eBay

breda_decorative_arts · ‎05-03-2013

About a month a ago, I noticed a BUG in the Ebay software which prohibits Canadain Top Rated Sellers (those registered on ebay.ca) from being top rated sellers in the US (on ebay.com).

If you are a top rated seller on ebay.ca (the Canadian Site), you should check your seller dash board to see if you are a top rated seller under Global Standards only, and NOT a top rated seller in the US (ebay.com - which is a major market for Canadain sellers).

Ebay states the following:

"because tracking is significantly more expensive and less widely available for Canadians , sellers registered in Canada can still qualify as Top-rated in the US program even if they are not able to meet the 90% tracking requirement."

Ebay also states directly on the US top rated section of your seller dashboard

"Canadian sellers don’t need to meet the tracking upload requirement to receive the US Top-rated Seller Final Value Fee discount. Learn more"

In my case, I have two ebay accounts on ebay.ca which qualify for top rated status in the US (ebay.com) In both cases my accounts are blocked from being top rated in the US because Ebay claims I do not meet the 90% tracking upload requirement. Even though this 90% tracking upload requirement does not apply to Canadians.

I suggest all ebay.ca sellers who think they are top rated on ebay.com double check on the US section of their seller dashboard. I suspect this is a wide spread bug that applies to all Canadian sellers.

As you may be aware, not being a top rated seller places you at a significant disadvantage because your items appear in search results BEHIND the top rated sellers. This significantly reduces the traffic your items get, and results in lower auction selling prices.

Lastly, I have reported this problem to Ebay twice now. Once a month or more ago. Then again earlier this week. In both cases, the Ebay representative confirmed the problem, and stated it would be corrected right away. Well more than a month has passes since the first time I reported it, and there is no sign of the problem being repaired.

If you have the same problem, please take the time to report it. Maybe if a significant proportion of Canadian Sellers keep phoning ebay, they will finally fix this problem.

I should also add, I only ship by tracked mail, and upload the tracking information as soon as I have it. I believe Ebay also has a bug in its software which records when tracking information is uploaded. Ebay claims I failed to upload about 6 tracking numbers in mid Feb until 6 to 9 days later. Interestingly Ebay claims the tracking numbers were all uploaded on Feb 24. I know that is false. We ship immediately (same day or next business day if payment is received late in the day), and upload tracking info prior to going to the post office.

pierrelebel · ‎05-03-2013

"Even though this 90% tracking upload requirement does not apply to Canadians."

"Ebay states the following:

"because tracking is significantly more expensive and less widely available for Canadians , sellers registered in Canada can still qualify as Top-rated in the US program even if they are not able to meet the 90% tracking requirement.""

Last Spring, that comment was withdrawn by eBay according to eBay.ca country co-manager.

The original quote describe what was the first intention. However, senior management at eBay.com vetoed the Canadian exemption as far as TRS status and badge is concerned as they felt it was discriminatory against American sellers.

As a compromise, Canadians were allowed to keep the 20% rebate.

However, potential buyers do not get to see our TRS icon on listings on eBay.com nor do listings by Canadian sellers get the extra exposure in Best Match unless they qualify for TRS status based on US standards (90%+ uploading of tracking).

It is not the first time, nor will it be the last, that Canadian sellers are treated like third class citizens on eBay. 😞

breda_decorative_arts · ‎05-03-2013

Its interesting you would say it was withdrawn last Spring.

On May 3, 2013, my seller dashboard (US zone) states the following

Canadian sellers don’t need to meet the tracking upload requirement to receive the US Top-rated Seller Final Value Fee discount. Learn more

When you click the Learn More link, (which I just did, also on May 3, 2013), you are taken to an Ebay page which states

"US Top-rated Eligibility

Starting June 1, the annual sales requirement for Top-rated status on eBay.com will be lowered from $3000 to $1000.

US sellers and most international sellers who list on eBay.com will be required to upload tracking on at least 90% of their listings in order to qualify for the program. But because tracking is significantly more expensive and less widely available for Canadians , sellers registered in Canada can still qualify as Top-rated in the US program even if they are not able to meet the 90% tracking requirement."

If it was removed in Spring 2012 as you claim, then why is Ebay's stated implementation date June 1 2012, and why is it still stated on Ebay's web site on May 3, 2013?

breda_decorative_arts · ‎05-03-2013

Ebay is legally allowed to create its own Company Rules. However it must follow the rules it creates.

Ebay`s rules for top rated seller requirements for Canadian sellers on Ebay.com (US) are clearly written out on Ebay`s web site. If Ebay does not follow its rules, then it is acting unlawfully.

If there is indeed an internal policy created by some Ebay managers to breach Ebay`s stated rules, and deny its customers who meet the published requirements, from receiving the benefits of those requirements on an ongoing basis, then Ebay becomes a continuing criminal enterprise. This is fertile ground for a class action legal action.

pierrelebel · ‎05-03-2013

The fine print:

Although Canadians can qualify for the US-top rated program without meeting the 90% tracking requirement, Canadians will still need to meet the 90% requirement in order to achieve this additional search boost.

pierrelebel · ‎05-03-2013

This was the original message posted on eBay.ca (matching eBay.com) on February 28th 2012:

'Starting in June, to be eligible for US Top-rated seller status, tracking information needs to be uploaded to eBay within your stated handling time on 90% of transactions with US buyers.

Because we recognize that shipping services with tracking are considerably more expensive when shipping from inside Canada,

Canadian sellers do not need to meet this 90% tracking upload requirement in order to qualify for the US Top-rated seller badge, Final Value Fee discount, and the basic level of Top-rated search boost in Best Match searches on eBay.com."

The portion underlined above was deleted from the actual policy implemented a few months later (as stated in my earlier post).

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/ca/archive.shtml

westcoastart2 · ‎05-03-2013

We seem to be getting away from the point here.

Your fine print concerns the TRS+ program (that is irrelevant here, as we are not talking about that program)

``Although Canadians can qualify for the US-top rated program without meeting the 90% tracking requirement, Canadians will still need to meet the 90% requirement in order to achieve this additional search boost.``

The point here, is that Top rated seller status on ebay.com (NOT TRS+) is being denied to Canadian sellers because of tracking uploading, when the tracking uploading rule DOES NOT APPLY to Canadian Sellers.

By your own admission above, there is no ``new rule``` or internal policy to deny Canadian sellers TRS who meet all the stated requirements for TRS.

That means there is a buy in Ebay`s software that is denying Canadian sellers TRS (NOT TRS+) on Ebay.com because of irrelevant tracking upload rates.