I make custom costumes. I need custom measurements to make most of my items. Sometimes the buyer does not send the info right away. Sometimes not ever and I eventually cancel and refund.
I found out this month that these activities may have been putting me in a below standard category and costing me in fees 6% of the total sale
Example:
In August I sold 10 different transactions of the same hat to one buyer who wanted all different colors and bought them separately, hours apart. I actually got him to cancel a few and pare it down to what he thought he needed. We agreed that I would make 2 of the hats in different sizes and he would pick the best one and I'd make the rest of the hats that size. This took like 3 weeks before I got the info to complete the orders and mail them off.
Around Oct 14 I noticed an extremely high fee charge in the order details of one of my transactions as I was printing the page (I only noticed because it was a Denmark registered buyer and DID YOU KNOW ebay will charge you like $2 for that? I DIDN'T and I guess just $2 on top of 6% gets your attention) and that started me down a path of realization that they were charging me an additional 6% for being below standard for those late shipments.
But I got the email stating I was slipping back in Sept and I went to see what was going and phoned and wrote and supposedly had the defects removed after explaining all that about the hats. Yet my account still fell into below standard and the charge ensued (me unwitting until Oct 15th).
Even though my business model is highly incompatible Ebay's marketplace the way they micromanage it. Mismanage it? I still tried to make it work.
I would love to change the system somehow. Make them aware of sellers like myself and that there is a missed demographic they are hurting instead of growing
I would like a refund for the 6% they stole from me over this last month, the busiest month of my year no less (as I stated I make costumes and it's freakin halloween time)
I feel so wronged. I'm extremely customer focused. I'm being penalized for what?
I literally bring people to this website who find my items in searches. Ebay should be paying ME to sell here
If you look at my "feedback left", I put "FIRST!" on all the users that are registered ebay users due to wanting to purchase MY item. Go look, I did it just for this RANT
So the kicker:
when I found out about the 21% being charged for every sale I quickly cancelled all the transactions that were in my hub and closed my shop. I was SO MAD. I did make it up to all those buyers who I just did the deal on my other ebay account for 15%.
And can we talk about THAT?
I'm thinking I'm probably done here now due to that high commission and all this complaining is moot because Ima need to leave anyway. It's just too high.
Stupid me was thinking it was still 12% or something. 12% was Barely acceptable so you know 15% is bugging me out
You may have guessed I don't pay much attention to the policies changing around me.
Well cancelling all those items put me in below standard again. I feel like there is no way out. The guy on the phone says I have to wait it out and they will never refund. I don't find that is a good compromise. I want it all back, plus an apology, and a policy change.
Defects should only be due to customer complaint. and THEN I want all the sellers who DO get complaints NARU'd.
I'm Sick of this site. As a seller AND a buyer
I just want a venue on which I can sell my costumes. Why does it have to be so gut wrenching?
Yes, I am already at Bonanza and Etsy. But this is where I started in 99 and it makes me really sad to leave it behind. Will I ever be able to delete all these years of data?
