End of POWER SELLER PROGRAM

[my_boston_baked_beans]

Received that message today. Looks like eBay wants all Power sellers to fall in line forcing returns and other requirements like TOP RATED.

Well, not for me as I small seller with little inventory I CAN NOT afford returns free or other wise.

Sad, to have provided great service for years only to be taken down and handed my marching papers!

FALL IN LINE!

[nobody*s_perfect]

TRS (without TR-Plus) does get you a 3% discount on Priority Mail labels. And "Top Rated Seller" shows on your feedback page, if anybody checks there.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

I should add: free returns has nothing to do with being a powerseller....you are thinking of the TRS Plus listing designation, which does require free returns.

[southern*sweet*tea]

TRS is a SELLER status.

TRS + is a LISTING status.

You can be TRS with no returns and extended handling times.

For a LISTING to qualify as TRS+, the seller has to be a TRS and the listing has to have a one day handling time and free returns.

Now with the PS designation going away, all TRS will get the seven day delay for negative feedbacks. That was the ONLY perk for PS, that and the PS discussion board which was barely active.

[tdumonde2014]

No one but you and eBay know that you are or aren't A PowerSeller.

[bangordiscount]

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@tdumonde2014 wrote:

No one but you and eBay know that you are or aren't A PowerSeller.

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I mentioned that.

But at one point eBay classified power sellers by volume and placed them into different categories from Bronze through Diamond and higher tiers qualified for things like eBay discounts on health insurance and the option to call into dedicated help centers.

This was all based on selling volume and not a pay-for-placement scheme (by means of higher fees on "bigger" store subscriptions). So sellers who had a good business model, sold a lot of inventory, got added perks and recognition by eBay. 

[draxxus_9801]

Yep - they have been "politely" trying to push PowerSellers into the Top Rated category for years, finally they've just bit the bullet and forced us to by removing the program all together. Once again, it's done under the veneer of making things easier/better/etc. for us - in reality we all know it's just another move they use to maximize the revenue they can leech off us sellers. The fees they take already aren't enough, they continue to find new and innovative ways to maximize the amount of money they can leech off of us without us completely leaving the platform. They've got this down to a science, they know just how much they can take from us, just how much **bleep** we as sellers will actually accept, before it tips the scale. 

TLDR: just another anti-seller policy they try to slip past us under the guise of making things "easier". Yeah, easier for their bottom line.

[itscalledapostingid]

I would like to point out for everyone reading this:
30 Day Free Returns is NOT required in all categories to qualify for the TRS+ discount. Some categories have different return policy requirements to qualify for the discount. In those categories if the qualification is met the discount will apply but the badge will not be displayed on the listing.

[mam98031]

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@my_boston_baked_beans wrote:

I personally am not losing anything that I care about, but eBay keep changing the rules and the game. I am tired of it. If eBay felt that Power seller title is/was redundant why create that in the first place!

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The Power Seller program was around long before the TRS program.  So that is why they kept it.  However there has only been ONE benefit of being PS in all the years since TRS started.  The ONLY benefit was the grace period on negative and neutral FB.  A buyer can't leave it until at least 7 days pass from purchase.  Beyond that PS had no benefits whatsoever for years.  They have now transferred this one perk to the TRS program.

So no one is losing anything.  It is just that it is something they were use to but it had no real meaning on the site for many years.

TRS isn't redundant.  TRS has always had more benefits than being a PS ever did, even back in the days before the TRS program.

[mam98031]

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@craigsfinds wrote:

Last time I checked, being a "Top Rated Seller" does not mean much unless I offer free returns. I don't get the TRS discounts and my TRS badge is not shown in my listings. Please correct me if I'm missing something. 

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That isn't accurate.  It is the other way around.

The ONLY two benefits of having listings qualify for TRS Plus is the badge on the listing and the discount.

ALL other benefits of TRS is given the seller for being TRS whether or not they have a single listing that qualifies for TRS+.

[mam98031]

Ebay should have retired this program years ago.  I know I've been asking Ebay to do that for a very long time.  PS has no meaning whatsoever and only one benefit which I suggested a long time ago could be transferred to TRS.  

Buyers haven't been able to see this status on a seller for years.  I really don't know what good anyone thought being PS was actually doing for you.

[bangordiscount]

[mam98031]

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@bangordiscount wrote:

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What is the date on that notification?

@bangordiscount 

[auctionpet]

Powerseller badges disappeared years ago. Quite frankly, I thought they had already done away with that title. It's pretty meaningless. I could care less if a seller is a Powerseller, TRS or whatever. I only care about seeing good feedback and a good value when it comes to making a purchase. eBay stripped away any real  powerseller benefits years ago!

[bangordiscount]

It doesn't matter. I posted it in response to you saying this:

However there has only been ONE benefit of being PS in all the years since TRS started 

Everyone is ignoring that being a PowerSeller was complimentary to being a TRS. The PowerSeller program had tiers, bronze to titanium/diamond. Higher tiers unlocked perks, this was a reward for pushing high volume and generating money for eBay (and hopefully oneself).

It reflects better on oneself, even if only in the eyes of eBay, to be a platinum TRS than it would be to be a very low volume 100 sales a year TRS. Right? Which would be more valuable to eBay?

It's more of an achievement to maintain TRS while pushing out thousands of sales and hundreds of thousands of dollars in products a year.

They did away with that and implicated a "pay-for-benefits" scheme in the shape of paying for bigger store subscription fees.

[mam98031]

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@bangordiscount wrote:

It doesn't matter. I posted it in response to you saying this:

However there has only been ONE benefit of being PS in all the years since TRS started 

Everyone is ignoring that being a PowerSeller was complimentary to being a TRS. The PowerSeller program had tiers, bronze to titanium/diamond. Higher tiers unlocked perks, this was a reward for pushing high volume and generating money for eBay (and hopefully oneself).

It reflects better on oneself, even if only in the eyes of eBay, to be a platinum TRS than it would be to be a very low volume 100 sales a year TRS. Right? Which would be more valuable to eBay?

It's more of an achievement to maintain TRS while pushing out thousands of sales and hundreds of thousands of dollars in products a year.

They did away with that and implicated a "pay-for-benefits" scheme in the shape of paying for bigger store subscription fees.

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The date does matter.  In the past few years the only benefit of PS was the grace period on negative and neutral FB.  All those other options have been under TRS for quite a while now.  

Not for years were those perks for different tiers still active.