was delivered. The bad feedback stayed. Next came shipping problems, which were errors made by the post office. Again, more bad feedback. I was notified I had a lower seller performance and my money is now being held 21 days. Plus ebay has taken me out of their search engines. I barely sell anything now! They said I have to wait until May 20 for another review. I’m so mad!!

The final straw came when I shipped a package to Canada. I paid the shipping fees out of my own pocket, as PayPal is holding my funds. A day after shipping it, I was notified payment was reversed due to fraudulent credit card use. After making 3 phone calls, each lasting 45 minutes, I was told I would be reimbursed. It never happened. That was 3 weeks ago. So much for that seller protection policy!

I will be switching to Amazon. I already have items listed on there and have had no
problems. I will upgrade to an Amazon store and put my energy into that.

I agree with the person who wants to file a class lawsuit against ebay. Count me in!
http://www.facebook.com/alicen.boyer Alicen Boyer

I have had an ebay store for over 5 years. I had a 100 percent positive feedback for years. Last month, I shipped a daily planner to a prison inmate. She said she never got it and left negative feedback. In tracking the package, I saw it was delivered. The bad feedback stayed. Next came shipping problems, which were errors made by the post office. Again, more bad feedback. I was notified I had a lower seller performance and my money is now being held 21 days. Plus ebay has taken me out of their search engines. I barely sell anything now! They said I have to wait until May 20 for another review. I’m so mad!!

The final straw came when I shipped a package to Canada. I paid the shipping fees out of my own pocket, as PayPal is holding my funds. A day after shipping it, I was notified payment was reversed due to fraudulent credit card use. After making 3 phone calls, each lasting 45 minutes, I was told I would be reimbursed. It never happened. That was 3 weeks ago. So much for that seller protection policy!

I will be switching to Amazon. I already have items listed on there and have had no
problems. I will upgrade to an Amazon store and put my energy into that.

I agree with the person who wants to file a class lawsuit against ebay. Count me in!
Gamelover

Ebay sucks. They will rip you off in montly payment. They will charge fee to reserve items that wasnt even sold off. And others stuffs like that.
Tom Jones

I sold a mic valued at $725.00 – it sold on eBay. They charged me TEN PERCENT of the sale and then I had PayPal fees on top of that. Total loss…$100 of the sale. Never again eBay.
RJ

THE FACTS ARE ALL TRUE HERE EBAY SUCKS BIG TIME AND CUSTOMER SERVICE ARE ALL IDIOTS SITTING IN ANOTHER COUNTRY WHO HAVE NO EDUCATION OR COMMON SENSE- THANKS EBAY FOR OUTSOURCING, YOU ARE TRULY SCUMBAGS
EBAY HATER

I COULD GO ON AND ON ABOUT MY NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES WITH EBAY. I HATE EBAY!