Below standard with lots of inventory!

[jf.sales]

I have been selling on ebay for about 5 years. In 2020 I had very minimal sales since my business was more based on selling items on amazon. Since then ebay put me on a limit. It started with 25, 50, 110, 230, and now 430 listings / sales. I have been above standard this entire time but my next evaluation (4/20/21) will make me below standard. I realize how it had happened and have learned from my mistake. How quickly can you get back up to above standard? I have not had an issue in the past 30 days, and only 3 in the past 180 days. I am selling around 150 items / month on ebay alone. I want to try to increase my seller limits but I don't know if I can while I am below standard. I have around 1100 more items to list but ebay now has these strict limits in place. I'd like some help to see when I may be elegible for a selling promotion. Any help is appreciated!

[gjs_16 · Accepted solution]

Generally, one full quarter.

That's how long it took me, the lesson sank in real deep in that time.

I also gained a thorough appreciation and a good understanding of the benefits of TRS+

[emerald1830]

Others will chime in for your specific issue, but as a buyer only, you have really good prices on items that are hot sellers..

Will save your store info, being there are many items you have for sale that I regularly buy..

Follow advice from these experience peeps..it will help you..

[coolections]

With free shipping I believe your prices are too low. By the time you pay shipping and the fees there will not be a lot of extra left over. There is not much you can do to increase your limits but to wait it out. Maybe give it a month or so then call Ebay and ask, sometimes they will increase your limits if they see you've had no problems.

[jf.sales]

Okay thank you. I assumed it would be around that amount of time, appreciate the comment!

[jf.sales]

Some of my prices are low, yes, but I am more focused on getting my limits up, which is why I am selling some pretty cheap items. My listing and shipping time is very low so I make around .50-.75 on my cheapest items. However the more expensive sales make my time worth it. I appreciate the comment though!

[jf.sales]

I appreciate that! I am always looking for a buyers side of view, as it helps me understand what buyers are looking for. Thanks for the comment!

[divwido]

a small bit of advice.  Check everything.  Sit by an outlet and just keep trying things.  Did it work, did it power up?  Did it get hot?

One day I test eight curling irons just to be sure they worked before i listed them.

I still have a big box of Manscape products that need to be triple checked so I can sell them.

[jayjaspersgarage]

One idea would be to sell lots with related items listed rather than one at a time.  That way you might move more inventory per listing.  I do this once in a while just to trim the back stock by listing groups of 25 covers or five post cards together.

[luckythewinner]

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@jf.sales wrote:

How quickly can you get back up to above standard?

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Your seller dashboard will tell you exactly why you are below standard. You just need to look at the numbers in your dashboard and do the math to figure out what numbers you need will need to correct it. 

For example: 

If you have 500 transactions and your transaction defect rate is 5% because of 25 defects, you need to get that percentage back down below 2%.

To do that you would need to raise your transaction count from 500 up to around 1251 without adding any more defects (25 / 1251 = 1.998%) 

But also keep in mind that as time passes, some of your past transactions may "age out" of your 12 month evaluation period. So you need to re-evaluate it every day to determine whether you are gaining ground, or losing more ground. 

[buyselljack2016]

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@jayjaspersgarage wrote:

One idea would be to sell lots with related items listed rather than one at a time.  That way you might move more inventory per listing.  I do this once in a while just to trim the back stock by listing groups of 25 covers or five post cards together.

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Moving inventory is the least of this sellers problems.

As luckythewinner  posted, this seller likely needs as many "individual" defect free sales as possible, as quickly as possible, to get back "up".

Some sell low cost items at a loss to overcome the issue.

[jf.sales]

You got it! Thats exactly what I am doing at the moment. Glad someone understands my issue.

[jf.sales]

I have 5 total transaction defects in my account. 2 of them were around 8-10 months ago. I did the math and once I sell 900 more items I will have my transaction defect rate back up to top rated. Shouldn't be too hard and won't take more than a few months.  I appreciate the advice!

Thanks,

Jackson

[emerald1830]

Bought 3 items just now! I'll help best as I can..been wanting these items for a while now..

[bigdeals.etc]

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@jf.sales wrote:

I have 5 total transaction defects in my account. 2 of them were around 8-10 months ago. I did the math and once I sell 900 more items I will have my transaction defect rate back up to top rated. Shouldn't be too hard and won't take more than a few months.  I appreciate the advice!

Thanks,

Jackson

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I was going to chime in with the same tactic, looks as though you are on the right track on how to get out of below standard. It’s just straight math and if you really want it enough, it’s possible to get out of it within the next month (if you have a high enough selling limit as to “volume out” the defect percentage). It also depends on your evaluation period... 90 days or 1 year. Ebay evaluates me on 90 days, so taking 90 days to get out of below standard is true but a pretty conservative answer. You can get more aggressive, which is what I believe you are doing.

FYI, there are many sellers who preemptively offset their defects by constantly selling dirt cheap items at a loss at high volumes. I don’t believe this is against ebay policy. Things that statistically hardly ever get buyer issues. Not only will this method ensure they stay in above standard or top rated, but it will also help with eBay periodically raising their selling limits. It’s up to you if it’s worth the time and money. Basically an investment.