Ebay - penalised for not using the Ebay mobile app?

[r3g]

I am back using Ebay again after many years hiatus and see quite a few things have changed. No more Paypal for a start, which can only be a good thing, although I'm well aware it was owned by Ebay anyway, but still..

Anyway, took advantage of my "Max £1 fees" listing promotions to get rid of some crap. I don't use "apps" unless there's absolutely no other option because they are always crap and glitchy, and so will always use the website version if one is available, which with Ebay there obviously is.

I listed some stuff, clearly marked collection only and cash on collection. For reasons I'm still unclear on, despite setting 'cash on collection' it still showed the card payment icons on the listings. Predictably, as nobody bothers to read anything these days, the buyers paid online and then came to collect. Totally unhappy with this as it was the biggest scam going back in Paypal days I tried to refund them and insist on them bringing cash, but they assured me there was nothing to worry about, all I had to do was scan some QR code that Ebay sends out to them on their phone, and once scanned that confirms they've collected the item and I'm protected from any claims.

The problem with this is that I don't use the Ebay app and I have no intention of installing it either. "No problem" they insisted, you can just write down the 6 digit code and enter it manually in your seller portal, which achieves the same result. OK fair enough.

So I do this and then discover there is in fact no option to enter these codes manually on the website, it's an only an option on the app, which seems completely pointless to me because if you have the app then obviously can you scan their QR code, unless you're one of the 5 people in the country who doesn't have a camera phone.

The issue is that without this app process Ebay puts a hold on your funds for 2 weeks if you're a website user. I contacted CS live chat about the issue but got absolutely nowhere and after being transferred to 2 different "teams" the summary was basically "jUsT dOwNlOaD tEh EbAy aPp, gRanDaD!"

I note on Ebay's local pick-up page they say this https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/posting-items/se... :

"If you don't want to use the app, ask the buyer to sign a copy of the eBay order form at the time of pickup."

Hardly fraud-proof, is it? And also works on the assumption that everybody has a printer.

Am I missing some trick to get around this issue or is just a case of suck it up?

[AlexRS2782]

r3g said:

...Am I missing some trick to get around this issue or is just a case of suck it up?

Yes. As mentioned on previous similar threads when the subject comes up, they've spent the last few years changing their model to become a primarily retail / business focused portal - like Amazon. That's where the money is, in buyers using eBay to buy from retailers / businesses using the site as a shop window. It's been in process for the last couple of years but most changes started in late 2019, were sped up during 2020 as a result of Covid and then brought in fully in early 2021. This is why buyers can now pay by far more types of payment like Debit & Credit Cards, Apple / Google Pay, etc, rather than it all being directed through Paypal as a 3rd party (although that still remains an option).

Basically if you're a private seller that sells the odd things you can still continue to use eBay, with managed payments & fees deducted at the point of sale before funds are transferred directly to your bank account. But if you do, then you have to expect to conform to how the system works with payments now being digital not cash, a product leaning towards app based usage, as their stats will show more people use it, QR code scanning on collection to prove an item is fine on collection which stops the whole "i never collected it, where's my money / refund" fraud, etc.

If that's not suitable, you move to one of eBay's other domestic operation products (Gumtree / Shpock) which will still allow for non bank account linked payments like Paypal and Cash On Collection, etc - which is generally what eBay want - hence why private selling fees on eBay are also now higher in some categories and on things like postage commission than they were before.

It's annoying in some cases but that's the way eBay want the site to work. Maybe once or twice a year i'll find a couple of bits leftover from my project cars and list them, and have accepted that if i want to market them via eBay then i need to follow their preferred proceedures for payment, collection, etc, even if it's annoying / not what i used to prefer in years gone by.

Edited by AlexRS2782 on Saturday 3rd September 01:42

[sociopath]

Their game, their rules.

[Silvanus]

sociopath said:

Their game, their rules.

Think thats about the short of it, if I don't like how someone does business then I don't do business.

[Nickbrapp]

Sounds like you just need to get with the times and use the app

I understand lots are a bit crap but the eBay one for example is very good.