eBay

I had to call Ebay to find the TRUTHFUL summary of the sales and fees (they hide fees from sellers) I found that the total sale was $66. (including $4. shipping) which brought my coin sale to $62. Ebay states that they charge 12.5% on sales of this kind - - - but the math didn't add up: at a $62,00 sale I should have been charged $7.75 in fees... I was charged $8.35. I found that they charge FEES ON SHIPPING! When I calculated the $4.00 shipping charge on the sale price ($62. + $4 = $66.) the 12.5 % fees almost worked out at $8.25 in fees - but not quite. I looked further and found that Ebay ALSO charges .30 in flat fees in addition to the percent fees - AND THEY DO NOT INCLUDE ANY OF THIS ON THEIR 'TRANSACTION STATEMENT' that they send you!!

It took me over a hour to find the true statement of this single transaction: Final Value Fee Variable percentage • Coins & Paper Money category -$8.35. Rate for $0.00 - $7,500.00 12.55%. Item fee total -$8.35. Final Value Fee Per order fixed amount -$0.30. Total fees -$8.65. You have to look long and hard to find the actual number that Ebay uses as a fee basis: Fees based on: $66.57. I did, and was shocked to find that Ebay even went so far as to Charge me a 12.5% fee on shipping charges!! So, ebay is dishonest. They charge you hidden fees in addition to the very high 12.5% rate (it used to be under 10%) then they bang you with a .30 'final value' fee that is not shown - then they charge you a 12.5% fee on the shipping costs as well!! This is far from being honest and straightforward.

After 3 days had passed w/ no response from the seller I contacted EBay on the 4th day after receiving a message advising my occurrence was closed because it was confirmed tracking details proved the item was delivered and I couldn't receive a refund. I clarified that I didn't want a refund and of course it was delivered but not the full 12 vases and only 6 came. The supervisor I was speaking to did nothing to help me and treated me like I was the criminal and unintelligent because I was then asked by this supervisor "Are you the professional here?" And when I tried to explain to him again my situation he hung up in my face.

This Sunday is Father's Day and I still have yet to receive the other 6 vases for my event and Ebay is putting me through ringer to get the situation clarified. I now have to wait another 3 business days and go to my local police department to create or ask for an incident report, upload this info to them before they can even do a refund, even though again I did request a refund. I just want the other 6 vases for my event this Sunday. Highly upset and highly disappointment in the vendor, who never responded whatsoever (that says a lot) and EBay for the way I'm being treated and how they're handling the situation.

I feel as if I am now being given the run around by this seller and I would appreciate it if the Better Business Bureau would intervene and help me to receive a refund for this order, as I honestly do not believe that this seller intends to refund my money without intervention. I submitted a complaint to the Better Business Bureau, so we’ll see what happens there. Also, the seller also claimed that USPS lost my order, so, the order is definitely not going to arrive.

Yet after the seller stated, in a message sent to me via Ebay, that USPS had supposedly lost my order, they still refuse to refund my money. Initially they were going to issue a refund to me for the order USPS supposedly “lost,” though after they saw that I left a negative review for them on their seller profile on Ebay, since their communication was so very poor and since they were just very rude in their messages to me, they informed me that they were no longer going to issue a refund to me for the lost order. This is most unprofessional, to initially state that you are going to issue a refund to a customer, and then to deny a customer a refund because they left you a bad review.

They also claimed they were denying me a refund because my communication was not good. Which is ridiculous, all of my messages were very clear. They are denying me a refund because I left them a bad review, plain and simple. You don’t get to violate the terms of a sales agreement simply because a customer leaves you a negative review. If every buyer did this then Ebay would have a very bad reputation and customers would quit using their services and Ebay would go out of business.

To make matters worse, when I try to get assistance through Ebay, I am also unable to get assistance as I keep getting a message that a tracking number has been provided, and therefore since the seller has provided a tracking number, Ebay will not intervene. Ebay really needs to make it easier to handle disputes. Simply because a tracking number has been provided, this does not mean that the order has not been lost and that a buyer will not be in need of further intervention from Ebay. Of course, I found no number for Ebay, so, I cannot even contact Ebay via a customer service number. Ebay also does not provide an email address, so, I cannot email them either. I have no other recourse but to open a Better Business Bureau Complaint if I ever want to receive a refund.

Ebay really needs to revise their intervention process. As it stands, a seller can simply stall and manipulate the system and there is no real recourse that a customer has. All a seller has to do is to simply provide a tracking number and there is nothing a customer can do in order to receive a refund in the event their order is lost and the seller refuses to do the right thing and to issue a refund. Ebay makes it too easy for sellers to work the system.

This is not really about the money, $6.84 is not a large sum of money. Though this is about the principle of the matter. This is about Ebay making it easy for sellers to work the system and how incredibly difficult it easy to make a dispute through Ebay. This is about the many sellers on Ebay who take advantage of people. It’s wrong, just plain and simple.