Selling stuff on Ebay used to be fun and easy. Nowadays Ebay’s policies are just a pain for any private seller. I sold an item about 10 days ago and still did not have a chance to send the item out, b/c the buyer is not responding and most probably doesn’t even exist (he has 0 ratings and signed up just a few days before the auction ended).
This is obviously not solely Ebay’s fault, but what is absolutely badly managed is how Ebay handles unpaid items from obviously fake users. It takes 15 days until you get a “Final value Fee credit” from Ebay and if you don’t claim the fee credit within 45 days, your time elapses even if it wasn’t your fault at all. But that’s not all: Before claiming the credit, you also need to claim an unpaid item dispute.
Ebay hides this information in your MyEbay admin , so it will take you extremely long to claim your credit. The reason therefore is clear: Ebay wants you to re-list the item without claiming a refund.
The business tactic and the decision to pull as much money out of your users is legitimate, but Ebay should not wonder why their business in the US and especially Europe is not doing so well anymore.
In order for you to have a pleasant Ebay experience, make sure that you are aware of Ebay’s Unpaid Item Policy. Also considerate sites like Craigslist, which are not safe at all, but at least free.
