by A great pity.
My relationship with eBay has come to an end.
I’ve been unhappy with the altered format of the site for some time, but the catalyst took the shape of a garment – a rather cheap garment – I returned to its vendor because its material tore after I had worn it only four times. The vendor claimed the garment had ‘obviously been cut’. It hadn’t, but some device was clearly used to persuade eBay to the contrary, and my ‘case’ was dismissed; summarily, high-handedly, and without allowing me any right of response without ‘additional evidence’.
It isn’t the money. No, really, it isn’t. The £20 I paid is neither here nor there – certainly not worth going to the barricades to reclaim. Nor is it the hassle of re-wrapping a garment, of explaining the obvious, or the arrogance of being told imperiously my ‘case’ was being considered and the verdict handed down within 48 hours.
It’s the trust.
I don’t expect anyone to know I spent twenty years of my life in the garment trade and I know the difference between a cut and a tear: I even respect the argument that if you pay peanuts you get monkeys. I do expect a reasonable right to redress and to be heard. A facilitator of trade is not a court of law and it should not behave like one.
eBay, you’ve gone badly wrong, and that is sad, because I enjoyed my former relationship with you – in the days before, as it seems to me, you degenerated into a cheap bazaar for ‘sellers’ whose merchandise would be judged sub-standard in any other context.
I can’t trust you anymore. I cannot, and I do not, urge anyone else to follow my chosen course by closing their eBay account. I do, however, urge you to beware: do not return any defective merchandise without first documenting (photographing or any other means) the defect and its cause. Keep copies.
So – sorry, eBay, this is goodbye. It’s been fun.
Frederick Anderson's Story Blog 
I have never used ebay and don’t want to. Your story makes me want not to even more.
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I used to enjoy the ‘bartering’ aspect of the auctions as a sort of small-time bargain hunting activity, but those private sellers seem to have been driven out by what I can only describe as market traders. C’est la vie, I suppose.
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I haven’t used eBay in years. I certainly understand your frustration.
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Lamentation, I think, rather than frustration. It is only a small thing, but possibly another wake-up call to the changing nature of the internet.
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I don’t know ebay…😁
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Like Amy, I haven’t used eBay in years. There was a time I used to visit and purchase from the site frequently, but I drifted away. Sounds like I haven’t missed anything and I’m better steering clear. Sorry you had such a bad experience. In your case, I wouldn’t be returning either!
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I don’t believe it was you who drifted, Mae! They’ve sailed into a completely different ocean, maybe even another planet. Thank you for your commiserations!
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Glad you shared that. I’ve never purchased anything on eBay. Now I probably never will.
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My pleasure, Jacqui! I’ve acquired quite a lot of electronics (computers included) through eBay, and two quite good cars, as well as all the small stuff. Once upon a time, the feedback system provided real protection. No longer, it seems.
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When I started with eBay not quite 20 years ago there was a slight counter-culture flavor to the experience and it felt like all the little people were working around the machinations of the corporate world. Now eBay is one of those machines and there is nothing genuine left in the experience. I would bet serious money that the seller involved was a “sponsored” member .
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Probably so. I agree with your summation. It’s just a little sad.
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Oh Fred, what a shame my buddy. I disengaged from eBay after years of selling on there. It started with eBay charging 10% of postage costs, additional to their sellers fees. Plain greedy. Then the standard of buyers dropped, with people not bothering to leave feedback. It was a great site in the beginning, but it’s morphed into something sterile and I’ve voted ‘out’ like you. Hugs my buddy. Xxx
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I’m not enormously cut up about it, Jane – there are enough things to do in my world. But it is a shame to see how the horizons get a little closer every year. Best hugs!
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Bestest hugs back Xxx
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I don’t like on line shopping, especially eBay, since I was disappointed by what they sent me–lower quality material than I expected.
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That’s certainly my recent experience.
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I’m with you. I don’t like eBay either!
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I agree there are more than a few problems with eBay, but the biggest is that it has been allowed to buy up the competition including Gumtree, LoQUo, and Opusforum (all classified sites) where people could buy and sell new and used goods. Ebay also bought Qoo10.jp, to expand into the Asian market, so they have no competition, just like other internet giants. We need governments to protect the consumers, equal to the protection we get when we shop in a bricks and mortar shop. And we need monopoly commissions to prevent or even break up internet behemoths if necessary. After all, we wouldn’t allow one company to build all the cars in the world, competition is healthy.
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I agree, although we need to remember that the government that protects will also seek to exercise other measures of control.
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