What's with ebay? They want to penalize me because I'm not doing the numbers I used to?

[box-kid]

This was a hobby and still is. Now ebay is saying that unless I get my sales up to where they project that I may be charged more for final value fees. They want me to do the same numbers I used to. I just don't have the time. What the heck?!!

[mtgraves7984]

So many sellers aren't doing the numbers they used to. I didn't know it would affect the FVFs. Who will be left?

[alcoforever]

I suspect your account is not up to performance standards.   It has nothing to do with the quantity of your sales.  There is a 5% added FVF for sellers that are below standard.

[nobody*s_perfect]

It's not about absolute numbers, it's about percent. And the only way to decrease your percentage of defective transactions is to have more transactions.

[mam98031]

It is likely you are confusing the actual issue.

While you may consider your little business a hobby.  I'm confident IRS wouldn't.  

Are you experiencing problems with the Service Metrics?  Do you have 10+ returns in the past 12 months.

Or is your problem late shipments or maybe shipping without tracking?

Let us know what your problem or problems are that kicked you into the penalty fees and we can do better in assisting you.  You can look at your Seller Dashboard and get the details and/or your Service Metrics from the Seller Hub.

[upgradedendmills]

If you look at this as a hobby, don't let eBay or anyone else ruin your fun. If it is a business, then eBay will exercise some control over the way you do it. It looks like you are drop shipping and having some issues with your suppliers. You can fix that by having enough physical inventory to take care of your customers.

[mam98031]

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@upgradedendmills wrote:

If you look at this as a hobby, don't let eBay or anyone else ruin your fun. If it is a business, then eBay will exercise some control over the way you do it. It looks like you are drop shipping and having some issues with your suppliers. You can fix that by having enough physical inventory to take care of your customers.

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To call it a business doesn't mean you suck the fun out of selling, not does it make any difference in how Ebay treats a seller.  Business or hobby it makes no difference to Ebay or the rules of the site.  It also makes no difference to IRS.  Some just think if they call it a hobby they don't have to claim the income.  I'm not at all saying the OP has done this or is doing this, the OP hasn't said one way or the other.

[luckythewinner]

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@box-kid wrote:

This was a hobby and still is. Now ebay is saying that unless I get my sales up to where they project that I may be charged more for final value fees. They want me to do the same numbers I used to. I just don't have the time. What the heck?!!

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eBay may raise a seller's fees if diminished sales cause his service metrics to exceed the threshold.

But it is the defects that cause the increase, not the diminished sales.

0 defects is still a 0% defect rate whether you have a million transactions or one transaction.

[upgradedendmills]

As a hobby, service metrics don't really matter. Sometimes a hobby turns into a business without realizing what has happened. At that point, service metrics and normal business practices come more into play and actually matter. If I am buying, I would rather deal with a "real" business that has some stake in selling.

[mam98031]

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@upgradedendmills wrote:

As a hobby, service metrics don't really matter. Sometimes a hobby turns into a business without realizing what has happened. At that point, service metrics and normal business practices come more into play and actually matter. If I am buying, I would rather deal with a "real" business that has some stake in selling.

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Ebay has no published definition of a "hobby seller" nor does the Service Metrics exclude someone that thinks of themselves as a Hobby Seller.  The Service Metrics is for ALL sellers no matter their size.  

I don't know at what point in the OPs long career of selling here on Ebay that they were actually a Hobby seller, but it appears to me that they haven't been one for a very long time.  

[southern*sweet*tea]

You have a pretty darn good business for it being "just a hobby".  "Just a hobby" is cleaning out the closets a few times a year.  Looks like you buy for resale - that's NOT a hobby. That is a business.

When is the last time you checked your seller dashboard? You need to look at it daily, even if this is "just a hobby".

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@upgradedendmills wrote:

As a hobby, service metrics don't really matter.....

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Whether you consider yourself a hobby or a business, nobody wants a 5% increase in their final value fee rate. The eBay help page unhelpfully adds, "Your seller rating can fall below standard if your transaction defect rate is above 2% or your cases closed without seller resolution is above 0.3%.

If your ratings are above either of these percentages, you’ve fallen below standard, and we may apply limits or restrictions on your account. If this happens, we’ll send you an email to let you know."

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

[upgradedendmills]

The OP defined themselves as a hobby seller. Maybe if they thought of themselves more as a business, they would pay more attention to service metrics and other things they might be penalized for. 

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

Buyers get turned off when sellers do not perform, regardless of size. All sellers need to keep an eye on business.

[Anonymous]

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@nobody*s_perfect wrote:

It's not about absolute numbers, it's about percent. And the only way to decrease your percentage of defective transactions is to have more transactions.

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The OP probably asked CS how to avoid the higher fees and they told him to sell more - guessing he didn't understand what the CS rep meant or why selling more could change his situation.