Ebay India - int. version of local cheats. Review on Ebay

I had purchased a cable meant to connect my tata walkie phone to my laptop. Payment was made immediately via direct wire transfer. Five days later, item still not received so I did some digging on ebay, located the vendor phone number and contacted him. He claimed he had some personal problem because of which the dispatch was delayed and promised dispatch within 24 hours. Now ten days later there is still no sign of it. Further contacts on his cell phone lead nowhere.

I sent two complaints to ebay and both times received the same pre-formatted crap that did not even address the issue. (Do they even read your complaint?) I now realize that all the “safe shopping” being emphasized on ebay is a mere gimmick. Ebay is merely the international version of local cheats.

Take a look at various items being offered on sale. You will notice a large number of items being offered at ridiculous prices example: Rs 10/-. When you proceed to purchase you notice shipping at Rs 450/- has been added. If that is not cheating tell me what is?

Another thing I realized is that ebay does not automatically provide you the contact details of the vendor from whom you made the purchase. If you dig around you will be able to obtain the vendors phone number – nothing else. Mailing address is hidden. So who is ebay trying to protect – you the customer or the crocked vendor? When you select a item and pay for it you have every right to full vendor details.

About 10 years ago there used to be about three India based auction sites. Baazee swallowed one or two of them and became a monopoly. Baazee in turn was purchased by ebay. Lets face it: Overseas companies doing business in India are going to cheat if they can get away with it. What we need are consumer protection laws with teeth. In any case, be alert. Just because you’re buying something from a foreign company does not mean quality nor does it guarantee safety.