Spring 2014 Seller Updates

[snoopwiz]

Scanned through it and have not seen whether they will continue to offer Canadian sellers (who list on .ca) the "amnesty" of not having to upload the 90% tracking criteria to still be able to enjoy (earn) TRS status (the 20%  discount and badge on .ca.

Sure would be nice to have the badge showing on .com, etc as well,  but I am certainly not holding my breath for that miracle.

[snoopwiz]

I think I found the answer.

• Just as today:

• Listings will show the Top Rated seal on eBay.com when the seller is US Top Rated, and on eBay.ca when the seller is Global Top Rated.
• Canadian sellers who qualify as either US Top Rated or Global Top Rated will receive the 20% final value fee discount on all listings, provided they were created on either eBay.ca or eBay.com.
• Canadian sellers who can’t meet the Top Rated Plus requirements (to upload a tracking number for 90% of their transactions to US buyers, to offer 1 day handling and 14 days returns on their listings) will still receive the 20% final value fee discount if they are able to meet all other US Top Rated requirements. In these cases, the seller’s listings will not show the Top Rated seal on eBay.com, and will not have as strong a position in search as listings meeting the Top Rated Plus requirements.
• In order for uploaded tracking numbers to count towards your 90% target for US buyers, a tracking number must be valid, meaning it needs at least one carrier scan recorded by eBay.

[snoopwiz]

Anyone else care to chime in about the recent Seller Updates?

[rose-dee]

Hi - yes, there was a fairly long discussion about this on another thread.  See: http://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/EBAY-Spring-Update-TRS-gone-forever/m-p/211688#U211688

You'll notice that Raphael got in on that one, so it's official -- our secret little tracking "perk" will soon be history. 

I see in your post the link regarding verifying tracking #s.  I'll check into that, as this was one of my main questions -- how is eBay going to tell the difference between a true tracking # and a number that is input manually (e.g. Small/Light Packet)?  Obviously they've thought of that. 

Well, I knew this wonderful little plum wouldn't last forever.  I now have to analyze whether it might still be worth it for me personally to try to maintain my US TRS+.  The vast majority of my buyers are in the U.S., and about half of my items are expensive enough to already go with tracking anyway, so my main concern is whether that extra search/visibility boost will really mean increased sales.  In other words, is it worth it to try to upgrade shipping to a tracked service for those buyers of items that would normally go by Small/Light Packet.  Naturally I'd make the upgrade free to my buyers, since most of the items that go without tracking are of a value under $30. 

So the question for me remains: is it worth some loss (paying for upgraded shipping 50% of the time) to get a larger gain (more sales)?  It's a hard one to predict, since I'm sure eBay itself can't put that equation into numbers.  What it boils down to, in my mind is this:  is there really a measurable benefit to having the US TRS+?  (I'm not thinking about the 20% discount, which I get anyway through the Global TRS). 

Still, one or two decent additional sales per month would pay for a whole month's worth of upgrades.  I have some head-scratching and pencil-sharpening to do...

Anyone else's thoughts on the matter?

[rose-dee]

Well, I just read the "fine print" in the link you provided, and as usual, the devil's in the details.  Here for example:

As a Top Rated Seller, will I have better placement for my listings in Best Match search results as a result of these updates?

Best Match will take the defect rate into account. In general, the lower your defect rate, the better your position in Best Match search results. With the confidence-inspiring extended holiday return policy, your position and sales can be further enhanced. Remember that many factors go into determining the Best Match sort order for search results including the relevance of your listing to the buyer's search and the price of your item.

So, really, no guarantee that all that cost (for tracking), at least where Canadians are concerned, will necessarily result in enhanced positioning.  I'd call these weasel-words. 

And here:

How will eBay validate tracking numbers?

When you upload a tracking number to My eBay, eBay will automatically check for carrier scan information indicating that the item is either on its way or delivered. Today, only tracking numbers from USPS, UPS, FedEx and DHL Global Express will be validated with scan information. We are expecting to launch validation support for Canada Post tracking numbers later this year.

(I've put those words in bold)  This means, obviously, there is going to be a (big) gap for Canadian sellers.  Uh-oh.  Judging by how long it took them to sort out the Paypal debacle last year, now I know I'm probably going to lose my TRS+ no matter what I do, until this gets sorted out.

And one more little not-so-comforting detail:

How will I know if my tracking on a transaction was invalid?

Starting the week of April 16, you'll be able to see the percentage of your transactions that did not meet the valid tracking requirement in your seller dashboard preview. Then, starting the week of August 20, you'll be able to see the percentage and you'll also be able to create a report to see which transactions did not meet the requirement. 

Well, at least they'll start telling us what we don't want to hear first!   

Basically what all of this means is that Canadian sellers are going to be out of luck where the US TRS+ is concerned, for quite some time.  Sad but true.  As if we needed another disadvantage. 

[snoopwiz]

I suppose it differs as to whether one is selling an "OOAK" item versus a more "commodity" type item however, as much as I would have liked to have had the TRS badge in my listings (not just on .ca) as they currently are, I really do not think sales-wise,  it matters one iota. 

I do not ever see the .com decision makers agreeing to "throw a bone" to their friends to the north and show the badge on our "non-tracking" listings.  I suppose that if the USPS ever changed to the relatively unaffordable tracking options that Canada Post users face, they just might be, lets say, more pro-active in that matter. 

In summary, I am more than happy accepting the 20% FVF fees "bonus" each and every month. As long as they don't do another about-face, that is.

[snoopwiz]

Bueller?  Bueller?  Bueller?

[snoopwiz]

Crickets...........I hear nothing but crickets.....

[rose-dee]

Hi -- another thought on this subject... I'd like to specifically know whether Canadian sellers are going to get a grace period between the implementation of the new policy regarding US TRS+ (in mid-April, I presume), and the date on which eBay eventually introduces validation of tracking #'s for Canadian sellers (which is supposedly August -- at least that's what they say now). 

The way I see it, if eBay can't verify a tracking #, how are they going to confirm whether items I send with tracking have valid #'s during those gap months, and therefore how are they going to evaluate me for US TRS+?   It seems to me their only choice is to give Cdn sellers a "free pass" in entering tracking #'s until the validation is actually in place. 

I generally charge my buyers Small Packet rates but upgrade at no cost to them when I ship.  A lot of the items I sell to the U.S. are worth sending with tracking, but I don't want to continue paying to upgrade to such services if they are useless in terms of the US TRS. 

Has anyone seen any specific notice from eBay about a grace period for Canadian sellers who currently have the US TRS+?  I'd be interested to know.  Otherwise, I'll bring this up at the next Wed. discussion.