eBay CEO Gets Propositioned

by: Volvo351

If feeBay and especially PayPig didn't stick their noses in sellers' business, and the fees were reasonable, there wouldn't be the temptation to deal off-board.

by: Marie

I've received requests to do business off Ebay.  I don't do this with a stranger.  It is not worth the risk involved.  To me it is silly to risk my business for something like this.

I do sell things I sell on Ebay to others without getting Ebay involved [no Ebay transaction].  But that is reserved for people I know, friends, family, customers from other venues, etc.

To do business off Ebay with a buyer that writes you through Ebay is to invite problems.

by: bitbybit

If an item doesn't sell on ebay (shocking I know), and someone messages me they missed the auction or ebay wasn't working right (shocking again), I have no problem selling to them directly. Ebay did nothing to earn their FVF.

by: White Rabbit

I think the main reason a buyer wants you to close an auction and sell direct-- either Ebay legally or otherwise.. is because the want to get the item for more than it will close for. :-) Most sellers are certainly savvy to this scam.

by: Donkey

What's the problem?

Ebay puts ads right on my listing to take potential customers off of ebay to make a sale.

What a bunch of hypocrites.

by: Rexford

I get these constantly. Is this the first one he has gotten?  Just shows how little he sells on eBay.  

by: redruben

i do it regularly, but have opened an etsy store as well, so some of my ebay inventory gets transferred to etsy and sold at a lower price than on ebay

by: pace306

Id be abit more impressed if the (fake?) story said he had an item pulled VERO, or he was forced to take back a broken non resellable item (returns fraud).

Alas this is just a common occurrence and barely mentions an article.

DW has an eBay selling account - just to prove hes "one of the boys in the trenches". Pardon me if I call BS.

1) he makes enough that he can give those items away to charity and write them off

2) if they ended up in the trash, based on is salary - he wouldnt even notice

3) does anyone SERIOUSLY think he has to play by the same rules that every one ELSE does?  I know plenty of accounts that have THEIR OWN rules - Im sure he does too. (Any of the outside Auction houses on eBay ("still on eBay") all have their own rules - and if you mention it on eBays boards - they remove the post and ban you for 30 days)

As Donkey so correctly said - theres ads in 2 places on my listings - if they can cheat and steal from me - why cant I do it to them?

And btw - in fact I do. I data mine and email ANY company that buys something from me and email them. Ive gotten a few good accounts that way. Alls fair in love and war ... and on eBay who would screw you in a NY minute - so why not do it to them?

by: toolguy

I only do off eBay sales for past or repeat customers that ask to do so.

If eBay found me the customer they DESERVE credit for doing so.

The only other way I take deals off eBay is if the customer lives close by and wants to pick the item up in person.

eBay is my business partner and I want to keep them happy like they keep me happy.

by: Ric

My best customer is one I acquired through an eBay transaction after I issued a shipping credit for a multiple item purchase. The buyer purchased all I had of a particular item, so I calculated the difference in shipping costs for his combined order and issued a credit for the difference.

After the buyer received their order, they contacted me to say they were interested in as many of this particular widget as they can get their hands on - as long as I contacted them directly and made the sale without eBay. Apparently, the buyer had enough of eBay after an issue between himself and eBay customer service over fraudulent returns.

Over time, I have acquired additional inventory, emailed the buyer to confirm their continued interest and sent him an invoice directly for the latest transaction.

Thus far, I have sold over $3,000 in goods to this buyer and have another $1500.00 order ready to go after the first of the year.

This customer could not be nicer. There are no hassles, no games, no complications, and best of all for me - NO EBAY fees.  

by: JQ

This whole issue would seem more complicated if in fact eBay did provide its sellers with any meaningful form of seller protection for transactions that happen on the site through Paypal.

There is no need for a petty scammer to encourage sellers to complete transactions off eBay in order to take advantage of them. If they complete the sale on eBay they have very little fear that eBay and/or Paypal will do anything to police the scams taking place on their watch.

by: toolguy

Do you consider yourself a thief when you take deals off eBay?

eBay found the customer so they deserve a "finders fee" for finding you that customer. Taking eBay's rightful money is WRONG!

by: Bloggo

Why would anybody have any Loyalty to eBay? They don't deserve it.

by: Frank F

Tell Wenig that this is a minor issue at best on ebay..

If he wants to truly make a difference and do the right this, the he should focus on the cesspool of fake counterfeit trademark infringing items being sold on the site, and all the unethical and criminal Chinese and US sellers that are selling this fake stuff.

This is by far ebays biggest problem and not only is it an ebay policy violation, its breaking the laws of our country!

Denig, if this was done, it would generate amazing results on the platform, as every law abiding small, medium and large seller would be successful and SO WOULD EBAY!

by: iheartjacksparrow

The most outrageous was as a potential buyer. I had been bidding on a doll I collect (which ended production in 1986), and I lost the auction. I received an e-mail from a person located in Transylvania (no joke) who said he had a doll identical to the one I was bidding on for sale. I envisioned Dracula sitting in his castle holding one of the dolls! After exchanging several e-mails, and me insisting I would not consider buying the doll unless he supplied a photo (which, for some reason, he was unable to provide), he stopped communicating.    

by: toolguy

@iheartjacksparrow

So the seller in Transylvania had a second doll for sale and offered it to you off eBay?

by: Marie

@bitbybit

"...someone messages me they missed the auction or ebay wasn't working right (shocking again), I have no problem selling to them directly. Ebay did nothing to earn their FVF."  That is not really accurate.  While I respect your right to run your business as you see fit, if you had not of had your item posted on Ebay for sale, then this buyer would not have seen it or known to write you about it.  Ebay brought you the customer.  I'm NOT defending Ebay in any way.  Sales are beyond slow and there are many problems on Ebay.  I'm simply stating I see what you said a bit differently.

And then there is what Donkey says.  I completely agree with that.  And not only do they put the ads at the top right of the listing [which is typically for something different than I'm selling], there are the ads that run across the bottom of the listing that are many times my Ebay competitors.  

by: toolguy

@Marie

You can get rid of those pesky ads at the bottom from other eBay sellers by opting out of the cross promotion program.

The sponsored links at the bottom cannot be removed, and yes some of those are competitors of mine.

by: bitbybit

OT, nice photo by the way. So much more pleasant than looking at the pasty face of the previous CEO.

by: moto-science

If buyers want to save on Ebay 10% fees....
just google the item and buy it on my website. Google is the future.....Ebay is in the past.