Should Sellers Have Control Over eBay Warranties?

by: Marie

I do believe sellers should have to give permission for such a warranty to appear on their items.  Just a few reasons why I feel this way are:

1.Ebay is a Venue, NOT a selling partner.
2.It's my business I'm running, not theirs.
3.These types of warranties will cost the seller time and money.  Unless Ebay is planning on compensating the seller from the monies they receive from the buyer for the extended warranty.

But my bet would be they wouldn't.  However the seller would be the one doing all the work, communicating and troubling out the problems between the buyer and the 3rd Party Insurance company.

A great way for Ebay to make a bit more money and a great way for sellers to be paying for it yet again from their ever shrinking profits.

by: sasikat9

If Greedbay wants to add warranties to my things at their own expense...Then go for it....

I guarantee that after they have been sucked in, ripped off and beaten up a few times they will rethink their stupidity.

by: The End

Problem is : When "junior" keeps wrecking the product when mommy's back is turned, mommy wants a replacement every so often. That'll drive me out of business.

by: pace306

=) Marie is %100 right !

by: iheartjacksparrow

And just when I thought eBay had run out of ways to get a bigger cut out of each sale....

And what hasn't been addressed (that I could see) is, when someone adds on the insurance plan, do sellers have to pay fees on the extra money that the buyer pays?

And if a buyer gets the insurance policy, I can see them contacting the seller because how many people are going to remember that it's eBay that's selling the policy?

by: Ric

I know many people who consider these warranties as a sign of a disreputable retailer.  The harder a salesperson pushes the extended warranty, the less reputable the retailer.

When warranties are offered by a company like eBay on used goods, the company is viewed as even shadier.

Everyone knows eBay sells ship cover insurance, and in many cases, they sell that insurance on items that the insurance does not cover.  This is outright fraud, but no one seems to be interested in prosecuting it.

eBay is floundering and flopping around like a fish out of water because they need to generate revenue to appease their Wall Street masters.

Do not be surprised that eBay is attempting to sell this insurance and scam their buyers.

eBay gets a commission on every transaction they can convince buyers to be suckered in to purchasing the insurance.

eBay gets a commission for every outside ad clicked...  eBay gets a commission on every shipping label processed through their system.... eBay gets a commission on every insurance policy solid by Ship Cover.... and eBay gets a commission on every insurance policy sold through Square Trade.

If these revenues were itemized when eBay reports their quarterly numbers to Wall Street, I think many would be shocked at how much revenue eBay receives from transactions which are not the direct result of the actual sale of goods through their marketplace.

The problem for eBay is that as they allow their mismanagement to accelerate the decline of their marketplace, these secondary revenues will decline as well.

by: Rexford

So I pay for the listing and they place a service that THEY get paid for on my listing?  I am sure that a lot of buyers will think that it is something that I am offering.

Once again, they never cease to amaze me.

by: tango

Absolutely sellers should have control - this DE-VALUES our listings - we already warrant any part we sell for Manufacturer Defect for 12 months / 12,000 miles - this is sucking money from customers for nothing!  Total Garbage and we feel infringing into our business.  We asked Ebay already to take it off :  there currently is no such option, why?  why have 2 warranties on the same thing - one free and one that costs way too much.  chers.

by: The End

The REAL question : Should Sellers Have Control Over eBay ?

by: Marie

@The End

Those two things are worlds apart.  Not even close to the same thing.

While there are many issues with Ebay and changes many of us feel need to happen, "should sellers control [over] Ebay"?  My opinion is No.  Ebay doesn't belong to me any more than my business belongs to Ebay.  Two wrongs don't make a right.

by: comet

Well the REAL REAL question is--Why DON'T SELLERS HAVE ANY CONTROL OVER EBAY?

WE make the money FOR them and they treat us with utter contempt.  This is just one more in a long string of insults.  

I have a NO RETURN policy--am I now going to be FORCED to have at least a 30 day policy?  I sell in Motors (one consistent motorcycle part and others as I find them)---do I need to stop this as I cannot be "on the hook"  for more of ebays crackheaded schemes.

We already KNOW that buyers don't can't or wont READ the listings;  can you imagine some irate buyer at 31 days out having a hissy fit;  leaving YOU Negative FB and  demanding that you "cover"  their "loss"  with no understanding of HOW this works and that it WAS NOT YOU who provided this coverage?  

I am very sure ebay will "sell"  this just as well as they have "sold"  everything ELSE over the past oh 9 years--ham handedly and making it appear that whatever your problem is--even if there is NO problem at ALL--is the SELLERS FAULT.  

In another life I worked in fine jewelry--I cannot IMAGINE trying to do an Up-sell like this to people who EXPECT you to provide a quality product the FIRST time.  Of course things happen but--this is just ANOTHER way ebay says:::  Our Sellers SUCK!  Their products are CRAP!

Are the Chinese sellers being forced into this also???

by: Marie

Most of us don't want Ebay messing in our business.  I get that and I firmly agree with that.  Ebay micro manages sellers and inflicts way too many rules on us.  Some rules are necessary, but Ebay takes it a whole lot further than that.

But Sellers should not have "control" over Ebay.  You don't want Ebay this deep in your business, but somehow some feel it would be OK for us [sellers] to be that deep into their business.

I do believe sellers should have voices that are really heard by Ebay.  Just like any other company listening to what their customers need.  But "control" over them.  IMHO NO.

by: handmedownheaven

I am going to learn to quit wasting my time on feebay one year.  I searched for a simple box of 3 inch barbs to go with a price tag gun.  The first 2 pages were nothing but Chinese sellers.  I had to get to page 3 to find the US sellers.  Feebay seems to forget all they are is a platform for sellers.  They act now like they are the business owner and the sellers are their employees

by: Rexford

Sellers should have control over their listings. That is different from having control over eBay.

If eBay is just a venue they need to but out of our listings.

by: Rexford

butt out that is

by: GotToGetOut

Marie, I think "The End" was just being facetious. Of course, he doesn't think we should Have control over Ebay -- he probably has wishful thinking that Ebay would understand the absurdity of how they control us if we reverse the control. We don't even have the time to spend 3X the time making 1/3 less money on Ebay! I don't think any of us wants to spend any more time than needed to make the small living we can (except Toolguy who will continue to sell on Ebay even if the Chinese buy them out because he doesn't have an exit plan -- he lives in lala land!)

by: Moonwishes

I don't sell on eBay at all, but I sure made sure that my son and a friend that does sell there occasionally are aware of this. That is the problem, not everyone reads this digest or keeps up with the news about eBay's latest antics. They won't know about this until they get the first email from a buyer asking them to fulfill the warranty on the dead antique watch they sold for parts.

I know I never buy those deals. I did once and it must have been a little angel on my shoulder telling me to as it was for our printer that died almost a year out. We ended up with a brand new laser printer and a card with another $20-30 on it as the dead printer had cost more than the new one. Other than that I've been offered warranties that are just about the cost of the product. That is a no brainer, but so many sales clerks act as if it is an essential thing to spend money on.

by: FEEbay

As long as Ebay deals with the customer with regards to the warranty?? I could care less....
I can wait to see them squirm and struggle with bad buyers and warranty claims.....
Reason #4231 to get Ebay out of our lives for good...
We are investing heavily on Reverb.com, Social Media, Email Marketing, and Google Adwords this Holiday Season.... NO PLANS TO DO ANYTHING WITH THIS RIDICULOUS SITE!!!  

by: eXtinctBay

If I am reading this correctly, after day 30 the item is covered by the warranty if purchased.

FANTASTIC!! So, does this mean all seller liability disappears on day 31 and later (including any eBay Money Back Guarantee returns and 6 month after purchase PayPal claims??).

Sounds too good to be true.

by: LightWing

Now isn't THAT special. (: