Item not received claims are pushing me into the high category

[spreadlovelikefire]

Recently, I've had a string of buyers open item not received claims days after their items show delivered.  The cases wait the 3 days and then are closed in my favor as they all show delivered prior to them opening the cases.  I just noticed that eBay is counting these in my metric and my projected rate is not in the high category and eBay won't do anything to remove these.  I am in danger of receiving higher fees because I fulfilled my obligation within the time frame properly and the items all show delivered on time if not early.  Why, oh why, would they not remove these?  Just another reason why I'm leaving.  May be sooner than I anticipated but they will not be getting any more fees from me from doing absolutly nothing wrong.  I print my postage off of eBay so it is uploaded immediately.  

Apparently sellers are responsible for stolen packages as the buck is being passed to me now.  What more can a seller do other than package it well and ship it on time?  When it shows delivered, why is a buyer even allowed to open an item not received claim when the postage is purchased off of eBay? 

[pjcdn2005]

@ittybitnot 

The only policy change I’ve seen for INR metrics  applies to sellers outside of the  US and Canada. Do you have a link to a new policy for sellers here? 

[ittybitnot]

@wastingtime101 

@pjcdn2005 

I did some research into this, and I think I figured out what I have done wrong, and why there is all this confusion.   

First off, it appears to be a matter of semantics.  

If you use the US site under the Contact Us page which I often use for general inquiries under policies, the link provided  when you put in SELLER PERFORMANCE is to some other international page EVEN IF I AM USING the US site with a US ID.  I would not think to look at the top where it says "eBay Export", and I would expect to get information for a US site. This is the URL displayed when I search Seller Performance.

https://export.ebay.com/en/seller-performance/seller-level-and-sales/seller-performance-policy/

Next, apparently in the US, the term is not seller performance policy but Seller standards policy.  Even though it is called "Seller Standards" and talks ad nauseum about seller performance, you don't get this link by searching "Seller Performance", you get connected to the URL above ^^^^^^^^ If it was always called "
Seller Standards Policy or was renamed during the night one day from "Seller Performance" I have no clue. 

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/seller-standards-policy?id=4347

Then, of course, is the regular Service Metrics policy where you are judged against your peers even if you don't have any, and has specific punishments in store for you if you fall short and they will never be removed for any reason even when you are dead. These are always confused with both 'seller performance' and 'seller standards'  LOL.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/seller-standards-policy/service-metrics-policy?i...

As an aside, I can't figure out why eBay is being so picky about looking up this information....I had to declare I was not a robot, and pick pictures of insects (and other tiny objects) out of 1" photos (I have an  24" monitor) at least SIX times for a double captcha on each page I wanted to view.  (No, I don't use a VPN, and was signed in).  Please don't ask me to look up anything else for a week!!!  LOL..

[wastingtime101]

Yeah, I always get the captcha when I look up policy pages. It's super annoying. Thanks for checking that out and figuring why there's so much confusion @ittybitnot . I made an assumption that people were looking on google for the policy and finding the eBay Export site. I wouldn't expect a search on the .com help pages to bring up eBay Export.

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Hey kyle@ebay . Nearly 80 post discussion so I'll keep this brief:

Tons of confusion because people are looking at eBay Export INR policy which applies to sellers outside of the US & Canada listing on .com. People think it applies to US sellers even though it doesn't.

Some of that confusion is coming direct from the help pages because the logic is off. See below. Appreciate anything you can do to escalate this to the team that manages help page search functionality.

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@ittybitnot wrote:

If you use the US site under the Contact Us page which I often use for general inquiries under policies, the link provided  when you put in SELLER PERFORMANCE is to some other international page EVEN IF I AM USING the US site with a US ID.  I would not think to look at the top where it says "eBay Export", and I would expect to get information for a US site. This is the URL displayed when I search Seller Performance.
https://export.ebay.com/en/seller-performance/seller-level-and-sales/seller-performance-policy/

---

[ittybitnot]

@wastingtime101 
kyle@ebay 

Then can we safely assume the punishment for a VERY HIGH INR for our OP @spreadlovelikefire  (who is a us based seller and TRS) would be as follows?

Very High 'Item not received' rate
Directly after the evaluation:

*For the shipping categories where you are currently evaluated as Very High, we may add extra time when showing buyers an expected delivery date for your items (IMO, that might have its advantages)

*Funds from your orders may be placed on hold until tracking information shows that the item is on its way to the buyer (IMO, ship the next day, no big deal either)

*You may be unable to deduct an amount from the buyer's refund if an item is returned used or damaged (IMO has the potential for those that qualify for the "up to 50%"  to be hosed for the full amount when they get a faulty return) 

I would assume the high INR does not put the OP in danger of final value fee punishment camp, or suppression in search? 

Remind me please which metric has the "can't promote your listings" punishment. 

[wastingtime101]

You are correct on most of that. They may not see "suppression" in search, but they would probably see a search placement demotion due to longer EDDs affecting search algorithms.

Promoted listings standard requires a seller status of Above Standard or better so that's not a factor.

[kyle@ebay]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

Yeah, I always get the captcha when I look up policy pages. It's super annoying. Thanks for checking that out and figuring why there's so much confusion @ittybitnot . I made an assumption that people were looking on google for the policy and finding the eBay Export site. I wouldn't expect a search on the .com help pages to bring up eBay Export.

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Hey kyle@ebay . Nearly 80 post discussion so I'll keep this brief:

Tons of confusion because people are looking at eBay Export INR policy which applies to sellers outside of the US & Canada listing on .com. People think it applies to US sellers even though it doesn't.

Some of that confusion is coming direct from the help pages because the logic is off. See below. Appreciate anything you can do to escalate this to the team that manages help page search functionality.

---

@ittybitnot wrote:

If you use the US site under the Contact Us page which I often use for general inquiries under policies, the link provided  when you put in SELLER PERFORMANCE is to some other international page EVEN IF I AM USING the US site with a US ID.  I would not think to look at the top where it says "eBay Export", and I would expect to get information for a US site. This is the URL displayed when I search Seller Performance.
https://export.ebay.com/en/seller-performance/seller-level-and-sales/seller-performance-policy/

---

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Hey @wastingtime101 thanks for summing that thread up perfectly!  I'll be glad to pass this on to our team in charge of help pages.  

[redstarrobot_vintage_toys]

Currently I am sitting in the "Very High INAD" and getting hit with the additional fees. Unfortunately since I sell only in one Major Parent Category " TOYS and Hobbies" my peer group has very small percentages for I to meet no matter if the claim the buyer opened is valid or not. My returns are from almost 18 months instead of the 12 month period and have not cycled off. I have tried to appeal with no response even if the buyer was reported. With the holiday season upon us I will be very cautious with these 2 Major Service Metrics due to the fees may completely kill any profit you may receive. 

[manshawnsshop]

Just wanted to update this thread as I just noticed both defects/strikes were removed from my service metrics. And, yes, I know this just adds more confusion/contradiction, but, wanted to point out eBay did what they said they would do in the abusive buyer policy that I followed.

(this below was what I posted earlier in this thread, and, did. Not that I agree with it as being the best way to resolve "item not received" situations, but, at the same time I follow the policy that eBay has presented us with and at the same time try to protect myself)

Report The Buyer:

Buyer made a false claim

option 1-Claimed the item was not as described when that wasn’t true

option 2-Claimed an item was not received when tracking shows it was delivered

From eBay:

• A Very High rating won't affect your account unless it involves at least 10 reports/requests with 10 unique buyers

Additionally, we have some safeguards in place to protect your ratings and help you in case you have a problem. For example:

• If we determine that a buyer has violated our Abusive buyer policy, we'll automatically remove any 'Item not received' reports or 'Item not as described' return requests they had filed from service metrics

Service metrics policy(link to the bottom of the page "

Fair evaluation, seller protections and appeals")

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/seller-performance-policy/service-metrics-policy...

Shawn

Manshawnsshop

[jesusisyourgod]

Yep I just lost a case and I am leaving also. I have been selling for over a year and Ebay has drove me to leave. They dont care about sellers as they do buyers who continue to scam. I provided receipts and launched an investigation via my local post office yet to no avail as Ebay dont care. Today I decided to leave, I will start selling locally and try other places. 

[gurlcat]

Thank you very much for that update.  

[spreadlovelikefire]

I just had another Item Not Received claim open for a buyer who says they didn't receive their item. I go to the tracking and it shows that there was a delivery attempt but there was no access.  I've obviously reported the buyer but eBay won't remove the defect since the case was opened.  I also noticed that this item was shipped this past Friday.  Ebay gave an estimated delivery date of this Monday, so 1 business day essentially and they live pretty far from me.  So the buyer was able to open a request on Tuesday morning, again it was shipped on Friday.  That is insane.   It's hard not think eBay is doing this on purpose with estimated delivery dates of 1 day.  This package was sent usps ground.  Even if the buyer lived next door to me, it wouldn't get there in 1-business day.