HOW NOT to be a POWER SELLER

[lina-mallows]

AS several sellers have expressed their desire to not be a Power Seller, I have started to look into the situation.

Having checked an e-mail that we received when being invited to be a POWER SELLER, I note the following:
"Membership to the PowerSeller program is FREE. Joining is a simple process:

1. Go to the eBay.ca home page (www.ebay.ca).
2. Click on the "site map" link located at the top of the home page.
3. Click on the "PowerSellers" link located in the centre column, under "Selling Resources".
4. Access your PowerSeller portal page by using the "PowerSellers Sign-In" option on this page.
5. Accept the Terms and Conditions -- please read them carefully."

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IF ONE NO LONGER ACCEPTS THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS- THEN, BY THE PROCESS SO CLEARLY SPELLED OUT- ONE CANNOT BE A POWER SELLER!
So, would SOMEONE, ANYONE- from eBay, PLEASE clearly indicate how ANYONE may access the "Terms and Conditions" area of the POWER SELLER programme, in order to "OPT OUT", by NOT AGREEING to those TERMS & CONDITIONS.

[pstacey]

Actually I seem to remember there are only two that said they weren't interested in being a Powerseller anymore.
If you are so disgruntled with Ebay, and no longer wish to be a powerseller, why not just close your account..or stop selling. Problem solved...no sales, no powerseller status.

Pat

[lina-mallows]

The issue here is one of choice, not being disgruntled with eBay.
One need only look at the REGULAR Discussion Boards, for the THOUSANDS- if not HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of BOTH buyers, and sellers who are disgruntled with eBay.

eBay is simply not above the law. If you, as a seller agree to a contract, then you as a signatory to that document have rights.
At what point do the changes in the rules permit you from withdrawing your agreemnt to those rules.
This is a simple straight forward question.


We were POWER SELLERS for many years- without issue.
We are BOTH GST, and ONTARIO PST Registered Vendors- and pay enough Municipal taxes on a 'BRICKS & MORTAR" location, here in Toronto.

AND- we CHOSE to be POWER SELLERS at this time.
Under the present circumstances- HOWEVER- as a result of EBAY'S EVER CHANGING RULES- being a POWER SELLER MAY NOT be advantageous at some point.

eBay is intent on redistributing listings, and other perceived advantages, which MAY or MAY NOT be advantage to a given seller.
While eBay provides mechanisms to OPT OUT of displaying certain LOGOS- or participating in certain promotions- OTHER issues- LIKE BEST MATCH- are not given as an option.

[lina-mallows]

pstacey- by the way- I popped over to look at you items for sale- and you have some pretty unique stuff for sale!
And, considering the weather here (at times)- some pretty practical stuff too!

[pstacey]

Thank you. When one has a hairless breed of dog, finding ways to protect them from the cold and sun isn't all that easy, or that is what I found anyways when I got my first hairless dog.

[tea_past_times]

I was born with a hairless dog. But that changed when I got older.:-D

[recped]

being a POWER SELLER MAY NOT be advantageous at some point

Why don't you wait for "some point"? I really can't imagine what downside there is to being a powerseller, if you wish nobody but eBay will know.

[lina-mallows]

recped- BEST MATCH poses strange problems for collectible items that look, and list very similar to items in other categories.

There was a brief moment- when someone at eBay believed that ALL Gift Cards were created equal. (SEE PROHIBITED ITEMS LIST)
So- REGARDLESS of whether there was money on them, or not (even those that had expired)- ONLY ONE GIFT CARD listing was to be allowed per seller/ per week.

This created absolute pandemonium as our, and many other seller's gift card auctions were removed by eBay.
TO BE CLEAR- these were UNLOADED, INACTIVE, Gift Cards- NOT ONES WITH MONEY ON THEM!

HOWEVER- eBay could not care less!

There suggestion was to avoid using "GIFT CARD" in the title of the item so they would not be pulled.

It may walk like a duck- and look like a duck- but if you don't call it a duck- eBay is not concerned!

Now- here's the problem- when someone goes looking for a STARBUCKS Gift Card to use- our COLLECTIBLE items may show up.
We are not interested in, based on very real past experience, answering questions from people who do not understand that A- the CARD HAS NO VALUE- AND B- YES! People really do collect these things!

We are not interested in these inexperienced buyers.
We DO NOT cater to these interests. Those looking for SPECIFIC items will find us- 55% of our business is REPEAT customers.
As strange as it sounds- we really don't want the money from these other inexperienced buyers.
We DO NOT cross promote our items in other location.
We are perfectly happy to have our items found ONLY by DIRECT KEYWORD searches.

Why is that so difficult for people to understand?

[recped]

Why is that so difficult for people to understand?

Best Match has nothing to do with Powerseller status.

[lina-mallows]

OK- great- but how then does ANYONE OPT OUT of BEST MATCH?

HOWEVER-
I quote the following:
"PowerSeller Benefits

PowerSellers receive numerous benefits, just for enrolling in the program. Some program benefits may vary by PowerSeller sales level or by a seller's detailed seller ratings (DSRs). Membership in the program is FREE for all who qualify.

Increased Visibility in Best Match searches

The Best Match option for sorting search results will be improved to incorporate seller performance factors, increasing exposure for listings from sellers providing excellent customer service. eBay will advantage the listings of the upper half of sellers in terms of customer satisfaction. Sellers with detailed seller ratings above 4.6 in the last 30 days will receive more exposure than the average seller. Learn more about seller performance factors in Best Match."


Simply put- WE DO NOT WANT TO BE VISIBLE IN BEST MATCH- let alone MORE visible! Which according to this clearly posted set of details- is directly related to being a POWER SELLER!

[momoftwingles2]

Hi Lina,

I don't think you have a choice of whether you are included in Best Match or not. eBay has given this option as the default search option. However, buyers can change their own options to how they want to search for items.

All items are included in eBay's search engine. And, perhaps being a Power Seller moves one up the list a bit when Best Match is used to search for items. I'm not exactly sure on that. However, there are certain things that raises ones chances of being higher and more visible on the list than others.

Susan

[cumos55]

The society we know as Canada, has it rules...Federal, Provincial and Municipal.

We live by those rules and have adjusted to new rules ... realities ... as they come..

And in learning to live by the rules we adjust to make things better for ourselves.

-----eBay has rules... eBay adds and changes rules.

We as sellers adjust and learn how to live by those rules to our advantage.

If Best match is perceived as a problem.. Learn how to use it to promote your listings.

IF DSR's are a problem... adjust and learn how to change them and make them work for you.

There is no obstacle that cannot be overcome.

We as Canadians are very good at finding a way to make it work..

So collectively we can adjust and learn how to use the rules to advantage...

Powerseller status is free... and until now the privileges associated with that status has been negligible... Now it is discounts, and powerseller listings days.

Now Powerseller status has a dollar value attached to it.

Learn how to use the system

Adapt .. Adjust... and Make It Happen

[coxengines]

😉 to cumos. At least you have it figured out!

When others while away the hours complaining about change, the likes of you and I find the good parts of change and use them to our advantage.

Humans are incredibly adaptive and we can become whomever we like and we can achieve whatever we want, each and every one of us. We just have to believe in ourselves and focus on making it happen.

Selling on eBay is no exception to the above.

Xena

[lina-mallows]

Humans are incredibly adaptive.
And Canadians are very good at finding a way to make it work.

Canadians also have a sense of being able to make their own choices- and not have them made for them. That's what RIGHTS are about. And often SO WRONG about eBay's decision making process.

Have you ever heard the expression- "NEVER sign anything until you have read it." Sound good. Common sense. HOWEVER- eBay would have you believe that you have NO CHOICE once you have agreed to something- to ever change you mind!

AND- has anyone ever noticed/questioned when eBay so clearly operates in Canada- and has offices here (in Toronto)-that eBay is itself not GST REGISTERED?

Where is the GST applied to eBay fees? Then, ALL REGISTERED GST merchants would be entitled to the INPUT CREDITS.
eBay provides a TAXABLE service- yet does not collect the GST?

Would anyone like to approach this GST issue?
Can anyone explain why eBay's services ARE NOT GST taxable?

What makes eBay so special? Why do they not collect GST on their services? I must- but not eBay?

I am happy to pay the GST as applicable on my eBay fees-
Why doesn't eBay collect them?

[lina-mallows]

momoftwingles2-eBay has given this option as the default search option. However, buyers can change their own options to how they want to search for items.

I appreciate that eBay allows BUYERS to make these adjustments.
Reenctly- BEST MATCH was made the default option- so some BUYERS are not even aware of the issue.

HOWEVER- if BEST MATCH is an option for BUYERS- simply why not give SELLERS the option to OPT OUT of it?

[recped]

Can anyone explain why eBay's services ARE NOT GST taxable?

It's simple! Look at your invoice, you are being billed by
eBay International AG a Swiss company located in Bern. They are not registered for GST and don't need to be.

I still don't understand YOUR problem with Best Match, the only way you could opt out would be to totally eliminate your listings from appearing in a Best Match result, I don't think you would like that especially considering that with your feedback profile I doubt very much you are being disadvantaged at all.

[lina-mallows]

recped- I would like to pull out of BEST MATCH completely.

Right now- our items show up in BEST MATCH.
We would be happy if they showed up ONLY in the COLLECTIBLE category.
This way- NO ONE should be confusing them with GIFT CARDS for use at STARBUCKS. eBay has not been able to successfully differentiate between CURRENCY/COUPON/LIVE GIFT CARDS - and those intended for collecting. Maybe this is just a simple thing that eBay can correct. Until them BEST MATCH, by default is a pain!

It's the e-mails from people who do not understand that STARBUCKS cards are collected. We sell cards to collectors- not people looking to buy a card to use at STARBUCKS. Its the volume of e-mail that we respond to that is simply to explain to these people that A- THERE IS NO MONEY ON THE CARD OFFERED- and b) YES- people really do collect these little bits of plastic.
(in fact some buyers have paid hundreds of dollars for earlier scarce cards- WITH ABSOLUTELY NO MONEY ON THEM !!!

[recped]

Sorry, I have no idea what you are going on about anymore.

[lina-mallows]

recped- It's simple! Look at your invoice, you are being billed by
eBay International AG a Swiss company located in Bern. They are not registered for GST and don't need to be.

SO what?

Coca-Cola has their head office in ATLANTA- and I still pay GST on a bottle of Coke in Canada!

eBay operates in Canada- and has physical offices here.
Last I checked- there really are people employed by eBay in Canada- so regardless of what an invoice says- eBay is providing you with services here in CANADA! And, for what it's worth- having raised this issue several years ago- still believe that eBay fees ARE subject to GST.

And- in order to operate a DOT CA domain, they must further be a CANADIAN Company/entity! (CIRA policy- "If you meet the Canadian Presence Requirements for registrants you can register a new dot-ca domain name......")

WHY- if there is NO GST in CANADA- does eBay.CO.UK have to consider VAT for every FEE charged on their site?

According to the eBay.COM "USER AGREEMENT"
TAXES ARE SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED!
"Fees and Services
Joining eBay and bidding on listed items is free. We do charge fees for using other services, such as listing items. When you list an item or use a service that has a fee you have an opportunity to review and accept the fees that you will be charged based on our Fees schedule, which we may change from time to time. ....

Unless otherwise stated, all fees are quoted in U.S. Dollars. You are responsible for paying all fees and applicable taxes associated with the Sites in a timely manner with a valid payment method. ..."

Anyone want to tackle this one?