eBay

[The Doctor]

Is this message from Ebay real? It sounds dodgy as hell to me:

'We'd like to let you know about some new steps we're taking to help prevent fraudulent unauthorised activity on eBay accounts.

Later this summer, we'll begin checking the computer you use to list an item to see whether it's one of the computers you regularly use. If you list an item using a different computer (e.g. at a friend's house, in a hotel, at the library), we'll ask you to confirm that it's really you listing the item.

Confirming your identity is easy. We'll make an automated call to one of the phone numbers on your account - you can choose which one. If you can't receive a call at one of those numbers, you'll be able to add another number by answering your secret question, or verify your identity with us in Live Chat.

Please take a minute to update your contact information.

You should always keep the telephone number on your account up to date so that eBay and your trading partners can get in touch with you. If you have a mobile phone, we strongly encourage you to add this as a secondary phone number so that you can confirm your identity when you're away from one of your usual computers.

More about identity confirmation

Thank you for your support.

Regards,

The eBay Team'

Erm, randomly checking my computer? Fuck off!

-Ralph

[Deleted]

I haven't received any such message and, because of the nature of the message I'd guess it's someone trying to get a bit of information out of you. If it was an email I think Ebay's offical emails put your actual name or something like that on it to prove its a genuine Ebay email. Ebay explains this on all of their official emails so, if you've got one check up what I mean and compare it to this recent one and you might be able to figure out if this recent message is genuine or not.

[Philip Ayres]

It's real. Ebay has been asking people to update their phone info for this.

[The Doctor]

Well they can piss off.

-Ralph

[Bogatan]

They really seem to be pushing sellers as hard as they can as the moment don they. And pissing everyone off with their stupid new search engine.

Andy

[Hero]

Jun 24, 2008 20:06:53 GMT The Doctor said:

Well they can piss off.

-Ralph

Amen!

[Philip Ayres]

So your phone rings at home when you want to use the Pc in the Library. That makes sense.

[Andy Turnbull]

They are doing their best to shoot themselves in the ass. Come on Google, get in on online auctions and scare the twats into being more customer oriented.

Andy

[Nigel]

And pissing everyone off with their stupid new search engine.

Indeed. I search for "Transformers collection" every so often, looking for stock. I tried that the other day and got hundreds of items that are in the "-Action Figures -Transformers -Collections/Bulk Lots" category, most of which aren't collections at all, but things in the wrong category.

They are doing their best to shoot themselves in the ass. Come on Google, get in on online auctions and scare the twats into being more customer oriented.

Compare this little story with eBay's customer service. I am currently working on my own online shop. I want to use the term, "shopping basket" rather than the automatic "shopping cart". I couldn't find a way to change the words on the main .asp Shopping Cart page, so I emailed the provider's customer services department; less than 20 minutes later, the heading had been changed and I had an email to tell me it had been changed at their "back end" and asking if it was as I wanted. I sent two further emails on related changes and all three matters were dealt with in less than an hour from sending my first email. It would have been three or four days of emails with eBay and still my issues probably wouldn't have been addressed.

[Philip Ayres]

Your search problem is related to a change eBay have made in their search engine.

Previously, buyers only saw search results where item title keywords exactly matched their search terms. For example, a search for a broad term like ‘MP3 Players’ would not return items with specific titles like ‘Apple iPod Nano 8GB’. Search now looks at the category an item is listed in and any item specifics the seller provides so that buyers are more likely to find what they want.

[Nigel]

Yeah, I know. It's daft. It can't possibly work as it's intended, because it works on the assumption that everybody uses categories and item specifics correctly. Which they don't. Especially if they're in Hong Kong.

[Hero]

Now is the time for another simular site to rise and take eBay's clientel away. That's if it is possible.

[Deleted]

Hardly. It would be nice to see Ebay superseded by another online auction site but such is the grip that Ebay has on the online market I can't see it ever happening.

[duffism1981]

I thought this would be the best place to ask, as I have never had this happen before.

Earlier on tonight, I sold Brave Maximus on ebay, to a bidder who won with a last minute bid. Everything was fine, until half an hour ago, when I received an email through ebay's mailing system. They asked if I could offer it to the runner up, whom they outbid by £5, as they thought it was from the eighties, even though I mentioned in both the item specifics and in the main description this was a 2000 release.

What do people suggest I do in terms of feedback, or canceling the original sale?

I did offer a second chance offer to the runner up, and made a mess and accidentally offered it to, then canceled to a few other lower bids. Still to hear back from the only guy I should have offered it too.

[Andy Turnbull]

You can't leave negative feedback now but I'd definitely be reporting the twat to ebay as a non paying bidder. If you can't read don't bid.

Andy

[duffism1981]

Thanks. Thats what I thought. I did try that, but It did say it's too early to report an item as unpaid.

[Philip Ayres]

More advice needed.

On Saturday A new user with 0 feedback won one of my auctions.

A couple of minutes later (after the invoice was sent) an email came back from them saying "I can't get this." To which I mailed them back and asked them to clarify what they meant .... No word since.

What should I do ?

[Andy Turnbull]

Send a message through ebay asking they explain what they mean and tell them if they don't respond you will file a non paying bidder report through ebay.

If it's something you are looking for a good price next time you list add the rules to prevent bidders with 0 feedback or any non-paying strikes against them.

Andy

[Philip Ayres]

A chase up message has been sent with a deadline of Midnight Wednesday. I don't expect a response.

[The Doctor]

"By midnight tonight, this planet will be pulled inside out! There will be nothing left!"

-Ralph

[kayevcee]

I emailed a lady in the States asking about shipping costs for this bunch:
cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170248245362&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123
Her quote? $50. Radioactive, are they? Have to be shipped in a lead box? Dear me.

-Nick

[Philip Ayres]

Got another one:

cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=330262942896

(note the posts to location)

Winning bidder is in Aus.

Here's what I sent him:

Thank you for bidding on this item.

Unfortunately the costs listed were only for postage to the UK-Did this show up when you bidded on the item?

The reason this item was listed for UK only postage was the size of the box 42x26x12. The UK post office has regulations about sending parcels overseas that to get a cheap rate for them the combined dimensions must measure less than 90cm. Given that the box above is 80cm (& an odd shape it's long) I don't have a lot of room for manoeuvre for packaging it up to send it to you.

The options to get the package to you are this:

1) I can encase the existing box in cardboard with a very limited ammount of packaging. This may not perfectly preserve the packaging but you would get it.

2) I can repackage the toys in a different box and send them in that.

Either way I imagine the postage costs would be aproximately twice the listed UK postage price.

LMK what you'd like to do

[Philip Ayres]

eBay to lay off employees

[The Doctor]

10% of the workforce? Dear oh dear.

-Ralph

[Andy Turnbull]

And I'll bet none of the affected are the fucktards that have made the changes to the search "experience" and decided on the changes to feedback either.

Andy

[The Doctor]

Royal Mail appear to have lost an ebay item I posted. Just what I needed.

And hullo, non-paying bidders!

I do enjoy my daily stress levels.

-Ralph

[Nigel]

eBay throwing their latest cat among the pigeons: www2.ebay.com/aw/uk/200810.shtml#2008-10-13101419

I can't see no.3 being very popular with private individuals who sell off their old DVDs on eBay. Also, will the price capping allow for collections of DVDs and especially books/comics, which are surprisingly heavy en masse?

I think I'll pop over to the eBay boards and see what reaction there is.

Edit: I just found the caps. web.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/maximumP&P_FAQ.html

[Nigel]

The eBay boards are highlighting, unsurprisingly, that this means higher insertion fees and final value fees for eBay. There is support for capping, but much with the caveat that the caps are too low, particularly for books.

[legios]

The caps for books do seem rather low, but then the cap for DVD's is even lower - being zero.

So if you sell a DVD for £3 and it cost a pound fifty to send, then after Ebay's fees it wouldn't be worth the expenditure of shoe leather to walk it to the post office......

I had been thinking about throwing a few DVD's on ebay in the near future, but I shan't bother now - I shall punt them to the Shelter shop instead.

Karl

[Andy Turnbull]

What a shower of useless cunts, excuse my language. They seem to forget that they are supposed to be offering a fucking service as opposed to any actual product. Look for the DVD market to dry up on ebay entirely for domestic buying/selling.

Way to go.

Come on Google, stop twatting about with mobile phones and do something like ebay!!!

Andy