I also purchase consumer items like batteries, dog toys, beef jerky, a DJI drone, and whatnot off the site.
Now as a seller I have no clue, but I have no clue what it is like to sell on Amazon either. I do find ebay easier to navigate by leaps and bounds over Amazon. amazon fills my pages with more trash than I ever want to see.
As a seller, I'm exposed for 30 days, because you can, for any reason, choose to return the item with a full refund, and just say it doesn't work. Ebay does not take evidence from the seller that this patently untrue. I've been burned twice this way and lost hundreds trying to sell two laptops.
He said you're asking to get screwed unless you list serial numbers and have photo proof of functionality and mention it in your listing.
In the hundreds of transactions conducted by the university club I was a part of (we sold IT stuff that went missing on its way to the dumpster). Based on his advice we generated packing lists that included the device serial, tests performed, by who, when and screenshots. We never had a problem. Our biggest worry was the accuracy of the fish scale we used to weigh shipments.
There's people out there who make a business out of buying stuff from sellers who are far away, claim warranty and then resell the working item.
This is simply how eCommerce works. You have to accept returns... and 30 days is just about as short of a period you can reasonably make.
> Ebay does not take evidence from the seller that this patently untrue
Neither does Amazon, or Walmart marketplaces. This is simply standard for there marketplaces. Buyers get peace of mind, which encourages more purchases.
This "scam" works on Amazon too - so it's not just eBay or something about how eBay has done things.
As a seller, it can be a pain sometimes - but it's a cost of doing business and must be accounted for, and planned for before you sell the item.
If you're trying to just sell something and walk away, CL or your local classifieds section is the place to be.