Losing Top rated status over tracking?
Last couple of weeks my sales have slowed down drastically. I'm not a high volume seller, but its been crickets for two weeks. This morning I received an e-mail from E-bay talking about a grace period on my top seller status. I have two months to make sure I upload tracking to 90% of my sales
I print all labels through e-bay and always have and I believe the tracking is automatically sent to the buyer, just as I receive it when I buy something, so I do not understand this at all.
As for other things, I have not had a negative feedback in well over a year, no cases opened against me, no complaints or any other issues
But I listed a comic last night and it didn't show up on the list until page 5 and no longer says top rated even though if I go to my sellers dashboard it says I still have that status.
Any ideas or suggestions?
sextons-sweet-deals
·2 years agoAchieving TRS status is just too much work. I like to think most of us have other commitments and things to do / enjoy in our personal lives than be on eBay 24/7.
What does bother me at times is that some of the changes eBay makes, ends up creating me to work more to revise listings. I understand that software changes can create hick-ups, but like right now, I'm being told that I have 716 items to revise for 'item specifics'. I have worked on this issue what seems like the last two years off and on and when I list a new item, I work through the item specifics before listing, but it just seems the number to revise never goes down.
One day handling is too much work. I'm not running to the post office every day (gas prices) nor schedule pick-ups because my carrier can come anywhere between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. (seriously) and I won't just leave my packages on the porch for the pirates.
I don't believe in automatic returns. That is why I try to be as detailed as possible, answer questions, and even note in my listings a variation of 'see photos', 'read details', & 'ask questions if needed'.
lovecraft68
OP2 years agoI agree with everything you said. I have too much going on to promise a one day turn around all the time and spot on as far as item specifics go. I sell comics and the list of fields to fill in is ridiculous and some I would have to spend time researching to get the answer so I gave up going backwards to keep fixing them.
E-Bay forgets that often less is more. They used to be so simple to list and now for some items its a laundry list of things to fill in.
Amazon started the e-book market-which I do well in-and to this day they have only made minor changes and by far are the easiest platform to publish through. They saw it wasn't broken and didn't need to fix it.
What E-bay does have going for it is this community which has always been very helpful and informative and friendly. I think the sellers make E-bay what it is....its not management, that's for sure.
mam98031
·2 years ago@lovecraft68
You misunderstand the requirements to be TRS. You do NOT have to have a one day handling time I'm TRS and I have a 2 day handling with a return policy of 30 days, buyer pays shipping. I've been TRS since around the date it started years ago.
I think you are confusing the requires to have a listing qualify for the discount of 10% off the FVF. That is called TRS+. If you are TRS you can have some or none of your listings qualify for the discount.
fern*wood
·2 years agoYou are a top rated seller on this ID.
mam98031
·2 years ago@lovecraft68
I'm sorry to hear you are having these issues. I know you are hoping it is short lived and I hope the same for you.
The requirement to upload tracking has nothing to do with the buyer getting notified of the tracking number. It is all about Ebay. And since you purchase your shipping on Ebay it is auto uploaded. So their statement is a curious one for sure.
Sellers haven't been evaluated on negative FB for years. The important things for you to watch on a regular basis [at least weekly] is your Seller Dashboard.
https://sellerstandards.ebay.com/dashboard?region=US
It is very important to regularly review this information because you can see where you might have a problem coming and fix it BEFORE you have trouble.
For your listings to qualify for the TRS+ discount on the FVF you must comply with three things.
1. Your account must be TRS
2. You must offer 1 day handling.
3. You must offer Free Returns [with the exception of a few categories]
Your newest listing doesn't comply with 2 or 3 so it doesn't qualify for TRS+
Don't count on this being a glitch. Be proactive and find out for sure. The impact to the health of your account is too great, not to mention the added 6% FVF you'd have to pay if you fall below standard.
If you don't mind, do a couple things please. Review your Seller Dashboard that I gave you a link above for. If you are having a problem with tracking, it will show up there and you can even get a detailed report for every item that has caused this issue.
Also if you would cut and past the body of the email you got from Ebay in a post here. Just remember to black out any personal information. But we may spot something in that email that you didn't.
So review your Dashboard CLOSELY and copy the email here. We need to zero in on the problem to be able to properly help you.
Keep your Chin up. We will try to help you.
retrobiz
·2 years agoI just got the same message and asked the question under 'Shipping' because some of my items are remaining in the 'ready to be shipped' cue even after I print my label and I thought that might be the problem. Read my post and see if any of that sounds familiar. I find it doubly strange that someone else has gotten the message now. I did talk to ebay and their non-answer is there also. Good luck, I think we will need it.
lovecraft68
OP2 years agoNow that is interesting and makes sense, could be yet another glitch. I know sometimes if someone buys multiple items, even if I combine the shipping that one of the items may still look like it hasn't shipped and I have to go in and mark it as shipped.
E-bays non answers are why I come here, Other members are much more helpful and then you can find out-like we just did-someone else is having the same problem.
Thanks for letting me know.
fern*wood
·2 years agoDo you add the tracking number to the multiple items purchased? I'm not sure just marking it as shipped will count toward your percentage on the shipping metrics.
gloryglorygifts
·2 years agoIf you look on your seller dashboard you can see your ratings for each of the specifications for TRS. I know that you can click on report under tracking to see what you are getting dings for. If you feel they are unjustified ( weather, holidays) and they are less than 3 months old, they might remove them for you. Maybe having some unjustified ones removed will help.
Good luck to you.
ittybitnot
·2 years agoI have two months to make sure I upload tracking to 90% of my sales
@lovecraft68
Not sure it is related to your problem, but there is no more 1st Class Mail. It was changed to Ground Advantage, but not automatically updated by eBay. Sellers had to change their own listings.
lovecraft68
OP2 years agoYes, moving forward I'm adding that in my listings, but haven't gone back to fix older ones yet.
But I think the tracking uploads the same. But...one never knows, any changes made here seem to have a weird domino effect to something else.
sapphire_studio
·2 years agoAre you sure the reason isn't not selling 100 items within a 12-month period? That happened to me on another account I have and at first I thought it was due to tracking but when I talked to someone from eBay I found out it was not selling enough items.
reallynicestamps
·2 years agobut when I talked to someone from eBay
The phone reps have a terrible reputation for getting you off the phone as soon as possible even if that means giving you the advice you want to hear instead of the advice you need to have.

https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness/ — Message button in upper right on landing page.

https://twitter.com/askebay?lang=en

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/How-do-I-contact-Customer-Support/m-p/32016431#M1783851 -> Automated Assistant, type AGENT -> enter. You will then get more options.


The social media Chat accounts are covered by trained eBay employees with some authority.
And you get a transcript so you can compare what you heard with what you were told.
sapphire_studio
·2 years agoThis was a phone number they gave at eBay open for concierge service and it was only American reps who are always extremely helpful (unfortunately, last month they discontinued this phone service). And he was correct the reason I was losing top rated status was not selling enough on that account. I just remember the email was confusing and I assumed at first it had to do with uploading tracking on time but I was wrong.
lacemaker3
·2 years agoThe comic book listing doesn't qualify for TRS+ badge because it doesn't have free returns on it (or any returns). Only listings that qualify for TRS+ status get a badge shown on the listing, or in search results.
lovecraft68
OP2 years agoOh, yes, you're right, I don't have the all around top listing because I won't do the returns. Reason being most of my comics aren't expensive and if someone has an issue its cheaper to just refund them which I've done a few times over the years. To send them a label that's going to cost $4.50 for a comic they bought for $3 doesn't make sense.
That solves that, the tracking is still the thing that I'm not understanding.
nobody*s_perfect
·2 years agoIf your policy is to accept returns, you can just issue a refund without issuing a return label, as you have been doing. So you can go ahead and change that policy. Another requirement for showing the TP-Plus badge on a listing is that you must offer same-day or 1-day handling; the comic has 3-day handling so you'd have to change that, too.
The TRS requirement is not just about uploading tracking -- it also must get scan within your handling time, unless there's a delivery scan within eBay's estimated delivery dates. Read about 'late shipment" criteria here:
https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/seller-standards-policy?id=4347#section3
lovecraft68
OP2 years agoThank you for replying.
I know about the one day turn around, but I don't want to commit to it. I work full time, have the e-bay store, I'm a self published writer and my wife is going through some health issues so I don't want to add that responsibility, at least not now.
Thank you for the link, I'm off to check it out now.
nobody*s_perfect
·2 years agoThat's fine, and a longer handling time won't endanger your TRS status; it just means your listings won't show the TR-Plus badge.
ed8108
·2 years agoSending buyer a return label has to do with principal & promoting buyer honesty.
lovecraft68
OP2 years agoRefunding them their money and telling them to keep the comic is also being honest. If they're a collector they won't mind a free comic and I always tell them if they really don't want it to give it away to someone who would like it.
I've never had anyone complain about that method.
mtgraves7984
·2 years agoFor what it's worth... I still see TRS on your profile.
To address the eBay message, follow what they recommend. I lost my TRS a couple of years ago (no 100 sales in the previous 12 months), but would have kept it if sales had only kept going. The 'Grace period' is a good thing. Good luck.
lovecraft68
OP2 years agoThank you for the reply, for some reason I didn't see it, maybe something on my end.
The message is a good thing except I'm confused about the reason, is tracking no longer automatically uploaded when you print a label, do I need to do something manually?
gloryglorygifts
·2 years agoEven though the tracking is uploaded using the ebay labels, it also has to be picked up and scanned by the post office within a certain amount of time. (I can't find it in the policy but I'm pretty sure it is the same day.) You will also get defects for not having items delivered on time by the carrier. Late delivery will show up even if you mailed it and scanned it on time, which i hate.
robbie31415
·2 years agoIt has to be scanned by your handling time.
You can have a shipment with 5 day handling, and print label same day and ship it 4 days later. If that is your handling time.
Or you can create a label on the 5th day and send it.
Makes no difference. Your package just has to be validated based on your handling.