Another Day with Another Problem eBay-Definitely eBay needs to dig here to fix it or loose business

[uniwarehousewares]

 trinton@ebay

WHAT IS SOLUTION OF THIS PROBLEM? EITHER SELLER DO NOT SELL HEAVY ITEMS OR eBay will do something for this or eBay will loose business from thousand of sellers which will be taken by some other platform.

so far, being TRS in order to get the badge on my account profile i have to offer free returns on all of my listing , which is not possible i am selling some heavy products too on eBay and that is not fruitful for me to ship it to some other corner of US  there are problems which restrict me to offer free returns on heavy items

1 : Orders coming randomly from all over US and if i ship from NY TO CA there is higher chances item being damaged during transit because its handle by different carrier guys  that will effect  my seller service metrics for no reason.

2 : free returns on heavy items will cost me much money and that restrict me from selling heavy items on ebay, there is always high risk to of being damage if ship to long distance why not allow seller to sell in near by states based on seller location?

3 : i have almost 600 heavy items which i want to list on eBay but above issues are there that not let me do business here on eBay and eBay also loosing business because of above issues.

-------------------------------------2019 fall update seller protection update only protect seller if claim is false claim what if heavy item arrive damage and ship from long distance and damaged by carrier??????

a ) i would suggest eBay to bring some feature that allow seller to sell heavy item in only near by states based on location of seller , else no seller want higher seller service metrics and loosing of money in form of returns and loosing of badge from profile because he cannot afford loss on heavy items due to long distance problem.

b : heavy items selling should be excluded from offering free returns in order to get TRS badge and also from higher seller service metrics.

bottom line if eBay will not bring something to fix this issue, some other platform will take space for selling heavy items where there is no such issue of service metrics and badge issues.

please guys share your ideas on this problem. Thank you

[fern*wood]

Your profile shows you as a TRS.  That TRplus badge only shows on a listing if it also meets those additional requirements.  So, if you don't want to offer free returns on heavy items, you can do that and still be TRS.  Of course you won't see the badge or get the discount, but you have to do what makes more sense for your situation.

[ittybitnot]

 some other platform will take space for selling heavy items where there is no such issue of service metrics and badge issues.

Personally, I like money more than "badges".   If a buyer likes the "product" they are not going to care if the seller shows a badge or not.  

Even if you don't offer "free returns" you will have to pay to have something returned if a buyer should claim "not as described" anyway.  If you get a faulty return, there is a good chance you won't be collecting the $6 ebay will give you for return shipping credit either. 

I sold here for 20 years.  As the policies became more restrictive and coercion increase, my offerings declined.  Now I am a buyer.  I purchase things here to sell someplace else. I could not tell you if even ONE of my sellers had a badge. 

[coolections]

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@uniwarehousewares wrote:

a ) i would suggest eBay to bring some feature that allow seller to sell heavy item in only near by states based on location of seller , 

b : heavy items selling should be excluded from offering free returns in order to get TRS badge and also from higher seller service metrics.

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There is really nothing bay can do to help you with your problem of selling heavy items. Ebay does have a system in place and that is they allow you to list local pickup. Heavy items regardless of where you attempt to sell them is not going to be easy. Very few are willing to pay the ship cost for such things unless you practically give them away. Maybe rethink your selling strategy.

[mr_lincoln]

@uniwarehousewares   Free returns is an option for Sellers.  I don't recommend it on heavy items, I use it on lighter weight items to help drive traffic. 

See what your competition is doing, you might find that they are NOT offering Free Returns on heavy items either.

[joesoucie22012]

Just block the states that you do not want to ship to and only sell in States that you want to. 

[luckythewinner]

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@uniwarehousewares wrote:

please guys share your ideas on this problem. Thank you

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Heavy items cost more to ship, and will always be at a disadvantage to smaller items when it comes to ecommerce. 

I can share how I solved this problem - over three years ago I began shifting my inventory away from heavy items and toward small items that are more compatible with ecommece. 

Today, virtually everything I sell on eBay ships for $4 or less by either media mail or first class. 

[slippinjimmy]

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@joesoucie22012 wrote:

Just block the states that you do not want to ship to and only sell in States that you want to. 

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How would you go about doing that?

Spoiler

The answer is you can't!

[kensgiftshop]

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@joesoucie22012 wrote:

Just block the states that you do not want to ship to and only sell in States that you want to. 

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How would you do that?

[toyshnip]

We have shipping profiles based on weight. The profile for heavy items (Over 4 lbs) is without free returns. The discount and the badge is just not worth it.

On our lighter items, we do offer free returns. So from time to time it costs us a few dollars. But that balances out with the discounts.

Anyway, since USPS changed the calculations, it is not worth it to ship heavy items. Try to focus more on lighter items.

[jbwoodco]

Under shipping you can set exclusions to where you will not ship. The list has every state so you can exclude everything but where you want to ship to. 

On another note, I just recently shipped something very large and heavy. The cost was $640. Ebay did nothing and got me no discounts on shipping, but because I had to invoice the buyer, Ebay took a final value fee on my shipping of $64. This is the last time I will sell anything that requires freight shipping on Ebay unless I can work out something on the side with the buyer. Make sure you buy the extra insurance. Also, make sure you put in the listing MULTIPLE TIMES that if something happens to the item in transit, the buyer should refuse shipment. If they accept shipment and the item is damaged it is now their responsibility to pursue the insurance claim with the shipper. This may or may not save you if the buyer is unscrupulous but that is the best you can do.

[yuzuha]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

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@uniwarehousewares wrote:

please guys share your ideas on this problem. Thank you

---

Heavy items cost more to ship, and will always be at a disadvantage to smaller items when it comes to ecommerce. 

I can share how I solved this problem - over three years ago I began shifting my inventory away from heavy items and toward small items that are more compatible with ecommece. 

Today, virtually everything I sell on eBay ships for $4 or less by either media mail or first class. 

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All of my heavy stuff goes on Craigslist for local pickup only.  It simply isn't worth the time, hassle and expense of trying to ship it.

[yuzuha]

Also, distance traveled doesn't have anything to do with whether or not an item gets damaged in transit.  I've gotten a package from two states over that looked like it had been through the wringer.  I've shipped blown glass ornaments internationally and all of them arrived safe and sound.

[mypostingid15]

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@coolections wrote:

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@uniwarehousewares wrote:

a ) i would suggest eBay to bring some feature that allow seller to sell heavy item in only near by states based on location of seller , 

b : heavy items selling should be excluded from offering free returns in order to get TRS badge and also from higher seller service metrics.

---

There is really nothing bay can do to help you with your problem of selling heavy items. Ebay does have a system in place and that is they allow you to list local pickup. Heavy items regardless of where you attempt to sell them is not going to be easy. Very few are willing to pay the ship cost for such things unless you practically give them away. Maybe rethink your selling strategy.

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I don't think the OP is talking about items that weigh 50 pounds, a set of 4 dinner plates weighs 5-6 ponds, and that will cost $31.00 to ship to CA. from east coast., that's more the $7.50 a plate just to ship.

[dasarock]

@uniwarehousewares 

I have thought for some time … that ebay more often shows search results more and higher in list to the farthest shipping zones for u.s. only sellers.  this ensures that ebay can gain more from the higher shipping fees.  it also gives more chances for shipped items to be delayed, damaged in shipment, or plain lost by carriers … bringing metrics and statistics higher which again will allow ebay to charge even higher fees.  

I only hope this isn't intentional on eBay's part