returns are out of control

[lasantino]

oh my gosh,,  I have had more return requests in the last two weeks than i've had in the last 4 months!.. this is ridiculous,, this is exactly why I had a restocking fee on remorse returns.  !

I have no problem accepting returns if something doesnt' fit, or the buyer doesn't like it.  However, I did not want to have buyers purchasing things to try on ,, or check it out..!,,  The returns in the last two weeks are all legitimate.  But the reasons for return are ,, i just didn't like the color or bought three dresses and this was not my favorite!

This is exactly what I wanted to avoid.. Buyers starting to expect that they can buy something as a try it option!,, that's not in my business model!  If a buyer wants retail service and otions... (returns , just becuase, etc).. they should have to pay retail!  .. so basically,.. Ive had over a thousand dollars of return requests in the past two weeks!.. High dollar items(as compared to my average inventory item price).    

uggggg

[stressedwith2]

AND when the buyer decides to outright LIE to get a refund when something simply didn't work out. Kept changing his tune everytime I provided proof of his lies. Yet, from what I've read, eBay doesn't give a hoot about the sellers and sides with the buyers every time. So, if that is what eBay does in this case, I'm done with them.  The 10% fee is already too high.

[turquoisetulips]

It's beause of the use and abuse of clothing and related items I will not sell them. Too many use ebay as their own personal closet. People have no conscience. They want to shop with their fingertips, not lift a finger to drive anywhere, and give the seller that finger by returning the items for any reason they like. sodelight - unquote ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You have that right , and that's why this B.S is so infuriating . The free returns policy  is just inviting willy nilly buyers [ free  renters as well ]  without a care in the world,,  and why should they care ? The sellers are the ones who  have to refund them in full  plus pay to have their now used items shipped  back . IMO e bay has simply over stepped the boundries  of fairness  to the point of absurd . I create themed jewelry and much of it has to do with holidays . This coming holiday season is going to be  especially stressful   to say the least . Depending on how many returns I get after the  particular holiday is over  will determine if I stay or if I go . Tulips 

[turquoisetulips]

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@ryanrobyn wrote:

I think the reasoning to more returns marked as NAD is so that the seller will eventually be required to pay higher Ebay fees due to having too many. Ebay is enourging this probably figuring that the lost of a fee for a single item will be outweighed by the seller having to pay higher fees for everything they sell. --------------------------------------

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Yes , so its just a win win situation for e bay all the way around ,, while  the sellers get the horns . Sometimes I wonder if the e bay  top brass are  aware at all  that  there are other selling venues  for people to go to  conduct their  business ? Tulips 

[lasantino]

@bubbleman2010

what damage are you talking about???

are you referring to ebay saying they are considering raising the selling fees for sellers with a higher return rate then what ebay calculates is their peer average?? 

I know that I should never count on anthying a customer service rep tells me. But Ive talked to seller outreach and they said to pay attention to ebays announcement..  ebay didn't say they were for sure going to raise the selling fee percentage,, they said they "may"....  this rep told me, that with all of the glitches that have happened since the summer update.. ebay is reconsidering everything, and nothing is set in stone as of yet. 

[clu3]

"Ebay customer service suggestrd i make use of my credit for promoted listings."

haha, of course they do!!  🙂

[grayirongolf]

There is more to this story than just offering Free shipping here, there, everywhere & back again. 

They know it's gonna drain a small business's bank account.  What will the small business do once the account is drained?  They will look for a loan to stay in business.    

PayPal ,Square & all these eBay partnered cat's will gladly give you that loan

after you sign the con man's track.

[kensgiftshop]

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@lasantino

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You offer 30 day returns.

[mr_lincoln]

@ryanrobyn

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@ryanrobyn wrote:
For me the F.R are a disaster as many forms of mail from Hawaii where I have 2 stores are much higher for me than for others. This is also why not as described items are killing too.

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That's an excellent point ... for those in Hawaii F.R. probably starts at a pretty healthy bare minimum amount.  Here on the East Coast we face similar issues with heavier items, that's why I am testing lighter weight things.  Shipping costs on certain items can be in the $ 30s and $ 40s if going to the Left Coast ... who wants to agree to pay for that?

[abfabvintage]

@lasantino

Hi, Lasantino. I haven't read every post here. But I just looked at your items, they are really lovely. I usually never critique anyone's listings, but not sure if you noticed in your narrative description (last line) you state hassle free returns 14 day. Yet you have 30 day buyer pays for returns. I only looked at a few, so not sure if that statement is in all of your listings. Again, love your items, particularly the over the knee boots! Good Luck. Hope this is helpful to you. 

[zamo-zuan]

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@lasantino wrote:

@zamo-zuan  

First, I continue to be in awe of your detailed , and thorough explanations.  Holy moly,, the pre information you gave regarding part numbers..i'm very familiar with that, but your explanation will allow any reader to understand what you are talking about!   I need this skill!  tips, hints, books, ??lol

 Second, yes, the change you describe is happening in other categories also,, listings that used to show up, because they were similar,, now aren't showing up.  

this is obviously a search engine programming problem,,, geez,, and we thought Casini was bad.. this new search should be named Clueless..

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Thanks for the kind words lol.

And yeah, I'm sure it is happening in others. It seems other categories favor a specific identifier now. But majority are having the same issue.

It's insane to me that they are further limiting sellers visibility, which was already a major problem!

Even a little more insane that sellers are not more upset by this. Very few have even paid attention to what I've mentioned about the search changes. I'm not sure most people understand how much of a problem for visibility this is. Right now, sellers are reliant on buyers being aware of that new button for showing items with less match.

It's never good design if you are reliant on a buyers input to even make your items appear in search, because on the internet, buyers are trained to use as few clicks as possible...

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@vintagecraze50 wrote:

Ya--the free return will be great IF the option produces an good increase in volume which may offset the cost like all the biggies do. The smallies may have a bit of a time with this, as you need VOLUME to offset big try on just for the heck of it buy it and return it folks. The other issue is that it is becoming common practice for people to buy it try it and return it. That is why there is the seriel returner monitor going on at most retail establishments at this time. The biggies do not like how it eats into theri costs either. Included Mr Bezos.

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 Yeah, if it was sufficiently rewarded that would be fine.

But right now, you are not.

If the bill was not footed to the seller, that would be fine too. Other marketplaces only offer free returns on certain items, and usually only on their own fulfillment. Not on the sellers dime!

In current implementation, the buyers & eBay are the ones receiving the benefit of free returns.

As long as the system is designed for search to prioritize cheaper price > free returns, it's a contradictive policy.

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

@zamo-zuan  How does one get to Terapeak to useit?

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 Terapeak is owned by eBay now. You should just have to go to Terapeak.com, and there's an option to login with your eBay account.

The interface is kind of trashy. But if you puzzle it together, it has some good information.

[missjen831]

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@sodelight wrote:

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@couldabeenworse wrote:

However, I did not want to have buyers purchasing things to try on ,, or check it out..!,,

That describes a No Returns policy.   You're kinda tryin to have your cake and eat it too: you're getting extra sales because buyers want the security of being able to return stuff, but you don't want to let them return stuff.

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The OP doesn't offer Free Returns. The listings I saw show Buyer Pays. But that still costs the seller money, as they lose the intial shipping and risk the item being returned in worn condition.

It's beause of the use and abuse of clothing and related items I will not sell them. Too many use ebay as their own personal closet. People have no conscience. They want to shop with their fingertips, not lift a finger to drive anywhere, and give the seller that finger by returning the items for any reason they like.

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They only lose the initial shipping on remorse returns when they have free shipping. If they charge for shipping, then they are able to refund the item-price only. So the seller isn’t necessarily out the initial shipping cost.

[missjen831]

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@lasantino wrote:

@bubbleman2010

what damage are you talking about???

are you referring to ebay saying they are considering raising the selling fees for sellers with a higher return rate then what ebay calculates is their peer average?? 

I know that I should never count on anthying a customer service rep tells me. But Ive talked to seller outreach and they said to pay attention to ebays announcement..  ebay didn't say they were for sure going to raise the selling fee percentage,, they said they "may"....  this rep told me, that with all of the glitches that have happened since the summer update.. ebay is reconsidering everything, and nothing is set in stone as of yet. 

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eBay didn’t say they are considering higher fees. They said they are going to charge higher FVFS. Bubbleman is talking about the new seller metrics, SNADs and INRs will now be counted against you, whether you failed to resolve them or not. If your numbers are too high, eBay punishes you with 4% higher FVFs.

[lasantino]

go read the announcement where they discuss the possible higher fees,, it clearly says,they  May,, raise the fees... do you have a link to another page that says they ARE going to do it.

[terrycanarsky]

Terapeak is owned by eBay now. You should just have to go to Terapeak.com, and there's an option to login with your eBay account.

ebay bought the site, yes.

While there is a "free trial", it is now a subscribed site. 

~M

[lasantino]

thanks for the kind words and heads up regarding my old standard salutation on the listings..  I thought I had changed most to 30 days,,, but of course, having to manually go and change every single description is tedious and some must have fallen through..