lots of top rated sellers loosing status

[aubreyclay56]

sure are a lot of top rated sellers losing there status with the new program,,some have been on here for yrs,almost seems like there wont be any left by new yrs,not sure what the buyers will think,half of the sellers on my fave list,are going down,ill still buy from them because top rated is overated now with the new seller dashboard,defect rate,new people to ebay might be a little scared off im thinking what do you think?

[recped]

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@cumos55 wrote:

It appears that US sellers are being hit hard...

First.... It is not enough to buy postage on Paypal...  delivery to the post office  must show tracking indicating that parcels were delivered within a certain time period...

Many times  sellers deliver to the post office... do not wait in line  and do not get  parcels scanned..

Some postal outlets are "refusing to scan" parcels delivered to the post office  or are delivered to a counter to be scanned.

Also there are problems with being scanned on delivery..

Second ... Estimated deliver time....  Buyers are allowed to file a non-receipt one day after estimated delivery time...

The problem here is  the wording...

Estimated delivery time..... not Guaranteed delivery time...  Parcels have tracking... but buyers are getting refunds  in relation to estimated delivery time... and not to actual delivery date based on tracking..

Not too sure about this... but too many sellers are reporting problems  with the application of estimated delivery time  as "real" delivery date...

The wording "estimated "  and it use  appears to be creating problems  and the creation of defects.

Problems on eBay.com... but not eBay.ca.... atleast not so far.

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How are they "hit hard"?

It's true that tracking must be validated (at least one scan at any point) but sellers have at least 20 days for this to happen and it can be ANY scan, acceptance, in transit or delivery. This validation requirement was put in place because of sellers uploading bogus tracking info to eBay.

Buyers can open an INR one day after the estimated delivery date....in the past there was no such requirement, buyers could open an INR claim one day after shipment (actually they could open one even before a package had been shipped).

[cumos55]

When I read about what happens in relation to ... estimated delivery date.

There appears to be a disregard of the meaning of .....  estimated... and it is treated as if that is the date on which the parcel should be delivered.

[mr.elmwood]

I'm not following any of this. TRS is earned not lost, as a friend of mine says. The discount is earned.

Yes, they are raising the bar. I long ago said they would. The discount costs eBay money out of their bottom line and does nothing for them. There is no ROI to Ebay for giving sellers a discount.

A seller getting a discount does what for eBay? Nothing. Why do it? It was a hair-brained scheme they never should have started and now they are gradually taking it away.

Am I the only one that saw this coming, like, right from the second they started it?

[pjcdn2005]

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@melissas-minis-2007 wrote:
This new defect system makes no sense to me. I have 2 defects already, one I'm assuming came from me sending someone a refund, and I have no idea where the other one came from. Is there a way to see specifically where and how these defects occur?

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Go to your seller dashboard

Under Your Performance to Date, click on the line that gives you your percentage.

That area will expand and near the bottom, click on download report

Sign In

Click on expand and you will see the date and item numbers for your defects

[Anonymous]

I checked my Dashboard and was surprised to see those informaiton: 2.03% of your transactions had defects. 1 case has closed without seller resolution. As if!! One buyer was asking "where is my item?" and because she has NO patience to allow the mail system to do their job! I checked the tracking information and it had arrived and was waiting for her to pick it up at the post office for 2 days and here she was asking me "where is my item?" Did eBay actaully penalized me for that and also did eBay acutally expected me to refund this buyer just because she was asking "where is my item?". Of course I refused to refund just because this buyer has NO patience, period!! 541 transactions with total sales of US $11,229.16, other was $82.453.87, not sure why got two different information? For 2 years or what? You didin't earn a discount. SIC!!!!!!!!!!! Item as described 3 Communication 3 I am surprised because I always inform my buyers with tracking numbers right after I shipped them each time and still i get that complaints? Wow!! Shipping time 3. Awesome that my buyers cannot be patience even nearly 90% were shipped the next day expect during the weekends and holidays!! Sigh!! Shipping & handling charges 2. Naturally NO ONE is ever happy with the shipping costs, regardless of what even cheaper or expensive, etc, etc. Cannot win in that catgeory ever!! Unless it is free but the problem is that I cannot offer free shippings for any BINS if the buyers make offers that are much lower than asking prices which I cannot cover the shipping costs. Cannot win in that area. With this new defect and returns policies, we are literally screwed in a big way. eBay sure have working so hard to find ways to penalized us. Nice eBay, huh????? As for Pierre it is easy to say "not to worry, etc." But we can worry about it as eBay can suspend or restricted us which we don't need which are unwarranted due to those insane new policies.. I am sure that many of us rely on eBay for addtional $$$ to supply our meager pensions or incomes. It would be easy if we have deep pockets then we don't have to worry but with this insane policies, we have very good reasons to worry. Unless there is another online that we can switch to but where is it? Don't even suggest Craiglist or others, it is not going to work. Amazon is the worse online for books and DVDS as their flat rates for shipping costs to ship Books and DVDS are way too low meaning we have to pay extra from our pockets! Amazon is not realistic with the shipping costs for those categories.

[Anonymous]

Darn, I did clicked enter key 4 times for each paragraph but it is NOT working here! Why?? I did clean my cookies but it seems not working!! Anyone knew? Thanks.

[pocomocomputing]

Are you using Internet Explorer? It is having issues with the forums lately.

Use FireFox browser as it is more reliable.

[cumos55]

The problem as it relates to

"Ask a Question"  or

"Open a Case" 

Has been addressed in the Fall Seller Update for 2014.

eBay is making adjustments....  but slowly

[73rhc]

I find it very funny that there are three categories that a seller can fall under: Below Standard, Above Standard and Top Rated Seller.
There nothing in between below and above. How can you be below and above something that doesn't exist?

[rose-dee]

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@cumos55 wrote:

Took a lot at my Dashboard in relation to the USA

and... found a new notification...

You've been a Top Rated Seller in United States for at least 3 consecutive months.

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I saw the same message pop up recently on my dashboard.  I think this is related to the TRS "grace period" policy, and that eBay is now using our dashboards -- since August 20th -- to notify us when we qualify for the grace period (if and when it might be needed).  A seller needs 3 months of TRS standing in order to qualify for a grace period.  I do see this as a benefit to TRS holders, i.e. a concession to help us hold onto the TRS if we really want to but have had a "shaky" month now and then. 

This text refers to US TRS (or TRS plus), but I imagine a similar grace period applies for Canadians who have TRS Global.  Here's the relevant text (from the 2014 Spring Seller Update):

"Yes, qualified Top Rated Sellers will continue to enjoy the same grace period as today if they temporarily fall below the required volume or tracking upload requirements. During the Top Rated Seller grace period you retain your Top Rated Seller status and benefits. You have two evaluation cycles to get your transaction count, sales amount, or tracking requirements back to minimum program requirements.

You're eligible for the grace period if you fall below Top Rated Seller standards due to any of the following:

• You have fewer than 100 transactions with US buyers over the most recent 12-month period
• You have less than $1,000 in sales with US buyers over the most recent 12-month period
• You've uploaded validated shipment tracking within your promised handling time for less than 90% (but not less than 85%) of transactions with US buyers in the last 3 months

You're only eligible for the Top Rated Seller grace period when:

• You've been a Top Rated Seller for the last 3 (or more) consecutive months immediately preceding evaluation
• You meet the performance requirements:
  • 2% or lower defect rate
  • 0.3% or lower of cases closed without being resolved by you

If you don't meet sales and tracking requirements and performance standards after the grace period ends, you lose your Top Rated Seller status and benefits."

[rose-dee]

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@mr.elmwood wrote:
A seller getting a discount does what for eBay? Nothing. Why do it? It was a hair-brained scheme they never should have started and now they are gradually taking it away.

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Your post made me give this question some more thought.  I think there may actually be some benefits to eBay in having the TRS system, but it's likely that eBay "overdid" the concept and ended up with far too many over-qualified sellers draining far too many discounts off eBay.  They probably had no choice but to make it a more exclusive club. 

Here's how I see it: the TRS system is analogous to what has happened in the academic sphere where universities lowered overall standards and where qualification is less rigorous than it was several decades ago.  The result is a flood of people with degrees and certificates but dubious capacities.  What's the consequence when almost everybody has initials after their name?  Those initials become less meaningful.  Now employers want university or college degrees for jobs where such qualification really isn't necessary, but where experience is. 

The real problem I suspect eBay had with the TRS is not that they were shelling out discounts to every Tom, Dick and Harry (obviously not a good result), but that there was no longer any real distinction in being TRS.  In other words, I think the TRS was never intended primarily as a perquisite for sellers (i.e. the 20% discount), but rather as an inducement to buyers.

In that sense, if eBay's TRS sellers do better because more people buy from them, proportionately, than from ordinary sellers, eBay wins (in FVFs).  I suspect the original idea was to give the best sellers a "leg up" on the competition because eBay knew these were the sellers who understood how to sell well on this site. 

IMO, the legions of fly-by-night individual sellers who ignore the rules and never run their eBay selling as a serious business, probably cause eBay more trouble and money (in lost buyers and CS time) than the TRS sellers who attract buyers again and again -- and know what to do to make buyers happy.  That, in turn, keeps the money (FVFs) flowing in to eBay. 

So I'd be surprised to see the TRS programme dropped entirely.  I wouldn't be surprised though to see it tightened even more in the coming year. 

[73rhc]

I must agree with your comments. Myself being a good example. I try to play by the rules. I try to communicate, be polite, give good service and send my goods in a timely manner. But I do this as a past time. Not as a business. My volume is very low. That being said, I had TRS status before the recent changes. I didn't consider myself in that league. I felt that they had lowered the admission level way too low. Did they raise the bar too high, this time? Perhaps. Needs a little tweaking.

[mr.elmwood]

A simple way to raise standards is to re-establish the minimum sales level they had for PowerSeller of $1000 per month. I personally know a TRS, and, they are anything but. They manage due to the 7-10 sales a month they have. No pressure. No effort. No consequences.

[pierrelebel]

"he minimum sales level they had for PowerSeller of $1000 per month"

You are so young!

Way back in 1998, it was $3,000 minimum monthly sales for at least three consecutive months.  It meant something then to be a PowerSeller!  We were sent a printed certificate in the mail signed by Meg herself!

Sometimes, I miss the "good old days"!  We were so busy listing, selling, packing and shipping that we had no time to complain about anything.  Times have changed.

[38e_avenue]

The certificate came with a set of different large stickers (to put on the brick-and-mortar store window or so 

I got also a special PowerSeller Newsletter, too 😉

[pierrelebel]

Later on, about ten or twelve years ago, the "PowerSeller" certificates were signed by Gary Briggs, then eBay Canada country manager.

[pierrelebel]

"I got also a special PowerSeller Newsletter,"

Yes, many years ago, it was sent to Canadian PowerSellers (not sure if it went to all PS or only "gold" and above). 

Now, the newsletter only goes to Americans.  I guess eBay cannot afford the international postage.

[mr.elmwood]

I got to meet Meg Whitman. She was very nice to me, the humble trench dweller. Nicer than she needed to be.

[Anonymous]

Hi.  Yes I was using Internet Explorer and just installed Firefox.  Now I am not sure if I like it as the page comes out so light in color and way too big than normal.  If this is normal, I guess I have to get used to it.  At least it now as ABC (Spellcheck, color, features, etc).

Thanks.

[rose-dee]

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@mr.elmwood wrote:

A simple way to raise standards is to re-establish the minimum sales level they had for PowerSeller of $1000 per month. I personally know a TRS, and, they are anything but. They manage due to the 7-10 sales a month they have. No pressure. No effort. No consequences.

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I'm not sure I can agree.  Simply having the right dollar amount of sales or sufficient number of transactions isn't going to be enough anymore (on its own) to keep TRS. 

This is exactly what's happening at the moment.  Since the August 20th crackdown, many TRS holders will discover they can no longer ride along easily on their sales volume without also providing exemplary (and defect-free service), and without tracking if they want to keep US TRS.

Now, obviously the biggest volume sellers will be the ones who will adjust more easily, since the percentages will always be in their favour, and they get to "start over" every 3 months if they need to.  Many of them don't care about TRS if they already have general market visibility outside of eBay.  For the rest of us, well, TRS may do some good in helping keep us near the top of the pack and in buyers' view.

The special attention Pierre mentions that was given to Power Sellers years ago was probably a reflection of the fact that eBay had few (if any) giant commercial sellers and needed to reward its private sellers who did do exceptionally well -- a kind of "salesperson of the month" recognition to keep their best money-makers motivated.  Now they no longer need to give out those perks, except to display which sellers are Power Seller/TRS for buyers to see.  I think the focus has shifted to what will get more buyers buying, not more sellers selling.

Still, I do agree that the current dollar value ceiling for Power Sellers (and TRS qualification) is too low.  Almost anybody can achieve $1,000 a year in sales if they spend even a minimal effort selling.