I've got to hand it to ebay, I really do. They are so "ever creative" with their schemes and scams to put their hands in sellers pockets..It really is disgraceful and sickening.
The newest SCAM (and make no mistake, this is a SCAM folks) is "Seller Metrics"...
If you aren't fully versed in this scheme yet, get acquainted with it quickly; because it has the capacity and potential to add THOUSANDS of dollars to your ebay invoice each month (depending on how much you sell, and your prices, etc)..
Basically the way this works now is this: eBay looks at your "Selling Category", and evaluates the "average" number of "returns" your "peers" are receiving for:
1) Item not as described
2) Item arrived damaged
3) Item is defective not working
4) Missing part or pieces
5) Wrong item sent
All of these "reasons" a buyer can completely arbitrarily select for their return? Fall under the "Item not as described" category of return.
There is of COURSE no validation on eBay's part to make sure these claims are even true at all (and I'll get to that in a moment). All the buyer needs to do is simply "open" the return selecting any of these reasons? And your seller metrics are impacted.
So, ebay then takes a tally of these returns among your "peers" of other sellers, and they set a very handy "percentage rate" of overall returns of this nature.
So in a specific category your "peers" maybe be performing at a 7.04% return rate lets say (or at least this is what ebay tells you).
You are then measured against your peers, and your return rate is Very High against their numbers? Well, of course ebay then has decided that they need to penalize you to the tune of an additional 4% on all your final value fees.
Also of course, you have ZERO way of validating their "returns data" in any way shape or form, and obviously it would behoove ebay to report the lowest percentage possible to you? Because they stand to profit tremendously, the lower that number is and the higher your "percentages are in comparison..
So there's part one of the scam, how its all laid out. But of course, it gets better!! It always does, doesn't it??
So ebay has also decided, to make sure they can bilk as many unsuspecting sellers out of as much cash as they can? That if you are NOT selling 400 items per 90 days? Well then, each of these returns stays on your "record" for a full 12 MONTHS..
Only if you are selling over 400 items or more very 90 days? Then they let them only count for 90 days (how nice of them)...
And heres ONLY one of the real kickers about this wonderful new scam..Did I say scam? I meant "Policy", sorry..
Once a buyer merely OPENS one of these returns? It automatically counts against you. It DOES NOT MATTER..I repeat IT DOES NOT MATTER:
1) If ebay closes the return in your favor (for whatever reason that may happen)
2) It is found that the buyer is a "scammer" who opened the return in any attempt to extort you as a seller, or for any other nefarious reason. EVEN IF you can prove this, in black and white? And ebay can CONFIRM that this was the case? They DO NOT care, the return stays on your metrics for 12 months
3) The buyer opens a return, making up a fake story about the item being defective, etc, in order to try to get you to give them a partial refund (EXTREMELY COMMON SCAM ON EBAY). Upon refusing to give the buyer a partial refund and asking for the item back to validate the buyers "claims"? The buyer disappears and never sends back the item. Making that a bogus return. Guess what? Because they OPENED THE RETURN? You get hit...End of story. Even with all EVIDENCE in black and white that the buyer was trying to pull a scam.
4) eBay closes the return because the buyer never sends the item back. You would think that would invalidate a "return", as NOTHING was EVER "returned"...But not under eBay's service metrics!! No sir..You're stuck with the return on your record
5) You can PROVE that you listed a defect the item had IN THE LISTING. TOOK PHOTOS OF THE DEFECT, AND MADE EVERYTHING CLEAR. The buyer refuses to read the listing to know what they are buying? Then makes a RETURN stating that the item was "Not as described" because it has the defect you listed clearly...Guess what?? Doesn't matter, YOU are hit with a defect Regardless of whether you can PROVE once again, that you did the right thing..
Now, if that wasn't bad enough in and of itself? They've also made it: IMPOSSIBLE TO APPEAL THESE DEFECTS..
Here's a perfect example of this SCAM in operation, and what I just went through personally a few days ago:
We listed an item with a screen in the "For Parts, Not working" category. We clearly stated and PHOTOGRAPHED the defect the item had which was a hairline crack in the screen, and could not have made it more clear what the issue was with the item.
Buyer comes on, buys the item as is. To our knowledge THEY READ THE LISTING (or at least this is what you would think). Buyer gets the item, and immediately opens a return stating that "The item is defective, not working". They list the reason in their own words as : "The screen is cracked".
Huh?????????????? This was all over the listing..What gives here. We contact the buyer and they admit they did not fully read the listing and they are sorry. We pay for the return, no harm, no foul and it was over. They even left us a positive feedback. We provided them EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE given the circumstance.
But of course, this doesn't end here, because NOW? This goes against our "Service Metrics" count, and raises our percentage.
So, being rational people, thinking we are dealing with an HONEST company with ebay? We call the seller performance department, and clearly show them what happened here. We show them the listing, the buyer return reason, and even the message where the buyer stated clearly that they did not read the listing and this was their fault.
The CS rep acknowledges all of this and agrees that we did nothing wrong, and this should not count against us. HOWEVER?? There is no WAY for them to APPEAL service metrics defects, nor remove them..
And this is because, eBay's "rational" here, is that EVERYONE in this category is dealing with buyers like this, and these things "happen" to everyone...It doesn't matter in anyway if this was a VALID RETURN, FOR A VALID REASON STATED BY THE BUYER...That makes NO DIFFERENCE at all..They can and WILL NOT appeal these types of "defects"...
Case closed..
When you have a "policy" in place? Which TOTALLY discounts the TRUTH of any situation..And a company who REFUSES to look at EVIDENCE PUT IN THEIR FACES which show the TRUTH and REALITY of a return, or any other claims by a "buyer" ? And this company is DIRECTLY BENEFITTING FROM TURNING THIS BLIND EYE???
There's ONE word for that, and one word only:
S C A M!!!!!!
And it just gets worse, and worse and worse as you go down the line..Because the example I just gave is ONLY an example of buyer INATTENTION now possibly costing us more money..
If you want to really get irate? I'll tell you how ebay ALSO refuses to remove this type of return from your record?? When buyers ACTIVELY TRY TO SCAM YOU, AND THIS IS PROVEN AND EBAY CLOSES THE RETURN AS A RESULT...And yet? They still refuse to remove the return from the seller metric count...
In my mind? This is nothing short of CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR
Keep in mind also? This "policy" is also being instituted by a company who actually ENCOURAGES RETURNS from every buyer, and FORCES sellers to make those returns FREE, or they don't get their discounts, etc....
I think it is very, very clear here we are no longer dealing with an Honest, Upright company here..And instead we are dealing with people INTENT on robbing every dime they can from us, in the most disgusting, despicable ways they can think up...
SELLER METRICS = CASH GRAB SCAM!!!!!!!!!!
