Ebay is killing small business with extra fees and misguided Metrics to squeeze out more money

[chernobly41]

It is complete madness here on ebay. Ebay has removed the level playing field years ago and finds ways to continue to squeeze every possible cent out of every type of seller here. What i find completely unacceptable is the punitive 5% add-on and 1% add-on fees for international sales based on misguided metrics. Anything over 2% defect rate will automatically trigger 6% punitive (extra fees)  add-on fees on future sales. How is this even acceptable? Defect metrics of less than 4% is unattainable in ecommerce.  This is out of sellers control. Defect rate metrics include Late shipment deliveries by the shipping carrier is out of sellers control. Buyer remorse thru false claims of SNAID is triggered and set in place to punish sellers. Damaged items thru shipping carrier regardless of the best packaging also triggers these punitive add-ons. My recent fees have jumped out to 16% and will continue to do so for the next several months (from what i see at least the next 3 months) on future sales. What kind of madness is this? What ebay is succeeding is killing small businesses, killing margins. The end results is sellers leaving, using multitude of other selling platforms with lesser fees and lesser punitive policies. Clearly ebay doesn't mind it.  Please tell me how this is acceptable......

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@chernobly41 I don't think anyone is claiming the defects aren't in your stats. You say you are below standard, and no one is disputing that. You are not the first seller to be below standard, nor the first to come here about it. Based on what we've seen in similar situations, there is zero reason to think ebay will change your status because you believe it is unfair. And there has been no announcement, not even a hint of one, that ebay is planning on changing the policy itself. 

Your concerns about your below standard level are, of course, legitimate. But your hopes that ebay will either change the policy generally, or that ebay will change your level because you feel it is unfair, are almost certainly false hopes. Your points have been raised many times before, without success. As I said, you can try to increase your sales numbers, which might help you get our from under this sooner. 

I know this isn't what you want to hear, but I see no point in giving you false hope. Thinking that ebay will read your post and say "Oh, my, how terribly unfair, we'll get rid of your Below Standard rating right now!".....well, just not likely, not likely at all.

[divwido]

The second it was decided for us that the seller would always be the theif and the liar-it was times up.

[katzrul15]

Defects are only measured 2 ways.  INRs and SNADs. 

If YOU resolve the claim(s) with your Buyers, all is well.

If E-Bay has to step in and resolve, YOU receive a defect.  Those defects are why you are below standard.

You can summon a Mod.  They will tell you the same thing.  No one here is going to be able to resolve the issues you have created for yourself.  Only you can.

So, again....what is your plan?

Hint: you need to START by changing HOW you handle dispute resolution with your Buyers.

[reallynicestamps]

1) Defect rate metrics include Late shipment deliveries by the shipping carrier is out of sellers control.

Not much you can do. Change the shipper or the service to one that performs better. This will likely cost money. Will the increase in shipping costs offset or be less than the losses to Disputes?

2). Buyer remorse thru false claims of SNAID is triggered and set in place to punish sellers.

No Returns does not mean No Refunds.

A No Returns policy may tell the unhappy buyer that the seller will be uncooperative, even with valid problems (like sending a blue sweater instead of a red one).
And a Buyer's Remorse (the red sweater advertised is cherry rather than scarlet) means the buyer may be told to pay return shipping.

Even with a No Returns policy, the seller is allowed to demand the return before refunding. The seller may have to pay for return shipping. Will the cost of return shipping be greater than the resale value of the disputed item?

3). Damaged items thru shipping carrier regardless of the best packaging also triggers these punitive add-ons.

Package better.

At an eBay seminar some years ago, a Canada Post officer told us that we should package as if our shipment would drop two feet from one conveyor belt to the next, and the package that lands on it weighs 50 pounds.

This is what a postal terminal looks like:

[chernobly41]

Ebay decided years ago that Sellers are nothing more than a supply chain. That sellers are nothing more that Cash Cows. Yet the golden cow has long gone to pasture and left. 

[coastaltechsolution]

@katzrul15 

INRs and SNADs - Ignore them and they just go away 😁

[katzrul15]

Evidently. 

Except the OP would rather rant against those posting and assert blame elsewhere.

The OP did not get into this mess overnight and will not resolve it quickly either.  This has been the demise of many a Seller who is not versed in the MBG and how it does and does not work.

If the tone and insults and abrasive responses are any indication......

[coastaltechsolution]

@katzrul15 

100% agree 

see it many times here, someone all upset and blames eBay and everyone else then keeps getting more upset when we point out the MBG and rules

I just move on and help someone else 

[katzrul15]

And, I will add....

You ask how this is acceptable?

It is because as a Seller, I am required to refund my buyers when USPS messes up, Buyer claims a false SNAD, eat postage both ways, etc.

No Seller should think the rules do not apply to them.  It is your business, so you are welcome to argue with your Buyers, refuse to refund them when e-Bay tells you to, deny refunds, etc.

You can do it all day long.  And it got you where?  Your defects are now costing you more money, correct?  And, your Seller account is in jeopardy, listings suppressed?

The problem lies with how you handle dispute resolution.  No Seller likes how 1-sided the MBG is.  But if you sell here, you are required to adhere to it and it IS expected as a Seller you will resolve the claims, not e-Bay. 

There are many other sites to sell on.  They too will require you adhere to Selling Standards.  

Good luck in what you decide.  Online selling is not for everyone.

[yuzuha]

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@chernobly41 wrote:

Defect rate metrics include Late shipment deliveries by the shipping carrier is out of sellers control.

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That is 100% within your control. The ONLY way to get a "Late shipment" ding is if you did not get a scan within your handling time AND the package is delivered late. I had two packages end up being delivered nearly a month late back in the last holiday season... I did not get a ding for either one of them because tracking showed that I had shipped them within my stated handling time. I have also shipped items late once or twice and not gotten dinged for that either because they were delivered by the estimated delivery date.

If you ship on time and get the acceptance scan and the item is delivered late, you'll be fine. If you ship late/don't get the acceptance scan and the item is delivered by the estimated delivery date, you're also fine. It's only if you ship late AND the item gets delivered late that you're in trouble.

[jayjaspersgarage]

"

see it many times here, someone all upset and blames eBay and everyone else then keeps getting more upset when we point out the MBG and rules

I just move on and help someone else "

I just move on and thank myself for buying a lot of ebay stock back in the 1990's along with a boat load of H.D. stock.  

Most people own mirrors and should look in them to see who is to blame for their problems in life and not blame slowly changing on-line sales rules.

[ryanrobyn]

while this is true Ebay considers a defect all items returned even for Not Fitting or Doesn't Like. Do you consider this fair? Ebay probably does the just to drive the defect rate over 2%.

[isaiah53-57]

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@chernobly41 wrote:

It is complete madness here on ebay. Ebay finds ways to continue to squeeze every possible cent out of every type of seller here. What i find completely unacceptable is the punitive 5% add-on and 1% add-on fees for international sales based on misguided metrics... My recent fees have jumped out to 16% and will continue to do so for the next several months... What ebay is succeeding is killing small businesses, killing margins. The end results is sellers leaving, using multitude of other selling platforms with lesser fees and lesser punitive policies. Clearly ebay doesn't mind it.  Please tell me how this is acceptable...

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Not sure what you are selling, but my fees are an UTTERLY RIDICULOUS  16%-20% WITHOUT Being Charged a 5% punishment fee... If I sell a $40 item and add shipping at $12.50 and Taxes at $2.50 and Pay 12.55% plus the .30 cent per transaction fee, that amounts to $7.20 in fees which is 18% of $40... Would like to know how you were only paying 10% before you got hit with the punishment fees...

[chapeau-noir]

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@ryanrobyn wrote:

while this is true Ebay considers a defect all items returned even for Not Fitting or Doesn't Like. Do you consider this fair? Ebay probably does the just to drive the defect rate over 2%.

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No they don't - I sell clothing, so believe me, I know and understand returns. 

[katzrul15]

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@ryanrobyn wrote:

while this is true Ebay considers a defect all items returned even for Not Fitting or Doesn't Like. Do you consider this fair? Ebay probably does the just to drive the defect rate over 2%.

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That is NOT true.  

There is NO DEFECT if you handle the CLAIM yourself.  E-Bay has zero control over which reason the Buyer chooses for a Return.  The Buyer usually chooses the one that means they do not have to pay to return it.  

Buyer files to return a piece of clothing.  If you do not accept returns, their ONLY option is to LIE and state it is NAD.  If you accept returns, either free or buyer pays/30 days....typically the issues associated with these returns are less.

Seller performance standards | eBay

Transaction defect rate requirements

The transaction defect rate is the percentage of your transactions that have one or more of the following defects:

• eBay Money Back Guarantee cases or disputes closed without seller resolution
• Seller-initiated transaction cancellation

READ THIS NEXT PART CAREFULLY:

Cases closed without seller resolution

For the eBay Money Back Guarantee, when a buyer initially starts a return because the item didn't match the listing description or reports that they didn't receive an item, the transaction issue is called a "request." If the buyer and seller can't resolve the problem, and the buyer or seller asks us to step in and help with the transaction, the request then becomes a "case."