eBay has changed the user agreement again.

I have not read the entire agreement, but I read enough to make me realize that I will not be selling items on eBay anymore.

Seller's are going to be getting an even shorter end of the short stick.

Marcus

Here are some of the few tidbits that I do not like:

#1. eBay may withdraw money from your Paypal Account to fund a reimbursement. If I do not want to allow eBay the right to do this, I must jump through some minor hoops to opt out.

#2. eBay has set their own liability to either $100, fees collected over 12 months or amounts due based on the Buyer protection plan.

#3. If you raise a claim against any eBay User, you waive the right to hold eBay accountable under the law.

#4. You are forced to arbitrate and give up your legal right to a civil lawsuit. In order to "opt out", you must send a physical letter to eBay within 30 days of the first getting the user agreement.

#5. You must agree to use Utah as the governing state for any arbitration claim.

#6. If you opt out, you must agree to handle all court proceedings, both federal and state, in Salt Lake County, Utah.

Now these "agreements" might be okay with some users, but they are not okay with me.

I do not live in Utah. eBay does not send my eBay payments and invoices to Utah. I am not going to be bound by an agreement that says I must handle all court proceedings in Utah.

I realize I can jump through some hoops to protect myself, but I do not need eBay. eBay is no longer the only way I can buy and sell things online.

I'll vote with my dollar and use other online options.

Marcus

Maybe these have been the rules all along, and I just now cared enough to read the user agreement, but for me, the biggest complaint is eBay enforcing an agreement that attempts to prevent me from using the legal system if I so desired. If I "opt" out of this agreement, eBay has added additional obstacles that make it quite difficult for smaller claims outside of Utah from reaching a courthouse.

This same agreement then tries to force upon me a particular jurisdiction rather than allowing me to pursue legal recourse in my own state.

Since I live in Texas, rather than Utah, an unfair burden is placed upon me to exercise my legal recourse available under the laws of the United States should I ever have a dispute with eBay.

eBay, along with Paypal, have a history of siding with the buyer unless the seller can provide "acceptable" proof as dictated by eBay and/or Paypal. Even if the seller has emails, letters and pictures, the lack of "acceptable" proof is reason enough to side with the seller. Now, a seller can learn from the mistakes of others and make changes to protect himself. It still doesn't change my perception that eBay is more "buyer" friendly than "seller" friendly.

When I consider this history, and I read the user agreement, I am a bit worried about MY rights should I ever have a dispute with eBay. And since I do not have a department of lawyers ready to tackle the problem on my behalf, I'm going to be limited by the wording in the user agreement.

I'd rather take preventative measures, such as not using eBay, than have to deal with unforeseen legal hassles in the future.

Marcus