eBay

zterx13 · ‎05-06-2018

On another account--this is a forums posting account--I applied for a basic store subscription on May 1. When I click the link "visit store." I am still told that my store does not exist! The form that I filled out to apply for a store stated that my store would be active within 24 hours. The subscriptions tab in my eBay shows that I have an active store subscription. I am pretty irritated that going on a week now an additional service that I paid for is still not operational. I understand that eBay may have a higher than normal volume of store subscription requests due to the introduction of the "starter store" but if the form said that my store would be active within 24 hours I should not need to wait a week...

Are my sales currently enjoying store discounts on FVFs (I have made a number of sales since subscribing) or is that too delayed?

It seems really unprofessional of a company as large as eBay to offer a product and then not deliver it in the time frame they themselves set out.

I suppose if it is still not active Monday I will call eBay customer service and try to determine what is going on but I am pretty irritated that I even have to.

From eBay's business perspective it is stupid that failure to deliver a product should take up their customer service personel time. The process should be fully or nearly fully automated...

I feel that my monthly subscription fee should be partially refunded for the time in excess of 24 hrs after starting that the subscription was not active.

I wish I could file and INR claim...

So, be warned people interested in starting a new store sub in May 2018, if my experience is at all representative, your store may not be active for up to a week (or more?) after applying.

This reflects poorly on the company.

dhbookds · ‎05-06-2018

Certainly, you should call to find out what the problem is......

Just one correction tho.........The fvf will not change until the items are listed or relisted while the store is active. To some that doesn't seem right, but it works the same on the back end: If/when you cancel the store, you still receive the store fvf rate until the items are relisted without the store.

zterx13 · ‎05-06-2018

Could you clarify: Do items that I listed after I subscribed for my store but before the store came into "existence" (apparently delayed because of eBay error) qualify for FVF discount or not? I suppose i can ask CS too. If not then I feel I am not only due the prorated monthly store fee refunded but also the missed discounted amounts off FVFs. I have listed and sold a number of items since subscribing to my store, which shows as active but does not "exist." This company never fails to impress...

lacemaker3 · ‎05-06-2018

@zterx13

@zterx13 wrote:
Could you clarify: Do items that I listed after I subscribed for my store but before the store came into "existence" (apparently delayed because of eBay error) qualify for FVF discount or not? ...

Only listings that were started (either listed or relisted with a new item #) after the store was started qualify for the FVF discount. Good Til Canceled listings renew with the same item #, and would have to be ended and relisted with a new item # to qualify for the FVF discount. If eBay says you have a store, then listings started after you opened the store would qualify.

This applies to all store levels except the new starter store, which doesn't get an FVF discount.

Because you are using a posting ID, not the ID that has a store, I am not able to investigate the missing store so I can't comment on that.

zterx13 · ‎05-06-2018

I have heard that May 2018 is an "open enrollement" period for changing store subscriptions without penalty. It is also true that I could cancel my one year store subscription early this month without penalty if I decide to do so?

I am begining to think it may not be worth me investing any more time and money in selling on eBay because of a poor interface, high fees, unfriendly policies, and inconsistent sales. We will have to see how May goes...

The reason I stay is because I am making a good number of sales, my revenue and volume is growing, and eBay provides access to vast market place of buyers. But even with all that the amount of time and aggravation that I spend and experience with this site is making me wonder whether my time and energy would be better invested doing something else.

With regard to inconsistent sales I have one non-seasonal consumer item that I was selling about 1-2 per day of toward the end of th month of March. It is light weight and under $10 so I was shipping it without tracking as a first class flat (now I am shipping with tracking). I had one buyer who claimed (I assume it is true) that they did not receive one of these item they ordered in the very begining of March. The buyer messaged me about an item not received at the end of April (nearly 60 days after ordering). I reshipped the item with tracking (to avoid negative feedback) and refunded the buyer.

But notably I only sold, if I recall correct 4 of these items in April. Why did I sell 20+ in March and 4 in April for this non-seasonal item that was priced lowest in its class? This kind of, forgive me, moronic buyer: who waits 8 weeks to notify a seller of a lost first class shipment, and inconsistent sales makes me wonder if I should do something else. I wonder if eBay hid my listing due to not uploading tracking for the earlier shipped items? How can you plan when your sales for a non-seasonal product can vary by 500% per month? Other things I sell have also seen wide variations in selling rate.

Hopefully May is a good month.

zterx13 · ‎05-06-2018

Still it is not clear to me what is meant by "started." Is it after the store subscription is active (mine shows as active in my subscriptions tab) or is it after the store shows up in a web browser? The link to my store contains my store name but when I click it it returns an error "Sorry this store does not exist." Same as when I am logged out and when I click the store icon like any customer would. But, as I mentioned, my subscriptions shows the store as active. So for the purpose of fees would my store be active or not?

lacemaker3 · ‎05-06-2018

@zterx13

Only eBay can answer those questions definitively.

This may be related to a reported glitch that eBay is aware of. You can read about it on this thread. The link will take you to a response from an eBay employee, who is in charge of the eBay Community (this forum).

You can scroll up and down from there to learn more about it. There are some suggestions for how to get your store to appear. You may have to call eBay customer service.

zterx13 · ‎05-06-2018

Thanks very much for the link. I will read the thread. Also, as you suggest, my questions would be best answered by customer service, assuming the phone rep provides a valid answer. Fortunately since I am not a really high volume seller or selling high dollar value items we are not talking about a lot of money in missed FVF discounts. But the principle of it is aggravating.

pingpong517 · ‎05-06-2018

i thought it was a roll out...so between may 1- may 31...you'd get a message or the change...

but i'd have to go back and find seller updates/ spring...the announcement

nobody*s_perfect · ‎05-06-2018

@lacemaker3 wrote:
... Only listings that were started (either listed or relisted with a new item #) after the store was started qualify for the FVF discount. Good Til Canceled listings renew with the same item #, and would have to be ended and relisted with a new item # to qualify for the FVF discount. ...

I'm pretty sure that Good Until Canceled listings convert to the lower Store final value fee rate when they roll over after your subcription starts.

nobody*s_perfect · ‎05-06-2018

@zterx13 wrote:
I have heard that May 2018 is an "open enrollement" period for changing store subscriptions without penalty. It is also true that I could cancel my one year store subscription early this month without penalty if I decide to do so?...

Yes. That's in the FAQ from the spring seller update.

zterx13 · ‎05-06-2018

It was not clear to meif that applied to all subscriptions or just subcriptions in existence before May 2018. So you seems to be saying I can start and cancel a 1 year store subscription in the month of 2018 without penalty; I don't need to have had a existing subscription prior to May 2018 to be eligible to cancel?

lacemaker3 · ‎05-06-2018

@nobody*s_perfect wrote:
@lacemaker3 wrote:
... Only listings that were started (either listed or relisted with a new item #) after the store was started qualify for the FVF discount. Good Til Canceled listings renew with the same item #, and would have to be ended and relisted with a new item # to qualify for the FVF discount. ...
I'm pretty sure that Good Until Canceled listings convert to the lower Store final value fee rate when they roll over after your subcription starts.

Thanks for the correction.

nobody*s_perfect · ‎05-06-2018

@zterx13 wrote:
... I can start and cancel a 1 year store subscription in the month of 2018 without penalty; I don't need to have had a existing subscription prior to May 2018 to be eligible to cancel?

I am not saying that. There is a minimum Store subscription commitment of 1 full calendar month plus the balance of the month in which you signed up (for both month-to-month and annual rate subscriptions). I see no indication that eBay will make an exception to this during May. If you sign up for a store during May, you are commited through June.

According to that policy, if you sign up AND cancel during May, the cancellation wll take effect on July 1. I didn't think of this contrived possibility and probably ebay didn't either.

http://pages.ebay.com/stores/subscriptionterms.html