Well, here we go again ...

[Osi Osgood]

I've run into yet another new problem on eBay. I wanted to make an offer on an auction. It came up with a new window, requiring that I supply a payment method. My credit card, with a good balance on it, was already there, so I selected it, but the next window states that eBay cannot except this card, and demanded another source, suggesting a bank account. I'll be damned if I will give eBay or any other internet business direct access to my bank account, and I called my credit card company, just to see if there was some kind ofhold, blocking the cards usage. There is not. What is this cockamamie new process on eBay?! Before launching this new series of posts, I was reading up on other people on eBay, also having major problems with this "function".

[John Halfacre]

Hi Osi

Hidden away on Ebays Seller Hub is a 'Buyer Requirements' tab within which there is a option for sellers to 'Require Buyer to Provide Payment Method before making an offer'. It seems that recently Ebay has 'opted in' all sellers to this requirement and sellers have to manually uncheck the box to opt out. Not sure, but if your seller for the item has specified limited payment methods and now is also 'opted in' to the Provide Payment Info before offer - then I guess you will get the get the message you refer to.

Thanks for raising this topic as I wasnt aware of the automatic 'Opt In' having been applied and only found out with a little digging. I have now 'Opted Out' of the requirement for our items. Once again Ebay making changes and not telling their sellers, which is frustrating !!

BR

J

[Osi Osgood]

It gets worse. A buyer reported that they made a 660.00 dollar offer using that new system, the seller immediately declined, but since a "cash offer" was made, PayPal, ( which I thoughtbebay cut ties with ) held onto the 660.00 ... For 15 days! That 660.00 could not be used elsewhere, until the system released it from the offer and back into the buyers account. Now most people are only having to wait 5 or so days, but holding onto money when the offer is dismissed, shouldn't be happening in the first place. This is one time where eBay may reverse course and do away with it, as many people are refusing to make offers, and they won't necessarily buy the item otherwise.

[Chip Gelmini]

As long as Ebay exists, it will always be flawed my biggest beef right now is when something is showing being for sale, and it is clear that the photo has been manipulated to look better or bigger than the actual item I receive

With cell phones being so popular right now and easy to use why would you spend minutes using the computer. Manipulating photographs when you could just take a snapshot of the actual item and post it.

Absolutely ridiculous

[Osi Osgood]

Why Chip, you assume that all sellers are honest, which I know that you know, they are not. Most are, thankfully, but modern technology makes it easier to be untrue. This can be especially true when it comes to screenshots. It's getting hard to tell as to whether the images you see, are accurate, even for seasoned film collectors.

[David Strelitz]

How many of us read the "Changes...." blah blah notifications?
I recently fell foul of "images may not represent item sent". In my case a new dishwasher pump. The picture showed the specific type I needed. I hadn't realised the Pump model number in the description was not listed and what turned up was a totally different spec. ie voltage etc.

Hilariously when I flagged this with the seller they gave me the spec and model number of what I needed, the one in their picture 😂...and then informed me they didn't stock it.
Fair do's, via eBay the return including postage paid label and refund went without a hitch. Meanwhile I had identified why my pump couldn't do the biz, fixed the problem and all is good. The trade seller is still using the same picture. Am I allowed to ask WTF 🤔?

[Chip Gelmini]

It's just as bad at Amazon. Perhaps it has something to do with language barrier or to be specific grammar barriers. The "lingo" between English and Chinese for example. Remember that asking someone if they want to smoke a cigarette in the UK is something else in the USA! Figure it out because I won't write it HERE.

[Brian Fretwell]

Even worse if they ask you for a cigarette!!!!