This has the potential to become a Class Action Suit against eBay. Synopsis: If you buy enough merchandise on eBay to max out your eBay Bucks during a given earn period, eBay can unethically deduct some, and hypothetically all, of your accumulated eBay Bucks during the earn period by taking unfair advantage of an unaddressed loophole. More importanly, this situation is much more likely to occur if you entered into an eBay Buck promotion agreement during the earn period. This breach of ethical business conduct is implemented in the eBay application software and also appears to be corporate policy. When we talked to eBay customer service, we were hung up on. When we called back, we were placed on hold for 90 minutes. When eBay finally got back to us we were told that our eBay Bucks were lawfully deducted. Details are below. One. Other eBay users may be currently, or perhaps have in the past, also gotten cheated out of their maximum lawful earn during a given earn period without even knowing about it. The following describes direct observations of eBay policy regarding an undocumented detail of the eBay Bucks Program. Two. This happened during the recent IE9 promotion, so the normal 2% eBay Bucks earn rate was stepped up to 10% during the promotion. Although this unethical deduction revealed itself during the IE9 promotion, it is probably enforced 100% of the time by the eBay application software - but the specific conditions of a promotion make it more visible. Under non-promotional circumstances it probably goes unnoticed since few people will reach the maximum eBay Bucks earn limit during a given earn period, which is $500 total across all purchases and $200 maximum per individual item during a typical 3 month earn period. You'd have to spend $25,000 during an ordinary (non-promotional) earn period to reach this limit. BUT, when there is a promotion occurring, such as the recent IE9 promotion, it becomes much more evident. Three. We believe that many eBay buyers entered into the recent IE9 promotion agreement with the intent to spend $5000 during the earn period in order to receive the maximum $500 earn, or 10%, in eBay Bucks. If this sounds like you, please keep reading. Conversely, we've read that some buyers have had trouble getting credit for their promotional eBay Bucks to begin with. The case documented herein is different and has to do with unethical eBay Buck DEDUCTIONS due to returns or refunds. Four. We reached the maximum earn of $500 eBay Bucks. We were ecstatic about the promotion seeming to work well, and we spent more than the necessary $5000 on eBay purchases during the promotion earn period. We knew about the rule limiting the most an eBay buyer could earn was $500, but it is difficult to spend exactly $5000 when shopping for major household wishlist items. Regardless, it never occurred to us that eBay would find a way to nickle and dime us out of some of our $500 eBay Bucks promotional earnings. Five. Later on toward the end of the promotion period we returned some stuff for a refund. The total purchase amount during the earn period was obviously reduced because of this - we understand. It is duly explained in the eBay Bucks rules, policy, and guidelines that an ensuing refund on a purchase will result in an adjustment (eBAY Bucks deduction). BUT, even after subtracting the total amount of the refunds, we still bought well over $5000 during the earn period. Regardless, eBay took eBay Bucks out of our account based on the net amount of the refunds with no observance of the fact that we still easily exceeded the necessary purchases to qualify for the maximum $500 earn. Six. eBay has made a creative and selective interpretation of the eBay Bucks program rules. This loophole situation is not appropriately documented, or documented at all, on the Ebay website. Further, in the case of the IE9 promotion that we participated in - which is a legally binding agreement between two parties where eBay users are providing a service for eBay and Microsoft - this presents an illegal breach of ethical business conduct. Seven. If this undocumented eBay policy is logically extended, a buyer could spend huge amounts of money, for instance $1 million, on eBay purchases during an earn period, and still not earn a single eBay buck. This will happen with uniform repeatability if a buyer returns 2.5 percent of the merchandise for a refund. 2.5% refunds on $1M in purchases will result in zero eBay bucks during non-promotional conditions even though a buyer has still spent $975,000. The key point here is that eBay does not take total spend into account when deducting eBay Bucks due to refunds. Eight: In the case of the recent IE9 promotion and other promotions, where the earn can be 5 times higher (at ten percent instead of the normal 2 percent), the numbers compound to be more impactful to users with lower spending levels. For instance, if a buyer were to spend $10,000 during the IE9 promotion, they would get $500 out of a possible $1000 eBay Bucks. But if half the merchandise got refunded, the buyer would get zero eBay Bucks even though they still had spent a net of $5000, which should still qualify for $500 eBay Bucks. This is what happened to us - we bought more than $5000 worth of stuff, only to see our balance get impacted from having returned a few items - but still having spent more than $5000. To summarize the theme of this case, buyers fulfill their obligations per the terms of the IE9 promotion, yet end up with unethical deductions against legally earned eBay Bucks. Stated in different terms, buyers that entered into the IE9 promotional agreement with eBay and Microsoft have fulfilled their obligations; therefore, it is incumbent upon the promotion offerors to ethically fulfill their obligations. This issue has been pointed out to eBay on at least two occasions and is not being addressed, so it formally qualifies as a class action legal matter. Nine. This is intended to be the first announcement in a series that will endeavour to bring a Class Action Suit against eBay in an effort to get them to CEASE AND DESIST from unlawfully deducting funds from users who have fulfilled their obligations under the terms of the promotion, explicit or implied. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

I made a $800 purchase on ebay in the IE9 Bucks promotion. The seller and I immediately cancelled the auction - Seller wanted to cancel. They never credited me the $64 for the 8%, but today, they deducted $64 from my total ebay bucks balance. I called Customer Service and they're looking into it. Well, you can tell by looking at my account what transpired. I even now went over all my transactions and reconcile.

I'm printing everything out today for my records.

Ready for the Lawsuit.

Janet

I recently sold a part on ebay that was in very good shape as per the picture on ebay ad i had a witness that saw the part being wrapped and shipped out to the customer when the customer got the part he is stating the part was damaged and wants a refund. I was told by ebay that insurance was not mandatory. A case was opened through ebay and I was told by ebay that they are in favor of the buyer because this piece was damaged (if this piece was damaged in the location i was told it would show in the ebay ad). EBAY REFUSED TO WORK WITH ME ON THIS. They are just always in the buyers favor without looking at the facts. I see on this board i am not the only one that has complained about this comany doing this to people and charging through the roof.I have been a ebay user for years and have recently closed all of my accounts and will not return to a scamming company.

michaels_bodykits_and_more eBay account was suspended indefinitely due to low buyer satisfaction. The feedback score for this account is 99% positive. That means only 1% of buyers were not satisfied. It is unbelievable that eBay is suspending accounts that have such good feedback. eBay ruins the lives of seller's who depend on the eBay income...seller's who are disabled and unable to go out in the world and pick up a job like normal. It makes me sick how they can do this and be able to sleep at night.

Ebay have limited my account, enabling only a limited amount of sales for my company. They say it is in response to low ratings regarding despatch of goods. However, when I read all my feedback, I am aware of very fast delivery etc., being reported. We despatch all our retail goods by return of post, some customers have waited less than 24hrs from time of order until their goods are delivered. Owing to this I will be laying off 1 member of staff (I can't afford to pay) owing to loss of sales and will also be taking a drop in my income and sales. I cannot see how limiting anyones account will "rectify" problems???? I feel ebay have let me down and I am striving very hard to understand why. This does not make sense.

Ebay does not protect seller rights, I do not even know what the heck I am doing selling on ebay. Buyers can get away with anything. Make fradulent claims and Ebay/Paypal steals the money from your account. Also Sellers cannot leave neutral or negative feedback. How fair is that. We are forced to either leave positive or none at all. This is crazy because the next seller will be victimized by a habitual bad buyer. I sell items and deliver as required, but run into buyers who will still leave me negative feedback and I have NO way out of it. Terrible, Terrible. Let's not mention Ebay's endless fees???????

On 08-31-11 I was the high bidder of Ebay auction #110735650472. I was outbid with 4 minutes left in the auction. The winning bidder had recently created their account and bid really high on this auction. The seller (nofoldem) created this new account, placed a bid just under his buy it now price and was able to keep the tickets that he was selling. I watched the seller and no feedback was ever placed for either of his accounts. Then the seller re-listed everything that was in the above auction in 4 seperate auctions. Auction #'s 120774005075, 120774009410, 110740524510 and 110740525844. The seller has listed the same tickets from the original auction. I reported all 5 auctions to Ebay. I called Ebay and spoke with a Ryan in Customer Service and then with a Michael in their fraud department. I sent the following message to ebay on 09-06-11 after the seller re-listed the items: On 8-31-11 I was the high bidder on auction #110735650472 and should have won the auction. The seller, nofoldem or a friend/family member, created a new account and submitted a bid so he would not have to sell the tickets. The bid was submitted with 4 minutes left in the listing and the "new" bidder has 0 feedbacks. No feedback has been rec'd or left on this "purchase". I gaurantee that the IP address for the winning bidder is the same as the seller. I reported that listing and nothing was done. Now this crook has relisted the same tickets from the previous auction. Check paypal, I promise you that there was no transaction since it's the same guy. Item #'s 120774005075 120774009410 110740524510 110740525844 These are the same tickets from auction #110735650472. He has broken them up instead of grouping them together but they are the same seats. I am extremely upset that ebay didn't do anything with the seller after the listing was reported and now he is selling the same tickets again. This member should be banned. I look forward to you sanctioning this member and his fraudulent practices. Since my conversation with Ebay officials on 09-07-11 the seller has sold one of the auction with the Buy it Now option. I have hard copies of all the auctions, bid information on the new account, bid history from the original auction and my emails with Ebay.

I posted negative feedback for a seller who lied about the mileage on the vehicle that he was selling on ebay. there were other issues, like rustholes, engine not running on 8 cylinders, front end damage, etc. etc. When he offered his car on Ebay he had a feedback of (0) but he had opened his account 4 years ago obviously without ever completing any transaction or receiving feedback. after I gave him the negative he had a score of (-1). A few days later he offered the same vehicle again and again, misrepresenting the mileage and the condition of the vehicle. now bidders were able to read my comments and the highest bid was only about 50% of the highest bid in his previous auction. Then, suddenly the negative feedback disappeared and he jumped up to (0) again. My Ebay account was not showing the transaction anymore and the records of the feedback under "feedback given to others" were also deleted. Either this guy knows someone who works for Ebay and did him a little favor or it is one of Ebays new business practices to purge information which shows to other users that they are dealing with a dishonest member. I believe that this is exactly what the feedback system is good for: to warn others if there is a dishonest member. Now his account appears again with no transaction since 2007. Maybe this was not the first time that someone deleted negative feedback on his account. I believe that this is consumer fraud what Ebay is doing.

Baught a Item On Ebay and got ripped off. I baught Computer software(Microsoft) Installed it and thought everything was ok. Exactly 3 months later it popped up that it was not authentic. Well make a long story short I called ebay to file a dispute and they told me since its past the 45 days there is nothing I can do. Now this is the debate I have with this stupid and idiotic policy that ebay has ! With software there is really no true way of knowing it authentic untill 90 days is up as a software will give you a 90 day evoluation period before it will alert you that its not authentic. Second of all isnt it against the digital law to even be selling non authentic software. In my eyes ebay is just as responsible for this as the actual seller is. Ebay is the one that allowed this to be sold on their market which is technically considered a retail internet store. Also They suspended this seller a month ago for selling non authentic software they told me ,so why didnt they notify all buys that could have been affected. O I know why!! Its cause ebay buyer protection knew they would have to dish out bundles of cash on claims!!!! I am so discusted in ebay and paypal right now that I personally am thinking of canceling my accounts!! There is absolutely no buyer Protection here and personally In my eyes Is a big advertising Fraud!! This Is to Ebay and Paypal if you are reading this "YOU S*K BIG BALLS! " and if you dont suck balls Then You can "S*K MY BALLS!!"

I have been merely a Senior buyer on ebay for over 5 years with 100% feedback. They did the most horrific thing to me which I don't think I will every get over. I bought an 11.00 dollar top from seller mjbos (Marta Boswell) who at the time resided in Ft Meyers, Fl. The top came and was bit small so I mmediateoy mailed her , told her it was adorable, but a bit small and I was taking back to the PO at that moment. It was not in my house 2 hours and on it's way back to seller. Meanwhile, while responding to not oneof my e-mails daily "Did the top come" and I was calling my post ofice daioly as it had tracking/ They kept telling me it was sitting at the PO in Ft meyers which I could not understand why they did not deliver. Well good old ebay selleer upand moved within 2 weeks to Louisville Kentucky - left no forwarding address in Florida so they cannot deliver. If it does finally come back to me, she won't take back as she has been very difficult to deal with plus her 14 days refund policy is up. I finally opened a dispute one day last week and ebay sent me a note when I mailed the package back to her address in Kentucy which they provided, I would be due a refund. Thus I have no package, no refund and ebay thinks I am suppose to be a mind reader and psyic and know that she would up and move cross country in 2 wks which I am sure she had to be planning. Ebay and pay pal are thick as 2 thieves in the night and always back the seller. To them - their buyers are peons when faced with a problem. This upset me so badly - I cried alal day yestedray. I did the right thing, yet a seller can just up and move and tell none untila dispute is filed and then I get the message from ebay who willrip you off in a heartbeat of they did me this way -Iam done. This was a rather odd situation but I wanted everyone to beware of how crooked they can be!!

I have been an ebay customer for over 10 years and realized over the years that especially seller with 500 feedbacks or more obviously have a way how to keep their positive feedback clean. To me it looks like ebay gives them special treatment removing any negatives, since these customers mean so much cash flow for ebay. Just one example: Look at the feedbacks for user "infinity enterprises" - this guy claims that he has had over 1500 happy customers on ebay. However his feedback rating is only 735. If you take a closer look you will see that any rating that obviously was not positive, was withdrawn. Sometimes with a so called "mutual consent" which is questionable. I gave a negative to a car dealer in the past and it was removed with this "mutual consent" note without me ever agreeing to it or being notified. I believe that the so called "Feedback" on ebay is consumer fraud because it tries to make people believe that nobody ever had a bad experience with a particular dealer, even if this is not true. Int was filthy ext was touched up with alot of paint which is now falling off!mycierra8qk4 ( 138) Sep-29-04 09:38Reply by infinity-enterprises (Oct-02-04 17:05):Have 231 positives took care minor issue said was happy Some can't be pleased?Follow-up by mycierra8qk4 (Oct-20-04 10:15):Rcvd a threatening call re: removing my feedback - should have gave a negative I have seen these kind of feedbacks with other "Performance dealers" many times. Buyers followed up on their feedbacks explaining that they were extorted or threatened to give a positive. If I look at the feedback for a particular dealer I don't care about any positives, I only look for negatives or for "mutually withdrawn" feedbacks. Ebay does not even give you an option to select only negative feedbacks, even if it would be a piece of cake for their programmers.