"Below standard"???

[uri613]

Hi. After buying and selling misc on eBay for decades (not a big drop-shipper or store, just one regular guy) with a great reputation for honesty, I found tonight that I could not revise an item price because I was "below standard". Certainly I cannot list a new one!

Ironically, when I called directly, the agent opened the call by saying "Hello Mr. X I see you have been with eBay for twenty four years what can we help you with tonight..." And then proceeded, with a second agent on the call, to explain over and over that I could not list items because I was below standard... due to having to cancel and refund seven items that I lost/misplaced over a whole year. (Not a single customer complained and the final one last week thanked me for my honesty and prompt refund... of about $6. $6!)

Nothing swayed the human vs their computer and the icing on the cake was when she HUNG UP on me as I was suggesting, that our long relationship should beat out a recent computer statistic due to our moving and reorganizing 208 items, most under $10 that had been listed unsold for over six months...

Is there ANYONE with any kind of actual clout to get what used to be a decent site back in line, or is it way too late and eBay needs to go? I mean, if I can't even revise an items price down (maybe can't do offers??), can't list more, how the heck am I supposed to be "above standard" even if I wanted to jump through such hoops (paying 13% of MY sale for the privelege)???

Anyone out there thinking it's time for a national "stay off eBay completely week"..? I'm wondering, are they too big to care.

[chapeau-noir]

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@uri613 wrote:

Hi. After buying and selling misc on eBay for decades (not a big drop-shipper or store, just one regular guy) with a great reputation for honesty, I found tonight that I could not revise an item price because I was "below standard". Certainly I cannot list a new one!

Ironically, when I called directly, the agent opened the call by saying "Hello Mr. X I see you have been with eBay for twenty four years what can we help you with tonight..." And then proceeded, with a second agent on the call, to explain over and over that I could not list items because I was below standard... due to having to cancel and refund seven items that I lost/misplaced over a whole year. (Not a single customer complained and the final one last week thanked me for my honesty and prompt refund... of about $6. $6!)

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Having 7 violations for out of stock in one year is not a minor offence here, and that's why you're below standard.  We all operate under the same rules - longevity means nothing and it's not a computer statistic. I know it seems like you're behind the 8-Ball now, but the only way to fix this is to work your way out of it by steady selling and being very careful with inventory control going forward.

[evry1nositswindy]

If you had been keeping an eye on your seller dashboard, you would have seen the warnings.  Defects stay on your account for one year.  Are any due to fall off soon?

[slati_2013]

One or two lost or misplaced items a year is perfectly fine. Seven is not. eBay is saying to you they cannot depend on you to ship what you have listed, and for a customer that is a lousy experience. One that might drive the customer to another site to purchase the item. Seven is simply too much. You need to keep better track of what you list. Every once in a while when I can't remember where an item I have listed is, I reduce the quantity to zero or outright cancel it because I do not want to risk a defect. 

[chapeau-noir]

Even a few OOS will really cause problems.  That and unresolved cases are the only two defects that can really sink a seller. eBay is not easy on sellers.

[lepke1979]

Amazon would have most likely suspended you by the third or fourth one. eBay takes a slightly nicer approach. Basically, they don't care if you sell here at this point. But if you do, it's going to hurt a little until you do better. And they still might suspend you if you keep doing out of stock.

It's basically a case of it's understandable that it can happen once in a while. But out of stock can cause buyers to leave and never come back.

[mam98031]

I really understand that this is a hard thing to accept, honestly I get that.  This is however the rules.  Cancellations for out of stock items cause frustration with buyers and many simply won't return to Ebay.  We all have to keep tight control of our inventory.  Many larger sellers do, so can you.

Speaking for myself only I have had 1 OOS cancellation last year.  We all just have to take the time to really know what our inventory it as it is critical to our operating here as a successful seller.

I also encourage sellers to monitor their Seller Dashboard on the Seller Hub closely.  At the very least weekly.  If you had been doing that, you would have seen this problem coming and might have been able to avoid it.

https://sellerstandards.ebay.com/dashboard?region=US

Calling Ebay won't do you any good.  They won't / can't change your status.  I'm sorry they hung up on you.  Were you upset with them and letting them know it?  Their hands are tied.  They can't do anything for you even if they wanted to.

Now you need to concentrate on working your way out of this mess.  And the fastest way to do it is to dilute the numbers.  The only way to do that is get more sales transactions.  Run a Markdown sale or something.  You need to increase your transactions as much as you can.  That is the quickest way out of this hole.

However the very FIRST thing you should do is take an inventory.  Go down every listing you have and VERIFY you have the stock you have up for sale.  You can not have anymore Cancellations because you are OOS.  That will sink you even further.  So take an ACCURATE inventory and fix listings as necessary.  This is something you just have to make time to do.  Then run a Markdown sale.

[slippinjimmy]

It's not just out of stocks, from the negative feedback you received you also had a least one unresolved by seller NAD claim.

[mam98031]

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@slippinjimmy wrote:

It's not just out of stocks, from the negative feedback you received you also had a least one unresolved by seller NAD claim.

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One would not cause a Below Standard rating.  But 7 cancellations for OOS sure will.

[mam98031]

In regards to that negative FB.  If the OP had of disputed that negative with Ebay within 60 days or less from the time it was left, it would likely get removed.  Buyers nor sellers are allowed to reference a claim or its outcome in the Feedback we leave.

The OP learned the hard way that refusing to cancel a transaction can be costly as this one was.  They should have just allowed the cancellation using the reason the buyer requested it and all would have been OK.  Instead it appears they tried to force the sale and that rarely works out for anyone.

[slippinjimmy]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@slippinjimmy wrote:

It's not just out of stocks, from the negative feedback you received you also had a least one unresolved by seller NAD claim.

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One would not cause a Below Standard rating.  But 7 cancellations for OOS sure will.

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Of course one OOS doesn't cause an issue but it increases the seller defect rate so it's not 7, it's at least 8 and there may be others we don't know about. Given the OP's sales volume those are REALLY bad numbers.

Getting the Neg removed wouldn't have changed the defect for an unresolved by seller situation.

[mam98031]

Yes, I know that the removal of the neg doesn't help their current issue.  But still it is removable if under 60 days old.

The OP wrote "...due to having to cancel and refund seven items", which is were I got the 7 cancellations from.

[fashunu4eeuh]

You are blaming eBay for holding you accountable. As a decades-long seller, it is surprising you are not more aware of your obligations as a seller that include following the terms of the User Agreement and the platform’s accompanying policies.

eBay is now a giant global behemoth. It does not grant exceptions to its rules. With millions of sellers, and billions of listings, it would be unreasonable to expect it to. If a seller fails to perform, then they have a chance to raise their stats before being permanently restricted.

So rather than rail, under-performing sellers must decide if it is worth it to them to learn the ever-changing rules and policies so they can prosper. If they cannot adapt, then eBay may no longer be a good retail fit for them.

[robbie31415]

This is why when I've had the few incidences where I was out of stock, I purchased from another vendor with 1 day shipping to avoid a defect.

I only got 1 oos defect and I learned my lesson real quick.

[inhawaii]

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@robbie31415 wrote:

This is why when I've had the few incidences where I was out of stock, I purchased from another vendor with 1 day shipping to avoid a defect.

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I don't know why, but I never thought of that.

You, my friend are a genius!    😃