eBay Ethics

[The Critic]

On a whim, I purchased two KYB strut bearing plates for my Saturn from an eBay seller. The price was slightly less than my usual part suppliers, which is why I bought them.

After ordering, I noticed that the listing said that the item ships within 5 business days of receiving payment. I paid with paypal in the same hour that I ordered the item and my credit card has already been charged. Looking through the sellers latest reviews, he has recently received several negative feedbacks for long ship times, which he responded to by saying that he was waiting for the item to arrive from the manufacturer.

Out of curiosity, I e-mailed the seller and asked him if my item was in-stock. He responded by saying that my item will ship directly from the KYB warehouse. While I prefer receiving "factory fresh" parts as opposed to a part that has been sitting on a dusty shelf for years, doesn't it seem a bit odd to list an item for sale that you do not actually have in your possession?

While I am not in a hurry for the part, do you folks feel that it is a bit unethical to list an item for sale if it is not currently in your possession? I mean, I understand it if an auto parts store needs to order a part from their supplier. But for eBay, I thought people are only supposed to sell items that they actually possess. Or are my expectations unrealistic?

 

[wcbcruzer]

I see your point. But I guess it's not any different than the auto parts store placing an order for you. As long as you get it...

 

[oilboy123]

So he is drop shipping it sounds like......Yes Maybe he should say he is not shipping it, to be upfront.

 

[crinkles]

kinda like short selling on the share market

 

[AcuraTech]

Unethical? Not really. As long as you get the item in a timely manner (a week or two) it doesn't really matter where it came from. That's just one of the things you have to deal with on eBay, prices are cheaper but shipping takes longer.

I ordered a soccer jersey on eBay a few years ago. It was advertised as "authentic" but was only half the price of everyone else. It arrived over a month later with postage and a return address from THAILAND, even though the seller was listed in CA. And it wasn't actually an authentic jersey. But I still gave the guy positive feedback! Why? Because it was a d*** good knock off, almost impossible to tell the difference. And it only cost me less than half price of an authentic.

Sometimes I think people expect too much from eBay sellers. Most of the power sellers don't have the stuff warehoused in their basement, they're just the middlemen. As individuals, they don't have to pay bills like corporations do, so you can get it cheaper. But the individual also doesn't have the distribution networks and warehouses of the large parts corporations, so the part will probably not be "in stock".

 

[bretfraz]

I don't believe it is unethical but I can understand why some people prefer more shipping information.

Drop shipping, blind shipping and private label shipping are significant features of online selling. One of the reason your KYB seller can offer a lower price is because he does not have to cover the cost of inventory. As long as you receive your product, it should not matter who sent it to you. The seller does need to ensure the product arrives within the promised time frame, otherwise I'd suggest putting a ding in his feedback.

 

[paul246]

That is why you are supposed to check the Feedback section before you place a bid or offer to purchase.

Still, I wouldn't exactly describe the seller as unethical.

 

[TallPaul]

Possibly the Ebay rules address this. At least one should state that the item is not in stock on their item description.

I was just buying a book last night off Half.com and noticed the listings told where it would ship from. Some listed ML (multiple locations).

 

[eljefino]

If the seller describes it as "in stock", well, it's in stock somewhere.

I tried to buy a TV from sears. The store was open but the warehouse, where I had to pick it up, was closed. So they couldn't sell it to me! And that's a brick and mortar store!!

I've bought radiators, lower control arms, KYB struts off ebay and saved 40-50%. Some of the drop ship stuff has been on my door the next day, truly amazing. Rockauto.com also drop ships; this is why when you order a spark plug and an oil filter the shipping is $23-- has to come from two different warehouses.

 

[01rangerxl]

Drop shipping is fairly common with online sales, I don't see a problem there.

However, shipping "within 5 days" is pretty bad. Not unethical, but that is [censored] slow. Most companies who do business online will ship within a day or two.

 

[CivicFan]

If they disclose the best estimate shipping times, and stick to it, I do not see the absence of disclosure where it ships from to be a materially important fact.

 

[ClarkB]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
...I thought people are only supposed to sell items that they actually possess. Or are my expectations unrealistic?


That's the magic of being eBay. They don't own a single thing except a business. So maybe that has filtered down to the buyers now? If it is shipped in a timely manner I would have no problems with it.

Clark

 

[Gary Allan]

The unethical part of it, and this is debatable due to the bidding/BUY IT NOW aspect of Ebay, is that you're charged before the item is shipped. Any on line vendor that I have dealt with doesn't charge until the day the item is shipped. If it's multiple items and one is back ordered, they still charge for that item, but it typically doesn't add additional S&H to the tab "after the fact".

If anything, a "hold" on the funds should be placed on the credit card (like with car rental) until the seller gets shipping confirmation. This would prove to be difficult/cumbersome for a power seller who is basically operating on OPM.

 

[addyguy]

I don't see anything unethical with this. As long as you receive your item, things should be fine.

I think of a lot of e-bay sellers as not 'selling you something' in the classic sense, but more helping you 'connect to the item'...they may never see it, they just make sure YOU do.

 

[Gary Allan]

I always thought that this was the sensible evolution in the information age. I had a debate with a vendor of 4wd aftermarket items on one of my email lists and he cited inventory as a cost item. I said that he should have only enough inventory to service local customers if he in fact has a shop. I said that he should be an account with (for example) WARN, where he gets the item drop shipped and he gets his discount based on the volume that he moves per day/month/year/whatever. They already have a warehouse and already ship daily. The additional handling, however time consuming, centralizes the expense and should reduce overall costs just due to one less shipping event.

He should be a broker.

 

[PandaBear]

I think as long as he ship within a couple of days then drop ship is not a problem. The problem is mainly when someone selling online is not shipping an item because the inventory in the warehouse is not accurate, or the seller didn't check/guarantee the inventory can be shipped in a timely fashion.

This can happen regardless of drop ship or not. I can have the right inventory in 99% of the listed item and the 1% listed item couldn't be shipped in a timely fashion. When someone order it I would be in trouble. Still, it is the seller's responsibility to guarantee the inventory and ship it quickly.

 

[Pablo]

eBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethics
eBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethics
eBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethics
eBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethics
eBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethics
eBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethics
eBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethics
eBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethics
eBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethics
eBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethics
eBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethics
eBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethics
eBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethics
eBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethics
eBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethics
eBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethics
eBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethics
eBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethics
eBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethics
eBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethics
eBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethics
eBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethics
eBayPaypalethicseBayPaypalethics.

 

[Gary Allan]

 

[PandaBear]

Pablo had spam sandwich for lunch?

 

[Pablo]

With Ebay and Paypal, "ethics" are an oxymoron - a veritable moving, ever changing smorgasbord of odd rules to protect Ebay and Paypal.

I have examples, but they sicken me. I prefer old fashioned businesses where there is no pretending to protect the buyer and the seller. ClarkB put a finer head on it.