Dear eBay Queen:

My wife and I are buyers (11 years), not sellers.  Recently, I tried to purchase some automotive parts thru eBay Motors, using “Buy it Now”.  I found 2 clear instances of “bait and switch” by 1 seller and another instance from a 2^nd seller.

They listed merchandise that I wanted to buy.  Each listing gave the number of available items for sale, and each listing had at least 2 more days to run.  When I sent an email, asking them to confirm the fitment, the listings were pulled early and these sellers told me that the merchandise was no longer available.  They most kindly offered me alternatives that were substantially more expensive.   All communications were via eBay’s email links.  The time span for each of these email sequences was 1 or 2 hours – not days.  I saved all my emails thinking that eBay’s customer support would be interested in these cases of possible seller misbehavior.  I had difficulty finding email links to report the incidents.  (I prefer email to the telephone because I am hard of hearing and sometimes telephone conversations are not satisfactory.)  I did find email links to eBay Motors and to eBay Customer Support, but these email  tools were forms, so all they requested were  listing numbers.  There was no way that I could tell them that they needed to review my email history for each listing.  It has been several weeks with no follow-up.   I assume that eBay and eBay Motors have no interest in pursuing buyer complaints against sellers.  I am concerned about how well eBay monitors its sellers and how well it looks after its buyers.

As a footnote, I did find a 4^th seller who had the merchandise that he listed and who performed his end of the bargain very promptly.  He was a true “5 star seller” in all respects.

Dave  Sutherland

Dear Dave:

I’m glad that you found a good seller whose merchandise was exactly what you needed and most importantly exactly as they described.  What you describe is odd. In this particular situation, the best thing to do would be call eBay.  I understand that you are uncomfortable doing that, but it would be your best option and get the quickest results.

Another option would be contact eBay through their messaging system (not email).  To do this, follow these instructions:

1. Go to: http://ocs.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ContactCS
2. Mouse over “Selling” then click on “Turbo Lister”
3. To the right you’ll see “Chat with us.”  This is an online chat form.

Once you “log on” with someone, let them know you are uncomfortable talking on the phone, and you know that you are not in the right area for your question, but you did not know what else to do.  They will get someone that will help you with your problem.  If that doesn’t work, I would email griff@eBay.com .

I’m sorry that two sellers were less than honest with you, but so happy you found the right one.

Dear eBay Queen:

I lost my Top Rated Seller status, and I have no idea why.  I figured out how to call eBay, and I talked to them about it.  The eBay representative told me to look at my “performance standards” to see when the Detailed Seller Ratings with 1’s or 2’s would fall off. I wrote it down, but I can’t figure out for the life of me how to do it.  Could you help me?

S.P.

Dear S.P.

I think it’s a little tricky to find the performance standards page myself!  Here’s how to do it:

1. http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?SellerDashboard
2. Under your DSR ratings, you’ll see “performance standards.” click on it.
3. Choose the tab labeled “daily performance”
4. Scroll down to the bottom and click on “view 12 month trending data”
5. A screen will pop up, and you can either choose “by percentage” or “by count”, this will make it easier to narrow down who, or when your low DSR’s have been left.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 220870022893 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page.  Have you ever wondered how much a President’s signature is worth? Check out this Bush Family Cookbook, Signed George & Barbara Bush SOLD $190.00 HERE

Suzie Eads is a nationally known eBay marketer and eBay trained Education Specialist. She lives in Rantoul. Do you have a question for the eBay Queen? Email: questions@asktheebayqueen.com