posted on June 12, 2001 12:00:29 PM new
I only ask because in recent months I have seen indications that ebay and paypal share the same customer "service" center. Instead of looking to support their customers, they look for any excuse to shut down auctions, often with no explanation.
A few weeks ago, they emailed me to say that the text I included about C2it was more than 10 words long. I shortened it and re-listed. Several re-lists with no complaints. Then on Sat they shut down my auctions with no explanation. On Sunday I get an email that my credit card (the same one they have been billing for over 2 years) was rejected. That's quite possible because it expired and was just renewed with the same number. But is that why they shut down my auctions? I think after more than 2 years, they should have at least emailed me a few days before, not the day after.
I sent ebay support an email Sunday asking why my auctions were cancelled and if the problem is my credit card. So far no response. If they do NARU me without an answer, I guess there will be no reason for me to hurry back and update my CC info. Due to their stupid, greedy rules, I was already down to only 3 auctions a week. It won't be much of a loss for me. But I wonder how many hundreds of other sellers have done the same thing? For ebay, it could add up. And they have only themselves to blame.
Is this the kind of customer service you give someone who has maintained a good account for over two years?
They normally send you a letter at least a few weeks before the cc expiration date to remind you to update your info. I've always received one.
Your auctions may have been closed for another reason, as they do accept checks and money orders too. They would have told you to pay by coupon and they always extend a $25 credit. If you're over the amount, and have not bothered to update your expired card, that may be the reason.
Of course, it may be because someone reported your auctions for some little infraction. You really have to ask the support person who wrote to you what happened.
posted on June 12, 2001 12:34:07 PM new
My credit card expired in May (actually it was extended, but that is the expiration on the one I gave ebay). ebay never emailed before this past Sunday to ask me to update it. I only owe them $14. No one has yet written to explain why my auctions were cancelled Saturday. The email I received Sunday said that I shouldn't respond to that one because it was an automated notice and no one would read it. The ebay person who wrote me several weeks ago told me that I could not give C2it more than ten words. I fixed that and never heard another complaint. I didnt save that email so I dont know who to respond to. So right now I can only guess why I was shut down, they haven't responded and I don't plan on doing anything about it unless they do.
posted on June 12, 2001 01:11:27 PM new
wow! talk about no consistancy in ebay policies and enforcement ... my credit card expired in May. first i heard about it was this ebay email on sunday:
"*******Please Do Not Reply To This E-Mail As You Will Not Receive a Response******
Customer Account: xxxx
Customer Name: me
Credit Card Account: 4xxx-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
Payment Due: $$$
Dear you:
We are writing to alert you that your balance is still not paid, because your debit/credit card declined eBay's attempt to charge your monthly invoice amount of $$$$ to your card.
As a courtesy, eBay will automatically make a second attempt to charge your card. This attempt will take place in about 5 to 7 days. If eBay's attempt is declined a second time, and your eBay account is past due, it will be blocked from additional bids or listings until full payment is made.
Several factors outside of eBay's control may have caused your card to decline. We can suggest:
* Confirm that the credit card number and expiration date that you have on file with eBay are accurate and up to date.
* Contact your card-issuing bank and confirm with the card issuer that:
* your card account is in good standing;
* adequate credit is available on the account to accept the charge;
* the account does not have a internet/phone order block; and
* if the account is new, the account has been activated.
* If you have a debit or check card on file, please remember that these cards may be subject to usage limits set by your bank. Contact your issuing bank to determine if there are daily and/or transaction limits or any other restrictions that may cause your card to decline.
Your payment is due by your next invoice date. If you feel your card will be declined again on eBay's second attempt, you have these payment options-
Update or replace the card you have on file for eBay billing (before the next charge attempt)-
https://arribada.ebay.com/aw-secure/.....
Print a payment coupon (complete with mailing address) and mail with a check or money order-
http://pages.ebay.com/services/buyandsell/pay-........
Please allow 7 to 10 business days for your mailed payment to post to your eBay account.
To view your account balance go to:
http://pages.ebay.com/services/buyandsell/account-........
Since your card will be resubmitted in about 5 to 7 days, your prompt attention to this matter is greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
eBay Customer Accounts and Customer Support"
my auctions were not effected. i simply went and put in my updated-with-new-expire-date credit card number, and it said "approved"
i don't know if perhaps length of time (over 1 year here) that one has been billed with no problems might be a factor in getting the 'reminder' approach i got here, or the 'cancel the heck out of you' approach others here report. makes no sense to me whatsoever though - that credit cards expire is a fact of life, you'd think ebay billing would clue into that.
posted on June 12, 2001 01:32:40 PM new
You won't believe this! I just got an answer from ebay. My auctions were cancelled because of keyword spamming. I was selling a battery that fits Fuji, Toshiba and Kodak cameras and ebay doesnt want me to mention those names. I guess they expect me to say "mystery battery for unknown cameras." Why the heck couldn't they email me first? And how the heck can I sell batteries if I can't mention what they fit?
posted on June 12, 2001 04:16:41 PM new
The item I sell is difficult to find and I haven't seen any competitors. I think ebay did this all by themselves. Thanks for the phone numbers. Maybe now I can get a human being to listen.
posted on June 12, 2001 05:41:13 PM new
On second glance, I now see two sellers offering the same battery at double my price (and doing the same 'keyword spamming'). It makes me wonder why after a year, my auctions are suddenly out of compliance. But I did contact ebay by phone and asked them how am I supposed to sell it without naming the cameras on which it works. I was told that the title should just say "battery" and the text should name the camera. First of all, isn't is keyword spamming whether it's done in the title or the text? Second, do they really think that someone looking for a specific battery for a specific camera will do a search on just 'battery'? I know that before I found my supplier, I also searched for these by the camera name. So I decided I won't bother updating my credit card. I'll either have further contact from ebay and maybe they'll fix it or I'll get NARUd and it won't be much of a loss.
I've bought a fair amount of camera stuff on eBay and I usually do a description search for parts because of these inane rules about keyword spamming.
Better, I tend to stick with certain suppliers and track their seller lists as search on eBay can be hit and miss...
Try a couple auctions like were suggested and see where they go...you might also consider, if you're not doing it already, identifying the brand and part number of the battery in your title....
I know which battery #'s my cameras use and will often search by part number as well...
FWIW, if you're a small seller like I am, it may be worth your while to stay in regular contact with your eBay customers....often, many more profitable sales can be made off-site. If I was selling resale items and not my personal stuff, I'd have a database of customers and send regular bulletins out to them...
From what I've seen of your posts, you're likely doing this already but I thought I'd mention it for others reading the thread...
posted on June 12, 2001 06:32:24 PM new
camachinist: Thanks for the tip and yes, I have been building a customer list for over two years. But there are only so many batteries my existing customers need and I post on ebay to find new ones. I start the auction at my cost and hope to do better. Usually I make a few bucks and sometimes I lose a few bucks but I build up a customer base. So ebay has never been much more than break-even for me and I won't mourn its loss.
I can't understand the reason for their stupid rules. I can understand why it would be wrong for someone selling a no-name item and spamming by saying "this is just like Sony, Toshiba, Canon" in order to attract other bidders looking for those items. It's also stupid because someone looking for a specific item is not going to buy another just because the listing was keyword spammed. But to sell a battery made for Toshiba PDR-M4 without being able to name the camera is just silly. And yes, while some folks might know that the model number is BT-1 or BT-2, many won't. And some *might* look for BT1 or BT-1 or BT2 or BT-2. But I still think most will look for Toshiba. So I want to list "battery for Toshiba PDR-M4" which is I believe will attract more bids than "BT1, BT-1, BT2, BT-2."
From what I have heard, the number of auctions on ebay is dropping, the average selling price is dropping and this is a really bad time for ebay to start enforcing silly rules in a silly way. So now they'll lose my 3 auctions a week. Maybe it sounds small, but multiply that by all the other small sellers who are as annoyed as I am and it adds up.
I got slapped for keyword spamming after an auction closed and the item sold. Someone had to report your auctions - ebay doesn't take the time to look on their own.
I thought keyword spamming was within text as well, but I think only in the first paragraph.
I'm curious though. Why is this preventing you from updating your credit card?
posted on June 12, 2001 06:50:41 PM new
Yeah, I know some cryptic part number is just gonna attract buyers like bees to honey...
eBay lost me when they started the reserve fee....I only buy there now....
As I track only a narrow range of antiques, jewelry and computer items, my viewpoint may be skewed a bit but I think legitimate (non e-tailer) offerings have been dropping in those categories and that prices are at or near their peaks...
I'm seeing higher prices on quality jewelry now than 2 years ago, irrespective of inflation, but am starting to see more and more pawned items and liquidations showing up as the gluttony of the Roaring 90's is dispensed to pay off the debts...
More and more items are going unsold and I'm starting to see sellers responding with lower relists instead of holding firm....IME, that's a sign of a pricing peak...
I hope eBay takes note and doesn't put all their eggs in the e-tailer basket......a bargain is a perception and relative to the bidders experience and being inundated with duplicate merchandise priced like a retail store isn't going to attract more folks, IMO...
I often dread the results of the search engine these days...
posted on June 12, 2001 06:57:30 PM new
>>Why is this preventing you from updating your credit card? <<
Because if after two years ebay can slam me like this and then insist that I list my future auctions in such a way that I'm pretty certain I won't get bids, I just won't bother to do it. If I'm going to be NARUd, I want to have the small satisfaction of knowing that it cost ebay something, even if it's only $14.
I'm hoping that maybe since there's a debt showing on their books, someone might actually contact me who might understand the problem. And maybe if enough sellers do this, someone might wake up and realize this is not how you treat customers.
There was a supermarket near me that rarely opened more than two registers even when people were standing 12 deep in line. So a lot of folks stopped shopping there. It didnt seem to make much of a difference. I wrote to the corporate office and that didnt help. Then I got a few of my neighbors and we would stop at the store. If there were long lines, we would fill a cart with things like ice cream and milk and then leave the carts near the registers. Eventually they got the message and started a policy that if more than 3 people were standing in line they would open another register. I'm just wondering what it would take to for ebay to get the message.
posted on June 12, 2001 07:05:47 PM new
[i]If there were long lines, we
would fill a cart with things like ice cream and milk and then leave
the carts near the registers[/i]
LOL....
Your creativity never ceases to amaze me...
Yeah, my CC has expired there too...I'm in no hurry to renew it.
Pat
<edit for UBB flub>
[ edited by camachinist on Jun 12, 2001 07:06 PM ]
posted on June 12, 2001 09:44:30 PM new
PayPal and eBay have poor customer service because they have vastly dominant control of their markets.
In other words, because they can.
I hope that Citibank gives PayPal a run for their money. Not because I particularly care for Citibank, but because if PayPal starts to lose business, they will suddenly do more for your business. Until then, they won't.
Unfortunately, eBay has almost Microsoft-like control of online auctions and there will probably only be change if there is an anti-trust action against them by the Justice Department. Under the current administration, that will not happen....
posted on June 12, 2001 09:55:43 PM newFirst of all, isn't is keyword spamming whether it's done in the title or the text?
I can't post a link or anything, but I seem to recall reading on the boards here some time ago that eBay is fairly strict when it comes to "keyword spamming" in the title (even though it doesn't sound like that's what you're doing), but they are more forgiving in the item description.
posted on June 13, 2001 12:05:10 AM new
camachinist I am amazed that the moderators let you get away with this -- I understand that aw and Pierre have had their share of differences and I am surprised that aw would allow his number to be published as that is a potential invasion of privacy.
On a rhetorical note only, people with deep pockets tend to be like the rest of us in that they value their privacy but they are different from the rest of us in that they have the potential to consult significant available legal resources when their privacy is compromised, and those resources are usually on-staff.
I wonder what the moderators will do? You never know -- they might delete my message -- these days this sort of thing seems to be increasingly inherently irrational!
posted on June 13, 2001 01:30:15 AM new
camachinist,
I have deleted your post listing contact telephone numbers because the CGs prohibit the posting of private information that is not readily available to the general public (including phone numbers). While I'm not entirely certain that if you called the numbers posted, you would get to speak to Pierre or Meg, I am going to err on the side of caution in this instance.
A reminder also, folks that discussion of mdoeration issues is no longer permitted within the Forums and must be addressec via email.
posted on June 17, 2001 06:54:02 AM new
eBay isn't merging with PayPal, Bell South, AOL, Earthlink, my local cable company, or my utility company. Don't expect any large company to give you the attention you'll get at the service counter of your local hardware company, you'll be disappointed if you do.
posted on June 17, 2001 07:23:04 AM new
>>Don't expect any large company to give you the attention you'll get at the service counter of your local hardware company<<
Two things wrong with your answer:
1) I have gotten good attention from the phone company and sears (via their web site). I would think these guys are large companies, wouldn't you?
2) If ebay gave me NO attention, I wouldn't have a problem. But having decided to give me attention, I would at least expect that the results would make sense.
There is currently a seller on ebay with over 25,000 positives selling his ebay shooting star jacket. He goes on for paragraphs about how disgusted he is with ebay. So far in recent months, I have seen only two companies so arrogant that they feel they can antagonize their big customers, and those are ebay and paypal. History has shown that no company can get so big that they can afford to do this forever.
Just take a look a Yahoo. About a year ago, I was having a debate with one of their stockholders and I predicted that unless they changed their customer service and tried to run their auctions like it was a real business and not a joke, it probably made sense to sell their stock short. He laughed. He isn't laughing now. It's too bad because with only a little effort, Yahoo could have given ebay real competition.
posted on June 17, 2001 08:15:44 AM newI'm hoping that maybe since there's a debt showing on their books, someone might actually contact me who might understand the problem. And maybe if enough sellers do this, someone might wake up and realize this is not how you treat customers.
Great pipe dream there, but not realistic. They don't care about your $14 and they don't care enough about the sellers who don't owe them hundreds of dollars. Sure, they'll dun you over and over, but eventually they'll write it off as a bad debt.
1)I have gotten good attention from the phone company and sears (via their web site). I would think these guys are large companies, wouldn't you?
I don't know where you live, but my local telephone company is a little operation. So you can't say all telephone companies are large. My ISP is also a little service from a neighboring county's telephone company.
edited for UBB!
Good luck with ebay.
[ edited by mtnmama on Jun 17, 2001 08:31 AM ]
