eBay

craigsfinds · ‎05-07-2019

I understand why ebay thinks free returns for any reason will improve sales but I don't understand why they think it's reasonable to penalize hard working, top rated sellers that choose not to follow this strategy by completely eliminating their final value fee discount.

Here's a crazy idea: If ebay believes this will increase sales, how about shearing the financial rewards with top rated sellers who follow this strategy by giving them a greater discount? After all, Top Rated Sellers are the ones paying for that "free" return shipping.

The way I see it, ebay is trying to increase THEIR profits at the expense of one of their most valuable assets. Top Rated Seller. I think that's a very dumb strategy.

nmemoryof · ‎05-07-2019

There is no such thing as "free" returns. It's seller paid returns. It encourages buyers to be thoughtless and careless, imo. Granted, big retailers/sellers can afford to calculate it into the cost of goods. I do not see how small sellers can do it. Good-bye discount. That's a bridge too far for me. All it did was make me go back to no returns at all. I've always thought 30 days was too long to keep the money on hold anyway (essentially).

That said, I do the "free" shipping even though that is not free, either. First, from a buyer standpoint it is all the same. Second, if a shipping insurance claim must be filed, it is all included.

nmemoryof · ‎05-07-2019

I don't see how you can miss that it is a penalty. If OP was receiving a discount, changed nothing, and is now not receiving a discount because of the new policy, it's a penalty. You can spin it anyway you want. From the perspective of the OP, it's a penalty. That's a factual perspective. "Accept the new policy or lose your discount."

jewelbiz · ‎05-07-2019

Plus a partial refund not a return is also marked as a return...

Its a refund not a return when he keeps it and then also leaves positive feedback!

goodluckselling · ‎05-07-2019

@nmemoryof wrote:
I don't see how you can miss that it is a penalty. If OP was receiving a discount, changed nothing, and is now not receiving a discount because of the new policy, it's a penalty. You can spin it anyway you want. From the perspective of the OP, it's a penalty. That's a factual perspective. "Accept the new policy or lose your discount."

It is not a penalty. The seller either earns the benefit or they do not.

Good Luck Selling!

nmemoryof · ‎05-07-2019

It's neither a benefit nor a scam. I'd go with penalty. We submit or we are penalized. In my view it is a way for eBay to increase big picture profits by squeezing blood out of turnips, so to speak. It's not personal. However, I think they are perfectly OK if this shuts down small sellers. They are thinking big picture, and in the big picture, big sellers are the important fish. This isn't a charity. It's business. I think if we don't like it because we get crushed, tough.

At a certain level, I understand that. Only I think it's likely to be foolish long term. In the world of commerce, if the big fish eat the little fish, pretty soon the big fish rule the pond....and it ain't pretty.

nmemoryof · ‎05-07-2019

It's a penalty when you had already earned the benefit but then it was taken away from you, not because you did anything different but because they wanted to force an impossible new rule on you.

goodluckselling · ‎05-07-2019

eBay has deemed TRS+ sellers are among the best customer service oriented and trustworthy of sellers on the marketplace. This is the highest ranking for sellers on eBay and it should have very high standards to achieve this credential.

Small sellers (however way you define that) can achieve this ranking. Small sellers can actually perform some services better than big sellers because they are involved in all aspects of the transaction versus a large sellers who probably has different people do different tasks (taking pictures, creating listings, customer service, packaging, etc).

Good Luck Selling!

goodluckselling · ‎05-07-2019

@nmemoryof wrote:
It's a penalty when you had already earned the benefit but then it was taken away from you, not because you did anything different but because they wanted to force an impossible new rule on you.

If you already earned the benefits it was because you met the standards to achieve it during that time frame. When you no longer meet the requirements then you have not earned it any longer, but you can earn it again but striving to meet the standards once again.

The requirements are always going to get stronger as sellers become more experienced. The standards for the very highest ranking of sellers on eBay should be strong standards that meet today's buyer expectations which is overwhelming very fast shipping and easy returns.

Good Luck Selling!

tcscollectibles1 · ‎05-07-2019

After being on here over 18 years free returns and top rated seller means zilch. If I buy all I have to say is not as described and its free anyway...also a top rated badge has no effect at all on whether I buy a product or not. And Ive seen so called top rated sellers with poor feedback...so with all things Ebay...its baloney...

nmemoryof · ‎05-07-2019

You are spinning the facts.

TRS had already been given to the OP. OP kept the rules and continued to give top service. eBay then added what to many is an impossible requirement and said "do it or lose your TRS benefits."

We won't agree on this. You choose to spin it as something wonderful and refuse to see the OP's perspective. Free returns does not make you a better seller but it does make buyer's worse buyers. Small sellers can't afford to pay return shipping. In some categories especially, it's insane. A seller messed up my earring back order and return shipping cost him under $2. A lady messed up my dishes order and return shipping cost her probably $13. Granted, those were messed up orders. My point is, shipping fees vary greatly. it is a heavy burden on small sellers but also on sellers who deal in larger/heavier items. When buyers are told things are "free," they don't stop to think that someone is actually paying for it. Had my dishes seller not messed up and merely offered free returns, the minute I decided to change my mind and return the dishes, her entire potential for ever making a profit on that item would be gone. She would resell it merely to recover her loses in my transaction. And then what if the new buyer changed her mind? How many $13 each way shipping charges can she pay....WILL she pay before she decides to stop selling altogether?

mvls1 · ‎05-07-2019

Good morning. I believe you are right for you. It must be working well for you for now or you would not be offering it. Just the same, there are sellers that it does not work for (many clothing sellers) and would cost them too much in returns. These policies are NOT a one size works for all.

We all know that buyers do not always chose the correct reason when requesting a return. Since customer service will not correct buyer mistakes made when selecting the return reason, sellers get stuck with a ding on their metrics. Is that really fair? Ebay is free to set any requirements they feel are best for their business model. That DOES NOT mean they are correct. Time will tell on this one.

I believe that management is under tremendous pressure to produce results and are reaping the result of their poor decisions made by the current and last management teams. It is not productive to have continual disruptive changes anymore than ignoring the changing online environment. Ebay would be well advised to include input from their seller base in changes they are considering unless they do not think they need them. Unfortunately, I think they have backed themselves into a corner.

lintbrush* · ‎05-07-2019

@moonshadowvintage wrote:
Are you an Ebay employee? Because you talk like you are or were a Top Rated Seller at one time. I looked at your Profile and see you have no items for sale or have never sold anything on Ebay. Do you sell under another Profile name?
Sellers that have been through the changes only truly know what is going on.
Maybe you just are looking to shake up the conversation.

@moonshadowvintage

Lots of sellers and long-time posters, myself included, use a posting ID. Sometimes the news we deliver is not well received and gets someone's nose bent out of joint. They may seek to damage our selling accounts. For many years I posted with my selling ID, but realized that no matter how nice I try to be, not everyone likes what I have to say.

goodluckselling · ‎05-07-2019

@nmemoryof wrote:
You are spinning the facts.

TRS had already been given to the OP. OP kept the rules and continued to give top service. eBay then added what to many is an impossible requirement and said "do it or lose your TRS benefits."

We won't agree on this. You choose to spin it as something wonderful and refuse to see the OP's perspective. Free returns does not make you a better seller but it does make buyer's worse buyers. Small sellers can't afford to pay return shipping. In some categories especially, it's insane.

I understand the OP's position I just refuse to accept that you and others think once you are ranked as TRS+ it is some kind of permanent ranking.

Once the standards changed for TRS+ discounts, sellers have to meet the new standards to achieve the benefits. Also just because a sellers does not offer the required attributes for TRS+ inclusion does not mean they are not a very good highly qualified seller.

When eBay shows potential buyers a TRS+ badge they want to give that buyer the assurance that this seller meets popular buyer requests (very fast shipping and easy returns) and have been vetted (monthly seller rantings) to achieve eBay's highest rating for it's seller base.

When I am buying and I see half of the sellers with a TRS+ badge it tells me one of two things.

Either half of the sellers on eBay regardless if they are small or large all operate at a very high level or
it tells me that the standards to achieve the highest ratings are set to low.

Good Luck Selling!

moonshadowvintage · ‎05-07-2019

I do not hide behind various profiles. I am who I am.

goodluckselling · ‎05-07-2019

@mvls1 wrote:
Good morning. I believe you are right for you. It must be working well for you for now or you would not be offering it. Just the same, there are sellers that it does not work for (many clothing sellers) and would cost them too much in returns. These policies are NOT a one size works for all.

I understand some seller can not offer the requirements. And that is fine, many of them are outstanding sellers. But the very highest rating for sellers should have guidelines that buyers can have assurances as to how these sellers achieved this status.

Online seller standards are always changing because the seller base is always changing not to mention the buyers expectations and the industry as a whole is in constant change.

Good Luck Selling!