eBay to Launch Escrow Service for High Value Items

by: toolguy

January 2020

I've sold 93 items this month, not great but it pays the bills. . . .

by: Geetar

They need this because they know ebay sides with the buyer no matter what. And because of it they lost a lot of sellers and sales.

But answer me this question, how would this be any different from ebay siding with a  buyer without escrow....since the service is an ebay service, any arbitration will just be decided in the buyers favor just like before. Its better and safer just to sell those expensive items elsewhere. I wouldnt trust ebay just because they came up with this service out of thin air. They wouldnt need it in the first place if they just did the right thing in the past.

by: toolguy

What's your highest priced item you have on eBay right now?

I have 1 item for $100

My average selling price is just over $30

by: toolguy

@Geetar

The TRUTH is it wouldn't be needed if all sellers were honest.

Bad sellers are the only reason escrow exists. . . .

by: Geetar

This just goes to show that they know that they failed buyers, and sellers in the past. At least they know that, even though they dont come out and just admit it (witch they should...that may go a long way).

They need to do positive things that will mend that distrust. And...be patient. There is not going to be any overnight change that they will be able to make that will bring them back to double digit growth immediately. If they are smart, tighten their belts, and make it a good selling and buying place again, there will be a place for them in the future. In the short term no matter what they do the q earnings will not be good. But if they go in the right direction, over time it will start to improve. But, continue to do the wrong thing, there will be no improvement. Its that simple.Short term pain will bring long term gain Peroid.

by: eBay Shill Buster

Just send your inventory to eBay like sellers do with Amazon FBA, next it will all be fulfillment by eBay where they not only own your cash with eBay payments but they also will own your inventory with eBay escrow.

Just sign over your estate to eBay right now and get it over with.....

by: pace306

"eBay does something good and you people complain."

What good is that please ?

"How many of YOU actually sell expensive items?"

My items arent $500+ but I still get a good amount of fraud - fakes being returned, missing pieces when I do get returns etc

"You talked, eBay listened and you are still complaining?"

We talk and eBay never listens - can you please explain?

by: Ebay Little Shop of Horrors

Are you saying that sellers will have to pay a service fee? How much?

Will they be collecting interest?

by: pace306

LMAO

Sellers make SO MUCH MONEY on each item that they can afford to send their items ALL THE WAY to where ever this authentication place is, have the buyer wait till they get around to looking at it, then pay for the item to be reboxed and shipped to the customer ....

... sure, sellers make %90 on items
... sure the buyers will wait that long
... sure, with all this - sellers "will never" get a negative or a defect from any of it
... sure it will be super low cost
... sure eBay SWEARS its not making anything off all the back n forth shipping
... sure - cause when eBays fake examiners call your item a fake - nothing will happen
... sure - cause after the buyer gets it and STILL says fake and does a chargeback - eBay will cover you

theres more of course - but hey- Sleeping Griff needs something to do all day besides read Reddit so why not?

by: Ebay Little Shop of Horrors

If I understand correctly, ebay will be charging sellers a service fee to hold up their funds until item is delivered and/or buyer is satisfied? And collecting interest?

Seems like a real sleazy way to make a buck.

What defines a high value item?

by: eBay Shill Buster

They won't care what the value is, as long as they can make a fee from it, they will have suckers send them container loads of inventory, just watch.

by: Silver Ice King

Using an escrow service is not going to do anything for Sellers or even buyers except to slow delivery down big time.    Also just because the transaction goes through an escrow company means nothing other than  the seller will get their money and the buyer will get something that resembles what they ordered.

But if the buyer decides to return the item under Ebays Money Back Guarantee and returns a brick, the Seller is still going to lose their money because Ebay will once again still believe the buyer and force the seller to refund the money even though they got screwed and even paid for the escrow service.  All escrow is going to be helpful for, is to line Ebays pockets and supposedly guarantee that they buyer got what they ordered.  After that all the scammers have to do is open a SNAD or even a Remorse return and send back nothing but a box that has the Sellers shipping address on it .  What was sent back will never be a sure thing for the Seller unless the buyer is forced to also use the escrow service, but if buyers are already so cheap that they will file a false SNAD just to not have to pay for shipping they sure will not pay for an escrow service, so that would once again be more money out of picket just to hopefully get back what they sold and not knockoff or something else in the box.

Ebay did have this same service many many years ago and it wound up failing due to accusations that workers at the Escrow companies that were being used  were swapping out items and sending the buyer a fake item.   As they are not qualified to do authentication, just make sure that the buyer gets something that resembles what was sold in the picture on Ebay, sellers started losing high priced items .

I do not know about other states but in CA Escrow companies are only required to always have $10K in an untouchable account in case something happens with one of their sales.  A company I worked for used to do audits on Escrow companies (required by law in CA) and it was truly amazing just how many escrow files on sales of homes had major errors made or requirements not having been met.  

by: eBay Shill Buster

Silver, eBay escrow will most likely be a part of FBE (fulfillment by eBay) that Ina posted about a while back, just another component of it.

by: Geetar

@eBay Shill Buster

There is no FBE. There never will be FBE. What they say is FBE is what they are funneling the chinese sellers warez to now. You know the Chino CA, Hebron KY warehouses. Ebay does not own them, and never will. At the slightest sign of problems they will turn on those warehouse owners, and walk away. Just like they did 3 years ago.

These upper management people at ebay know they cannot pull off an Amazon type fulfillment service, or at the very least spending the $ on it will severely lower their own income and stock options. AND we cannot have that.

by: RL15

escrow is not authentication

just another way for fleecebay to stick their hands deeper into sellers pockets.

so mbg will get the buyers their money back and sellers will be out $$$

by: eBay Shill Buster

Geetar, there is going to be fulfillment by eBay soon, Ina has posted a few blogs on it already, it will not be a shock to see eBay selling their own inventory soon.

by: Geetar

Ebay let buyers rip off sellers by siding with the buyers no matter what. So they lost high dollar items on ebay.

Ebay decided a while ago to charge a final value fee on shipping. So ebay lost low cost items that used to be for sale on ebay. So if I have an item that is for sale for $2, and shipping costs $4, now I have to pay FVF on $6??? And on top of it....we all know ebay has sales limits on sellers....Why would I sell a $2 item, that is recorded at $6, have $6 taken off of my allowable sales allotment, and pay a ridiculous FVF? Smart thinking ebay!! This is why your in the toilet, barely hanging on to the rim, trying not to get flushed.

Same goes for intl selling. Why am I going to sell a $15 item, with a $15 shipping cost, so I end up with a $30 sale, and take a risk that the item will never get to the destination. So now I have $30 dollars taken out of my allowable sales allotment, when it should have been $15....I stopped selling intl 4 years ago. I have people emailing me daily asking me to ship out of the US. WAKE UP EBAY. SELLERS ARE NOT STUPID. They just go somewhere else and sell. And or stop selling where you fleece them.

by: Ebay Little Shop of Horrors

Reread Inas article.

Ina implies that buyers would be required to pay for the escrow service. On top of taxes and shipping?

Did Schenkel say items would be shipped to ebay?

by: eBay Shill Buster

How would eBay verify if the high value items are authentic if they are not shipped to an eBay valuation center? How would they handle returns on these high value items?

by: Whatever

this is about eBay the new $1 store realizing that's what it is now.  They have gone so far astray it's stupid.  Anyone who has been there selling long term doesn't list anything valuable on ebay anymore. It all goes to my own website.  #1 rule - don't list it unless you can afford to lose it.