I have never sold or purchased anything on e-bay, but I have a question. It is my understanding that they receive a percentage of the sale price for an item being auctioned. If this is the case, how do they keep people from posting their items for sell, but selling it on the side, via e-mail, without paying e-bay their cut?
The process of concluding a sale is automatic (at least inasfar as eBay’s involvement); the listing fee is deducted from your account when you list the item, the final value fee is deducted when the auction closes. I suppose if you had no bids, but someone emailed you and asked you to sell it outside eBay, then it would be technically possible, but it isn’t all that common because:
-You have none of the safeguards and comebacks that you would if you effected the transaction through eBay’s system.
-You can’t invite off-site sales in your listing text - try it and they’ll close your account pretty sharpish.
Well, considering the local current affairs shows keep doing articles on people being ripped off on online auctions, and then showing a bunch of people who got ripped off when they did the deal outsite the auction sites, I’d guess it goes on a lot.
Here’s the thing: if you are dealing witha highly rated seller on eBay, and you send them money and they never send you any goods, you can
- Leave negative feedback for them that other’s can see, damaging their good rating and (if they get enough complaints) causing their account to be deactivated
- Complain to eBay and go through their complaints resolution process.
If you deal with the seller on the side and get ripped off
- You can’t complain to eBay. It was a private transaction, nothing to do with them, and was in fact in violation of their rules.
- You can’t leave feedback against their rating, so you have no way to retaliate and nothing you can hold over them. People work hard for good ratings and don’t like to spoil them with negative feedback.