posted on March 19, 2010 09:21:35 AM new
Merrie and everyone else here... and pass this message along to any other sellers you know.
Perhaps the solution to many of the problems we are facing with eBay and their "Item Not as Described" shouldn't be batted around here in a board amongst other sellers who have experienced the very same problems. Yes, we turn to each other for support and suggestions... but the real efforts should be made by drawing attention through other venues where a larger light will be cast on eBay and their format.
Keep in mind, eBay doesn't sell the products that they make these decisions on. eBay cares about one and only one thing... making money. They view this new policy as integral to satisfying buyers (whether honest or not) at any cost. Well, that cost is losing sellers and drawing media attention to their system.
My suggestion is to now turn to your local newspaper, your State Attorney's office, and even your congressman. eBay has become a monopoly in what they do and the services they provide (Paypal). I am certain they are breaking anti-trust laws, which ones I am not certain... but there comes a time for people to start speaking out loudly through any means necessary to draw attention to these practices.
Keep in mind, eBay is making decisions on your behalf which are affecting your business and how you conduct it. They are not the company selling the item, they are simply a marketplace for people to sell and buy. If eBay wants to put their eggs into hurting sellers by forcing absurd return policies that trump the sellers return policies, then they should be the seller, not us.
The most revealing thing eBay has done with return policies is to make sellers believe their return/exchange policies will hold water. They do this by giving us a system to work with that we choose the time and method to handle returns... with apparently one exception- if the buyer claims "item not as described". Once a buyer makes that claim, your policies are overruled by eBay's policies even though eBay provides no verifiable/quantitative method of justification. Simply put, claim "item not as described" and you will get a FULL REFUND including the shipping costs.
It doesn't matter what you sell. You will always be at risk under this policy. ALWAYS!
posted on March 19, 2010 12:12:47 PM new
In spite of what people have said about me from time to time, I am a kind and friendly person, and would not DREAM of suggesting that people buy from the seller who returned the tag-less bag and do the same to her. It would be so unlike me to even suggest it.
posted on March 19, 2010 12:41:23 PM new
OMG, I think I am going to have a stroke. I told myself, I was going to let this go, what's done is done, etc.
Did I listen to myself, NO!!
Ebay sent me a letter that said they had decided in the buyer's favor (I guess 3rd time is the charm). The email said I had to file a reimbursement plan. I thought, OK, I am just going to go back to PayPal and refund her money minus shipping as my REFUND POLICY (joke, joke) does say. I figured, I would at least get my PayPal fees back that way. Searched and searched, found the transaction and did a refund. It was pending since I did not have enough money in my account.
Reread the email for EBAY!! OMG, they already refunded the payment IN MY BEHALF!! (I know, I know, I am losing my mind) Quickly called PayPal, got a nice young man who reversed the refund. WHEW!!
He also told me as I was blathering to him about injustice that I should contact Ebay again since sometimes they will rule in both the buyer and the sellers behalf.
So, lesson12, yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is her Ebay name has a full refund including my shipping to her and my Paypal fees!!
Ain't life grand!?!
On a better note, spent a lovely afternoon with my 6 week old twin granddaughters and my 3 year old grandson.
posted on March 19, 2010 12:44:31 PM new
PS: while my grandchildren were here Ebay called and left a message about what a wonderful seller I am and all of the glorious opportunities waiting for me on their new programs that start soon.
posted on March 20, 2010 12:18:53 PM new
merrie - I thought about you today
we went to a yard sale and I saw a Coach briefcase - original price was $50.00 - marked down to $3.00 - I just laughed and walked on by. But I thought about you!
posted on March 20, 2010 01:35:41 PM new
If you ask someone, hopefully a supervisor in the dispute department at Paypal how you can avoid this happening in the future, I guarantee they won't be able to give you a straightforward answer... simply put, nobody that accepts paypal can prevent this type of situation from happening. Paypal can't prevent it from happening. Only the buyer and bank can.
It isn't the sellers fault, it isn't paypals fault... both of these parties are put between a rock and a hard place, that being the buyer and their bank.
The only thing is that paypal offers seller protection and that is the only recourse you will have. Paypal is at the mercy of the bank and you are at the mercy of Paypal.
If you can't get anywhere with paypal I would email the buyer immediately and tell them you are turning this over to the authorities for fraud. Over state lines makes this a federal offense. Most people don't like the idea of feds looking into it.
posted on March 20, 2010 02:04:09 PM new
They just busted a ring bringing in Nike and Coach knockoffs made in China and Malaysia,the entry point is NJ and NY.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on March 20, 2010 03:07:30 PM new
Baltimore, Md. too!
International smuggling ring used Baltimore as entry to U.S., authorities say Washington Post
March 19, 2010
An international counterfeiting ring smuggled tens of millions of dollars worth of fake Coach handbags, Nike sneakers, Gucci shoes and Cartier watches into the United States though the Port of Baltimore, federal authorities charged Friday in announcing the indictment of the ring's members.
In the culmination of a two-year undercover investigation, a federal grand jury in Baltimore indicted nine people in a scheme to bring the bogus goods, made in Malaysia and China, into the country.
In a related investigation, London police nabbed six suspects Thursday and collected fake Versace, Ralph Lauren, Gucci and Nike clothes, shoes and other items, in what officials said is among the largest seizures ever of counterfeit goods in England.
“This was not a mom-and-pop organization,” said John Morton, a U.S. Immigration and Customs assistant secretary, at a news conference. “This was organized crime on a grand scale. Millions were made by crooks, millions were lost by legitimate U.S. companies.”
Authorities said the ring planned to expand to counterfeit drugs next, and in September, one of the defendants sent a sample of counterfeit Viagra to a business in Maryland in hopes of finding a market.
The Maryland business, which purported to import and export products without paying taxes and customs duties, was actually part of the government’s undercover operation.
Three New Yorkers were indicted: Josephine O. Zhou, 32; Kin Yip Ng, 43, and Yenn-Kun Hsieh, 45.
Also indicted were Wai Hong Yong, 43, and Eng Cheng Kee, 40, of Malaysia; and Hexing Yang, 38, Chan Hong Xu, 40, Lidan Zhang, 39, and Kai T. Jaing, 25, all of China.
Yong, Kee and Yang were arrested in Guam, while other defendants were picked up in Maryland, New Jersey, New York and North Carolina. Xu is still at large.
Officials won’t say how they first got wind of the ring. But when a container filled with 10,000 pairs of counterfeit Nike sneakers entered the Baltimore port in May 2008, undercover Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who had infiltrated the ring were there to receive it, according to court papers.
The next month, the undercover officers delivered the sneakers to defendants in Brooklyn and were paid a $25,000 smuggling fee in cash.
The shipping containers kept coming, court papers say. First, thousands more Nike sneakers. Then, in January 2009, a container arrived with 25,000 fake Coach bags. That April, about 10,000 pairs of bogus Coach and Gucci shoes arrived.
In total, the ring smuggled in 500,000 fake Coach bags, 120,00 pairs of counterfeit Nike shoes, 10,000 pairs of bogus Gucci and Coach shoes and 500 counterfeit Cartier watches, the indictment alleges.
The undercover officers were paid a smuggling fee for the deliveries. But they also were given tens of thousands of dollars of additional cash, and instructions to wire that money to accounts in Malaysia or a company in Asia. That cash was “laundered” through the undercover business, authorities said.
The fake items were headed to New York or New Jersey, where they would make their way onto the streets, into stores or to Internet sales sites.
"Most people don’t think twice about the Nike sneakers, Coach handbags, Gucci shoes and Cartier watches sold on the streets, in stores and over the Internet that aren’t what they appear to be," said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. But he said supporting the counterfeit market cheats U.S. companies and employees.
The defendants face charges including conspiracy to smuggle goods into the United States, trafficking in counterfeit goods and money laundering.
posted on March 20, 2010 04:06:48 PM new
I've had many emails from companies trying to sell me sports apparel (wholesale) from China. It never comes across as being legit. Sent to the trash bin upon arrival.
posted on March 20, 2010 07:25:30 PM new
glassgrl: re Coach items, probably a wise move, but used items are a little different, you can BOLDLY describe that the item appears to be COACH, you are not an expert, etc. You could probably make money but who knows any more.
With INAD, you can buy it yourself from the Coach store and include a notarized receipt and some 2 bit CSS Rep will indiscriminately deny your dispute.
posted on March 21, 2010 06:59:53 AM new
merrie - no it had that screaming "made in China" interior to it. not so obvious but you just kept looking for that little white label
We don't go much to sales anymore but there were 2 neighborhood sales.
What NOT to sell in a yard sale? We went to a very nice house in a nice neighborhood. Why would anyone put out a package of Vagisil and why would anyone buy it? Eeewh!
posted on March 21, 2010 07:06:36 AM new
glassgrl: You are right about the quality of Coach and the made in China tag. After this debacle, I looked at the Coach bag I was carrying, bought by my husband from a full price store and it was made in China.
posted on March 22, 2010 09:34:35 AM new
OMG!! Ebay just called to tell me a dispute has been opened against me!! I said is this about the purse?? She said, yes. This was a courtesy call to remind you that you have 7 days to respond!!
I told her, this case has been opened 3 times, twice closed in my favor and the FINAL time in her favor. I went through all the gorey details, hey, she called me. When I was finished, she repeated that this was a courtesy call and she did not have access to all the details. I blasted!!I said the case is CLOSED!! Ebay reimbursed the customer and I reimbursed Ebay. I am out listing fees, postage and PayPal fees. I am out a NWT purse since the tags were removed and the purse was used!!
I usually responded with 7 minutes, let alone 7 days since I was so aggravated. I asked her how many times the buyer can file a case with different excuses. No response from Ms Courtesy Call. The final time it was for INAD when her feedback to me before she changed her mind read, "Fast shipping. Good description. Easy to converse with." I have corrected the misspelled words!!
