eBay Makes Major Change to Seller Feedback

by: KathleenJohnson

It has become a full time job to keep up with the "settings", making sure I am not being opted in to something I have now clue about, and to figure out how to side step eBay continually trying to micro manage "my" business.

I list less and less and focus more and more on my own platform.

by: whipnet

I am assuming the "Seller-cancelled transactions" don't include ones initiated by the seller for buyers who pay with an incorrect address.  

by: Al G

I like the validated tracking numbers requirement. Can the USPS servers take the increased traffic from eBay? When will eBay confirm a proper validation. The USPS is not exactly predictable about their scans unless you have the clerk do an Acceptance Scan at the counter (&I've had some surly clerks say ''we don't do them'', but that was awhile ago).

That just about ends the $5.00 postcard sale. Now one would have to build in the $1.93 (+ the 10% ebay vig) into the listing instead of the $0.46 (+ vig) rate - what a 30% increase just to have a delivery confirmation.

Come on - what fool buyer will spend $6.50 for a previously sold $5.00 item?

I'm sure some sellers will try & hold the line, take the loss & move on.

by: Al G

Wow!

What will the Ho do with his over 50% decrease in compensation - apply for food stamps???

I nearly fell out of bed when watching BBC business news last night & it appeared across on the bottom screen crawl.

by: Moonwishes

>>Top Rated Sellers, who must have tracking uploaded to eBay on 90% of their transactions within their stated handling time, must now have validated tracking numbers - meaning ones that eBay can validate - eBay must receive at least one carrier scan.<<
As I see it, the only way eBay sellers can accomplish this is to take all outgoing packages to the PO and have them all scanned there. Otherwise the seller has no way of being sure that the item will be 'validated'. I take it the DC number isn't good enough with the only scan being the one that says delivered?

Glad I don't sell on eBay anymore other than the very occasional bulk lot. All the rest of those rules sound funky and not particularly clear.

GO ecrater!!!

by: savingmom

As long as eBay continues with their asinine ''estimated delivery dates'', the Shipping Time DSR will always be a huge problem for sellers.

So, so glad I decided to quit.  My last listings are up and I hope to be done by summer!

And I REALLY hope all those picky-a$$ buyers out there who have run all the good buyers off enjoy the fruits of their labors -- less sellers, less merchandise, and higher prices.  Satisfied???

by: FeelingFroggy

Not being a carrot jumper we could care less about tracking scans.

In fact lately we have been shipping low value items without tracking. In the past month we have sent over 500 items without tracking and NOT ONE HAS BEEN LOST.

Ebay has brain washed the buyers so bad that sellers have to change their diapers and burb them on a daily basis.

by: LinneyPinney

This is bullsh**.  My new goal is to step up my presence in my other stores and to be not needing ebay at all by September.  

by: summer in the city

It needs to be longer and more complicated. It's just not Ebay enough yet.

by: Deltamaster

I really do not understand why eBay insists on holding a seller accountable for and allowing buyers to rate a seller on the activities of a third party with whom the seller has absolutely no control.  

I know... some of you will say that the seller is the one that chose the carrier but heck, as it is now there are ONLY 4 choices available and one of those is not even operating in the US any longer.

If a seller turns a package over to the carrier the day after the buyer pays then the seller SHOULD NOT be held responsible for the carrier bouncing the package across the country twice and taking two weeks to hand it over to the buyer.  That is just crazy!

It sure would be nice if eBay would pull their collective heads out of their dark places and start measuring seller performance by actual and factual data rather than subjective opinion.

by: cosqueen

Hoping Ebay will make their SCAN form print reliably as this will help with the 'carrier scan' validation; if we can't get reliable SCAN form print-outs from Ebay shipping, how can they hold sellers accountable????  Printing SCAN forms is a hit or miss for me and have contacted Ebay many times; just when I think it is fixed, they don't print..... Also, it looks like forced returns will be implemented to keep TRS status.  In my category, it is difficult to accept used returns.  Also, the return period is almost 90 days!!!!!  How do sellers know what has been done with items in 90 days????

by: PowerSeller2007

Defect Rate?  An awful way to rate ebay sellers!   Ebay need to put itself for rating so they know what it meant to be tracked by DEFECT RATE!

What will all the marketplaces feel if they are rated for Defect Rate?  

Seller Cancelled transactions to be rated?  A lot of times, buyers ask seller for transaction to be cancelled.
Apparently, they do not know how or ebay is forcing them to pay up for ebay defective transactions?  

If seller don't initiate transaction cancellation, buyer will definitely blame the sellers.   What will someone feel to be forced to pay up by the sellers because if seller initiate to many transaction cancellations, they would be banned from selling on ebay.

by: Leesantiques

Not sure what the scan requirements mean in real life, so can't comment.

But what is this "returns for shipments made during November and December can be done until January 31???  Is Ebay nuts?  Why should I give people up to 3 months to return something?!  Especially on high value items, that could wreck my financial planning without any notice.  Same for any other small seller.

Just think of it though, buy a new computer, laptop, camera, etc.  Use it for 3 months, then return for a full refund and get the even newer one for less!!  

Why not just keep doing this and never pay for electronics?  Oh, right, because then the companies would go broke and there wouldn't be any electronics.....

Lee

by: Marie

I'm still trying to digest all of this.  I'm uncertain if the evaluation changes are good or bad.  Some of it is great, other things are troublesome.

But what I'm having the hardest time with right off the bat is that 90 day return policy during the holidays.  What a ridiculous amount of time.  And one I won't participate in given the choice.  I will lose the TRS discount gladly.  It would be cheaper to lose the discount that to do something like this.  Just imagine how many damaged items would start coming back.  And not due to carrier mishaps.  But customer mishaps or whatever.  That is just way too much time for many types of products.  Or a 90 rental period for some buyers and us sellers get a new item back well used.  What the heck are they thinking.  Just ridiculous.

by: trader_chris

Well, guess I'll be giving up Top Rated Seller status (again) around the holidays. I sell a lot of valuable items on consignment and can't afford to give a 2-3 MONTH return window for buyers after I pay my consignors within 2 weeks of the sale. Auction houses usually don't allow returns at all and most consignment shops certainly don't have return policies of 2-3 months for USED goods. This is getting ridiculous. Who at eBay really thinks that small sellers can keep up with these policy changes?

Ina - can you get an interview and/or Q&A session with someone that's in charge of these changes?

by: pace306

Im in the same boat as Marie and Lee - Im not running a rental shop - use it over your holiday vacation(s) then send it back as defective to 1) ruin my rating 2) stick me with unsaleable goods.

Order Defect Rate for eBay selling Platform:

Scale of 1-5 1 being worst.

Honesty: 1
Fairness: 1
Legality of Terms:1
Visiblity of Listings:1
Ability to Hurt Sellers:5
Totally Out of thier minds: 5
Increased Amazon Listings to to policy changes: 5

by: Bidonmine

Looks like I will be moving Postcards , pinups and collectable ads off of my 2nd eBay account and moving them to other services. Not only would I have to use a different, more expensive envelope to qualify for USPS tracking, the shipping prices would more than double!  

by: Bidonmine

eBay should allow used items to have the regular return cycle and only require NEW items to have the special holiday return period.

by: AlexandraC

I don't understand why seller-cancelled transaction are even included in the evaluation. I cancel transactions only at the request of buyers -- either US buyers who made a mistake and don't really want the item or, more often, international buyers when they see the invoice and how much they have to pay for shipping. So now I'm going to be penalized for doing them a favor?

by: PowerSeller2007

My post office refused to issue me receipts for USPS Scan Form for over a  year... unless I pay all my package postages at the USPS counter.   This will infuriate people in the long queue and sellers could get  beaten up.  ebay don't care!  This is NO WIN situation.