mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999
After eBay rolled our Free Returns we testit for a almost 2 months and here the Results.
As Top Rated Seller we work hard to maintain these standards and -10 % discount at final value fees. Ebay canceled this discount and start offering only to accounts that offers free returns promising higher Conversion Rates, new potential customers etc...
Reality check
Our business went nose down, cash flow froze in returns , we lost money with returns shipping labels/ insurance. -10% discount, can't even cover 2% of returns labels.
In long run, eBay lost revenue from us since before would get monthly 3K-5K in fees, now it's getting monthly $500 -$700 in fees.
WHY ??
Free returns gave people the initiative to returns things because they changed their mind, because of buyer's remorse, or simply because it's end of the month, they ran out of money and easy solution is to return what they bought.
FREE RETURNS MEANS FREE MONEY.
If you are doing auctions on eBay, free returns will ruin your business. Auctions should have a different policy as many big companies have. When you participate in auction, you should be in legal binding to pay.
With free returns all auctions went in garbage. What is the purpose to spend efforts and money in (ad's) to create exciting auctions with over 100 bidders, when winner (changes his mind because he feels he overpaid or maybe because he don't like it any more??? )
Here are some returns reasons during last month.
" Cool coin change mind"
" I took if for a ride to show to mi friends dont want it anymore"
" just return it"
"Was bidding for fun since you have free returns, I won't pay so I will save your return shipping money"
"no hard feeling run out of money, will return this"
Ebay is trying to compete with Amazon. Looks like Amazon is having a better laugh since it is understanding better than ebay, Ebay's business model.
Ebay backbone is common people that sell and buy between them. They are the biggest revenue for ebay, not big companies. Big companies have same marchanised in multiple sites ( Amazon, Ebay, Etsy, ) ebay fees from them are less than 20% of ebay annual revenue. 80% comes from ebay sellers.
If Amazon destroys backbone of ebay, Ebay stock will plunge down and Amazon's up since will get ebay potential buyers.
Remember : "Free returns" are very hard on Amazon.
Dear eBay Team . To makes it easy for you to understand what is going on.. here's an explanation with photos from Plankton and Mr Krabs 24 hours service competition.
Dear Ebay community.
Please thumbs up this post, but most importantly we need your comments
@ancientcoins.market wrote:
Please read carefully previous posts.
In question are not returns.
We gladly accept returns as every other business.
Problem is "Free Returns" The way system is fixed, gives incentive to buyers to abuse returns.
Only businesses that offers "Free returns" get the -10% discount.
Our test just proves it, " Free returns " is a bad business practice at least for us or for any other small business.
The problem is ebay; It only gives the discount to TRSs that offer something that not all TRSs realistically can.
This has to change !!! In past, eBay has proven to listen to sellers by force, logic, or maybe free will.
We will prepare a new post with solutions for all sellers.
Stay tuned !!!
Best
ACM Team
You are a little mistaken here. The return system and how Ebay handles it is the same for ALL sellers, NOT just those that offer Free Returns. ALL SELLERS have to accept SNAD requests no matter what return policy they have. Even sellers with a No Return policy.
It is NOT a "problem" that Ebay only allows the TRS discount on listings that qualify for TRS+, that is by design. You may see it as a problem because you don't like to have to adhere to the rules to achieve it, but that does not make a problem, it simply means you don't like the current rules to achieve the discount.
I personally don't like them either, which is why I opt'd not to do it and gave up TRS+. For me it was a good business decision.
It is rare for Ebay to change a policy because of seller outcry. They most certainly have, but it does not happen very often.
IMHO the problem is NOT the qualifications required to achieve TRS+ anyway. What I see as needing to be changed is the lack of support by Ebay for sellers in the return process. I have never expected Ebay to get involved in a he said / she said situation. But now they won't even get involved in cases that are clear as a brightly lit day. Now the buyer always wins. The seller then has to appeal and maybe get refunded by Ebay, but the money does not get pulled from the buyer. EVER!
@ancientcoins.market wrote:
We are on same page but still you are missing our point.
as weschurch said: "There is a huge difference between returns and return ABUSE"
We are not complaining about returns. They are indeed part of every business. We are not complaining about "free returns" This is a program free of choice for every seller. We simply proved that "Free Returns" would give more incentive to buyers to abuse returns.
Our complaint is with eBay for removing -10% discount from TRS It only gives the discount to TRSs that offer something that not all TRSs realistically can.
Initially our post was not to be a cry baby but to offer evidence of something going wrong.
As for eBay policy:
We believe if all of us, sellers get united, we can advice and force ebay to listed to sellers and improve its policies for a everyone's better good. In the end we are all on same boat. If sellers underperform, ebay would lose a lot of revenue, on other hand if buyers leave ebay still revenue goes down.
It is an equilibrium that must be worked out all the time.
We need everyone's opinion and suggestion. This is crucial to have some great solutions.
Here's some thoughts and potential solutions.
Costco would ban buyers with many returns. Amazon too started banning people with many returns.
Any ideas ???
Best
ACM Team
I didn't "miss" anything. I didn't even address that comment in any of my posts. Returns vs Abuse.
But I did address the root cause of the issue at hand and that is the current state of the Ebay return system. The current way Ebay forces sellers to handle returns breeds and promotes abuse by buyers.
Free Returns is NOT a new program on Ebay. It is that Ebay relabeled it. We have always been able to have a 30 or 60 day return policy with seller pays shipping. Ebay just choose to rename it.
I agree, it isn't the returns that are an issue nor is it that you need to offer Free Returns to achieve the TRS+ discount. That was my exact point.
The problem is that Ebay is allowing a system to exist in regards to returns that is rewarding and promoting bad behavior by buyers. That in turn has a huge negative affect on many sellers. No matter what transpires on a return request, Ebay will allow a buyer to prevail without any consideration to any CLEAR evidence the seller may have to the contrary.
The reduction in the TRS discount happened a long time ago and has nothing to do with the current state of the return system. Besides, the discount rate was never a guarantee and Ebay, whether we like it or not, has the right to change the rate just as any other business has the right to change their discounts rates anytime the choose. The reduction in the discount is not a symptom of "something going wrong", it was a calculated move by Ebay.
I firmly believe in the voice of the people on Ebay and in the world at large. But if you are going to start some kind of campaign on this, you need to separate your issues as it appears there are three of them.
One is the TRS discount reduction.
Two being the requirements to achieve TRS+
Three being how returns are handled.
As for banning buyers with too many returns. How many is too many? Are you proposing that if Ebay were to do this they would make the buyer's account records on returns public?
What Ebay does for buyers that file too many returns is not to NARU them, but to flag their account so that the MBG is no longer an option for them. They are not covered under the MBG like most buyers, therefore they can no longer file for a return. But this is something that is not transparent on Ebay because Ebay would then have to publish a buyers private account information.
@lasantino wrote:actually,,,, I have 3 return requests.. that were not snad... but they are counting against my seller metric..
I specifically went over these with the ebay rep (us rep, very knowledgeable). they could not tell me why the return requests,, that were buyers remorse,,were counting against me... 2 were wrong size or doesn't fit,, and the 3rd was color was different on their screen ......"
so apparently ebay is also counting some returns that are categorized as buyers remorse against our seller metric number also!
If they were Buyer Remorse claims that were PROPERLY filed as a Buyer's remorse claim, they are NOT counted against you in the Seller Metrics.
If the are an improperly filed SNAD, then yes they are still counted against you in the Seller Metrics. Some buyers file a SNAD to insure they the seller will have to pay the return shipping when in fact their reason is actually a buyer remorse reason. But this whole thing is driven by what type of claim they file irregardless if they are correct or not.
