eBay

smilenini · ‎05-06-2015

EBay has given me below standard rating, even though I have been a seller for 12 years and have 100% positive feedback. The negatives were a couple of cancellations and giving refunds that I did not understand would negatively impact me. I am such a small seller that I probably cannot bring my rating up anytime soon.

It is ironic that eBay will punish you by making it harder to sell and get your rating back up.

My buyers who filed cases (one broke her item and decided to file item not as described) and another's did not fit so filed a case (item not as described) even though the item was exactly as described. Me not knowing just offered her a full refund rather than fight and was penalized for it.

It is clear that eBay has no loyalty whatsoever and cannot decide on a case by case basis when a seller does not deserve this rating.

I am putting all of my vintage items on Etsy and all of my books on Amazon and will be looking into Tradesy, Bonanza etc for the rest. Sellers, don't put all your eggs in one basket because eBay will not support you even though you are supporting this billion dollar enterprise.

There are tons of videos online of people who have migrated to Amazon. They are crushing the resale market, especially in books, videos and games, dvd, cd, etc.

rufusmi616 · ‎05-06-2015

. . . eBay did not "give" you below standard rating . . . you worked hard and "earned" it all by yourself . .

kraloe · ‎05-06-2015

EBay has seller performance standards which are based on data, with no exceptions for loyalty. You can see how the standards work, and that it's more than just feedback percentage:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/seller-non-performance.html

simba6 · ‎05-06-2015

You need to take extreme care not to get any more defects. Even as far as ending any listings you think might have a slight chance of an unhappy buyer. I know that's not so easy. There is little I mean very little space between below standard and suspended from selling for life. They are very quick with the "dear john" letters.

cawarratradingco · ‎05-07-2015

So sorry this has happened to you. Ebay simply couldn't come up with an effective way to weed out the bad sellers, and now they have a lot invested in this very poor, scattershot "defect" system that is costing them many, many excellent, long-time sellers.

Many of the things that used to constitute great customer service will now earn you a defect. USPS broke the insured vase? Defect for seller. Partial refund to unhappy buyer? Defect for seller. Item arrived damaged, but buyer can't find time to take a picture? Defect for seller, automatic refund including shipping for "buyer". The list goes on and on.

Good luck to you, and if you find a great alternative venue, come back and tell us.

cinco_swim · ‎05-07-2015

With all the new policies and the "defect" system that is now in place there are almost countless ways a seller can get themselves into trouble. There are many situations that can arise, and even though you might think you are providing good customer service, if procedure is not followed it will end up given you a defect or worse on your selling account. If you want to survive eBay these days it is of utmost importance that you learn how to traverse all of these correctly........not easy sometimes, I know. Reading and understanding the policy changes and reading this board is a great step in the right direction.

arthuredwardgoodwin · ‎05-07-2015

Sorry you fell afoul of ebay's defect rules. I know that often the defects are not the seller's fault and there is often also nothing you can do to prevent them.

But... If you want to continue selling on ebay you need to lay aside your anger and concentrate on what you CAN do to fix the problem. You need to get out of the "below average" category before ebay restricts you from selling for life.

The defects you currently have will fall away over time. You need to concentrate on getting no more defects AND on increasing your overall number of transactions -- since the defect rate % (which has taken you to below average) is calculated by divididing the # of your defects over last year by the number of transactions over the same period. If the % is 5% or more, you are below average. Two calculations that show the effect of having more transactions:

1) 100 transactions & 5 defects = 5/100 = 5% and below average

2) 125 transactions & 5 defects = 5/125 = 4% and no longer below average

You need to look at your "seller dashboard" and see how many defects you currently have and how many transactions you've had over last year. Then see how many new transactions you need to drop your % below 5%. Then concentrate on getting those transactions/sales.

I know you said that you are a small seller and that it would be hard to increase your transactions, but you may be thinking too narrowly. You are selling in a very difficult category - used clothing. Look elsewhere for small, cheap items that will sell quickly. Remember, it is not the $ amount of each sale that counts for the defect calculation, only that fact that it is a sale.

At one end of an extreme range of actions you can take, you could sell postage stamps at below cost (actually lost some money on each sale). I have seen sellers who went below average do just this if a few sales would put them back under the magic 5%. This may be the way to go also if ebay lowers your selling limits - as they do for lots of sellers once they go below average.

If you need more than a few transactions/sales to get under 5%, and cannot afford to lose money on a sale, then maybe a sale/promotion of your existing store items would be the way to go. You are probably the best judge of whether or not a promotional sale of your items would help with this.

But the bottom line here is that you need to get the transaction rate up ... and keep from getting any more defects.

Good Luck!

arthuredwardgoodwin · ‎05-07-2015

RE moving to other forums to sell:

Spreading your stuff across multiple selling forums works for some and not for others. Whether you like it or not, Ebay still has more traffic than most of the other forums (excepting Amazon).

I have no personal experience selling on Etsy (I do buy there occasionally) - so all I can say about it is what I've heard: it can work well once you establish a niche there and become known; but expect a long period of slow and erratic sales until that occurs.

Bonanza - I've had an account there for 6 months and have yet to have a sale. Most people I've talked to who have tried to sell there tell me their experience is the same - very slow and few sales.

Amazon is by no means a better forum than ebay. Their fees are structured differently, but in many cases (books, for example) the cut they take works out to be more than ebay does. They have rules that are just as restrictive, and, in many cases even more so, than Ebay. For example, many categories of items are 'gated' on Amazon (meaning you need permission to sell in those categories - and no permission at all unless you have a store subscription at $49.99 a month). One of the gated categories is used books. The Amazon forums are just as filled with stories of woe as the ebay ones. I know several sellers who tried Amazon and gave up after 6 months - to a year. But I've also heard that it has worked quite well for several sellers. The difference I note is that most of the ones who failed on Amazon were small sellers and most of the ones who succeded were large ones.

toppiehunter · ‎05-07-2015

@arthuredwardgoodwin wrote:
Sorry you fell afoul of ebay's defect rules. I know that often the defects are not the seller's fault and there is often also nothing you can do to prevent them.

But... If you want to continue selling on ebay you need to lay aside your anger and concentrate on what you CAN do to fix the problem. You need to get out of the "below average" category before ebay restricts you from selling for life.

The defects you currently have will fall away over time. You need to concentrate on getting no more defects AND on increasing your overall number of transactions -- since the defect rate % (which has taken you to below average) is calculated by divididing the # of your defects over last year by the number of transactions over the same period. If the % is 5% or more, you are below average. Two calculations that show the effect of having more transactions:
1) 100 transactions & 5 defects = 5/100 = 5% and below average
2) 125 transactions & 5 defects = 5/125 = 4% and no longer below average

You need to look at your "seller dashboard" and see how many defects you currently have and how many transactions you've had over last year. Then see how many new transactions you need to drop your % below 5%. Then concentrate on getting those transactions/sales.

I know you said that you are a small seller and that it would be hard to increase your transactions, but you may be thinking too narrowly. You are selling in a very difficult category - used clothing. Look elsewhere for small, cheap items that will sell quickly. Remember, it is not the $ amount of each sale that counts for the defect calculation, only that fact that it is a sale.

At one end of an extreme range of actions you can take, you could sell postage stamps at below cost (actually lost some money on each sale). I have seen sellers who went below average do just this if a few sales would put them back under the magic 5%. This may be the way to go also if ebay lowers your selling limits - as they do for lots of sellers once they go below average.

If you need more than a few transactions/sales to get under 5%, and cannot afford to lose money on a sale, then maybe a sale/promotion of your existing store items would be the way to go. You are probably the best judge of whether or not a promotional sale of your items would help with this.

But the bottom line here is that you need to get the transaction rate up ... and keep from getting any more defects.

Good Luck!

This is fantastic advice and also including understanding the rules and policies. The other side of the coin is to learn how to handle the defects to minimize the damage. Never escalate, call and get cases closed in your favor when you can like INR claims you have delivery confirmation on. Get Negs removed if you have a valid reason, etc.

spacemanspiff77 · ‎05-07-2015

@rufusmi616 wrote:
. . . eBay did not "give" you below standard rating . . . you worked hard and "earned" it all by yourself . .

Nobody has to work hard to "earn" below standard. This is set up to fail, it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when..... The writing is on the wall, look at the volume of these threads.

cute_tampa_girl · ‎05-08-2015

I am in the exact same boat, when I called Ebay and tried to dispute it, the call was "dropped."

Ebay is hurting themselves, they use to get 30-40 dollars a month from me in fees, now, becasue I cant sell anything they get considerable less.

To thank them, I am buying less as well.

But you know, it will all get better, like someone else said, let the anger go. Its not worth getting sick over.

okon2 · ‎05-08-2015

IS it not strange that ebay wants everyone to make buyers happy , with managed returns, doing what ever it takes to ensure the buyers have little hassle, but in the meantime, you are defective for doing so.

JD set this up perfect, Small medium and larger sellers are at risk , and it is wise to move and build nest elsewhere,

Ebay tells buyers to open cases, it is not the buyers, they would just rather return or get refunded, it is ebay that is doing this,

They are doing this just to stir the pot, you are suppose to work with the buyers, The defect system makes people want to fight, not work together,

And another point as business people sometimes it is better just to refund and move on, but yet again a punishment, They want us to jump through so many hoops ,

tunicaslot · ‎05-08-2015

Both of the situations described were not earned by the buyer. And before commenting on other's situations - I suggest you clean up your own as false positives are against he rules.

luckythewinner · ‎05-08-2015

@smilenini wrote:
It is ironic that eBay will punish you by making it harder to sell and get your rating back up.
It is clear that eBay has no loyalty whatsoever and cannot decide on a case by case basis when a seller does not deserve this rating.

OP,

There are seven (I think) situations that will cause a defect, and these are seven situations that eBay clearly wants to eliminate from the site.

So if you think about it, when a seller is encountering these situations at a rate that is unacceptable to eBay, making it easier for that seller would make even less sense than making it harder.

And yes, it is quite clear that eBay is not going to investigate each defect to determine who is at fault because eBay does not care who is at fault.

eBay does not care WHY it happened, it only cares THAT it happened.

Unlucky