eBay

autoplicity · ‎07-21-2020

Dear ebay Community,

We used to have a high item not as described service metric and fixed it by cutting it in half. At the time, the metric was 3.83% on our end that we cut down to 2% now. Our "peers" were at 1.5% or so, so we would be out of very high. The moment we fix it, boom, the new norm for peer is .84% and we are again very high.

I do not know how to combat this. We are trying to steer customers to just communicate with us prior to a return, appealing improper ones, but still, we are not getting far enough as it seems the metrics just get changed on us.

What other methods do you guys have to ensure your service metrics are on par? Just looking for best practices.

mr_lincoln · ‎07-21-2020

@autoplicity The Not as described metric is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen ... how in the world can a company hold Sellers accountable based on the honestly or dishonesty of their Buyers??? ... Buyers will LIE so they can avoid paying return shipping on bogus returns ... THAT alone makes the INAD metric invalid, PERIOD.

Regards,
Mr. Lincoln - Community Mentor

autoplicity · ‎07-21-2020

It is quite odd and our return metrics are amongst the best in our industry as our suppliers suggest this compared to others.

Bump, looking for any best practices as a work around. We have contacted eBay and they have given no solution. Its in our hands.

mtgraves7984 · ‎07-21-2020

"We used to have a high item not as described service metric and fixed it by cutting it in half."

@autoplicity

Keep doing what you did before. Cutting it in half in an evaluation period is a good thing.

The only red flag I see in your post is that you are "appealing improper claims"... I would recommend handling them (yes, refunding) before you bother eBay with any claim... you know a refund will happen anyway.

I look at it this way... eBay is like the landlord of the strip mall. They want the buyers to continue shopping at the strip mall, whether it be from your store or your neighbor's. They just want to collect your rent.

Your metrics will suffer every time you bug the landlord.

autoplicity · ‎07-22-2020

I must have mispoken on the terminology. We refund the order of course when its returned, but we tell eBay that the reason selected by the customer was improper and that it was not our fault for the return. I am not sure if these are considered or read.

What I am really asking is for a best practice to possibly mitigate people going through the returns portal or similar so we may communicate with the customer before they file the return and say its our fault? There are greater than 50% false positives that are not considered and I strongly believe that others have a way around this as their metrics of "peers" is always better than ours by miles. I know for a fact that they are not better operators.

valueaddedresource · ‎07-22-2020

If you are receiving a lot of "not as described" claims and/or neutral and negative feedback, take some time to figure out why that may be happening.

Are you using supplier/manufacturer provided pictures and descriptions? If so, how accurate are they? If you are drop shipping, remember that you as the seller are responsible to make sure items are described accurately and your supplier fulfills the order correctly and in the handling time you have promised the buyer.

How do you typically handle the customer service side when/if a customer says the item doesn't match? If customers do not get a timely response/resolution when they try to contact you, it is much more likely they will escalate to a claim.

I would also suggest keeping a close eye on the fitment charts. I have heard from others in automotive categories that sometimes eBay's vehicle fitment information doesn't work quite right. So make sure eBay isn't causing issues for you by displaying incorrect fitment info.

orangehound · ‎07-22-2020

@autoplicity wrote:
What other methods do you guys have to ensure your service metrics are on par? Just looking for best practices.

You are a Top Rated Seller, offering 30-day returns. If a buyer claims something is Not As Described, and it was properly described in your opinion ... then you should be reporting that buyer as abusing the Money Back Guarantee. You need to document why you believe the buyer is wrong.

By reporting the buyer, you will not be penalized in your service metrics for a false SNAD / MBG claim. This should help to lower your score.

Use this honestly, for if you are found to be abusing the privilege then eBay will no longer let you use this power.

orangehound · ‎07-22-2020

One more thing, based on what I'm reading on your feedback, you need to improve your customer service. My guess is that you are overwhelmed, and not responding to some customers.

Perhaps consider hiring a quality virtual assistant to be your first line customer service representative handling basic issues, and who could elevate more complex issues up to you.

autoplicity · ‎07-23-2020

"By reporting the buyer, you will not be penalized in your service metrics for a false SNAD / MBG claim. This should help to lower your score."

So this is the biggest issue. I find that a vast portion of the time, we do report it however it does not come off at all. I compared defects recorded against us vs. appeals, and none of the appeals work. We are fair and properly appeal. Do you have any contact or guidance on how to get eBay to actually look at that issue?

Besides that, any other tips around crediting customers to avoid the returns portal?

orangehound · ‎07-23-2020

@autoplicity wrote:
I compared defects recorded against us vs. appeals, and none of the appeals work

An appeal is not "reporting" ... reporting does not involve customer service. And, if you get a defect for a transaction, then your service metric is impacted.

You report an abusive buyer as part of the refund process. You can also report a buyer by finding the sale in your purchase history and accessing "report this buyer" in the drop down menu on the left.

member03302 · ‎07-26-2020

I agree 100 percent .. just another way to get into our pockets Yet again. I have been with ebay 20 years and have never been penalized on this metric return NAD system ...ever!!! EBAY is condemning the ebay seller community to do as we are told if buyers simply do not want the item regardless of being new WE TAKE IT BACK... I have taken back new items and used the returns SYSTEM so that buyers can generate a return tag ..the bad part about the returning process EBAY is now penalizing us!!!!!!!! There is no slack on this issue once you get tagged EBAY will not reverse ..even in this era of a COV19 Epidemic ebay still will not help... more that it ebay is happy to penalize you 5 percent!!!! SAD 😞 sham on you ebay.