eBay Tries to Fix a Canceled Order Problem of Its Own Making

by: my2cents

This is likely OK for large or mega sellers, but that isn't the majority of sellers on Ebay.  In my eyes this is Ebay sabotaging the average seller.  The vast majority of active sellers on Ebay are small and casual sellers.  Yet Ebay continues down this path of trying to make us compete with things big box stores and large sellers do.

Contrary to Ebay's believe, the average seller simply can't keep taking on these costs of doing business lame ideas.  For years we have complained about them showing buyers right on our own listings, other places the buyer can purchase the same or similar products.  We have no way of knowing how much money that has costs sellers that pulled the buyer in originally with their listing.

I've been chasing this subject for a few days now trying to learn as much as I can about it.  IMHO this is a horribly insulting feature / tool to most of Ebay's sellers.

by: CBW

This is Ebay's attempt to fix a problem they caused. It won't work. Just accept cancellations and give them no further thought.  

by: ScottLBrown

First, let me say that when I've seen customers cancelling orders for the reason of better price, they've already placed the new order......  Knowing all well they have an hour to cancel the order.  ( or effectively until the seller posts tracking ).
Therefore, this is not a good idea on many levels.  Now you've effectively taken away an order from a seller the CUSTOMER chose to order from.
What if the CUSTOMER decided to order on Amazon or ETSY?

And I'm not even thinkin about the possibility of eBay antics or abuse.

Can you imagine this happening on Amazon?   5 sellers on a single ASIN.  I can click the buy box without checking pricing... and we all know the BuyBox is not always the lowest price....  Or maybe I choose a seller that is a bit higher priced because I recognize his Store Name/Brand Recognition and feel more comfortable based on previous experiences.  The prices are not that far off, generally.

Or maybe I find another seller on Amazon and make a purchase... then notify Amazon to cancel the order.  

Would they then notice my new purchase and ask the original seller to lower his price to match a competitor on a completely different ASIN?

OMG-  the issues are mind boggling.
Ebay has tried and failed with their EPID system to create unified listings based on UPC.  They still have sellers with poor titles, no attributes (item specifics), no long description and bad return policies. and no recognized store name.

by: Bidonmine

I have had several cancelation requests in the last few years. I accept and cancel and then block the buyer. Future problem eliminated.  

by: Snapped

“ Selling or trying to sell OTHER items makes some kind of sense, cheaper versions of the same item? NO.”

“ Ebay has tried and failed with their EPID system to create unified listings based on UPC.”

That’s the other part of this rotten root.

First, consider how buyers could always (and often did) try to ‘negotiate’ after a sale, or use the ‘system’ to seek a cheapest choice (why didn’t they search that way to begin with - and if they did, why did they settle on THIS seller despite the results?).   And they’ve been dangling the ‘regret’ carrots out to the buyers for a while too.  And those ‘desperate’, or not sellers could always agree, or ‘not’ - to varying degrees.

So basically all eBay has done is ‘automate’ the practice to make it more ‘convenient’.  Question to ask is why those skinflints spent money doing that.  And of course, why don’t they realize how much ‘attribute compatibility’ must be considered to even make the ‘idea’ make sense, much less it’s execution - and fallout.

Meanwhile, since the days of the great disruption, they’ve certainly ‘invested’ in trying to chase the mass produced low margin homogenized retail market.  With a myopic mania.  At the expense and decimation of those whose volume (for competitive items), or otherwise established and proven business models, market demographics, and diversity of inventory in similar categories did not ‘best match’.

Problem is - and any Gardner can tell you this - their ‘organics’ were too diverse to support a healthy ‘engineered’ arrangement of one kind of crop.  Not without ripping out acres of perfectly healthy, albeit of varying yield and ‘size’, of those already growing.  And THEN planting their ‘seeds’ and HOPING they’d grow to Wall heights.  Meanwhile, neglecting the nutrients needed, and trying to prune those original and more stubborn who remain this day (they call it adaptable), so they ‘conform’ to the crops they want to harvest.

But they just don’t have enough experience in the ‘field’ to know it doesn’t work that way.  Either that, or an unfounded arrogant hubris.  

Apples to apples.  Oranges to oranges.  Can’t grow the latter in the Northlands without some extra TLC and something to protect them from an environment the former is already somewhat adapted to.

As for the ‘wisdom’ of this scheme?  Well, it’s eBay.  How’s it all been workin’ out so far?

by: my2cents

@ScottLBrown

You are comparing apples to oranges.  Amazon does not have a listing structure that Ebay has.  It is vastly different to sell on Amazon than Ebay.  

IMHO this is a terrible move by Ebay.

by: pace306

The real question is - is showing a buyer AFTER a completed sale and letting them back out - restraint of free trade?

If they DIDNT make the purchase - thats one thing. Its unethical and slimy - but its eBay - so they dont care.

Imagine going to that same mall (the one we always talk about aka a REAL world situation) and going into Macys to buy an item. After you check out, while you are still in the store, a Kholes employee comes over to you at the request of the mall owner and says "we can sell that item to you cheaper and give you Kholes cash on top of it!".

Macys would 1) call the cops, 2) call the mall manger and get him fired 3) have lawyers call and discuss lease options.

These practices need to be looked into by CA State officials (as soon as Gavin finds the $20 billion his homeless departmental lost)

by: RL15

the walmart dope waves his magic wand......poof....

another scheme to piss off sellers.....


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