STANDARD

[thewidowsattic]

EBAY HAS MADE ME BELOW STANDARD.  I TOOK A HIT WHEN I MOVED MY STOCK AND COUPLE OF THINGS GOT DAMAGED SO I COULD NOT SHIP . I TOOK A HIT FOR LATE SHIPPING DURING THE SNOW STORM.  I HAVE TAKEN A HIT BECAUSE MY SALES ARE DOWN.  DOES EBAY NOT REALIZE WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC AND PEOPLE EO NOT HAVE ANY MONEY?   AND WHILE I AM WORKING 7 DAYS A WEEK ON THIS STORE EBAY SAYS I AM NOT LISTING FAST ENOUGH.  TRYING TO GET TO TALK TO SOMEONE IS A JOKE.  SO END OF STORY EBAY GETS TO CHARGE ME MORE MONEY.  SO SALES ARE DOWN SO NOW THEY CAN CHARGE ME MORE MONEY TO LIST?  FUNNY HOW THAT WORKS.  EXTORTION?  PRICE GAUGING?  I DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU CALL IT BUT IT MUST BORDER ON ILLEGAL ESPECIALLY WHEN EBAY IS THE ONE TO CHANGE MY STANDARD.  SO DISHEARTENING. I AM A 75 YEAROLD DISABLED WIDOW RUNNING THIS ALL BY MYSELF     BELOW STANDARD  BREAKS MY HEART AFTER SOOO MUCH EFFORT

[coolections]

It sounds like you got in over your head. Maybe reduce the amount of listings so it is not so much work for you ?

[duncanvr · Accepted solution]

I select the slowest possible shipping policy to avoid late shipping delay problems. Also two days handling. Try running a sale 15% off in your entire store. It might be an idea to look for faster selling items if your current stuff is not moving the items may not be in demand or have to much competition. 

[farmalljr]

eBay doesn't tell you that you are not listing fast enough. They don't care how often or how fast you do it.

Shipping slow, yes, you will get dinged. It is the responsibility of ALL sellers to ship within the window of time YOU selected. With USPS doing pick up at your door, and the many places you can drop off packages, there isn't a reason why a person can't get shipping done on time, really. I live in podunk nowhere, and I use pick up, OR there are a half dozen places I can drop off packages besides the post office. 

You will also get dinged for not having an item in stock when it sells. This isn't something new. Buyers want what they paid for, and they don't care of the excuse why a seller doesn't have it. Neither does eBay. 

So yes, you are getting dinged and penalties are in place. You are either going to need to get better and more diligent about what you are doing, or make adjustments to avoid getting dings. You can complain on eBay all you want, but these are your mistakes, not eBay's. Read the TOS you agreed to when you started using this platform. It's your job to understand them and follow them. 

[releasethekraken_1]

Sales on the online sites, including eBay, have gone up during the pandemic, so enough people clearly have money. 

eBay has nearly always given sellers a break when they're affected by major weather events, so you shouldn't have taken a hit there. I have no idea why you think you're taking a hit because your sales are down.

[luckythewinner]

EBAY HAS MADE ME BELOW STANDARD

You made yourself Below Standard by not meeting the requirements for Above Standard.

I TOOK A HIT WHEN I MOVED MY STOCK AND COUPLE OF THINGS GOT DAMAGED SO I COULD NOT SHIP

Those hits were entirely under your control and self-inflicted. But that aside, those "couple" of defects for Out of Stock would not affect your rating unless either (a) there were more than a "couple", or (b) you also had other Out of Stock defects that helped put you over the limit.

I TOOK A HIT FOR LATE SHIPPING DURING THE SNOW STORM

Those hits were entirely under your control and self-inflicted. If there is bad weather coming you can - and should - extend your handling time.

 I HAVE TAKEN A HIT BECAUSE MY SALES ARE DOWN

There is no "hit" for lack of sales volume. Sales volume is not a factor in putting you Below Status. You can have ZERO sales and still be Above Standard.

WHILE I AM WORKING 7 DAYS A WEEK ON THIS STORE EBAY SAYS I AM NOT LISTING FAST ENOUGH.

Listing volume is not a factor in putting you Below Status. You can have ZERO listings and still be Above Standard. If eBay is telling you to list more, ignore them.

IT MUST BORDER ON ILLEGAL ESPECIALLY WHEN EBAY IS THE ONE TO CHANGE MY STANDARD

eBay clearly spelled out the requirements for Above Standard, and you failed to meet them. That is not "illegal", or "price gouging", or 'extortion". It is simply you not paying attention.

BELOW STANDARD BREAKS MY HEART AFTER SOOO MUCH EFFORT

"Effort" is also not a factor in determining Above Standard status. Staying "Above Standard" really boils down to just one thing - doing what you promised.

[thewidowsattic]

thanks for your kind response. Others were not so kind.  I will change my shipping policy.  Too bad I can never get to speak to a human at Ebay.  Thanks again

[thewidowsattic]

Thanks for your kind response. Others were not so kind.  I am indeed over my head. But the love of my life died and I am trying to keep my head above water so here I am in over my head.  Thanks again

[thewidowsattic]

WE HAD NO MAIL SERVICE DURING THE SNOW STORMS.  I HAD TO MOVE MY STOCK AND DID NOT FIND OUT SOME THINGS WERE DAMAGED UNTIL THEY SOLD.    THANKS FOR YOUR REMARKS

[thewidowsattic]

WE HAD NO MAIL SERVICE DURING THE SNOW  STORMS     MY WHOLE AREA WAS COMPLAINING THANKS FOR YOUR KIND REMARKS

[thewidowsattic]

THANKS FOR YOUR KIND REMAARKS

[jonathankirkland]

OP, first, there's no need to shout (all caps). It makes what you're writing harder to read and quite frankly it's just obnoxious.

Second, you really should thoroughly read the seller requirements and the 'Money Back Guarantee' offered to buyers before going any further. You are already in a deep hole, and if you continue at this rate, just one more of those 'hits', 'dings', 'defects' whatever you want to call it, ebay may ban you from listing anything more period and then you are basically out of luck.

Once you have a thorough understanding of all that, you should be better prepared to sell here.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/selling-policies?id=4214

https://pages.ebay.com/ebay-money-back-guarantee/

Good luck.

[fashunu4eeuh]

So sorry for your loss. Your efforts during such a difficult time are to your credit. 

Ebay is a behemoth of a company. All it sees of seller efforts are the rising or declining metrics. Ebay doesn't make allowances for interruptions to one’s selling activity, unless it is an act of God such as bad weather, pandemic, etc. So some adjustments to how one conducts their business are necessary on occasion. 

If matters are overwhelming, you can put your store on Time Away to hide listings in the time frame you set. See the link below for more info.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/selling-tools/time-away?id=5137

You need to figure out how to best run your store so that you meet the minimum requirements set by eBay. They take these very seriously. While there are understandable reasons for your failure to meet them, eBay is about buyer retention. Not seller retention.

Shoppers who have poor buying experiences are more likely to leave the platform for other sites that better meet their needs. So it is in eBay’s interest to ensure its sellers maintain a standard  of professionalism. And seller metrics are how they measure it, for better or worse.

By the way, since the winter storm affected your performance, you need to call eBay to ensure that is not held against your account. Ebay made an announcement about it, see below. Affected seller metrics were supposed to be automatically adjusted for it. Check your dashboard.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/UPDATE-Seller-Protections-for-shipping-delays-from-storm...

Below is more info on how metrics are calculated with ideas on how to raise them again. I hope everything gets worked out for you moving forward. Wish you all the best, and again, very sorry for your loss.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/seller-levels-performance-standards/seller-levels-performance-stan...

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/selling/monitor-service-metrics?id=4785

[masim5393]

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@thewidowsattic wrote:

WE HAD NO MAIL SERVICE DURING THE SNOW STORMS.  I HAD TO MOVE MY STOCK AND DID NOT FIND OUT SOME THINGS WERE DAMAGED UNTIL THEY SOLD.    THANKS FOR YOUR REMARKS

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You mean you didn't bother to check your stock after you moved it? That's 100% on you.

[crazystuff4sale]

If you got late shipping defects due to the snowstorms and USPS not picking up your mail they may be eligible for removal. Here is a link to that tool:

https://www.ebay.com/sellerhelp/defect 

Good luck with your selling and I hope things start looking up for you soon.