e-bay vent

[mygoose101]

I have always defended e-bay only because it has been very good to me and I do enjoy it. I pay their high fees but try to avoid them when I can. It has changed over the years for sure but have always adjusted.

I have been trying to sell a very nice Pepsi VMC 27 on there. I have re-listed it twice which is common for me. I run 7 day auctions so it has been on there close to 3 weeks.

I woke up to a e-mail from e-bay saying that they pulled my auction because of a Brand Name Misuse. At first I thought it was because I included Vendo in my listing but it was because I used Coke Coca Cola. Really! What mall cop/rent a cop has time to look for this stuff? Was it the e-bay police or the Coca Cola police? Who shall I point my anger to? Either one it's lame.

Just to make things worse I did a quick search on the guy who does "professional restorations" on there and who always runs 40 auctions at a time and his listing are full of "brand name misuse". Nothing against him because we share the same strategy but come on.

Weak!

[Pixel]

eBay used to be a nice place to buy things that were nearly impossible to find elsewhere. If you didn't want the risk of using electronic banking, you could usually just send a check or a money order and things went well. A Postal Money Order was great if the seller was uncomfortable with a check. When it was announced they bought PayPal it was obvious what was going to happen. They eventually prohibited checks and money orders as payment just about everything. Their supposed reasoning was that the forbidden payment methods were "not safe". Like electronic payment is so safe. Tell that to the account holders on the PlayStation Network. I suppose if that happened to PayPal, they'd point to some handy clause in their user agreement and say "too bad".  

In parts of Europe (where monopoly regulation is much stronger) traditional payment methods are still available on eBay. What was that about safety, again?  

In short, I'm not the least bit surprised they mistreated you. eBay has made their site basically a "last resort" as far as I'm concerned.

[collecture]

Ray,
I challenge them on it! Send other auction info. Ask for definition as to why me? I always used "Coca Cola Coke" in my listings - it draws a crowd!

I stopped selling in January, 2010! I still buy, but I don't sell. I started to sell a few items a couple of months ago, but my better judgment took over and I didn't list anything. I don't even buy as much as I once did.
I have been a member of eBay since 1998 and for 12 years I bought/sold a lot of stuff. I accepted checks, money orders, PayPal, cash, you name it.... NOT ONCE did I have a fraud issue, scam or any other problem. Why....because I knew how to handle customers! I shipped things promptly, but not too fast. If it was a large $$ amount, I called the bank to check on funds before depositing. I allowed personal pickup. I never had an issue!

Tip: With a FedEx account, you can recall a package and have it returned if payment bounces! I would bet UPS has the same service too.

For eBay to say that I HAVE to take PayPal for my own safety! Give me a break....they just want another 3.5%! And that is what sent me over the edge! Good riddance! 

[Pixel]

The safety thing is a joke for both buyers and sellers. It might be harder for sellers to scam buyers, but it can and has been done. I've never sold a thing on eBay. When I was younger I was nearly tricked into giving my eBay account information to a phisher who used a link on a Want it Now I posted (I was looking for an original Xbox.) I even typed in my username and password. I just happen to stop and look up at the URL, which went to a free hosting site, before hitting Enter. When I realized why the url was wrong, it shook me up pretty good.

I only used checks and money orders to buy things. Had they gotten into my eBay account, they could've still made a mess, but they wouldn't have gotten directly at my finances. However, had I stored electronic banking information oh-so-safely in that account, I would've been in deep doo-doo, and I seriously doubt eBay would give a flip, except for maybe billing me for fees the scammers had incurred during their jaunt.

There's no doubt that stuff still goes on. For them to claim that PayPal is safer than mailing payment is at the very apex of sheer hubris.

I hate eBay, but I find myself still forced to deal with it from time to time. I make it a point to avoid buying on it as much as possible. One day they may push sellers too far, and then they'll really start leaving.

[davethebirdman]

In the UK we are forced to use paypal. If the buyer wants it it has to be used. As stated, just another ruse to get more money out of you.

Shame in the old days (member since 1999) I'd buy stuff from the US and send money over hidden in the mail etc. Made some good internet friends from eBay..

Much more business focused now.

For all its faults eBay has allowed me to buy stuff I would never have had the option to get beforehand.

Dave 

[MoonDawg]

         Sort of makes you wonder why the FTC never got involved in this Paypal monopoly?

         It's like buying a new Silverado and they force you to go through GMAC.......................... even though you have cash.

[BONOVOX]

From a buyers point of view, I don't mind Paypal,  as I don't pay any fees to send the money to the seller, and I don't have to bring cash to a strange house lol.
But from the sellers point of view I know it's an issue, especially when say the buyers WANTS to pay cash (to hide it from the wife lol) etc....

I think with this issue of taking the ad off, I'm not so sure it was Ebay that looked it up on their own, but rather someone tipped them off to your ad, maybe someone who is competing with you? Or someone who doesn't like you? (don't see how that's possible  ).  I just cant see ebay doing that on their own.

As you've stated, there are THOUSANDS of ads that have keywords to draw attention.... why pick on yours?

[MaineT]

It wasn't me... But I will say that when I'm bored I will start reporting ads that I see get relisted over and over and come up on every search because of "keywords" being used. When I search coke cooler, I don't want to see the 7up coolers that some picker is listing every week for $250 plus. I search 7up cooler also, so now I have to see it again along with the coke coolers they picked. So twice to 3 times a day searching saved searches, and now I need to sift through the same stuff that is listed wrong several times.

[SelVend 7 up]

If you think vintage soda pop items are hard to list without ebay pulling them, try selling gun parts of even harmless empty brass on there.  They pull it in a heartbeat.

Truly ridiculous.

[MoonDawg]

       Maybe E-bay is under pressure from ATF on selling gun parts and from Coca Cola for brand name misuse?

       I'll bet the auction would never get booted if you listed a Coke machine tagged with Pepsi.