eBay, etc. General Question/Answer Thread

[Hyacinth]

Finally!

eBay To Pay $3 Million In Cyberstalking Campaign Against Natick Couple

eBay admitted that former officials sent items like a bloody pig mask, a fetal pig and a funeral wreath to the home of a Natick couple.

patch.com

It's about bloody time !!! Speaking of time, let's hope the sleazeballs that have been sentenced to jail time actually SERVE their full sentences.

It's just a damn shame that the guy at the top (or should that be BOTTOM?) of the Ebay swamp walked away without even a slap on the wrist. There's no way all this could have gone on without his knowledge and his outright approval. General Motors has him now and may they choke on him.

For anyone not familiar with the disgusting story -

"Take Her Down”: Inside eBay’s Stalking Campaign against a Natick Couple

Amazon. Etsy. eBay. Lots of companies appeared in David and Ina Steiner’s E-commerce newsletter. Only one tried to take them out.

www.bostonmagazine.com

eBay stalking scandal​

"...Members of eBay's executive leadership had long been bothered by the couple's posts. Under pressure in early 2019 to enhance performance, the company felt a new sense of urgency. For example, in April 2019, Wenig sent the post about how outsized his compensation was compared to typical employees to eBay’s chief communications officer at the time, Steve Wymer.[6] Wymer replied that eBay was "going to crush this lady."[6] Wenig texted Wymer weeks later: "Take her down."[6] Wymer took their concerns to the head of eBay's security division, Jim Baugh, whose team began harassing the Steiners at home and online.[6] Wymer texted Baugh that Ina Steiner was a "biased troll who needs to be BURNED DOWN;" that he wants "to see ashes;" and that Baugh should do "whatever it takes"...

eBay stalking scandal - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Devin Wenig​

"...A cyberstalking and harassment campaign against the owners of the online newsletter ECommerceBytes occurred in 2019. This eventually led to charges against seven members of eBay's global security team. The harassment began after an article was published in ECommerceBytes about eBay's litigation against Amazon. Wenig texted a communications executive "If you are ever going to take her [ECommerceBytes writer Ina Steiner] down... now is the time." A subsequentcyberstalking and harassment campaign against the newsletter's authors led to charges against seven members of eBay's global security team. Wenig was not charged in the case...."

Devin Wenig - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[nicole0612]

I have an ongoing issue with a certain type of purchase and I wonder if anyone has any ideas. It’s not a big deal because it’s always a cheap item (food/grocery item), but I’m just curious what is going on. Sometimes if an item is out of stock on Amazon or if the price is crazy ($30 for a $3 item) I will just look on eBay and buy it there. It’s usually shelf-stable grocery store item that might be $3-4 in the store and it’s on eBay for $8-10, so it’s worth it for the convenience. Lately when I order items like this the tracking will show that it is delivered but it is not here. Then it will show up about a week later at my house. Usually it is in a box from a retail grocery store (usually from Walmart, which we do not have in my city), so I think the sellers on eBay are just purchasing the items from an online store and using my shipping address. I really don’t care, because it’s still easier for me to buy it on eBay, but I don’t understand why the eBay tracking shows it delivered at my house about a week before it actually gets here. The total shipping time will be about two weeks, though it says a shorter amount of shipping time when I purchase the item on eBay. Any ideas?

 

[onlyk]

I have an ongoing issue with a certain type of purchase and I wonder if anyone has any ideas. It’s not a big deal because it’s always a cheap item (food/grocery item), but I’m just curious what is going on. Sometimes if an item is out of stock on Amazon or if the price is crazy ($30 for a $3 item) I will just look on eBay and buy it there. It’s usually shelf-stable grocery store item that might be $3-4 in the store and it’s on eBay for $8-10, so it’s worth it for the convenience. Lately when I order items like this the tracking will show that it is delivered but it is not here. Then it will show up about a week later at my house. Usually it is in a box from a retail grocery store (usually from Walmart, which we do not have in my city), so I think the sellers on eBay are just purchasing the items from an online store and using my shipping address. I really don’t care, because it’s still easier for me to buy it on eBay, but I don’t understand why the eBay tracking shows it delivered at my house about a week before it actually gets here. The total shipping time will be about two weeks, though it says a shorter amount of shipping time when I purchase the item on eBay. Any ideas?

Those likely are drop ships, I never bought things like that on ebay, but my guess is, the ebay seller scan your address in at USPS somehow to make it appear delivered, then they had the store (such as walmart) directly ship the item to your address. Or they had picked up item from their local store after it was shipped to their local store then they ship to you.

$8-10 on a $3-4 item is quite a mark up. of course to some, convince is worth the money

 

[nicole0612]

Those likely are drop ships, I never bought things like that on ebay, but my guess is, the ebay seller scan your address in at USPS somehow to make it appear delivered, then they had the store (such as walmart) directly ship the item to your address. Or they had picked up item from their local store after it was shipped to their local store then they ship to you.

$8-10 on a $3-4 item is quite a mark up. of course to some, convince is worth the money

Thank you! That makes sense, I was so curious. We only have natural grocery stores like Whole Foods and co-ops near my house, so if I want to buy something that they don’t carry I need to buy it online, so the markup is a necessary evil. Honestly, it is still usually cheaper to buy it on eBay! My husband will drive to the next city over to buy certain foods in person, but it costs more in gas than the mark-up to buy online! I think they either must have a store local to them, or some way of getting discounted shipping because if I go directly to the website (most of these items come to me in a Walmart box, so I assume that’s where they are shopping), I would have to pay a shipping fee that would make the item total more expensive than what I end up paying on eBay. It’s very strange. I admire their hustle, but it’s just annoying that the tracking is always messed up.

 

[onlyk]

Thank you! That makes sense, I was so curious. We only have natural grocery stores like Whole Foods and co-ops near my house, so if I want to buy something that they don’t carry I need to buy it online, so the markup is a necessary evil. Honestly, it is still usually cheaper to buy it on eBay! My husband will drive to the next city over to buy certain foods in person, but it costs more in gas than the mark-up to buy online! I think they either must have a store local to them, or some way of getting discounted shipping because if I go directly to the website (most of these items come to me in a Walmart box, so I assume that’s where they are shopping), I would have to pay a shipping fee that would make the item total more expensive than what I end up paying on eBay. It’s very strange. I admire their hustle, but it’s just annoying that the tracking is always messed up.

You are absolutely right, it does make sense to buy online for you. . Did you ask those sellers why would show delivery while wasn’t delivered? I’m sure they wouldn’t mind telling you the reason

 

[nicole0612]

You are absolutely right, it does make sense to buy online for you. . Did you ask those sellers why would show delivery while wasn’t delivered? I’m sure they wouldn’t mind telling you the reason

Yes, I have asked each time (hard to tell if they are the same sellers under different names or different sellers, because how many people can be selling these random, specific things? - it’s items like xxx brand cans of sugar free cherry pie filling or xxx brand xxx flavored stevia drops), but when I ask the sellers just “commit” to their position that “tracking shows that it was delivered”. I get where they are coming from, so I just have to wait the extra week until I get it. It is just so odd. Amazon will of course deliver the same item in 2 days, but they either have crazy variable pricing (like one can of pie filling will be $29 sometimes, to account for the free shipping etc) or they require you to buy a pack of 6-8 (presumably to offset the shipping fee).

 

[whateve]

Thank you! That makes sense, I was so curious. We only have natural grocery stores like Whole Foods and co-ops near my house, so if I want to buy something that they don’t carry I need to buy it online, so the markup is a necessary evil. Honestly, it is still usually cheaper to buy it on eBay! My husband will drive to the next city over to buy certain foods in person, but it costs more in gas than the mark-up to buy online! I think they either must have a store local to them, or some way of getting discounted shipping because if I go directly to the website (most of these items come to me in a Walmart box, so I assume that’s where they are shopping), I would have to pay a shipping fee that would make the item total more expensive than what I end up paying on eBay. It’s very strange. I admire their hustle, but it’s just annoying that the tracking is always messed up.

Have you looked at the tracking information? Does it actually show it was delivered in your city? Have you looked at the label on the package you eventually get to see if the tracking number is the same as the one on ebay? I might call the carrier to find out more about the tracking.

I wonder how some of these resellers can sell things so cheap. After the fees, they must not make much. I order some Costco items on Amazon since I don't have a Costco membership. They are cheaper than the same thing bought from another store.

 

[nicole0612]

Have you looked at the tracking information? Does it actually show it was delivered in your city? Have you looked at the label on the package you eventually get to see if the tracking number is the same as the one on ebay? I might call the carrier to find out more about the tracking.

I wonder how some of these resellers can sell things so cheap. After the fees, they must not make much. I order some Costco items on Amazon since I don't have a Costco membership. They are cheaper than the same thing bought from another store.

When I go to eBay it says delivered to my zip code 3 days ago (just says zip code and not my address), but it is definitely not here or at a neighbor’s house. The same thing happens every time (like 3-4 times now) and then it shows up the next week in a Walmart branded box with my address on it. I was confused the first couple of times because I knew I didn’t order anything from Walmart, but then when I opened it I recognized it as my Ebay food purchase.
That is such a good idea to check the actual tracking number on the box. If it comes next week, as I am expecting, I will check to see if the tracking number is the same as the tracking number entered on Ebay.
I ordered the same item from another seller 2 weeks ago. I just search by cheapest price + shipping. Then after about 1.5 weeks from my order date, they canceled my order and said that item was not available and refunded me. Then a couple of days after that, I got a message on Ebay that the item had been delivered (but it was not delivered to my house). However, since I already had been refunded by the seller at that point, I didn’t worry about it.
Maybe the delivery notice I received on eBay was when the seller got the item from Walmart or whoever they ordered it from.
I really don’t mind, because I agree with you. If I try to order these items directly it costs me much more than what they’re selling them for on eBay. It seems like a hard way to mark money, so more power to them, I just don’t really understand how it works for them logistically.

 

[onlyk]

When I go to eBay it says delivered to my zip code 3 days ago (just says zip code and not my address), but it is definitely not here or at a neighbor’s house. The same thing happens every time (like 3-4 times now) and then it shows up the next week in a Walmart branded box with my address on it. I was confused the first couple of times because I knew I didn’t order anything from Walmart, but then when I opened it I recognized it as my Ebay food purchase.
That is such a good idea to check the actual tracking number on the box. If it comes next week, as I am expecting, I will check to see if the tracking number is the same as the tracking number entered on Ebay.
I ordered the same item from another seller 2 weeks ago. I just search by cheapest price + shipping. Then after about 1.5 weeks from my order date, they canceled my order and said that item was not available and refunded me. Then a couple of days after that, I got a message on Ebay that the item had been delivered (but it was not delivered to my house). However, since I already had been refunded by the seller at that point, I didn’t worry about it.
Maybe the delivery notice I received on eBay was when the seller got the item from Walmart or whoever they ordered it from.
I really don’t mind, because I agree with you. If I try to order these items directly it costs me much more than what they’re selling them for on eBay. It seems like a hard way to mark money, so more power to them, I just don’t really understand how it works for them logistically.

Ok, sounds like, they need track ebay generated to show it’s delivered to your house which possibility done by mail an empty envelope or small no value things to a wrong address to your zip code it could be delivered to someone else be discarded or returned to the seller (even address is non existing), then the Walmart order is the actual order seller ordered to be shipped directly to your house.

since the fake shipping is cheap mail method they could provide free, Walmart shipping can be free to seller too if they have Walmart plus.

OK, I went online and found out reason why they do that: “listing an item on eBay and then purchasing the item from another retailer or marketplace that ships directly to your customer is not allowed on eBay.”

 

[nicole0612]

Ok, sounds like, they need track ebay generated to show it’s delivered to your house which possibility done by mail an empty envelope or small no value things to a wrong address to your zip code it could be delivered to someone else be discarded or returned to the seller (even address is non existing), then the Walmart order is the actual order seller ordered to be shipped directly to your house.

since the fake shipping is cheap mail method they could provide free, Walmart shipping can be free to seller too if they have Walmart plus.

OK, I went online and found out reason why they do that: “listing an item on eBay and then purchasing the item from another retailer or marketplace that ships directly to your customer is not allowed on eBay.”

Thank you!! I have heard about components of this before, but I never knew all of the details! This is so interesting, thank you for explaining.
In fact, I have received these decoy packages before myself that are used to show delivery to a certain zip code (like recently I received a flimsy metal chain in a tiny mailer envelope with a tracking number on it, but nothing I would ever order and I have no idea who the shipper was).

 

[onlyk]

Thank you!! I have heard about components of this before, but I never knew all of the details! This is so interesting, thank you for explaining.
In fact, I have received these decoy packages before myself that are used to show delivery to a certain zip code (like recently I received a flimsy metal chain in a tiny mailer envelope with a tracking number on it, but nothing I would ever order and I have no idea who the shipper was).

I’m glad we kind of figured it out, it’s like playing a puzzle, haha, those tricky sellers! It’s interesting to learn new things though

 

[nicole0612]

I’m glad we kind of figured it out, it’s like playing a puzzle, haha, those tricky sellers! It’s interesting to learn new things though

Yes, it is so facinating! You have to hand it to these sellers; they certainly have figured out a few tricks.

 

[LOUIE13]

I have been selling on EBAY for over 20 years, mostly designer items. I haven't been selling much in the last few years but sold a designer bag for around $3000.00 Saturday. I tried to enter the declared value for this shipment Fedex ground and the maximum declared value is $1000.00, same with UPS. Am I missing something because there is no way I will ship an expensive bag and take the chance of damage or a lost package and be out $2000.00. Thanks

 

[onlyk]

I have been selling on EBAY for over 20 years, mostly designer items. I haven't been selling much in the last few years but sold a designer bag for around $3000.00 Saturday. I tried to enter the declared value for this shipment Fedex ground and the maximum declared value is $1000.00, same with UPS. Am I missing something because there is no way I will ship an expensive bag and take the chance of damage or a lost package and be out $2000.00. Thanks

Does ebay have a third party insurance that will cover 100% of your sale if item got lost or damaged during shipping? Years ago when I was selling on ebay, I used to chose that option, I don't know if now it still has that option?

 

[LOUIE13]

Does ebay have a third party insurance that will cover 100% of your sale if item got lost or damaged during shipping? Years ago when I was selling on ebay, I used to chose that option, I don't know if now it still has that option?

I talked to EBAY and there is no option for 3rd party insurance. They have capped insurance at $1000.00. If you sell a high dollar item you have to ship directly with Fedex, UPS or USPS and pay more.