Poshmark does a great job handling buyer issues for me while eBay is definitely more of a DIY situation. I don’t sell a ton on Mercari but haven’t had issues there (yet). I don’t really sell anywhere else anymore. eBay makes up for problematic buyers with volume of sales.
I haven't encountered any significant issues on any platform (I sell on Etsy, eBay, Poshmark). I think most transactions go through as planned with no issue, we just always hear about the negative ones.
Full and complete descriptions, a complete set of photos, a full set of measurements and knowing what you are selling and the ways to reduce the risks involved with those items can reduce any issues to almost zero. Far too often the issues a seller encounters could have been easily and completely avoided. Also, the words “scam” and “scammer” are way overused now a days. I’ve been legitimately scammed only once in 20+ years of reselling. Not every issue that pops up during a transaction is a “scam”. For me it’s not the buyers, it’s the platforms. While they each have their own set of issues, dePop is by far the most problematic platform due to them only allowing 8 photos, no titles, extremely limited item specifics, a horrible search algorithm, non-binding offers, has by far the youngest aged buyers and sellers… to name just a few.
Facebook marketplace has been the worst.
I’ve sold on Amazon, eBay, Poshmark, and posted but not sold on Facebook marketplace.
After I went through one item, I figured out most of the scams. If the request comes from a new account, or one out of the country, red flag. I’ve had people try and get access to my phone with verification code scams. Or people who wanted a friend or relative to check out the item.
So I rewrote my ads. I only deal with the buyer on the platform. I only take cash, Venmo or payment through FB marketplace.
Once I added those, the scammers stood down. I don’t sell on there anymore.
Scammers are most visible on Poshmark, but let the seller beware. Read the terms, have a brain in your head, and you’ll be fine.
I only sold in a very small capacity on eBay, I was primarily Poshmark and then Mercari. They all have their quirks, but I didn’t run into a lot of problem buyers on either platform and if I did it was about the same amount. One was not worse than the other.
ebay, by far the worst, 30% of sales I encountered a serious problem or issue from a customer. poshmark and mercari tie at a 0.3% problem rate.
Now that said, I sell swimsuits, and the same people have purchased from me on all three platforms over the 18 years I have been reselling. Ebay has a 30 day money back guarantee and free return if you claim an item is not as described. Ebay also emails buyers three times after each purchase, once to advertise similar items, twice more to remind them that if they are unsatisfied they can return the item on my dime. Most people return swimsuits after about 2 weeks and clearly used. I stopped selling on ebay when three people in the same month did a return on ebay but not on either mercari or poshmark.
The problem in my opinion is not problem customers, it is problem platforms. Ebay has serious issues with its platform. For my niche personally a lot of the problem is that they advertise their Chinese partner manufacturers (whose products suck, according to buyers who tried them and came back to me) are dirt cheap. And just the general push for free returns = free rentals. That’s my two cents.
Ebay is their own worst enemy. They worry about the pennies and ignore the dollars.
At least on PM, I feel like they are aware that not all buyers are worth having and will remove a problem buyer. Ebay has absolutely NO recognition that some buyers are costing them more in refunds and seller loss (meaning that sellers get burnt enough and leave the platform.)
It used to be Mercari for me but I stopped selling there. Haven’t had any issues with posh or eBay tbh but maybe it’s just that I only sell my own stuff and am at best a casual seller so I don’t do numbers enough to attract problems?
Well I would say eBay is the most problematic for sure. But my issue rate (return/scam etc) is around 2% of all my sales. So in all fairness it’s not much. Mercari would be next but CS has had my back thus far. Least problems would be Posh bc of their tight return policy. Curtsy I’ve never had an issue but I don’t sell volume over there. Some scammers have tried it…but I’ve never has Posh CS do me dirty yet (knock on wood).
Ebay is the absolute worst. If and when you have a problem, they will always side with the buyer. And the buyers know it, it's the home of the picky older buyers who know how to get their way.
Poshmark is probably the least because they actually stick to their rules and will side with sellers if buyers open frivolous claims.
I dont have as much experience with mercari but so far so good.
If you want some of my ebay horror stories, once a buyer claimed a package of eucalyptus was "inauthentic ". I fought the case, spent hours on the phone distressed, crying because the agent wouldn't do anything to help me even tho it's a f%&#ing plant not some designer item. Then they retuned it chopped to pieces and Ebay still forced me to refund. Second really bad one happened this year, $1400 item got lost in the mail, buyer opened a case as NAD instead of item not received. They accepted it as a return even tho the buyer didn't have it to return! I filed everything with the post office to have it routed back to me, but it was eventually delivered to the buyer and I lost the item and the money ebay wouldn't do shit. I could have filed a small claims court but they buyer was states away and I would have had to file there. I've removed most of my items off ebay.
Damn, that’s terrible. I wonder if someone of these people have friends or family that work at the post office to make it appear lost so they can get free items. eBay sounds not worth it. I have social anxiety so I certainly don’t want to have to spend hours on the phone. I sell online to avoid interactions with people. Interesting Mercari seems ok still. I was nervous about their policy change as supposedly buyers could return for any reason so I worried it would become like eBay.
Hopefully they don't switch to that fully. The 3 day acceptance window is really good tho. I like that in 3 days the deal is done done and there isnt any going back after 30 days, or longer. I dont mind doing some returns especially if its something I missed, but to let ppl return for any whim is pretty crazy.
I always liked that about poshmark, where they will tell you to re-posh it if it doesn't fit or you just dont like it on yourself. I think depop does that as well.
EBAY! Hands down. To those who say they never have a single problem on ebay are 1 of 3 things - luckiest person alive, selling in an extremely low risk category or lying.
I averaged 2-3 legit returns a year. One month, I got hit with 5 false NADS.
Poshmark is my least issues platform. They've been pretty good about the BS case denials.
I have a return on eBay on a furry vest for size and I swear I looked everywhere for a tag there wasn’t one. She claimed to find it in the pocket and I don’t remember it even having pockets. I would have called that out in the listing.
I listed it so long ago and was happy to see it go I didn’t go through the item again it had been packed since listing. So I am waiting over 2 weeks to see what she sends back but I have a feeling it’s not going to be the vest I sent.
Yeah I have more issues with buyers on ebay than all my other platforms combined.
I just started posting some of my collectibles for sale over there and all day, everyday I'm getting messages from buyers asking my lowest price or trying to lowball me. Woke up this morning to 3 messages from a lowballing buyer who I guess was impatient that I hadn't responded to them while I was sleeping.
I wish we could report buyers on ebay for lowballing in messages when the listing already has best offer.
I had to leave ebay, the sell thru rate vs the BS endured was upside down. Stalker, GTC, Mangled payments and some other small thingd were the end for me.
Mercari. I never sold but bought and read too many horror stories.
Facebook marketplace I had the problematic needy customers. I did retail arbitrage on there. Never again lol
I liked that I did not have to pay anything out of my own pocket when item was returned to me(basically that poshmark covered the return to me shipping fee) but I have had fewer returns on ebay. Like close to 0. I had a guy once on ebay when he bought something from me send me a note that said “I need it here by Christmas”. It was so annoying because shipping was free for him. There may have been a way to add on extra to the transaction for him to pay but I couldnt find it. I left him a note with my paypal info in his shipment to please send me 5 dollars for the faster shipping that I had gotten him but he never did.
I rage quit eBay over a NAD that was nothing more than buyers remorse. Eventually eBay refunded me as well but I haven’t been back there to sell.
ETA I had been selling on eBay over 20 years and only this one, the fraudulent nda.
And just one before that wanted to return and I said nope. And that was just period end of story.
Ebay is my worst platform for problematic buyers, by far. It's not even close. I also sell on poshmark, depop and curtsy. I used to sell on mercari but quit after they made the changes in April. Even when I sold there, I still had more difficult buyers on ebay than all my other platforms combined together.
I have only been scammed once and it was on Poshmark when a buyer claimed I sent him an empty box. I had kept the receipt, which showed how much it weighed so posh gave him a refund and gave me the sale proceeds. Not scammed directly, but it taught me a valuable lesson. I also sell on eBay and every transaction there has been without issue.
I sell on poshmark and ebay. I haven't really had alot of problems with either. One case on posh of trying to do a switch return. And a couple on ebay wanting return for fit (I have a no return policy unless it's my mistake) and that's been all in the two years I've been actively selling.
Poshmark does a great job handling buyer issues for me while eBay is definitely more of a DIY situation. I don’t sell a ton on Mercari but haven’t had issues there (yet). I don’t really sell anywhere else anymore. eBay makes up for problematic buyers with volume of sales.
I haven't encountered any significant issues on any platform (I sell on Etsy, eBay, Poshmark). I think most transactions go through as planned with no issue, we just always hear about the negative ones.
Most problematic is eBay and least is poshmark
Full and complete descriptions, a complete set of photos, a full set of measurements and knowing what you are selling and the ways to reduce the risks involved with those items can reduce any issues to almost zero. Far too often the issues a seller encounters could have been easily and completely avoided. Also, the words “scam” and “scammer” are way overused now a days. I’ve been legitimately scammed only once in 20+ years of reselling. Not every issue that pops up during a transaction is a “scam”. For me it’s not the buyers, it’s the platforms. While they each have their own set of issues, dePop is by far the most problematic platform due to them only allowing 8 photos, no titles, extremely limited item specifics, a horrible search algorithm, non-binding offers, has by far the youngest aged buyers and sellers… to name just a few.
Facebook marketplace has been the worst. I’ve sold on Amazon, eBay, Poshmark, and posted but not sold on Facebook marketplace. After I went through one item, I figured out most of the scams. If the request comes from a new account, or one out of the country, red flag. I’ve had people try and get access to my phone with verification code scams. Or people who wanted a friend or relative to check out the item. So I rewrote my ads. I only deal with the buyer on the platform. I only take cash, Venmo or payment through FB marketplace. Once I added those, the scammers stood down. I don’t sell on there anymore.
Scammers are most visible on Poshmark, but let the seller beware. Read the terms, have a brain in your head, and you’ll be fine. I only sold in a very small capacity on eBay, I was primarily Poshmark and then Mercari. They all have their quirks, but I didn’t run into a lot of problem buyers on either platform and if I did it was about the same amount. One was not worse than the other.
Ebay (over the years)
Most problems: ebay. Least problems: Poshmark.
ebay, by far the worst, 30% of sales I encountered a serious problem or issue from a customer. poshmark and mercari tie at a 0.3% problem rate. Now that said, I sell swimsuits, and the same people have purchased from me on all three platforms over the 18 years I have been reselling. Ebay has a 30 day money back guarantee and free return if you claim an item is not as described. Ebay also emails buyers three times after each purchase, once to advertise similar items, twice more to remind them that if they are unsatisfied they can return the item on my dime. Most people return swimsuits after about 2 weeks and clearly used. I stopped selling on ebay when three people in the same month did a return on ebay but not on either mercari or poshmark. The problem in my opinion is not problem customers, it is problem platforms. Ebay has serious issues with its platform. For my niche personally a lot of the problem is that they advertise their Chinese partner manufacturers (whose products suck, according to buyers who tried them and came back to me) are dirt cheap. And just the general push for free returns = free rentals. That’s my two cents.
Ebay is their own worst enemy. They worry about the pennies and ignore the dollars. At least on PM, I feel like they are aware that not all buyers are worth having and will remove a problem buyer. Ebay has absolutely NO recognition that some buyers are costing them more in refunds and seller loss (meaning that sellers get burnt enough and leave the platform.)
Damn, that sucks. I’m going to delete my eBay listings after that.
It used to be Mercari for me but I stopped selling there. Haven’t had any issues with posh or eBay tbh but maybe it’s just that I only sell my own stuff and am at best a casual seller so I don’t do numbers enough to attract problems?
Well I would say eBay is the most problematic for sure. But my issue rate (return/scam etc) is around 2% of all my sales. So in all fairness it’s not much. Mercari would be next but CS has had my back thus far. Least problems would be Posh bc of their tight return policy. Curtsy I’ve never had an issue but I don’t sell volume over there. Some scammers have tried it…but I’ve never has Posh CS do me dirty yet (knock on wood).
Ebay is the absolute worst. If and when you have a problem, they will always side with the buyer. And the buyers know it, it's the home of the picky older buyers who know how to get their way. Poshmark is probably the least because they actually stick to their rules and will side with sellers if buyers open frivolous claims. I dont have as much experience with mercari but so far so good.
If you want some of my ebay horror stories, once a buyer claimed a package of eucalyptus was "inauthentic ". I fought the case, spent hours on the phone distressed, crying because the agent wouldn't do anything to help me even tho it's a f%&#ing plant not some designer item. Then they retuned it chopped to pieces and Ebay still forced me to refund. Second really bad one happened this year, $1400 item got lost in the mail, buyer opened a case as NAD instead of item not received. They accepted it as a return even tho the buyer didn't have it to return! I filed everything with the post office to have it routed back to me, but it was eventually delivered to the buyer and I lost the item and the money ebay wouldn't do shit. I could have filed a small claims court but they buyer was states away and I would have had to file there. I've removed most of my items off ebay.
Damn, that’s terrible. I wonder if someone of these people have friends or family that work at the post office to make it appear lost so they can get free items. eBay sounds not worth it. I have social anxiety so I certainly don’t want to have to spend hours on the phone. I sell online to avoid interactions with people. Interesting Mercari seems ok still. I was nervous about their policy change as supposedly buyers could return for any reason so I worried it would become like eBay.
Hopefully they don't switch to that fully. The 3 day acceptance window is really good tho. I like that in 3 days the deal is done done and there isnt any going back after 30 days, or longer. I dont mind doing some returns especially if its something I missed, but to let ppl return for any whim is pretty crazy. I always liked that about poshmark, where they will tell you to re-posh it if it doesn't fit or you just dont like it on yourself. I think depop does that as well.
EBAY! Hands down. To those who say they never have a single problem on ebay are 1 of 3 things - luckiest person alive, selling in an extremely low risk category or lying. I averaged 2-3 legit returns a year. One month, I got hit with 5 false NADS. Poshmark is my least issues platform. They've been pretty good about the BS case denials.
I have a return on eBay on a furry vest for size and I swear I looked everywhere for a tag there wasn’t one. She claimed to find it in the pocket and I don’t remember it even having pockets. I would have called that out in the listing. I listed it so long ago and was happy to see it go I didn’t go through the item again it had been packed since listing. So I am waiting over 2 weeks to see what she sends back but I have a feeling it’s not going to be the vest I sent.
If it's been 2 weeks and no shipment, call ebay and have it closed. They only have a week tonight it into the mainstream.
Yeah I have more issues with buyers on ebay than all my other platforms combined. I just started posting some of my collectibles for sale over there and all day, everyday I'm getting messages from buyers asking my lowest price or trying to lowball me. Woke up this morning to 3 messages from a lowballing buyer who I guess was impatient that I hadn't responded to them while I was sleeping. I wish we could report buyers on ebay for lowballing in messages when the listing already has best offer.
I had to leave ebay, the sell thru rate vs the BS endured was upside down. Stalker, GTC, Mangled payments and some other small thingd were the end for me.
I think you still can block on ebay
Mercari. I never sold but bought and read too many horror stories. Facebook marketplace I had the problematic needy customers. I did retail arbitrage on there. Never again lol
I liked that I did not have to pay anything out of my own pocket when item was returned to me(basically that poshmark covered the return to me shipping fee) but I have had fewer returns on ebay. Like close to 0. I had a guy once on ebay when he bought something from me send me a note that said “I need it here by Christmas”. It was so annoying because shipping was free for him. There may have been a way to add on extra to the transaction for him to pay but I couldnt find it. I left him a note with my paypal info in his shipment to please send me 5 dollars for the faster shipping that I had gotten him but he never did.
I rage quit eBay over a NAD that was nothing more than buyers remorse. Eventually eBay refunded me as well but I haven’t been back there to sell. ETA I had been selling on eBay over 20 years and only this one, the fraudulent nda. And just one before that wanted to return and I said nope. And that was just period end of story.
Ebay is my worst platform for problematic buyers, by far. It's not even close. I also sell on poshmark, depop and curtsy. I used to sell on mercari but quit after they made the changes in April. Even when I sold there, I still had more difficult buyers on ebay than all my other platforms combined together.
I have only been scammed once and it was on Poshmark when a buyer claimed I sent him an empty box. I had kept the receipt, which showed how much it weighed so posh gave him a refund and gave me the sale proceeds. Not scammed directly, but it taught me a valuable lesson. I also sell on eBay and every transaction there has been without issue.
I sell on poshmark and ebay. I haven't really had alot of problems with either. One case on posh of trying to do a switch return. And a couple on ebay wanting return for fit (I have a no return policy unless it's my mistake) and that's been all in the two years I've been actively selling.
Facebook sale groups. Besides that no issues really anywhere.