eBay

pierrelebel · ‎08-25-2013

By Ina Steiner
EcommerceBytes.com
August 23, 2013

eBay sellers can no longer view the Policy Compliance section of their seller dashboard and many are reporting that its removal hinders their ability to stay in compliance. Those wondering if it was a glitch or an intentional change by eBay can stop speculating: EcommerceBytes has confirmed that eBay removed the feature intentionally.

eBay spokesperson Ryan Moore told EcommerceBytes that the Policy Compliance feature in the Seller Dashboard had been intended to show sellers how well they're following eBay rules and policies, but, he said, "it wasn't portraying an accurate snapshot of a seller's performance. Due to this, we're turning off the Policy Compliance feature."

For more: http://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abn/y13/m08/i23/s01

inuk_the_polar_bear · ‎08-25-2013

I think they are quietly doing away with something that did not work. The downgrading for the absolutely minimalist of maybe violations was heavy handed. It was punishment without a crime.

rose-dee · ‎08-25-2013

@pierrelebel wrote:

eBay spokesperson Ryan Moore told EcommerceBytes that the Policy Compliance feature in the Seller Dashboard had been intended to show sellers how well they're following eBay rules and policies, but, he said, "it wasn't portraying an accurate snapshot of a seller's performance. Due to this, we're turning off the Policy Compliance feature."

Yes, but does "turning off" the feature simply mean we can't see where we stand anymore, or they are they actually dropping the requirement for policy compliance?

In other words, the way I read it is that compliance will still be required, but we just won't know precisely where we stand. What an improvement ..like running around in the dark with a blindfold on.

Incidentally, I see the "Account Status" and "Discount" portions of my Dashboard have vanished. I hope this isn't another example of breaking something by attempting to fix it.

rose-dee · ‎08-25-2013

@pierrelebel wrote:

For more: http://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abn/y13/m08/i23/s01

Ha ha! Did you notice the "shell game" picture at the top of this article? Obviously this is exactly what the result will be for sellers.

rose-dee · ‎08-29-2013

Pierre - I'm surprised there hasn't been more comment (and criticism) about this move by eBay in the past week. It was done so surreptitiously and suddenly that apparently even the eBay.ca staffers weren't aware of it (see my questions and Raphael's posts in this Wednesday's open discussion).

At the end of the hour, he must have found some information in a hurry, because the following quote from his final post sounds like it came directly from a Head Office missive:

"The Policy Compliance section of the Seller Dashboard did not provide an accurate snapshot of seller performance. Instead of sharing information that might not provide value in understanding your compliance, we have removed it. Besides, the seller dashboard being primarily a tool to measure one's performance standards, policy compliance already didn't have much business being there since they have no impact on your Seller Standards or your items' Best Match search results placement.

Please watch your eBay My Messages and email for any policy updates on your account. Repeated violations of lower severity policies, or violating higher severity policies (such as shill bidding), can result in account suspension. The messages we send will include additional information about actions we might take."

In any event, there it is from the horse's mouth, presumably in San Jose, which might be regarded as the other extremity of the beast in this case.

I would point out to those who were happy and unconcerned because they thought this meant the end of policy compliance entirely, that they are apparently very much mistaken: this will simply allow eBay to keep track of infractions in the background, whether deserved or undeserved, whether appropriate or inappropriate, and downgrade sellers to the "danger zone" or beyond without their knowledge. It will now be more important than ever to keep a close watch on incoming emails from eBay and act on them.

I personally found the Policy Compliance status line very useful in one instance where there had been 2 erroneous decisions made by eBay that downgraded my status from "High" to "Standard". I was able to get those decisions reversed because they were wrong, but had I not seen the status downgrade on my Dashboard, I might not have known how close I was to the edge of the seller abyss. In that case, the Dashboard was not only accurate, but a helpful warning system.

What do other sellers think about this move?

lady.stark · ‎08-29-2013

@rose-dee wrote:
What do other sellers think about this move?

Honestly, I didn't even know there was a Policy Compliance section in my dashboard... where was it located?

rose-dee · ‎08-30-2013

@lady.stark wrote:

Honestly, I didn't even know there was a Policy Compliance section in my dashboard... where was it located?

It used to be one of the "buttons" on the dashboard (under "My eBay/Summary"). Now it's gone. However, I imagine some sellers will assume that its absence means the whole compliance policy has been scrapped - not so.