I would like to point out a few concerns regarding performance matrix on categories. First, I understand that we have known that this was coming for a few months when it was announced in the last sellers update. However, we have had no way to really evaluate our status until recently when we all received notice of where we stand. Still, we have no way to check this in our seller performance summaries. Really, we have no way to really understand exactly where we stand as we will never know who are "peers" are that we are being compared to. We have no way to check the numbers that we are being compared to as we are not privy to that information. Should we take your word that we are being compared to "similar" selllers? Are we not owed some insight into who we are being compared to, and how those numbers you have arrived at are calculated? Especially, as this is what you are using to raise our fees by as much as 40%!
Another point I would like to raise is that in order that customers / buyers have a pleasant buying experience I and many like me have offered a no questions asked return policy. I sell primarily in clothing, shoes and accessories category and I understand that a certain percentage of those items will be returned just because once received and tried on the buyers will simply not like it. I understand that in a B&M store people try these items on and then buy or not based on what they looked like in the mirror. My answer to this is to offer no questions asked return policy with no cost to the buyer. Many times depending on the cost of the product they have purchased I do not even make them ship it back. (I could not make any money on the item anyway factoring in the cost to ship back to me). With this said, while trying to provide buyers with a pleasant buying experience I will be penalized for this with 40% higher fees! Because the buyers do understand when filling in that drop box that no matter what choice they make I will not be charging them to send back. All they know is what they read (provided by Ebay) that unless not as described they will have to pay return shipping.
A lot of buyers are not considerate enough to contact me prior to opening a case, so they open a case I tell them don't worry about shipping it back and they are grateful and close the case. Doesn't matter, I still have a "ding". I have not worried about these in the past, because I knew that 1) they would not be removed, and 2) I was still providing a pleasant buying experience and that was what counted. So, now I will have to try to use the report buyer button to see if I can keep something from counting against me. I doubt that , but we will see. Also, I don't think if I do that I will be providing my buyer a pleasant experience which Ebay says is the number one priority in all of this.
I want to point out that in the category of clothing, shoes and accessories Ebay says that the return matrix in a 12 month period is 0.62%. I have a very hard time believing that and want to see what I am being compared to. I was told this morning by CSR that is not possible -- violates privacy.
So, I go blindly forth and wait for Ebay to raise my fees by almost 40% due to this while I have no way to actually compare my performance because there is no way for me to see both what I am doing nor what I am being compared to. I think this is going to raise CSR calls greatly, I think this will frustrate CSR and we will get even worse answers and good luck asking for someone else who can actually do something. We will continue to hear their pre-written replies that are of no help an by the time we are able to talk to someone who is not reading their answere it will be to late - past 30 or 60 days for them to be able to do anything. This happened to me several times. So, I expect that as more and more people start receiving the additonal fees and finally get frustrated enough to actually leave Ebay that some of those other sites out there will be soaring. It will take a little while, but it will happen. Ebay, you will be left with only Amazon type items and you can not compete with that. I'm sorry that a place I have loved has come to this. Especially in light of the fact that I have never wanted anything but to provide my buyers with a pleasant buying experience (just as you continue to state you do), but to do so means that I can not meet your performance standards!
