eBay? Pah!

[mrs.chappie]

I put a book for sale on eBay and on the last day of the auction I got an email telling me they'd removed the listing because I'd used the words "as new" in the description.

It IS as new - it has only been read once, and it's in perfect condition.

If they were gonna pull it off, why did they leave it until the last day?

Has anyone else got a gripe about eBay?

[Ethel]

I have a real gripe about people who put 'as new' in the title.

When I am searching 'new' I only want to see new items - not as new, nearly new, good as new... it wastes so much of my time sifting through.

The answer is to put 'mint condition' or just 'mint' in the title.

An item is either new, or used.

[Ethel]

The coffee stain and page 15 and the red wine drips on the back cover would give the game away.

[Ethel]

I yam

[mrs.chappie]

I would agree with you on most things Ethel - and that's the explanation I was given when I rang the Customer Helpline - folk don't want to find "as new" stuff if they are looking for "new".

But surely some exceptions should be allowed, for example a book which is in pristine condition - literally "as new" - then where's the harm? If it was an antique or rare item, I fully understand that rule - but it was just a bog-standard hardback book. If I'd fibbed and listed it as "new", no-one would have known the difference.

Anyhoo, that's my fault for not understanding the rules - my gripe is, they let the auction run for six days, and then pulled it off on the seventh day, when it only had a few hours left to run. (After I''d received 5 bids for it, I might add).

[Ethel]

They pulled it as soon as they became aware of it - when somebody reported the listing.


*could have been me*

[ChuckFickens]

vegetable

[ChuckFickens]

errr, sorry I meant the yam is a vegetable.... not... oh never mind

[Ethel]

You can, knobby, and genuine reproductions, real copies and certified fakes.

I am a yam yam, tis true

[mrs.chappie]

Ethel, I spoke with a member of eBay staff. Apparently they don't rely on folk like yourself to report such stuff. They have a team who constantly trawl through the listings, looking for breaches of their rules.

My gripe is - why the hell didn't they spot it until the SEVENTH day, when it had just a few hours left to run?

Petty in the extreme, if you ask me.

[Rosetta]

Lol @ Ethel being a yam-yam

[Jillius]

I see loads of listings with "as new" in the description. I also see loads of listings where people have used pictures of the items from magazines or catalogues but when I did that it was removed straight away and it was only a pic of a bottle of perfume.

[Jillius]

..........but my biggest gripe is people who don't put correct measurements on clothing. I just bought a jumper that was 36" long which sounded great as I am tall. When it came it was only just 27" ! Ridiculous.

[Ethel]

mrs.chappie - they do have a team, but there are millions of listings on eBay and they take notice of people who report listings.

Jillius - you don't own the copyright to that photo and can't use it in your own listing. The fact some people get away with it is just tough luck. Some companies come down very hard on eBay if there stock photos are used.

I will not buy anything on eBay that shows a stock photo - I want to see some evidence that the goods are at least in the seller's possession, and a private photo of the goods may not be a guarantee but it does help