is there anything else ebay can do to make it more difficult to sell on their platform?

[mycellargold]

OK in 1 day my seller badge went from the very best to sub standard.  What the ?????  As best I can determine it's based on 2 things.  

1.  I have too many problems with my inventory.  Well inventory was an excuse I used when I canceled my sales oftentimes at the buyer's request.  More frustrating I had a couple of transactions counted as separate transactions but were actually 1 purchase.  

2.  I had 1 buyer that claimed to have a broken item but refused to send me pictures of the broken item so I would have when the USPS asked for pictures when I filed a claim for the damage.  I refused to refund until they sent what was required and talked several times to ebay.  It's still showing as a sale where buyer was not satisfied.  

If ebay is going to change how they are grading people, it would be only fair to give some notice and make sure their systems are accurate before unilaterally decide to change things.  Can anyone give a logical explanation for a stellar seller suddenly becoming the worst?  

I am fed up.  It's time to revolt and stop selling on this pathetic excuse of a fair marketplace.  I've sucked up a bunch of bad policies for a long time.  The **bleep** poor prices they offer on shipping.  The new policy for holding your $ just so they can make a couple of bucks on the float.  But the platform is familiar and convenient.  The summer is a slow time so I'm going to explore other options and with a little luck will find a better place to sell.  

At some point enough is enough and I think I've reached my enough point.  I hope other small sellers vote with their feet and move on as well.  That's the only language that means anything to these people.  

[serriyl31]

If ebay is going to change how they are grading people, it would be only fair to give some notice and make sure their systems are accurate before unilaterally decide to change things. Can anyone give a logical explanation for a stellar seller suddenly becoming the worst?  

___

The current system has been in place for at least 5 years. 

You screwed yourself by canceling for out of stock and trying to make the buyer jump through hoops to get a refund 

[lindyslucky]

And there you go.

selling on eBay is a minefield & not always a lucrative one.

Yes, you did something wrong.

You should never select”out of stock”

If a buyer wants a refund for any reason, they get one. Just do it. It’s going to happen.

And on most issues, if you have not adhered to sometimes complex & constantly changing rules, if you get on the boards for  “help” you will get a lecture of how  you have misbehaved.  And sellers patting themselves on the back for winning the “I know all the rules”game.
it seems that there is a real meanness going on here on the boards lately.  
we are currently not selling on eBay.
I spent way too much time trying to figure out the right thing to do.( it didn’t always work) and not enough time selling. 

[chapeau-noir]

---

@lindyslucky wrote:

And there you go.

selling on eBay is a minefield & not always a lucrative one.

Yes, you did something wrong.

You should never select”out of stock”

If a buyer wants a refund for any reason, they get one. Just do it. It’s going to happen.

And on most issues, if you have not adhered to sometimes complex & constantly changing rules, if you get on the boards for  “help” you will get a lecture of how  you have misbehaved.  And sellers patting themselves on the back for winning the “I know all the rules”game.
it seems that there is a real meanness going on here on the boards lately.  
we are currently not selling on eBay.
I spent way too much time trying to figure out the right thing to do.( it didn’t always work) and not enough time selling. 

---

This was a pretty straightforward situation - shall we just lie and say this seller did nothing wrong?  None of these parameters have changed in years and if someone comes here saying XYZ went wrong, explaining what happened seems more helpful.

[luckythewinner]

If ebay is going to change how they are grading people

"Out of Stock" cancellations and "Cases Closed Without Seller Resolution" have been counted against sellers in their evaluations for years. Nothing about that has changed.

it would be only fair to give some notice

They publish a seller update twice a year, send you a reminder, add a banner to the top of the site, and publish announcements.

Can anyone give a logical explanation for a stellar seller suddenly becoming the worst?

No, because "stellar" and "the worst" are subjective terms.

But if you are asking how a seller can fall from "Top Rated" to "Below Standard", the answer is incredibly simple - it happens when a "Top Rated" seller fails to meet the minimum standards for "Above Standard" outline here:

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/seller-performance-policy?id=4347

Meeting those minimum standards generally requires just two things:

a) don't cancel for out-of-stock

b) always resolve disputes before eBay steps in

[craft-stash]

I listed an item and was packing another and noticed it was broken. So I chose out of stock to remove it and...Bang STRIKE 😓 What! all did was take an item  out of stock!

[serriyl31]

---

@lindyslucky wrote:

And there you go.

selling on eBay is a minefield & not always a lucrative one.

Yes, you did something wrong.

You should never select”out of stock”

If a buyer wants a refund for any reason, they get one. Just do it. It’s going to happen.

And on most issues, if you have not adhered to sometimes complex & constantly changing rules, if you get on the boards for  “help” you will get a lecture of how  you have misbehaved.  And sellers patting themselves on the back for winning the “I know all the rules”game.
it seems that there is a real meanness going on here on the boards lately.  
we are currently not selling on eBay.
I spent way too much time trying to figure out the right thing to do.( it didn’t always work) and not enough time selling. 

---

It's not meanest, it's simply lack of patience with people who blame everyone but themselves for their predicaments.

[chapeau-noir]

---

@craft-stash wrote:

I listed an item and was packing another and noticed it was broken. So I chose out of stock to remove it and...Bang STRIKE 😓 What! all did was take an item  out of stock!

---

But didn't think about what the impact that would have on the buyer, who purchased from you in good faith and bam!  The sale is axed?  That's not great CS, and we get a couple chances at that because stuff does happen.  We have to think beyond our own little shoe box and realise that what we do has an impact on buyers.  Unhappy buyers leave the site.  There are already too many sellers and not enough buyers here.

[johnrj1226]

Sellers are evaluated once per month on or around the 20th of month.  Evaluations are based on the prior months performance.

Your inventory issues are of no concern to eBay unless you cannot ship a paid for purchase.  When you can't ship you get dinged.  If you  have too many issues ONLY you can fix them.

Buyers are not required by eBay to send you photos of damaged goods received.  But not settling a damaged item claim promptly will earn you another ding especially if eBay gets involved.

All  sellers are rated as Top Rated, Above Standard and Below Standard and then they are Gone.  When you are about to drop down in rank eBay sends you messages in advance alerting you this is  not a good thing but with some time to "fix" your issues if possible

Read this link

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/selling/seller-levels-performance-standards?id=4080&st=12&pos=2&qu...

[lindyslucky]

If you read the replies, you see what I mean.

Ebays rules are strict. Yes, the rules are out there. 
Sometimes they are complicated, open to interpretation & endless debates.

But the regulations are there.

I have talked to people who have sold for years & years that don’t know that there is a spring & fall update. Or discussion boards. Some do really well. 
So there you go, but for sure, if you come looking forward help on the boards and are oblivious as many appear to successfully be , then you are not only dumb, but probably ugly as well. (That’s a joke) .

And there are posters here who will gleefully tell you.

I learned long ago that you can be kind or you can be right. I try to choose kind. 

[katzrul15]

@mycellargold 

As others have pointed out - being out of stock and cancelling is not something e-Bay tolerates well.

As you sell a lot of 1-off unique items, I would really suggest you work quickly to assess what you "have" that is listed and make certain you do not incur another strike in this regard.  

The only way to off-set the "below-standard" realm you ended up in, is to work to increase your metrics with sales that do not create other issues for you.  (Maybe have a sale, list some lower dollar items that might move quicker, etc?)

e-Bay is an endless maze of rules to keep up with - those that directly impact your metrics are critical to know/follow.  Good luck - Hope you get it sorted out.  

[lindyslucky]

Its not pointing out that sellers messed up that both of us (& probably he as well) know.

Its this thrill some get for winning eBay jeopardy. 
Yes, posters were right.

it’s the put down & lectures that make me uncomfortable. 
You can say that someone doesn’t understand what occurred. 
It’s the gleefulness about telling them they made a mistake. (AKA you were WRONG) that I find distasteful. 

[lindyslucky]

That was a kind reply.

I hope OP appreciates it!

Thank you!

[gotta-have-it-collectables]

HEY CN you didn't read My post. I never sold My item. I said mine was just listed and I removed it. No sale. Read before you accuse 😵

[gotta-have-it-collectables]

What Buyer? Go back and read it and then slow down. The what the buyers do here and we get cancelled orders and returns😬