Strike Against Ebay & Paypal's Unlawful Policies

eBay Sellers and Members,

We are appealing to you all as affected eBay sellers. We are certain that all sellers on eBay at one time or another have experienced distress and unfair treatment from buyers and the eBay Corporation during their trading practices.

We have appealed to the eBay Corporation on a number of occasions but appealing solely as one member and seller hasn’t proved successful and has been dismissed as I’m sure your appeals have in the past. We believe the only way to combat against eBay is to address them as a united group of frustrated sellers and members. We need to take severe action as a collaborative team in order for eBay to feel the impact!
Our strike will force eBay and PayPal to evaluate their policies and to listen to its members about the implications these policies are having on their customers.

As an eBay member and seller we have all experienced the following:

• Malicious buying practices by members who intentionally buy on eBay to cause distress to sellers with conscious deceptive actions to harm a sellers business or trading name.

• False disputes and claims by buyers that did not follow the protocol and policies of eBay to rectify the transaction with the seller.

• Sabotaging a transaction for irrelevant and unlawful reasons just because they can. eBay policies are designed to protect buyers and allow them to basically get away with murder.

• Disputes/Claims/Chargeback’s through PayPal and not eBay because PayPal have their own policies which aren’t aligned with eBay which gives buyers more power to sabotage the system and get away with malicious acts that they performed on eBay. Buyers are using the PayPal system to undermine the eBay laws.

• Weaknesses in the eBay feedback system which has allowed a buyer to purposefully ruin a seller’s reputation in an unfair forum. As a seller you have no leg to stand on and cannot fight this malicious act as the same laws to do apply to a seller. Buyers can assume the reputation of a seller but sellers have no way of knowing a buyers history (i.e. Problem buyer, non-paying bidder etc.), because they have a perfect buyers score and your problems with a buyer cannot be addressed in the same manner. This feedback issue affects small businesses and Power Sellers immensely as your business solely survives on feedback and reputation.

• Lack of communication – eBay will not communicate with sellers. Most eBayers predominantly sellers are unsure how and where they should complain, and even if they do complain they are responded to with automated responses and incompetent and low-level employees which serve no purpose and is no help to the seller and eBay are counting on this to push it’s policies through.

eBay Australia tried to make PayPal mandatory and ultimately the only payment method to be used on eBay. This proposal was denied by the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) as eBay had broken the law!!! According to the Trade Practices Act 1974, it is unlawful for a company to require the use of a third party’s product or services in order for a person to deal with the company, known as Third Line Forcing. eBay together with PayPal have issued misleading statements that give the illusion that PayPal is the most secure than any other established and proven payment methods. This is false. Direct Bank Deposit and Cash on Pickup in our experiences have been the safer option. PayPal do not offer the same protection to sellers as they do to buyers.

We need to propose to eBay that their policies MUST be changed so that eBay practices are fair to both the seller and buyer. Also if eBay are making it compulsory to offer PayPal then the PayPal policies must be aligned with the eBay policies. The policies cannot contradict each other.

eBay allow sellers to state their own terms and conditions and eBay also have the audacity to state in their policy to buyers, “your bid is a contract and bidding is agreeing to the terms and conditions of the seller.” Buyers don’t bother reading our terms and conditions and breach our terms and conditions because they can. They know once they dispute and complain eBay and PayPal will not take into account the terms and conditions of the seller. Instead eBay and PayPal go against your terms and conditions. What is the point of all this? eBay have pulled the wool over our eyes and have falsely convinced you the seller that your terms and conditions will protect you. This is misleading and false and an outright LIE!

eBay & PayPal have a lack of perception and lack of consideration for Customer Service yet they have the nerve to charge us ridiculous fees without providing Customer Service of the same value. You are charged a fee to list your item which has been increased and will continue to increase as more members join the eBay community. The % of final value fees which eBay also profit from has increased and if that isn’t enough you are also charged transaction fees through PayPal which aren’t allowed to be passed on back to the buyer which is also unlawful as you aren’t given the right to eliminate these fees. Why, because it’s mandatory to provide PayPal as a payment option as per eBay’s instructions. For sellers who are listing hundreds of items on eBay, are feeling the impact of these fees heavily and it’s cutting into their profits. Whether you are a commercially scaled business or mums or dads or single individuals striving for a modest supplement to the household income, this has got to hurt! This is unfair and unjust treatment at the hands of eBay.

These malicious tactics by eBay and its partners must be exposed to all eBay members and we must put a stop to it!!! We need to do something dramatic, and quickly to protect eBay members!

We must unite together as sellers and FORCE eBay together with PayPal to listen to it’s members and sellers frustrations and to implement significant changes to their policies to protect all users both sellers and buyers.
To force these changes we must take a stand and take an immediate action and force eBay to listen to our complaints and to stop alienating its sellers. Changes must be made otherwise the future of eBay will worsen and force users to move their business’s elsewhere. We are proposing strike action from 1st May, 2010 – 8th May, 2010. During this week all eBay members are to cease any activity on eBay.

WE PROPOSE THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS:

• NO SELLING – DO NOT LIST ANY ITEMS FOR SALE/AUCTION
• NO BUYING – DO NOT BID ON ANY AUCTIONS OR USE THE BUY IT NOW OPTION.
• CORRESPONDENCE – ADD A NOTE ON YOUR EBAY PAGE INFORMING ALL CUSTOMERS ON YOUR ACTION TO STRIKE.

If we all unite together and take affirmative action this will have a major impact on the eBay business and Corporation both locally and worldwide.
A national eBay strike will force eBay to take serious action or run the risk of losing millions of dollars and more importantly its millions of members. eBay will have no option but to implement the changes we are asking.
Please show your support by signing this petition as well as participating in this national strike on 1st May, 2010 – 8th May, 2010. Please distribute this petition to as many people as possible.
If we all unite together and strike together our message cannot be ignored and will make NEWS. With media exposure eBay will have no choice but to respond to our demands or run the risk of being portrayed as an unethical and corrupt institution.

All sellers please note that we are advising eBay and PayPal of our intention to strike.
Please be aware that eBay and PayPal will attempt to retaliate by offering a discount on your listing fees or some sort of promotion to save you money temporarily. This weak proposition from eBay was executed when the threat of strike action was implemented in the U.S. Please don’t be fooled by these promotions as it does not provide any solution to our frustrations and pleas. It is a decoy that eBay and PayPal will use to deter you from the strike action and although you may save some pennies during the promotion it doesn’t save you any money in the long run. By subjecting yourself to this promotion you may also be subjecting yourself to a fatal listing that will cause you the problematic transaction that will be the cause of unlawful and distressful circumstances which is what we are trying to fight against.

We must stand firm and take strike action and give eBay and PayPal the firm message that we cannot be bought!!! We want changes and we want to be treated fairly. There is no compromise!
Australian workers have the support of the union and other institutions or groups have their own support systems but who do eBay members have the support of? This is why we must unite as a collaborative group and support one another against this corruption.
One will not be observed but thousands will be heard!
We thank you in advance for your support. Together we will make a difference!

Danielle & John