eBay

lobbiesforme · ‎11-04-2021

I got an email this morning, stating my seller performance has fallen 'below standard', meaning that either 'your defect rate is above 2%' or 'your cases closed without seller resolution is above 0.3%'. additinally, the email said my 'search rankings for my items are lowered', 'you may be charged a higher final value fee on items sold in this region', 'you will not be able to use the partial refund tool to resolve buyer claims'.

I called ebay customer service. I was told that I had seven cancellations over the last 12 months (7 out of 331 during last 12 months). I explained that I had some cancellations due to my items (i sell movie collectibles) becoming damaged or being already sold. This happens rarely but when it does, i write to the customer and explain and offer them a complete refund immediately.

However, this type of thing doesn't happen every day or every week-- it happens once in the blue moon, that is, SEVEN out of 331 sales during a 12 month period.

The Ebay customer service person continued to say that she was getting complaints similar to mine all morning from other ebay sellers; that lots of ebay sellers were getting similar messages from ebay stating that their "seller performance has fallen 'below standard', " and I shouldn't worry, that is, I am NOT at risk of losing my seller privileges. Of course, I then asked why I received a threatening email from eBay. Didn't get much of a reason, or a response, or a promise that all would be OK. I reiterated to her that I have been selling on ebay for 21 years, and I never had a problem like this before; that sometimes (once in a blue moon), I have to cancel an order because the items I sell are usually one of a kind, and if I do not have it, or if it got damaged in some way, I cannot send it to the customer and I cannot go to the store and 'buy another one'. The only resolution is to send a refund. and, it really happens quite infrequently. I have no negative or neutral ratings. I had one customer a few months ago that tried to scam me, but I was able to prove it and ebay closed the case in my favor, and two days later the buyer (an ebay member for 30 days), was no longer a registered user.

Has anyone else gotten one of these messages from eBay? Am i over-reacting here? Ideas on what to do next?

Thanks!!

eleanor*rigby · ‎11-04-2021

@lobbiesforme wrote:
I was told that I had seven cancellations over the last 12 months (7 out of 331 during last 12 months). I explained that I had some cancellations due to my items (i sell movie collectibles) becoming damaged or being already sold. This happens rarely but when it does, i write to the customer and explain and offer them a complete refund immediately.

. . . sometimes (once in a blue moon), I have to cancel an order because the items I sell are usually one of a kind, and if I do not have it, or if it got damaged in some way, I cannot send it to the customer and I cannot go to the store and 'buy another one'. The only resolution is to send a refund. and, it really happens quite infrequently.

You've identified the problems with your account in your own post. Cancelling due to damage or being out of stock results in a transaction defect, and eBay is very clear about it. Doesn't matter whether you write to the buyer and explain.

mtgraves7984 · ‎11-04-2021

Am i over-reacting here? Ideas on what to do next?

@lobbiesforme

For what it's worth... eBay allows a grace period (I think one month... till the next evaluation) to get a handle on your inventory.

At this point, my only idea is to be extra, extra careful with your listings. Good luck to you.

lrj_126 · ‎11-04-2021

I got a message exactly like yours today. It was for an incident that happened back in May. I refunded the money 6 months ago. Why is it showing up now? The reason I refunded it to begin with is because the lady ordered three items from me that had a shipping charge of $11 each, eBay only charged her $11 total shipping.

simba6 · ‎11-04-2021

First off, you can NOT refuse to ship after a buyer pays. There is NO accepted excuse and it's the most serious violation there is on eBay. You are in grave danger of a life time suspension from selling. Remove any listings that don't have bids you think have even the slightest chance of a problem. You can't afford any more of that!

In fact it may already be too late and the "dear john letter" could come in about 25 days.

Anonymous · ‎11-04-2021

I am often critical of ebay but in this case 7 out of 331 items is completely unreasonable and you should be punished for it. My wife and I manage $300,000 worth of Auto parts stored in 5 10x20 storage units and I've had to cancel 2 items maybe out of thousands of sales.

A blue moon happens once every 2 years, meaning a .1% of occurring on any given day.

7 transactions out of 331 means 2%, so even your saying once in a blue moon is just as unreasonable.

wastingtime101 · ‎11-04-2021

@lobbiesforme wrote:
However, this type of thing doesn't happen every day or every week-- it happens once in the blue moon, that is, SEVEN out of 331 sales during a 12 month period.

Typically a blue moon occurs once every 2-3 years. That's 1 in every 730-1095 days.

But seriously, dude, 7 out of 331 is a lot. If the majority of those were sold elsewhere then you need a better inventory management system. If the majority were because the items were damaged, then you need to figure out why that keeps happening.

I've shipped several thousand packages this year and had to cancel 1 order because I broke something just before packing it.

You can recover from this, but you need to figure out how to manage these issues.

Try to get your sales numbers up this month.

GLORIOUS!

wastingtime101 · ‎11-04-2021

I wasn't copying you tenoem. I'm typing slow today because I sprained 2 fingers.

GLORIOUS!

bearswatching · ‎11-04-2021

EBay looks at that as seven disappointed buyers in a year. they don’t even want to see ONE. In 23 years I have never had even one out of stock situation. If you have even one more your eBay selling days are probably over. Be,

buyselljack2016 · ‎11-04-2021

you are just barely over the 2%

If you maintain your sales rate you just need to have 1 of the items drop off to be under 2%.

or sell some more items. 350 is your magic #

Perhaps find some things to sell for cheap where you are breaking even, or only a small loss.

That will get you back in good standing. (above below standard)

bearswatching · ‎11-04-2021

Sorry , don’t know what happened there. You need to stop listing items you don’t have. EBay is dead serious about this. Out of stock is one of the most serious defects you can have. Make sure the item you are listing is literally in.your.hands. One more defect and you are probably gone.

buyselljack2016 · ‎11-04-2021

@lrj_126 wrote:
I got a message exactly like yours today. It was for an incident that happened back in May. I refunded the money 6 months ago. Why is it showing up now? The reason I refunded it to begin with is because the lady ordered three items from me that had a shipping charge of $11 each, eBay only charged her $11 total shipping.

It's all a matter of #'s.

For sellers that do not sell a lot it takes less problems to get in the bad graces of eBay.

What may have happened is that you had enough sales going that the (1) defect did not get you over the 2%.

When your sales slow down the (1) defect is enough to put you over the edge.

px_455 · ‎11-04-2021

@buyselljack2016 wrote:
@lrj_126 wrote:
I got a message exactly like yours today. It was for an incident that happened back in May. I refunded the money 6 months ago. Why is it showing up now? The reason I refunded it to begin with is because the lady ordered three items from me that had a shipping charge of $11 each, eBay only charged her $11 total shipping.
It's all a matter of #'s.

For sellers that do not sell a lot it takes less problems to get in the bad graces of eBay.

What may have happened is that you had enough sales going that the (1) defect did not get you over the 2%.

When your sales slow down the (1) defect is enough to put you over the edge.

That may be, but I want to add that if defects are a problem, then the solution doesn't lie in selling more...I see quite a few sellers falling for that mental trap, thinking they can outrun the % through sheer numbers, however in most cases the solution will be to eliminate what is causing the defect(s) to begin with first.

katzrul15 · ‎11-04-2021

As others have shared, another OOS issue and you cancelling the transaction for same, could be the end of your selling career on here.

I would put your items in Time Away, so they cannot be purchased. I would do a "quick" inventory to make certain that I have everything that is shown as listed.

I would stop listing the same items on more than one platform, unless you truly have multiples. (In your OP, you state you had items already sold).

If your desire is to not correct what got you where you are, you can keep doing what you are doing, but for a very short additional time frame generally.

Honestly, I would get it on it quickly - if you are already lowered in search as regards your items, I would be offering any watchers a chance to buy. Good luck.

....... "The Ranger isn't gonna like it Yogi"......... Boo-Boo knew what he was talking about!

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Yes, I have no Bananas, only Flamethrowers.......

buyselljack2016 · ‎11-04-2021

@px_455 wrote:
@buyselljack2016 wrote:
@lrj_126 wrote:
I got a message exactly like yours today. It was for an incident that happened back in May. I refunded the money 6 months ago. Why is it showing up now? The reason I refunded it to begin with is because the lady ordered three items from me that had a shipping charge of $11 each, eBay only charged her $11 total shipping.
It's all a matter of #'s.

For sellers that do not sell a lot it takes less problems to get in the bad graces of eBay.

What may have happened is that you had enough sales going that the (1) defect did not get you over the 2%.

When your sales slow down the (1) defect is enough to put you over the edge.
That may be, but I want to add that if defects are a problem, then the solution doesn't lie in selling more...I see quite a few sellers falling for that mental trap, thinking they can outrun the % through sheer numbers, however in most cases the solution will be to eliminate what is causing the defect(s) to begin with first.

You are correct. Eliminating what is causing the defects is a key factor.

Not a "mental trap' in the OP's case.

They need to have 1 good sale for each good sale that times off, and 19 additional good sales to get out of the spot that they are in. Many time sellers are in a much worse "numbers" situation, but this one is very doable to get back up into good graces.

Back a while I bought some "forever" stamps from a seller that was likely in one of these situations.

It was like 4-5 stamps for a $ with free shipping. Wife bought them as well. 1 lot per customer limit.