eBay

vssoutlet · ‎06-22-2018

Free returns is NOT the industry standard, regardless of what eBay says. If they are going to push sellers to pay for all returns, I think it’s reasonable to:

-guarantee that items with free returns are not subject to search algorithm penalties

-buyers should not be able to leave negative feedback or start a SNAD case against a seller. They already can ship the item back at no cost. This will eliminate the abuse of the SNAD claim by buyers.

emerald40 · ‎06-22-2018

@vssoutlet wrote:
Free returns is NOT the industry standard, regardless of what eBay says. If they are going to push sellers to pay for all returns, I think it’s reasonable to:

-guarantee that items with free returns are not subject to search algorithm penalties
-buyers should not be able to leave negative feedback or start a SNAD case against a seller. They already can ship the item back at no cost. This will eliminate the abuse of the SNAD claim by buyers.

It is if you want to compete with those who offer it.

And what does a free return have to do with not being able to leave a negative. It does not negate the fact that an item a buyer received was inaccurately described. And why should a buyer have to be out of pocket for that.

Not sure what you mean about not being able to leave a snad claim. Buyers have to file that in order to get a shipping label so they can return it.

luckythewinner · ‎06-22-2018

guarantee that items with free returns are not subject to search algorithm penalties

Every single Best Match criteria can be considered "penalty", in that it may affect your position relative to other items.

If you price is higher, that may contribute less to your score than a non-free reutrns item. If you are further away, that may contribute less to your score. If your items specifics are less complete, that may contribute less to your score. If your title does not match the search terms, that will eliminate your from teh results entirely.

There have to be some search algorithm "penalties" - because not every item can be ranked first.

Buyers should not be able to leave negative feedback

So a seller can ship an empty box to avoid an out of stock defect, and buyers cannot hold the seller accountable?

goodluckselling · ‎06-22-2018

@vssoutlet wrote:
Free returns is NOT the industry standard, regardless of what eBay says. If they are going to push sellers to pay for all returns, I think it’s reasonable to:

-guarantee that items with free returns are not subject to search algorithm penalties
-buyers should not be able to leave negative feedback or start a SNAD case against a seller. They already can ship the item back at no cost. This will eliminate the abuse of the SNAD claim by buyers.

I am not sure why you think ebay considers free returns as an industry standard? I have not seen this anywhere. What they do say though is that buyers like it and are much more likely to buy with this assurance.

eBay completes over 1 Billion transactions daily worldwide. They look at massive pools of data to determine trends from buyers. It would be easier for sellers like you and I to believe this if we also saw the same data.

Good Luck Selling!

castlemagicmemories · ‎06-22-2018

@vssoutlet wrote:
Free returns is NOT the industry standard, regardless of what eBay says. If they are going to push sellers to pay for all returns, I think it’s reasonable to:

-guarantee that items with free returns are not subject to search algorithm penalties
-buyers should not be able to leave negative feedback or start a SNAD case against a seller. They already can ship the item back at no cost. This will eliminate the abuse of the SNAD claim by buyers.

I agree that there should be no penalizing via search.

However, I believe buyers should still be able to file a SNAD and leave negative feedback in situations that warrant it~true SNADs and abusive, hostile, accusatory, profanity laced messages designed to intimidate the buyer into abandoning the return~although many think every buyer is a scammer and there is no such thing as a legitimate SNAD~not every buyer is a scammer and there IS such a thing as a legitimate SNAD. Many buyers save negs for truly egregious behavior.

zamo-zuan · ‎06-22-2018

@vssoutlet wrote:
Free returns is NOT the industry standard, regardless of what eBay says. If they are going to push sellers to pay for all returns, I think it’s reasonable to:

-guarantee that items with free returns are not subject to search algorithm penalties
-buyers should not be able to leave negative feedback or start a SNAD case against a seller. They already can ship the item back at no cost. This will eliminate the abuse of the SNAD claim by buyers.

It's true, free returns should also be rewarded with some type of protection against abuse. If you are going to be giving something for the customers benefit, the sellers should be given something in return.

This is probably too much to hope for, though. The increased visibility promised for free returns isn't even working properly right now. As much as they try to pump those statistics saying "our data shows an average of at least 15% increase"... they gave those statistics out before free returns was even enabled on the eBay site.

In reality, check the top sellers in different categories. How many of them are actually offering free returns, and how many are not?

EBay agents have said to me directly on the phone, the only boost free returns and GD are actually getting right now is only if you enable those filters.

Even though the webinar directly states that both of those things boost your BEST MATCH. That is not actually happening right now.

Impressions have plummeted, and free returns does not alleviate or improve the situation at all.

If we don't even get the increased visibility as promised, we definitely won't be getting any better customer service.

lewisburggold · ‎06-22-2018

There should be more protection for sellers period. Best regards

monster-deals · ‎06-22-2018

@emerald40 wrote:
@vssoutlet wrote:
Free returns is NOT the industry standard, regardless of what eBay says. If they are going to push sellers to pay for all returns, I think it’s reasonable to:

-guarantee that items with free returns are not subject to search algorithm penalties
-buyers should not be able to leave negative feedback or start a SNAD case against a seller. They already can ship the item back at no cost. This will eliminate the abuse of the SNAD claim by buyers.
It is if you want to compete with those who offer it.

I do not want to be in a competition to see who throws the most money away.

vssoutlet · ‎06-22-2018

EBay stated this when they instituted that campaign

vssoutlet · ‎06-22-2018

I agree, but the problem is that many leave negative feedback regardless of the sellers efforts to help them. The buyer can say something that is complete fantasy in a negative feedback and the seller cannot contest it. A seller cannot practically contest a SNAD claim either. Any ‘defect’ that can potentially affect a sellers ability to sell should be Disputable and decided by a disinterested third party. I would make this process separate from a return. Many SNAD claims are matters of opinion. Sellers can’t reasonably held to a standard where they would have to examine, for example, a ring under 20x magnification to find a hairline scratch. Yet it’s a situation like this that eBay accepts as SNAD.

vssoutlet · ‎06-22-2018

My impressions are down 25% over the past 30 days. My sell-through is approximately the same. It’s ridiculous. What am I paying $25,000 annually in eBay fees for? I thought I was paying for eyeballs. You can’t get eyeballs if you’re not included in search.

emerald40 · ‎06-22-2018

It's true, free returns should also be rewarded with some type of protection against abuse. If you are going to be giving something for the customers benefit, the sellers should be given something in return.

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Free shipping should not come with strings attached.