@triodiode wrote:
So your telling us that ebay is helping us to do better by taking away the incentives that were designed to help everyone to do better. Thats what it sounds like to me.
No. I am saying that eBay has determined a position/vision in the on-line marketplace, and all their policies are becoming directed toward that vision ... the incentives, likewise, are directed toward that vision. eBay is simply a sales channel that will not be optimal for every kind of product. My business does not list everything on eBay, but mostly those items that are compatible with this sales channel's position/vision. For example ...
- (Most) items I sell that cost over $200 are not listed on here simply because of the theft loophole in the Money Back Guarantee.
- I will not list a lightweight, new item with high competition on Amazon, but rather here on eBay ... simply because I would have to do FBA on that item with Amazon, and I can get higher profits on eBay by doing my own warehousing and shipping.
- We list items that have a history of high returns on another site that has a return policy that better favors the seller.
So, what is eBay's position/vision? eBay wants to be known as the go-to site for buyers looking for the lowest price and the highest customer service, particularly for new products. (eBay Motors has a slightly different vision because they still want the variety of used products, and products with high return rates).
Every policy and incentive is pointing to this vision.
- The search algorithms are now trending toward low price and those sellers with high sales velocity ... drop shippers are being weened off eBay.
- The TRS and TRS+ programs are postured toward high customer service and the most liberal of return policies.
- The policies of eBay (both published and internal) are geared toward high buyer satisfaction.
@triodiode wrote:
As far as this free return deal someone needs to start reading the news more and more big businesses are stopping this every day because they are loosing money.
I think that sellers on eBay need to understand that eBay is interested in what's best for eBay and not for the random seller on here. If the two intersect, great, but at the end of the day eBay is going to do what's best for eBay and not you or I. I do not make my business decisions to benefit eBay, and I don't expect eBay to do that for me.
So, as far as returns, eBay is unique in that they are not like other on-line retailers ... when a buyer returns something to Amazon, Walmart, Costco, Macy's, etc., then it usually costs that retailer money, so they have incentive to have policies that curb returns.
eBay, on the other hand, is not a retailer. It is a sales channel. Promoting a liberal return posture costs eBay nothing while at the same time it (presumably) increases their profits.
Each individual seller on this platform does not have to have free returns. We have them on some items, but not on others ...
- We have free returns on lightweight, low return rate items ... and particularly on high competition items.
- We do not have it on high return rate items.
- For items that are over a pound and low return, it is a case-by-case basis.
