Return shipping now the sellers Responsibility????

[cowgirlup824]

Becasue ebay floods us with email I don't always take the time to read them all. Yesterday I noticed that my rating had dropped from Top Rated Plus to Top Rated and since I'm at 100% across the board I called to find out why, now sellers are being held responsible for return shipping for all their items? So if a buyer just decides they don't want the item we have to pay them to return it, and if we decide not to opt into this we loose our discount. Why are we as ebay sellers being held to a standard that knowone else selling online is? Not even Amazon gives free return shipping on items that I just change my mind on or ordered my mistake. I am prime member of Amazon and know this for a fact. I was told by the ebay rep that they did a analysis to figure out how to bring in more buyers and that free return shipping was one of the things buyers were looking for, really? Trying to pick up the 83% that don't buy online, some unreal number.  The people that don't buy online, still won't buy online becasue your offer free return shipping they usually don't trust the value of the item they will receive, they can't touch it or try it on, they are worried about they're payment information becoming public and oh yea some people still dont' have computers and free return shipping will not change their minds. So again Ebay is taking money out of the sellers pockets. How long before knowone can afford to sell online because it cost to much, if we're unable to make money what's the purpose of all the hard work? If Ebay wants to offer free return shipping just because the customer changed their minds than Ebay should pay it themselves. I have know problem paying return shipping on items not as described or filing an insurance claim on damaged merchandise and refunding my customer but we are not Walmart and don't have unlimited resources to burn. Ebay depends on small business owners to stay in business, when do we get a voice on what changes are made? I have sold on ebay since 2001 and honestly don't want to take the time to move to a new site so I'm in the process of changing all my listing to their new standards to ensure my discount but I can assure you that a buyer will return and item just because to me just once and I will block them from ever buying from me again, I do not have the time or money to deal with this type of buyer. I have enough problems with customers purchasing an item and then contacting me the items was damaged and when the pictures of the damaged item are received it's not the item I shipped, usually they don't realize that changes were made in the piece and are trying to replace a piece they broke for nothing, again I block the buyer. Ebay needs to take better care of their sellers, especially those that go above and beyond for their customers instead of figuring out how to take more money out of their pockets.

[grayirongolf]

Yes, it's the sellers responsibily for shipping here, there & everywhere.  eBay would rather drain your bank roll rather than build it up.   100% satification or get your item Free.  It's not eBay's $ so they are not  worried about you & the livelyhood they destroy.

eBay's selfishness is rearing it's ugly head again. 

[charming-gifts]

I hate this changes, so I rather lose my top rated plus discount then offer free returns.  Two or three returns in a month would off set a whole month discount anyway, so it is not worth to keep the top rated plus status anymore.  Since there is no incentives anymore, I guess I don't have to offer 30 days returns either, I can just select "no returns" to minimize even more problems.  I already have enough headache dealing with the ones that open the false claims via "item not as described" or "damaged item" only because they don't want to pay the return shipping.  So many times the items shipped back are perfectly fine and no problem at all.  Why ebay doesn't protect sellers at all?  

[grayirongolf]

It's not eBay's time, money or material.  eBay is the user among your group of friends that no one really likes.   eBay has become the bum sucking off your resources to make themselves look good. 

[grayirongolf]

"I have sold on ebay since 2001 and honestly don't want to take the time to move to a new site"

It's pretty easy these days. Your only one click away.

[cowgirlup824]

Who and how is only one click away?

[truthseeker10]

Ebay doesn't care if you lose money

[fonzarelli500]

Yeah , i just said enough is enough and closed my store . hundreds of hours wasted on listings . best of luck .

[randys57]

If you look under return shipping will be paid by you have two choise Buyer Or Seller

[insideoutsidehome]

This is true - sellers can choose who pays return shipping - buyer or seller OR choose "no returns"

But, cowgirl824's concern is that a seller can't qualify for "top rated" discount of 10% off final value fees if the seller doesn't pay for return shipping.  However, paying return shipping for a few items will quickly override any top rated discount 😞

[insideoutsidehome]

There is something wrong with the "top rated" seller requirements in many ways but the one that bothers me the most is that a large seller with 100s of negatives can still be a "top rated" seller. 

Like you, I no longer qualify for "top rated" even though I've had 100% feedback for a long time and all my other requirements fall into line except that I will not pay for a buyer to return an item just because they changed their mind.  If the buyer has to pay to send it back I think it helps them make a more equitable decision.  Many times they will decide to give it as a gift or give it to a charity. 

If they contact me about the item before starting the "return item" process, I will try to work with them and offer to split the return shipping (or give them a little discount) on a replacement item. 

The big box stores can afford to pay return shipping because they sell such large volumes of merchandise.  Also they get really reduced shipping fees from USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc. because of the large volume they ship through their own online store, through ebay and maybe Amazon, etc.  I understand that ebay has to pursue the big box stores as that's the way the market is moving and there's more money made by ebay.

However, I can't imagine that ebay would want to lose the small sellers' business.  We still add up to a large percentage of ebay business.  Even, if we just use 20% as an estimate and multiply that times the total sales made on ebay it's still a big chunk of money for ebay.  So, ebay, please change some of the rules to help us small sellers.  Most of us earn our living through ebay OR sell one of a kind items that we work hard to find OR make handcrafted items OR are retired and use the extra income from ebay to help pay bills and have a little spending money.

We all just need to keep reminding ebay that we really want to sell on ebay but ebay please don't cut us out of the market with rules that help the big box stores.  Please make some sort of allowance for small sellers.

[richanlin]

Right on thank you .

[Anonymous]

I have been a seller since 1999 and every year there seems to have been a new hoop to jump through to keep selling. It was an awesome way to sell back in the day when I listed it auction style, it had bids very quickly, it sold, the buyer mailed me a check and I shipped the item. How I would love to go back to those days. How can anyone afford to offer free shipping/free returns and how eBay thinks that this is appropriate is beyond me. It has become a strange world of everything should be free and you are not responsible for your own actions. I am sorry but there is NO free shipping....I pay for shipping it is not magically free!  I am still upset over the fact that eBay charges me a final fee on shipping charges (and that started a long time ago).  Each new rule they have given to sellers (starting way back when I had to take Paypal and checks and money orders were frowned upon) I have swore I would quit selling but here I am still selling on eBay   I guess I will no longer be a top rated seller their 10% off of final fees is not worth it.....they can keep it!  

[twobearstrekking]

So, you came here to complain at how unfair it is, then caved into their new policies. That will teach them a lesson!!!

[thatsallfolks]

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@cowgirlup824 wrote:

Becasue ebay floods us with email I don't always take the time to read them all. 

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If you're not, at a minimum, reading the quarterly seller updates, you're playing with fire. The new TRS requirements were included in the Spring update.