Another Competitor Makes Some Big Changes

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

ebay competitor Mercari announced some big changes today. The best summary I've seen is here:

https://www.valueaddedresource.net/mercari-shifts-fees-buyers-returns-any-reason/

Will this impact ebay's strategy going forward, or will it have little or no effect? I don't know, but it will be interesting to see what the next ebay Seller Update contains....

[chapeau-noir]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

Seems like a shell game to me.

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Not a shell game for the buyer, unless sellers lower their prices.

$10 item: Old Mercari - Buyer pays $10; New Mercari - Buyer pays at least $11.29

= 12.9% price increase

$25 item: Old Mercari - Buyer pays $25; New Mercari - Buyer pays at least $27.48

= 9.9% price increase

$50 item: Old Mercari - Buyer pays $50; New Mercari - Buyer pays at least $54.45

= 8.9% price increase

$100 item: Old Mercari - Buyer pays $100; New Mercari - Buyer pays at least $108.40

= 8.4% price increase 

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I don't see sellers lowering prices to be that likely, really, when they factor in the possibility of returns - a lot of it is site culture (I've sold on Mercari for some time). I'm used to returns here, but one of the reasons to already knock prices down on a site like Mercari is that one generally does not have to deal with them. That's why I run my clearance store there.

There will also be the $2 fee for bank transfers now.

Shift those shells around.

[mr_lincoln]

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@dhbookds wrote:

I think buyers are going to be "shocked" when they go to pay and see the extra charges.......ones they can't anticipate while shopping......so cart abandonment is going to be a real problem.  I tried to put something in a cart to see what it looked like, but couldn't do that without "signing up".......which I didn't want to do........don't need more spam. 

Ebay could try to revamp the old "bonus" points in some way to try to keep buyers on ebay......never understood why they abandoned that to begin with. 

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@dhbookds 

If they do what other venues do and charge a Buyer's premium they would know up front what their costs are.  I wonder how INAD returns are handled by that site?  Wonder what protections Sellers have?  More questions than answers at this point, for me anyway.

Wonder if there is a Mercari "Community site" like eBay's?  They might have some "experts" who could answer questions.

[redlinear]

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@yuzuha wrote:

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@redlinear wrote:

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3 days is plenty.  You get the item, check it out,  Like it or Return it.

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It really isn't. What if you buy something for a birthday or Christmas gift but aren't going to actually give it for a week or two? Are you supposed to open up someone else's gift to make sure that it's working/isn't damaged?

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YES!  Okay, But like many items you order / buy from other places....  Do not return this to the store, contact the manufacturer.
I was actually thinking of used items.   And it couldn't be 30 days on new, 3 days on used.  If that was case, I guess a ton of sellers would start listing their new items as used.
Wait, they do that now anyway...ugh 

[valueaddedresource]

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@dhbookds wrote:

I think buyers are going to be "shocked" when they go to pay and see the extra charges.......ones they can't anticipate while shopping......so cart abandonment is going to be a real problem.  I tried to put something in a cart to see what it looked like, but couldn't do that without "signing up".......which I didn't want to do........don't need more spam. 

Ebay could try to revamp the old "bonus" points in some way to try to keep buyers on ebay......never understood why they abandoned that to begin with. 

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@dhbookds here's what it looks like on the buyer side.

Item page:

Add to cart:

And Buy Now:

That's a no for me Dawg. 😂

[chapeau-noir]

People curious about Mercari can easily just research it themselves, but I would wait for a bit because these new changes have not been populated through their FAQ. From my calculations they gave all of four hours warning.

From the POV of being a seller there, I can say that one of the attractions of Mercari WAS their lower rates (the site is no great shakes, it's wobbly and both the mobile and web version appear to be stuck together with bolt-ons and glue, sort of like a work in progress, even still), a win/win for both buyer and seller, with returns being only for NAD and must be made within three days, a real incentive to have bargain prices. I also can sell things there that barely get a look here. Price slashing and offers are routine there - implement buyer fees? That will ramp up whether we sellers drop our prices or not.

But to implement some of the same things on eBay such as buyer fees I think would be a bridge too far here. Having a transfer fee in order to incentivize sellers to spend their money here I think would also flop. Even a two-bit seller like myself will transfer hundreds of dollars once a week and won't even notice it (plus it would be deductible), and someone who prefers daily transfers will find themselves hit with ridiculous fees. The idea that eBay is funded by sellers just buying more stuff here is antiquated and I doubt was ever true.

[redlinear]

I buy quite a few items that instruct you not to return this to the store.  If there's an issue, contact the manufacturer.
I buy quite a few items, that while paying, the store will ask you "Would you like to add 30 day warranty?" at an extra cost of course.
Even WalMart recently revised their return policy. It would seem even they've had enough of what they started

[chapeau-noir]

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@valueaddedresource wrote:

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@dhbookds wrote:

I think buyers are going to be "shocked" when they go to pay and see the extra charges.......ones they can't anticipate while shopping......so cart abandonment is going to be a real problem.  I tried to put something in a cart to see what it looked like, but couldn't do that without "signing up".......which I didn't want to do........don't need more spam. 

Ebay could try to revamp the old "bonus" points in some way to try to keep buyers on ebay......never understood why they abandoned that to begin with. 

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@dhbookds here's what it looks like on the buyer side.

Item page:

Add to cart:

And Buy Now:

That's a no for me Dawg. 😂

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Oh lawdy - and do you think the buyer is going to CARE that the seller may have lowered the price on that? They'll not even know.

[valueaddedresource]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

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Oh lawdy - and do you think the buyer is going to CARE that the seller may have lowered the price on that? They'll not even know.

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@chapeau-noir exactly! They are not going to know or care if the seller lowered the price and I'd even be willing to bet they will not care enough to click the little info bubbles next to the new fees to see the pop up explanations or explore enough to see how this new fee structure is supposedly enabling a better return process for them....they will simply abandon cart.

Even if sellers do lower prices and the total displayed is actually competitive/a bargain compared to other options across the web, I'm not sure it will win out over human psychology.

It's just like how most of us know logically that there is no difference between a $20 item with $5 shipping and a $25 item with free shipping but in certain situations/categories that "free" word still holds a powerful sway over the mind of the consumer.

[ittybitnot]

 I wonder how INAD returns are handled by that site?  Wonder what protections Sellers have?  More questions than answers at this point,

@mr_lincoln 

I have sold there for a few years.  Of course, the policies are now going to be "new" and I have not had time yet to review them in detail.  Basically, it worked like this: 

Buyer pays, you ship.  I used the service where the buyer paid shipping to Mercari, and in  turn Mercari provided me a label.  

One did not get any money until the item was delivered, AND the buyer signed off on the transaction as accepted.  They had three days to do this, and if the buyer did nothing, the funds were released to me anyway with some sort of notation. 

If there was a problem (such as a SNAD issue), the buyer had to fill out a form, and provide documentation as to what was sent/delivered that did not match the description.  It required multiple photos, and such on the part of the buyer.  This claim had to take place within the three days of delivery, or it could not occur.  

During my tenure I had four of these "SNAD Mercari claims" .   I only lost ONE, where the buyer claimed a vintage gold filled bracelet was too SMALL.  One of the pictures provided by the buyer showed the bracelet on a ruler on a table with much of it hanging off the edge to make it appear smaller.  Sellers were allowed a  rebuttal, and I pointed that out to whatever entity reviewed these, but to no avail. 

However, when a seller "lost" a case Mercari fronted a label for the return that was not charged to the seller.  I did get my bracelet back, it was indeed still 7.25" long (not 6"), and I sold it again for more.  

Understand as well.  that Mercari did not look favorably on buyers that did chargebacks.  NOT participating in the Mercari return protocol, or making too many claims would indeed get the buyer's account terminated.  A person is only allowed ONE account, and once you are gone you are gone for good.  There are plenty of phony sites out there that 'for a fee' will help you get your account reinstated.  They are scams. Use of a VPN in prohibited. Mercari had no problem with booting an unsavory buyer. 

One would have to conceivably move to a new location, get all new devices, SS#, internet provider, bank account etc. to even begin to succeed in getting a new account there once you are banned. 

The "return for any reason" should be interesting.  If Mercari still foots the return shipping bill, it is still a step ahead of eBay. 

[chapeau-noir]

Mercari US has been flailing a bit and has been sending out site-sponsored coupons, incentives to list more (i.e., another site sponsored coupon for sellers), etc. The Japanese site is healthy, but the US site appears to be struggling - I'm not sure this is the way out. It's like I wasn't sure if the verticals emphasis was the way out for eBay. There's no harm in trying various strategies, but sometimes I wonder about the thinking behind them. 

I'm curious about eBay's path forward with a wider emphasis.

[yuzuha]

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@chevymontecarlo88 wrote:

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It should be a choice in my opinion. If you want to make sure you are covered by a longer return, make sure you buy at a storefront that offers that or an online seller with longer returns. Personally i think returns should be up to the seller but with bank disputes and with buyers finding ways to exploit the system, it is difficult to enforce  3 day returns.  (Of course i am not talking about defective or misleading sales) It may help reduce some of the buyers remorse and free rentals that may occur within a 30 day return.

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I disagree. I think 30-day returns should be the rule for ALL online sales sites because the buyer is buying sight unseen and can't see/hold/touch the item for themselves before they make the purchase. They are relying entirely on the seller's representation of the item they are buying.

[dhbookds]

@valueaddedresource 

Thanks for posting the screen shot of the Order summary.......that would certainly "put me off".......will be interesting to see what happens........how buyers react.  Do they have a comment board.....lol? 

[redlinear]

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@yuzuha wrote:

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@chevymontecarlo88 wrote:

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It should be a choice in my opinion. If you want to make sure you are covered by a longer return, make sure you buy at a storefront that offers that or an online seller with longer returns. Personally i think returns should be up to the seller but with bank disputes and with buyers finding ways to exploit the system, it is difficult to enforce  3 day returns.  (Of course i am not talking about defective or misleading sales) It may help reduce some of the buyers remorse and free rentals that may occur within a 30 day return.

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I disagree. I think 30-day returns should be the rule for ALL online sales sites because the buyer is buying sight unseen and can't see/hold/touch the item for themselves before they make the purchase. They are relying entirely on the seller's representation of the item they are buying.

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I don't mind a 30 day return.
I do mind a 30 day return when I'm paying shipping both ways.
Buyers NEED some reason, some incentive...to slow down before buying.  Removing ALL of the consequences has created buyers that don't pay attention. 

[valueaddedresource]

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@dhbookds wrote:

@valueaddedresource 

Thanks for posting the screen shot of the Order summary.......that would certainly "put me off".......will be interesting to see what happens........how buyers react.  Do they have a comment board.....lol? 

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@dhbookds I don't think they have an official one but....searching Reddit for posts about Mercari today would be quite illuminating for those who are curious. 😉

[mr_lincoln]

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@ittybitnot wrote:

 I wonder how INAD returns are handled by that site?  Wonder what protections Sellers have?  More questions than answers at this point,

@mr_lincoln 

I have sold there for a few years.  Of course, the policies are now going to be "new" and I have not had time yet to review them in detail.  Basically, it worked like this: 

Buyer pays, you ship.  I used the service where the buyer paid shipping to Mercari, and in  turn Mercari provided me a label.  

One did not get any money until the item was delivered, AND the buyer signed off on the transaction as accepted.  They had three days to do this, and if the buyer did nothing, the funds were released to me anyway with some sort of notation. 

If there was a problem (such as a SNAD issue), the buyer had to fill out a form, and provide documentation as to what was sent/delivered that did not match the description.  It required multiple photos, and such on the part of the buyer.  This claim had to take place within the three days of delivery, or it could not occur.  

During my tenure I had four of these "SNAD Mercari claims" .   I only lost ONE, where the buyer claimed a vintage gold filled bracelet was too SMALL.  One of the pictures provided by the buyer showed the bracelet on a ruler on a table with much of it hanging off the edge to make it appear smaller.  Sellers were allowed a  rebuttal, and I pointed that out to whatever entity reviewed these, but to no avail. 

However, when a seller "lost" a case Mercari fronted a label for the return that was not charged to the seller.  I did get my bracelet back, it was indeed still 7.25" long (not 6"), and I sold it again for more.  

Understand as well.  that Mercari did not look favorably on buyers that did chargebacks.  NOT participating in the Mercari return protocol, or making too many claims would indeed get the buyer's account terminated.  A person is only allowed ONE account, and once you are gone you are gone for good.  There are plenty of phony sites out there that 'for a fee' will help you get your account reinstated.  They are scams. Use of a VPN in prohibited. Mercari had no problem with booting an unsavory buyer. 

One would have to conceivably move to a new location, get all new devices, SS#, internet provider, bank account etc. to even begin to succeed in getting a new account there once you are banned. 

The "return for any reason" should be interesting.  If Mercari still foots the return shipping bill, it is still a step ahead of eBay. 

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@ittybitnot   My sincere thanks for sharing that experience.