Where else can you buy gently used items and return them at the sellers cost?

[strangehill5]

I really don't know where else you can buy a used item and return it in 30 day at the sellers cost.  Among other things, I sell car, tractor and implement manuals.  People can easily copy what they need and send it back on my dime.  After returning clothing and such, at least the person wouldn't have it any more.  Manuals, sheet music, etc can easily be copied and the person still has the info and all I have is a lot of expense and trouble.  

My dashboard is at 100% and I've had 1 negative in 2500 transactions in the last year.  I have gone above and beyond for customers and give refunds easily.  I do not want to advertise to buyers that it is okay to get the information and then send it back when they are done.  

Also, has Ebay thought about that this takes away the incentive for seller to keep up there performance?  I used to worry about losing my Top Rated badge and discount.  Guess I don't have to worry about that anymore.  Ebay is just asking for more bad sellers because they've pushed the bar too far.  Many will not care about cancelling orders, etc. 

PLEASE HELP US EBAY!  YOUR GOOD SELLERS ARE YOUR BIGGEST ASSET!

[keziak]

Where? Amazon.com.

[andy6756]

Amen to that.  I am also a long time TRS and will relinquish my status over the free return policy for TRS.  It will certainly impact my sales but ebay will also lose my 10% (used to be 9% as a TRS) fees and force me to explore alternative sales channels.

Perhaps if this happens to enough sellers, the fee loss will cause ebay to re-evaluate their policy.  One can only hope for the small sellers sake.  

[dolldesigns4u]

Yep, its like buying something used at a garage sale, and returning it 30 days later.

[luckythewinner]

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@strangehill5 wrote:

I really don't know where else you can buy a used item and return it in 30 day at the sellers cost. 

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I really don't know where else you can advertise 50 items for free every month and have them reach an audience of millions all around the world. 

There are pros and cons to every venue - I guess you just weigh them against each other and decide what is best. 

[luckythewinner]

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@strangehill5 wrote:

Also, has Ebay thought about that this takes away the incentive for seller to keep up there performance?  I used to worry about losing my Top Rated badge and discount.  Guess I don't have to worry about that anymore. 

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If you choose to give up the discount and not offer free shipping, that does not alleviate the negative consequences of not keeping up your performance in any way. 

Which of the Top Rated performance criteria would you stop worrying about?

• Would you start shipping late? 
• Would you stop uploading tracking?
• Would you not care about "cases closed without resolution" strikes? 
• Would you start cancelling transactions?

That aside, there are benefits to Top Rated that in my case are much more important than the fee discount. I have been a TRS since the program started on my main account, and I have never one chased the TRS Plus discount or had 1 day shipping. 

For every first class international package I ship between 8 ounces and two pounds , I pay $1-$3 less in postage on my TRS account than I do on my second (non-TRS) account. That shipping discount dwarfs the 25 cents I might receive as a TRS Plus discount. 

While the free returns requirement for TRS Plus may have the enefits of TRS less important, the penalties for not being TRS have not changed. Falling from a slightly lower height does not alter the depth of the hole. 

[luckythewinner]

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@andy6756 wrote:

Amen to that.  I am also a long time TRS and will relinquish my status over the free return policy for TRS.   

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Again, there is no free return policy for TRS. There is no reason to "relinquish" your TRS status.

Aside from selling less, there really is no way to "relinquish" TRS status unless you decide to be a less professional seller by shipping late, not using tracking, or collecting transaction defects.  

[jason_incognito]

Where else can you buy beat up old clothes, broken stuff, and garbage that the seller calls "gently used"?

[sewgood51646]

100% agree , it's all about the buyer !

[jason_incognito]

I used to work retail and we'd have bad workers or people we just didn't want around anymore.

The company wouldn't allow us to fire without a pretty drawn out paper trail.

People would call out like crazy, they'd be lazy, take half hour breaks.....

We would give them crazy shifts.

Firday night closing shifts for people who called off because they had better options. .....

Weekday mornings for people who were always late....

Sometimes 2 hour shifts.

6 days a week 11 to 1?

It wasn't about being fair to them, it was about making them uncomfortable enough to leave voluntarilly.

[strangehill5]

I really didn't mean for this to get so negative. Ebay has been good to me over the last 16 years that I've been selling. But I have also made Ebay a lot of money, as many of you other sellers have. Everyone has been blasting Ebay and me. I will be able to make it either way. I just want ebay to understand that the Top Rated badge was something I was proud to have on my listing and it bumped my position on Best Match. I used to stress if I couldn't get a shipment out on time , etc. Now I just won't have to stress so much, I've already lost that. I have 100% on my dashboard and liked being rewarded for it but now will not have to worry because there is no ill effect. I will still take care of my customers (some suggested I would not, crazy people). This is still my business and I will fight to keep it, no matter how much Ebay makes it all about the buyers instead of the sellers.

Let's all try to help out each other and stay positive. EBAY, you could do the same, Help us out!

I really didn't know you could return any used items on Amazon up to 30 days for free. I have never even heard Amazon advertise that and I see Amazon advertising all the time and haven't seen an ebay advertisement in years.

[retrose1]

I really didn't mean for this to get so negative.

ebay made the place negative when they actively started changing this place from a venue to a managed marketplace.  Adversarial is often used to describe the relationship between buyers and sellers now, when back in the day it used to be a fun adventure.

ebay's buyercentric policies that are only in place to put more money in ebay's pockets only fuels the attitude.

[strangehill5]

Just did a google search and this is what I found:
---Only product(s) that say that they are eligible for Free Returns on the product detail page are eligible for Free Returns. Free Returns only applies to product(s) fulfilled by Amazon. It does not apply to the same product(s) fulfilled by other sellers. No minimum purchase is required to receive Free Returns.

And this: ---Is return shipping free on Amazon?
Return Shipping Costs. If you return an item using a prepaid method (dropoff or pickup) from the Online Returns Center, and the reason for return is not a result of an Amazon error, the cost of return shipping will be deducted from your refund unless your item qualifies for a free return.