eBay

bubbles1234567 · ‎10-11-2018

I am being charged an additional 4% final value fee because several buyers are claiming that the item is not as described. I sell multiple items in one variation listing, and I had 2-3 buyers who imagined they were getting all the items for the price of one, even though I stated clearly in the item description that items are sold separately.

This happened prior to October 1st, when eBay instituted this new service metrics policy that charges 4% additional final value fee. My rate is 4.02%. I called eBay to demand correction, since the reasons that the buyers are selecting is wrong. Customer service agreed but declined there was any way to correct the metrics.

This seems very unfair. I have to pay additional fees for reasons buyers may select that is not in my control. I offer free 60 day returns and give a refund, whatever the reason, as long as I get my item back (even if the item is damaged). Has anyone had this encounter? What can I do?

sonoranboutique · ‎10-11-2018

Yeah, it's ridiculous and unfair. EBay has said it's fine because all sellers face the same risk of buyers lying. Whoever said this, though, failed high school math. Ever heard of a bell curve, Ebay? Even if the majority of sellers meet the average, a lucky minority will get 0 returns where the buyer lies, and an unlucky minority will get a ton of them. Since buyer lying can't be controlled, unlucky sellers at the top of the bell curve each month will be punished with extra fees. The system is implicity unfair, and will cost these sellers hundreds or thousands of dollars based on randomness.

Bell Curve:

tldr: The people working at ebay don't know what a bell curve is. It's no wonder that people with this level of education keep making poor decisions, the ebay stock continues to tank, and other apps are consistently taking buyers and sellers away.

gramophone-georg · ‎10-11-2018

Seems the plan is working as designed... eBay will be able to show a revenue increase in the 4th quarter now.

Chaos is NOT an "industry standard".

twnpopcards · ‎10-11-2018

Ebay designed it that way because they could not justify a rate increase across the board the way the platform is performing at this point in time. So they needed something where they could say it was the Sellers own fault that they have to pay more and this is what they created. It is a plan that is designed to create a certain amount of revenue that Ebay wants to make in the 4th quarter so they can try and explain to Wall Street and the shareholders that they are now showing growth with the new Managed Payments and the Catalog working just as they predicted they would, where is reality they are creating a penalty that cannot be verified by any Seller in any way. Ebay refuses to say what is the % that puts the seller in this category and they refuse to allow the Seller to see who their peers are or what their numbers are. So Ebay can just pull any numbers out of the air that they want and there is no way for anybody to dispute it.

It is completely ridiculous and unless you have almost zero returns you are probably going to wind up being subject to it. Also I just saw another post where it appears that the 4% fvf is NON REFUNDABLE to the seller when they have a return of one of these items now. So Ebay is fining the Sellers for something that Ebay will not even allow the Sellers to see the proof that they violated anything. This is going to be an interesting quarter for Ebay and will also be interesting to see how many posters start posting this information on the Wall Street Bloggers boards as I have read is starting to happen on another site. They just want to make sure that Ebay gives the brokers and the Shareholders the correct version of why they show a revenue increase in the 4th quarter, if they do.

emerald40 · ‎10-11-2018

We would have to see your actual title and listing under your selling account to see how it is worded. Did you show all of them together in your photos.

Since this has happened 3 times with 3 different sellers, there is apparently some confusion as to what buyers will receive.

coolections · ‎10-11-2018

@emerald40 wrote:
We would have to see your actual title and listing under your selling account to see how it is worded. Did you show all of them together in your photos. Since this has happened 3 times with 3 different sellers, there is apparently some confusion as to what buyers will receive.

I hate those listings with different items and different prices. To me it is a scam and I wish Ebay will stop allowing it to happen. With that said, my guess is what you wrote is the exact reason for the buyer confusion. OP needs to make changes and make them fast. Something is confusing the buyers over the OP's listing.

pburn · ‎10-11-2018

Yeah. I've never purchased anything from a multiple/variable listing, or whatever they're called, but people here on the discussion boards sure seem to hate them. All kinds of complaints, including the dreaded "bait and switch" scheme. Do those kinds of listings save sellers listing money? It's apparently gonna cost the OP in the long run . . .

arun7500 · ‎10-11-2018

It's very easy. ' Not as described, ' equals free returns, anything else means the buyer has to fork over cash. With the added caveat that most sellers simply refund to avoid going into the red with the return shipping charges, makes it a win win for most buyers. What to do " Get used to it or move on. This is ebay, this is way business is done.

lightlily_arts · ‎10-11-2018

I looked to see which category had the most returns and it was actually easy for me to see. I pulled all those listings since they seemed to be the source of my returns. They were consignment items as well so I didn't need their products to tank my ship especially since the profit margin was so small.

lunalapin1912 · ‎10-12-2018

Why don't you stop using multiples listing? It's obviously not working for you and it's costing you money.

bubbles1234567 · ‎10-12-2018

What's costing me money is eBay's heavyhanded tactics, not buyers. Like I said, I give buyers full refunds if they are not satisifed REGARDLESS of the reason. But with this new 4% FVF on TOP of the 10% already charged, my business is going to be crushed. I may have to finally move on like other sellers who left this site.

And it's eBay promoting the variation listings, which, yes, was saving me money since I sell multiple sizes of same item in one listing.

lightlily_arts · ‎06-01-2019

what I find completely stupid is that eBay penalizes sellers for returns at all. eBay wants you to take returns to make buyers happy and then they turn around and penalize you for it as well.

twnpopcards · ‎06-01-2019

@lightlily_arts wrote:
what I find completely stupid is that eBay penalizes sellers for returns at all. eBay wants you to take returns to make buyers happy and then they turn around and penalize you for it as well.

Ebay needs to show growth somehow and since they no longer know how to attract new customers and have admitted they are cutting way back on marketing spending which will cause further reduction of sales, that only leaves Promoted Listings (which you pay if you want your items to have a chance of being shown) or the now 5% FVFD Penalty for having excessive SNAD returns vs your yet to be identified peer group.

rpalma · ‎06-01-2019

As you sell more items, your return rate for SNAD will drop, right?

You can also be proactive going forward and ask the buyer to contact you directly if there are any problems with the order. Of course, if they couldn't read the listing, it's unlikely they will read or understand this either.

While you are probably correct, if you are having significant returns because people didn't understand the listing, then it is time to rewrite the listings so they are clearer or stop selling items that people are returning at an excessive rate.

I have a couple of categories where I won't list anymore because payment was slow and return requests were too high.

femmefan1946 · ‎06-01-2019

several buyers are claiming that the item is not as described. I sell multiple items in one variation listing, and I had 2-3 buyers who imagined they were getting all the items for the price of one,

If "several" buyers are claiming Not As Described and you are losing money as a result, perhaps the listing is not as clear as you believe.

Why not stop using the "variation" listing and list each version separately, stopping the problem at the root?