eBay seller breaking the rules . . .
Russell12
Posts: 524 ✭✭✭✭✭
I just received my purchase from an eBay seller and they included a note saying "If you see any of my "buy it now" items on eBay I'll be glad to give you a 6% discount to the listed price if you buy from me directly through PayPal". Feel kind of sneaky and dishonest.
3
Comments
Maybe you report them.
I would be less disturbed if they were directing you to a website.
It's 2025, setting up a website is easy enough. This is a red flag to me.
As a seller, not worth the hassle as a for an extra 6% to play those games. For all their faults Ebay is the best selling tool IMHO.
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Let’s see the coin you bought.
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5
they usually just include business cards with a website on them
yeah. post pics
ebay usually gives as the rationale for not completing sales outside ebay that protections are a lot less, not that they lose revenue.
IMO
Not At All
There are NO eBay rules for future interactions/purchases.
It saves the buyer sales tax.
It saves the seller fee's.
Nothing Wrong with doing deals as private party selling, eBay doesn't need to have their hands in you're pocket.
There are NO eBay rules for future interactions/purchases.
Sure the bay wants you to go through their platform so they can make money on the transaction...much like the .gov would like you to pay more.
You already purchased something from the seller through the bay... Your obligation to eBay is done.
Now that you have the sellers contact information...The bay doesn't have anything to do with future interactions.
What seller did was risky as rats will rat him out.
If someone doesn't like it, just don't do business with the seller.
I don't see an issue given many of the other issues.
I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment
eBay can be an advertising venue and there isn’t anything stopping a seller directing a buyer to a website or email as long as you don’t do it in an eBay message.
There is a dealer sort of near me and I bought an item on ebay and did a local pickup instead of having it shipped. I went back once or twice to buy and sell. I just don't see anything wrong with that.
I'm selling off some watch repair tools and parts from a gentleman's estate.
All the sales I make on the bay that are in the country get a note telling the buyer I would be willing to sell them directly.
It has my email address for contact information.
If you look at the bay information, you should already be able to see the buyers contact information AFTER a purchase.
Definitely not breaking the rules. As others have said, you completed the eBay transaction perfectly fine. If you would like to buy from the seller again through his/her own venue, there is nothing wrong with that. Ebay has not earned a cut of future sales through private parties.
Oh yeah, as others have also asked, let's see the coin you bought. We are more interested in that anyway.
That would give away the seller, i don't think i want to do that.
Except, they want me to see the coin on eBay, and buy it direct.
Do you work for ebay or have ebay stock?
You seem pretty invested in this "issue"
I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment
There are many buyers who prefer purchasing a coin off eBay negating eBay fees and sales tax.
If you live in California on a coin priced under $2000 you will save 10-20%.
I have no problems with it
And that is a violation, no matter what these other rationalizers are saying.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
stopping for a small flashback...
Re: buying off ebay
do you know this seller well?
There are many taxpayers who prefer not to file. There are squatters who prefer not to pay rent. There are deadbeat dads who prefer not to pay child support.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
I respect that. I know, as a seller , that the fees plus shipping, can be a deal stopper for many items. Sellers have ( in my view) ridiculously high Buy It Now prices on many of the same type items I sell ( and most likely to cover those fees around 6-8%). Though I’m not going to excuse or condone anyone circumventing rules, when it is actually biting the hand that feeds us (so to speak) , by inviting you outside the store to score a deal.
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5
It’s a violation, but I doubt eBay will do anything about it. They don’t seem to do a lot of things about a lot of things if you know what I mean.
This guy is a little ballsy, IMO.
Lots of sellers have a website, in addition to selling on eBay. Some will include a business card along with my purchase. In other words, hint, hint, you may want to look here next time and save X amount. Not quite as ballsy as this fella though.
Dave
I don't have a problem with it Saving both parties money.
Your money, your call on how you spend it.
There are a half dozens ways you can justify this slight infraction. It is cheating eBay though. Just as long as you don't fool yourself into believing otherwise.
I know rolling through a stop sign is a violation. I still do it sometimes. I justify it but what I don't do is convince myself it is OK to do so.
I know that ebay buyers don't have 'rules', but I have to blow off stuff like this all the time.
Received last night, "I live local, would you be willing to sell anything for cash let me know if you would consider meeting up"
Is this the same eBay that tolerates the selling of counterfeit coins as long as they can profit from that sale?
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Be careful. There are a couple of forum members that would call the police if they saw you doing that.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Not saving ebay any money, the 3rd party in the transaction. And ebay has to provide the free web services for the dishonest seller to post and promote his wares.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
They don't "tolerate" it. They just can't easily stop it.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
They could make significantly more effort. How hard would it be for an algorithm or AI to flag coins for sale that are listed well below melt value? There is a ton of low hanging fruit they could remove or at least flag for review. I think they choose not to.
I would disagree if the Ebay seller is paying for monthly store fees. According to Ebay one of the benefits of paying for a store is " You get your own branded storefront on eBay to customize and market your business."
I have bought on ebay and amazon and get business cards in my packages. I don't see an issue with that. What puzzles me, let's say a business has a B&M shop, a website for that shop, and pays for a business front on Ebay, Business lists a few items on ebay that sits in his shop. If someone walks into his shop or visits his website and is wanting to buy an item that is listed on ebay, is he suppose to deny that purchase because he has it listed on ebay? I do understand buying something on ebay, canceling the sale and then buying it outside but, selling someone something outside of ebay is a violation if you have it listed on ebay and remove it? To me, it just makes me think that ebay just wants to be able to dig in sellers pockets as deep as they can for the almighty dollar, while there are soo many on their platform scamming innocent buyers out of their money that could care less about.
My Original Song Written to my late wife-"Plus other original music by me"
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So you want the counterfeiters to raise their prices? Lol. That's one piece of the puzzle. And not as simple a you make it out to be. You're looking for multiple coins of multiple different weights.
Side note. I sold a couple coins below melt on ebay last week. Silver moved up making my listed price below melt.
Yes, they could do more. And so could FB and Instagram and the Secret Service who let thousands of fakes be sold at coin shows, flea markets, and LCS's.
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Maybe. If you have it listed on ebay AND your personal website AND in your store, that's different than having it only listed on ebay. And even if it is listed on ebay and other places, if the customer finds it on eBay, eBay should get paid for generating the sale.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
I agree, if found on ebay, buy on ebay. I would presume if someone has a sellers business card to a website, they would go there first anyway. But from what I read, if a seller removes an item from ebay, it could be a violation if they think it is an outside transaction. Their AI can't even identify counterfeit coins, whats to stop their AI from falsely accusing sellers of outside sales?
My Original Song Written to my late wife-"Plus other original music by me"
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8A11CC8CC6093D80
Sketchy practice.
Not even directing buyer to a website. Not a deal between Coin Club friends.
How many potential buyers is he losing upfront?
As a buyer, I would move on unless it is some obvious cherrypick. Just the wording is a red flag.
Certainly, I am not selling off the site to the OP.
How many times have we bemoaned such a post?
How many a tuition has been paid using this practice?
If you (general forum member) are cutting these corners to save 6%, then there is, at best, a lack of seriousness about your pursuit.
Either you are too poor to deal or collect.... or you got money but lack common sense.
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Wow, talk about defamation of character. Who are you to categorize people by their financial status whether they should be able to collect or not???
My Original Song Written to my late wife-"Plus other original music by me"
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8A11CC8CC6093D80
This is simple cheating of Ebay, the taxman, and legit dealers.
Not a serious person on either side of the deal.
Nobody that will become a somebody.
Wannabe... feel better now?
BST: KindaNewish (3/21/21), WQuarterFreddie (3/30/21), Meltdown (4/6/21), DBSTrader2 (5/5/21) AKA- unclemonkey on Blow Out
I disagree. Is eBay proactively banning sellers that sell counterfeits? I don't think so.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
When I do sales on ebay I don't send a business card; my ebay name and local google listing are pretty easy to find and I don't see any reason to promote myself.
At a certain point a business becomes so big with limited competition, making its own rules and then corruption sets in where the top executives try to figure out how to extract more and more money. It's the bloated spider or boa constrictor paradigm. Wait until they find more ways to get money from sellers.
I see nothing wrong with it.
On another note, why anyone would want to live in California is beyond me.
I bought a package of ping pong balls recently and there was a sticker warning of cancer causing materials. This sticker is because of California state law.
Also, I purchased biochar also known as humichar ( a carbon based nutrient for the health of grass lawns) and on the website said 'not sold in California' . I can only imagine it's due to California's 'save-the=planet-from-burning-up carbon restriction laws.
Never mind eight times the number of people in the world die from cold as they do from heat.
"“Those who sacrifice liberty for security/safety deserve neither.“(Benjamin Franklin)
"I only golf on days that end in 'Y'" (DE59)
It’s a simple start. And better than nothing.
Lot of straw man arguments there - no I didn’t argue counterfeiters should raise prices - I pointed to one criteria eBay could use to help identify suspect listings.
This isn’t a thread about coin shows, flea markets or LCS’s. But I would wager each of those venues has a far lower percentage of fakes and generally does not intentionally turn a blind eye relative to the resources at hand to prevent such abuse. In-person sellers have a much higher motivation to weed out counterfeits since they want repeat business and are more easily tracked down by victims if they intentionally or negligently sell counterfeits.
The secret service does not sell or provide a market for coins, so not sure how that is relevant.
Actually, I think they are. Why do you think so many of the ones posted here have zero feedback?
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
Pointing to other (non-comparable) entities failing to take all appropriate steps (if that is even true) does not absolve eBay from responsibility to disrupt known illegal activity on its platform.
I didn't say it did (or didn't). However, if the US government enforcement agency doesn't care, why should they do anything but the minimum?
People also act like ebay doesn't cancel thousands of such listings and ban dozens/hundreds of sellers. It is simply not that easy to get them all. Just last week, someone on this forum posted a listing for a legitimate proof Silver eagle and suggested it was fake. They can't simply end every auction that anyone sends to them. And any automated script can be easily defeated.
You want to run a scam on ANY site, simply list an item you don't own with a picture of a real item. If you want to go up a level and try to get away with it, list a picture of a real item and then ship a fake. It's too easy and, therefore, impossible to prevent which is why you use ebay for its guarantees and use CC or PayPal payment methods for their additional guarantees.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
Another good thing about America...A person can still conduct themselves the way they want to.
No problem with this.
Grated have not bought coins from eBay in 10+ years however there are other areas I buy heavily from and I will reach out directly or ask around for direct contact.
Generally can buy back 10% and arrange future pick up as items are heavy and fragile.
Other areas are manufactured material tail ends. Same approach. Sellers happy to clear out even 50% off.
I also do not feel guilty about seeing a product offered at Target and then buy cheaper on Amazon.
Would happily see if could locate the seller and buy directly a coin. Should not be difficult with major sellers and guarantee this commonly happens with existing relationships .
If people find purpose in life and makes them feel special when they pay the eBay cut and sales tax, by all means stay happy with it.
They can, but there are and should be consequences for some of the conduct that they “want to” engage in.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
I can't remember buying even one coin off of eBay I saw there first.
But yes, If I see a coin I am interested in, I will look at the seller's store (if they have one) and buy it direct for less, if it's one I consider reputable. It's not uncommon for me to find it simultaneously on both through a Google search if it's a large seller (of NCLT).
I'm not volunteering to pay an extra 8% (or whatever) for no valid reason. That's between the seller and eBay, not the buyer. I don't have a contractual or any other obligation to give eBay their cut by paying more. The internet is a public utility. They can limit public access to their site.
I've seen sellers end listings regularly due to "listing errors" after having it on my "watch list" for months. Another one is "item no longer available" which I presume means sold through another selling channel too.