Free Returns - How Vloggers Feel

[tunicaslot]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imCbOAJD9PI

This is actually a good video as it gives you the pros and the cons about whether to offer free returns. 

But it's also good as even the veterans are raising questions as to why their listings which contain all the criteria - are ranking so low. Rockstar has been a speaker at the open in the past and has been pretty content with Ebay until the last year - he raises concerns that we've been talking about for a long time.

[terrycanarsky]

Thanks for posting this.  I watched it last night and found it eye-opening *and* validating.

It'd be nice if someone-with-clout in eBay watched it, too.  ::shrugs::

~M

[pvcliff]

Thanks for posting the link. Really interesting that the sponsered listings aren't ranking higher in search when eBay stands to make more money on them, and can't help but agree that there is no guarantee free returns would push you higher up the list either.  We happen to be gone the first half of June so I won't have any listings up. Will give me a chance to see how everyone else does if they decide to offer free returns.

[lovtaco0]

The first part of the video had good notes about comparing the cost of free returns against the fees lost if your listings are no longer TRS+.

The rest of the video didn't make sense. He used search results to talk about how search placement would be affected when free returns are used but none of those listings offered free returns so what was he really looking at? He should have picked an example other than those shoes - something where there were free returns listings to compare placement.

His comments about sponsored listing placement was irrelevant because sponsored listing placements are fixed spots in search. They will never be higher or lower in search.

His comments about sponsored listings not showing guaranteed delivery on the search page were relevant and it looks like another eBay programming miss.

[tunicaslot]

What he was pointing out was that we've been told in the past - if you offer free shipping, if you sign up for GSP, if you have a longer return policy - we are suppose to receive better search placement - which this video proved is not true all the time so if he decides to do free returns - which is suppose to give him a bump in visibility and placement - will it? Probably not.

As far as promoted listings - this is the first I heard that paying for promoted listings only gave you a secured "place" in que. So if I give 30% back instead of 3% - I may land someplace on the 1st page with the higher % but may find myself  back on page 30 if I decide to only offer them the lower %? I've tried this program quite a few times and have had no luck what so all - just another money grab. I do much better running sales - even if I only offer 3% off.

[wamegun]

Thank you for the sharing. This turned out to be a nice time waste for me. I hadn't realized the eBay related stuff people post about on YouTube. This one video led to quite a few more. I thought it was only kids watching other kids play video games 😀. The Minecraft queue will be nicely messed up for my son in the morning.

[mr_lincoln]

@tunicaslot

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@tunicaslot wrote:

What he was pointing out was that we've been told in the past - if you offer free shipping, if you sign up for GSP, if you have a longer return policy - we are suppose to receive better search placement - which this video proved is not true all the time so if he decides to do free returns - which is suppose to give him a bump in visibility and placement - will it? Probably not.

As far as promoted listings - this is the first I heard that paying for promoted listings only gave you a secured "place" in que. So if I give 30% back instead of 3% - I may land someplace on the 1st page with the higher % but may find myself  back on page 30 if I decide to only offer them the lower %? I've tried this program quite a few times and have had no luck what so all - just another money grab. I do much better running sales - even if I only offer 3% off.

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Regarding Promoted Listings, I believe Store Owners get $ 30 per quarter credit for P.L. so that's free money.  I have occasionally put every Fixed Price listing on P.L. just to try and increase traffic.  I don't do it just to try and make a sale but if I can pick up a few more followers then its a success and I know I have not used up all the $ 30 the times I've done it.

I hope to watch the video but have picked up bits and pieces of it from posts here.  I guess at the end of the day one has to ask if they think Home Office is really capable of writing algorithms sophisticated enough to do all the things they say they do?  If they can't fix some of the little glitches that occur time and time again then for me I would be doubtful.  Last year I experimented with offering 60 day returns on everything ... no affect.  I am in about day 3 of being put in Guaranteed Delivery and my sales have not tripled ... so WHAT is up with that?!?