CANADIAN POWERSELLERS... PREPARE TO LOSE YOUR STATUS IN JULY! DTR RATINGS

[g-manthebossman]

Looks like Ebay is going to ignore the conditions Canadian power sellers face regarding shipping costs and shipping times. As any Canadian seller knows we pay through he nose to use Canada Post compared to fees our American counterparts pay for USPS. In addition shipping times take longer for most packages because they have to cross the border (If you are like me 99% of your sales are USA bound). As a result DTR ratings in shipping time and cost categories are lower for most Canadian power sellers. For example my feedback rating is 99.2% my DTR ratings for item as described and communication are around 4.8-4.9 but my DTR ratings for shipping cost and time are 4.2-4.3 As an average I fall above the 4.5 DTR requirement but as individual categories I fall short on two of them. This has had two effects on my store... #1 I am not qualified to take part in the 1 cent listing sale and in July new rules take effect that say sellers with a lower than 4.5 DTR rating in any category will lose their power seller status!!!! HOW IS THIS FAIR TO CANADIAN POWER SELLERS?

I WELCOME ANY HELP, ADVICE OR CORRECTION TO THESE UNFAIR RULES! AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED N THE LOSS OF OUR FEEDBACK RIGHTS THERE GOES THE RATINGS THERE AS WELL BECAUSE BUYERS CAN LEAVE WHATEVER THEY WANT WITHOUT FEAR OF REPRECUSSION FOR UNFAIR TREATMENT TO SELLERS.

[g-manthebossman]

SORRY, I called DSR ratings DTR ratings by mistake. I am referring to the "star" system displayed on all of our feedback pages.

[ameroindustries]

Im gonna lose it too prolly well for sure .

Wonder if they still give me an account manager . if not its not a biggy im sure ebay / paypal still like the 14 k a month in fee's i give them (prolly by then 20k a month in fee's).

It wont kill me to not be a PS there are not much advantages anyways .

Intrested to see what happens .

[recped]

I WELCOME ANY HELP, ADVICE OR CORRECTION TO THESE UNFAIR RULES!

Rules are fair, they apply to all sellers.

If you provide good merchandise and service it's not hard to maintain the minimum ratings.

If you really feel you are so hard done by as a Canadian then move to the USA.

Remember that for discounts etc. it's the DSR's for the past 30 days that matter. For Powerseller status it's the last 12 months that are used. If the ratings that have dropped you down are old enough they won't have any impact.

[g-manthebossman]

i sell a product that tends to be heavy 1.5 pounds or more, expedited shipping on this product is 13.75 i charge 13.99 that doesn't even cover the bubble pack and other packing materials needed. in the us they have a flat rate box that can hold up to 40 pounds for 9 dollars, 40 pounds for me costs 60 dollars. so explain to me how i can level the playing field. DSR's well they are less than a year old so I am screwed there as well. My merchandise is not the problem my feedback is better than my competitors for the most part. as far as moving to the USA well maybe when Bush leaves... NOT!!! So under these circumstances the playing feild is not level so how are the rules fair?

[g-manthebossman]

Central I agree the power seller rating is not a huge deal but it does offer protection in some ways that not having the rating does not offer. Congratulations on the sales, actually i was considering bidding on some of your stuff the other day you are doing awesome! Wish i had the capital to keep in stock enough material to get a store that does the volume you do! paypal is making about 500 dollars a month off me nothing close to your bills but substantial enough for me to be concerned about the loss of any benefit

[cgcgraded]

Rules are fair, they apply to all sellers.

If you provide good merchandise and service it's not hard to maintain the minimum ratings.

If you really feel you are so hard done by as a Canadian then move to the USA.

Hi recped. I normally find your posts informative, however I must question your last one here.

Do you really believe the DSR is fair to all sellers? Especially to sellers who sell mainly into the US and compete among other sellers there. I play by the rules although I don't believe they are close to being fair.
Its not an equal playing field if you provide good merchandise and service and only maintain the minimum ratings...

And sorry, but your comment about moving to the US was just rude and unjustified.

Andrew

[bare_bright]

"Rules are fair, they apply to all sellers" (recped)

DO NOT AGREE Due TO SHIPPING TIME & COST IN CANADA

"And sorry, but your comment about moving to the US was just rude and unjustified" (From Andrew)

REALLY NOT A VERY NICE & IS A RUDE COMMENT
HOW CAN ONE SAY SUCH A THING?

I also find your posts very informative recped But the Comment I think was a bit bashfull.

[dipmicro]

First of all ... we DON'T pay through the nose. But one can only appreciate CanadaPost if coming from other country.

Go to Lithuanian post office website and check how much it costs to send a small item to Canada.

I agree, Americans have cheaper postal services, but at what costs. Imagine living in a country that attacks another country every 5 or so year and everybody in the world disguises you and you live on a verge of terrorist attack, in the country where your $$ life savings and purchasing power are disappearing before your eyes because government stopped backing the currency with economy and was printing as much money as they needed, in country where people get arrested for painting "Let's give piece a chace" on their T-shirts.

So they get cheaper postal services. Not for long anyway.

[cartoonsinabox]

Recped,

I think you don't know what you are talking about(maybe because you ONLY ship records). Also Maybe you should do research before giving advise and being rude to other members.

Yes we are in disadvantage position for certain items as per shipping fees compared to our USA friends. I manage to compete with USA powersellers because I don't use Canada Post. BUT there are certains items because of weight and dimensions we do not have the fees as USPS.

Frederic

[cartoonsinabox]

Recped,

Would you say a product purchased in USA retail store(physical store) is the same retail price then in canadian store (less or more expensive) ?? (ARE RULES STILL THE SAME FOR ALL RETAILERS ??).

I have 2 physical retails store located in Montreal Canada and the prices we purchase from distributors & wholesellers are not the same then from the USA).

Frederic

[cgcgraded]

Excellent point Frederic. I too have a brick and morter store. I can buy items(including shipping and duty) cheaper from the US than I can from local distributors. I must admit that the weak US dollar has given me added purchasing power.

Andrew

[recped]

People, you need to get a grip.....

eBay is a business not a social program! Do you set your prices based on the income & location of your buyers or do you simply sell to the highest bidder?

There are plenty of Canadian sellers who do very well in competition with American (and other) sellers.

All sellers who target US buyers face the same hurdles, there is nothing particularly onerous to Canadian sellers over sellers from other countries.

eBay doesn't set shipping rates, tell you what products to sell, force you to sell to any particular market. If your business model puts you at a disadvantage that you can't overcome then it's time to change your business model NOT the time to be whining that "it's not fair".

[westernstargifts]

Until recently I purchased a large volume of merchandise from the US. Even paying about 56% exchange on it, high shipping costs because of the size, and duty when customs felt like charging it, it was still a lot cheaper to buy it from the States than from a Canadian wholesaler.

And I don't think it is an even playing field when it comes to shipping. eBay runs a worldwide marketplace and should allow for differences between countries. It is not right to rate everyone using the same criteria when shipping rates, methods, and times differ so much between countries. And to base our fee structure (discounts) and PS status on shipping rates and times is unfair.

Come to think of it, I should go back to buying from the U.S. to sell here. I made money doing that before and with the high dollar.....hmmmmm!!

Judy

[bare_bright]

Very well put Judy, To bad some others do not see it That way, Would guess when one has to much then in effect they tend to be Higher in a Higher class

Whatever algorism is in play to effect the shipping in the Star rateing system, it should be tweaked for every country then we are playing on fair Ground, I would think so
:)

[modemoutlet]

What's the benefits to be a power seller on ebay? Have the privilege to read/post on this forum? And then???

So who cares?

[bare_bright]

Please read The faq's on Powerseller benefits, Also note with all these changes coming in effect there will be alot more advantages to be a PS other than having Trust amoung buyers, Then all those complaining will be eating there words:)

Have a good Day!

[cartoonsinabox]

Recpec,

We all know Ebay is a business. But judging that sellers are on the same boat (CANADA & USA) on SHIPPING (TIME & COST) is not true. We have different shipping options (USPS vs CANADA POST(slow & expensive)is TOTALLY DIFFERENT.

I am not complaining but making a point that canadian sellers are at disadvantage and have to find better solutions to compete in the USA market.

Our company is adjusting every day. We are working to find new products unique and with better prices, new shipping solutions,etc. so we can compete on US & international markets. If it weren't working we wouldn't be selling on EBAY or other websites.

Frederic

[bare_bright]

Well yes as far as the price of Shipping goes, we can't change That, what we can change is like you said New & diff. Products, it's a great time to buy from the us and push your products here Locally to! every week I see more and more Canadian Buyers! The younger generation is growing up and they want to shop, buy online.

I strongly believe selling online can only grow, don't know what line your in but the more products you have the better, don't just have one ebay store! have 10 all with a diff. line of Products! The more you put out there the more you will sell "hopefully"

now that all being said, if you soly sell on ebay and your a PS and have a great Score well that's all the better for you, more and more buyers are looking at the reputation of the seller.

Mind you when you have a Hot Product you could have a terrible score and it will sell, but for the average items your Feedback is very important.

Have a good day:)

[dipmicro]

Actually I tend to agree with recped on this one.

1) eBay is making money only when sellers are making money

2) if eBay stops making money, they would very likely help sellers to make some. For example free eBay polymailers or PayPal discount on CanadaPost shipping.

3) eBay is not helping Canadian sellers to overcome higher ship rates, so good amount of Canadian sellers must be performing well despite the "harsh conditions".


US market is very competitive, much more sellers per capita on any commercial item. That's why is easy to buy in US and sell in Canada or globally.

It may be harder to compete on US market, but why not to build-up your Canadian community anyway? $1.15 to send 100g parcel nationwide (Lettermail), $2.65 to send 0.5kg nationwide. Regular parcel within Canada is quite affordable as well and if you ship more than 750 packages a year within Canada, CanadaPost will consider you for further discount (100 for USA).

Also have a look at prepaid CanadaPost products, regional and nationwide envelopes and labels. It's a nice way to flatten the S/H.