Ebay Warranties

[The Grand Wazoo]

I've just listed an item on Ebay.
I noticed that, despite selecting the option to not offer a warranty (why would I on a private sale?), there was one being offered.

No matter what I did, I couldn't edit this option out. It's offering 'Additional Coverage'



Get additional coverage
1 Year Warranty £10.99
2 Year Warranty £16.49

As someone who hates the concept of selling this type of 'product' for new goods, let alone used, I was pretty pissed off to have this attached to my sale.




So I contacted an Ebay representative through their Live Chat facility. Here's how it went:


Ebay:
Welcome to Live Help, my name is Justin. How may I be of assistance?

Ebay:
Hi Chris, can I ahve your concern?

Me:
I have listed an item but it is offering a warranty which I am not offering. I can't seem to remove it from the listing

Ebay:
While I am pulling up your account, is there anything else you would like me to look into for you?

Me:
No that's all thank you

Ebay:
This is offered by the site , since your item is qualified to have this on your listing, this is a feature for the buyer.

Me:
So Ebay offer the warranty?

Ebay:
The buyers will have the option to purcahse this and have a warranty on their item, also you will not be paying any fees or refunding any payments for this as this warranty is being offered by the eBay site.

Me:
Strange - how can Ebay offer a warranty on goods they don't own & haven't seen?

Ebay:
It's just a recommendation, and a part of eBay's initiative to increase buyer's confidence to purcahse items on teh site for our seller's. Just to clarify it is just a recommendation and the buyer will still have to purchase this option on their item if they would a warranty on their item.

Ebay:
You can get a more detailed information on the link below:

Ebay:
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/safetycentre/buyingwithconfidence/warranties/index.html#mainContent


Me:
Is it possible to have this option removed from my listing?

Ebay:
No you will not be able to remove this option. SquareTrade warranties on eBay will be offered on all eligible listings

Me:
OK thank you very much

Ebay:
It has been my pleasure to have assisted you today.

Ebay:
Thank you for contacting eBay Live Help, have a good evening.


I'm bleeding furious!
I don't think I'll be selling anything there again.

[Reid Malenfant]

I'm bleeding furious!
I don't think I'll be selling anything there again.
Do you mind if I ask why Chris? If ebay are going to guarantee it then in effect there is no comeback for you. It's ebays loss if it goes wrong & nothing to do with yourself surely? :scratch:

Or are you thinking that if it did happen to go wrong inside of the warranty period that ebay might get a little upset with you & possibly restrict your account?

Apologies as I reckon I really must be missing something :(

[The Grand Wazoo]

No, why should they make money off the back of my sale by offering a warranty for goods they have no knowledge of?
I find the whole extended warranty business completely corrupt & I don't want my sale to be associated with it.

EDIT: Perhaps corrupt is the wrong word, but it plays on insecurities & makes excessive profit where none is justified.

[Reid Malenfant]

That's fair enough I guess :D

[synsei]

I'm sorry Chris but can't see what the problem is to be honest. I sell quite a bit on ebay and if any items I sell qualify for an ebay warranty and the buyer elects to buy one well, that's added protection for the buyer surely? As long as there is no comeback on me as a seller I'm all for it... :scratch:

[The Grand Wazoo]

Do the sums and work out how much money they might be taking off the back of the sales of this 'service'. Then make an educated guess at how many they might have to pay out on.
Two years warranty for £17 on an item that might sell for between £30 & £50 - sorry but I don't think that's a particularly moral stance to take.

[synsei]

I suppose it would depend on what they were buying Chris. Ultimately, if the buyer thinks it's a rip off they won't buy the service, market forces and all that... ;)

[Macca]

Check out the T&Cs - maximum liability is limited to the purchase price less delivery. It's repair before replacement and that must be done at their authorised service centre. Who decides the cost of the repair? They do...

There is an old episode of The Simpsons in which Homer becomes a lot smarter after a crayon he shoved up his nasal cavity as a child is removed. He does not get on with being smarter and so asks Moe the Bartender to re-insert the crayon. Moe is unsure how far to hammer it back in so he does it in stages. When Homer shouts out 'Extended Warantee! How can I lose?' Moe smiles and says 'Ah, that's it.'

[The Grand Wazoo]

My biggest problem is not the existence of it, but that I have no option but to allow them to do it on my sale. It is supposed to be my sale, after all.

[Reid Malenfant]

My biggest problem is not the existence of it, but that I have no option but to allow them to do it on my sale. It is supposed to be my sale, after all.
I can understand it...

After all, there are the following where they make money :rolleyes:

Listing fees + any pictures inserted
Final value fees
Paypal fees

& now warranties :doh:

Knowing me I may well have missed something out as I don't sell on ebay..

[Effem]

If I know ebay as well as I think I do, then the warranty is going to be pretty much worthless. I have a tenner here that says ebay will do their usual runaround, obfuscation and wriggling act so it probably will end up you giving a refund back to the buyer, snatched out of either paypal funds or your bank account, while ebay simply pockets the warranty fees :eek:

[DaveK]

I share Chris and Frank's views on this. Ebay is not interested in supporting anybody's sales, this is just another money making scam, as if they don't charge enough for their facility - I can't call it a service because no service from them is involved IMHO - robbin' ..........s.
Dave