4 ms·
Interesting that the public perception of trust has degraded so much as a seller. I've been a member since 2003 and buy small bits and bobs on there most weeks
by SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
Interesting that the public perception of trust has degraded so much as a seller. I've been a member since 2003 and buy small bits and bobs on there most weeks and go through phases of occasionally selling things maybe a couple of times a year when I need space / money - most recently an old computer and some guitar pedals.
I've only ever had a problem as a seller twice in all those years - one scammer insisting the cheque was in the post and demanding that I send the item immediately (and leaving bad feedback when I didn't) and another reporting the items being faulty despite being (incredibly cheap) untested vintage electronics for spares.
Neither time was I left out of pocket and I'd more than happily sell stuff on there again. But I have heard the horror stories and appreciate that I may have just been incredibly lucky.
That said, a few years back I did trip some kind of threshold and was automatically upgraded to a business account, which means that my "business" (aka home) address now appears prominently on all my listings. Apparently ebay have no way to downgrade it again and have asked me to just create a new account - throwing away 15 years' worth of positive feedback in the process...
- dec0dedab0de 8y agoa few years back I did trip some kind of threshold and was automatically upgraded to a business account, which means that my "business" (aka home) address now appears prominently on all my listings. Apparently ebay have no way to downgrade it again and have asked me to just create a new account - throwing away 15 years' worth of positive feedback in the process... Did they reach out to you? Did they threaten to ban your account for not listing as much as before? I cant imagine going through the effort to do a clean up of accounts, but not have a way to fix them. Not even a manual one.
- e40 8y agoMy impression is that if you sell something of higher value, the scammers come out in droves. I tried to sell a DSLR through them, and the same scammer kept winning the auction and it took weeks to get out from under that bogus bid. I ended up selling on craigslist. Yeah, I had a few scammers, but they are easier to identify on CL, IMO.
- Obi_Juan_Kenobi 8y agoI agree, it's mostly based on what you sell. Electronics like phones and cameras are notorious for this, while more niche items tend to be safer.