Additional Fees for Service Metrics is a Scam! Proven guilty before having a chance to show other.

[properthreadz]

Just making a new thread regarding this topic. It has been brought to my attention that I'm being charged an extra 5% in fees due to service metrics. I wouldn't have a problem with this if it was just and these cases we're proven to be my fault as a seller. The unfortunate reality of this service metrics is that regardless what you do as a seller if a buyer opens up a INAD case even if accidentally it will still count against you. I have even had buyers that know that they had opened the wrong case and admitted it. They then reached out on my behalf to get it changed to the correct reason in which eBay tells them there's nothing that they can do. I wish there was a way to be able to get this changed being that you are proven guilty at the touch of a button even if it's the return is incorrectly labeled. I suppose my only recourse to ebay would be to take down all of my items and move them to other platforms.

[annadryl]

Why a new thread? The last one had a lot of answers. So, how'd the lawsuit go?

[properthreadz]

Because I can.

[robbie31415 · Accepted solution]

I won't lie I think Service Metrics are kinda scammy.

I understand the intention, but in some circumstances I find irritating.

Example this past month I've had two INAD return requests opened up that were both closed by the buyer within 5 minutes. 

They both reflect in my service metrics as a ding which I find to be unfair.

I don't know why they opened and closed it. Perhaps wrong item.

However eBay needs more options to get these removed.

[properthreadz]

Exactly I couldn't agree anymore with this. I have sold 598 items 10 of those being INAD cases being 1.67% at least 4 of the 10 cases are mislabeled by the buyer. Unfortunately as stated before they count these against you no matter what being you are guilty by the press of the button from the buyer. I offer free returns for 30 days to try to get buyers to do the right thing. There are a lot of sellers that charge the return shipping to the buyer and buyers know that if they open INAD cases they will get all of their money back and not have to pay for shipping.  

[fbusoni]

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@properthreadz wrote:

They then reached out on my behalf to get it changed to the correct reason in which eBay tells them there's nothing that they can do. 

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Artificial intelligence has figured out how to penalize sellers on the basis of button clicks.

But it lacks, of course, the ability to make value judgments.

And I suspect it's only going to get worse. 

[mam98031]

@properthreadz 

Just so others can find your other thread on this subject from about 5 months ago.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/SERVICE-METRICS-MONEY-GRAB-FOR-FAILING-COMPANY/td-p/34331412

I'm being charged an extra 5% in fees due to service metrics.

Sellers not meeting performance expectations

Additional final value fees may apply on sales in the following circumstances:

• If your account doesn't meet our minimum seller performance standards for the US in the evaluation on the 20th of the month, you'll be charged an additional 6% on the final value fees applicable to sales in the following calendar month. Go to your Seller Dashboard to check your current seller level. This fee does not apply to Above Standard and eBay Top-rated Sellers
• If your rate of 'Item not as described' return requests is evaluated in your service metrics as Very High in the evaluation on the 20th of the month in one or more categories, you will be charged an additional 5% on the final value fees for sales in those categories in the following calendar month. You can view your personalized service metrics on your Service Metrics dashboard in Seller Hub.

Any additional final value fees will be calculated as a percentage of the total amount of the sale. We'll indicate which listings are subject to additional fees on your Account Summary.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/selling-fees?id=4822#section6

I wouldn't have a problem with this if it was just and these cases we're proven to be my fault as a seller.

Unfortunately Ebay doesn't require our approval to be labeled Below Standard.

The unfortunate reality of this service metrics is that regardless what you do as a seller if a buyer opens up a INAD case even if accidentally it will still count against you. I have even had buyers that know that they had opened the wrong case and admitted it. They then reached out on my behalf to get it changed to the correct reason in which eBay tells them there's nothing that they can do. I wish there was a way to be able to get this changed being that you are proven guilty at the touch of a button even if it's the return is incorrectly labeled. I suppose my only recourse to ebay would be to take down all of my items and move them to other platforms.

I've never liked the Service metrics and I've done a lot of complaining about this policy over the years.  Only to fall on deaf ears.  It clearly doesn't appear Ebay is going to revise or get rid of this policy anytime soon.

Have you been Below Standard all these months since your first thread?  It takes at least 10 INADs for any reason and any outcome to put a seller into the Service Metrics cross hairs.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/SERVICE-METRICS-MONEY-GRAB-FOR-FAILING-COMPANY/td-p/34331412

The only way out is to do everything you can to prevent buyers from filing INADs, properly filed Buyer Remorse claims do NOT count in the Service Metrics.  It is clear from your feedback you  have had some issues with this in the past.

The other thing is to increase your transaction count so you can dilute the numbers.  Run a Markdown sale, if you have some hot items that sell quickly, make sure you keep a good stock on this and sell as many as you can.

You might also consider taking the listings for higher priced items down until you get this issue resolve.  Concentrate on low $$ value items that you can sell quickly.

This policy exists to encourage sellers to keep their stats up and improve on the BBE.  Still I don't like how they have structured this thing, but my opinion really doesn't matter.

[robbie31415]

Here is one of the examples.

Not only did they open and close within 5 minutes they left me positive feedback afterwards.

Ebay needs ways to appeal for removal of these.

I did absolutely nothing wrong yet eBay penalized my account for it by lowering my service metrics.

 

[properthreadz]

Hey thanks for your reply. No I had been charged that previous month then it dropped off and is now back. In the past I would reach out to eBay and had success with this about 5 years ago, I'm sure their policies have changed to make it more difficult to be able to have a human review these transactions. It's very clear that it's in their best interest to continue to subject sellers to an extra 5% fee. Since covid customer service has died and all you get is ear service from their foreign CSR where they will tell you what you want to hear then (aka lie). Then be told by other CSR that this isn't the truth and once a buyer opens up a INAD case even if they acknowledge it was on accident that it will be held against you as a seller in the metrics. I wish there was something to do about it, but like you said and I know and agree it will most likely never change. 

[mam98031]

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@robbie31415 wrote:

Here is one of the examples.

Not only did they open and close within 5 minutes they left me positive feedback afterwards.

Ebay needs ways to appeal for removal of these.

I did absolutely nothing wrong yet eBay penalized my account for it by lowering my service metrics.

 

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You do not get penalized in any way unless you reach 10+ INADs in the past 12 month period [or 90 day period for 400+ transactions].

Again, I do not like the Service Metrics.  

[mam98031]

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@properthreadz wrote:

Hey thanks for your reply. No I had been charged that previous month then it dropped off and is now back. In the past I would reach out to eBay and had success with this about 5 years ago, I'm sure their policies have changed to make it more difficult to be able to have a human review these transactions. It's very clear that it's in their best interest to continue to subject sellers to an extra 5% fee. Since covid customer service has died and all you get is ear service from their foreign CSR where they will tell you what you want to hear then (aka lie). Then be told by other CSR that this isn't the truth and once a buyer opens up a INAD case even if they acknowledge it was on accident that it will be held against you as a seller in the metrics. I wish there was something to do about it, but like you said and I know and agree it will most likely never change. 

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I can't agree with much of that.  

When a seller falls into the Below Standard area where the penalty fees exist for whatever reason they find themselves there, means that three were buyers with issues with that seller.  That is NOT good for Ebay.  Happy buyers are good for Ebay.

It is just popular to think that Ebay is out for your money and that is all they are here for.  Rarely if ever have I seen a seller that fell into Below Standard agree that they deserve to be there.

As to Customer Service.  There are several ways to contact customer service.  IDK how you determine if the CSR is in a foreign country or if they simply have an accent but reside and work in the US.  I too sometimes have issues understanding or getting my point across to someone with a heavy accent.  If that happens, I just move along and try again later.  I also agree there is too much bad information coming out of CS.

"Then be told by other CSR that this isn't the truth and once a buyer opens up a INAD case even if they acknowledge it was on accident that it will be held against you as a seller in the metrics."  That is how the Service Metrics are structured.  According to Ebay they have an allowance for this in how they calculate the percentages.

[mam98031]

@properthreadz 

As to Customer Service since the Pandemic.  It is still there.  It is structured differently that it was pre pandemic.  But it is still there and there are several ways you can contact Ebay.

On each Ebay page there is a link to contact Customer Service at the top of the page and again at the bottom of the page.

I would suggest that you contact Ebay for Business on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for the better trained CSRs.

Here are your options for contacting Ebay Customer Service. Please be aware that for social media CS, you send them a Private Message and briefly explain what your problem or issue is. Feel free to leave your Name, address, phone number and/or your email address in this message. It is private and secure and it may help to speed up the response for you.

https://twitter.com/askebay

https://www.facebook.com/ebay

https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/

Your options will be on the left. If you use the link below you can only get to the Automated Assistant or Chat box type AGENT in the box and hit enter. You will then get more options. Not all options are available 24/7. It will depend on staffing available. So sometimes you can request a call back and sometimes you can't. Sometimes you have the Chat option available and other times it won't me. If it is important to you to use one of those options, just try back later.

If you use a cell phone or other mobile device, you may need to turn off your Spam filter so that Ebay can call you.

If you are a seller outside of the US or Canada, you will need to use the Chat Option.

https://www.ebay.com/help/eua?id=5275&mkevt=1&mkpid

https://www.ebay.com/help/home

[properthreadz]

Never have I stated that I'm a below standard seller.  I'm always either top rated or above standard. Odd that they aren't out to "get more money" but yet they have implemented "ads" a.k.a. more fees in the recent...hmm

[brightlightbookseller]

If you're being charged an extra percentage on your listing fees, you're Below Standard.  That's the only scenario in which that happens.  Any other extras would be specific amounts for add-ons and things like that, but not 5% of your FVFs.  We know you're Below Standard because you said you have a 5% extra charge on your fees.

If it helps, that is not shown to customers, though the fact that you're not a Top Rated seller can currently be deduced by the fact that it's not showing that on your About page: https://www.ebay.com/str/ykimoffsales?_tab=about

[pjcdn2005]

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@brightlightbookseller wrote:

If you're being charged an extra percentage on your listing fees, you're Below Standard.  That's the only scenario in which that happens.  Any other extras would be specific amounts for add-ons and things like that, but not 5% of your FVFs.  We know you're Below Standard because you said you have a 5% extra charge on your fees.

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Additional fees can be charged if a seller has a high not as described rate in their seller metrics.   Afaik that does not make them 'below standard'.

If your rate of 'Item not as described' return requests is evaluated in your service metrics as Very High in the evaluation on the 20th of the month in one or more categories, you will be charged an additional 5% on the final value fees for sales in those categories in the following calendar month. You can view your personalized service metrics on your Service Metrics dashboard - opens in new window or tab in Seller Hub.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/selling-fees?id=4822#section6