I wont use PayPal, so I'll just stop using eBay. There isnt anything I want that cant be found the old fashion way, and the same goes for selling things too. Free enterprise in this country got along for more than two hundred years before ebay, and it will continue long after ebay. Forums like CC and Moparts, and countless others can be used for the same purpose. I think that everyone should stop using ebay for one year, in protest of this decision of theirs. Maybe a significant loss of revenue would make them be a little more receptive to their customers wishes.
To me, the problem is that ebay/paypal are so focused on trying to protect buyers from bad sellers, that they are completely ignoring sellers who are being taken advantage of by bad buyers. Any time something gets as one sided as this has become, it leaves scammers an opening to take advantage of the system. Also, they base their guidelines on rules that are impossible to enforce or prove. Just like in the one example given, a buyer could buy something for $1000, then send you a pencil, and demand his money back. As long as he shows proof of shipping, and you take possession of the package, paypal and ebay feel all requirements have been met, and will give him his money back. That is totally absurd, and some type of safeguards need to be put in place to protect sellers as well.
I've always used ebays feedback as a guideline for who to buy from, and it has always worked out. If a seller has sold more than 25 items and is at 100% feedback, I feel he is safe to buy from. If he has less than 100%, I look to see what the negatives were. Ebays feedback system has always bothered me because it was always just positive, negative, or neutral. I wrote them countless times, and suggested that they expand and refine the system, to take care of various circumstances. If a guy has a negative comment, there is a big difference between him taking too long to ship the part, and not shipping it at all. Also, some buyers are unrealistic in their expectations, they dont read the whole description or conveniently overlook certain things, etc. Where one person will overlook slow shipping, another will metion it and give a neutral, and another will immediately give a negative if its not on their doorstep in two days. I feel ebay has made a mountain out of a molehill. Provide a flexible, refined feedback system, and allow the marketplace to police itself. They are trying to be like the government, and legislate and micromanage every little thiing, when a much simpler method would be much more effective.
I wonder if eBay can be sued for only allowing PayPal as the only means of payment, since they own PayPal? Since cash is the official currency of the United States, this policy sounds like a monopolistic practice that discriminates against cash buyers, or for that matter, ANY type of other buyer. Remember when PayPal first came out? There was another service like PayPal (cant remember the name) that was bigger. ebay accepted both, but as soon as ebay bought paypal, the other would no longer be accepted, and ti just seemed to fade away. Anybody know a class action attorney that might be interested in some big bucks? He could represent every single ebay member that does not want to use PayPal. Could also represent the postal service and other money order companies, credit card companies, etc. Could be HUGE!
I just think ebay is getting "A little too big for their britches"!