My experience as a buyer and seller on eBay has been going downhill the last few years. Reading this story sickens me, and makes me not want to do business on their platform anymore.
I hope they nail the top execs who encouraged the behavior. Even in the unlikely-looking scenario they weren't complicit, they ought to be fired for allowing such an unprofessional culture to fester under their watch.
My wife and I have a fledgling reselling business on the side, and Mercari is a far superior experience in every way. It's not as full featured as eBay, but it doesn't necessarily have to be.
Haven't had many, because they have a stronger policy. The item is tracked, and if it's delivered to the proper address, the only way they can get a refund is either for damage or for not as described. Buyer submits proof to Mercari, and they make the decision.
Statistics I've seen say there are about 15M monthly users, but not all are in the US (it started in Japan about 7 years ago). Mercari says it has about 45M downloads in the US.
I gave my first negative review to a seller ever last month after having been a member of eBay since a year or two after its launch. The item shipped was literally broken. Rather than fuss with the return process, I just left them a negative review and repaired it myself. For years now I've been expecting something like this to happen with an eBay transaction, so I just figured I was due.
I hope they nail the top execs who encouraged the behavior. Even in the unlikely-looking scenario they weren't complicit, they ought to be fired for allowing such an unprofessional culture to fester under their watch.