eBay

pierrelebel · ‎12-04-2014

This is what American sellers see from eBay:

It can feel risky to accept orders from overseas buyers thanks in great part to language barriers and untested postal systems, so it's not surprising that there are many countries to which online sellers would rather avoid shipping packages.

But in its aggressive push to increase cross border trade on its site, eBay is taking what sounds like extraordinary measures to give sellers an incentive to ship internationally despite their possible reservations.

"Now, as an added incentive to offer your items to international buyers," eBay wrote, "we have extended extra protection for your seller performance from international shipping delays, any time you sell to a buyer in one the following countries."

The countries ranged from Argentina to Zambia, but excluded Canada, Australia, and most European countries - the full list is found in the eBay announcement.

So what kind of protection is eBay promising?

As of November 5, 2014, whenever a buyer from one of the 34 countries listed makes an eBay Money Back Guarantee request for an item not received, leaves negative or neutral feedback, and/or low detailed seller ratings for ship time, eBay will automatically remove these transaction defects (so long as the transaction has no other defects and you have resolved any issues promptly with your buyer).

The move is unprecedented and shows the priority eBay is placing on international sales, which Bay noted had grown 27% for eBay Inc. in the third quarter of 2014 (presumably that includes large brands selling via eBay Enterprise). The company said that represents nearly a quarter of the total volume on its site.

vintagenorth · ‎12-04-2014

Is it specific for US sellers or will it apply to Canadian sellers listing on ebay.com?

pierrelebel · ‎12-04-2014

Very specifically US sellers shipping domestically to the eBay distribution centre in Kentucky (Global Shipping).

Of course there may be a few Canadian sellers out there shipping from the USA but I doubt it would make any economical sense to go that way for Canadians generally.

pierrelebel · ‎12-04-2014

"whenever a buyer from one of the 34 countries listed makes an eBay Money Back Guarantee request for an item not received, leaves negative or neutral feedback, and/or low detailed seller ratings for ship time, eBay will automatically remove these transaction defects "

Of course, this added protection provided by eBay to American sellers raises the question of fairness.

Why can't Canadian sellers receive the same protection when shipping overseas?

dutchman48 · ‎12-04-2014

Hi Pierre

I would like clarification for the following statement as it gives Ebay multiple outs for their guarantee which is really no guarantee at all, just more double talk

so long as the transaction has no other defects and you have resolved any issues promptly with your buyer

pierrelebel · ‎12-04-2014

"I would like clarification....."

All I can say is: Good Luck getting any clarification from eBay staffers on the subject. It appears that most Canadian staffers simply do not understand the program, let alone being able to provide answers. Those Wednesday sessions with staff for the last two years prove that!

In any case, overall it does not really affect us, Canadian sellers, except for the fact American sellers get added protection while we do not.

afantiques · ‎12-05-2014

The crucial difference here is that they are extending the same feedback and DSR protection that applied to GSP sellers to non GSP using sellers. I think this is the clarification requested.

maggiebvintage2010 · ‎12-05-2014

Yes, it appears to be for sellers who are not using the GSP. It states that sellers can include the 34 countries in their "ship to" section, or find out about the GSP.

Is this site specific? In other words, can Canadians who list on .com have the same protection?

dutchman48 · ‎12-05-2014

Ebay no longer has a clue about any of their policies as is very obvious by the weekly chats on the .ca and .com boards.

Answers are all over the map and will vary from week to week, or you get we will look into it and get nothing back

Of course, CS will give you any answer and all will be correct, NOT.

Ebay now is a place for sellers to try to sell and get no help from Ebay at all with policies or problem buyers.

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-05-2014

@dutchman48 wrote:
Hi Pierre
I would like clarification for the following statement as it gives Ebay multiple outs for their guarantee which is really no guarantee at all, just more double talk

so long as the transaction has no other defects and you have resolved any issues promptly with your buyer

Here's my take on this...

"so long as the transaction has no other defects"

They will remove the defect if the defect was received solely for shipping time but if there was another problem such as the item wasn't as described, then the defect won't be removed. But....if you receive a defect for a nad, another defect for shipping time wouldn't really affect you anyway as only 1 defect per transaction is counted.

"you have resolved any issues promptly with your buyer"

If the claim is for an item not received and you resolve the issue by refunding the buyer...that issue is resolved and the defect will be removed.

dutchman48 · ‎12-05-2014

As usual, Ebay makes it sound wonderful and in reality seller will get a shaft one way or another. Great deal, no defect, but seller is out the item, plus sale dollars and shipping. I'll go for that.

They haven't even figured out INR and SNAD with or without GSP for international sles.

Ebay is gasping for breath with all the listing specials and trying to force sellers to sell international, especially to some of the countries on the list.

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-06-2014

As usual, Ebay makes it sound wonderful and in reality seller will get a shaft one way or another. Great deal, no defect, but seller is out the item, plus sale dollars and shipping. I'll go for that.

I wouldn't call that getting the shaft. Obviously someone has to pay for the item if the buyer doesn't get it.

dutchman48 · ‎12-06-2014

please read what I wrote in full!

dutchman48 · ‎12-06-2014

in the context of the thread. We all know, INR means seller pays 99.9% of the thread. Stop defending Ebay

afantiques · ‎12-06-2014

Great deal, no defect, but seller is out the item, plus sale dollars and shipping. I'll go for that.

The seller can never own both the item and the sale dollars. So they cannot be out both.

The worst case is that they are out the cost price of the item, the shipping cost and the ebay fees.

A sensible seller will have insured themselves against such losses and be 'out' nothing.

dutchman48 · ‎12-06-2014

I sell you something in Mexico and you buy it. GSP involved.

Buyer files INR or INAD and of course Ebay finds for the buyer.

Ebay finds for the buyer and refunds the buyer out of the seller's paypal account, and due to international sale, return shipping is too expensive (Ebay has not even addressed returns for international sales) and does not require a return of the item.

If you read the US boards, this is becoming more common all the time due to prohibitive costs of international tracking.

Ebay may pick up some of the refunds, but not always as it would cost too much money

Hence the poor seller has no money or item.

This is how it can work.

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-07-2014

The announcement referred to in the initial post is not referring to gsp.

But since you mentioned the gsp.... ebay and/or PB always pay the buyer if a gsp item hasn't been received. The seller is not out any money.

00nevermind00 · ‎12-07-2014

This is how Pitney Bowes sells the Global Shipping Program to US sellers:

Cross-border shipping adds a layer of complexity. Sellers need to calculate import/export fees and duties and meet country-specific regulations.

http://blogs.pb.com/ecommerce/2013/07/10/global-shipping-program/

See the part which I bolded and underscored for emphasis. Excuse me??? Ebay sellers need calculate nothing of the sort. This is totally misleading! And quite dishonest IMO.

Surely if this program really is the greatest thing since sliced bread, as they obviously would have us believe, surely it can be sold on its own merits, without scaring sellers about non-existent "layers of complexity".