NO LONGER A TOP-RATED SELLER?

[darrellschweitzer_pa]

So I get a message saying I no longer qualify for Top Rated status. I am told to look at a dashboard to see what might be improved. I find:

Rating: Above Standard

Transaction defects: 0%

Late shipment: 0%

Cases closed without seller resolution: 0%

Return rate: 0%

So, what am I supposed to improve? I'd say I am a paragon of eBaying virtue at this point. My total sales over about 12 years is approx $210,000. My guess is that this may have something to do with the catastrophic drop in sales we all experienced in May, after the Good Till Cancelled fiasco. Or it is just a scam to deprive us of a discount. The irony is that my sales are up. I hit $100 today for the first time in a couple months.

This reminds me of when they took away the Power Seller rating be demanding all items be shipped the same day, which is ridiculous. Most sellers just had to let it go. I fear we have to just let Top Rated status go too.

[fashunu4eeuh]

Hi, the discount comes with Top Rated Plus. Do you have same day or one day handling on the majority of listings? The ones i looked at had 2 day shipping. That might explain the absence of TRS Plus, but does not account for loss of TRS. I am assuming you have met the $1000 sales threshold? You mentioned sales have been down. Hopefully someone else will have better answers for you. (Have you tried calling customer service?)

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/service-and-payments/top-rated-program.html

[eunster1313]

Check your Sellers Dashbord again and look for sales. 

Sales roll off every Month so you need to make enough sales to stay ahead of what you lose.

[luckythewinner]

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@darrellschweitzer_pa wrote:

So I get a message saying I no longer qualify for Top Rated status. I am told to look at a dashboard to see what might be improved.

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The eBay dashboard shows your performance against the requirements in two different ways: 

• Your last evaluation; and 
• If we evaluated you today

Which view are you looking at?

[marbleslost23]

Even if you are a top rated seller, you will not get the discount unless you offer free 30 day returns. I've managed to cling to my TRS status, but do not qualify for any benefits. Free Returns: The other scam to deprive you of your discount.

[darrellschweitzer_pa]

 Which one am I looking at? Both? I am "above average" in both.

The issue is probably volume of sales and lack of same-day shipping, which is not practical. This is another turn of the screw, like when they took away my Power Seller status.

Of course foolish and counter-productive eBay policies have cut into sales, as we all know. I have started to recover.

[mam98031]

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@marbleslost23 wrote:

Even if you are a top rated seller, you will not get the discount unless you offer free 30 day returns. I've managed to cling to my TRS status, but do not qualify for any benefits. Free Returns: The other scam to deprive you of your discount.

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This is not quite accurate.  The ONLY benefit you lost was the ribbon on your listings and the 10% FVF discount.

ALL OTHER TRS benefits you still have because you qualify for TRS.  So YES you do have benefits.  All of them such as they are these days.  The only thing you lost was the FVF discount and that only amounts to about $10 for every $1000 worth of sales.

@marbleslost23 

[mam98031]

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@darrellschweitzer_pa wrote:

 Which one am I looking at? Both? I am "above average" in both.

The issue is probably volume of sales and lack of same-day shipping, which is not practical. This is another turn of the screw, like when they took away my Power Seller status.

Of course foolish and counter-productive eBay policies have cut into sales, as we all know. I have started to recover.

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Go a different approach.  Go to your Seller Hub.  Hover over the PERFORMANCE tab.  A menu will appear.  Select the last thing.  Service Metrics.  I know you said you have a return rate of zero, but just check it here too and make sure there isn't something strange going on.

[darrellschweitzer_pa]

No, I REALLY DO have a return rate of zero. On the very rare occasions when someone is dissatisfied, I arrange the return with them directly or arrange for a partial refund. This is unlikely to happen even once a year. I mostly sell relatively inexpensive books, accurately (even expertly, if I may say so) described, and people who buy that sort of thing don't usually want returns. My feedback demonstrates this.

[mam98031]

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@darrellschweitzer_pa wrote:

No, I REALLY DO have a return rate of zero. On the very rare occasions when someone is dissatisfied, I arrange the return with them directly or arrange for a partial refund. This is unlikely to happen even once a year. I mostly sell relatively inexpensive books, accurately (even expertly, if I may say so) described, and people who buy that sort of thing don't usually want returns. My feedback demonstrates this.

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I don't disbelieve you.  I thought we were looking for a reason for you not being TRS anymore.  If Ebay has something screwing in the Service Metrics, that is the place to find it.  It will probably show just as you say and there will be nothing there.  All kinds of "unlikely" things happen on Ebay all the time.  Your choice of course.

It appears you will need to contact Ebay to find out what is truly going on.

Help

https://www.ebay.com/help/home

https://twitter.com/askebay?lang=en

https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness/

It's important to be aware of where you post a question on Ebay’s Facebook page.  A comment on one of Ebay’s marketing posts won't be answered, but comments posted directly on Ebay’s page will.

[upgradedendmills]

On a $100 day, the discount is worth only $1-$2 depending on shipping costs. I have been qualified for that program for quite awhile other than uploading tracking but won't jump through hoops for eBay or provide free returns just to save myself a few bucks. The way sales are trending right now, very few smaller sellers will be qualified.

     Hope you get it back soon if you want it. 

[mam98031]

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@upgradedendmills wrote:

On a $100 day, the discount is worth only $1-$2 depending on shipping costs. I have been qualified for that program for quite awhile other than uploading tracking but won't jump through hoops for eBay or provide free returns just to save myself a few bucks. The way sales are trending right now, very few smaller sellers will be qualified.

     Hope you get it back soon if you want it. 

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The discount on FVF for TRS sellers does NOT apply to shipping costs.  It is just on the product sale price if it is a Domestic sale.  Well unless you are TRS global.

[sharingtheland]

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@darrellschweitzer_pa wrote:

 Which one am I looking at? Both? I am "above average" in both.

The issue is probably volume of sales and lack of same-day shipping, which is not practical. This is another turn of the screw, like when they took away my Power Seller status.

Of course foolish and counter-productive eBay policies have cut into sales, as we all know. I have started to recover.

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You have close to 650 feedback(s?) left in the last 12 months so volume isn't an issue.

If you're talking about TRS+, then 1-day handling is required.  I have 2-day handling and am TRS, but not TRS+.

None of the above ^^^ explains why you went to Above Standard.  You're going to have to get some kind of answer from ebay, if you can't see anything amiss anywhere on your dashboard or metrics.

[mam98031]

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@sharingtheland wrote:

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@darrellschweitzer_pa wrote:

 Which one am I looking at? Both? I am "above average" in both.

The issue is probably volume of sales and lack of same-day shipping, which is not practical. This is another turn of the screw, like when they took away my Power Seller status.

Of course foolish and counter-productive eBay policies have cut into sales, as we all know. I have started to recover.

---

You have close to 650 feedback(s?) left in the last 12 months so volume isn't an issue.

If you're talking about TRS+, then 1-day handling is required.  I have 2-day handling and am TRS, but not TRS+.

None of the above ^^^ explains why you went to Above Standard.  You're going to have to get some kind of answer from ebay, if you can't see anything amiss anywhere on your dashboard or metrics.

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They lost their TRS status.  I'm not sure if they had TRS+ listings, but they aren't any longer TRS.

[sharingtheland]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@sharingtheland wrote:

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@darrellschweitzer_pa wrote:

 Which one am I looking at? Both? I am "above average" in both.

The issue is probably volume of sales and lack of same-day shipping, which is not practical. This is another turn of the screw, like when they took away my Power Seller status.

Of course foolish and counter-productive eBay policies have cut into sales, as we all know. I have started to recover.

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You have close to 650 feedback(s?) left in the last 12 months so volume isn't an issue.

If you're talking about TRS+, then 1-day handling is required.  I have 2-day handling and am TRS, but not TRS+.

None of the above ^^^ explains why you went to Above Standard.  You're going to have to get some kind of answer from ebay, if you can't see anything amiss anywhere on your dashboard or metrics.

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They lost their TRS status.  I'm not sure if they had TRS+ listings, but they aren't any longer TRS.

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Yep, I believe I covered that in my response.