mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999
Ah!! Now I'm really glad I asked because when you said you got a "warning" I assumed your whole account was at threat; you didn't say it was just about your TRS status. And more to the point, I'm puzzled as to why you think returns are what threatens your TRS. -Note the absolute lack of the word 'returns' in that message. They said "you didn’t meet one or more of the sales, volume or tracking upload goals".
So this makes me suspect you aren't 100% clear on TRS "goals" and where you can see if yours are up to scratch. So, it's NOT the Service Metrics page. It is the one called Seller Level. And here is how you find it:
It's also called the Seller Dashboard page, which to me is kind of confusing, but it's eBay so you know, WHATEVER. 🤣 Anyway, this is where you can see how close or far you are from losing your TRS, based on the criteria that eBay considers crucial for that status.
Note, 'Returns' is NOT among those criteria. That is because they realize it would be unfair to ding you for returns as long as you are handling them properly, and as previously mentioned, some categories are rife with returns (like eBay motors -and note how your 1% rate is way BETTER than average for the category (3.73%) . You're doing GREAT compared to most parts sellers!
Now, if you scroll down on that same page, you DO see your return data, but note that it's a separate box, because it's not calculated against your Seller Level, in fact I don't even know why it's on this page (again, probably just because 'eBay', LOL). But look, mine is way higher than yours, yet I have not received a warning like you did.
So now the question is, which TRS goal are you NOT meeting? That is where the pull-down details are what you need to look at, on this Seller Level page. You can see here, where I have clicked on the little arrow on the right of my 'Late shipment rate', to see where my level sits in relation to the TRS limits.
Ah so YOUR return rate is 3.74% -in your original post I thought that was your peers (eBay motors category). But still, I am absolutely certain this is not your issue.
Here's what I think is going on. So, look at the first criteria, Transaction Defect Rate. -This is for when you cancel a paid sale with the reason 'item out of stock' or when you have a case closed without seller resolution (when eBay had to step in and force a refund). Now note how LOW the tolerance is for Defects. Only HALF OF ONE percent, for TRS status, and only 2% before you're in 'Below Standard' status, paying higher fees, not being able to promote, and I don't know what all, I just know it's bad, ha. 
This is why I tell people here those are the 2 biggest no-no's on eBay, so avoid them COMPLETELY, whatever it takes.
Now, what I'm still not clear on is why 'Cases closed w/o seller resolution' is a sub-category in Defects ... AND .... it's own whole category on that page. -And if you click on it, the tolerance is only 0.3% ! I think I'll start a thread about this because I've been curious for a while now.
ANYWAY back to you. So, Defects is the only criteria you have remotely close to the limit. 0.21%, with 0.5% being the limit. I don't know how long ago you received that warning, but what I suspect is that you had just cancelled a sale with OOS reasoning, and you still had 1 or more on your record already .... from August of last year ...... and it/they rolled OFF your record in the days between receiving that warning and today.
@chariot_badges wrote:RE: Your grace period ends soon
Hi xxxxx,
We see that you have a great track record as a Top Rated Seller, but recently you didn’t meet one or more of the sales, volume or tracking upload goals set for all Top Rated Sellers in the US region.
We know that sometimes things come up. That’s why we're giving you some extra time - until Sep 20, 2024 - to meet these goals again.
During this grace period we'll continue to evaluate your seller performance on the 20th of every month to see whether you're eligible to be a Top Rated Seller again. Just make sure you upload tracking on 90% of all your US transactions and continue to meet all other Top Rated Seller requirements. Visit your seller standards dashboard regularly to track your progress.
We hope this extra time helps. As always, thank you for selling on eBay.
Have you identified if it was your sales volume or your tracking uploads that has caused this issue for you or a combination of both? When I look at the information you have supplied on the thread, I can't really spot the issue.
When did you get the email? Your seller Dashboard doesn't show you have a problem with uploading tracking at all. Your sales doesn't appear to be the issue either. Or did you have a problem with uploading tracking and you resolved it?
If you aren't spotting the issue either, I would suggest you contact Ebay and maybe they just made a mistake.
As to your return issues. I see you use various return policies on your listings. In the few I looked at, some were No Returns and others were 30 days with buyer pays shipping.
You likely know this, but I'll just go over it just in case. With a no return policy, if the buyer files a Proper Buyer's Remorse return, you have the option to deny it if you want to. But if a buyer files an INAD, even if they select the wrong reason, you must process it or Ebay will just force you to refund at some point and you likely won't get the product back.
I personally agree with you and I too like the 30 day return policy with buyer pays shipping. If I get a return it is likely to be a Buyer's Remorse and lucky for me, most of my buyers choose the correct reason when filing the Request. So with this return policy the buyer has to pay for return shipping and once the item has been return and we go to refund, we can also withhold the original shipping if we want as long as the purchase had separately stated shipping, NO Free shipping.
You sell primarily in a category that has a lot of return unfortunately. I would encourage you to actually describe any defects in the items you are selling and not depend on the pics to show the buyer. You really need to describe them. Blanket statements really are good for that and pics are great but not enough. This might help you curb at least a little bit of those returns.
In your descriptions, you really have a nice looking way of doing your description. Not too cluttered, however it kind of just encourages skimming by the reader IMHO. So important things could be overlooked. You might consider something like bullet points especially when you describing defects. The stand out and are really easy to read.
Please accept this in the spirit it is given. I'm only trying to help.
Another thing I would encourage you to do since you feel you are getting too many returns. Make sure you monitor your Service Metric Numbers CLOSELY and REQULARLY. Those penalties could sneak up on you.
When viewing your numbers, keep in mind that they are by the Category you sell in. So check each category.
https://www.ebay.com/sh/performance/service-metrics
I hope this information helps you.
