Wow thank you for sharing your thoughts on my role as a seller on Ebay. I know you intended it to be helpful and thats what I appreciate about the community. You confirmed for me that I was on the right track six months ago when I last earned a low DSR of any type. However I am a believer that cynicism and negativity are at best innocuous and at worst a cancer that spreads between people I focus solely on the perfect rating I have acheive and been repeatedly congratulated for by Ebay and the fact that my DSRs have been perfect since that time which was my first month to ever attempt to sell a product online.
Also its not germaine to the topic here since that specific guideline is not mentioned in Paypal's terms as a reason that holds could be placed on my money, and even if it were the past class actions that Ebay chose to settle out of court clearly were a challenge to the legality of such holds. It is also irrelevant to the curious nature of Ebay's reluctance to place its brand in plain sight on the Paypal page, which is consistent with the Anti-trust suits that have been brought against Ebay in the past. While segttlements are not an admission of any wrongdoing I'm sure you'd agree if you saw them that not one of the actions brought against Ebay has resulted in any favorable result.
Companies can certainly put things in fine print and tuck brand logos away yet still be compliant, however those actions attract suspicion as they imply that Ebay doesn't feel comfortable with the fact that Paypal is a part of Ebay. This is reinforced by looking at Half.com's layout, another "separate" Ebay-owned company where an Ebay logo exists on almost every page including the home. Why so shy on Paypal?
So if I can offer constructive positive criticism that helps you in return I'd say, that seeing your willingness to help identify my issues clearly shows a spirit of service and helpfulness, you probably want to focus on issues that would be helpful to the most people possible. In order to do that I think we have a responsibility to hold Ebay accountable for its track record, which would help both sellers and buyers.
So I think to focus on my one DSR over the limit from six months ago is only helpful to me, bringing to light Ebay's track record of repeatedly getting negative feedback in the form of suits for alleged violations of the law would be helpful knowledge to everyone doing business.
Corporations have laws they must abide by much the way an individual does. I am proud to say I have been a positive citizen in upholding the law to the best of my ability, and while not being perfect, I sleep peacefully knowing with 100% sureity that I have not commited any crimes against my fellow citizens.
Ebay has the same right to due process of law as an individual does and is always innocent until proven guilty. However the sheer number of suits, litigants, class actions present and settled are a form of feedback even if they do not guarantee guilt. Just like my DSR trend clearly indicates that I made a foolish mistake at the outset of my venture here, it is not proof of or an admission of guilt either. But we all know patterns are telling and my pattern is that last year in my first month I did not review the item conditions policy closely.
Ebay has been is is continually, presently being sued for the same things repeatedly, far more often than other marketplaces. The sheer number of negative hits by only typing "Ebay" or "Paypal" into Google is staggering. It is far beyond the normal amount of inevitably unsatisfied customers a similar sized corporation has. The number of websites people spend their money on to spread the word that they feel PayPal has treated them poorly is a terrible feedback rating. If Ebay held all its companies to the same high standards that make my 100% feedback rating "not good" to you and Ebay, they would shut down. If twenty people on this site accused you of commiting a crime against them Ebay would close you down.
But if you look through the press releases one recent states it received an ethics award. That tells me why it continues to face litigation for the same issues; denial and people who don't research companies before giving them awards.
If Ebay gets an ethics award in the face of so much negative feedback about its ethics, I believe you should make an "item describer of the year award for me." I am only one low DSR away from Top Rated Seller Status and I have shown a six-month pattern of correcting my behavior.
Ebay would be banned from its own marketplace as it just keeps getting sued yet insists itself worthy of ethics awards.
So if you want to help even more people than just me I'd say all you need is a simple checking of your own priorities when deciding who needs to be be taken to task for their track record. But thats easy to fix so I'd say you are doing great!
I appreciate the chat and exchange of ideas with another open minded soul. Cheers!
