eBay

adickson · ‎09-20-2018

It was pretty depressing to see Ebay's latest attack on the sellers with the implementation of the new 40% seller fee increase. An increase based on their latest version of "Seller performance standards." I had contacted ebay dozens of times over the last two months trying to figure out what this was all about. It was only 4 days ago that I was able to get concrete answers, after 2 months of conflicting information from ebay reps (by the way, if a rep answers the phone and they have an India accent, hang up, only the American Tech support has a real clue what is going on). So as best I am able to determine, this is how things will be:

Those who sell a lot of items no longer have that high volume to help keep a low overall percentage defect rate because ebay has broken down all your sales into tiny categories (21 to be exact), each with it's own rating system (Each category has it's own 4 % penalty system). There are also many categories that simply say "You don't have any peer benchmarks", even though I have many sales in those categories, basically I have not been rated by ebay because I have no peers in that category (what?). Ebay has not been able to explain this, other than it being used to dilute high volume sales into 21 low volume categories where one or two defects will drive you right up into the 4% fee rate (The new Seller Performance standards), If you thought you were doing better, well, now Ebay will make sure you are not.

Lets talk about what the defects actually are, this really made my day (a lot worse):

If a buyer opens a not as described case and states they made a mistake and ordered the wrong item, you can contact ebay and have that case dismissed, BUT, that case still counts against you, even though you did absolutely nothing wrong and the case was closed in your favor.

If a buyer opens a return request for any reason and never returns the item or changes their mind and wants to keep it, that counts against you.

If a buyer opens an item not received case and tracking shows it has been delivered, you can have the case closed by ebay in your favor, but it still counts against you.

If an item is damaged by the shipper during shipping and you have insured the item, the shipper pays the insurance claim and the buyer then closes the case, it still counts against you.

If a buyer opens a not as described case due to something missing (such as a power cord), even if they find the cord a few minutes later and close the case, or you send them the cord and they close the case. It still counts against you.

If an ebay rep tells you this rating system only applies to item not as described returns, and all other cases, if closed by ebay or the buyer, do not count against you, they are either from India tech support, they don't have a clue about the new rules, or they are simply lying. Everything case opened for any reason counts against you, whether it is your fault our not.

And by the way, all this is designed to help you improve your seller performance (**bleep**!). But, let's just have ebay be honest for once, you don't split our ratings up into 21 categories to help our performance, you do that to drive our below standard ratings up to increase our fees. The less items sold in a category simply means one or two opened cases create a 4% fee increase for ebay.

And what will ebay do if you continue to be at the 40% penalty rate in a category (poor performance standards)? NO ONE AT EBAY HAS A CLUE!

It would be great if an ebay rep reviewed all this information and stated definitively what is and what is not correct in this post, because this entire message is derived from two months of calling ebay several times a week. Every fact I have posted was contradicted by ebay reps more than once until the 4 days ago, basically making it absolutely impossible for me to adequately prepare for the changes (the changes by the way are not derived from October 1st onward, they are from this month (on the 20th), September ratings are what October is using, even though ebay was only able to explain everything accurately starting from the 16th of September (not months ago as they stated, but 4 DAYS before the rating system started!).

scodot · ‎09-23-2018

This is really just eBays scam to extort more unwarranted money from sellers. Luckily my company has been anticiapting this from the original announcement and have removed almost 400K in inventory from eBay. We still have a much more muted presence (approx 100K) just so we can hold out until they fix this illegal practice. we are just waiting until the first case is filed as you can't charge an additional fee based on a percentage that is provably inaccurate. If you can prove one of your returns is not a legitamate SNAD and they make no effort to correct it, this policy is all a scam and I bet with be in mediation and the courts in the next six months. Hopefully is costs eBay a fortune as they treat their sellers like garbage and the sellers that bring their great meerchandise are the only reason the buyers come to eBay. I can't wait until eBay is the myspace of online retail. Our company has seen a huge spike in sales from othe online sales platforms and that is because of all the good merchandise no longer being sold on eBay because of their policies. We don't rely heavily on eBay for our sales and I recommend everyone else move to other platforms as soon as your business can handle the change. I wish I had better hopes for eBay but they literally have given up and have just begun stealing everyone elses business models. The leadership at eBay should be ashamed to cash their paychecks, we need to organize as sellers, without us eBay is nothing but a database.

a_c_green · ‎09-23-2018

@mam98031 wrote:
Certainly Ebay is saying it is a 4% increase because it doesn't look as harsh as it is in reality.

What? Where are they saying that? That's simply wrong. It's a 4% difference in the FVF fee on any given amount (10% vs. 14%), but it's certainly a 40% increase on the initial 10% fee, as you described. Do you have a link for that?

mam98031 · ‎09-23-2018

@a_c_green wrote:
@mam98031 wrote:
Certainly Ebay is saying it is a 4% increase because it doesn't look as harsh as it is in reality.
What? Where are they saying that? That's simply wrong. It's a 4% difference in the FVF fee on any given amount (10% vs. 14%), but it's certainly a 40% increase on the initial 10% fee, as you described. Do you have a link for that?

A link for what exactly? The policy?

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/seller-performance-policy/service-metrics-policy...

Excerpt from the policy:

This additional 4 percentage points fee is calculated on the total amount of the sale, including shipping. Final value fee discounts, including Top Rated Sellerdiscounts, do not apply to this additional fee. See our selling fees article for more information on how final value fees are calculated.

But in everything Ebay has released about this, they have said it is a 4% FVF increase. And technically it is a 4% increase added to the original FVF percentage the seller is paying. But it is how they say it that is the kicker.

It is an ADDITIONAL 4% FVF for those being penalized.

It is NOT a 4% INCREASE in FVFs. It is 40% on a 10% fee.

That is where the confusion come in and I think it was intentional on Ebay's part. It is an ADDITIONAL fee on top of what we are already paying. It is NOT an INCREASE of 4%. There is a difference.

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you." Quote from Edward I Koch

dhbookds · ‎09-23-2018

I just wonder how many have noted the "might be"......

Sellers who have an evaluation rate as Very High (meaning a very high percentage of transactions result in 'item not as described' returns and 'item not received' requests) might be subject to increased final value fees or time automatically added to delivery estimates.

(underline is mine)

a_c_green · ‎09-23-2018

@mam98031 wrote:
@a_c_green wrote:
@mam98031 wrote:
Certainly Ebay is saying it is a 4% increase because it doesn't look as harsh as it is in reality.
What? Where are they saying that? That's simply wrong. It's a 4% difference in the FVF fee on any given amount (10% vs. 14%), but it's certainly a 40% increase on the initial 10% fee, as you described. Do you have a link for that?
A link for what exactly? The policy?

No, the place where they're saying that it's a "4% increase" when in fact it's a 40% increase, as we well know.

That is where the confusion come in and I think it was intentional on Ebay's part. It is an ADDITIONAL fee on top of what we are already paying. It is NOT an INCREASE of 4%. There is a difference.

Exactly. If someone at eBay wrote "4% increase" or "an increase of 4%," I'd very much like to find out who and where, and get it corrected.

stuff4divas · ‎09-23-2018

@lawnmowerpartsstore2 wrote:
I feel a Headache coming on....

😄

mam98031 · ‎09-23-2018

@dhbookds wrote:
I just wonder how many have noted the "might be"......

Sellers who have an evaluation rate as Very High (meaning a very high percentage of transactions result in 'item not as described' returns and 'item not received' requests) might be subject to increased final value fees or time automatically added to delivery estimates.

(underline is mine)

My opinion of that is "might" because they are not going to penalize small sellers similarly to how they aren't in the SNAD metrics. If they are under a certain threshold of requests / claims, then it doesn't apply to them.

The INR metrics and the SNAD metrics are separate. They don't combine them.

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you." Quote from Edward I Koch

mam98031 · ‎09-23-2018

@a_c_green wrote:
@mam98031 wrote:
@a_c_green wrote:
@mam98031 wrote:
Certainly Ebay is saying it is a 4% increase because it doesn't look as harsh as it is in reality.
What? Where are they saying that? That's simply wrong. It's a 4% difference in the FVF fee on any given amount (10% vs. 14%), but it's certainly a 40% increase on the initial 10% fee, as you described. Do you have a link for that?
A link for what exactly? The policy?
No, the place where they're saying that it's a "4% increase" when in fact it's a 40% increase, as we well know.

That is where the confusion come in and I think it was intentional on Ebay's part. It is an ADDITIONAL fee on top of what we are already paying. It is NOT an INCREASE of 4%. There is a difference.
Exactly. If someone at eBay wrote "4% increase" or "an increase of 4%," I'd very much like to find out who and where, and get it corrected.

Check the announcement board, I think they said it there when it was announced. Maybe the Weekly Chat and some other threads where the blues participated. But they have said it many times.

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you." Quote from Edward I Koch

stuff4divas · ‎09-23-2018

@mam98031 wrote:
@dhbookds wrote:
I just wonder how many have noted the "might be"......

Sellers who have an evaluation rate as Very High (meaning a very high percentage of transactions result in 'item not as described' returns and 'item not received' requests) might be subject to increased final value fees or time automatically added to delivery estimates.

(underline is mine)
My opinion of that is "might" because they are not going to penalize small sellers similarly to how they aren't in the SNAD metrics. If they are under a certain threshold of requests / claims, then it doesn't apply to them.

The INR metrics and the SNAD metrics are separate. They don't combine them.

Just a curiosity Q. What distinguishes a 'small' seller?

topbargainseller · ‎09-23-2018

i've had 2sellers buying my items recently then instead of telling me to cancel before i ship out the item, the buyer simples put in a return request the next day and puts "change mind" before i even ship out the item...SMH...that's affecting my seller rating and ebay don't even fix it. How can somehow even enter a return request if i haven't even shipped out the item yet, Ebay how does that make sense to you? get better programmers

hbidmeister · ‎09-23-2018

having read a few of the replies, I suspect the idea here is really to get people like me (small, hobby sellers) off the site.

couple of years ago Amazon jacked their fees up while giving buyers more leeway to return stuff for any dumb reason that pops into their heads. I suspect it drove many smaller sellers away (I deleted about 75 percent of my listings). this looks similar in that sellers with low sales will be immediately (and negatively) affected by ANY defect claims. if you don't sell a lot of merchandise it's very difficult to turn things around. we'll see how it works out, but that's what it looks like to me.

pjcdn2005 · ‎09-23-2018

@adickson wrote:
Here is a fact to make you furious. Each case that is opened, correct or not, solved immeditately or not, generates a $200 penalty (from the increase in ebay fees in that category) for a high volume seller like myself for EACH month that it stays on my account, which is 3 months. If a buyer opens a case for a $15 item that they did not receive even though tracking shows it has been delivered, that mistake by the buyer costs me $600 over three months (in that high volume category). I can confidently say this because of all the cases that have been opened in all these categories of which I am being rated on. Cases that are simple questions or items never returned or cases closed in my favor, all count against me and all guarantee that the fees in my high volume categories will ALWAYS have a 40% fee increase. Each case incrementally increases my penalty rate to the point where it is maxed out. At least the cases for me fall off after 3 months, the poor low volume sellers are stuck with the penalty automatically for a year (you have to sell over 400 items in three months to become a high volume seller).

If a buyer files an inr you won't pay extra fees. With the new metrics, too many snad requests cause a fee increase but with 'too many' inr's, ebay might extend your delivery times.

What happens if I'm not performing as well as my peers?

Sellers who have an evaluation rate as Very High (meaning a very high percentage of transactions result in 'item not as described' returns and 'item not received' requests) might be subject to increased final value fees or time automatically added to delivery estimates.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/seller-performance-policy/service-metrics-policy...

pjcdn2005 · ‎09-23-2018

@hbidmeister wrote:
having read a few of the replies, I suspect the idea here is really to get people like me (small, hobby sellers) off the site.

I'm definitely not in favor of this new metric policy but it seems that every change brings out the comments that ebay is trying to get rid of small sellers. I doubt that most small sellers receive 10 or more snad requests a year so they shouldn't be affected.

From the link in my previous post...

If you are rated Very High in a category, but you had fewer than 10 'Item not as described' returns or your 'Item not as described' rate is under 1% in a specific category during the evaluation period, you will not be subject to consequences

ittybitnot · ‎09-23-2018

How can somehow even enter a return request if i haven't even shipped out the item yet,

This is allowed by ebay. Apparently since the buyer cannot file an INR til after the delivery date has passed, ebay helps them out by allowing any sort of liar buyer SNAD.

Your question is "answered" here by an ebay staff person . See message 10

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Buyer-opened-quot-doesn-t-seem-authentic-quot-return-before-th...