Proper technique to listing..

[itsmrfixer]

Hello all and thanks in advance.

My wife has an ebay seller account and she has been selling 3-4 items a day.  It has been as high as 10-12 items so it's somewhat worthwhile.

Her problem, the returns are going sky-high.  IT seems like 1 in 5 things the buyer wants to return.

She offers free shipping on some items, so she will have paid the initial shipping, then the return shipping, PLUS have to return the money.

We've been told complete contradicting answers on how to follow a policy etc.

What techniques can she use to gather some sort of protection?  

We've tried the no refunds, no returns, that ended poorly, we've tried just about every way I can think of and it doesn't seem to matter anymore.  She is changing from a profitable hobby to a sinking waste.  

Ebay is or was an auction site.  Auctions used to be as is, or at least have some sort of seller protection.  How can anyone get ahead with such poorly thought out policies?

Walmart is Walmart

Amazon is Amazon

Ebay is neither Walmart nor Amazon, and with its current direction, will never be.

What methods should I educate myself with to stop this pandemic of returned items and people keeping the product and the money?

[safan80]

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@itsmrfixer  take many pictures from all angles and always let the buyers pick the shipping method and pay for it.

@itsmrfixer wrote:

Hello all and thanks in advance.

My wife has an ebay seller account and she has been selling 3-4 items a day.  It has been as high as 10-12 items so it's somewhat worthwhile.

Her problem, the returns are going sky-high.  IT seems like 1 in 5 things the buyer wants to return.

She offers free shipping on some items, so she will have paid the initial shipping, then the return shipping, PLUS have to return the money.

We've been told complete contradicting answers on how to follow a policy etc.

What techniques can she use to gather some sort of protection?  

We've tried the no refunds, no returns, that ended poorly, we've tried just about every way I can think of and it doesn't seem to matter anymore.  She is changing from a profitable hobby to a sinking waste.  

Ebay is or was an auction site.  Auctions used to be as is, or at least have some sort of seller protection.  How can anyone get ahead with such poorly thought out policies?

Walmart is Walmart

Amazon is Amazon

Ebay is neither Walmart nor Amazon, and with its current direction, will never be.

What methods should I educate myself with to stop this pandemic of returned items and people keeping the product and the money?

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[aproudparent2010]

About the water heater you mentioned........

Is the tank usually all that comes in that box shown?

[krazzykats]

I would remove the "open box" condition since your item doesn't include the original accessories and doesn't meet eBay's definition of open box.

ᓚᘏᗢ

[toysaver]

"What techniques can she use to gather some sort of protection?" 

You could help her by selling the car parts under this id to protect her account from excessive returns.  

[christworks]

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@itsmrfixer wrote:

What are the best options for listing and selling?

Free shipping?  No free shipping?

We will work on the description portion.  That is good advice.

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I think you are missing the connection between accurate descriptions and returns. Without an accurate description, you are going to have a high number of returns that fall under INAD. Regardless of what your shipping and return policies are, your wife will continue to lose money on those sales. 

There is no such thing as "free shipping."  You either charge it as a separate line item or you include the cost in the cost of the item. Either way, the buyer pays for it. The difference is that on remorse returns you can withhold the original shipping charge. This does not seem to be your issue though. From what I understand your returns have to do with buyers being confused over what they are getting and because the descriptions are not filling in details about what is wrong with the item. If you get the descriptions straightened out, you can charge a separate line item for shipping and offer free 30-day returns. IMHO, that combination will get you the best class of buyers. Buyers who like free returns are not the buyers who are going to scam you. Scammers are more attracted to sellers who do not accept returns or who have buyer paid returns. The former especially attracts them, because the scammer knows the seller will likely resist accepting the item back and there is a chance eBay will get involved to refund them and they get to keep the item. At a minimum you need to accept returns, and I would do free returns with buyer's having a separate line item for original shipping. Make these changes as you go through the listings and get the descriptions fixed.

[soh.maryl]

Have a feeling that car parts are part of the reason.  It's my understanding that that's a category where the percentage of returns is higher.  

[aproudparent2010]

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@soh.maryl wrote:

Have a feeling that car parts are part of the reason.  It's my understanding that that's a category where the percentage of returns is higher.  

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I'm curious why he doesn't list the car parts on his account? Perhaps doesn't want his account tarnished?

[toysaver]

My instinct tells me it's not his wife who is selling car parts.  Not that there's anything wrong with a husband and wife working eBay together.  They probably have lots of fun going thrifting and then out for lunch.  And not to be sexist but selling used car parts is very much a male dominated business.  They need to have their own accounts. 

feirinsfindings on eBay

[mam98031]

@itsmrfixer 

Free Shipping is a marketing enhancement that some buyers like and some don't.  It works well for some categories and not so much for others.  So there is not a yes or no answer for you on this one.

Buyers know there is no real free shipping.  Everyone has to pay for shipping.  Most buyers will know that you have to roll the price of shipping into the price of the product.  For buyers that just buy one thing from a seller, this works fine.  But for buyers that typically buy multiple items from a single seller, then they lose out on combine shipping discounts and they know it.  So these buyers are as fond of Free Shipping.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

As an industry, auto parts has a high return rate, rivaling Women's Fashion Clothing.

Industry-wide returns usually average over 20%.

Obviously, accurate descriptions and conditions will minimize your return rates, but what you really have to do is assume the returns will occur and make sure that your margins on all sales are high enough to allow you to profit,  in spite of returns.

Many new Ebay sellers underprice their products to gain sales and when the inevitable returns hit, they wind up working for free.

A lot of autoparts sellers come to this forum to complain about their lack of profit for a variety of reasons. Many have come to complain about the new returns policy in the category. 

My belief is that Ebay made the policy change to cause a shakeout in the category. The cannot be stupid enough to think all of their sellers can adjust to the new policy.

[chapeau-noir]

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@toysaver wrote:

My instinct tells me it's not his wife who is selling car parts.  Not that there's anything wrong with a husband and wife working eBay together.  They probably have lots of fun going thrifting and then out for lunch.  And not to be sexist but selling used car parts is very much a male dominated business.  They need to have their own accounts. 

feirinsfindings on eBay

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So is bike parts and computer peripherals, but I sell 'em, along with all of my other stuff. I don't see how it makes a difference. But...we haven't heard from the 'wife', so dunno. 

[krazzykats]

Since losing my other halves (one passed away in 2002, then 20 years later the second in 2023), I’ve been listing auto parts, tools, and guy stuff on my account. I’m not sure what else to do with it all… I mean, who needs 100 screwdrivers or 50 hammers? Lol! I prefer keeping everything on one account for simplicity. And I haven’t even tackled any of the electronics yet, but soon....🤔

[chapeau-noir]

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@krazzykats wrote:

Since losing my other halves (one passed away in 2002, then 20 years later the second in 2023), I’ve been listing auto parts, tools, and guy stuff on my account. I’m not sure what else to do with it all… I mean, who needs 100 screwdrivers or 50 hammers? Lol! I prefer keeping everything on one account for simplicity. And I haven’t even tackled any of the electronics yet, but soon....🤔

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😢

[itsmrfixer]

Well here's another one....

Buyer bought a seat.  Claims it won't fit his truck although it has too.  Wants his money back.  

She has buyers pay shipping.

Now her only options are "full refund", "partial refund", there is no getting the seat back which is what we would want.

She's lost another $200.

So now the buyer has the truck seat, his money, and we are out everything. 

We basically paid for him to have a seat.  We can't even break even, we go right into the red.

[itsmrfixer]

And I am posting because my wife has had enough.  This is my last ditch effort to try and fix things before we just say goodbye to this place.