2.1. What is
upce?
2.2. The upce
charter
2.3. I know
nothing about newsgroups, newsreaders or newsservers, how do I get started?
2.4. Is it ok if I post a
link to my eBay auction on uk.people.consumers.ebay?
2.5. What do all those acronyms I've
seen on uk.people.consumers.ebay mean?
2.6. Is top posting or bottom posting
preferred on uk.people.consumers.ebay?
2.7. Are there any other posting
guidelines I should be aware of?
2.8. Is upce moderated / do I need to
register before posting?
2.9. How long has upce been
around?
2.10. How can I
improve my Newsreader?
2.11. Where can I see statistics for the
group?
2.12. How can I
access an archive of previous messages?
3.1. What do all those
acronyms used on eBay mean?
3.2. Where's eBay gone? - I can't
access the site!
3.3. eBay's lost my
stuff!
3.4. I need to
contact eBay quickly and email will take too long, can I phone them?
3.5. I've received an email
from Paypal / eBay - how do I know if it's for real?
3.6. What's the best online payment
method?
3.7. How do the
costs of different online payment services compare?
3.8. What's a reasonable P&P
figure?
3.9. How do I
stay up to date with what's new on eBay?
3.10. What's the funniest eBay listing
ever?
3.11. Who is
responsible if an item if lost in the post?
3.12. Who has the highest feedback score
and what do they sell on eBay?
3.13. How do I report a "dodgy" auction to
eBay?
5.1. What's the best time to
start / end my listing?
5.2. When is a relist
free?
5.3. Is there
anything I can't sell on eBay?
5.4. Am I allowed to link to pictures
on external sites to avoid listing fees?
5.5. How do I block someone from
bidding on my auctions or set blocking preferences?
5.6. What is Turbo
lister?
5.7. Avoiding
fraudulent buyers
5.8. How do I find out what else one of
my bidders is bidding on?
5.9. When / How to use Buy It Now /
Reserve price / starting bid
5.10. How do I make my listing as
effective as possible?
5.11. How should I photograph my
item?
5.12. I know I
should use a photo, but I don't have a digi cam.
5.13. Where can I purchase items to
sell at a profit on eBay?
5.14. How do I find Boot Fairs close
to me?
5.15. My buyer
didn't pay for the item, what should I do?
5.16. My item sold on eBay but I
cannot complete the transaction, what should I do?
5.17. Are there any tools which can
help me keep track of my auctions?
5.18. My buyer has paid me by cheque -
how long should I wait for it to clear?
5.19. Ebay fees and charges
5.20. Is it OK for me to bid on my own
auctions?
5.21. How do I cancel
a sale by mutual consent with my buyer at no penalty to either of us?
5.22. I've listed my item but now
can't find it by browsing the category or searching against a keyword.
5.23. Can I charge my buyers extra
if they wish to pay by Paypal or another online payment service?
5.24. How can I see how many people have
used "Watch this item" on my listings?
5.25. I've received incorrectly made out
Postal Orders, how can I get them cashed?
5.26. How do I stop buyers with low
feedback or buyers from foreign countries bidding on my auctions?
5.27. How do I change the status of an item in "My eBay", I want
to mark it despatched / paid for / whatever?
6.1. I've bought / sold an
item and I have a problem with the seller / buyer - how should I deal with
this?
6.2. I need to take
someone to court to recover money owed as a result of a transaction, what's the
easiest way?
7.1. I'm not very happy
following a transaction but the other party has told me they will only leave
good feedback if I [refund them/leave positive feedback/mention them in my will,
etc.]
7.2. When is it
ok to leave negative feedback?
7.3. Who should leave feedback first,
the buyer or seller?
7.4. It's really hard looking through
loads of pages of feedback, is there anything which can make this
easier?
7.5. Someone has
left me feedback which I want to reply to, how do I do this?
7.6. I left feedback for someone but I need
to add extra comments, how do I do this?
7.7. Someone has left unfair feedback about
me, how do I get it removed?
7.8. I'm only interested in seeing what
negative / neutral feedback has been left against a seller - how do I do
that?
7.9. A seller I wish to buy from has
private feedback - is there any way to get around this?
| 1. Introduction |
1.1. What's this FAQ about?
This is an FAQ which attempts to summarise frequently asked questions arising in the usenet newsgroup uk.people.consumers.ebay (abbreviated to upce).
Many thanks to all the posters whose posts in upce have allowed this FAQ to be created. Mostly I haven't credited individuals because it would become rather dull, but I have made a couple of exceptions where a large amount of info has been contributed by one person.
Please note that the advice and
suggestions contained within this document are offered "as is" with no
warranties expressed or implied. The information I have collated here is
offered in good faith as a result of the experiences of one or more posters to
upce and I hope you find it useful and informative. Having said
that, please bear in mind that you have no recourse in law should your
antique ming dynasty vase fetch £1,000 less than you were expecting "because
your FAQ didn't tell me not to leave a Pound-Land carrier bag in the background
of my photo". You get the idea I hope.
This FAQ has a primary
home at http://upce.org.uk which is where you
will always find the most up to date version. It may be mirrored on the
condition that the document is preserved in full, unchanged format and that
updates to the primary FAQ are reflected in mirrored copies within a
reasonable timescale of less than 4 weeks. This document may not be
sold in any format, particularly not on eBay! A secondary location of this FAQ
is at http:\\ebayfaq.co.uk. This location is just as official as the upce.org.uk
one and will receive updates at the same time. You may link to this FAQ at
either address.
This FAQ is maintained by Abso. Suggestions, corrections and flames are welcomed at the following address: faq@upce.org.uk. Posts to upce with suggestions relating to the FAQ may be accidentally overlooked by Abso, so you are encouraged to use the submissions email address.
Finally, special thanks are due to Dr Zoidberg for taking care of the domain registration for the FAQ and to Humbug for providing webhosting facilities.
| 2. About upce |
2.1. What is upce?
upce is an acronym for the internet newsgroup uk.people.consumers.ebay. As the name implies the group is intended as a forum in which UK based users of the eBay auction websites can discuss all matters relating to transactions and auctions on the eBay websites. A full description of the purpose of the group is provided in the charter (see "The upce charter").
You can access upce here: http://groups.google.com/groups?q=uk.people.consumers.ebay&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en or by clicking here: news://uk.people.consumers.ebay . You will need newsreader software (such as Outlook Express, Forte Agent / Free Agent, X News, Xananews, etc) configured with a valid server and account information.
Many people find the group to be an invaluable mine of
information and experience to improve their ability to make best use of the eBay
sites (ebay.co.uk, ebay.com, etc) and to assist with resolving tricky situations
surrounding eBay transactions. New contributors are always
welcome and the group is generally very friendly in nature and flame
free. Having said that, this is usenet and disputes / trolls will tend to
arise from time to time. The best possible advice is to ignore
inflammatory remarks and simply rise above it.
It is a good idea to
"lurk" by reading the group for a week or so to get feel for the place before
joining in, especially if you are new to newsgroups. When you do join in,
best not make a big splash with a post introducing yourself, but please simply
join in to a thread that's running, or post a new question. Most
importantly of all, to avoid being flamed, read the rest of this
document and the charter first!
2.2. The upce charter
The charter of the group is located at: http://www.usenet.org.uk/uk.people.consumers.ebay.html and should be read prior to posting to upce.
2.3. I know nothing about newsgroups, newsreaders or newsservers, how can I get started?
Well you could access the group on the web via this link: http://groups.google.com/groups?q=uk.people.consumers.ebay&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en but it's a really poor substitute for a proper newsreader which downloads the newsgroup messages onto your PC from a newsserver and allows you to fully contribute to the group (and thousands of others).
To get up and running properly, try the following:
Ok, start by having a look for Microsoft Outlook Express installed on your PC. If it's not there (or if you're one of those Mac wierdos), have a look at item 2.10 which list sites from which you may download a newsreader.
With your chosen newsreader installed you need a newsserver account (similar to an email account). Your ISP may provide you with newsserver details and a username and password, but if not you can register for a free account on the free server run by the university of Berlin. The web address you should visit is news.individual.net and with the registration details they supply you entered into the setup fields of your chosen newsreader you'll shortly be able to fully contribute to upce.
2.4. Is it ok if I post a link to my eBay auction on uk.people.consumers.ebay?
As stated in the charter of the group (http://www.usenet.org.uk/uk.people.consumers.ebay.html) "[upce] is not intended to be a place where people simply post links to items they have for sale and posts of this nature should be sent to appropriate adverts newsgroups. " however, "Links included as part of a person's normal usenet signature appended to on-topic posts are exempt from this although these should be kept as short as possible" which means that if you would like to make a contribution to the group and include an unobtrusive link in your .sig at the end of the post, it is unlikely anyone will object.
You may consider this unfair and restrictive but please bear in mind that contributors to upce will be checking eBay regularly and will see auctions which are placed in categories which interest them. When they read upce they are interested in discussions about eBay, not an extension of eBay.
You have been warned! Don't come crying to me if you get flamed after advertising your antique Scandinavian quiltwork auctions.
2.5. What do all those acronyms I've seen on uk.people.consumers.ebay mean?
There are two types of acronyms you are likely to come
across on upce. Firstly eBay related acronyms which are either those
used in listings on the eBay websites or those used on upce when discussing
eBay. The other type are usenet acronyms which are common to the whole
range of usenet newsgroups. Below I have provided examples of both
although there will always be more acronyms out there..! eBaying related Acronyms Usenet Acronyms
2.6. Is top posting or bottom posting preferred on uk.people.consumers.ebay?
Always a subject worthy of a heated debate this. There is no firm rule requiring posters to upce to either top or bottom post (we're not dictatorial like that!) however the majority of contributors bottom post and this is preferred among the uk. hierachy of groups for many reasons.
For more information on the top vs. bottom posting debate and the reasons why bottom posting is considered preferable, please follow any of the links below. The pages linked to below also contain a lot of information about usenet conventions and quoting "best practice" which will be useful to newbies:
2.7. Are there any other posting guidelines I should be aware of?
As stated in the charter, but repeated here
for clarity, posts must be made in plain text only, not HTML. Binaries are
not permitted to be posted. This means you cannot attach a picture, sound
clip or other file to your post.
Posts advertising money making schemes
are not permitted, however "sure fire" their results are guaranteed to
be.
There is an excellent FAQ answering many questions relating to the
correct formating of posts to the uk. hierachy of groups located
here:
http://www.usenet.org.uk/ukpost.html
2.8. Is upce moderated / do I need to register before posting?
No, upce is not a moderated group and there is no requirement to register prior to posting messages.
2.9. How long has upce been around?
uk.people.consumers.ebay came into existence with a post to the uk.net.news.config group on 2nd July 2003, following an RFD raised by Dr Zoidberg. Although young, the group has thrived as a response to the success of the eBay sites and new contributors continue to discover this comparatively new group at a steady rate.
2.10. How can I improve my Newsreader?
If you're just getting started with newsgroups (or even if you're not), you may be using Microsoft's Outlook Express combined newsreader and email client. You may also have noticed the following:
There are a few things you can do if it starts to grate. Obviously the approach most in keeping with usenet's traditions is to tell them where to go, but you may start to wonder what they know that you don't and whether there is, in fact, something out there to make your usenet posting / reading life happier.
The first thing to consider is the free Outlook Express add-on called Quotefix. Quotefix mends OE of some of its unpopular indiscretions by modifying the way in which Outlook Express formats outgoing posts. It also helps you easily read articles by colour coding the quoted sections of text based on who said what. Best still, it's free!
You can find OE Quotefix and a better description of its features here: http://home.in.tum.de/~jain/software/oe-quotefix/
As an alternative to patching up Outlook Express, you could take the brave step of ditching it completely and installing software designed solely with newsreading in mind.
There are many possibilities, lots of which are free (yay!):
2.11. Where can I find statistics for the group?
There are a few sites on the web which automatically index usenet newsgroups and summarise the results. Here are links to the entries for upce on two of them:
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/uk.people.consumers.ebay/about
2.12. How can I access an archive of previous messages?
Google is well known as a search engine for webpages but another feature offered by the company is the archiving of the majority of usenet newsgroups.
To search for old messages from uk.people.consumers.ebay, access the service from http://groups.google.com/ and choose "Advanced Groups Search". Fill in one of the four options under "Find message" and enter "uk.people.consumers.ebay" under "newsgroup". You can also choose other options, such as "Message Dates", if you wish. Press "Google Search" to complete your request.
To search all groups in the uk.* hierarchy, enter "uk.*" as
the newsgroup. To search all groups with "ebay" in their name, enter "*ebay*" as
the newsgroup - note the asterisks both before and after the word
"ebay".
| 3. General eBay Questions |
3.1. What do all those acronyms used on eBay mean?
Here is a list of
acronyms you may come across in listings on eBay websites. These are a
subset of the acronyms found in the "About upce" section.
3.2. Where's eBay gone? - I can't access the site!
As inscribed on the cover
of that epic tome, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
DON'T PANIC.
eBay has recently been up and down more often
than a window cleaner on the London Eye. We can probably assume that this
unreliabilty will continue in the short to medium term. It is also worth knowing
that there seems to be a regular pattern to the maintenance work which eBay
perform which affects site access and functionality. On Friday mornings it is
often noted that the site cannot be accessed or that certain features do not
work. If, as a seller, your auctions are affected detrimentally and you feel you
have lost bids then it is worthwhile using the eBay contact system to register
your complaint. eBay are normally willing to provide fee refunds in these
circumstances.
What this means is that it's probably just having a funny turn, check back in 10 minutes and see if it's back to normal, or visit ebay.com, ebay.ca or any of the other ebay sites.
3.3. eBay's lost my stuff!
Regrettably it's not unknown for eBay to suffer a
technical problem which leads to auction listings being lost either temporarily
or, rarely, permanently. If you're affected by this you have every right
to complain and expect appropriate refunds to be made. Use the contact
form at this location to air your grievance:
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/contact_inline/index.html
3.4. I need to contact eBay quickly and email will take too long, can I phone them?
Yes, you can call them on the following number in the UK: 0700 500 3229 (which spells 0700 500 EBAY on your phone keypad). If you're calling from outside the UK, use +44 700 500 3229. The lines are open between 09:00 and 18:00 (GMT / BST) Monday to Friday and outside these times an ansaphone facility is available.
The number is defined as charge code pn4 by BT, so your call will cost you 26 pence per minute (including VAT) if you are calling from a BT landline. Other service providers and calls from mobiles / abroad may be charged differently. You will just have to decide if the benefit of talking directly to a real live person in eBay customer services justifies the expense.
As a second best alternative you may use "Live Help", which is a chat window system that connects you with eBay customer services. You can currently only access this from ebay.com - look for the "Live Help" link below the main search box. This will open a chat dialogue box which will normally enable you to be "speaking" with an eBay team member in around 10 seconds.
3.5. I've received an email from Paypal / eBay - how do I know if it's for real?
There are *lots* of spoof emails in circulation at present and the numbers will surely grow in future. Giveaway signs that an email is a spoof include any of the following:
It is often not possible to tell "just from the appearance" of the email / website as many of the scammers are good at re-creating exact replicas of the eBay or Paypal website templates. Please therefore do not feel that it must be genuine because it is in the right font / colour / graphics, etc. These things are easily faked!
Here are some of the scenarios which have been used by scammers to justify their requests for information:
"We acquired another service, please log in and update your account information."
"We had a security breach, we will shut down your account if you don't immediately verify your account information, click on the link below."
"You will get a reward of 30% off service fees in recognition of earning a star, click here." (For eBay users, referring to feedback stars.)
"We regret to inform you that your eBay account will be suspended if you don't resolve your problems."
"Please download this security patch." (Usually posing as Microsoft.)
"We regret to inform you that your eBay account has been suspended due to concerns we have for the safety and integrity of the eBay community.
Per the User Agreement, Section 9, we may immediately issue a warning, temporarily suspend, indefinitely suspend or terminate your membership and refuse to provide our services to you if we believe that your actions may cause financial loss or legal liability for you, our users or us. We may also take these actions if we are unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us.
Please note that any seller fees due to eBay will immediately become due and payable. eBay will charge any amounts you have not previously disputed to the billing method currently on file.
To activate your suspended eBay account please complete the form located at..."
Please note that it is in the nature of scams of this type that they evolve over time and new scenarios will emerge.
If you're worried then forward the email to spoof@ebay.com and ask them to verify whether the email is genuine.
Finally, please note that you cannot always spot a "dodgy" link by examining the URL displayed in your browser. For example you may receive an email which apparently points towards www.ebay.co.uk/account.html but which actually points to www.scammershaven.com/harvestinfo.html. A vulnerability in outlook express and internet explorer allows the link to be structured in such a way that the address bar of your browser displays "www.ebay.co.uk/account.html" even though you are at: www.scammershaven.com/harvestinfo.html. You have been warned!
3.6. What's the best online payment method?
If the question were "What is the most popular online payment method?" the answer would surely be Paypal (https://www.paypal.com/uk/). The seamless integration of Paypal with eBay and the fact that eBay relentlessly push Paypal ensures this, however there are alternatives which often make Paypal seem like an expensive option.
Nochex (www.nochex.co.uk) is a leading
pretender to the crown, offering lower fees than Paypal and no "chargebacks"
(when the purchaser later reclaims the funds if, for example, they never receive
the goods). Nochex has the useful feature that you
don't need to register if the buyer's account is "XTRA enabled", in that case
you can pay directly via switch card (this will cost you, or him 99p depending
on how he has set it up).
Unfortunately you can't use this feature to pay by
credit card. If you do register, there are no fees to pay for sending or
receiving money to/from nochex accounts, the only charges are for loading or
withdrawing money between your Nochex account and your bank
account.
Natwest fastpay (www.fastpay.com) is a UK based service which offers favourable terms but seems little used.
Another option which is free to use but seems to be overlooked by many buyers and sellers is online bank transfer. If you have online banking you can request the seller's bank account number and sort code and the name on their account and perform and electronic funds transfer. Be sure to include the eBay item number as the payment reference so the recipient can match the transaction to the sale.
If your buyer is nervous about providing those details you
could point out that they are on every cheque they hand out (as is their
signature....) so it needn't be seen as dodgy.
3.7. How do the costs of different online payment services compare?
The details below are an indication of the comparative fees of Paypal, Nochex and Fastpay but you are encouraged to check the website of each to ensure you have up to date information as the fees charged are subject to change with little or no notice.
Paypal
Just to confuse matters Paypal divide accounts into two types, personal and business/premier accounts. The main difference is that with a personal account you cannot receive a payment funded by a credit card, ie. the person sending you the money must have those funds present as a balance in their Paypal account. In practice this is a very real restriction and most people accepting Paypal for their auctions soon need to upgrade to a premier account and incur the higher charges which apply for receiving payments to such accounts. Incidentally, Paypal classify Switch / Solo / Delta cards as credit cards for the purposes of requiring you to pay extra fees to receive such payments.
* Personal Paypal Account (can't receive payments funded by credit cards)
- Open an Account: Free
- Send Money: Free
- Withdraw
Funds: Free for £50.00 GBP or more £0.25 GBP for £49.99 GBP or less
- Add Funds: Free
- Receive Funds: Free
- Multiple
Currency Transactions Exchange rate includes a 2.5% fee
* Premier/Business Paypal Account (you need this account to allow people to pay you with credit cards)
- Open an Account: Free
- Send Money: Free
- Withdraw
Funds: Free for £50.00 GBP or more £0.25 GBP for £49.99 GBP or less
- Add Funds: Free
- Receive Funds: 2.7% + £0.20 GBP to 3.4% + £0.20 GBP
Nochex
- Registration: FREE but not necessary to register to
send money
- Sending money: FREE
- Receiving money: 2.6% +
20p
- Loading money into a NOCHEX account from
your bank account: FREE
- Withdrawing money
from your NOCHEX account into your bank account: Free if withdrawing more
than £50, or 25p if less.
Fastpay
- Sign up: Free
- Pay money in: Free
- Send money: Free
- Receive money: 9p
- Withdraw
money: 2.9%
Comparisons
To compare what each service might cost for different transactions we have compared Paypal, Nochex and Fastpay transfer costs below. The standard assumptions for each of the comparisons are that the funds are transferred from a Debit or Credit card and that the fees are those incurred by the seller, not the buyer. If the seller leaves the funds in his account and spends them on further purchases, fees will be much reduced.
Item value £20: Paypal charge £0.88, Nochex charge
£0.72, Fastpay £0.67
Item value £25: Paypal charge £1.05, Nochex
charge £0.85, Fastpay £0.82
Item value £50: Paypal charge £1.90,
Nochex charge £1.50, Fastpay £1.54
Item value £100: Paypal charge
£3.60, Nochex charge £2.80, Fastpay £2.99
Item
value £200: Paypal charge £7.00, Nochex charge £5.40, Fastpay
£5.89
Item value £1000: Paypal charge £34.20, Nochex charge £26.20, Fastpay
£29.09
Keep in mind when reading the above that online banking transfer is a free alternative to online payment services.
3.8. What's a reasonable P&P figure?
Ah, the ultimate eBay argument starter :o) There are two schools of thought on this, the buyers who think that P&P should be charged at postage plus no more than around £1, and the sellers who point out that P&P charges legitimately include the cost of packaging materials plus the value of the time taken to package the item and costs incurred by the seller such as petrol / bus fare to and from the post office. Indeed, several sellers who frequent upce have been known to speculate whether their buyers believe that they own a bubble wrap and jiffy bag tree [1] at the bottom of their garden!
It is likely that for as long as buyers who mostly only buy deal with sellers who mostly only sell, the arguments over what constitutes a fair P&P charge will continue.
The only indisputable row resolver is that if the listing quantifies the P&P charge the buyer should not take issue at a later date unless, for example, the listing promises Special Delivery at the cost stated but the item arrives second class.
[1] Special thanks to Kim Andrews.
3.9. How do I stay up to date with what's new on eBay?
Well reading upce is an
excellent way! There are others too though, such as the eBay UK
announcements board which is the first place that new developments are
revealed. Find it by following the link below:
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/marketing-uk.shtml
3.10. What's the funniest eBay listing ever?
We currently have this entry from bike-pusher in at no. 1:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2442354423
We can assure you that the judging wasn't swayed by the fact that
the seller is a regular poster to upce..! :o)
3.11. Who is responsible for an item lost in the post?
If the seller has specified P&P in the listing and has accepted your payment for this service, they are responsible to deliver not only the item but the delivery service. In practice this means that the seller should ensure adequate insurance is obtained and a proof of postage is retained to allow a claim to be made in the event of loss in transit. In the event of the item going amiss, the seller should refund the buyer in full (including P&P costs) or alternatively send a replacement item. This should be undertaken independantly of the seller claiming compensation from the post office or courier.
If the seller offers a separate price for insurance and the buyer declines to pay for this, the situation is different. Likewise if the seller sells the item for "local collection" and the buyer arranges a courier collection, the risk rests with the purchaser.
3.12. Who has the highest feedback score and what do they sell on eBay?
The following link provides details of the top 500 eBay sellers according to number of feedback entries received. There are some astonishing sellers who must employ teams of people to help run their eBay business. At the time of writing, one seller listed has 766 pages of active listings!
http://www.nortica.com/UserArea/ebay500_12.asp
You can click on the seller's name in the list and view their feedback page and, from here, find out what they sell.
3.13. How do I report a "dodgy" auction to eBay?
Here's the link:
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/contact_inline/report_listing.html
| 4. Buying |
4.1. What is proxy bidding?
All bids on eBay
(except bids accepting a Buy It Now price) are proxy bids. This simply
means that eBay treat your bid as the maximum you are prepared to pay and will
automatically bid for you up to, but not beyond that limit.
This means
that if no other bidder has placed a bid as high as yours, you will win the item
at less than your maximum bid. The major advantage of the system
though is that you don't have to sit in front of your PC watching a 7 day
auction and entering a new bid each time yours is beaten - the system automates
that.
4.2. Avoiding fraudulent sellers
An unavoidable fact of trading on eBay is that you
may be ripped off by a dishonest seller. You may as well let that thought
settle in right now so that it comes as less of a surprise later. Having
said that, the vast majority of sellers are legitimate and there are steps you
can take to spot questionable sellers. If you are a little "streetwise"
and know what to look out for, there's no reason why buying on eBay can't be
very safe.
4.3. Warning signs which may indicate a problem seller
A poster to upce recently provided the following list of signs which show up as blips on his scam radar. Individually they can be explained away as merely "possibly dodgy" (with the exception of the Western Union / Moneygram payment). Collectively they should lead you to file the auction under A for "Avoid".
4.4. What is sniping an auction? How do I do this anyway?
Sniping is a controversial practice whereby
software is employed to allow a user to submit a bid at the latest possible
stage in an auction in order to eliminate the possibility of a competing bidder
making a reciprocal, higher bid.
Sellers dislike sniping as it is
perceived that the final price will be lower when this method is employed (this
is, after all, why snipers do it). eBay dislike sniping for the same
reason. These days sniping software is generally hosted on a website and
sold as a service on a per use basis.
Many people feel that sniping is
dishonest or dodgy behaviour and some suggest that it would be unnecessary
if all users fully understood the proxy bidding system and bid their maximum
limit only once on an auction.
Be aware that a seller who feels
their item fetched less than they were expecting may leave you negative feedback
if you sniped their auction.
I won't link to the sniping websites as I'm sure you can find them if you're interested.
4.5. I'm bidding on an item and have received an offer of a similar item, should I be interested?
The advice from eBay would be "No" because you will not be covered by their dispute resolution procedures. There is also an increased risk of fraudulent activity as fraudsters can easily target people based on what they are bidding on. The most common theme to fraudsters' many methods is to appeal to a person's greedy side to pursuade them to enter a deal. Think twice if you are offered the same item for much less..!
4.6. I've received a "second chance offer", what's that?
If you bid on an auction but do not win, a second chance offer may be sent by the seller if the winning bidder fails to complete the purchase. The price you will be offered will be your highest bid price and will, by definition, be less than the price the auction closed at.
It is also worth noting that a seller who has more than one item available may send second chance offers to the non-winning bidders of their recent auction even if the sale to the highest bidder proceeds without trouble. To the uninitiated, receiving an unsolicited offer like this can seem like a "dodgy" situation but it actually has advantages for both parties. The advantage to the seller is they don't have to run another auction and pay eBay listing fees and the advantage to the potential purchaser receiving the second chance offer is that they will be offered the opportunity to buy the item at their previous highest bid, which will be less than the auction closed at.
4.7. How do I find all the auctions of a particular seller?
From the eBay site click "Search" then look above the search boxes which are displayed and note that there are other tabs, one of which is "By Seller". Click on this and, assuming you know the user ID of the seller, you can see their current, or completed auctions (tick the completed items box).
4.8. How do I bag a real bargain on eBay?
Well assuming that there are lots of other buyers looking to buy any particular item, the key is to make sure the item you're bidding on is not drawn to the attention of the competition. This means one of the best ways to find a bargain is to look for listings which the seller has messed up in some way. This could be because they've mispelled a key word in the title listing, or perhaps because they've listed the item in the wrong category. Any such mistake can lead to many fewer interested buyers seeing the listing, meaning the sale value is less than it should be.
Bargain time!
Finding these items can be a hit and miss afair, but there is a web-based tool which can help you spot them. It's at:
| 5. Selling |
5.1. What's the best time to start / end my listing?
The answer probably depends on what you're selling. Sunday nights are always popular for finishing an auction as a high number of people are casually browsing then, however because of this popularity many sellers target this market and your item may be lost in a "sea" of others all ending around the same time.
To help decide whether this will be a problem, use the search features of eBay to see how often listings for identical items are finishing (the "Search tips" in section 3 of this FAQ may help you with this).
If the item you are selling is unusual and there are fewer than one such listing ending per day, then ending on a Sunday (or, second best, Monday) night will help increase exposure as your item will be high up the category listing at the time when most people are browsing. Conversely, for popular items you can gain an advantage by looking for a gap of at least two days in the listings of the other sellers (this may well be mid-week). If you then list your item such that it finishes on the evening of the second gap day you will stand to gain the bids of those people browsing during either of those days as your item will be the first to finish and will appear highest in the category listing. Of course this doesn't hold true if someone places a one day listing but these are still fairly uncommon due to the low exposure they offer.
Consider who your target customers are and when they may be expected to be browsing. If you're selling a DVD of the 2003 Formula 1 season then ending your item at 2pm on a Sunday when a race is being shown is not a good plan but delaying the end of the listing for a couple of hours may work as people fire up their PCs after watching the race. If you're selling toys for young children an end time after 8pm would be preferred as parents of young children are unlikely to get any time to sit in front of the PC prior to then!
In the summer months, it is worth trying to time your auction so it ends on a rainy day (check that long range forecast) since on sunny days many people are likely to be outside enjoying the nice weather and away from their pc. Obviously any time during Wimbledon fortnight is a good end date based on this principle...
Of course the timing of the end of the listing isn't the be-all and end-all, it's simply a way of maximising the chances of a bidding war developing as more than one person decides they must have your item while they have the chance. You should also consider maximising the number of popular browsing days your listing appears across. This means that starting a 10 day listing on a Thursday evening can work well as you have 2 Saturdays and 2 Sundays falling within the duration of the listing.
5.2. When is a relist free?
The listing (not final value) fee will be refunded under
the following circumstances:
5.3. Is there anything I can't sell on eBay?
It would be a bit boring to simply repeat what eBay help says about this, plus it's a list of items which may change so here's the link:
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/questions/prohibited-items.html
It is worth familiarising yourself with the contents of the list as eBay are not known for being very tolerant in this area and it's a real pain to spend time creating listings which are subsequently cancelled.
5.4. Am I allowed to link to pictures on external sites to avoid listing fees?
Perhaps surprisingly, the answer is yes, you
can. Surprising because it allows you to reduce the cost of your listing
by not paying eBay for adding more than 2 photos. Of course there is a
saving to them in not having to host your photos, so it's a two way
street.
It is also worth knowing that you don't have to simply include a
clickable link to those externally hosted pictures within your listing, you can
also use your HTML skills to make the images appear seamlessly within the text
of the listing.
Below is an example of the HTML you will need to
include to achieve this effect:
<center><img src="http://www.yourdomain.com/yourpicture.jpg"></center>
If you use this option, you should you click the tab labelled "Your own web hosting" in the "Add pictures" section of the Sell Item pages as you build your auction listing. From here you may either tick a box labelled "The description already contains a picture URL for my item" or you may directly enter a URL for a single picture hosted elsewhere.
Doing the above is important as it will result in a small camera icon being displayed next to your item in the Gallery listing view. Without this buyers may not view your item's listing page as they will believe there is no photo (a major turn off for buyers).
5.5. How do I block someone from bidding on my auctions or set blocking preferences?
You may use this link to add up to 1000 individual user IDs. That should be enough..!
http://offer.ebay.co.uk/ws2/eBayISAPI.dll?BidderBlockLogin
Alternatively, set block preferences to automatically rule out certain groups of bidders from your auctions. The options are: Bidders with negative feedback; Bidders from countries to which you do not post (according to your selling preferences) and bidders who have received more than 1 unpaid item complaint (NPB alert) in the last 30 days.
The link to achieve this is: http://offer.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?BuyerBlockPreferences and it is recommended that all eBay sellers consider using this facility to reduce the hassle factor of ending up with a clueless eejit winning your auction.
5.6. What is Turbo lister?
Turbo lister is a free utility from eBay designed to make life easier for medium and high volume sellers by allowing multiple auction listings to be created in parallel and from templates intended to produce more professional looking listings.
Bear in mind that although turbo lister is free, the bulk listings it will happily churn out are not!
5.7. Avoiding fraudulent buyers
Did you ever get contacted by that elusive dream buyer? The one who wants to pay you more than your item is worth if you'll just end the auction early and send the item to him in Eastern Europe / Africa / Uzbekistan / just about anywhere.
Did he overpay you by accident (by a method which allows chargebacks) and ask if you wouldn't mind sending him an international money order / Western Union transfer for the balance?
Lucky you!
Or are you? As with most things in life if it looks too good to be true, it probably is and one common thread through all of the methods used by fraudulent buyers is to appeal to the seller's sense of greed. Still, at least it's a funny story to post to upce! (For us).
5.8. How do I find out what else one of my bidders is bidding on?
From the eBay site click "Search" then look above the search boxes which are displayed and note that there are other tabs, one of which is "By Bidder". Click on this and complete the search fields, and - hey presto!
5.9. When / How to use Buy It Now / Reserve price / starting bid
<I really must get around to writing this answer..!>
5.10. How do I make my listing as effective as possible?
5.11. How should I photograph my item?
A picture may tell a
thousand words, but it's wise to ensure that they're not all words to the effect
of "avoid this item!".
A picture isn't merely to document the
appearance of the item, it's a further chance to SELL it. This means that
you should clean the item where applicable, and position it so that any
blemishes are not obvious (unless you mean to document them and mention them in
the listing). Think about the background of the picture, is it a nice
uniform surface such as a quilt or wall, or is it a junk-strewn wasteland of a
kid's playroom? If it's a shiny object, a simple desk lamp placed nearby
can produce a nice twinkly reflection on the item making it look even
shinier.
Try to find an area with lots of natural light as it helps with
colour reproduction and if you're photographing a vehicle, park it somewhere
scenic, not in a pub car park.
Take some time to review the photo/s you
have taken and consider how they will appear to someone who has never seen your
item and only has the pictures to go on. Do they do it justice? A
bit of extra time spent re-snapping the item from a different angle / location /
with extra lights on can translate into significantly more £s in your
account.
5.12. I know I should use a photo, but I don't have a digi cam.
For certain items (small or
flat objects) a scanner makes an admirable replacement for a digital camera,
producing clearer, more detailed images. This works especially well for
items such as CD cases which can be difficult to photograph normally anyway, due
to flash reflections. For small objects many digital cameras will produce
poor results as the camera cannot focus when held close. By contrast, the
scanner is always in focus for items flat on its glass surface and with the lid
left open the background will appear black.
Even if you have neither a
camera nor a scanner, a brief web search can bear fruit if your item is
something mass produced. You should note in the listing if a stock image
has been used. Another option is to use an image from an auction for an
identical item however you must obtain the permission of the
other seller, or you risk eBay cancelling your listing if the seller
complains.
5.13. Where can I purchase items to sell at a profit on eBay?
There are a few answers to this question, one surprising answer is "eBay". Yes, there are bargains to be had and here are a few tips on how to find them:
The next place to look for items for resale is boot fairs. The nature of eBay is that there are (currently) many more buyers than sellers and it has been observed that "any old tat" will sell. Often for more than such items can be bought for in the "real world". So, if you can find cheap, light (low postage) items in a boot fair you have the chance to make profits. Also rarity seems to add more to value on eBay than elsewhere, so look for unusual and desirable items. Because eBay is such a large market, there's much more chance that the 2 of the 10 people in the UK who simply must have that 1940s emboidery covered toothbrush stand are going to find your listing than will find the car in the corner of Coventry boot sale.
See also "How do I find Boot Fairs close to me?"
5.14. How do I find Boot Fairs close to me?
The following links may
be of help in tracking down a boot fair close to you:
http://www.carbootcalendar.com/members/calendar.php http://www.britishcomputerfairs.com/ (Computer themed, as if you didn't
guess)
5.15. My buyer didn't pay for the item, what should I do?
I'll assume you've already tried contacting
the buyer by email, but have you tried several times over the course of at least
a week? It can be surprising how infrequently people check their
email. You also have the option of requesting the buyer's full details
(name, address and telephone number) from eBay using this link:
http://cgi3.ebay.co.uk/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?MemberSearchShow
There is a set procedure provided by eBay to allow you to report
your buyer's non-payment and to re-claim your final value fee (FVF). After 7
days you have the option to create an Unpaid Item Reminder (UIR) via eBay using
the link below.
http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?CreateDispute
This will lead to eBay contacting the buyer and
encouraging them to contact you and complete the sale. You then have the option
8 days later to reclaim your fees.
After using the UIR link and during
the dispute process you may access the Dispute Control centre to keep track of
the status of your open claims:
http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewDisputeConsole
.. previous reports will remain displayed in dispute control for <TBA> months to allow you to always check the outcome of items against which you reported an non-paying bidder. Even items which were reported under the old NPB process will be displayed here.
eBay's own overview of the process is here:
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/unpaid-item-process.html
5.16. My item sold on eBay but I cannot complete the transaction, what should I do?
Contact the buyer and
explain the situation. Be nice - you need to get them to agree to cancel
the transaction by mutual consent. Once you achieve this and a minimum of
7 days have passed since the auction finished you can file a NPB alert and tick
the box which says "by mutual consent". This is important as it will avoid
the cancellation of the sale appearing as a black mark on the buyer's
record.
You may use the link no. 3 on the page below to file a NPB
alert.
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/community/npb.html
5.17. Are there any tools which can help me keep track of my auctions?
Yes, MOOSell is a funky application
which displays the status of your auctions including customisable warnings
to flag bidders on your auctions who are new to eBay, have poor, negative or
neutral feedback or a history of bid retractions etc.
Essentially MOOSell
is designed to speed up your becoming aware of activity on your auctions which
you may wish to take action about (such as removing bids).
MOOSell runs
as a standalone application meaning you can keep an eye on the progress of your
auctions even when you're off surfing elsewhere.
You can get MOOSell
here:
http://www.bluecowmedia.co.uk/MOOBay/index.html
5.18. My buyer has paid me by cheque - how long should I wait for it to clear?
Standard times for funds to
become available after banking a cheque are 3 - 4 working days, however you may
wish to note that allegedly cheques can bounce up to 6 months after they are
presented. This is only under exceptional circumstances though and it
would be highly unreasonable to wait more than a week after you receive a
cheque. Many sellers post items immediately upon receipt of a cheque as
dishonoured cheques are rare, however the wisdom of this no doubt depends on the
value of the item in question.
It is considered good practice to notify
bidders of your policy on cheque clearance in your listing and doing so will
prevent your feedback suffering at the hands of an impatient buyer.
5.19. eBay fees and charges
Fees are paid by the seller (cynics suggest this is why eBay can appear to favour sellers when disputes arise) and are summarised here:
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/fees.html
They are split into listing fees (for adding your item to a category/ies), final value fees (based on what your item sells for - usually a percentage) and listing enhancements (frills like a subtitle displayed below the item description in category view, or extra photos).
5.20. Is it OK for me to bid on my own auctions?
No, absolutely not. This is called shill bidding and eBay treat it as a serious violation of their rules. eBay have automatic detection tools which are designed to spot shilling as it takes place, or after the completion of the auction. They will also investigate if a member complains that they think you are shilling.
If you are caught shill bidding you will receive a 30 day account suspension for your first offence and for any subsequent offence you can expect to lose your account permanently.
5.21. How do I cancel a sale by mutual consent with my buyer at no penalty to either of us?
Well you
could both just forget about exchanging the money and goods, but of course as a
seller this will leave you out of pocket as you will have paid eBay the FVF
(Final Value Fee) relating to the sale. To receive a credit for this amount (but
not the listing fee, sorry!), the procedure is the same as explained in the
answer to question 5.16. It is a very similar procedure to the one which must be
followed to resolve a non-paying bidder situation and you still need to wait 7
days following the auction close before you report the mutually agreed
cancellation of the sale. After this time you can file a NPB alert and tick the
box which says "by mutual consent". This is important as it will avoid the
cancellation of the sale appearing as a black mark on the buyer's
record.
You may use the link no. 3 on the page below to file a NPB alert
which, despite the name, can be used even if the sale is cancelled by mutual
agreement.
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/community/npb.html
5.22. I've listed my item but now can't find it by browsing the category or searching against a keyword.
Relax! The eBay system takes up to a couple of hours to allow items to appear in a category view or search result so best come back in a while and try again.
5.23. Can I charge my buyers extra if they choose to pay by Paypal or another online payment method?
No. You used to be able to but this practice is now banned by eBay. If you do add a surcharge you can expect your listing to be removed by eBay should someone complain to them.
5.24. How can I see how many people have used "Watch this item" on my listings?
Click on "My eBay" and scroll down to the "Items I'm Selling" section. Have a look at the column headings, you may find "# of watchers" is already indicated ("#" is an abbreviation for "number"). If not, you can add this column by clicking on the "Customise" link positioned to the right hand side of the "Items I'm Selling" header. There are a number of other columns which may be added in this way, including reserve price, # of unique bidders and postage cost.
5.25. I've received incorrectly made out postal orders, how can I cash them?
Well I suppose option 1 is to email your brainless buyer and point out to them the error of their ways. However we all know there are buyers out there who are very hard work indeed and you may find it easier to deal with the Post Office. Post Office counter staff are not able to help you if the payee name doesn't match yours exactly (if, for example there's a small spelling mistake), but if you write to the address below you and enclose your duff PO's you are likely to receive a speedy resolution.
The
address:
Postal Orders Correspondence Section
Transaction
Processing
1 Future Walk
Chesterfield
S49 1PF
5.26. How do I stop buyers from other countries or buyers with low feedback from bidding on my auctions?
Should you wish to introduce such restrictions, it is now possible by following the link below:
http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?BuyerBlockPreferences
5.27. How do I change the status of an item in "My Ebay", I want to mark it despatched / paid for / whatever?
In the column headed "action", where "view payment status" can often be seen, click on the little triangular widget to the right. This will bring up a drop-down menu which will show you all the actions available for your item. Click on the value you require.
| 6. Disputes |
6.1. I've bought / sold an item and I have a problem with the seller / buyer - how should I deal with this?
The best advice initially is to remain polite and factual in email communication, however strong your desire to wring the toe-rag's neck is! There are, after all, always two sides to a story and it's surprising how often disputes can be easily sorted out if you just communicate your point of view to the other party in a non-inflammatory way.
If this fails, you may wish to telephone the other person and benefit from the fact that people are often more conciliatory when talking directly than when writing emails. It may be that what's getting you hot under the collar is the tone of the other person's correspondence whereas they are actually a lot more reasonable than they appear, but just bad at expressing themselves in writing.
You can use the link below to request contact details for another member if you are involved in a transaction with them. They will also receive your contact details as a result of your submitting the form.
http://cgi3.ebay.co.uk/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?MemberSearchShow
If there's no way to resolve the dispute you can contact Squaretrade (www.squaretrade.com) who, for a fee of $20 will provide an unbiased third party view to assist in resolving disputes.
6.2. I need to take someone to court as a result of an eBay transaction, what's the easiest way?
There is a website operated by the UK Court Service located at www.moneyclaim.gov.uk which allows you to either instigate, or respond to, a claim. The maximum claim amount is £100,000 but there are restrictions and advice on usage of the service located at: www.courtservice.gov.uk/mcol/userguide/index.htm
Obviously such measures should be viewed as a last resort and if your claim relates to an eBay buyer not paying for an item which they won, you should refer to item 8.10 of this FAQ which explains why you would lose such an action.
| 7. Feedback |
7.1. I'm not very happy following a transaction but the other party has told me they will only leave good feedback if I [refund them/leave positive feedback/mention them in my will, etc.]
This may constitute feedback extortion which is against eBay's rules. eBay defines feedback extortion as: "Feedback extortion - Demanding any action of a fellow user that he or she is not required to do, at the threat of leaving negative feedback. ("Even though it didn't reach reserve, sell it to me for my bid or..."; "Pay me £100.00 or I will..."; "Sell me all of the Dutch items or I will get all of my friends to...")"
You may be able to get eBay to take action against the other party under these circumstances. Forward the email in question to eBay.
7.2. When is it ok to leave negative feedback?
People's views differ in that some will only leave negative feedback (or "neg") after extreme provocation, and others will prefer full disclosure, leaving negative feedback for anything which they find reduces the quality of their eBay experience.
Most would agree that a buyer who doesn't pay should be negged and a seller who backs out of the deal and never ships the goods (without a reasonable excuse) should also be negged. Beyond that there's room for debate and upce is that way ---->
7.3. Who should leave feedback first, the buyer or seller?
In an ideal world, a seller who has received payment and is ready to ship the item should know all they need to about the transaction and should leave feedback. Many do this and benefit from the goodwill it creates.
However... paranoia can come into play. What if the buyer decides to get funny? What if they pretend the goods never arrive, or leave me negative feedback because they didn't like the colour of my jiffy bag? My feedback record doesn't deserve an unwarranted battering due to such pettiness and surely they'll think twice if they know I still have the means to neg them?
Russian roulette feedback where the first to blink leaves the feedback is a sad fact of eBay life and while it exists there will be debates on upce about who should leave feedback first.
Incidentally, one poster to upce was recently added to the blocked bidders list of a number of regulars for expressing the view that he would leave neutral feedback for any seller who didn't leave him feedback immediately following his payment being sent.
7.4. It's really hard looking through loads of pages of feedback, is there anything which can make this easier?
Yes, a free eBay "bolt-on" software
product called GutCheck is designed to assist you in analysing the feedback of
eBay members. Once installed it provides you with an extra right-click
menu option in Internet Explorer which enables you to right-click on a
member's name or feedback score and receive a useful summary of their
feedback. You can also decide to view only the neutral or negative
comments.
You can get GutCheck by following the link
below.
http://www.teamredline.com/gutcheck/default.htm
7.5. Someone has left me feedback which I want to reply to, how do I do this?
You will need to visit the feedback forum at: http://pages.ebay.co.uk/services/forum/feedback.html then click "Reply to feedback received".
7.6. I left feedback for someone but I need to add extra
comments, how do I do this?
You will need to visit the feedback forum at: http://pages.ebay.co.uk/services/forum/feedback.html then click "Follow up to feedback left".
7.7. Someone has left unfair feedback about me, how do
I get it removed?
You may find this harder than you first anticipate. eBay will not investigate the fairness or validity of feedback left, so if your complaint is that the feedback left is untrue, you are unfortunately out of luck. Having said that, there are certain circumstances under which eBay will remove feedback comments (although this may take several weeks). The currently accepted circumstances are:
There are additional circumstances under which the feedback will be "withdrawn" by eBay. This means the comment remains visible but it does not affect your overall percentage feedback rating and does not appear as a negative in the summary table at the top of your feedback summary page. These circumstances are:
7.8. I'm only interested in seeing the negative / neutral feedback left against a seller - how do I do that?
Understandably when faced with 50 pages of feedback listings you may wish to cut to the chase and simply see what bad or neutral feedback has been left, to perhaps look for recurring problems. There is a tool which allows you to do this, it is located at the following URL:
http://www.toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs
.. just enter the seller's eBay ID and wait for the page to load. This can be very illuminating!
7.9. A seller I wish to buy from has private feedback - is there any way to get around this??
It's hard to avoid the impression that any seller
converting their feedback to "private" has something to hide and for this reason
most people will simply avoid buying from them. If, however, you really really
want to, then please do use the "cheat" below to check their feedback, despite
their best efforts to hide it.
1. Click on the Search tab at the top of
the eBay page.
2. Next click on the "by seller" tab and enter the name of
your seller.
3. Below this box click the "All" button against completed
items.
This will allow you to produce a complete list of the sales made by this seller on eBay.
Now you can click one by one on the feedback scores next to the buyer names down the right hand side of this page. By these means you can view the feedback pages of those people who have bought from your seller. Finally you can click on the "feedback left for others" tab on these pages to spot the feedback they left for your seller.
It may take a while to track down whatever
controversial feedback your seller is hiding, but if you use this method they
cannot hide it from you!
| 8. eBay and the law |
Thanks to Stephen Dibble for many of the answers reproduced in this section.
8.1. Are eBay listings really auctions?
eBay themselves are careful to state that the service they
provide does not constitute them becoming auctioneers (see para 3.1) in the
link below, however that leaves room for question as to whether sellers on eBay
are conducting an auction in the legal sense.
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/community/png-user.html
8.2. What about auction law?
If a sale is a auction, then section 57 of the
Sale of Goods Act gives a specific right to withdraw a bid. If it is not an
auction then an offer can be withdrawn prior to acceptance. (so Buy It Now may
be neither). A further issue is what if one withdraws leaving a
previously losing bid as the winner, but that bidder no longer wants it? It
seems as though they also have to withdraw their bid. Again, a difficult
point.
8.3. What are the distance selling regulations (DSR) about?
This applies only to sales by traders to consumers.
Most goods or services bought by distance communication are subject to a 7 day
cancellation period. Noteable exceptions are computer software, music cd
etc
which are opened by the consumer. The regulations also do not apply to
auctions (thus the big question as to whether sales are auctions) For certain
'Buy it now' sales are included in Distance Selling. Bear in mind
that under
these regulations the seller must provide a notice detailing how to cancel and
failure to do so extends the cancellation period to 7 days from the receipt of
the notice up to a 3 months and 7 days from the date of
purchase. Failure can
also lead to court action in some cases. Note also that if you do cancel under
DSR, you have to pay the return cost. DSR also has a lot of provisions
about the provision of information, both prior to,
and after of the
conclusion of the contract.
8.4. What are my consumer rights when I buy on eBay?
Your rights are the same as they would be if you bought goods from a shop:
1) If goods are not of satisfactory quality at the
time of sale, you are entitled to damages, normally this is a refund.
2)
If goods become faulty within 6 months of purchase, then there is a presumption
that the fault was inherent at the time of sale unless the seller can prove
otherwise. You are entitled to repair, replacement or, if neither practical or
possible, a refund. (this applies only to goods bought AFTER 1st April
2003)
Pursuading a private (or professional..) seller to honour these obligations may prove difficult, especially after feedback and money have been exchanged. Good luck!
8.5. What are the Electronic Commerce Regulations?
See: http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2002/20022013.htm However, the guidance from the DTI suggests that, amoungst other
things, it means that any trader selling goods on the internet MUST provide a
geographical address in the advert. (no, PO Box, no London, England
etc)
8.6. What if the listing says I cannot have a refund?
The term is unenforceable and the seller committs a criminal offence (traders only) (Consumer Transactions (Restrictions of Statements) Order).
8.7. What if the seller is a trader but does not disclose this?
The trader
commits a criminal offence (Business Advertisements (Disclosures)
Order).
8.8. What if the trader has terms which I think are unfair?
Such terms may be void and unenforceable, but deciding what
is in breach of the regulations is not a simple matter. (Unfair Terms in
Consumer Contract Regulations)
8.9. Isn't that a bit of a muddle?
Yes - we have a lot of old law, never designed
for the trading methods used on eBay, coupled with some very new laws, some of
which are very badly written. It will be a while yet before any of us can be
entirely sure
of the legal position surrounding not only eBay but all on-line
'auctions'
So if you have any queries, any complaints or are a trader
needing advice, I suggest you start here http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/
8.10. A winning bidder hasn't paid me, can I take legal action against them?
Yes you can (you can sue anyone you like), but you have little prospect of winning as the law is against you. Despite the sternly worded disclaimer eBay insert on the bid page warning that a bid is a legal contract, this does not seem to be supported by UK law. The situation is certainly different in other countries, but eBay's rules are not the same as UK law and you don't need to think about this one for long to realise which will prevail in court.
8.11. What if the seller states in his listing that s/he doesn't accept responsibility for loss / damage in transit?
Where the seller is a business and the buyer a consumer this has no effect in law, or rather it is treated as an unfair condition as it conflicts with statutory law (namely the Sale of Goods Act). The relevant passages are extracted below:
___________________________________________________________
Sale of Goods Act 1979
(as amended by Sale
and Supply of Goods to Consumer Regulations 2002)
20(4) In a case where the buyer deals as consumer or, in
Scotland, where
there is a consumer contract in which the buyer is a
consumer, subsections
(1) to (3) above must be ignored and the goods remain
at the seller's risk
until they are delivered to the consumer.
32(4) In a case where the buyer deals as consumer or, in
Scotland, where
there is a consumer contract in which the buyer is a
consumer, subsections
(1) to (3) above must be ignored, but if in pursuance
of a contract of sale
the seller is authorised or required to send the goods
to the buyer,
delivery of the goods to the carrier is not delivery of the
goods to the
buyer.
____________________________________________________________
What this means is that until the goods are delivered safely to the buyer the seller has to stand the risk, even if the seller offers insurance at extra cost and the seller declines to purchase this insurance. Any attempt by the seller to disclaim their statutory responsibilities cannot be legally enforceable.
Of course, none of the above guarantees that you will be
able to pursuade such a seller to refund you for loss or damage in transit.
Legal action is the ultimate recourse but many will be understandably reluctant
to take disagreements to this level.
The situation is different where the seller is a private individual as the Sale of Goods Act only applies "Where the seller sells goods in the course of a business" (section 2).
