So last week I found a smoking deal on a Motorfist jacket on ebay. The site said they had one left in stock. I ordered the coat and it was instantly removed from the listing in the ebay store. The following day, I received an e-mail saying the jacket was no longer in stock and they were refunding my money. Ok, no big deal. You win some, you lose some. Now this week I find another great deal with a different company. This one even better than the one I got hosed on. So, I order one. The listing is instantly removed from the ebay store. The next day, I get an e-mail saying they can't find the coat and they are refunding my money. Ok I got hosed again! Kind of ticked off, but what can you do. So today, I go back to that same store and see if they have anything else I might be able to use. Low and behold, they are now advertising the same coat AGAIN. So, I order it (just in case they made a mistake and do actually have the coat), except this time right after I place the order I call the company and ask them if they actually have the coat in stock. I'm told by the sales lady that they do not handle anything with the ebay store and she has no idea if they have that coat or not. She then tells me she will have the guy that runs the ebay store call me. Ok fine. I get the call from so and so at "ebay" and of course he proceeds to tell me he is very sorry but they do not have that coat in stock and he will refund my money. Well now I'm all kinds of wound up!!! What kind of game is this? I feel like I am totally being dooped somehow. I know for a fact that the listing was removed from the store after I ordered it and the very next day another one (it was a different color, so it wasn't some kind of auto relist thing) is posted right back in the store. So my question is how do these ebay stores work? If the company has nothing to do with the store, then who does? Is ebay running the store, or is it a subcontracted company running the store? And what the heck kind of game is this that they are playing?? Is there some advantage to the to have people placing false orders? Like some kind of post count thing, or numbers game?
How do retailers use ebay stores?
- Thread starter snoluver1
- Start date
I don't know but they get away with this stuff all the time I just ordered a $450 dollar corvette light 3 days later oh we don't have that light then relist a week later for more totally bizzar I think some places know they lost there profit so they refund and relist it better not happen to the studs I just ordered $450 polairs kit for $140 better not get refunded lol
polarisrider1
New member
I ran into this 2 weeks ago on Ebay with an ice maker for my boat. I suspect they made it unavailable after I "won" the bid and was to get it for a fraction of their cost. They blamed it lost by FedX and stated it was not their fault. I got a quick refund but no ice maker. Give them a bad report. and notify Ebay of what is going on with that seller.
I went online to find another ice maker and low and behold Walmart had the same one listed with free shipping from the nearest store. Cost was $10 less then the ebay one I tried to purchase. Ice maker showed up in 22 hours from the time I ordered it from Walmart. Guess Walmart has guys who do nothing but deliver stuff in vans.
In the past I have had great results on Ebay, but the trend seems to be changing. If you have any issues with a seller on Ebay, DO report them to Ebay and they actually investigate.
L
lenny
Guest
Very good chance it's just poorly managed. Could also be multiple people managing the eBay account. Anytime I see a seller with thousands of feedback I wonder what will come of the transaction. Some people are so busy with eBay that if they get behind on listing or shipping stuff some aspect of the transaction will suffer, I cannot think of any good reason for the bad deal that you experienced other than poor management, poor communication with those involved as seller/s, just my opinion.
I'm half tempted to get on the internet and flame the crap out of this company (on a different site of course) but the thing I don't understand is when I call the company direct, they state they have nothing to do with the store. So the thing I'm wondering is, is it a management company or ebay themselves that are doing the swindling?
L
lenny
Guest
the eBay store is often the management of the store broadening their market by selling on eBay. Often usually smaller stores where owner is active in all aspects of the operation. Ebay themselves have nothing to do with it other than the norm.
The thing that confuses me about that is I got a call from so and so at "ebay"!
L
lenny
Guest
possible times have changes and I am not up with all that's going on. My eBay buying and selling has slowed way down. I was really big into vintage BMX bikes and parts, those days are long gone.
I have another question that has left me wondering how companies who sell on ebay make money? I bought an MBRP exhaust for my Duramax and I searched the web through and through for the best price, turned out to be Ebay with free shipping. I then referenced the selling companies websites directly and found the price was higher plus shipping was extra. So I call thinking I could save a couple more bucks by letting them avoid the Ebay fees, nope they couldn't match their Ebay price???
I placed the order with Ebay and had my exhaust a week later. So how is it that the cheapest price I could get was off Ebay of all places? Last time I listed something it cost me 9% plus any Paypal fees!
This wasn't the only time this has happened to me either, just found this with a new fuel pump for my Can-am as well.
I placed the order with Ebay and had my exhaust a week later. So how is it that the cheapest price I could get was off Ebay of all places? Last time I listed something it cost me 9% plus any Paypal fees!
This wasn't the only time this has happened to me either, just found this with a new fuel pump for my Can-am as well.
Its been my experience that many ebay stores arent actually stocking dealers. They just drop ship from the manufacturers warehouse. So if for some reason a part becomes discontinued or there is a price change the seller is unaware until they try to actually get the part to ship it to you. I have had the same issue with amazon sellers.
For sellers whose ebay price is cheaper than their own website or store, it probably has something to do with they way the salesmen or dealer network works. The 9% on ebay is still cheaper than the 10-20% that a dealer or salesman would take. Im sure the computer tech that runs the ebay store doesnt make commission. So the ebay sales are based on a completely different cost model. Especially for sellers who have a high volume.
For sellers whose ebay price is cheaper than their own website or store, it probably has something to do with they way the salesmen or dealer network works. The 9% on ebay is still cheaper than the 10-20% that a dealer or salesman would take. Im sure the computer tech that runs the ebay store doesnt make commission. So the ebay sales are based on a completely different cost model. Especially for sellers who have a high volume.
anonomoose
New member
Just like Amazon, Ebay sellers can be "re-sellers" of product. Seller holds NOTHING, Stores NOTHING, and Owns NOTHING.
If the bid comes short, they are "temporarily out of stock".....if the bid is high enough, they ship it out directly from the supplier. Pocketing the difference between the actual price and what you bid. They make enough money to keep doing it with very little cost. They get a supplier price from the retailer who is only to happy to give them a discount and knowing this is what they are doing. No better business b, recourse, nothing....and as long as the pay the fees, ebay isn't going to let them do it more than a few hundred times before yanking their ebay privileges. Besides they have a couple dozen ebay accounts to fall back on. Neat trick.
I had the same thing happen to me 8 months ago bidding on a hammer drill that normally would sell for $450 but got it for $350 when no one else bid on it. Of course I drop a bid with 2 seconds to go to prevent the owner from bump bidding it to where he "wants" it to go. Got a note that they had "mis-calculated" and the stock was depleted ....yeah, right.
My recourse lay a negative feedback on them and report it to ebay.
If the bid comes short, they are "temporarily out of stock".....if the bid is high enough, they ship it out directly from the supplier. Pocketing the difference between the actual price and what you bid. They make enough money to keep doing it with very little cost. They get a supplier price from the retailer who is only to happy to give them a discount and knowing this is what they are doing. No better business b, recourse, nothing....and as long as the pay the fees, ebay isn't going to let them do it more than a few hundred times before yanking their ebay privileges. Besides they have a couple dozen ebay accounts to fall back on. Neat trick.
I had the same thing happen to me 8 months ago bidding on a hammer drill that normally would sell for $450 but got it for $350 when no one else bid on it. Of course I drop a bid with 2 seconds to go to prevent the owner from bump bidding it to where he "wants" it to go. Got a note that they had "mis-calculated" and the stock was depleted ....yeah, right.
My recourse lay a negative feedback on them and report it to ebay.
L
lenny
Guest
you are correct, they were not happy with the selling price and would not part with item, you did the right thing to give them negative feedback, hopefully in the feedback you described your experience even with the limited text
You can hire companies and individuals to manage and run your ebay selling for you. Independent contractors getting a percentage of the selling price. They handle all the ebay work, taking pictures of the items, listing and all you provide the inventory you want to sell, prices and they tell you who bought it and where to send it and then send you a check minus thier commission. The items on ebay may also be sold in the brick and mortar store so there is bound to be times when the items being sold on ebay as already been sold in the brick and mortar store. The ebay seller might not have know the item was sold.
Last edited: